get back honky cat

When Fiyero made his way back to his suite, he collapsed onto the bed and let out a deep breath, grateful for the privacy. His charming rascal routine was fruitful, but it sure was exhausting. As the late afternoon light reflected off his newly arrived luggage, Fiyero too reflected on his first day at Shiz. 

He’d dutifully sowed his seeds of corruption and frivolity throughout campus, delighted by how willingly the student body had soaked them in. However, the pretty foliage that was Elphaba Thropp grew from tougher soil, and her resistance dimmed his gratification. Obstinate green girls aside, Fiyero hoped to see the revelry fully bloom before he got himself expelled. If this really was to be his last chance at schoolery, he wanted to secure his “party prince” legacy before his Arjiki Chieftain future snuffed it out. 

Despite his best efforts not to, he started thinking of home. He’d started to feel more unwelcome each time he came back a dropout, and he could sense his father’s disappointment had evolved into thinly veiled disdain. Dual senses of resentment and guilt crept in every time he let his mind wander westward, so he sought out a distraction. 

Focusing on the jollification ahead, he dug through his trunks of finery to find something swankified enough to wear to the Ozdust Ballroom. After some rummaging, he pulled out his favorite regalia suit, typically only worn for special ceremonies at Kiamo Ko. Tonight, he was going to hold court on the dance floor instead. 

Fiyero ran his fingers over the traditional Winkie embroidery on the coat jacket, admiring the intricate gold and silver threads he knew his mother had stitched in with love. Suddenly, a pinch of shame bruised him. Rebelling against his father’s paradigm was amusifying, until he remembered that his mother also bore the burden of his failures. Though Fiyero knew she loved him unconditionally, he could tell she was troubled by his aimlessness, and for that, he was conscience-stricken. 

As he fastened the gold buttons of his jacket, he paused to appreciate the blazing sunset she’d added on the left sleeve, making his heart ache for the warmth of the Vinkus grasslands. Wincing, he shook off his untimely homesickness and carefully coiffed his hair to brush away any remaining stray thoughts. 

True to his word, he arrived at the girls dormitory at the top of the eight o’clock hour, waiting patiently for his date to emerge. Emerge she did, in an ostentatiously ruffled party frock, floating about like a fuschia fish. Galinda was flanked by Pfannee and Shenshen, dressed in their own bold shades of rose and saffron; together they formed a flamboyant shoal. 

Galinda greeted Fiyero with a twirl and a toss of her curls, and he made sure to tell her how beautiful she looked, not that she needed the affirmation. He had hoped to see her roommate following behind her, wondering what she might wear on a night out, but he didn’t have time to dwell on her absence; they had a party to get to. 

Fiyero shepherded a growing flock of party animals as they moved stealthily across campus, keeping an eye out for any authoritative busybodies who might try to spoil their merriment.  

“We’re gonna get arrested!” cried Phannee as they scampered to the landing dock, Galinda whipping around to shush him as she anxiously squeezed Fiyero’s hand. He could tell this was her first excursion into deviant territory, and he was proud to be her escort. 

At the water’s edge, Fiyero guided everyone aboard the gondola with efficiency, stepping back onto the dock once Galinda was seated. “Fiyero, whatever are you waiting for?” she asked, puzzled and eager to get sailing. 

Just then, Boq and Nessarose rounded the corner, out of breath from their own mad dash across the quad. Fiyero beamed at them as they approached, slapping Boq on the back and complimenting Nessarose on her glittering shoes, stirring an appreciative blush from the girl. 

The boys made sure Nessarose was transferred safely into the boat, and Galinda marveled at Fiyero’s benevolence. She’d completely forgotten about encouragerizing Bick to invite her roommate’s little sister, and that act of kindness now felt synthetic in comparison to her date’s natural courtesy. She was already in love with him. 

As they set sail, Fiyero leapt up with spirit, calling out to his merry crew, “To Ozdust?” 

