#and an interesting point about retro jerseys!

[oh-hush-its-perfect]

Essays I wrote this year

If you're unsure how to write an essay or would like examples of high-scoring first-year college essays, please DM me or hit up my ask box for a link to any of these.

Fashion Politics

Prompt: Describe one article of clothing that interacts with your gender and one other social identity.

I picked my novelty earrings and how they signify my gender as a femme nonbinary person and my sexuality and how my whiteness determines how other people perceive me because of them (i.e. seeing me as retro, fun, and quirky instead of gaudy or "ghetto."). 1.5k words (5 pages).

Score: 100%

Viking Mythology

Prompt: Write a short assignment analyzing a piece of media that contains Medievalism (the utilization of Medieval elements or ideas in modern media) and how it abides by and differs from the original Norse myths, as seen in the Poetic and Prose Eddas and other course readings, such as Adam of Bremen and the Merseburg Charms.

I wrote about Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard and how it is surprisingly accurate to the original source material, with only a few creative liberties taken. The ending is a list of bullet points trying to convince my professor to read the books (he said he was interested). 887 words (about 3 pages).

Score: 100%

World Religions

Prompt: Write about how a course reading reflects a) the mythological dimension, and b) one other dimension described by Ninian Smart.

I chose Hadith 2 from Muslim scripture because I had to analyze it for a separate assignment and was already familiar with it. 914 words (3 pages).

Score: 94% (no comments describing why points were deducted, but I cranked it out in like 3 hours, so, yeah, I didn't go as deep into it as I could have.)

I also had a personal essay for this class that I will not share with anyone but my mutuals because it contains personal information.

Language In Culture

Prompt #1: Analyze a recorded interview with a friend for meta-communicative tools. The interview in question is supposed to be 10 minutes in length and the interviewer is meant to ask one of two questions.

I interviewed someone whose anonymity I will maintain by using the pseudonym "Perry." The question I chose to ask was, "What was a strong disagreement you had with a close friend?" Our conversation was about the sexism of one of Perry's friends, and I argued that she relied upon the two of us sharing the identities of being AFAB and being raised in countries colonized by Britain (the USA for me, India for her). 1.3k words (4 pages).

Score: 98%

Prompt #2: Examine non-human characters in an animated film for their voices and determine what the audience is supposed to understand about the characters through their accents, use of vernacular, vocal pitches, etc.

I looked at Zootopia and discussed the characters Mr. and Mrs. Hopps, Gideon Grey, Fru Fru, and Finnick. Specifically I examined how rhoticity (the pronunciation of the letter "r" anywhere but the beginning of the word) is used within the film in Gideon's southern accent, Fru Fru's New Jersey/New York accent, and Finnick's blaccent.

Score: 97% [deducted points for some valid reasons and also because I said "blaccent" instead of African-American (Vernacular) English (AAE or AAVE), even though a blaccent can exist outside of the context of AAE.]

Prompt #3: Essentially the same as Prompt #1, except you needed a more solid thesis (not only that the interviewee used meta-communicative devices but also why those conventions were used.)

My thesis was that "Perry made a conscious effort to make the interview conversational, with contributions both from herself and from me— in spite of the fact that interviews often have a low-involvement speech style— in order to establish camaraderie between us as individuals who were assigned female at birth (AFAB)." 1.8k words (6 pages)

Score: 96% (entirely fair point deductions; I kind of rushed this essay, by which I mean I wrote it at 3 AM the day it was due while on my prescribed ADHD meds, which I accidentally took instead of my sleep meds that night— 2/10 would not recommend. Don't do drugs, kids.)

Japanese Culture (Intro Class)

Prompt: Go crazy go stupid just write a well thought-out paper about an aspect of Japanese culture we learned about in class.

I decided to write about how religious iconography is presented in the anime Blue Exorcist because I'm lame asf. My thesis was that the use of imagery in the story is propagandist because it portrays Japan as religiously unified, which it is historically not (of course, there's a lot more nuance that I'm not going to get into and some that I frankly couldn't even discuss in the essay itself.) Including the abstract, footnotes, and bibliography, 2.5k words (7 pages of actual content).

Score: 95% (comments not provided, but I probably deserved it because there's, again, a lack of nuance.)

I wrote other papers, too, but these were the major ones. I go to a relatively prestigious state school that has a large student population, great sports and academic programs (especially for STEM, which I am not in), and a reputation for being a party school. Feel free to ask questions about my essay-writing process, about my school, or about what overall grades I got in these classes!

[weloseeveryweek]

my football day

I was thinking of my football day, especially now that the season is over, and whether I have any rituals and somewhere along the way realized that each version started and ended with my jersey. So bear with me as I talk about this seemingly cliche topic, literally the most obvious answer in many ways when one thinks about this topic.

You see I’m not a person of many rituals. I have patterns of how and where I watch my games, what I do beforehand sure, but they are in part a function of circumstance. How early the game is, where I am physically (and mentally) on that day and whether Fubo has the game – none of it set in stone. Nothing that will feel too out of place if I skip as long as I’m watching the game one way or the other.

Except when it comes to my jerseys and there I’ve realized I have a ton of rituals and arbitrary rules that are nonetheless quite strict. While thinking about what I was going to write for this prompt I realized two things. For one I was adhering to these rules without exactly thinking about it for quite a while and also that in some way the jersey is the closest that comes to a sacred object for me, but more about that later. For this very reason I love hearing about how other fans connect to their jerseys too? The similarities and the differences.

I need to see the game in a jersey for sure. Hence a couple of days before the game I need to make sure that the jersey is clean. It’s the one thing that makes me do laundry midweek without uttering a long string of expletives, this, and I also quite enjoy carefully turning my jersey inside out, putting it in the wash, always in cold water, and then carefully hanging it to dry, the damp fabric soft under my hands, a ritual of care that I hope minimizes the wear and tear.

For similar reasons the jersey is not to be worn on non-match days. I absolutely love having the United crest over my heart, it gives me courage and strength and like even on a shitty day I can run my hand over the embroidery and it makes me feel just that bit better, instantaneously. But that is why I have regular team articles of clothing collected over time from various stores, just so that I can go around with that crest over my heart without inflicting additional tear to my dear old jersey. (There are of course those days where I break this rule, where the additional wear is worth the additional bit of strength having that red fabric gives me to carry me through whatever unhappiness the day may hold in store, but it’s a last resort of sorts.)

This makes no sense, by the way, and it’s not something I told many people about because the crest kind of acts like a cross worn around my neck and why should a piece of football garb fulfill the role of a religious artifact? When the club is a profit making institution and it neither knows nor cares about me? It makes no sense and yet it is.

You can just get a new jersey, yeah? I can also hear you asking and the answer is well yes I suppose so but also no. Because it’s not any old jersey I’m talking about and I’m very particular about what I get to call /my jersey./ Like if you wanted to be exceptionally cruel you would gift me twenty original jerseys tomorrow one for each season or one for each player in the squad with the condition that I keep them all and I’d break down in tears because there would be no way I’d be able to *own* them all but as jerseys of my team they’d all deserve care and respect. God, I’m shuddering just thinking about it.

For me to *own* a jersey there is a bond that needs to develop. I really don’t like blank jerseys so to begin with it needs to carry the name and the number of a player I revere, someone who fights for the team and loves it like I do. For Manchester United that is Michael Carrick. I don’t know what it is, a promise (again to a man who could care less about my existence?), solidarity? And again I can’t wear the jersey of someone I’ve never toiled alongside with (if shouting at the TV from a pub counts as ‘toiling.’) I am dying to get a retro Gary Neville jersey but I’m not sure if I could ever put it on because I simply wasn’t there. I haven’t earned the right to it. Similarly getting the jersey of someone who just came to the team is out of question, because in a way the person whose jersey I’m getting needs to earn my respect too.

Then I need to wear it in, wear it week in week out because the way I see it everything that happens on the pitch when I have that jersey on gets stitched into the fabric. My first ever (I mean I only have two, but…) United jersey, Carrick’s from last season, was on me in every home game I went to last year. When my ass was freezing at Leigh watching the U21s because I did not estimate how cold it would get at night. When I sat in Edinburgh waiting for my train and screamed when Martial scored a last minute equalizer in the FA cup on the tiny screen of my phone. Or in the many games we let go at the last minute this year. When I had a cold and should have stayed at home but was screaming at the top of my lungs as the lads lifted the Big Vase. The list goes on and on.

That Carrick jersey has been through so much with me that it feels as though it sucked up the memories it witnessed to the point that now it’s made less of red polyester and more of joy and anxiety, the heartbreak, the love and even the horror my team made me feel. To me I realized (while it perhaps makes little sense to my fellow more sensible fans) the jersey is a physical manifestation of the covenant between me and my team. It’s a pledge I make to be by its side and in return it’s belonging to an idea bigger than myself and bigger than the eleven men currently running along in Old Trafford. I support Fenerbahce too for example but this year when I fell further and further apart from the team I could barely touch let alone put on my beloved Kuyt jersey, the Fener equivalent of Carrick. In many ways I felt, the team, or rather it’s fans, had failed me, and I had failed the team by not being there for them in glory and defeat. I cannot describe the rush of excitement when I finally reconnected enough to watch a random game that didn’t matter towards the end of the season and I could finally, finally put on my Kuyt jersey again.

Maybe I hope one day I can watch enough old games to convince myself I too get to rock a retro jersey, or more likely spend enough time with the team that 15/16 Carrick becomes *the* retro jersey I always rock with pride. In the meanwhile I need to get another jersey and wear my Rashy one more often because like no way I’m getting the Carrick jersey wear away before it’s time. It will be there with me when I’m 80.

Wow this got long and I don’t know…what to make of it myself? I’m strange as is that much I know, following these oddly specific rules about what is essentially a piece of fabric but perhaps football, our teams, make us do strange things as well.

[this-is-ally-and-im-confused]

hey friend !! could i pls request a jack hughes imagine about the reader meeting him somewhere for the first time and having a completely different personality than him that he almost thinks its weird until he realizes how much he likes it and they hit it off? sorry that was so long ahh but thank u !! <3

when red met blue|| J.Hughes

(part 2 to “for you” out tomorrow)

Summary: What happens when jack falls in love with his opposite?

Taglist: @snugglyducklingbrewhouse @hugheshugs @boeswhore @oowenspower @nucksgal03 join the taglist!

Masterlist!

Warnings: like one second of mentioning getting hurt but mostly just fluff!

Jack’s pov:

It’s about two hours before the game tonight. So I decided to break my regular pregame routine and visit the little vintage clothing store on the street of downtown New Jersey. I can say with confidence that I’m not the flashiest fashion icon but I don’t do too bad.

At this point, I'd do anything to clear my head from the upcoming game against my brother. The Canucks are more than an even match for my team. I have confidence in my boys. We’ve been working hard, partying harder, and overall leaving our hearts out on the ice.

I mean, that’s where I leave my heart.

