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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hunting_the_unicorn_banner_7539.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350: HarsherInHindsight: The FanFic.]]
3
4->''"Here is there, and high is low; all may be undone. What is true, no two men know; what is gone is gone." Fairy tales are harder to live through than you'd think.''
5-->-- The story's summary.
6
7Written by [=CrossoverQueen=] (aka {{Tropers/Sharysa}}) in 2011, this is a character study of Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson from ''Series/{{Glee}}''. Like many Klaine-centric fanfics, ''Hunting the Unicorn'' takes place before and during Kurt's time at Dalton Academy. Unlike many fanfics, it is influenced by ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn'' and written in a similar style.
8
9The author originally planned it as a short piece that addressed Kurt's characterization switch from the beginning of the show to the episode "Sexy," but she discovered that the Dalton Arc and the novel's plot and themes matched up very well in her head, and the story quickly became a DeconstructionFic of Kurt and Blaine's relationship. It draws parallels between the ''Series/{{Glee}}'' characters and those of ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn'', though with the current length, they are becoming much looser.
10
11Excerpts and poetry from the novel set each chapter's tone, and several scenes are inspired by parts of the book. While it is certainly not a ''happy'' story, there are lighter moments that keep it from being too depressing. The plot is fairly simple and revolves around fleshing Blaine and the Warblers out, though it takes a huge surge when [[spoiler: Blaine turns out to have a stalker called Alex in the thirteenth chapter. Alex later kidnaps him, Wes, and David in the nineteenth chapter]]. And several chapters later, it becomes a three-way crossover between ''Series/CriminalMinds'' and ''{{Series/Firefly}}''. Later on, it becomes a ''four-way'' crossover by adding Series/GameOfThrones to the mix.
12
13Read it on Website/FanFictionDotNet [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6930030/1/Hunting_the_Unicorn here]], Website/LiveJournal [[http://gleefic.livejournal.com/1626231.html here]], or Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/254812/chapters/396299 here]]. It was also on the unrelated and now-defunct Gleefic Archive, where it gained status as a Featured Story.
14
15After a ScheduleSlip of nearly two years, updates have resumed. According to authors' notes and Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn stats, it's going to be the first installment of the ''"Griffin Slayer"'' series.
16
17----
18!!!Tropes in this work:
19
20* AdultsAreUseless: Averted mostly, although Blaine's parents aren't too useful.
21* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Blaine comes damn close. Two guys were his unrequited love interests, his father's emotionally negligent, and two more guys had to deal with Blaine's own SelectiveObliviousness. Five people, one successful relationship. [[spoiler: And Alex makes it six.]]
22* AlternateUniverseFic: It was always somewhat AU, but after the episode "New York," it's completely (and [[WhamEpisode abruptly]]) diverged from canon.
23* AManIsAlwaysEager: PlayedWith. There's nothing wrong with losing your virginity at a young age--it's when you also think ''SexEqualsLove'' that things [[BreakTheCutie end badly.]]
24* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: Blaine [[CanNotSpitItOut doesn't actually say]] he loves Kurt for a ''long'' time, but it's obvious what his huge speech in ''The Clock'' means.
25** In ''Robin Hood,'' Nick tells Jeff that he loves him while stoned and upset.
26* AnxietyDreams: Blaine (both) and Kurt (the second). Both are symbolic.
27* ArcWords: "A griffin has two hearts" is a fairy-tale quote that serves as Tom and Jerry's TrustPassword for discussing government matters.
28* BatmanGambit: InvokedTrope in "The Kingdom" by no less than [[AlmostFamousName Nick Grayson]] and his father Tori. Nick uses the BatSignal [[spoiler: to lure Tori out of hiding since he's sheltering a kidnapper]]. Tori knows exactly what he's doing, [[GoodParents but he can't pass up a chance to finally talk to Nick after years of estrangement.]]
29* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Wes wins any bet he makes, and a past Warbler nearly ''died'' because he wasn't careful. Played for laughs until he ups the ante on [[DuetBonding a Kurt/Blaine duet at Regionals.]]
30** Kurt's got a minor case of this, seeing as he wanted a KnightInShiningArmor and he got one. [[{{Deconstruction}} With]] [[BornInTheWrongCentury all]] [[WideEyedIdealist the]] [[LoveMartyr baggage]] [[ExtremeDoormat this]] [[BrokenAce entails.]]
31* TheBet: "Kurt and Blaine ''will'' hook up within the next decade, it's just a matter of what will finally do it."
32** They also bet on whether Nick or Jeff said "I love you" while Nick was stoned. [[GenreSavvy (It was Nick.)]]