“To Ozdust!” they shouted back in unison, primed for the night of their lives. Galinda latched herself onto Fiyero’s hips as he continued his fanaticism, excited and terrified at what the Ozdust Ballroom had in store. 

They traversed the man-made waterways out of Shiz and through the rivers of the outer forests, docking their gondola at a lake’s edge. Fiyero seemed to know exactly where he was going, lighting the way with a lantern in one hand and Galinda’s sweaty palm in the other. 

Her nerves were clear to Fiyero as they trekked through the dark, enchanted woods, and he found himself wanting to fully earn her trust. Motioning for the group to pause in front of a family of night-blooming flowers, Fiyero leaned down to greet a pink ranunculus, bowing his head in reverence. “May I?” 

The flower graciously dipped her petals, giving him the permission he sought, and Fiyero picked her off the stem gently. He turned back to Galinda, smiled reassuringly, and tucked the flower safely in her hair, nodding in satisfaction at the way they enhanced each other’s loveliness. Galinda’s nervous jitters were banished in favor of blissful butterflies. 

They soon came upon a giant lotus leaf, guarded by a sizable, imperial looking Tortoise. The Shiz students exchanged skeptic glances as Fiyero introduced himself, shaking the Tortoise’s stout foot as he would a man’s hand. 

“I knew Winkies were exotic but I didn’t know they exchanged pleasantries with reptiles,” whispered Shenshen in Galinda’s ear, snickering. She’d have been lying if she said she also wasn’t bewildered by the Winkie Prince’s rapport with the local flora and fauna, but Galinda didn’t appreciate Shenshen’s venomous tone. 

Before she could think of a response, the Tortoise snapped at the lotus curtain and pulled it back, revealing a spiral downward path. Fiyero tossed him a coin before moving through the entryway, motioning for the others to follow. Galinda and Nessarose were the first to enter, sharing an excited glance as they began their dissent. Boq and the flock were impressed despite their prejudices, and fell in line behind them. 

They made their way down into a cavern with walls of rippled glass dimly lit in a technicolor haze, the muffled roar of music amplifying as they continued their descent. When they finally entered the ballroom, their senses were bombarded with the deliciously illicit atmosphere. 

A swinging band of Animals played raucously as the patrons moved their bodies in ways that made Galinda go rosy. Above the dancefloor, she was awestruck by a school of magenta fish swimming in synchronization to the beat of the music. She then realized that the Ozdust Ballroom wasn’t just underground, it was underwater. 

Dumbfounded, Galinda let Fiyero guide her over to the bar, where he immediately procured a pitcher of punch and glasses for toasting. Galinda had never indulged in such libations before, but seeing how swiftly Fiyero tossed his down, she decided to be brave and do the same. 

What slid down her throat was a toxic potion of some vile tonic infused with lemons, melons, and pears. Galinda fought back tears and did everything in her power not to gag, and Fiyero chuckled as he watched her try to regain her veneer of grace. 

She was relieved to feel Fiyero start to pull her towards the dance floor, and like a magnet, everyone in the club was drawn to him. He jumped straight to the center and started hyping up the crowd. 

“Here we go! Are you ready?” he called out, bowing towards Galinda dramatically, winding himself up to conduct the entire ballroom in a jitterbug symphony.

He warmed everyone up with some rhythmic stomping, evolving into a call and response of movements that was electric. Galinda had never thrashed her body around like this, and even when she struggled to keep up with his technique, the beat of the drums and Fiyero’s smile made her feel euphoric. If this is what it meant to dance through life, she was all for it. 

When they stopped to take a breath, tipsy and giggling, Galinda leaned into Fiyero’s chest to steady herself. “Are you having fun?” he asked her, grinning, as they slowed their movements to a pseudo-sway. He definitely had a lightweight on his hands.  