The boys have been quick to chirp me on my lack of partners. It sounds stupid– I know, but I think that I haven’t had a partner since before draft day. Plus, it’s safe to say that hockey can get a little lonely at times. See I have had this big reputation that often perceives me. I’m loud, cocky, and focused on my game. None of those are fatal flaws.

Somehow, they still certainly make it hard to date.

So as I stepped into the entrance of the dainty shop. I was surprised to see the most stunning girl I had ever seen. The only issue is the vintage Canucks jersey wrapped around her delicate frame. She’s adorable with her bulky glasses, her messy hair, her huge paint-covered jeans, and bright yellow doc martens.

“Hey! welcome to NJ vintage boutique…not a very original store name I know, but it’s ours! I'm y/n! How can I help you today?” the beautiful girl meekly squeals out. She doesn’t even make eye contact.

I can't help but internally “aww” at her. She’s tiny. So tiny that I have inches in height on her. I’m so busy looking her over that I almost forget to respond.

“Oh, I’m just looking around town. I had a few hours to kill.” I stammer out. My hand reaches up to rub the back of my neck. That’s a nervous habit.

Y/n looks me over. Her eyes narrow. I hold my breath as I wait for her to recognize me. Yet, she doesn’t. All she does is smile and turn back to folding t-shirts.

“Do you like hockey?” I can't help but ask her.

She finishes up her folding and walks behind a counter beside me.

“uhhhh if I’m honest, no. My friend invited me to a hockey game tonight. This was the only jersey I own! if you're interested, behind that rack there’s some vintage jerseys and stuff.” She shyly admits.

My heart was pounding at the speed of sound. I walked over and pretended to look over the jerseys. I spotted a New Jersey Devils retro. It’s perfectly her size. I wonder if I can convince her to trade teams.

“Have you worked here for long?” I am desperately trying to make small talk.

Which is apparently not my strong suit.

“I mean sorta, I'm only in Newark for art school.” She shared.

Wow, art school. I've never been so drawn in by the creative types. That explained the paint stains on her pants. My god, I must seem like a creep. The nagging inside me told me that I should ask her to look out for me at the game.

“Are you excited about the game?” I sheepishly ask.

She smiled and nodded. When I looked at her I saw the peppering of freckles across her cheeks. I saw the frog earrings dangling from her ears and how gorgeous her eyes were. She was electrifying.

In a nerdy and cute kind of way. Something about her made me want to know her more.

your pov:

You try not to freak out at the gorgeous customer in front of you. His shaggy blonde hair was so fluffy. He had stunning blue eyes. It took every urge inside of you not to pull out your sketchbook and draw the goofy look on his face.

“Ummm, I don’t know much about hockey but based on your Devil’s hoodie– I take it you do?” You don't know where you got the confidence to say that.

He nods eagerly. It’s adorable how his hair flops around as he does.

“You could say that,” he replies. He is not my type. Jocks had never been the ones you're into dating. Nevertheless, he was gorgeous. You couldn’t help but feel drawn to him.

“My shift ends in fifteen minutes…do you maybe want to go grab a coffee and explain what the hell I’ll be watching tonight?” You nervously tuck your hair behind your ear. You’re not ever the one to ask boys out like this. You had crossed your finger as you waited for his response.

“Sure, I'll even explain what I do for a living to you.” he smiled and walked over to the jersey you had seen him look at earlier.

He handed me a gorgeous bright red jersey. You couldn't help the blush across my face. As well as the feeling that you would be changing from a Canuck fan to a Jersey Devil fan in no time.

Only if I'm lucky, that is.

~ after the game~

Jacks pov:

Once I get off the ice–I shoot y/n a text with our newly exchanged numbers telling her where to come to wait for me.

I hope that she let me take her out for something to eat. Or maybe I could find a way to convince her to see me again.

Her smiling face greets me as she waits outside with her friend. She’s gorgeous. I can tell she’s excited based on how she was bouncing on her toes. The best part of seeing her now was how I noticed her Canucks jersey from earlier had been replaced with a bright NJ devil's jersey. When I dropped my bag, she jumped towards me with a hug. I was overzealous to hug her back.

Her hug was dream-like. She fit perfectly into my arms. She smelt like cinnamon and oil paints. I thought about how that was a smell I could enjoy for the rest of my life.

I couldn’t wait to take her out.

I didn’t even care about standing my brother up for this girl. That’s how much she means.

your pov:

“OMG Jack! You played so well! How do you skate like that? Did it hurt to get pushed into the boards like that? How do you know when you should shoot?” you're rambling out excitement and fascination.

You couldn’t help but worry that you were annoying this likely exhausted boy. He just grabbed your hand and his bag. Jack insisted that you let him take you out for an after-game snack.

You agreed to say goodbye to the friend that drove you here. She just laughed and called you a “lucky girl.”

You sure do feel lucky. This handsome, athletic, and sweetheart of a man took an interest in you. You are the tiny, quiet, and artsy girl. It was something out of Romeo and Juliet.

You two were completely different.

Yet, it feels right. From the moment you asked Jack out earlier today, you knew just how giddy he made you feel inside.

Thankfully, Jack took over most of the talking. He explained how he knew when to shoot or pass. He told you about his first time on skates. Jack blushed as he remembered how his older brother Quinn and his mom would help him around the rink every day until he could do it skate on his own.

You melt.

Jack, the cocky loudmouth, is a momma’s boy and a family man. You saw him pout when he said he doesn’t get to see his family nearly enough. You chimed in with how you felt the same. Your family was far away. You hadn’t settled into life here yet.

Just like that, another topic where you two click.

The two of you drive to a 24/7 diner to grab a snack and a drink. Also, to spend time with your new crush.

When you sit down, he orders a black coffee. You order an Italian soda. Those are easily the most opposite drinks on the menu.

You two or opposites. Not in a discouraging way.

Maybe you two are opposites, but in the way puzzle pieces are opposites. Or the way colors that are opposites mix into new prettier colors.

“I’ve always liked purple more than red.” Jack pulls you out of your rom-com like thoughts.

Can he read minds?

He must be able to. Every movement you make or joke you tell–jack can respond in harmony.

It feels like the two of you exist in your shared little bubble. It’s A world where the two of you are complete opposites living in harmony.

You pull your sketchbook out of your canvas tote bag. Ready to show Jack what you made while at the game.

His eyes are filled with wonder and excitement as you flip the page. The center of your mixed media drawing book shows an image. The picture was drawn out in pencil, pastels, and ink. Who is the center of this drawing? None other than The #86 himself. The image of him smiling with his hand outstretched in celebration. The colors surrounding the art piece were the hues of red, blue, and purple clashing around the beautiful boy.

Jack now knew that he had met his opposite. However, you were meant to be his.

“Will you go out with me, y/n?” Jack said softly.

Under the lighting of the soft diner lights, you just leaned over the table and kissed him. It felt right. You were both two perfect colors mixing on a page.

[krakenbait]

what do you think about the reverse retros?

thank you for the ask anon! but oh my, did you just open a can of worms because i have Opinions on the reverse retros. but in the interest of keeping this short, i’ll do a top three and a bottom three, maybe with some honorable mentions.

let’s start with the top three.

at number 3, we have the caroline hurricanes hartford whalers. what more do i really have to say? the whalers brand is iconic. their logo is one of the best nhl logos ever (the first time you see that H is mind-blowing), so it’s nice to see it on a jersey again. plus they added the pucky the whale shoulder patches, which i love. the blue-green-white color scheme is fantastic, though to be fair, the connecticut whale execute it better than this jersey, which added an unnecessary gray that i am not a fan of. the gray base is really the only misstep on this jersey, and if it was white i think i would like it a lot more. with that said, i still love this jersey, and especially when compared to some of the other reverse retros, it’s great.

at number 2, we have the colorado avalanche. if you know me (or just read my bio), you know i’m a big avs fan, so when these jerseys were announced i was so excited. i really want to get an avs jersey at some point, and the reverse retros might have surpassed the navy third jerseys as the avs jersey i want to get. but i digress. 

this jersey itself is so clean and nicely executed. they borrowed the pattern off of the old quebec nordiques away jerseys, but the avs traded the light blue and red color scheme of their precursors for their current burgundy and blue. i’ve always loved the way that the avs’ colors look together on jerseys, especially because burgundy is a kind of unusual color for hockey (the only one with anything similar is the coyotes’ maroon) and i appreciate that it’s paired with the bright blue instead of, say, black or gray. on this jersey especially, the burgundy is the focus, with the blue acting as a nice accent to mirror the old nordiques jersey. it’s pretty widely agreed upon that the nordiques jerseys were great, so i don’t have much to say about the design of the jersey itself. but as a whole, these jerseys are a slam dunk. i’m looking forward to seeing them on the ice and i’m curious if they’ll look just as good in motion.

and at number 1, my favorite reverse retro comes from the la kings. now, i do not give a flying fuck about the kings normally, especially when it comes to jerseys because they have a torrid history of bad design choices. but they got their act together for this one and put out an awesome reverse retro jersey. 

starting with the colors, i love the purple (or if you want to be pretentious about it, “forum blue”) and yellow color scheme. the kings are the only nhl team to have used this color scheme, and they should really go back to it full time, in my opinion, because it looks so different for a hockey design. the shades of purple and yellow used on this jersey are really vibrant and eye-catching. plus, purple and yellow are complementary colors, so when they’re used to accent each other, it looks quite pleasing to the eye. in comparison, the kings’ usual black, white, and gray colors are pretty dull to look at, especially because their opponents are wearing white jerseys and hockey is played on a sheet of white ice (geez, i sound like the guy from hockey by design).

as for the layout of the jersey, the striping is very classically hockey, with a pattern we’ve seen variations of a million times before. that doesn’t mean it’s bad though; the simplicity of the thick yellow stripe with the white accent stripes helps make it as effective as it is. i’m not really a fan of the numbers inside the yellow stripes on the arms, though, and i think it would’ve looked a little cleaner if the numbers were placed just above the arm stripes on the upper arm of the jersey. i love the logo though. i’m not a huge fan of typography logos, but there is something iconic about the gretzky-era motion-lines kings logo, and its usage on this jersey really brings together the whole “reverse retro” idea. it blends the design of one era with the colors of another, and it looks awesome. like the avs jersey, i’m really excited to see these on the ice, because i know they’ll look sick.

moving onto the bottom three, which will be under the cut, because this is getting very long already.

at third-worst, we’ve got the arizona coyotes. i know this one might be a little controversial- when the reverse retros were released, some friends and i argued about whether this one was good or bad. well, from a design standpoint, i think it’s pretty bad.

wait! i can hear you saying. lara, you liked the minnesota whitecaps jerseys with a similar style, why don’t you like this one? let me explain, hypothetical critic.

