#they don’t know how crazy I am about that frog face clown

[tariah23]

Being called a fake Gojo fan by a stranger because I called him ugly is my 9/11 😭

[seriestrash]

GMW; Season 4

*I was previously whenrileymetlucas* 

As promised, I am writing episode summaries and some dialogue snippets for my own version of S4 and POSSIBLY S5+S6. My apologies for lack of history lessons linked to life lessons as I struggled to do that. Just imagine that there’s a lesson in play for every episode!!!

Here’s part 1 of a potential 3. Season 4;

4.01 Girl Meets London: Part One

A DUMB TWO EPISODES TO START OFF THE SEASON. NO SECRET. JUST PURE RIDICULOUS AND COMPLETELY UNBELIEVABLE FUN.

Even though Topanga rejected the job offer in London the Matthews family (with the addition of Maya... Of course) still find themselves across the pond during the summer after Riley’s freshman year. The lawyer accepted an all expenses paid trip for the family to London in exchange for her organisation skills to prepare their firm for the person whom would actually take the job.

Queue a touristy montage of the Matthews and Maya living it up in London. Big smiles and lots of fun being had. At one point during this montage the group see a ‘WANTED’ poster for a French jewellery thief whom had stolen some Royal jewels. (The picture is literally just Ben Savage with a fake moustache). Maya had joked it looked like Cory. He fake laughs and then they get on with exploring. 

Then, Riley asks, ���I wonder what our friends are doing right now?”

It flashes to the other four friends sat at their usual spot at the bakery. Each teen sports a blank expression. No one knows what to do without Riley and Maya there and fourth wall jokes ensue;

“Why does it feel like we don’t exist without Riley and Maya?” Zay asks.

“Sometimes it’s like we don’t exist even when they are here.” Smackle says and Zay shares a knowing nod with her.

“I’ve learnt it’s better not to question it.” Lucas shrugs.

“Oh come on… The world isn’t just Riley and Maya.” Farkle says. “This is our story too!”

The three others all coax their head knowingly in unison.

“Yeah I know.” Farkle sighs as he swats the air.

“Maybe Farkle’s right. Maybe we should assert ourselves more.” Zay nods as if he’s convincing himself.

“Yeah.” Farkle say and Smackle nods too.

“I wonder what Riley and Maya are doing right now…” Lucas says with a longing sigh.

The four all let out a sigh together in unison and resume their blank staring.

*Flashes to Cory having a jail cell closed on him.*

“Yikey McShmikey.” Riley says with an exaggerated look of panic on her face.

To Be Continued...

4.02 Girl Meets London: Part Two

The episode begins where the last one left off in a London jail cell. Cory tells Riley, Auggie and Maya to call Topanga and get this sorted. They can’t reach her as she’s in a conference all day with the London firm so in a completely unrealistic way they set out on their own adventure and help catch the real jewel thief. 

Also in the episode are flashes of the other four friends back in NYC. This time they’re sitting in Riley’s bay window. 

“This is weird.” Zay comments as they all sit there with the same blank expressions they wore in the previous episode. “We’re just sitting in Riley’s room doing nothing.” 

“We’re supposed to be watering the plants, we’re allowed to be here.” Lucas says. 

“That doesn’t make it any less weird.” Zay states.

“Yeah.” They all sigh together.

Back in London the three children help recover the stolen royal jewels, thus clearing Cory’s name and getting a personal thanks from the Queen. Someone jokes that the Matthews are now part of the royal family. 

“I’m a princess?” Riley asks with sparkling eyes and her mouth agape.

“I don’t think that’s how it works...“ Auggie says with crinkled brows and Maya ruffles his hair.

“Let her have it.” Maya says lovingly as she looks at her smiley best friend. 

*Back in New York* The Matthews family + Maya arrive back at the apartment with bags in hand. The four friends leap at the blonde and brunette. They hug and Riley says she missed them and asks what they got up to without them. 

“Oh tons of stuff.” One lies. 

Riley lets out a deflated ‘Aw’ and expresses how she wishes she could have been there with them. 

“What about you?” Lucas asks. “Did you get up to anything exciting.” 

The Matthews all look at each other and in unison say, “Nah.” 

Maya heads for the stairs and the four other friends all take a step forward and it’s Farkle who quickly asks, “Where are you going?” 

“To the bathroom?” Maya gives them all a funny look before continuing on her way. 

“Did you guys miss us?” Riley asks with a toothy grin. 

“Pfft. We were too busy doing stuff.” Zay shakes his head and the others all nod. 

“Oh okay.” Riley nods and she drops the smile. 

Cory tells the friends it’s late and they’re tired from flying so Farkle, Issy, Lucas and Zay have to go. They exit and Riley is frowning as she thinks they didn’t miss her but quickly the door cracks open and Lucas’ head pokes through it. 

“Please don't leave again.” He says quickly. 

“Seriously we were so bored.” Zay’s head pokes through too as well as Smackle and Farkle with their agreeing statements. 

Riley coaxes her head with a smile, “We missed you guys too.” 

4.03 Girl Meets What Are We?

After the craziness of the Matthews London escapades is over the clique six  embark on their first day of sophomore year. There’s an evident awkward tension between Riley and Lucas, this is displayed through an awkward reunion hug. Throughout the episode you see the girls [Maya and Smackle] press Riley about her status with Lucas whilst the boys [Farkle and Zay] do the same with Lucas. As well as avoiding the topic, the two teens avoid each other. Eventually they finally meet up and the scene shows them sat on the stairs out front of the bakery to work through the awkwardness. 

A moment of silence passes. 

L: “We’re doing that thing again.”

R: “What thing?” 

L: “Not talking to each other.” 

R: “Oh...That...” 

L: “What are we?” Lucas asks. “Are we...”

R: “... Broken up?” 

L: “I don’t think so..” 

R: “But before I left didn’t we?” 

L: “That was if you were moving away.” 

R: “But what does it mean that we were able to call it off so easily?”

L: “Easily?” 

R: “Well not easily but we were still ready to accept it...”

L: “Does that mean we don't like each other or something?”

