I’m Here And That’s Good Enough ƪ(˘⌣˘)ʃ

Jock Luis and artsy punk kid Max. The HKs are just rich kids who can afford to go to the fancy prep school in the city, until they until they open up a massive scholarship project that lets the VKs in for some reason or another (maybe for their talents? Mal’s art, Carlos being super smart, etc.). Max got in for science/robotics, and the Hat Trix obviously got in too (for whatever reasons you choose). Luis is part of the popular group. Sporty, charming, a generally nice and helpful person, of course everyone loves him EXCEPT Max and his friends. At some point, Luis desperately needs tutoring and Max is forced to help, maybe in place of detentions? Blah blah science stuff blah blah bonding over fears of not being good enough (Max) or being a failure (Luis) and then they secretly start dating. Not because of internalized homophobia as much as Luis is terrified of the possible backlash and Max is worried that Luis will be dragged down with him. Of course there’s angst over this: Max starts to think Luis is ashamed of him and Luis sort of thinks the same (in this case, because Max is smart and way cooler than him). There’s also other outside drama, jealousy, and general misunderstandings (Red as Luis’ almost gf before Max shows up (inevitable glasshearts fixes that), maybe a flirtation Max had pre-auradon, and stereotypical emotional constipation).

Now that I’ve written this out I have other lil headcanons to add:

-Chloe is absolutely running for some kind of student government

-I like to imagine all pirate VKs would get in for some kind of sport like swimming or sword fighting. I also think Uma would’ve been the most passionate debate captain they ever had.

-Luis is amazing at every sport you could think of, but he’s also pretty solid in history and English. He might not read a whole lot, but he can analyze the hell out of a passage and he thinks knowing people’s history is really interesting.

-Max is there for sciences, but he’s also pretty musically inclined and takes a music theory elective. I wanna see him in a band just so he can eventually dress Luis up and take him to some dark club and blow Luis’s mind with his dancing.

-Hazel, Felix, and Max share clothes and makeup. Every once in a while they have a hangout specifically so hazel can do makeup, Felix does hair, and Max repaints nails. Felix is also surprisingly good at upcycling.

-WAIT what if Hat Trix is their Band???? Squirmy on drums, squeaky AND Max on guitar (and occasional vocals, Felix on bass and Hazel as lead singer?? Idk

- Golden retriever x black cat vibes but VERY affectionate in private. Max runs his hands through Luis’s hair, Luis fidgets with Max’s hands, they both like being little spoon

-Max is a power bottom I don’t wanna hear ittt

-Luis is way more possessive than anyone thought. He’s still sweet and smiley but he’s got a death grip on Max as soon as he can. Hickeys are a constant struggle to cover up, for both of them but mostly max.

-Makeouts like crazy. They’re obsessed.

-Luis fell first, Max fell harder (but let’s be honest, they’re both insanely attached)

-Max is somehow both agile and clumsy. He knocks things over constantly but can also sneak in pretty much anywhere. Felix taught him lock picking.

-the first gig after they’re publicly together, Luis is screaming at the stage like a madman and Max is too embarrassed to function

-Max collects tea tins and his kitchen has a whole cupboard that no one can touch. He has a special tea blend for each of his friends and Luis cried a little when he got his.

OK so like, absolutely no hate to the age gap ships in the Hatosy-verse I SWEAR. I too want to climb that man like a gorgeous, freckled, silver-leafed tree and I WILL read every version of that happening.

BUT

I also just watched The Faculty and Stan was the cutest patootie I’ve ever seen and I want to watch Dennis make out crazy style with him in every universe OKAY??? So here’s my list of scenarios for all (younger) versions of Shawn I’ve seen:

- Jack Abbott and Dennis as med students at the same time (A couple years age diff because Shawn will never be younger than Dennis EVER). Basic, but study dates and college parties are adorable so SHUT UP. Imagine Denny, fresh off of changing his major and still trying to gain confidence in his choice to be a doctor. In comes cocky as fuck Jack, helping this kid out, noticing he’s SO smart, and also wanting to see what those farm boy muscles feel like 🫢

- Similar to the one above, except they meet when Dennis is an MS on rotation in the ER and Jack is a Resident. Similar vibes but less HR nightmare-y than Jack being an attending. Trinity is eating this UP and is scheming with Ellis to make it happen (I’m sorry but I can’t like Garcia, for her, and in general🤷‍♀️)

- I’ve already written a post about my favorite “younger Pope and Dennis meet” idea, but another one!! Dennis maybe going on some kind of church mission trip out to Cali and meeting Pope when he was in his religious era. He sees Dennis as his angel for a bit, and Dennis meets this sweet, if a little too intense guy who might actually be into him too for once. They need a bit of time to resolve the misunderstanding because they’re still awkward teens, but NOT TOO LONG cuz I hate miscommunication tropes. Dennis is almost 18 so hey, maybe he skips the whole theology thing and secretly applies to school for pre med in Cali (or somewhere else because Pope deserves to leave S**** at some point)

- I actually love Stan and Stokely together so this would be more of an au than a crossover. “Stan” (since I actually replace him with Jack in my head 👉👈) quits the football team and decides to focus on school more, but Delilah was unfortunately right about studying not being his thing (fuck her though, still really dislike her). One of his teachers suggests he gets tutoring from Dennis, the quiet farm boy who’s surprisingly great at biology, and they hit it off. More study dates and subtle flirting from Stan once he realizes he only dated Delilah because it was expected of him. They go to college together and skip off into the sunset and blah blah. Idk, I didn’t think this one through much. Also, Stokely IS BI and kisses Marybeth because I actually loved her before the giant evil parasite thing :)

-I read an amazing xreader fic inspired by Shawn’s character in another movie but I can’t remember his name in it or what it was called😭 just know it was college related and Shawn was in a backwards baseball cap. Do with that what you will, but they went to the beach for the first time and it was set in New York, and I ALWAYS replace reader with another character so Dennis had an amazing time. I personally imagined significantly less pining and self-sabotaging so… yeah

So obviously I was particularly excited about seeing Shawn Hatosy, but once I saw what his character was like my brain immediately started trying to wiggle Dennis into the story. I love the idea of Dennis being brought into this shit show through his pathetic ex husband who didn’t realize that farm boy Denny is MUCH stronger than anyone thought he’d be. He wins of course but SURPRISE!! There’s a whole other game with other families! And here comes Jack Abbot, head of his family, and he sees this cute little (sacrificial) lamb who somehow beat all the wolves trying to hunt him. Cue the marriage loophole (after a little bit of murder, because it’s more fun when there’s more chaos) and to stop the game, Dennis agrees to the marriage! Yay!!! Of course Dennis and Jack live happily ever after and the end. Jack may be a little bit of a psychopath, but those sad blue eyes would have him wrapped around Dennis’s finger in a heart beat. >:)