this yotes jersey just has too much going on. there’s six colors present: orange, purple, black, white, green, and brown. the green and brown are just accents on the logo and the waist design, but that’s still too many colors. they’re not bad colors, but they don’t quite come together the right way. it looks messy. in comparison, the whitecaps jersey had three colors total, including accents: blue, white, and black. that meant the whitecaps jersey looks a lot more cohesive as a design, whether stationary or on the ice. 

the logos on this jersey aren’t bad. i love the yotes’ kachina jersey, especially its main logo, but i don’t think the kachina head by itself is nearly as strong. however, putting the full kachina logo on this jersey would really be too much. i kind of like the salamander shoulder patches, but they really have no good connection to the yotes’ identity as a team. i think the crescent moon design would have been a better choice for the shoulder patches. 

and then we come to the waist design. it’s simply too busy. in that little desert landscape on the bottom alone, there are four colors. that would be a lot for a whole jersey, and it’s too much for this design, which becomes jarring. the waist design on the whitecaps jersey was in a monochrome blue, which was easy on the eyes and effective on the ice. i can only imagine what a mess the bottom of these yotes jerseys will look like in motion.

in general, this jersey just has too much going on for it to be executed effectively. if arizona ever tries to take a stab at this kind of thing again, i’d recommend taking some notes from the whitecaps.

at second-worst is the st louis blues. the thing about this jersey is, i actually like the original jersey that these are based on. i think those jerseys are pretty cool looking, although they are finely threading the line between “cool-looking” and “bad.”

and then you get this jersey, which is just bad. for starters, why is a team called the blues wearing a red jersey? (i have this same gripe with the blue jackets’ red reverse retros, by the way) i think the inclusion of red into the blues visual identity is a little weird, especially when they’ve had jerseys that balance the blue and yellow so well. and then you take the red, which was a weird-though-not-terrible accent color on the originals, and make it the base of the jersey? i don’t know about you, but for me, that’s a big ol’ wtf?? 

and the mess only gets worse. the blues have a good logo, but the big blue note looks so incongruous on a red base. additionally, the accent stripes and colors are much less effective with the red and blue reversed. on the original blue jersey, the gold stripes stood out on the blue base while keeping the classic element of the blues’ visual identity. the gold led into the red accent color on the cuffs and hem, which as previously mentioned was a little out of place, but at least it was two warm colors blending into each other. on these jerseys, with the blue-gold-red order reversed, it becomes so much less effective. 

i wish the blues had done something better than amp up a color that does not belong in their visual identity.

and last, the worst reverse retro jersey, we have the anaheim ducks. good god, this jersey is atrocious. i know some people like it for the chaos factor, but i can’t even appreciate that. it’s just bad.

i’ll start off with the only thing at all redeeming about this jersey, which is the color scheme. the original mighty ducks teal and purple was such a unique color scheme for hockey, and for sports in general. the kings are the only other nhl team to have used purple, and the sharks are known for their teal, but the combination of those two was something weird but oddly effective. just to be something different, i’d love to see the ducks bring it back. maybe not permanently (i’d rather see a redesigned version of their home and away set), but perhaps on a third jersey better than this one.

now let’s tackle the design. the fucking wild wing jumping out of the ice just infuriates me. it would make a fine ad page in a magazine, but on a hockey jersey, it just looks out of place and bad. it’s too detailed to be a good hockey logo, since it’s constantly in motion on the ice, not to mention it just looks kind of stupid. plus, why the hell is the ice green. if you’re going to have a stupid design, at least make it make sense. the curved striping and shoulder yoke aren’t bad, and on a better jersey i might actually appreciate those choices, but the fucking wild wing design just completely ruins anything remotely good that may have been going on with this jersey. 

in summary, this jersey is absolutely terrible and i hate it.

to finish this off, let me share a few last-minute thoughts on some of the others.

honorable mentions

pittsburgh penguins: this jersey just agrees with me. i’m generally not a fan of the diagonal writing jerseys (too rangers-like for this devils fan), but i think the pens executed it well

vancouver canucks: usually, gradients do not equal anything good, but the boston pride’s away jerseys and these vancouver jerseys have started to make me change my tune. the original jerseys, with a blue to red gradient, did not look good, but i actually quite like the blue to green gradient. 

new jersey devils: i’m only a little biased. i’m a noted critic of the devils’ christmas tree heritage jerseys, so the green reverse retro scared me at first. but i gave them a good look and saw the design explanation about green for the garden state and the pine barrens, and they started to grow on me. 

dishonorable mentions

detroit red wings: it’s a practice jersey with gray stripes. they totally dropped the ball here, especially since detroit has such an extensive jersey history to take inspiration from.

new york islanders: dammit lou! instead of revitalizing the terrible-yet-iconic fisherman, the islanders decided to completely ignore the spirit of the reverse retros and basically do their regular jerseys but in navy blue. for shame.

send me a jersey and i’ll give you my opinions!

[dontdowhatisayandnobodygetshurt]

You can pick which ocs or all or none! Just some general questions: what's their daily routine? Dream job? Favorite baby names? Favorite animal? And comfort movie/movie genre?

ANON HELLO LOVE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ASKIN!! :D

This is gonna be for all of them, sooo…. under the cut bc I’m Considerate X’D

Daily Routine:

JuneWake up at 5AM because they crashed out on the couch and forgot to shut the blinds the whole way so Bright, stumble into bed till 10AM when their dog Taco wakes them up again. They feed him, have breakfast (usually leftovers.) Occasionally at this point they will go back to Hell for a while, check up on things (they are the Master of the Kennels after all, Dante’s happy to cover for them most of the time but they still have some Responsibilities.) On a normal day, though, they’ll probably just stay inside watching the worst Netflix has to offer (they love picking things apart/making fun at how bad it is.) In the evening, they always take Taco out for a walk (sometimes they do so in the morning as well.) Once it gets dark, they go out to the night’s bad diner/restaurant/fast food place and have fun terrifying the humans. Then they come home, have a shower/bath, do a face-mask, read one of the numerous shitty romance novels they have, and end up falling asleep on the couch most nights.

AugustWake up at 6AM or 12PM depending on whether or not she drank herself into unconsciousness the night before. Eat some healthy breakfast involving a lot of fruit (especially peaches, she loves peaches), and then she usually goes for a nice flight to stretch her wings for the day + wake up properly. After that, it’s work at home time (if she’s employed, sometimes she’s not.) Due to her ADHD, she suffers a lot from lack of focus and executive dysfunction, in order to combat that, she takes several long breaks throughout the day: to work out, to eat lunch, and to practice dance. When the sun sets, she eats dinner, goes for another flight, has a shower/bath, pampers herself a bit, and then practices her sword-play until 10PM, when she goes to bed or starts drinking till she passes out, depends. She has a few days a week dedicated to dancing, and goes to visit her siblings frequently - not to mention that her routine changes whenever she has a partner.

MyriadHonestly, they don’t have a routine. They’re so chaotic and they act almost entirely on their whims; if they want to do something, they will do it. The only consistent things in their life are hanging out with their many friends and doing their job, AKA. punishing the wicked in the most painful ways they can think up. So they could spend a day go-karting, a day assassinating someone for a lot of money, a day watching Disney films, a day spent in a club, a day fighting a unicorn while Mothman and a Jersey Devil watch and take bets, honestly who knows, my dude.

GingerShe never stays in one place too long and is travelling most of the time (she prefers driving to flying, and will hellgate her way onto a different continent instead of take a plane.) She’ll wake up either in the back of her car or in a cheap roadside motel and get on the road, stopping at any place that looks interesting (she’s especially fond of retro diners…. and yes, if there’s a jukebox, she will absolutely select a few What’s New Pussycat-s.) Might drop by to visit some friends, might flirt with a few girls as she goes. A life of adventure, rinse and repeat.

DanteDepends on where he is (eg. in Hell vs with Jesse and Vrox in their apartment), but the foundations stay the same: wake up early, take a shower, eat breakfast, warm up, work out, and then get down to business. Even if he wasn’t in Hell, he’ll go back there because managing the Kennels is his job, after all. He’ll check in on all the hounds, make sure everybody is accounted for and that nothing disastrous has happened (looking at you, Alric, we don’t eat people, do we?) He’ll check in on any new souls/hounds that have joined during the night and give them an explanation and welcome them into the pack. Then it’s time for lessons: aka, fight training. He normally teaches in big classes since it’s more efficient, but he occasionally does it one-on-one or two-on-one, etc. He also has an on-off mortal job teaching self defense when he feels like it. By the time it’s done, the day’s over. He might crash out straight away, or he’ll go back to earth and spend the night with Jesse and Vrox, or he’ll go and check up on June and spend time with them. Of course, he has days off, but this is his usual routine.

JesseWakes up at about 5:30AM, takes a minute to regret staying up till 3AM the night before, says good morning to boyfriend(s) within hearing range, puts his earbuds in to listen to music (alternatively talks to Dante if he’s there, because he’d always get up at the same time as him), then makes himself an absurdly big bowl of cereal and chows down. He has a job as a cashier in a 7-Eleven on weekdays so he normally goes to that, he also has an art class in the evenings every Tuesday. After his shift, he’ll go and check in on Vrox, who volunteers at an animal shelter, and they’ll normally go and get a late lunch. Then it’s normally home, or, if it’s a Tuesday, home by 10PM. He normally selects an album of choice and cranks the volume on the speakers, orders takeout for dinner, has a shower (using most of the hot water, rip Vrox), and dances (badly) with his boyfriend(s) until it’s time for bed. But… to put it delicately… not a lot of sleep happens right away. ahem. Also, if there is some kind of protest that he agrees with, he is most likely in on it holding a sign. He and Vrox have fighting lessons with Dante just like all the other hounds.

VroxUsually wakes up when Jesse does, but goes back to sleep because his shift starts at 9:30. He gets up, eats the leftover takeout if there is any leftover from Jesse’s bottomless pit of a stomach, and heads off. He’ll send a bunch of cute/funny photos and texts to Jesse throughout the day about the animals. Most of the time he schedules his therapy appointments for Tuesdays so while Jesse’s at art class he’s also doing something productive. He goes home afterward, has a quick shower in fear of the hot water running out because his asshole boyfriend always uses all of it, has dinner, enjoys the skull-shaking music blasting through the apartment, and goes to bed. He often loses control of his anger and needs to be locked up in a cage in Hell for a few days until he can change back from his hound form, but mostly his life is pretty uneventful.

BenHe’s a consistent little mouse man who tries to keep his head down and whose life has no surprises or excitement whatsoever. He wakes up at 7AM, has a shower, makes an instant coffee while he gets dressed, and goes to work, most often without any breakfast. He’s a teacher, so he’ll work the whole day, grab a sandwich from the little shop on the corner not far from the school when he has a moment, and then when the day’s over he’ll go home, heat up some canned soup or something and eat dinner while reading. He’ll go to bed, read for a few hours and most likely fall asleep while reading in the most uncomfortable position possible. Rinse and repeat. His only source of excitement is when Ginger shows up without warning and drags his boring ass out to do something fun for once.