R: “I still like you.” 

L: “I still like you too.”

R: “Then how come it feels like we’re still breaking up?” 

L: “I don’t know... Are we?” 

R: “Is that what you want?” 

L: “No?” 

R: “Try again.” She coaxes her head. 

L: A short pause... “Did we just break up?” Lucas frowns. 

R: “How about.. I do my thing and you do your thing... And if we end up together.. It’s meant to be?”  

Lucas can only manage a single nod. 

R: “Hey Lucas, you remember when I was afraid we’d go out for a little while and then break up and not like each other anymore?” 

L: “Yeah.” 

R: “Are we still friends?” 

L: He smiles. “Always.” 

Flashes to bay window with Riley and Maya. 

Riley says, “My first break up” in the same way she said “My first boyfriend” back in SL2. Maya gives her a sad, “Oh honey.” 

Riley asks, “If this is what Lucas and I both wanted how come it hurts so much?” 

Maya gives her a sympathetic look, “I don’t know, honey, I don’t know...” The episode ends with Riley resting her head on Maya’s shoulder with a heavy sigh.

4.04 Girl Meets The Frog

In this episode Riley helps Maya face her estranged father as she asks him to give up his parental rights so Shawn can adopt her. Kermit seems reluctant at first and he makes Maya agree to spend the day with him and if she still wanted him to sign the papers at the end of the day he would. Maya agrees so she can get them signed. Katy comments [to Topanga] that Kermit is a slimy frog and she doesn’t want Maya getting hurt again. Kermit spent time trying to remind Maya of the good times they had when she was younger. Maya is of course standoffish but she warms to the idea in the end. 

Kermit thinks Maya is happy in the end but she’s still adamant she wants him to sign the papers. Maya goes on to say how Katy was her mom and dad for so long and she talks about how Cory looked out for her the way she wished he [Kermit] had and then she talks about Shawn. Finally Maya says she can forgive him [Kermit] but that doesn’t change her wanting to be adopted. Maya says technically she’s always going to be his daughter, she’ll always have his blood flowing through her veins but that isn’t enough for her. In the end Kermit signs the papers.

4.05 Girl Meets World of Terror 4

It’s halloween time and Abigail Adam’s High is decorated with it’s usual spooky designs. The episode opens with Riley and Maya arriving at school and being handed a flyer for the schools spooktacular event later in the week. 

In class they’re talking about fear, each of them say what they’re afraid of. They answer with things like, spiders, clowns, heights, small spaces [common fears].

Cory: Not good enough! 

Maya: You can’t tell us our fears aren’t good enough!

Cory: Sure they make you scared but what are you really afraid of?

The six are at the bakery discussing how their fears are too good enough but they all appear like they don’t believe what they are saying.  

Flash forward to the schools spooktacular event. The haunted house shows each of the six friends facing their ‘fears’ with spiders and clowns and small spaces etc. 

Whilst they’re facing these fears their true fears are revealed. Riley got ahead in the haunted house (as she tried to prove she wasn’t scared) and Maya pleas for her not to leave her behind ‘revealing’ her known abandonment issues. Lucas got stuck in a small space and as he’s panicking he hears his friends being afraid revealing his fear of not being able to protect the ones he loves. Zay and Smackle holds hands as they fall behind the other four and it’s revealed that they both fear that they’re not as important/ liked within the friend group. Riley fears perfection (proving she’s brave enough to do the haunted house alone) and it reenforces her insecure storyline. Farkle really fears his own feelings and not understanding them. 

These are all fears the audience already knew the six friends had, but it just reenforces them and makes the group acknowledge them out loud. 

After being split up they all jumpily meet in the last part of the haunted house and they exit together. 

Later in class they all admit their true fears. 

Cory: And how do you overcome these fears? 

Riley: We stick together. 

Maya: Nothing is that scary when you have people you care about there to face it with you. 

4.06 Girl Meets DNA

In this episode Maya’s adoption is finalised. The episode opens with a comedic scene of Riley waiting in her bay window with an ‘it’s a girl balloon’, Auggie sits at the end of Riley’s bed and questions if Maya’s going to be ‘a Hart or a Hunter’. Meanwhile Cory waits on the sofa with the same balloon and excited expression as his daughter, Topanga sits beside him and asks the same question Auggie had.

After Maya huffily throws the balloon out the window it becomes clear that something isn't right. Riley worries the adoption fell through.

Downstairs, Cory excitedly answers the door to Shawn and Katy whom both worriedly asks if Maya’s there. Cory also worries the adoption fell through.

It’s then revealed that Katy is pregnant and Maya had found out about it by mistake. (They had planned to tell her later as they wanted the adoption to be all about her).

Maya runs out of the Matthews apartment and Riley follows soon after. The brunette finds Maya sitting at the park from ‘True Maya’.

They talk and get down to the root of why she’s so upset. Maya fears this baby will change how Shawn feels about her.

“Baby Hunter, it’s going to be his biological son or daughter!”

“Am I your sister?” Riley asks calmly.

“Of course.” Maya knits her brows.

Riley goes on to explain how DNA doesn’t always make a family. She uses their sisterhood and Shawn’s Uncle status as examples.

“Family is people you love and people who love you right back.” Riley says soothingly. “Nothing will ever change how Shawn feels about you.”

Maya seems to be accepting of the idea and Riley tells her she knows for a fact that Maya will be a great big sister because she has been hers for years already.

They head back to the apartment. Shawn hastily explains that no baby could ever change how he feels about her [Maya].

“Whether you wanted to be legally adopted or not Maya I was always going to be your dad.”

“My dad?”

He nods. Maya lunges forward with a hug.

“So Maya, did you decide if you were going to be a Hart or a Hunter?” Topanga questions.

Maya looks at Shawn with a sheepish expression.

“I’m your dad no matter what.” He smiles back.

“I want to stay a Hart.” Maya admits. “It’s who I’ve been my whole life… But I want to be a Hunter too.  It’s who I was always meant to be.”

“Welcome to the family Ms. Hart-Hunter.” Cory says with a loving smile.

“Thanks Mr. M.” Maya replies.