“Oh I’m having a marvelous time FiFi!” He couldn’t help the laugh that came out of him. Of all the nicknames he’d been called throughout his life, affectionate or derogatory, “FiFi” was by far the stupidest. It did make him smile though. 

Galinda suddenly became restless in his arms. “Lift me up! Spin me!” she demanded as she raised her arms into wings, a flightless bird aching to soar.  Before he could get a proper grip on her waist to hoist her into the air, she’d bounced independently, the physics clashing and resulting in a twirl that barely made it off the ground. They collapsed into each other in another fit of giggles, agreeing to remain earthbound. 

Fiyero looked at Galinda, her eyes glistening with laughter-induced tears, and admired how pretty her smile was when it was genuine. Her congeniality had been so calculated up until now, and watching her laugh at herself made her seem more human. 

This girl is fun when she’s not trying so hard to be perfect, Fiyero observed as he transitioned them to a proper slow dance.

“I want to thank you for being so kind to Nessarose earlier,” Galinda said as she started playing with his hair, “and for the way you lead us all here tonight. It’s all been so fabulocious.” 

“Oh, of course, everyone deserves a chance to have some fun,” Fiyero responded, glancing over at Nessarose and Boq, who were quietly sipping their punch off to the side. He knew that Galinda had set them up as a diversion, but he genuinely hoped that they’d make each other happy. 

When he turned back to Galinda, she was looking at him with a glossy sort of stare, her head tilted upward and her mouth pouted just so. He knew what she wanted, so he let it happen. 

Her lips ghosted over his for a moment before they were fully joined. She tasted like lemons and he savored her softness; a perfectly sweet kiss with a perfectly sweet girl. 

She came up for air giggling, and her joy was admittedly infectious. “I want another drink!” she exclaimed as she grabbed his hand to tug him towards the bar. Fiyero turned to find Boq staring at them, looking distressed. Hoping he was working up the courage to ask Nessarose to dance, Fiyero offered him an encouraging grin as he followed Galinda away. 

Drinks replenished, Galinda wanted to go somewhere “a little quieter,” which Fiyero thought was futile in a place like Ozdust, but he let her lead him to a stalagmite near the entrance that offered a modicum of privacy.  

He was happy to conversate if she did all of the actual talking, so he enclosed her against the wall with his arm and let her rest her own around his neck, spurring her with “umhms” and “wows” as she babbled about the Gillikin social scene.   

Fiyero was so preoccupied with sipping his cocktail and listening to his date’s frank analysis of garden party politics that he didn’t see Madame Morrible descend from the stone staircase.

“You,” Morrible called out. “Me?” Galinda responded, frozen in shock. 

The sorceress examined the Winkie prince with sharp disdain. “And you can go back to doing whatever this is.” Fiyero chuckled to cut the tension, not grasping the gravity of Morrible acknowledging Galinda’s existence. 

“Go,” Galinda whispered, shooing him away frantically, “Go!”  

He sulked away, seeking refuge at the bar where no one would look at him like he was an uncivilized reject. He nursed another drink, and realized he actually needed this moment to breathe. So much had happened to him since his arrival at Shiz the night before, and inebriation was intensifying his exhaustion. 

Fiyero had no idea why, but his sozzled thoughts drifted to Elphaba. He wondered what she’d been up to that evening, imagining that she was curled up with her nose in some book, enjoying the peace of a Galinda-less dorm room. He also wondered what her skin would look like in the lighting of the ballroom. 

A sudden, uncharacteristic hush fell over said ballroom, and it roused him from his drunken daydreams. It was quickly replaced by a wave of whispers and snide laughter. The patrons seemed to be crowding to jeer at someone, but from his vantage point, he couldn’t see who. 

Abandoning his beverage, he looked for his fuschia fish in the sea of people, and made his way towards her through the crowd, intrigued by their affronted gasps. When he finally broke through and saw their target, he froze. 

Elphaba was in the middle of the dance floor by herself, moving her body in a way that was erratic but controlled, as distasteful as it was exquisite. He couldn’t look away if he wanted to.