EmalaLike her older brother, Emala is very dedicated to her work, which is in her case being a nurse at a children’s hospital. It takes up most of her time and she feels guilty any days she takes off, thinking that she should be there for the kids, and that as an angel she could do a better job of taking care of them and keeping them safe (not that she ever thinks this as insult toward human nurses, they are saints in her eyes and extremely talented.) She has a routine that runs super smoothly, get up early, drink some citrus tea, make her bed, say hello to her pet bird Sweet, have some breakfast, and go to work. When she gets home she lets Sweet out again, makes dinner, has a bath, occasionally does a face mask if she has the energy left or otherwise just moisturizes her skin, then crawls into bed, and admittedly cries most nights. Her job is incredibly taxing on her, she feels like she fails with every patient lost, and crying helps. She’s a big campaigner for unashamed crying. On her rare days off she either spends time with her siblings, goes for a wander around the city, or takes an Uber out into the countryside and finds somewhere nice for a picnic… but honestly most of the time she just chills out in her apartment with Sweet, reading, drinking tea and watching art tutorials because they are deeply calming to her.

MarsMars tends to spend a lot more time in Heaven than his siblings: he is the leader of his particular ‘family’ of angels, so he has more responsibilities than they do (it’s a running joke that he just boils with fond exasperation that they get to run around doing whatever they want while he has the ~REAL~ work.) Much like Dante with the pack, Mars make sure nothing disastrous is happening, that nobody in the family is breaking God’s rules, that they’re guarding the humans correctly, etc. When he is on earth, he enjoys travelling and doing whatever he wants whenever he wants. While he has no patience for work, he does greatly enjoy learning, so he often takes classes on subjects he is interested in. He has a lot of friends so he spends a lot of time at parties, mostly holding them himself since his homes have a lot of space. And if he has a partner at the time, he will be spending a lot of time with them… unfortunately. And he visits his baby sisters a lot, because Father knows he needs to look after them.

TacoBARK AT PIGEONS. A LOT. ANNOY THE MASTER. A LOT. EAT. A LOT. COMPLAIN ABOUT NOT HAVING ENOUGH FOOD. A LOT. BITE THE MASTER’S FEET. A LOT. WAG TAIL VERY A LOT. GO FOR A LOT WALK. MAKE NEW A LOT NEW FRIENDS. NAP. A LOT. FUN!! :D

Dream Jobs:

JuneThey landed their dream job already. Master of Hell’s Kennels. Very minimal work on their part since their second-in-command does most of it gladly. All they have to do is check on things every once in a while, other than that, they can kick back and relax. As you may be able to tell, June is a lazy little bugger - and proud of it, too!

AugustShe actually likes her current job quite a bit: graphic design. It’s calming for her, she gets to be creative, and since she can work from home, she can adjust it as needed for their mental health. She also tried being a ballet teacher… she liked it in theory, but she’s not the best teacher, unlike her eldest brother.

MyriadThey own several nightclubs, they also have a tendency of making certain people disappear while also mysteriously acquiring a large amount of cash around the same time. Generally if you pay them, they’ll do pretty much anything… just make sure you don’t try to sic them on a target who is a good person, that won’t end well for you since they always do their research. But they are the demon of punishment, and the work they were made for is by far their favourite job.

GingerShe’s had pretty much every job there is to have in her very long life, but none of them suit her. She prefers to be a free, unemployed bird with all her amassed money, only working when she absolutely has to. She’s no exactly picky though when it comes to it, so long as she’s not stuck behind a desk/generally unable to move around, she is an energetic gal.

DanteSoldier. But since June’s grounded him from fighting in any more wars since he almost got himself killed last time (and almost left THEM with the full responsibility of the pack, how dare he, it’s not at all like they actually care about him or anything it’s not at all like that) he’s fallen back to the next best thing: self defense training (and in the case of the pack, war training.) He likes the idea of helping people become stronger and more confidant, with the upside of maybe saving some lives. He also likes being the pack’s enforcer and June’s second-in-command. He enjoys looking after his new, big family, and he’s always been a natural leader.

JesseFamous artist. At least, that was his dream as a little kid. Now with the whole ‘living forever’ thing, he’s sort of given up. He doesn’t want to have to fake his own death or anything. He doesn’t really know what he wants anymore, and while that does make him feel sad and listless at times, he’s also pretty content with his life at the moment.

VroxHas never had any idea. He really like being around animals, though, maybe when he’s got his anger issues more under-control he’ll seek out actual work with them, like being a dog trainer.

BenBefore he fell, he was very reckless and irresponsible and never wanted to do anything work-related. After he fell, he realized what a jackass he’d been and also realized that A) he’d always loved kids, B) he has a fuck ton of knowledge due to how long he’d been alive, and C) wanted to become a teacher. He threw himself into the career and he loves it.

EmalaShe’s the angel of healing, it’s always been her thing. She flits from being a nurse to being a doctor every couple of centuries or so, and she prefers to work in children’s hospitals since she has a soft spot for kids, like her older brother.

MarsHas always been pretty happy with being the leader of his angelic family, even if he does complain about his little sisters getting off Scot-free while he got landed with it. He has absolutely no patience for mortal jobs, though, especially since his time on earth is his free time, he doesn’t want another job.

TacoIs very happy + content with his role as June’s therapy animal companion and protector (because a tiny black pug is absolutely terrifying and very fierce and absolutely nobody would mess with him.)

Favourite Baby Names:

Honestly part of the reason this took so long was because I was wracking my brains trying to think what they liked, but they wouldn’t talk to me about it. A lot of them have literally never thought about it, since demons are infertile (or rather, they think they are) and angels are forbidden from ever having children - and most of them don’t give a shit. But, that being said:

JuneThey were going to name their baby girl Lía.

AugustLikes the name River. She just think it’s pretty, not intended for any baby tho since the idea of piping-hot-mess-August with a baby is pretty laughable, even without God’s rule in place.

EmalaReally likes very common baby names, like Tom for a boy and Ava for a girl. Though she is proud of being an angel and her power and her ability to help others, sometimes she just wants a normal life with a normal family. She desperately wants children of her own, always has, though she tries not to dwell on it, because it makes her sad.

Favourite Animal:

JuneDogs. They hate dogs slightly less than they hate all other living creatures.

AugustShe likes cats. Like calls to like, I guess, since she practically is a cat in angel form.

MyriadSnakes. Hey, venomous buddies gotta stick together! (She actually has a very not venomous pet ball python named Albert.)

GingerHorses. Speed and power are kind of her thing.

DanteSharks 110%.

JesseActually loves cats and is devastated that cats no longer like him.

VroxLoves all animals but does have a soft spot for small ones like mice/hamsters/etc. They’re just… so small… if you want to see Vrox terrified, fascinated and borderline teary from love just dump a hamster in his hands.

BenThere’s a little spider that lives in the corner of his room next to his stack of philosophy books. He hasn’t named it, but they exist together in a companionable peace: if you asked him, he’d say it was his favourite animal.

EmalaLoves birds with her whole heart and is always salty that birds tend to like August more than they like her.

MarsLoves birds like Emala, particularly birds of prey. He has dabbled in falconry several times and greatly enjoys it.

TacoHIMSELF. ALSO. ANYTHING BUT PIGEONS. 

Favourite Movie Genre(s):

JuneAnything trashy and terrible, no matter what the genre. June is a connoisseur of shitty things and loves ripping things to shreds like the little vulture they are. They love bad horror movies for the bad special effects, bad romcoms for the terrible plots and forced chemistry (though they do kinda gag a bit at the romance because they are~ ~allergic~ to love.) Generally if you give them a terrible movie, they will be the world’s happiest little demon. Their absolute favourite ones, though, are slasher horror films and black comedies.

AugustShe loves romantic comedies, NEVER LET HER TELL YOU ANY DIFFERENTLY. She also likes dramas though.

MyriadCan watch and enjoy anything, but prefers lighthearted things like comedies and particularly likes slapstick because they’re an actual 2 year old. They also enjoy thrillers and sci-fi.

GingerAbsolutely an action gal but will also go for a romance anytime.

DanteLikes Disney/Pixar movies and is kinda proud of it. Also finds westerns and action cool.

JesseHonestly loves art films and niche/indie films in general. He gets a bit annoyed that so many amazing movies are never shown to the wider public eye and is on a mission to find/watch them all. + Since he missed out on so much time between the time he died and now, he watches a wide range of movies from black-and-white to the present to try and catch up.

VroxLikes adventure/action/thriller movies, or generally movies where, quote “things actually happen.” no he doesn’t share Jesse’s more metaphorical and creative streak

BenHe, with a lot of shame, likes family movies. He’s so stressed and sad in day to day life, he doesn’t want to feel that while watching fictional media. Whenever he does actually get around to watching movies, he wants the feel-good stuff.

EmalaRomance, documentaries, drama, mystery, fantasy - Mala loves a wide range of movies. And while horror isn’t her favourite genre, she can watch any horror movie without flinching once; she’s rather unimpressed by them.

MarsDefinitely that guy who goes back to watch the old silent films a lot. He doesn’t like fast-paced stuff, prefers mysteries and dramas to anything else. He thinks comedy is a bit tasteless, and likes well-crafted movies that have deeper meanings.

TacoDog movies!! Movies with dogs!! Yes!!!!1!

[lalainajanes]

96 & 81. I’m a new fan of your writing! Ugh I love klaroline so much

96 Scars + 81 The Missus and The Ex

She’s known Klaus forabout a year, has recently been out on three excellent dates with him, when shefinds out his deep dark secret.

She'd have beenpissed it but it’s too freaking hilarious for her to work up any righteousindignation.

One quick Google andCaroline gets why he’d kept his mouth shut. She’d made some questionablechoices at nineteen, ones she’s really glad aren’t immortalized on the internetforever.

Klaus Mikaelson, ubersnob about popular culture, prickly unless sufficiently motivated, and scornfulof vast swathes of humanity, had once starred on a reality TV show.

And not just anyreality TV show. He’d been on what had essentially been a Jersey Shore rip-off.Just set in a swanky London apartment and with fancy accents. It had onlylasted one season.

The partying anddrunken fights and hookups appear to be pretty much the same.

Klaus had sportedhighlights and worn baggy t-shirts and baseball caps and belted his pants toshow off his boxers. Teen!Caroline probably would have thought he was hot butpresent day Caroline has a plan to slip some cheap ribbed tanks and self-tannerinto Klaus’ birthday gifts.

His exasperated faceis super cute.

She’d taken thebombshell pretty well and Klaus had endured her giggling over old pictures (toa point but Caroline wasn’t going to complain about him kissing her as adistraction).

When she’d gottenhome it had been impossible to resist pulling out her laptop and looking forclips.

And when it turnedout the series was all online? Well, she’d ordered takeout and settled in for amarathon.