“Oh no.” Cory chuckles menacingly. “I’m your Uncle now.”

Pretend protesting from Maya followed by a big family hug.

4.07 Girl Meets Mr. & Mr. Smackle

Farkle is absent in the beginning of the episode for some reason idk. In this episode it’s revealed that Smackle comes from a two father household. This is revealed when both her fathers come pick her up from the bakery. Confused expressions reside on Riley’s, Maya’s and Lucas’ faces.

Once Smackle is gone Maya addresses the ‘revelation’ and Riley cautiously asks if Smackle has a mom. 

Zay says she was a surrogate baby so Smackle doesn’t consider herself to have a mother. 

Lucas turns to Zay surprised, “You knew?” 

“It wasn’t a secret.” He answers simply. 

“How is it you knew and we didn’t?” Riley frowns. 

“You never asked.” Zay says a little bitterly but he softens quite quickly. “Look I know you guys had like a lifetime to be friends before Smackle and I came along and that’s no ones fault but sometimes it still feels like we’re still catching up.” 

“Zay, you’re my best friend, I’ve known you longer than anyone.” Lucas says. 

“I know, but sometimes it feels like things have changed.” Zay says. 

Lucas looks away guiltily. 

“We love you guys.” Riley says. “You know that. Smackle knows that... Doesn’t she?” 

Zay shrugs. “How often do you invite Smackle to your sleepovers?” 

Riley frowns. They’d never had a sleepover with Isadora before. 

Later; Riley and Maya are reflecting in the bay window. Riley says she's disappointed with herself because she always likes to think how well she knows her friends. 

“Maya,” Riley says with a dramatic sigh. “I love you a lot.” 

“I love you too.” 

“But the whole world can’t just be me and you.” 

“It could if that’s what we wanted.” Maya says. 

“That’s not what you really want though, is it?” Riley asks. 

Maya shakes her head. “No. I’m a Hunter now. I’m going to have a new baby brother or sister soon.” Maya says with a small smile. “I have room in my heart to let more people in.”

This makes Riley smile. “Smackle’s?” she asks. 

“Smackle’s.” Maya nods. 

*Meanwhile* Lucas and Zay are left at the bakery together. 

“You really feel like I leave you out?” Lucas asks with a hurt expression. 

“No. Well, kind of.” Zay admits. “Sometimes it feels like it’s you and me and sometimes it feels like it’s you and Farkle.” 

L: “I guess I’ve tried to make Farkle feel like I haven't ditched him now that you're here as well as trying to make you feel like I haven't forgotten you and in the process I’ve caused a weird divide between us all...” 

Z: “I know I preached the whole togetherness thing but I guess I am guilty of sometimes wishing it was just you and me like it was back in Texas.” 

L: “You want to go to the batting cages?” Lucas asks. “We used to go all the time in Texas.” 

Z: “Yeah, let’s go.” He grins. 

Then Farkle walks through the door as the two Texans get up to leave. 

F: “Hey, where are the girls?” 

L: Lucas shrugs. “We were just about to go to the batting cage.” 

F: “Oh alright, have fun.” 

L: “Come with us?” 

F: He laughs. “I’m bad at sports remember?” 

L: “So? It will be fun just to hang out.” 

F: “Okay. I guess..” 

Z:  Throws his arm around Farkle’s shoulder so the three of them are linked as they walk out. “Maybe if there’s time we can swing by the museum after.”

As they exit Farkle’s voice fades out as he expresses his excitement about a new exhibit there. 

Back to Riley and Maya; The two knock on an apartment door. One of Smackle’s fathers lets them in and the other comes over to greet them. Isadora is surprised to see them there. 

S: “Riley, Maya what are you doing here?” 

One of Smackle’s fathers expresses his delight to finally meet them and the other agrees and says, “So these are Farkle’s exes.” Both the blonde and brunette giggle awkwardly. 

R: “It’s lovely to meet you too, sorry it took so long.” Riley smiles. “We came here to ask if it would be alright for Smackle to have a sleepover at my house tonight?” 

They both thinks its a lovely idea and ask Smackle if she’d like to go. 

She wears the purest smile and nods happily. “I’ll go pack a bag. My first sleepover.” She says excitedly. 

“Yeah I can’t believe we haven't had it sooner.” Riley says. 

Smackle looks down for a moment and sheepishly says, “I meant my first sleepover ever...” 

Riley wears a sad smile for a second but it grows sweeter as she says, “Maybe next time we can have it here.” 

Cutest smile from Smackle as she nods. 

4.08 Girl Meets Insecurities

A call back to ‘Girl Meets Flaws’ + ‘Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels’. Lucas jokingly teases Zay about his flat butt to which he gets all pouty and says “You know I’m sensitive about that!”

Maya has a chuckle about Zay’s whining and he teases her about her height and she gets defensive in response. “I may be small but I’m still scary.” 

Zay cowers behind Lucas playfully but is still actually half nervous about the petite blonde. 

Smackle makes the insightful point that everyone is insecure about something.

Farkle jokes that they've had this lesson before and re-highlights what they were all insecure about but when he gets to Riley he wears a confused expression. “Klutz?” 

“I’m not really bothered about that anymore.” Riley shrugs. 

“You’re not?” Maya questions. 

“Nope.” Riley shakes her head.

“What are you insecure about then?” Farkle questions. 

Riley shrugs her shoulder again. 

“Your flaw was insecurity.” Maya points out and Riley drops her gaze. 

“Insecure about what?” Smackle presses and Riley just fobs their questions off.

Throughout the episode it’s like her friends are looking for something that bothers Riley, like a particular thing she’s insecure about (even offering up suggestions!!) and eventually she snaps. 

“Why are you looking for an insecurity?” Riley asks. “If you all think I’m so flawed then why don’t you tell me what it is so I can fix it?” 

“Riley, we’re not saying you're flawed.” Maya says. 

“We’re just saying that everyone has flaws and things they’re insecure about.” Smackle reaffirms her previous statement. 

“I’m insecure about everything okay!” Riley huffs.

“What?” Maya asks, clearly taken back by the outburst. 

