#einhardt

[pecanplease]

Johnson knew better than to get attached. He knew too much and mattered too little. As a fictional character, he considered himself and every person he'd ever met to be immortal nonentities. They have been written and will never die, but are not real and have never lived. Well- he supposed- maybe they are real, but only as images on a page, words on a screen, and thoughts in the minds of those who truly live.

So yeah, Johnson's goal was to do his job. He did it happily, he liked Samwell, he was looking forward to meeting Bitty when the comic officially started, but he really wasn't sure why he was here so early. He's the fourth-wall-breaking goalie, a gag for the dedicated readers, he wasn't a main character, he was hardly a character at all. So why was he getting backstory?

It was his freshman year. Jack and Shitty wouldn't arrive for another year. Hockey hadn't even started yet. So Johnson went through the motions, soaking in the campus and preparing for his classes, but not paying much mind to the people around him. He knew that none, save Coach Hall and Coach Murray, would be making any canon appearances. No use getting attached.

Then he met the team for the first time.

A faceless crowd. Guys who were just off of being proper character designs, too basic or too odd. But one of them was different. Johnson could see it all. He was a fully-fleshed out character. He had pain and history and internal conflict. Johnson thought about Jack and Bitty, who he hadn't met but felt like he knew, this guy felt like both of them and neither of them and some of Kent Parson and most of all like someone who has no idea what they have in store.

Oh.

Realization set in.

That's Chris Einhardt.

Johnson couldn't help but stare. There was a nagging feeling in his brain, some part of him that was saying "he doesn't belong here." But then, that was impossible. Because here he was.

There was no way Chris "Hardy" Einhardt would appear in the comic. A reference at best, not even a cameo. He would have no practical impact on the story whatsoever. Everything he did for this plot has already been done, inspiration from a screenplay years before. But this Hardy was different. This Hardy was on a different team in a different genre.

This Hardy had Johnson.

Jack and Shitty wouldn't show up for another year. Bitty not for another three.

Three years until the timeline starts.

Time enough to get attached.

Johnson took a breath, took a step, and introduced himself to the most interesting nonentity he would ever meet.

[pecanplease]

Hardy sat on the steps of the Haus porch, head in his hands, trying to stop the world from spinning. Johnson sat beside him in silence, observing the night sky, the people in the yard, the humid air, as if trying to commit it all to memory. After several minutes, Chris spoke.

“’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re sitting out here with me instead of inside partying with everybody else.”

“That’s okay. It’s nice out here. Besides, most of the guys don’t like me very much.”

“Really?” Chris finally looked up at his companion.

“Yeah, they think I’m weird, which is understandable. It’s okay though. Their opinion doesn’t matter, in a few years nobody will even know who they are.”

“Geez, kinda harsh, dontcha think, J?”

Johnson shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

Neither spoke for a moment.

“Do you think that people will remember us?”

“I don’t know. I like to think so. I’m cryptic enough to make an impression and you- well- you’re Chris Einhardt.”

“You say that like it means something.”

“Because it does.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re all questions tonight aren’t we, Hardy?”

“Sorry. I’ll shut up.”

“Nothing to apologize for, I’m asking them too. Besides, I like answering questions, makes me feel useful.”

“Hockey makes me feel useful.”

“Being part of a team is a good feeling.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Johnson nodded.

“Hey, you didn’t answer my question.”

“Hm?”

“What did you mean? When you said that I’m Chris Einhardt?”

“Well you are.”

“Yeah?”

“And that means something.”

“Whatever you say.”

“That’s a good mentality to have. Keep it.”

Hardy laughed, “God, you’re an asshole.”

“Am I? That’s cool, I didn’t know that.”

“You didn’t know that you’re an asshole?”

“Nope! Not until you said it. Guess I am a hockey bro though, so it stands to reason that I can be a bit of a jerk sometimes.”

“The guys are right, you’re weird.”

Johnson shrugged again, a smile on his face, “I guess I am.”

[pecanplease]

einhardt headcanons 👀??

Yes more background characters 👀

So canonically we know very little about Einhardt, one of the only (if not THE only) mentions of him is 1.16 Linemates, where he's just listed along with the rest of the players who are starting. The wiki lists him as #25 and his graduation year is anywhere from 2014-2017.

HOWEVER, Einhardt shares a name with Chris Einhardt, the protagonist of Ngozi's 2013 screenplay Hardy. The world of Check, Please! is much friendlier than that of Hardy, so I feel like Einhardt's character would need to adjust similarly.

There is also a since deleted post listed on the Extra Art page of the omgcp wiki entitled "'The Farm's Just Fine, Thanks' (Einhardt ficlet)".

Based on all of this I believe that Einhardt is in Johnson's year, class of 2014. He's a big tall jock and while he's not the smartest guy in the room, he did make it into Samwell (despite it not being his first choice). Einhardt came to Samwell aware of it's 1 in 4 reputation but acted like it was a surprise every time someone mentioned it to him. Einhardt was deeply closeted, I feel like he came from either Kansas or Virginia, those are the vibes I get (also works with his mention of a farm). He ended up at Samwell for the same reason as Bitty- a need to get away.

Einhardt, like his screenplay counterpart, came to college with hockey as his main purpose and possibly having had past problems with alcohol/substance abuse. However, the environment of comic!SMH is very different from that of screenplay!SMH, here Einhardt meets people who want him to grow as a person. Namely- Johnson.

Johnson, the omnipotent being that he is, knows where Einhardt came from and wants to help him avoid the hardships he faced in his earlier conceptions. Johnson becomes Einhardt's weirdo best friend.

His sophomore year, Einhardt meets Jack Zimmermann. Jack is the same age as Einhardt, possibly a little older, but Einhardt sees a kid who's a lot like him. Johnson, Einhardt, and Shitty all decide that Jack needs someone to have his back. Shitty becomes his best friend. Johnson becomes a supportive figure in the haus, helping calm his anxiety and telling him what he knows he need to hear. Einhardt is much clumsier but he tries his best- Einhardt does his best to get the asshole upperclassmen to shut up and leave Jack alone. He's not as vocal and Shitty, but he's large and intimidating and a well-placed glare goes a long way.

Einhardt is good at hockey, but ultimately he decided that he didn't want to be in that environment his whole life. Staying in hockey nearly killed him, it was suffocating and stressful. Einhardt got offers but he didn't take any of them. He graduates with Johnson and decides to pursue a career where he could use the degree that he never saw himself getting. He never came out to the team in college but he likes that he has the freedom to choose if/when he does come out now that he's no longer playing hockey.