Six episodes in andshe’s kind of obsessed. The version of Klaus on her screen is fascinating. Shesees tiny glimmers of the man she knows but he also seems to be a bit of ajerk. He sneakily leaves little sketches of his roommates on their beds. Thenot so flattering ones cause some drama and the good ones end up pinned in thecommunal kitchen. He oozes cockiness and has a tendency to flex when he’sshirtless, sometimes walks in a way that could only be called a swagger.

He flirts shamelesslybut his interest in one of his housemates seems genuine. Unfortunately, she’salready in a relationship.

Caroline has amillion questions, starting with why in the world had he ever even auditioned,and she’s considering making a list.

Caroline (9:14 PM): I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were involved in AN ACTUAL LOVETRIANGLE!

Caroline (9:14 PM): I’m kinda jealous.

Caroline (9:15 PM): I’m think I’m rooting for Lucien though. Sorry. He’s just so freakinginto her.

Caroline (9:15 PM): Making out with Aurora’s visiting BFF was a dick move, btw.

Klaus (9:17 PM): Sadly, that was far from the worst of my poor decisions.

Caroline (9:18 PM): Oooh, ominous.

Caroline (9:18 PM): I’m excited.

Klaus (9:19 PM): I don’t suppose I could convince you to stop watching?

Caroline (9:20 PM): Are offering me sexual favours? ;)

Klaus (9:20 PM): Obviously.

Caroline (9:21 PM): Sorry, I’ve gotta pass. Something tells me you’re going to be pretty easy.

Caroline (9:22 PM): But don’t worry. I promise not to hold anything you did 9 years agoagainst you.

Klaus (9:23 PM): I appreciate that.

She starts up episodeseven. It opens the morning after Klaus’ attempt to make Aurora jealous, thecamera lingering on him in bed, very naked under a single crumpledsheet.

Is it pervy thatshe’s ogling him? Probably, since he’d been practically a baby.

Klaus is awakenedrudely by Aurora upending a large-ish bucket of water on him, he leaps from thebed, shouting slurred profanities.

Screw it, Carolinethinks, as she turns up the brightness on her screen and leans in, eyeing theareas where the wet sheet now clings. No one has to know about the ogling.

Aurora and BabyKlausengage in a fight that is loud and rambling and Caroline thanks whateverproduction grunt had been tasked with painstakingly subtitling it. Aurora triesto cite friend code, Klaus counters that she has a boyfriend so it really isn’ther business what (or whom) he does. He scoffs at her assertion that he’d beentrying to hurt her, smiling cruelly and informing Aurora that she’s just notthat important.

Caroline winces whenAurora bursts into tears. Klaus’ regret is plain but he storms away withoutapologizing.

She fast forwardsthrough some plot involving other housemates, pauses when she sees Klaus again.He’s at the club they seem to hang out at most, the kind with pumping music andflashing lights. Caroline assumes the venue had some kind of deal with theproducers. He’s slamming back shots, his mood less than festive, and Carolineassumes he’s about to do something dumb.

Approximately thirtyseconds later the camera captures him punching Lucien.

Angry drunk boys, sopredictable.

It’s chaos on herscreen, other people seem to pile on and the cameras are constantly jostled.Caroline can barely make out who is who. Aurora’s red hair is distinct, andshe’s in the corner of the frame, yelling, having climbed on the bar.

When things calm downKlaus is bleeding. His hand clutches his opposite arm and the sleeve of hisshirt saturated and dark red.

Caroline (9:45 PM): No fair. You totally have a way cooler how I got this scar story thanme.

Klaus (9:46 PM): So you’ve never needed a dozen stitches after a bar fight?

Caroline (9:47 PM): Nope. But I guess I’ve still got time.

Klaus (9:48 PM): It’s good to have goals.

She feels a littleanxious watching Klaus get loaded into an ambulance, seeing him in pain andstruggling to answer the EMTs questions. Silly, since he’s perfectly fine andjoking with her via text, only a few blocks away.

The episode ends withthe ambulance door closing, his roommates huddled together for warmth on thesidewalk watching it drive away.

Caroline checks thetime, debates moving on to another episode. She doesn’t actually have to go tobed for another hour so she could watch some more. She knows Klaus andAurora must hook up at some point - Caroline’s watched plenty of reality TV andKlaus’ show was less subtle than most.

She hasn’t feltjealous yet, doubts she will. She’d lose her shit if Klaus were to up and getweird about her high school boyfriends. They weren’t any of his business andCaroline’s not going to make a fuss just because she can see one of Klaus’ pastrelationships with her own two eyes thanks to the magic of technology.

Veering in a more romanticdirection with Klaus has been really good, and he’d made it clear it wassomething he’d wanted for a while. His past has no bearing on their present.

Besides, Carolinekind of likes Aurora, or at least the version the cameras capture. She’s a littledramatic, sucks at any and all forms of housework, but is at least willing tolaugh at herself. Plus, the poor girl’s family seems nuts - a phoneconversation with her parents had been icy and her brother had appearedonscreen only to lecture her about how unbecoming it was to associate withpeople beneath her and how Aurora was shaming the family.

Caroline doesn’t havesiblings but her knee jerk reaction had been a big fat yikes.

Plus, it’s not hardto see the behind the scenes manipulations. Aurora’s confessionals often havingher comparing and contrasting Klaus and Lucien, waffling about her feelings,and Caroline can easily envision the leading questions that she’d had to dealwith.

The results ofshoving young, attractive people together, forcing them to interact, andsupplying copious amounts of booze, are pretty predictable.

See: the bajillionvarieties of Real Housewives.

There’s no wayCaroline’s curiosity will survive not knowing how things end but she can wait abit. She shuts her laptop and stretches out the kinks in her back, grabbing herphone once more.

Caroline (9:56 PM): Do you want to get lunch tomorrow?

Klaus (9:57 PM): So you can interrogate me, I presume?

Caroline (9:58 PM): Yep. You don’t have to answer anything if you don’t want to though. I’mjust super fascinated by how that guy became, well, you.

Klaus (9:59 PM): Not sure how to take that, love.

Caroline (9:59 PM): I meant it in a good way. I like you. The you I know.

Caroline (10:00 PM): Past you seems kind of exhausting and I want to reach into my laptopand shake him sometimes.

Caroline (10:01 PM): Mostly because his commitment to hats is out of control.

Caroline (10:01 PM): Please tell me you got rid of those.

“Oh my god, I need tostop,” Caroline mutters. She closes her eyes, huffs out a laugh. Maybe sheshould have just gone to bed. She resists the urge to apologize for rambling.No need to call attention to it.

Klaus (10:02 PM): The only hats I own are functional, designed for warmth

Klaus (10:02 PM): I like the you that you are now too.

Klaus (10:03 PM): I can meet you at 1. Does that work for you?

She smiles down ather phone, taps out a quick affirmative. Retro trashy reality TV can wait,she’s got a fourth date outfit to put together.

[sockdreams]

Socks Through Time: History of Top-Stripes

If you've been paying attention to fashion trends for 2018, you may have noticed that top-striped styles are currently a must-have. Being the nerds and amateur historians that we are, we decided to look into the history of this look, and the results were both surprising, and reassuring.

But what is surprising about the history of top-stripes? Well, in this day and age we tend to associate the look with sporty styles, and for most of the 20th century that's really what a top-striped sock was: athletic. However, in our research we were excited to find some super-elegant top striped stockings, such as this beautiful "clocked" style (for more info on clocking, see one of our previous blogs, Historical Costuming Part 2!) from the late 17th century.

Image under public domain, sourced from metmuseum.org, a Gift of Henri-Marcel Cadgene, 1955

Here the top stripes appear to tie the gold clocked design into the overall composition of the stocking, and may also serve to provide a reinforced/more textured area for era-appropriate ribbon garters to grip, since the blue body of the stocking would have been a fine silk. This is really just an assumption on our part, but we think it's safe to say that these were not intended for athletic wear.

The earliest appearance of something like top-striped athletic socks that our internet sleuthing skills could unearth happens in the 1910's, which seems to be about the time that sports teams began adopting them as uniform socks. Interestingly, the two or three stripes on these styles weren't placed at the very tops of the socks, but when you look at the way the members of the 1912 West Point football team (can you spot the former US President in their line-up?) wear pants that come to just below their knees, overlapping with the tops of the socks, it begins to make sense. In this context, the stripes are about as high up as you can see on the sock, creating the illusion of "true" top-stripes. On the other hand, the North Carolina Tarheels Men's Basketball team of 1911 wore shorts, which gives us a better look at their socks!

West Point Football Team, 1912. Public Domain via wikimedia commons.

North Carolina Tarheels Men's Basketball Team, 1911. Public domain via wikimedia commons.

But American Football is not the only football at play here, and the top-striped sporty sock style was definitely not confined to the 1910's! Enter Dick, Kerr's Ladies Football Club of Lancashire, England! This team was wildly popular from 1917 until 1965, when women's teams were banned by the Football Association, supposedly because women were too delicate to play sports, but most likely in reality because the women's games regularly outsold the men's games that were held on the same days. While we don't have photographic evidence of every iteration of their uniforms, we have got these lovely photos of their team from the early 1920's sporting thick, ribbed black socks with top stripes, not unlike our Sporty Stripe OTKs!

Dick, Kerr's Ladies F. C., 1921. Photo is US public domain, via wikipedia.

For a better look at those nice thick turn-cuff socks, we present you with this (incidentally adorable) photo of the team captains kissing.

The team captains, 1920. Public domain, via wikimedia commons.

Now, some of you sports enthusiasts might be wondering about a certain other ballgame with a long history of sock-related superstition, as well as multiple teams named after socks. If that wasn't enough hints, we're talking about baseball! Though the earliest uniforms used solid colored socks, by the 1930's these sporty little details had worked their way into baseball uniforms too! As you can see from this photo of the American League's 1937 All-Star players, different teams used different numbers of stripes, while the Yankee's stuck with solids (maybe because they're already wearing pinstriped uniforms). Of course the Red Sox are the sock-themed team, so it makes perfect sense that their socks would have the most stripes!

From left to right Lou Gehrig, Joe Cronin, Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx, and Hank Greenberg. Image sourced via Library of Congress, Harris & Ewing photograph collection.

Taking a closer look at the above image, you might also notice that those socks are lacking certain socky features... things like heels and toes. It appears that these were a sort of stirruped over-sock, which covered the white socks that you can see peeping out of their shoes. While we weren't able to find much information about this particular feature in our researching, our best guess is that this allowed for consecutive wears of the uniform "socks" without washings in-between, as the more generic foot-covering under-socks could be traded out for clean pairs each day -- it's the same reasoning behind this author's love of our Long Cuffable Scrunchable Leg Warmers. It's like my favorite socks, but I can wear them every day for weeks without washing them!