Oz, she’s hypnotizing.

Elphaba revolved a final time, clapping her hands together in an echoing thwack that sobered him instantly. She took a beat to restore a pointed hat from the floor to its intended position on her head. His own head cleared enough to realize that Elphaba had been humiliating herself as an act of defiance.  

“I’ll say this much, she doesn’t give a twig what anyone thinks,” he whispered to Galinda, barely taking his eyes off the green girl. 

She also kept her gaze firmly on Elphaba. “Of course she does, she just pretends not to.” This struck him a bit too deep for his liking, his own history of pretenses suddenly haunting him. 

“I feel awful,” Galinda admitted, her eyes so full of regret they looked about to burst. Confused by her sudden change in emotion towards her roommate, he peered down at her and tried to reassure her with a gentle squeeze. “Why? It’s not like it’s your fault.” 

She finally looked at him, her glossy stare from earlier completely dimmed. She excused herself, handing him a glass wand and making her way towards Elphaba on the dancefloor. Where Galinda had found this shiny new baton, Fiyero had no idea, but he held it firm, gripping it tighter when the crowd’s hateful laughter started back up. He was starting to understand where Elphaba’s defensive tendencies had come from, and he was surprised by how much it upset him.

Who were these indistinguishable fools to mock someone so unique and dauntless?  

As Galinda approached Elphaba, she recoiled with resignation, awaiting the final blow the crowd believed Galinda was preparing to strike. Instead, she raised her palm to her forehead and wiggled her fingers.

Everyone observed as Galinda began mimicking Elphaba’s peculiar dance moves, not from a place of derision, but appreciation. Leaning sideways back into a twirl, she was cut off by her disenchanted associates, horrified that their leader would debase herself in such a fashion. They attempted to chide her into complicity, but she rejected them outright and centered her focus on Elphaba. 

Fiyero was awestruck by her braverism. Anyone could witness an injustice and feel troubled by it — as he was by Elphaba’s harassment — but few had the courage to try to remedy the harm with unwavering resolve. Galinda was clearly made of stronger stuff than he was.

He watched on as the two girls engaged in an intimate dance, mirroring each other so tenderly that Fiyero’s heart ached in a new and frightening way. Their connection was undeniable, and when Galinda gently swiped Elphaba’s tears away, the emotional dam between them seemed to break for good. 

Inspired by Galinda’s example of influence, Fiyero too started mimicking their movements, showing the impressionable flock how to bend and curve their bodies in reverence and repentance. They quickly started embracing the routine, but when everyone else found their groove, the two girls paused to embrace one another. 

They broke apart to take in the scene on the dancefloor, Elphaba’s tears still flowing as she watched her former adversaries reach out towards her in praise. Fiyero was suddenly desperate for her to look at him, and his heart leapt when she and Galinda giggled at his fervent movements. 

Fiyero Tigelaar had no idea where he was going. 

He and Feldspur had been traveling for hours along the Gillikin River, but as swirling trees took over the landscape and the sky grew darker, his sense of geography was shot. 

His inability to find the place was already making him resentful of Shiz University and all that lay within it. There couldn’t possibly be anything life-changing waiting for him on the campus grounds, and he had long abandoned the sense of hope that came with a new school.

Following his failed stint at the Academy, his mother and father had warned him that this was his last chance at a “good education,” whatever that meant. It had become quite clear to him that formal institutions of learning had nothing of value to teach, and even if they did, he wasn’t capable of understanding them. 

Frustrated, he urged Feldspur to a gallop. If he got lost enough, maybe he could avoid Shiz altogether and take on a new identity as a rogue gallivanter. At this point, even a life of crime sounded better than the torture of academia. 

He was so deep in these ruminations that he didn’t see the green girl crossing his path, too lost in her own worries to notice she was about to be run over. 