“I don’t even care that I’m too tall or my teeth aren't straight. I care way too much what people think about me. I care that I’m a good friend and a good person and that people like me. I care that my parents are proud of me.” (Big rant where Riley exposes her deep insecurities) and then Riley gets up in a huff and leaves. 

The friends left at the bakery wear surprised expressions and discuss how surprising that is. How hard it is to believe because she’s always so happy. They talk about how a smile doesn’t equal happiness, just remember Rileytown and how she pretended to be okay.

 “You don’t think someone is bullying her again?” Lucas’ mood shifts. 

“I think the only person bullying Riley at the moment is herself.” 

Lucas sneaks away so he’s the first one to talk to Riley. He finds her in the bay window.

“I’ve always thought that our insecurities tend to be what people like most about us. They’re the things that make us special.” Lucas says. 

“That’s easy for you to say, Mr. Perfect.” Riley rolls her eyes. 

*Lucas shares a really cute insecurity he has about himself* It makes Riley smile for a second but she’s still upset. 

“No one is perfect, not me, not you.” Lucas says. “But you are perfectly Riley.”

“Being Riley isn’t good enough.” She says. “I can be better.”

“Maybe instead of trying to perfect your list of insecrituties you try learn to love yourself the way others do.” Lucas says. “And if you can’t, at least believe those people when they tell you, you are a great friend and person and people do like you and your parents are proud of you.” (Lucas basically turns all her negatives into sweet positives)

“Thanks Lucas.” Riley rests her head on his shoulder. They stay like that for a moment before Riley says. “I’ve really missed talking to you.” 

“I’ve missed talking to you too.” Lucas affirms. (Referring to their noticeable distance throughout the season since their break up)

Their moment is interrupted when Maya comes bursting through the bay window cooing about Riley being a good friend and person and perfectly perfect. 

She stops when she notices Lucas sitting there. “What’s happening here?” 

Riley lifts her head from Lucas’ shoulder with a giggle. “Maya, Lucas beat you to the cheer up talk.” 

“Boo.” Maya frowns. “Huckleberry, window chats are my thing!” 

“Gotta go!” Lucas chuckles nervously as Maya glares at him. Riley just wears her pleasantly amused smile.

4.09 Girl Meets Hanukkah

No Christmas episode. Fake gasp. This year Farkle is more open to exploring his Jewish heritage and his friends are right there to help make his first Hanukkah perfect. After struggling to tell Smackle how he feels, Farkle finally tells Isadora he loves her. 

4.10 Girl Meets Drivers Ed

Riley keeps failing her theory test for drivers ed. Frustrated she huffs about why she even needs a license in the city. Lucas, whom is a year older than his friends, already has his license and offers to help Riley pass her test. Riley is sulky but Lucas helps find a way for Riley to make sense of it all. 

4.11 Girl Meets Valentines Day

The episode opens in the halls of AA High, Riley is gushing about Valentines day when a cute boy greets Riley and Maya but is particularly shy around the blonde. Riley playfully teases Maya about this boy, Ethan. Maya is embarrassed and tells Riley to shut up. It’s revealed that he’s asked her out before but Maya’s turned him down. 

Later that evening, Josh’s birthday celebrations reveal he has a girlfriend whom is two years younger than him. Maya confronts the older boy and asks about their deal. 

M: Two years? Two years? What about that six weeks in-between our birthdays? What about the long game?

J: Maya, I thought we agreed that waiting wasn’t healthy. I met someone, maybe you should try to meet someone too.

Maya is upset and shuts Riley out. The next day she agrees to go on her first date with Ethan. Riley tries to discourage Maya because she doesn’t want her to go out with someone for the wrong reasons. [Reflecting on the Charlie of it all]

The date ends up blowing up in her face. Maya sits outside Topanga’s bakery and reflects on how horrible she feels about hurting a nice guy. 

Surprisingly it’s not Riley whom comforts Maya but Zay. He happened to show up at the bakery and found Maya alone. They have a moment. 

As they’re looking at each other in a possible new light Josh appears at the top of the stairs with his new girlfriend. He spots the younger couple and stops walking, awkwardly he tells his girlfriend that they should find somewhere else to eat. 

4.12 Girl Meets Honesty

Riley learns that Maya told her a little white lie about liking a top Riley owned and dramatically (in true Riley fashion) the brunette blows it out of proportion. When Riley tells her friends about it they all admit that they hated her top too and she’s even more offended that they had all lied to her. 

R: “What else have you lied to me about?”

After some pushing, a few fibs amongst the friends come to light. Riley forces everyone into an honesty pact to never lie to each other no matter how little it might be. 

Cory and Topanga as well as Auggie and Ava decide to do the same. 

It gets hostile. Nobody likes each other by the end of the week. Eventually they learn the significance of white lies and what it means to truly be honest. (I know Cory and Topanga kind of did this with that whole chicken thing but this elaborates from that)

4.13 Girl Meets Fair

There is a fair in town that the clique six and The Matthews family attend. Riley, Maya and Isadora face a sexist comment from one of the workers manning a game. They’re schooled in a lesson of fairness [equality] between genders. It plays off and expands from the lesson learnt in STEM. It angers Riley that the battle for equality would have to be ongoing but she considers to herself lucky to be respected by the males in her life. 

Lucas wants to ‘take care of it’ and protect Riley, Maya and Isadora but Riley insists that as much as she appreciates his support it’s something they have to handle on their own. It’s hard for him, to not protect them but he takes a step back. 

The episode ends with Riley and her friends teaching the fair worker an important lesson. He doesn’t seem to care about what they have to say. 

Maya: “He didn’t care. There are always going to be people who don’t care.” Maya seems deflated like their efforts were useless.

Riley: “So we never stop fighting to change their minds.” 

Girl freckin’ power.

4.14 Girl Meets Glamping

A girls only episode. Topanga sits with Katy asks Riley and Maya what they want to do over the long weekend. After they give superficial suggestions like hair, nails, facials, Topanga worries Riley and Maya are a little too out of touch with nature. Topanga is then adamant they should go on a camping trip (much to the girls dismay). Katy jokes that she’s happy she’s too pregnant to attend but tells Maya she has to go. 