33* BecomingTheMask / LoveRedeems: Blaine's good manners used to be just a habit. Then poor, miserable Kurt came along, and Blaine liked making him happy.
34* BerserkButton: You hurt Kurt, and his boyfriend will take you on even if you're twice his size. You hurt ''Blaine,'' and twenty-two guys will want to rip your kneecaps out. Also, don't joke about gay marriage with Blaine.
35** Kyle threatened to burn [[spoiler: the guy Blaine slept with]] alive in his own house.
36** [[spoiler: Kurt's not taking Blaine's abduction very well.]]
37** Nick cusses Jeff out when Jeff says he's acting weird. Jeff is apparently the only one who didn't call him that before.
38** Another of Nick's berserk-buttons is [[spoiler: his father.]]
39* BigFancyHouse: The Andersons' mansion. Has a voice-activated gate, a huge driveway (that Wes implies to be on the ''small'' side), a pool, and two theaters. Blaine's theater has movies from the 1920s, and at first Kurt thought it was just a really big room until Blaine started opening a bunch of secret compartments.
40* ButNotTooForeign: Blaine and Wes are half-Filipino. It turns out relevant to Blaine's character.
41* ButNotTooGay: An indirect result of Blaine and Kurt's various issues. Heavily lampshaded by the Warblers.
42* BreakTheCutie: Obviously Kurt, but Blaine comes ''pre-''broken. [[FromBadToWorse They're not done yet]].
43** [[spoiler: Nick's dad Tori is sheltering Blaine's kidnapper.]] Nick doesn't take it well when he finds out in "The Tunnel."
44** In "The Kingdom," Nick finally tells Tori why he got a restraining order on him: He was afraid of coming out and Tori reacting badly, like his mother did. [[GoodParents Tori just tells him that he loves him,]] and Nick's reaction is pretty bad:
45-->''"I got the restraining order on the WRONG FUCKING PARENT?!"''
46* [[BreatherEpisode Breather Chapter]]: ''The Outlaws'' and ''The Men At Arms.''
47* CallBack: Story-wise it's a CallForward, but "[X] is just an excuse to spend time with you" makes an appearance in Blaine's flashback about Terry.
48** [[spoiler: When Greg calls Farhad for help with tracking Blaine]], he uses the code phrase 'A griffin has two hearts' to confirm that it's really him and he's not calling under duress. In "Maid Marian", it turns out that 'A griffin has two hearts' is the first line of a story Luke read to Blaine as a child.
49* CallForward: "May I have this dance?"
50* CallingTheOldManOut: Blaine tries to call his dad out on his ParentalNeglect--but he's concussed and can't recognize that he's actually talking to [[ParentalSubstitute Greg,]] who is clearly concerned.
51* CanNotSpitItOut: The Warblers are increasingly annoyed by Kurt and Blaine's inability to say "I love you."
52** Until ''Nikos.'' And then things [[WhamEpisode kind of go south]].
53* CastFullOfPrettyBoys: Lampshaded by Garcia when they're looking for patterns amongst Blaine's romantic interests (they all rank from 7-10 in attractiveness), and also by Jameela the nurse when she refers to three of the Warblers as "hot Asian guy (Wes), hot brunet, and hot dreadlock guy."
54* CentralTheme: [[PurityPersonified Purity]]--[[{{Deconstruction}} how it wouldn't work in reality]], and [[{{Reconstruction}} how it would]].
55** Being broken [[{{Reconstruction}} can make you a better person.]]
56** Desire. Everyone wants something, but can't/won't get it right away.
57** Sex. [[ElephantInTheLivingRoom It had to be said.]]
58* CerebusRetcon: Three major aspects of Blaine's character have been retconned: Blaine's KnightInShiningArmor personality, played as straight as possible, would be [[{{Deconstruction}} extremely unhealthy]] in modern society. His [[ObliviousToLove obliviousness to love]] is even ''less'' fun when you're not Kurt; on the sad side, Blaine completely believed a friend's excuse to invoke a DanceOfRomance--[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment alone, in an empty room, with nobody watching]]. And [[spoiler: he has no idea that he now has a stalker.]]
59** Klaine's [[ButNotTooGay annoying chastity]] is torn apart. Unlike most fanfics where Kurt is the wibbly, terrified {{Uke}}, Blaine seems to project that image on him because [[spoiler: Blaine tried to invoke SexEqualsLove out of loneliness and naivete]]. Not only did that fail hard, he was pretty clearly unprepared for his siblings [[BewareTheNiceOnes going crazy]] and is now carrying lots of emotional baggage. Their {{Sickeningly Sweet|hearts}} portrayal is an extension of this.