Feldspur stopped short just before they collided, but she was so startled that she toppled over onto the forest floor. 

“ Woah there, woah!” Fiyero called out, trying to catch a glimpse of his near victim. 

“I did not see her,” explained a spooked Feldspur. “Yeah, neither did I!”

From his vantage point, her face was still hidden, but as she pulled herself up, he couldn’t help but notice the rather pleasant shape of her backside. He scolded himself for such ungentlemanly thoughts, and dismounted Feldspur, who also tried to remind him of his manners. 

“You might want to, um… you know…” “Ok, yeah.”

He moved towards the girl as she brushed off her tumble, extending his hand in case she needed assistance. He was prepared to feel terrible if he’d actually brought her harm. 

“I’m so sorry miss, I didn’t see you there, you must have..”

As soon as he spoke, she turned towards him. The moonlight finally revealed her face, and Fiyero was dumb-stricken. 

“...blended with the foliage.”

He realized instantly how stupid he sounded, but prayed that maybe this green girl would find his idiocy at least a little bit charming. 

She did not. 

“Is this how you go through life? Just running amuck and trampling anyone in your path?”

Fiyero was as taken aback by her words as he was by her complexion, and he panicked. “No…” 

He could hear Feldspur chuckling at his expense, so clearly he was embarrassing himself, but some terrible instinct within told him to attempt humor again. “No, sometimes I’m asleep.”

He tried to signal to her that laughter was the appropriate response, but she merely stared at him in mild disgust. With a deep sigh, she launched into her well rehearsed introduction. 

“Alright, here we go. No, I’m not seasick.” They were firmly on land, why would she be seasick?  “Neither am I,” he assured her. 

She stepped closer to him as she spoke, which might have been intimidating if she wasn’t so petite. 

“No. I did not eat grass as a child.” She had to be toying with him now. “Oh you didn’t? I did!”

“And yes, I have always been green.”

It was the way she said that last bit, like she was preparing for mockery. He was intrigued.

“And the defensiveness? Is that a recent development?” 

Fiyero knew he’d finally said something clever, because she narrowed her eyes at him without response. He gave her his best smolder, historically foolproof, but she was immune.

As she turned to pick up her fallen lantern, Feldspur trotted up behind him, chortling at Fiyero’s utter failure to charm this young woman. He shushed his companion, but when he turned to face the green girl again, she looked at him with such disappointment it almost made him feel guilty. Surely she didn’t think they were laughing at her?  

Feldspur whispered,  “Should we ask her for directions?” which brought him back to his current predicament. He couldn’t very well expose his navigational woes to this girl who clearly hated him, but maybe there was a way to solve both of his problems. 

“I’m off for some more trampling, may we offer you a ride?”

Her strut was aggressive as she left him behind, and she answered without so much as a glance back, “No thanks. Get stuffed.”

He watched her walk away, trying not to be bothered by her rejection. 

“Wow, Feldspur, we have just been spurned by a girl.” “Ah, indeed.”

Shrugging off the ego hit, he smirked. “Guess there’s a first time for everything.” 

Mounting Feldspur, he figured if he followed the general direction of the green girl, he’d find his way eventually. 

As he rode, their collision replaying in his mind, he realized that he forgot to ask for the pretty foliage’s name. Who was that sweet creature he’d almost trampled? 

Spencer x Trina Lore Fully Explained (2021 - 2022)

An imperfectly formatted explanation of everything that happened to Spencer and/or Trina throughout the 2021 and 2022 storylines. Read this as a pregame to watching clips from their main storyline in 2023.

Curated Sprina Youtube Playlist (End of 2022 - 2024)

This playlist captures the majority of Spencer and Trina's romantic arc and Spencer's character evolution as he fights for the right to take care of his baby brother.

Need an even more expedited lore explanation? Here are the basics:

If you're feeling wild and want the full Spencer x Trina experience, dedicated GH fans have put together complete timeline playlists with extra scenes for context: