USER GAFFNEY MAY WE GET HALLWAY / 9-LINE HCS FOR PRIDE MONTHS? doesn’t even have to be headcanons, just anything you want to say about them.
talking about them is like my favorite hobby so i love this ask. i'm gonna start with hallway and then write up another for 9line later
alright so you know how there’s this stereotypical family dynamic on tv that’s always like
kids: mom can we go get ice cream
mom: no you’ll ruin your appetite
kids: dad, mom said we can go get ice cream
dad (without bothering to double check): ok let’s go get ice cream
mom (holding dinner): literally what the fuck
that’s jesse & charlie with the ducks. they’re team dads where the kids only listen to charlie when jesse’s not there lmaooo. at least until that part in d3 where charlie has a meltdown and the ducks are like wtf and file for emancipation…
BUT fulton & julie are always team charlie. guy & portman are always team jesse. russ, kenny & connie switch sides based on who knows how to bribe them better. averman plays both sides bc he's always trying to start something. adam tells charlie “of course i’m on your side” and then turns around and tells jesse the exact same thing while charlie’s still standing there going wtf. dwayne actually takes both sides which never makes any sense
jesse’s never called charlie spazway because he thinks it’s a stupid nickname (and being the king of GOOD nicknames, he’s totally right) and also because he’s been picking charlie’s butt back up whenever he trips since kindergarten so he knows that it bothers charlie more than he lets on. also, i wanna point out how in the novelization jesse never doubts charlie’s ability to take the last shot and even says “you’re our man” so all of the above is actually canon bc jesse believes in charlie’s capabilities as a player
also in the novelization jesse is the only other duck who also executes a triple deke so i like to hc that he practiced them with charlie 😌
they look for each other first!! d2 being a great example—when charlie is asked to round up the ducks, the person he starts with is jesse. when jesse doesn’t want to start the flying v because he’s still pissed with bombay, he looks charlie’s way because he doesn’t know what to do. and then there’s a couple of background scenes where you can see them look @ each other whenever something happens like they want validation. it’s cute
no one on the team talks about it but everyone knows jesse has a soft spot for charlie. this is also canon because in d2 there's that montage where everyone's paired off while adam's got his arm in a sling, right. it's hard to see but off to the side there's jesse, charlie & an unknown (who i assume is averman because everyone else is accounted for) as the only kids working as a trio (probably bc adam's out of the running and luis is trying to learn how to stop). anyway you can see jesse yank at the hockey stick that's connected to averman, causing averman to fall flat on his face, but is just letting charlie skate around peacefully lmao. it's true jesse hall plays favorites
also bombay pairs them off for drills so they can bother each other instead of bothering him this is 100% true
their families are close and charlie & casey spend a lot of christmases with the halls. jesse’s dad thinks charlie is literally the best kid in the world (he is) bc charlie’s always polite and considerate and helps jesse with his homework. casey thinks jesse is literally the best kid in the world (he is) because jesse’s kinda polite and considerate and helps charlie with his homework. at least until jesse's dad and casey get called into the principal's office because apparently they've just been copying each other's notes and playing video games
also for two people who are pretty emotional and combative, i think it’s pretty telling how they’ve never gotten mad at each other despite having conflicting views. jesse doesn’t pile on top of charlie to try and make him feel bad (like peter/karp do) despite being one of the first people to walk out on bombay. charlie doesn’t try and stop jesse from taking a stand against adam despite wanting to put the past behind them by accepting him into the team. like, even when they don’t agree with each other’s takes, they respect each other and i think that’s huge
anyway you know how you’ve got that one person who can basically read you like an open book (even after you haven’t seen them for a while) because they grew up with you and have been there for the weirdest shit? that’s charlie & jesse. like, fulton would be the best man at charlie’s wedding, but jesse’s the one who’d know charlie wouldn’t want a wedding in march because that’s when his grandpa got stung by a bee and died bc of an allergy or whatever. yes, charlie’s absentee dad is anthony bridgerton, you heard it here first
jesse isn’t a fan of pda unless he’s the one to initiate (which he does!!! sometimes!!!), but he never says anything when charlie blatantly disregards this and goes full-on clingy panda anyway. when confronted by this by the other ducks who totally think this is unfair, he acts like he has no idea what anyone’s talking about
charlie literally stopped talking to jesse for the entirety of d3 because he was still upset about him moving or rejecting the scholarship or whatever the reason is that he's not there, which is why the ducks never bring jesse up because i simply reject the canon where everyone ignores that he ever existed. when they make up, the team barely sees charlie for weeks bc he's holed up in jesse's room
SPEAKING OF. i’ve talked alot about charlie’s personality transplant but i think the problem with him taking center stage in d3 is that every conflict that spawned didn’t seem like it’d be a conflict d1/d2 charlie would have, except for his resistance to change (aka bombay/his father figure leaving). bc he was never the ducks’ ringleader. and not to dunk on his skills bc i am a nhl player charlie conway truther, but canonically he was never a great player either (to the point where it seems like in d2 he already made a full switch to assistant coach). he also never held a grudge against ‘cake-eaters/preppies’ – that’s all jesse. the writers were clearly aware of it and i think that’s partly why the movie’s a little jarring at times, because they had to “level up” charlie and pretend that person was always him (and i think this is also the reason why jesse was cut from the movie altogether). he even starts wearing pinky rings like jesse!!! anyway, all this to say that i think the writers are cowards, but i really do headcanon that charlie’s simply trying to emulate jesse in d3 because he (at first) doesn’t know how to lead the ducks without jesse there to take charge and also he misses him 😔
lastly some random stuff i basically always refer to in my fic: charlie always steals jesse's shit. jesse likes charlie's curly hair. they know how to read each other's body language but suck at actual verbal communication. i also think the idea of jesse hitting on linda because charlie never introduced them bc REASONS is hilarious, as per my latest fic.
and that's it for now!!! stan hallway besties and boyfriends
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Written for the 'sports injury' square on my @badthingshappenbingo card.
Rating: T
Words: 12k
Pairing: Bashslash
Summary: Despite his best efforts, Fulton fails to hide a sprained ankle from the team while also failing to hide sour feelings from Portman.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Y’all can have some domestic, Game Changers era Fulton/Portman, as a treat :)
This is admittedly super cheesy, but it was so fun writing them as a somehow mellower, middle-aged couple, and yet still their chaotic selves- I hope that those of you who are interested in this enjoy!
dean portman and fulton reed are the type of boyfriends that would pretend to be cute and hold hands over the table but then immediately turn it into arm wrestling