60** The Warblers treat everything as SeriousBusiness, which means Blaine had no idea they were [[CryingWolf genuinely worried]] about [[spoiler: the stalker following him around]].
61** Blaine's actor Creator/DarrenCriss is a pretty standard case of a twenty-something playing a teenage character. But in-story, Blaine is noted to be [[YoungerThanTheyLook unusually mature-looking for a teenager,]] and Morgan is horrified to realize that this is probably why [[MayDecemberRomance so many older guys go after him.]]
62** Nick starts out as a comic-relief stoner who [[CloudCuckooLander isn't quite on the same wavelength as most people]]. Then it turns out he's got a concerning family life, and his strange logic means that he's kept information from ''everyone,'' including his [[TrueCompanions friends]] and his therapist. With all the stuff that he doesn't tell [[Series/CriminalMinds the BAU]] (intentionally or not), he's constantly going back to the police station for questioning. The more Hotch in particular finds out about Nick, the more [[OnlySaneMan confused]] [[PapaWolf (and protective)]] he feels.
63** Nick's full name lends itself to a lot of Batman jokes, and then the police find the BatSignal at his father Tori's house. He made it with Nick when he was little, and Nick gave it to him after the divorce.
64** Nick's hilarious ComingOutStory is retconned in "The Kingdom"--we find out Nick got the restraining order against Tori because he didn't want to be [[CureYourGays sent to straight camp]] or forced to move away from Jeff or his aunt. Hotch notes that given Blaine and Kurt's history of being bullied and how his mother kicked him out, Nick actually had ''really'' good reasons to think he needed legal protection. [[GoodParents Tori himself is pretty upset when he realizes Nick was afraid of his reaction.]] And later on, Hotch has to remind the BAU that even though Tori loves his son, [[spoiler: he's still a criminal and they have to at least TRY to bring him to justice.]]
65* CharacterDevelopment: Blaine and the Warblers get a lot of fleshing out, as does Karofsky.
66* ChekhovsArmory
67** ChekhovsGag: The Warblers' buddy system turns out ''very'' justified in ''Nikos,'' while the "WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry" gag shows up again at the end of [[MeaningfulName ''The Cat.'']]
68** ChekhovsGun: David's cuff-links. In ''The Outlaws,'' they're just another tracking device that he uses [[ShipperOnDeck to keep tabs on Klaine's progress]]. ''Fifteen chapters'' later, [[spoiler: they record at least part of Blaine, Wes, and David's kidnapping.]]
69*** [[spoiler: Kurt's roommate, Farhad, writes cryptic lists and always capitalizes 'they' and 'them'. Blaine asks him jokingly if his sister's a model or a spy; as it turns out, Farhad's the spy, part of Greg's group.]]
70** ChekhovsGunman: In ''The Cat,'' [[CodeName Jerry]] from the fourth chapter reappears. [[spoiler: It's Greg.]]
71** Nick is an indirect gunman [[spoiler: through his father Tori, who needs to help Littlefinger and Alex or else [[ShameIfSomethingHappened Nick's safety will be threatened]].]]
72** [[ChekhovsSkill Chekhov's Habit]]: David writes everything down. [[spoiler: It comes in handy when you're keeping track of a stalker.]]
73* CodeName: After the Warblers clear up a mistake involving another student getting ''welded into a closet'', Wes and David hear the dean call up someone named Jerry. [[spoiler: (It's Greg.)]] He then gives his own name as [[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry "Tom."]]
74** [[spoiler: Kurt's roommate Farhad is 'Tyke', and Nick's father is 'Spyke'.]]
75* ContinuityLockout: Averted. You don't need to read ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn'' to enjoy the story, although it helps with shout-outs. It would be difficult to find someone who ''hasn't'' been exposed to fairy tales, after all.
76* ContrivedCoincidence: Averted in ''The Cat.'' A concussed Blaine, who is in [[spoiler: his stalker's basement]] instead of a hospital, calls his dad and finally [[CallingTheOldManOut calls him out]] on his neglect. ...Except he's talking to [[ParentalSubstitute Greg]].
77** PlayedWith in ''The Skull.'' Kurt finds Blaine in an alley, calls it the [[LampshadeHanging "best coincidence ever,"]] and starts calling Finn over. [[spoiler: Which lets Alex find them.]]
78* CurbStompBattle: A literal (attempted) curb-stomp is mentioned in Blaine's flashback about Terry.
79* CrazyPrepared: The Warblers. PlayedForDrama with ''The Butterfly,'' where they refuse to let Blaine go around alone. For good reason, as mentioned in CerebusRetcon and the Fridge tab.
80** And boy, does it pay off in ''Nikos.''