But ball sports weren't the only sports to get in on this trend! What about puck sports? You know, hockey! Introducing the Preston Rivulettes of Canada! We were delighted to discover photos of this women's hockey team  in what looks like something akin to our Super Long Ribbed Leg Warmers, only with sporty stripes! Now, like the early rugby socks we looked at, the stripes aren't at the top of the sock (or sock-like garment), but their sparseness is what gives them that distinctly sporty look. Somehow two stripes just looks more aerodynamic than a whole sockful of stripes!

Preston Rivulettes  Postcard, 1940. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Now let's get back to football. Or is it soccer? You know -- the one with the spherical ball! Foot(spherical)ball is by far the most popular sport internationally, and like any sport their fans are passionate. We mention this only as framing for the following image, because we want you to really feel the excitement of the moment captured! The year is 1966, and Club Atlético Peñarol of Uruguay has just won the Copa Libertadores de América -- the premier South American football club tournament. Though Peñarol had won the first two editions of the tournament in 1960 and '61, this was their big comeback after other teams took the title in 1962 - '65. You can tell from the spirit of the photo that this was a big moment for the team, as they run across the field celebrating. Possibly even more exciting is the fact that they appear to be wearing almost the exact same socks as the Dick, Kerr's Ladies Football Club circa 1921! To our minds, this firmly places the top striped athletic sock is the Classics category, along with the Doric column.

Club Atlético Peñarol's 1966 Copa Libertadores victory. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

And because we just can't get enough of those groovy soccer uniforms, it's time we took a look at what's been lauded as one of the most attractive uniform designs in football history, belonging to the Peru National Football Team. The white jerseys with red horizontal "sashes" are designed to reference games played between schools, in which both teams would wear white shirts with a removable colored sash, to easily distinguish team members. The uniform also features white socks with red top-stripes, to match.

Peru 1970 National Football Team. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

You may have noticed that the era we most associate with top striped socks is the 1960's and especially the 1970's. Another big trend that emerged at around the same time, and which coexisted beautifully with the aforementioned socks, was skating. Roller skating had already been around since 1760, and in a way it was roller skates that gave birth to the first skateboards in the late 1940's, which consisted of wooden planks with added roller skate wheels. The early 70's saw the invention of  polyurethane wheels, which made for a smoother ride, better traction, and generally a more enjoyable experience. This precipitated a sudden rise in popularity for skating, and brought us the iconically 1970's skater fashions that we know and love today!

From the first Tokyo Bombers: Yasuko Sasaki, Tiger forest, Yumiko Horii, Rikki Endo, Kazuo Kono, Keiko Ayabe, Mickey Kakuda. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

For whatever reason, we found it next to impossible to find public domain photos of 1970's skateboarders, so while we aren't able to post the great photos we looked at here, we're happy to link you to them! We were really into this collection of Los Angeles skateboarders by photographer Hugh Holland. You can also find some interesting background information on how the skateboarding trend was influenced by a severe drought!

House Brand Top-Stripes

At last we have arrived at the point in our Sock Journal where we show you what we've got! Options for recreating this ultra-sporty look are luckily quite plentiful, so let's start out with some of our house brand options! While we only have two top-striped styles in our Dreamer Socks line, they're some heavy hitters! With 12 different colorways and 28 inch top-stretch, our Dreamer Americana Thigh Highs have rocketed into our top sellers! At a more classic length, the Retro Sport Socks come in three sporty colorways -- depending on your favorite team, we might even have your colors!

Dreamer Americana Thigh Highs * Retro Sport Socks

Our DreaM Stockings line includes a pretty great variety of top-striped styles, some of which are particularly good for that thicker, vintage vibe. Some are even authentically tube socks!

Dreamy Striped Over the Knee Tube Socks * Dreamy Knee High Tube Socks * Top Striped Over the Knee Tube Socks

The Skater Stripes (which are discontinued, so get yours while the getting's good!) and Sorcerer Socks are very similar beasts, only the skater stripes are a cotton blend and come in more stripe variations, while the Sorcerer Socks are nylon and feature colors for the Hogwarts houses.

Skater Stripes * Sorcerer Socks

The Skater Stripes are being phased out in favor of some of the newer options we now carry, including the taller, ribbed Sporty Stripe Over the Knee Socks, which I previously mentioned are a pretty good match for those 1920's soccer uniform socks.

Sporty Stripe Over the Knee Socks

The final styles on our tour of house brand top stripes combine two of our favorite things: marled yarn and top-stripes! If you've been following our company over the years, you may have noticed our obsession with marled socks. There was an era when we couldn't find any marled yarns and had no marled socks (after years of carrying O Marleds - the precursor to our M45s and Confetti M45s, which are made on the same machines the O Marleds used to be knitted on) but we found ways of getting around that issue, which is what happens when you're utterly determined to have your favorite pattern. We think the marriage of these two patterns is a match made in heaven!

Top-Striped Marled Slouch Socks * Top-Striped Marled Scrunchable Socks

Other Suppliers's Top-Stripes

Of course we also carry lots of top striped styles from our other suppliers! For instance, most Gumball Poodle socks, which are made in the classic "cheer sock" style, come with top stripes, but some go above and beyond, incorporating the top stripe into the design, or in the case of their PRINCESS socks, turning it into a crown.

PRINCESS Knee Highs * Stormy Weather Over the Knee Socks * Bored AF Crews

Stance is another supplier that features a lot of top-stripes, and it's not too surprising given that their styles are geared towards skateboarders and surfers! We enjoy the way they mix it up with wild patterns from time to time, too!

Durango Midcalves * Mega Babe Crews * Me Vs. You Kids' Crews

Another supplier that tends to surprise us with their top-stripes is Leg Avenue. Their offerings tend more towards the hosiery and lingerie end of the spectrum, and yet they manage to work some elegant top stripes into that wheelhouse, which is appropriately "full circle" given that we started out with those fancy 17th century stockings!

Sheer Stockings with Striped Tops * Over the Rainbow Thigh High * Lurex Anklets

Of course we have plenty of other top-striped options, but to feature all of them would make for a very long blog indeed. Instead, we encourage you to check out the entire top-striped collection, because there's a reason this look never seems to go out of fashion. As a style that has been around for centuries, top-stripes are truly timeless.

♥~Rosalind Socks by Sock Dreams • Free Shipping in the US • $5 International Shipping Find us on facebook | twitter | pinterest | instagram | sock journal | g+

[jamesjerseystoreblog]

How Clay Matthews' Retro Alternate Jersey Boosted My NFL Interest

Remember those jerseys the Green Bay Packers wore when they played the San Francisco 49ers? Those were something weren't they? I haven't seen a color scheme that plain since the time when the NFL used leather helmets! Well I did some research, and it turns out that those jerseys from week 13 are in fact retro jerseys. From 1929 to be exact. That was the year they went undefeated and won their 1st championship. Now you see your favorite pack wearing those old school colors or you can sport one yourself. Arguably, the most popular Packer today is Clay Matthews. The guy is so good at what he does, I question his humanity. Can you imagine a Clay Matthews blue retro alternate replica jersey with a matching leather helmet? That's just awesome.

Who knows. Maybe they should wholesale replica jerseys were those uniforms more often because they smashed the San Francisco 49ers--the only time they wore those uniforms this season: 34--16. The Clay Matthews blue retro alternate replica jersey (yeah, he's no longer a person, but a giant tackling piece of fabric) didn't stand out that game, but the team as a whole, particularly the offense, ran smoothly--brand new car smooth.

I argue that retro jerseys and throwback uniforms be worn more often. The Green Bay Packers wore theirs only one time this season. That's terrible. Including throwbacks, every NFL team has at least two other jerseys: White & Team color. Retro's and throwback can (no, SHOULD) be worn at least one third of the entire NFL season and for the first game in the post season should a team make it in. The world needs more Clay Matthews blue retro alternate replica jerseys in season!

My strongest supporting point for the NFL to promote more retro jerseys to be worn during the season is history promotion. When I saw the Packers sporting blue and yellow retro jerseys, I immediately noticed they were not the current team colors and went out and researched its origins. This in turn, will more people's interest in team, their players, the history and so on. What if I had not watched that week thirteen regular season game (the only opportunity to see those team uniforms)? Would I have otherwise know about them? Would I looked into the history of this historic franchise and uncovered the roots of those colors? Heck, would I have been that much more interested in wanting my own Clay Matthews blue retro alternate jersey? The answer to all those question would be an astounding no.

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“100% THE GAME LOSERS”

A/N: Okay so I normally don’t write things, but I got super inspired by @robot-anon‘s 1000 Follower Contest! I saw the quote “If you take one more photo I swear I’ll--” and immediately thought of Life is Strange!! Now, this post does contain spoilers because there isn’t really a way to avoid them when writing about the plot, but I did the best I could! I also tried to stay gender neutral, so my apologies if the piece becomes more feminine at times. Please take the trigger warnings seriously! 

TRIGGER WARNINGS: mentions of rape, mentions of drug use, mentions of non-consensual actions, Life is Strange spoilers, swearing, mentions of domestic abuse, and mentions of sexual assault in general. 

You knocked on Jeremy’s door with your right hand just as the sun was setting in New Jersey. Your left hand kept a tight grasp around a small rectangular case as you slightly smiled to yourself. There was a chill in the air, but the weather in New Jersey wasn’t anything new, even though you had just moved across the country a year ago. The golden hour had just begun, the sunlight giving everything a heavenly glow. Time to show Jeremy what he’s missing out on.

Mr. Heere opened the door, and surprisingly, he looked more…put together than usual (as in, he was actually wearing pants). He smiled a warm smile that matched the golden sunlight that was cast on the Heere’s front porch while opening the front door a little wider so you could come into the house. “Hi (Y/N),” he said, the large smile remaining static, “Jeremy and Michael are downstairs in the basement.”

You stepped into the house, while thanking Mr. Heere before practically hurling yourself down the stairs and into the basement.

Apocalypse of the Damned flashed on the TV, and you lunged towards the two boys who were silent in concentration. Trying not to disturb them any more than you already had, you carefully managed to sit between the two, half of your body on Michael’s bean bag, and the other half on Jeremy’s.

The three of you sat in comfortable silence as Jeremy and Michael attempted to get past Level 10 (they had beaten level 9 right after the SQUIP incident, the SQUIP-cident if you will, and just before they met you).

“GAME OVER” flashed on the screen in big red letters as both boys sighed. “DAMN IT” Michael yelled as he tossed the controller to the side. You let out a small chuckle as the two boys mourned their loss. Again.

“Hey (Y/N),” Jeremy greeted after a moment. You weren’t offended that they hadn’t greeted you when you got there. This was typical for Game Night, and you knew how hard they had worked on Level 10. Why they still couldn’t beat it was beyond you.

“Hey Jeremy,” you greeted before smirking at Michael. “Hi Michael, looking peachy as usual.”

He rolled his eyes playfully before sending you a smirk back. “Aww thanks, (Y/N). You know we were aiming to lose, that’s just how we play.”

“Surprisingly, that makes a lot of sense. I mean when the three of us play Mario Kart, that seems to be the common goal between the two of you,” you sassed back.

“HEY!” They shouted as they sat up. You could hardly contain the laughter from creeping out as the two pretended that they were extremely offended.  

It wasn’t that they were bad, it’s just that you had experience. You had been playing with your brother since you were two, and he had taught you every trick in the book. You knew the tracks by heart on most systems, and could play almost any cup with your eyes closed. Of course, Jeremy and Michael put up a good fight, but you still ended up on top.

“Whatcha got there?” Jeremy asked, pulling you out of your thoughts.

“It was my turn to pick the game for Game Night. So I picked my favorite one,” you gave a small, but extremely genuine smile.

“Which one?”

“Life is Strange.”

“Wait…isn’t that single player?” Michael asked, his eyebrows furrowing. You nodded in response before showing the game in all of its glory.

“And haven’t you played it like 5 times?”

“Try 8 times, Heere,” you shot back, proud of yourself for logging over 150 hours into this somewhat obscure game.

“Okay…so why are we playing it tonight? It breaks not just one, but two of our Game Night rules. It’s single player and you’ve played it before. 8 times apparently,” Jeremy said, looking at you with confusion.

“Because you guys need to play it. It’s a part of me. I love this game so damn much, and I’ve devoted my only free time since Spring 2016 to this game. I mean, it’s a godsend. This game helps me relax, and sometimes it helps me sleep. So, if you want to get to know me better, which I know both of you do, we are going to sit here and play this game until we’re finished. No excuses, no buts, no shit talking from the peanut gallery. IE: you two.”

“Alright then, no sleeping buddy,” Michael teased, poking at your side. “It’s your game. You gotta stay up and play it with us.”

You giggled at Michael’s usual antics before quickly noticing that he was actually right. You weren’t lying: this game helped you relax and sleep when life was hitting you hardest. But you had committed to it. There is no way that Michael and Jeremy would be able to finish this game on their own in one night. Between the fetch quests and memory quizzes, it would take these boys over 20 hours to complete it. And the bottle collecting for Chloe Price in Episode 2 was a two-hour task on its own if you weren’t an experienced player. They definitely needed you awake.

“I promise to try my best,” you stated, confidently.

“Okay, so how is this going to work?” Jeremy asked, eyeing the controller. It was obvious that he wanted to be the person controlling Max, but Life is Strange is a choice-based game. It requires the most observant player, the most patient people, and most importantly, the ones who can keep a cool head when things get crazy. Michael and Jeremy did not seem to meet all of the requirements. Not yet, at least.

They were absolutely experienced in video games, but the two had never played something that required so much thought. Sure, the decisions get harder, but decisions are not levels. This was not the average mainstream retro game like Apocalypse of the Damned. No, this required thought, and someone who knew that they were doing.

“You guys will make the decisions. I have no input unless you two are truly conflicted on something. I will hit whatever button you guys tell me to. There is no timer for making the choices, and no quick time, so we don’t have to worry about how long each debate about decisions will take. I know where everything is for the fetch quests, and I wanted to 100% the game on your guys’ first play through. Some of the achievements are super hard to get. Plus, how sick would those bragging rights be?”

“There are achievements?” Jeremy asked, sounding skeptical.

“How does that work?” Michael followed up.

“There are optional photos you can take in every episode. Those count as trophies, or achievements,” you explained, already standing up to insert the game into Jeremy’s PS4.

“Sounds like you’ve thought about this,” Michael noted, eyeing up the game’s case.

You stood in front of the TV for a second, thinking about everything you would need. You had the game, the seating arrangement, how the game was to be played; what else did you need? Michael probably needs another slushie, and maybe all three of you need snacks?

“Hey Michael?”

“Yeah?”

“This game takes 10 hours to complete. You might want a slushie to help you get through it.”

“And maybe some snacks if we’re in for the long haul?” Jeremy quickly added on.

“Anything else you want before Servant Michael goes to 7/11?”

“It was just a suggestion,” you reminded as Michael grabbed his keys.

“Nah, I’m not mad at you. Jeremy, however, owes me one big favor when I get back because he didn’t offer to tag along and help with both the choosing and carrying of the snacks.”

“Dude, I don’t want to leave her here alone with my dad. That’s...more than embarrassing.”

“Fair point. I’ll be back soon, you two.”

You waved Michael goodbye as he climbed up the stairs and out of the house. You decided to be a little sneaky and wait until Michael was gone before sitting yourself down in his usual spot.

You and Jeremy made small talk in the basement as you waited for Michael to get back. The 7/11 was only a 4-minute drive, and you were sure that he’d be back shortly.

Talking with Jeremy was always a little bit interesting. Sometimes he was awkward, or sometimes things were stuttered out, or sometimes he was embarrassed because he accidentally overshared, but overall, Jeremy was a pretty good conversationalist once he got comfortable. Which was nice, honestly. Because you often tend to be okay at making typical and cliché small talk (you and the SQUIP Squad have talked about the weather a lot) for the first part of the conversation, but run out of things to say. However, whenever you and Jeremy talked, it was easy. If you ran out of things to say, Jeremy would become comfortable enough to come up with something relating to whatever you were talking about. It was a nice balance between the two of you.

“I have a question for you,” Jeremy started, looking at the game’s case.

“What’s up, Jer?”

“Why do you love this game so much?” He asked innocently.

Your mind went blank for a second. “Feminism,” you spat out quickly. Your gaze shifted towards your lap as soon as the word exited your lips. Sure, it was feminism. But it was also so much more. It was everything to you, the first “real” game you’d ever played. It was your outlet for any stress, it was a way to be undetected; it was an escape.

“Are you sure that that’s the only reason why you like it?” Jeremy asked, trying to meet your eyes. He knew that whenever you did this, you weren’t telling the whole truth. This was a way for you to dodge questions because it would force you to go deeper into your personal life. He knew you weren’t really a sharer, but also knew that you’d spent so many hours not only playing this game, but researching the science of it, researching strategy to get new outcomes, and, of course, waiting for the sequel. There was definitely more you loved about this game than ‘feminism’.

You opened your mouth to answer his question (actually, you were probably going to make a self-depreciating joke, which was also a defense mechanism), but Michael waltzed back into the room, cherry slushie in hand. He had a bag of snacks in his other hand, claiming that there was no Game Night complete without eating your weight in junk food.

He reached into the bag, and pulled out some ice cream. He handed the frozen treat to you as Jeremy grabbed the controller and booted up the game. Slowly but surely, Michael had dispersed the snacks in front of all 3 of you. As you opened up your ice cream, and Michael handed you a spoon, you decided that now was probably a good time to talk about some themes in this game.

“Alright guys, listen up.”

The two boys looked at you sharply as the game continued to load onto the screen. You noticed that your voice had gotten a lot quieter than it was when you thanked Michael for the ice cream and spoon.

“This game deals with some…sensitive issues. I know that sometimes you guys get upset when people are mistreated, so if either of you need to take a break to cool off a little bit, let the group know.”

“We can handle it, (Y/N),” Michael smiled, mimicking Superman’s pose before kicking you out of his bean bag. You gently moved over to the spot you’d had before as the game’s main menu appeared.

A sense of calm washed over you. The title music was the number one thing that kept you sane and happy. It stopped anxiety attacks, any bouts of paranoia, and could destress you in 10 minutes. The whoosh of the ocean and wind reminded you of the few peaceful times that you had had in your hometown.

“We get it, (Y/N). You’re from Seattle.”

“We get it, Michael. You can’t tell the difference between Seattle and Oregon: where this game actually takes place.”

Michael rolled his eyes playfully as you selected “New Game”. You had to admit, it was funny to watch the two boys jump at the initial thunder clap that began the game. You smiled, happy tears in your eyes, so happy to be playing your favorite game with some amazing people.

And with that, the game play started. You quickly blinked back your tears, and returned to your normal state. Episode 1 was rather easy. It was an introductory to the characters and the game mechanic. You had to admit, there were some moments that you’d cherish forever.

Some examples include: when Nathan shoots Chloe in the bathroom, both boys screamed out the first time it happened. It wasn’t even like a manly scream. Michael’s voice cracked and Jeremy’s was so high in his falsetto, you swore only animals could hear it. When the boys made the choice to stay hidden in Chloe’s closet and Chloe’s step-douche hits her because she was smoking weed, Michael did indeed get a little pissy. His exact words were “That guy is a fucking dick who would marry him?”

As the game went on, you noticed that Michael had a soft spot for Kate Marsh. Kate Marsh also happens to be your favorite character, so you and Michael happily agreed to help her in any way you two could. Jeremy started to get fed up because “why do we have to stop and clean her whiteboard again?”

By the end of Episode 2, Jeremy was eating his words. As soon as Max got on the roof and said the infamous: “I can’t rewind!!”, Jeremy’s eyes got wide. Fortunately, they managed to save Kate. Both of them just sat there after the episode ended, taking deep breaths. You had to keep reassuring them that yes, they did save Kate (Michael almost cried when you told him that there was a large chance that you would not be able to save her, so imagine his relief).

The two had also said yes to the date with Warren, so it was a pretty good playthrough so far.

After Jeremy and Michael had calmed down, they both decided it was best for them to keep going. Their interest in the game spiked, and they both slowly began to realize what they were missing out on. You, however, got a little bit more worried. Before you hit “Continue”, you set the controller down and took a breath.

“It only gets worse from here. I am warning you now. Those episodes were tame. The next ones are…much darker. Literally and figuratively.”

They both shuddered at your words before Jeremy bravely said that he would like to continue.

By the end of Episode 3, they had blamed Nathan, sided with Chloe and Joyce, survived the initial confrontation with Frank (they laughed when Frank said “THOSE WERE MY BEANS”), and had managed to not fuck up too badly. Plus, you had gotten them all of the optional photos so far. Not a bad playthrough at all.

But then came Episode 4. Episode 4 was the most unsettling chapter of the game. You knew this. The boys you were playing with? Did not.

However, you began the episode and kept going. When Max had to go into Nathan’s room, you tensed. How could you not; his room is creepy. Of course, you found the photo of Chloe, and the broken lamp. That was a given. But when Max commented “I hope all of those models were consenting,” Michael almost lost it, and Jeremy seemed to shake with anger.

“(Y/N), he did it, I know he did it, Jesus Christ Nathan I will personally pummel you to the ground pal,” Michael rambled.

Although his threats were funny, this was nothing compared to Episode 5. You kind of dreaded it. If they were mad at characters now, they were going to be furious by the end of the game.

The three of you kept going, and Jeremy was getting a little annoyed at how out of your way you had to go to get some of the optional photos. But when you mentioned that he’d be 100%-ing the game first try, he’d shut up really quick.

You made it to the barn. You stopped just outside of it (taking a photo, much to Jeremy’s dismay), before setting the controller down the second time. The two boys looked at you, curious as to why you weren’t going in. Taking a breath, you started to formulate what you should say in order to make this half confession to go as easy as possible for you. You didn’t want to freak out so bad that you had to turn off the game like you’d done in the past.

The basement was dark. And you were about the enter the Dark Room.

“Okay…uhm…guys? Listen to me very carefully. When I’m searching for something weird in this barn, the controller will vibrate ever so slowly. I will jump every time it does. I know what’s in there, and it’s…disturbing to say the least. So, if I do jump, there is no need to worry. It’s just me being a little anxious.”

Their expressions went from confused to concerned. They each put a hand on your shoulder, grounding you in the moment.

Finally, you’d made it to Episode 5, sans sleeping. It was a miracle to be honest. You made it through the barn, and guess what? Jeremy and Michael cried when you found out what happened to Rachel Amber. Sure, it was sad, but after playing it 8 times, you get desensitized, you know?

The end of Episode 4 was what really got these boys angry, though. When Max was given the injection, Michael screeched out “NATHAN YOU FUCKING PRESCOTT!!” while Jeremy gasped. And when the figure in the dark was shown, there was a mixture of “FUCK”s that were spewed into the room.

“WHAT THE FUCK”

“HOW THE FUCK”

“WAIT”

“FUCKIN NO THIS ISN’T REAL”

“OH MY FUCKING GOD”

“HOW”

“THAT SICK MOTHERFUCKER”

“WHO DRUGS GIRLS AND THEN TAKES PHOTOS OF THEM WHAT THE FUCK”

“TORTURES HIS FUCKIN MODELS WHO DOES THAT”

By the end of it, Michael went to go smoke some weed and Jeremy had his head in his hands. You sat silently, letting the title music take your worries away.

“(Y/N)?”

“Yes Jer?”

“You were right. It’s very feminist.”

You sighed at him as he stared at the ground in confusion. “Glad you think so,” you said after a beat. You waited another second before saying “It gets worse.”

“How does it get fucking worse?”

You sat for a minute before explaining that if he wants to know, he needs to get Michael. And you could’ve sworn you had never seen Jeremy move so fast in his life.

And there you sat. Shocking that this game was relaxing, wasn’t it? Well, to you it was. The light colors, the calming music, basically everything except the subject matter made you a happy person. You wondered if Michael and/or Jeremy would question you about why this is your favorite game (Jeremy would want you to go more in depth, you were sure of it). And you were sure that they’d ask you how you were able to sleep after playing such a game. You had to form sentences in your mind. This couldn’t be about self-depreciating jokes. This had to be real. If you were going to open up to them, you needed to be yourself and use the actual terminology, not some half assed whole lie.

Jeremy showed up with Michael moments later, and he was not as high as you would actually think. You looked at him, kind of surprised in all honesty. He noticed you staring at him, and then said “I wanted to make good decisions in this game. We almost lost Kate. I don’t want to lose someone else.”

You nodded before hitting the “Continue” button.

During the nightmare portion, you collapsed into yourself as each level got darker and darker. Michael was extremely fixated on the game, while Jeremy noticed and wrapped an arm around you. Every time you’d slightly flinch, he’d give you a reassuring squeeze into him.

The stealth was coming up. It was your least favorite part of the game and by far the scariest. It was honestly nightmare inducing all by itself. As soon as you heard the villain’s “Don’t try to hide Max! Get over here! Let me capture you!” You jumped and gave a small yelp. You quickly tried to steady your breathing and get ready to stealth your way past all of the terrible people in the game.

As soon as you jumped, Jeremy’s arm fell off of you, and after you’d landed, he placed his hand on your shoulder. Michael quickly did the same, understanding that yes, the two of them were scared shitless, but imagine how you were feeling. You were the one playing. And you were the only one who could complete the game in its entirety.

“You can do this. You’ve done it 8 times. You are safe. You are here with me and Michael.” Jeremy soothed as you stepped out from behind the white wall.

Expertly navigating through the maze, both boys remained silent. It was like they were playing Apocalypse of the Damned again. Whenever you were caught, your breath would hitch, and you would tense up. But being brave is rewinding and trying it again. So, that’s what you did.

The objective was to get to the lighthouse. Both Jeremy and Michael were extremely disturbed by this creepy maze, and they honestly just wanted it to be over. They both tensed up every time a flashlight would flash across the screen. You could feel it on your shoulders.

After collecting one of the optional photos in the stealth, Jeremy breathed a slight sigh of relief. “That’s the last one, right?” He asked, hoping that you’d say yes.

You remained silent, eyes on the screen as you got to the last section. Michael and Jeremy were cheering. You were so close to being done with this hellish landscape!!

Then you heard Max comment “Oh shit! Bottle collecting? Are you cereal?” You looped around, expertly avoiding each person with a flashlight.

“YOU’RE SO CLOSE TO THE LIGHTHOUSE JUST GO TO THE LIGHTHOUSE WHAT ARE YOU DOING” both boys started shouting.

“100% THE GAME LOSERS” you screeched back. You had managed to get all the bottles, with no worries.

Well, except one. You had one bottle to go, and from behind, you heard the most disturbing line of them all: “Max, Rachel not only gave great headshots. She gave great head. Especially after I dug her up to be with her one final time. Why are you looking at me like that?”

That was the one line you had never heard the main villain say. It was the one that you hoped you’d never hear. It was the one that made you cringe, flinch, and then nearly throw the controller.

Jeremy nearly threw up. Michael nearly threw up. What kind of sick game was this?! Jeremy was done with you getting these optional photos. He was done with Nathan, Frank, the whole evil gang really. He wanted that 100%, but to be honest, he wanted you to be okay more. Jeremy hated the fact that he had to witness you being absolutely terrified and jumped at every little interaction. Sure, he knew you loved this game, but something told him you had never heard that person say that specific line before. The game had gone too far. He knew you needed to be calm again. And he knew that nothing was going to do that besides making it to the lighthouse.

“(Y/N), you don’t need to 100% the game for us!” Jeremy shouted angerly, without meaning to.

“I promised, Jeremy!” You shot back.

“If you take one more optional photo I swear to god I’ll—” The game’s animation for the optional photo went off, and Max stepped into the space by the lighthouse. You took a breath before smirking at Jeremy.

“Congrats you two, you’re about to 100% Life is Strange.”

As soon as Max sat on the bench, the three of you sighed in relief. The worst was over. Michael gave your shoulder one final squeeze before removing his hand, as Jeremy wrapped his arm around you, and giving you the sweetest side hug he could.

When the game finally ended, the three of you flopped down onto the bean bags.

“Holy fuck, (Y/N). That’s your favorite game? I thought it was going to be tame, not whatever the fuck that was. I feel like I just smoked a bunch of weed and then ran around for 2 hours. I’m drained.” Michael rambled.

You gave him a small smile, telling him the same thing you told Jeremy: “It’s a feminist game. You know I like it when feminine issues are addressed in major masses of media and they’re widely accepted.”

Michael nodded in agreement, knowing that yes, you did like it when mass media produced things with actual feminine issues.

“Anyways,” you continued, “thank you for being here with me, you guys. It means a lot. That nightmare…it…uhh…isn’t easily handled that often. I didn’t expect that one character to say that specific line. And most of the time I have to turn off the game after the barn.”

“We’re here for you, okay?” Jeremy noted, leaning forward ever so slightly.  

“Yeah, I mean, we both support you and care about your decisions and well-being.” Michael added sleepily.

“I should probably get going. It’s 2 AM, and I kinda told my mom I’d be home by 3,” you said before packing your things up.

“You can’t walk home alone!” Jeremy protested, and Michael suddenly snapped awake.

“You could die!” Michael added.

“Someone could drug you!”

“Or you could be stabbed!”

“Guys!” you interjected, “I’ll be fine. I have pepper spray, remember? Plus, I can just like call my brother or something.”

You grabbed your game from the PS4 and put it safely back into its case. Jeremy and Michael looked at you with wide eyes. The three of you had just played a game where teenage girls are drugged, sexually assaulted, and photographed. No way were they letting you go out of their sight for over a week.

“If anything, I’ll drive you home,” Michael offered.

“It’s fine—” you yawned halfway through your sentence before giggling at yourself, “I knew Life is Strange made me sleepy.”

“Why don’t you just stay the night?” Jeremy asked you.

“You don’t mind?” You asked the lanky boy cautiously.

“Not at all.”

“Let me ask my mom.”

Your mom wasn’t usually so quick to approve of these things, but it was worth a shot to ask. You could tell her you were tired, and were completely safe in the Heere household. Maybe she’d allow it. So, you sent her a text.

She replied instantly, saying as long as you didn’t overstay your welcome, it was fine if you stayed over. She knew you were safe with Jeremy and Michael; she knew who they were, and knew that they wouldn’t try anything with her child.

“My mom said I could stay!”

The two teens whooped sleepily (and were very relieved that you wouldn’t have to walk outside alone) as you made your way back to the bean bags. You took your usual spot, right in the middle of the two boys, happy that you could stay.

“What do you want to do now?” Michael asked. “It’s our first sleepover together.”

“Well we already did what I wanted to do. Unless both of you would like to wait for the prequel to come out with me,” you chuckled.

“Let’s watch a movie,” Jeremy suggested, knowing that all three of you would be asleep within the first hour.

“Which one?” You asked.

“Let’s watch something happier. I need it after that emotional rollercoaster (Y/N) here,” Michael gestured towards you, “calls a game.”

“How about The Road to El Dorado?” Jeremy asked, flipping through Netflix.

“Sure,” you responded, knowing that Michael was already half asleep.

As the movie went on, you could feel your eyes get droopy. You did your best not to lean on Jeremy, but all hopes were lost. You shut your eyes, and welcomed sleep as if it were your best friend.

Jeremy’s eyes remained focused on the movie. He knew that there was so much more you had to tell him. He knew that Life is Strange is not your favorite game just because of the issues it covers. He knew that your trust was earned, and tonight was a very clear sign that he and Michael were two people that you were comfortable enough to show what you were passionate about. And while you knew about his secrets and past, he understood whenever you’d divert the conversation elsewhere when someone asked about your past or your interests. He understood the silences you gave, and sometimes even the self-depreciating jokes. He wanted to do so much for you, but had no idea where to start. And that was okay. He knew that was okay.

When Jeremy noticed that you were asleep, his face turned a dark red. He had heard all about the studies where people who could sleep around their friends, family, or significant others generally trusted them and had good relationship with one another (of course you told him about this study, and you being asleep further proved his point that him and Michael had gained your trust). He knew you were no different. You were strong, resilient, but tonight showed a side of pure joy and vulnerability. He hadn’t missed the tears forming in your eyes when the game started. He could tell they were tears of joy. He was honored that he got to help you through Max’s nightmare and the barn (even though you’d done it before). And he was honored to have you fall asleep on him.

In a sudden burst of tired confidence, Jeremy wrapped his arm around you before drifting off to sleep as well; the smile on his face only growing larger.