As the girls are sulking when they are leaving for the trip, Topanga is being overly cheery and positive about it but her smile drops when the squeaky voice of a young girl sings, “It’s Ava Morgenstern!” Auggie’s ‘wife’ announces that her mom said she was allowed to come on the trip. 

T: “Nobody asked if you could come.” She says through a forced smile. 

Riley, Maya, Topanga and Ava travel to Upstate NY and the ask where their cabin is. Topanga just smiles and says, “No cabins. We’re camping the real way.”

“As in tents?” Riley frowns. 

“A TENT?” Ava asks in disgust. 

“You wanted to come, kiddo.” Topanga says getting enjoyment out of her distaste. “Girls, this isn’t a glamping trip!” 

“Ooo what’s that?” Riley asks. 

“I like the sound of that. Let’s do that!” Maya ads. 

“Riley, you love nature, you always talk about how pretty it is.” Topanga says. 

“Yeah but I’ve learnt to enjoy it in pictures.” Riley says. “Every time I’m outside I end up hurting myself.” 

After constant protesting from the three younger girls, Topanga finally snaps. Angrily (but more so in a disappointed way) Topanga says all she wanted was a nice weekend for them to bond and enjoy the outdoors the way she had with her parents when she was a little girl. [Hinting at some current Lawrence family drama/ Topy’s seemingly estranged relationship with her parent]. She storms away from their camp. 

Hit with guilt Riley says they should go find her. Maya seems to still be a little sulky but she agrees to follow Riley. It’s Ava who’s lounging around working on her tan that has to be forced into following them. 

The three girls find Topanga by a waterfall. Immediately their breaths are taken away. Riley apologises for being a brat and comments that the flowing water is much better in real life. The episode ends with them all huddled together looking at the view.  

4.15 Girl Meets Blarg

Excitement flows through AA High as word gets out that teen heartthrob Chase Silverstone would be attending their school for the last two weeks of the year. Chase was the star of Red Planet Diaries, the clique sixes favourite show before it ended the previous year. 

The reason given as to why he’s attending their school is that he’s been homeschooled since he was a young boy (as he’s been acting since he was a child) So he wants to know what it’s like to be a ‘regular teen’. Also this experiment doubles as research for an upcoming movie roll. 

Everyone was excited, including the guys of the clique six. That was until Chase actually showed up and their three girl friends along with most of the female (and some of the male) students were hypnotised by him. Suddenly Chase isn’t so wonderful in the eyes of Farkle, Zay and Lucas. 

Kind of how Lucas liked Charlie until he knew he liked Riley.

The first time Riley spots Chase she gets nervous and trips over. Lucas goes to help her up but Chase swoops in like the hero and helps her to her feet. She’s giggling nervously as he introduces himself. 

C: “Hi, I’m- ”

S: “Chase Silverston” Smackle jumps in excitedly and Riley continues to giggle. 

C: “Nice to meet you...” Chase holds his hand out to Riley and waits for her to introduce herself but instead she continues to giggle cutely. 

M: “Riley! She’s Riley.” Maya jumps in with a wide grin of her own. “I’m Maya this is Smackle.” 

Z: “I’m Z-” Zay is cut off.

C: “Lovely to meet you all.” Chase has a dreamy smirk. “If I’m lucky I’ll be seeing you around.” He looks directly at Riley as he says that. 

Chase walks off and Riley, Maya and Smackle excitedly walk in the same direction. Farkle, Lucas and Zay are left behind with unimpressed looks on their faces. 

Later, The girls are all cooing about Chase and the guys are rebutting their praises with negativity, making remarks about what the tabloids say. Riley tells them they should’t believe everything they read. 

Riley is helping organise the end of year dance when Chase approaches her and ends up asking her to the dance. 

Riley tells her friends about it and Smackle and Maya are happy for her. Lucas appears to be jealous. When they're alone Lucas asks Riley about it. 

He gets kind of jealous and Riley gets defensive and she reminds him that they’re broken up. 

Later, after arriving at the dance Riley feels like the most special girl in the room as everyone had their eyes on her and her starlet date but shortly after arriving Riley barely sees Chase. He seemed very occupied with all the attention he was getting. Riley is still mad at Lucas after their fight so they don’t speak. 

Riley’s spent the whole night sitting down and waiting for her date to ask her to dance. Finally she gets enough courage to approach Chase but when she nears him she overhears a conversation he’s having on the phone. 

C: “Yeah I’m at some lame high school dance-” “Yes I have a date-” “Yes she’s cute and really sweet but kinda dorky-” “I know but my publicist thinks I need some good boy photo op to help my image so she’s perfect-” “I can’t wait until tonights over and then I can ditch these lame teens.” 

Unbeknown to Riley, Lucas had also overheard Chase’s call and before Riley could say anything Lucas jumps in and sticks up for her in a very sweet way. Embarrassing and exposing Chase in the process. 

Riley runs out of the room embarrassed and Maya (who was standing by with Farkle, Zay and Issy) takes a step forward to follow her. Lucas stops the blonde girl and asks if he can go. Maya gives a small nod and Lucas runs out of the gym after Riley.

Zay turns to Maya with a small surprised smile, “I can’t believe you just stepped back.”

“I love Riley but I have to realise that I’m not the only one who does.” Maya shrugs lightly. “The world is more than me and her.” 

Out in the hall, Lucas finds Riley on the bench by the hole. She’s clearly upset and he sheepishly sits by her. Lucas apologises for making a scene and he says even though he’s learning to let his friends stick up for themselves it’s hard to not do it himself. 

Riley explains how embarrassed she is and how she should have believed Lucas. 

R: “I got caught up in the magic of it all. I was so amazed that someone like Chase Silverstone could like someone like me I was too blind to see what was right in front of me.” Riley says. “I should have believed you over some guy I just met.” 

L: “Chase Silverstone is an even bigger idiot that I thought. He had the most amazing date to the dance and he blew it.”

R: “You’re just saying that.” Riley wipes at her damp cheeks. 

L: “I’m not.” Lucas says with a cute smile. “Just showing up with you made him the luckiest person in the room. He’s the fool for not asking you to dance...He let you get way.. That’s his loss.” (sorry but who are we talking about here Mr. Friar???)

R: Her sad expression cracks with a soft smile. “I wish I came to the dance with you. Even as friends.” 

L: “You do?” PUPPY.

R: “You would never ever hurt me.” Riley’s sweet smile remains. “I’m never going to find another Lucas Friar in my entire life. I’m really glad we’re friends, Lucas.” 

L: Lucas smiles even though it’s a little obvious he wishes they were more. “I think there’s time for one last dance.” Lucas holds out his hand and Riley accepts it. They walk back into the dance together as the music slows. Chase tries to apologise but she tells him to save it. Maya smiles lovingly at her best friend and then reluctantly accepts Zay’s offer to slow dance. Isadora and Farkle pair off. 

L: “Would you like to dance?” Lucas asks Riley. 

R: “Yes.” She says with a sweet smile. 

L: “Try again,” Lucas says with a light smirk. 

R: “Yes.” She says in the exact same manner, with her sweet smile unwavering and Lucas lets out a soft chuckle. They come together very naturally and start slow dancing.

R: “Thank you.” She says quietly. 

L: “You deserve at least one dance before the night is over.” He matches her quiet tone.

R: “I wasn’t talking about the dance.” Riley says as she rests her head on Lucas’ shoulder. 

L: He smiles and then whispers, “I guess this makes me the luckiest person in the room...”

E N D  O F  S E A S O N  4

Short Season because I cant be bothered writing 22 episodes! Das a lot!

The theme for this season was ‘fear’. As addressed in WoT4, each of the friends had a personal fear that they overcame. 

- Maya is learning to let people in and let herself love Shawn as a father and a new baby sibling (which is born off camera during the break between seasons) She’s also learning to expand her friendship net and let more people in who could potentially leave her but she’s not worried about that anymore. She further addressed her biological father helping mend some of her fears of abandonment. 

- Farkle is shown that everyone’s feelings can get messy and confusing because that’s a part of growing up. He finds comfort knowing that whatever he feels his friends are right there with him to either make sense of it or be just as confused. Finally he owns everything he feels for Smackle. 

- Smackle and Zay finally start to feel like part of the gang and less like after thoughts .

- Lucas realises that he can’t protect everyone and sometimes protecting his friends means letting them handle things on their own. 

- Riley works through some of the sadness she tries so hard to hide and she learns that if she loved herself she would always be perfect. 

Deep down the clique six might always have a little concern left over for their fears but they know they have their friends to remind them that it’s all going to be okay.

[radramblog]

we live in a society (that has progressed)

There’s always an interminable shift, a flux, in culture that can be hard to spot if you don’t quite know what you’re looking for. As times change, people grow, and media is released, causing perspectives and opinions in the general psyche to sway over the course of human cultural history.

Basically, the Joker is allowed to be funny again, and that’s a good thing.

I’m not going to bother explaining who the Joker is to you, like I often do when I’m introducing a post like this. It’s the fucking Joker, I’d be shocked if you didn’t know what the character is. You have to be online to see this post, after all, and if you’re on the obscure rabbit-hole known as My Tumblr, you’re online enough to see Joker memes and such.

The Joker is an inherently ridiculous character. He’s literally a clown man, a foil to the deadpan Batman, humour literally written into his name. And while I cannot possibly capture the full breadth of his various iterations and interpretations over the course of DC Comics’s long history, a lot less people are going to have read the comics than seen the adaptations of such, and those are what has stuck out in the public consciousness. There’s a few versions in particular I’d like to highlight before I get into the meat of this.

In particular, the early visual interpretations of the character are, well, monumentally silly. It’s impossible to talk about the 1966 Adam West Batman series without an understanding of just how camp the whole thing was, and the Joker is no exception to this. Even Jack Nicholson’s performance in the 1989 film is inherently silly despite it’s overall serious tone, a villain who kills people with a chemical called, I shit you not, Smylex. Considering the actor, and especially considering what came just a year before that film, such a portrayal is actually kind of a confusing cultural milestone.

And that thing that came a year beforehand is The Killing Joke, potentially the most iconic Batman comic, nay, DC comic there is. And with it, potentially the most sympathetic portrayal of the Joker that there had been so far. A man driven mad by exposure, a situation he was only in to afford his family’s bills. It presents the most clear image of him as Batman’s mirror- literally, at times, and yet shows some of his most shocking brutality at the same time. The idea of the comic, if I may be so bold, is to imply that the line between Batman and the Joker isn’t quite so thick as it appears at first glance.

We don’t talk about the animated version of the Killing Joke.

I’m going to move right past the Animated Series in general, not because it’s bad or anything, but because I’m relatively unfamiliar with it (this may be a reoccurring theme) I’ve only seen a handful of episodes, the ones my family had on VHS, and they sure didn’t have the Joker in them. (The Gray Ghost and….I think a Scarecrow episode? Which was a hell of a thing to see as a kid). It does have his portrayal with Mark Hamill as the voice actor, though, which is frankly such a choice decision.

The thing that made the Joker, and the Batman franchise as a whole, come back into the limelight was obviously the Nolan movies, specifically The Dark Knight. Being the face of such a critically acclaimed movie with such an incredible performance by Heath Ledger (I am obliged to stan, he’s from Perth, I’ve met his stepdad) is obviously going to get the name back in the books, even if it’s such a different version from what had previously been seen.

Ledger’s Joker has a humour, sure, but it’s a significantly more morbid one than previous incarnations. Previous Jokers killed people, sure, but The Dark Knight added a level of brutality to the whole thing that made the character so much more serious, pun not intended. One can largely attribute this to the darker tone of the film he appears in compared to previous Batmans (especially the 90s films), because in those versions the Joker was, well, not a serious character. He doesn’t interact with the world in the same way other people do, his values are completely alien. Ledger’s Joker has a very specific ideology, one people can understand, and more relevantly, one people can misunderstand.

The actual post begins here.

Ledger’s Joker has been the icon of the edgy teenager since The Dark Knight came out and was watched by millions of them. Something about the character speaks to them, something about being an outsider, not like the other people, and also both smart and violent, which are attributes that 13-year-olds idolise.

A Joker profile picture has long been one of the biggest red flags on the internet. A sure sign that someone is going to say the dumbest fucking thing imaginable, or something hideously offensive apropos of absolutely nothing. This isn’t even getting into how the character became an icon for the Gamers Rise Up movement, which I will remind you that a fair few people actually took seriously. A legion of the worst of nerd culture- misogynistic, racist, and toxic folks who have nothing better to do than yell at people on Reddit.

Where as I, the cultured individual, explain things to people on Tumblr. Very different. But the point is, this specific version of the character is an anarchist, out to prove that, at the end of the day, every single person has the potential to become a monster, that chaos is the nature of humanity, somewhat akin to his portrayal and point in The Killing Joke- all it takes is the right thing to set you off. This twisting of the message into “im better and smarter than u also I will kill u” is frankly kind of disgusting.

The point I’m trying to get to is that for the last decade-ish, The Joker, a character built around humour and gratuity, has become incredibly unfunny. From the internet fuckwits to the grim Ledger portrayal, the character with Joke in their name has been impossible to laugh at.

Another factor contributing to this is the growing awareness and increased sympathy for mentally ill people, which is where Joker (the film) comes in. Now, obviously, the understanding of mental issues is not a bad thing, and I’d love to see this trend continue. But my understanding is that Joker and its titular character are not a particularly humourous time, despite the character literally being a comedian this time.

To be clear, I have not seen the movie, and I have no intention to, so feel free to completely ignore my opinion on this. But the fact that the film seemed to have made all the GRU stuff worse is not a good sign for it.

However, as in life and in media, all things shall pass, and that does include the Joker. Ignoring Suicide Squad (because I know like nothing about the Joker’s place in that film and don’t want to research it), late 2010-s on portrayals of the Joker appear to be returning to the characters roots somewhat, though to be fair, both of the things I’m basing my judgement are comedy features.

The first is, oddly enough, the Lego Batman movie. I can understand not having seen this film, because from the outside, it didn’t look or sound good, but the whole thing is basically a love letter to Batman/DC as a franchise, complete with possibly the silliest incarnation of the character so far. This Joker is utterly obsessed with proving himself as Batman’s equal, as the greatest villain to rival the greatest hero. He’s probably the most potentially homoerotic interpretation, which is kind of silly considering he’s literally a Lego dude. But the movie is funny, and so is he, which is the key point.

The other recent addition to this list is the Harley Quinn animated series, where the Joker obviously plays a significant role. Now, I’m not really familiar at all with this interpretation, having not seen the show, but considering the memes going around about Batman apparently not doing oral, and that having stemmed from this show, it’s not hard to imagine the Joker’s portrayal being similarly silly- even if his canonical abusee is the protagonist. Like, I’m pretty sure he’s a bastard in this one, but he’s also the butt of the joke, considering the series is in large part about Harley getting over him and moving past that part of her life (and ideally hooking up with Poison Ivy, because, come on)

I guess my point is that the Joker is an inherently comic character, in all that entails. You cannot have the Joker not be in some way silly without making massive changes to his design, his characterisation, and his ideals- which is pretty much what has happened in the past few years. I mean, the guy’s got bright green hair, he wears purple suits, he kills people with laughing gas.

This comic, by artist FruitEater, is kind of what inspired this whole post. It’s such a silly little thing from a silly little trend, but it really stuck in my head, and not just because it reminded me of my past self- a child who was super into Crazy Frog when I was, like, 10. It’s a comic that couldn’t exist were it not for the passage of time beyond the era of edgy Joker. Time has moved on- Gamers Rise Up is dying (the subreddit got banned, where else are they supposed to go?), cringe culture is dying, and the Joker is a character that’s allowed to be funny again.

We can laugh with the Joker again.

[ichigoreiyo]

Taggy

I was tagged by @varrix, @absolute-eruri-trash and @shippingeruri and I’ll answer all of your questions in this post in the order I mentioned your names.

Thank you for tagging me!

The Rules:

1. Always Post The Rules

2. Answer The Questions Given By The Person Who Tagged You

3. Write 11 Questions Of Your Own*

4. TAG PEOPLE*

*I’m not going to do these.

VARRIX: 

Holy moly @varrix-senpai tagged me, but I’m pretty sure she accidentally misspelled the name of the blog she actually wanted to tag, but I’ll take this opportunity. Lmao. Sorry and thank you, senpai. (At least I can feel fame for some minutes, because it’s like senpai noticed me.)

1. Best day of your life

The best is also one of my worst days: The day a letter from university arrived and it read I got accepted to Art Academy. I was so happy, I was close to tears, because it seemed I was good at something I live for. Art has always been the thing in my life I could die for… I was so happy and excited, my hands were shaking non-stop and I could hear my blood rushing through my veins in my ear.  But no one close to me was happy about the news. Neither my family nor my “friends”. Everyone told me I couldn’t do it, because I’m not good enough to become an artist. I cried the whole night, because my love for art died that night.

Another amazing day was yesterday, when my county’s parliament approved same-sex marriage. My friends and I celebrated that day way too hard and I feel like shit today.

2. Earliest childhood memory

When I was three, my late dog entered my room at night and shat onto my lego bricks because he hated me… No shit!

3. Most stressful experience

See above. And everything related to physical exercise. I’m so lazy, even a sloth is more active than me.

4. Most relatable quote

“Some men just want to watch the world burn.” I’m both, the men and the world and everything just burns and is consumed by those flames of hatred.

5. Scariest movie you’ve seen

I’m a slut for horror, thus I can’t give a proper answer to this question. I’ve seen to many films, I guess. But a film that was really scary, because it showed the reality so brutally was “Earthlings”, but it’s worth the watch.

6. Person/people who restores your faith in humanity

My best friend, who’s always there for me, listens to me and supports me as much as she can, although it has been a very rough time lately and literally everyone who’s trying to make this rotten planet a better place.

7. Something you could literally kill for

Some time ago, I’d answer “art”, but at the moment it’s just “getting healthy”. And Pizza. I love pizza so much.

8. Most beautiful person you’ve ever seen

Does Erwin count…? No. Damn. I dunno. There so many beautiful people out there I’d consider as “beautiful”, regardless on gender, skin colour or age.

9. Any phobias?

Too many to list them. Stupidity is one of them.

10. Place you feel most safe at

My bed. I truly and deeply love my bed. If I could I’d marry it right away.  Maybe I’m object-sexual?

11. Last thing that made you laugh to tears.

Earlier this month, my dog and I walked around a little lake, that was full of algae. The surface was completely covered in a very thick and slimy layer of green algae, which totally looked like a new-mowed meadow. All of a sudden, we could hear a frog croaking in the reeds on the opposite site of said lake and my dog, not the smartest one, went berserk and jumped in front of me, thinking the cover on the lake was some safe lawn. I’ll never forget his panicked face when he realised, he wasn’t landing on grass and I ended up cracking up with laughter after I rescued him…

ABSOLUTE-ERURI-TRASH:

Thank you so much, you cute thing! Have a lovely ghost hug: You can’t feel it, but it’s there!

1. What’s a game you used to love when you were younger?

Err, Super Mario, but I never finished any of the games, because I was just too stupid not to die a million of times.

2. What’s your favourite drink?

Non-alcoholic: Mineral water and cola once in while. Alcoholic: Vodka, Gin and Rum. Gin Tonic is my current fave.

3. Tell me about the best vacation you’ve ever been on / your dream vacation.

I don’t have money nor am I in the mood to think about vacation at the moment, though I want to travel to Australia and Japan within the next three years and hope the trips will meet my expectations.

4. What was your favorite subject at school?

History and psychology.

5. Tell me about your most horrible school teacher.

All most all of my Art and English teachers were horrible. Only one art teacher told me I was good at art and helped me with getting better, the others only told me not to waste my time with trying to draw, because I couldn’t draw for shit. But the English teachers were way worse. I wan’t even able to write down one sentence until I was 16 y/o and attended an English course of a native speaker who taught me how to write and speak within a few days. Lmao.

6. What did you want to be when you were younger?

A forensic doctor. 

7. Did you ever have a “crazy” hair colour?

Nope. I have red hair and I think that’s crazy enough.

8. Do you read fan fiction?

Is water wet? Better ask me if I do anything different.

9. Why did you decide to join Tumblr / to create your first Tumblr account?

Eru/Ri was the reason. I was a fan of S/n/K since late 2009 or early 2010 and shipped the Eru/Ris the moment I saw them. I don’t know, but I clung to the vets so much, because I never liked the kids. But I eventually decided to join after I read Sable’s and Skull9′s Eru/Ri djs in 2016. They kinda motivated me to join and constitute to the fandom.

10. Tell me about one thing that’s on your bucket list.

Scuba diving. I already went sky diving and experienced the feeling of flying through the sky, now I want to learn about the opposite.

11. Do you like horror movies?

s. above. Yes.

SHIPPINGERURI: 

Thank you so much for tagging me and asking these interesting questions, my dear.

1. Your role in school: Are / Were you the class clown? The bully? The loner? The diva? Let us know!

Ohhhh, I started as a loner and ended as a loner, but from the 7th to 10th grade I was like one of the cool kids, because one of the cool ones was sat next to me by the teacher and we got quite close after a few days and remained good friends until the end of school. That “cool kid's” clique was pretty cool, to be honest. Most of them were intelligent, funny and chill, okay, some were shit, but I really enjoyed their company.

Ah, and I can be a diva. If I don’t like something I’m not afraid of speaking up my mind and that causes some problems once in a while.

2. If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be and why? (Can be in the present or something from the past.)

…way too many things. 

3. Which book / movie / tv show / game have you read / watched / played multiple times?

Book: Harry Potter and various books by Stephen King like “IT”. I used to read those books when I was a child and they still give some nostalgic feels. Movie: The Dark Knight and Requiem for a Dream. Two of my fave all time films. TV Show: Mh… No, I’m too lazy to watch shows and I haven’t seen most of the popular shows yet. Game: Pokémon! I’m one of those old uncool farts who still plays Pokémon. 

4. What is the most important thing or person in your life at the moment?

My bestie. She’s the best friend I could imagine and supports me so much. (s. above) 

5. Do you let creators for your fandom(s) know that you appreciate their work? If yes: How? If no: Why?

Yes, I usually comment on their work on twitter. I used to reblog their fan work with my old blog on tumblr, too, but I try to keep this one clean now. Also, I often recommend artworks or fics to my Eru/Ri friends - and believe me, I like lots of works and creators in this fandom.  I also recommend works of people I’m in row with and that’s many blogs. I think it’s important to support each other, regardless on our personal disagreements.

6. Have you ever sent anon hate? If yes: Why?

Nope. (Okay, I recently sent one ask to @erurilicious, but hey, she knew it was me right from the start, because I even told her I was sending an anon ask to her. Lmao. It was just for fun, but I’d never seriously sent one to someone, because I know how shitty I feel when I get one.)

7. Are you happy with your current occupation? If yes: What are you doing? If not: What would you like to do / be instead?

Nope. If I could I’d rather win the lottery than doing anything to earn money.

8. Have you ever created something for your fandom (art / writing / video / etc.) and haven’t published it?

Oh, a lot. Naked Erwins, ugly Erwins, even uglier Levis, fucking Eru/Ris, weird looking Mikes, strange Hanjis,… And the Pornstar!Erwin fic…

9. What’s your attitude towards pineapple on pizza?

There’s nothing wrong with pineapple on pizza. Pizza comes in so different shades of beauty and all of them are tasty. Stop pizza-shaming!

10. What’s your ideal mix of genres for a fanfic?

I don’t care for genres… so… It depends on the plot and setting.

11. What’s your favourite song at the moment?

Call of Silence

Haaaaah, hope you liked my answers to your very interesting questions!