81** Exaggerated in ''Jack Jingly.''
82** In "The Kingdom," being ridiculously prepared seems to be InTheBlood for Nick and his dad Tori, [[spoiler: seeing as Tori's a rogue FBI agent]].
83* CrossOver: ''The Curse'' has everyone going to [[Series/{{Firefly}} the Blue Sun Hospital, where Blaine is treated by Doctor Simon Tam]], who later calls [[Series/CriminalMinds Agent Derek Morgan]] for help.
84** [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire Sansa]] is Nick's therapist, and his cousin Sarah is marrying [[Film/{{Labyrinth}} Jareth]] next year.
85* CryingWolf: The Warblers' [[SeriousBusiness penchant for melodrama]] is partly why Blaine [[spoiler: had no idea about Alex.]]
86* DamnedByFaintPraise: The only thing Kyle can say about his and Blaine's father is that he could be worse.
87* DanceOfRomance: Terry tried to invoke this. [[SubvertedTrope It didn't work.]]
88* DarkFic: The fic starts with Kurt being miserable, exposes Blaine's BrokenAce status ''very'' thoroughly, and the author's notes on Livejournal warns people that there might be assault ([[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown physical]] or [[RapeAsDrama sexual]]) later on.
89* DeconstructionFic: ''And how''. Ties in nicely with CerebusRetcon above.
90** Blaine's chivalry makes him a good person, but he's also insecure, fragile, and naive. The Warblers poke fun at how [[SickeninglySweethearts painfully romantic]] and [[ButNotTooGay chaste]] he is, while his decision to let Kurt go back to [=McKinley=] is derided as [[ExtremeDoormat being Kurt's bitch]]. On the other hand, the Warblers, Greg, and Blaine's siblings are so protective of him that he ''doesn't tell them things'' because he's afraid they'll [[DisproportionateRetribution overreact]].
91** ThePowerOfLove changes both Kurt and Blaine for the better, but it can't help with Kurt's insecurities, it makes Blaine's ParalyzingFearOfSexuality ''worse'', and it's pretty clear that Blaine never expected Kurt to stay at Dalton anyway. This sets the readers and the Warblers up for an [[IChooseToStay I (Would) Choose To Stay]] situation... until Kurt really ''does'' say he wouldn't, because he's not that kind of person.
92** The work is {{Troperiffic}}, but trying to invoke a trope in-story will often end badly.
93* [[DidNotGetTheGirl Did Not Get The Guy]]: Terry didn't get Blaine.
94* DiegeticMusic: Music/ReginaSpektor's "Samson" makes another appearance in ''The Castle'' as both a ringtone in an abandoned hotel and a song on Wes' car radio.
95* DistractedByTheSexy: Nick gets distracted in his home therapy session by thinking about Young Queen Cersei and Young King Robert.
96* {{Distressed Dude}}s: [[spoiler: Blaine, Wes, and David get locked in Alex's basement.]] It got worse when [[spoiler: Finn got locked in the Navigator's trunk and lost track of Kurt and Blaine, who are no doubt being pursued by Alex.]]
97* DramaticIrony: The fic ''runs'' on Type Two.
98** For someone who always worries about his boyfriend getting hurt by the cold, cruel world, Blaine is the one in genuine need of protection by the thirteenth chapter. [[spoiler: And the nineteenth.]]
99** The Warblers constantly tease Blaine about his ParalyzingFearOfSexuality, unaware that he has a [[TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest really good reason]] for it. [[{{Reconstruction}} Until]] ''[[{{Reconstruction}} Drinn.]]''
100** Kurt and Blaine ''both'' view the other as a LoveMartyr. This means [[{{Reconstruction}} they try really hard to stay honest and considerate]].
101** Meta-examples: Though "I Am Unicorn" is [[LighterAndSofter campy and lighthearted]], this is probably ''why'' it makes the story feel worse. Similarly, "The First Time" is adorable, romantic, and [[spoiler: what fic!Blaine ''really'' wanted his first time to be like.]]
102** Blaine is the perfect boyfriend because the rest of his life is ''miserable''. Which he refuses to complain about because his [[ParentalNeglect parents]] taught him to be chivalrous.
103** Blaine phones his dad and [[CallingTheOldManOut finally calls him out]] on his ParentalNeglect. The problem is, he's concussed and has no idea he's actually talking to [[ParentalSubstitute Greg]].
104** Flashbacks in ''Maid Marian'' reveal that eight-year-old Blaine loved fairy tales and wanted to be a prince when he grew up. Plus he liked his [[QuirkyCurls curly hair]] because it was like his father's.
105** CloudCuckooLander tendencies and troubled background aside, Nick has a pretty strong sense of justice and barely hesitates to [[spoiler: try and lure his criminal father out of hiding so he can get arrested.]] Tori's only [[spoiler: on the wrong side of the law [[TragicVillain to keep Nick safe]].]]
106* {{Dramedy}}: It's a mix of ''Series/{{Glee}}'' and ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn''. Of course it's a dramedy.
107* DysfunctionJunction: Blaine's family: A well-meaning but old-fashioned mother, a [[ParentalNeglect distant]] father, a ParentalSubstitute, and two well-adjusted, caring older siblings... [[WhenYouComingHomeDad who are almost never home]].
108** Nick lives with his aunt since his mother kicked him out, and he has a restraining order against his divorced father. [[spoiler: Said father is a rogue FBI agent.]]
109* EasyAmnesia / TapOnTheHead: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] and PlayedWith by Terry. He pretends that his [[TapOnTheHead concussion]] was more serious than it was so he'd have an excuse to invoke a DanceOfRomance. [[ObliviousToLove It doesn't work.]]
110** Averted in ''Nikos,'' which gets worse in ''The Cat.'' Blaine gets a concussion from a moderate fall, regains consciousness with no memory of the past half-hour (David and Wes say that he was rambling incoherently), and after calling home he mistakes [[ParentalSubstitute Greg]] for his dad. Later in ''The Castle,'' Blaine's hiding in an old hotel with Kurt and switches between doing harmless but irrational things and constantly asking if he's awake.
111** It gets even worse in ''The Red Bull''--Blaine can barely communicate that he's having headaches, he's terrified of going to sleep, he constantly asks Kurt the same round of questions, and gets nauseous. [[spoiler: When Alex finds them, Blaine panics and tries to bargain with him in the hope that Alex won't hurt Kurt. Instead Kurt just argues with Alex, who tries to ''choke him.'']]
112* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: In-story, Blaine's sheer terror regarding sex. For readers, the warnings about assault and [[spoiler: Blaine's abduction/pursuit by Alex]] are almost certainly connected.
113* EpiphanyTherapy: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted.]] Blaine has an epiphany in ''The Harpy,'' but it's a messy ramble that doesn't solve his issues.
114* ExactEavesdropping: PlayedWith. Wes and David track Kurt for ''three hours'' before TheBigDamnKiss, but then they accidentally watch Kurt tell Blaine about his nightmare.
115** And then comes ''The Clock.''
116** And '''''Nikos.'''''
117* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Fairy tales are [[{{Deconstruction}} harder to live through]] than you'd think.
118* ExactWords: Fans of ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn'' may have noticed that in ''The Hunters,'' the quotes that the author uses are from the beginning of TLU. The story will end "when she runs out of quotes"--she never said anything about chronological order.
119** Blaine's "never been anyone's boyfriend." [[spoiler: He just really, really wanted to be.]]
120** The fic itself could be seen as this, seeing as Klaine is a fairy-tale romance and the story was inspired by ''the'' {{Deconstruction}} of a FairyTale.
121** Nick doesn't talk to his father anymore. They still [[PassingNotesInClass write out notes.]]
122** Nick in general is a notorious ConsummateLiar and prone to LoopholeAbuse.
123* {{Expy}}: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]].
124** Kurt is an expy of the unicorn, as is [[TheDitz Brit]][[GoodIsDumb tany]]. He's also Lady Amalthea.
125** Blaine is an expy of Schmendrick and Prince Lir. With ''The Princess,'' he's also Molly.
126** Karofsky is compared to the harpy before his HeelFaceTurn.
127** Wes might be another expy of Molly, David is Schmendrick, and the Warblers are Captain Cully's outlaws.
128** Blaine's father is Drinn and King Haggard.
129** [[spoiler: Blaine's stalker]] is either the Red Bull or the spider from the Midnight Carnival.
130* FacePalm: Quite a lot, regarding Blaine's stupidity. Bob Stoneridge mentions the urge to {{Headdesk}} when [[spoiler: David tells him about Blaine's stalker.]]
131* FanArt: The author made a banner for the Gleefic archive (later moving it to Website/ArchiveOfOurOwn), pictured at the top.
132* FatalFlaw: Blaine's unquestioning trust in people is heading towards this.
133* TheFirstCutIsTheDeepest: [[spoiler: Oh, Blaine.]] Bonus points for [[spoiler: the guy being his ''literal'' first.]]
134* FinishingEachOthersSentences: Platonic version with Blaine and Luke. Luke visits him in the hospital and starts reading him a story to try repairing their estranged relationship.
135-->'''Luke:''' ''A griffin has two hearts. One is an eagle's, and one is a lion's--''
136-->'''Blaine:''' ''--and to kill a griffin you must pierce them both.''
137* FixFic: On Website/LiveJournal, the author says Blaine's CharacterDevelopment could have been similar if RIB hadn't kept pandering to the [[YaoiFangirl loudest fans]].
138* ForcedToWatch: The Warblers spy on Blaine and Kurt having a heart-to-heart. Blaine tells Kurt that he knows he can't stop Kurt from transferring back to [=McKinley=], but he asks Kurt 'If you could stop it, and if money wasn't the problem, would you want to stay with me?' The Warblers don't want to see the answer, but the Off button on their TV jams, so as much as they'd like to stop watching, they can't, and by the time they get it to work again, they've had to watch Kurt say 'No'.
139* TheFourLoves: Blaine's lack of Storge ([[ParentalNeglect intended]] and [[WhenYouComingHomeDad unintended]]) means that he throws himself into Eros and Phileo. The former led to him [[spoiler: losing his virginity in an attempt to invoke SexEqualsLove]], which [[BreakTheCutie didn't go well]], and his Agape has attracted [[spoiler: his stalker Alex.]]
140** On the positive side, the Warblers are a perfect example of Phileo and the Eros with Kurt is mutually genuine. Blaine's siblings and Greg are also an example of Storge, even if two-thirds of them aren't there to show it.
141* ForegoneConclusion: Kurt leaves Dalton. But this time, we get to see Blaine's heart break into tiny little bits. [[BlatantLies Fun times.]]
142* {{Foreshadowing}}: ''[[CerebusRetcon Here is there, and high is low;]] [[DeconstructionFic all may be undone.]] [[UnreliableNarrator What is true, no two men know;]] [[BreakTheCutie what is gone is gone.]]''
143** Kurt mentions back in the second chapter that Blaine's incorrigibly sheltered. By now, it's pretty obvious that he ''is''.
144* FreudianSlip: A serious example at the end of ''The Princess''--Blaine is thinking of what to say to Kurt, and it starts running together into "I want you."
145* FromBadToWorse: Blaine's ''life''. He has an estranged father--depressing, but logical. Then we see just how much Kurt leaving affects him, because Blaine had his heart broken before. And in ''The Hunters,'' we find out that despite everyone's assumptions, [[spoiler: Blaine's ''not'' a virgin.]] He clearly isn't happy about it, and did we mention that Blaine is seventeen? He needs a fucking hug.
146** Turns out Blaine was ''sixteen'' [[spoiler: when he tried to invoke SexEqualsLove, and had a horrible breakup because the dude didn't seem very inclined to take responsibility for him]]. No wonder he got so upset in "Sexy."
147** And that's not getting into the plot, which involves [[spoiler: Blaine's stalker kidnapping him, Wes, and David.]] Meanwhile, Blaine got a concussion that leaves him barely aware of things.
148** He is now wandering the city, nigh-incoherent. There was a HopeSpot where [[ContrivedCoincidence Kurt and Finn found him half an hour after heading to Westerville,]] but now [[spoiler: Finn's locked in the Navigator's trunk and we have no idea where Kurt ''or'' Blaine are.]]
149** In ''The Red Bull,'' Blaine's actions make absolutely no sense and [[spoiler: Kurt nearly gets strangled by Alex.]] Thankfully, it's not long before the others find them.
150** The plot is taking an ominous turn thanks to [[spoiler: [[Series/GameOfThrones Littlefinger]] breaking Alex out of jail. Also, those two are working with Nick's father, who is a wanted criminal unbeknownst to Nick.]]
151* GenreBusting: [[JustForFun/XMeetsY Glee meets The Last Unicorn]] in a now-AlternateUniverse character-study that's [[DeconstructionFic heavily deconstructive,]] [[{{Reconstruction}} but not completely.]] It's also become a CrossOver with ''{{Series/Firefly}},'' ''Series/CriminalMinds,'' and ''Series/GameOfThrones.''
152* GenreSavvy: The Warblers, as well as Kurt. PlayedForLaughs for the first, increasingly PlayedForDrama as the story goes on.
153** In ''The Clock,'' the Warblers are WrongGenreSavvy. But only when it comes to romance, as they are perfectly justified later in [[spoiler: telling a staff member that Blaine's getting stalked.]]
154* HeroSecretService: The Warblers are a minor case for Blaine, and they are ''very'' right to do so.
155* ICallItVera: Wes named his gavel Marcus.
156* IdenticalStranger: Spencer Reid looks enough like [[spoiler: Blaine's first]] that Blaine refuses to talk to him.
157* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The chapters are all titled after characters except for ''The Midnight Carnival,'' ''[[WhamEpisode The Quest]],'' and ''[[LoveHurts The Clock.]]''
158* IfICantHaveYou: [[spoiler: Alex threatens to run over a concussed Blaine ''with Blaine's car'' if David or Wes calls 911.]]
159* InTheStyleOf: Peter S. Beagle, and fairy tales in general.
160** The chapter ''Drinn'' juxtaposes the main chapter with Blaine's life told as a literal FairyTale.
161* InVinoVeritas: Wes goes from stoic to highly emotional (and convinced that Blaine is Franchise/HarryPotter).
162** When stoned, Nick accidentally tells Jeff that he loves him.
163* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: PlayedWith. Blaine lets Kurt transfer back because he wants Kurt to be happy, but the Warblers try to make Kurt stay because they want ''Blaine'' to be happy.
164* IWillWaitForYou: In a familial sense, Blaine's been waiting for his father to accept him for ''the past two years''. And there are signs that he's done this romantically without success. [[spoiler: Confirmed in ''The Princess.'']]
165* LampshadeHanging: The Warblers, so much. Kurt and Blaine are a [[LifetimeMovieOfTheWeek Lifetime couple,]] "Candles" is only romantic if you don't pay attention to [[LyricalDissonance the lyrics,]] Blaine is a [[KnightInShiningArmor chivalrous]] [[IdiotBall idiot]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking he uses too much hair-gel]].
166** In a serious example, Kyle lampshades how ridiculous it would be for someone to ''turn down'' [[spoiler: sleeping with Blaine.]]
167** "We forgot about [[ChekhovsGun David's cuff-links]]."
168** Wes and his family completely forgot about his graduation ceremony and their family party [[spoiler: thanks to Wes and his friends getting kidnapped for half a day,]] and now they can't back out of it. Several people comment on how messed up that is.
169* LemonyNarrator: The Warblers' liberal use of [[DeadpanSnarker snark,]] [[GenreSavvy genre-savviness,]] and LampshadeHanging end up like this.
170* LockedOutOfTheLoop: PlayedWith. The Warblers try ''not'' to lock Blaine out, but since [[SeriousBusiness they treat everything as a life-or-death matter,]] Blaine thinks [[CryingWolf they're just exaggerating]] about that guy hanging around campus.
171** Jeff didn't find out that Nick was bisexual for a year because Nick was stoned out of his mind and only told Trent, who later got drunk.
172** Nick locks a LOT of people out of the loop. Even the Warblers didn't know that he's been sneaking into gay clubs or that he has a therapist.
173* LonelyRichKid: Blaine, so much.
174* LoveHurts: For Blaine, romantically and otherwise.
175-->''You make me better. You make me better, and now you're going to leave, and I have this--stupid feeling that you won't come back. Because no one '''ever''' comes back to me, Kurt, especially not someone like '''you'''.''
176** It gets worse in ''The Princess,'' ''The Harpy,'' and ''The Cat.''
177** On a familial level, [[spoiler: Tori's love for Nick]] has implicitly caused a huge chunk of the story. [[spoiler: Littlefinger is using Nick's safety to blackmail Tori into helping him.]]
178* LoveMakesYouCrazy: In ''Nikos.'' See IfICantHaveYou above.
179** In ''The Red Bull,'' [[spoiler: ''Alex tries to strangle Kurt.'']]
180* LoveMartyr: Blaine for his father and Kurt. His father is neglectful as opposed to a stereotypical homophobe, and Kurt genuinely cares about him, but the LoveHurts quote has some ugly implications. Especially since [[spoiler: Blaine's not a virgin.]]
181** Blaine is now a full member of {{Love Martyr}}dom, what with making excuses for his ParentalNeglect and [[spoiler: sleeping with someone to try and save the relationship]].
182* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: River Tam is able to help Simon deal with patients that a trauma-surgeon really shouldn't be handling, like the very concussed Blaine. She hallucinates that Blaine's hospital room is full of broken glass, while an uninjured Blaine is desperately telling her that [[spoiler: he didn't get assaulted by Alex and please straighten things out, because she's the only one who can hear him]]. Simon believes her, but they have to go through with testing because [[MysteriousPast they can't draw too much attention to themselves]]. When the Warblers visit Blaine, she hears Jeff and Nick's voices from inside the walls, [[ShipTease telling each other "I love you."]]
183* [[MayDecemberRomance May-September Romance]]: Besides Kurt, at least two of Blaine's past love interests are older. Jeremiah's [[VagueAge older]], Terry works for UPS while Blaine's still in school, and the guy in ''The Princess'' is implied to be older since Kyle puts so much emphasis on Blaine being sixteen. [[spoiler: Alex is older, too.]]
184* MeaningfulEcho: Not exact echoes, but:
185-->'''Kurt to Blaine:''' Can you stay here for a while?[[note]]He's literally asking Blaine to stay with him. ([[CryIntoChest Blaine does]].)[[/note]]
186-->'''Blaine to Kurt:''' Would you want to stay with me?[[note]]He's asking if Kurt would stay with him at Dalton, given the choice. ([[ForegoneConclusion Kurt wouldn't.]])[[/note]]
187-->'''Blaine:''' I wanted him to stay with me.[[note]]The reason [[spoiler: he slept with the first guy he dated.]] [[BreakTheCutie (It didn't work.)]][[/note]]
188* MenDontCry: Averted. It's okay for men to cry when they go through the shit that Kurt does. Or if their heart is [[LoveHurts utterly broken]] like Blaine's is.
189** Or if they're getting therapy and facing particularly hard mistakes.
190** Or if they're [[spoiler: locked in a basement with no memory of the past half-hour and desperately calling their neglectful dad for help.]]
191** Or if [[spoiler: they narrowly avoid watching their boyfriend get choked out by their stalker.]]
192** Nick starts [[BerserkerTears crying in a rage]] when [[spoiler: he finds out his dad is helping the guy who stalked and kidnapped his friends.]]
193* MoodWhiplash: ''Nikos'' is equal parts absurd, terrifying, and heartwarming. One reviewer couldn't stop laughing.
194* MundaneUtility: Wes can re-route an ''entire school's worth'' of security cameras (or at least a good number of them), and he uses it to secretly record Kurt and Blaine. He also has a near-100% success rate in betting pools, about ''anything'', and uses it for solving Warbler drama.
195** [[spoiler: Re-routing the security cameras [[ChekhovsGun wasn't so mundane]] after all.]]
196* MyBelovedSmother: Blaine's mother disapproves of Blaine's singing, though it's not as clear-cut as most examples: She's Filipino, [[SelfMadeMan grew up poor]], and doesn't want Blaine to end up a StarvingArtist. Wes calls her traditional despite his own mother being Filipino.
197** PlayedWith in ''The Princess''--after Kurt talks about how crazy [[PapaWolf Burt]] would go in Blaine's situation, Blaine's mother ''doesn't'' take [[spoiler: Blaine losing his virginity]] very seriously.
198* MysteriousPast: At least some of the Firefly crew are working at the Blue Sun Hospital, for no reasons given yet.
199** Sansa Tyrell is Nick's therapist. Nick's impending cousin-in-law Jareth immediately recognized her as [[Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire Sansa Stark]], and [[SecretRelationship neither Nick nor Jareth knew she was married.]] The BAU also know her as Sansa Stark, and keep correcting themselves on her last name. She quits as Nick's therapist after meeting Jareth, and according to flashbacks, she's in America for reasons related to Joffrey.
200** Nick has a pretty mysterious past, seeing as he lies to his friends and does many activities that concern the adults in his life. Meanwhile, his father is a government agent who divorced his mother due to the stresses his job put on their marriage. [[spoiler: His father's also the "Spyke" figure that Tom and Jerry are looking for.]]
201* {{Mythopoeia}}: The fairy-tale that Luke reads to Blaine in the hospital is an invented story called "Griffin Slayer," which begins with a quote from ''Literature/TheLastUnicorn'''s sequel.
202* MushroomSamba: The first half of ''Robin Hood'' involves River Tam taking a look into Blaine's concussion-damaged mind. The other half involves Nick, Trent, Thad, and Jeff piecing together Nick's ComingOutStory for Morgan and Rossi, because Nick got high ''and'' drunk.
203* NoNameGiven: [[spoiler: Blaine's first.]]
204* NonIndicativeName: ''The Princess'' and ''The Butterfly'' are two of the biggest [[WhamEpisode Wham Chapters]] in the story.
205* NoodleIncident: How did Blaine end up stranded in the rain with a drunk Wes and David? Wes ''won'' a bet.
206** David and Wes once hospitalized Blaine's dad while the Andersons' mansion was being renovated. It made the paramedics laugh at him.
207** Nick was dragged into therapy earlier in the year. When someone asks him about it, he just flips the guy off with a DeathGlare.
208** The Warblers worked with the drama students once, and they refuse to do it again.
209** Nick gets caught being high and has to go to the police station. When he calls his aunt about it, he has to assure her that [[AlcoholInducedIdiocy he's not in Canada.]]
210* ObliviousToLove: Blaine, ''so much.'' And with ''The Butterfly,'' it has a terrifying bent.
211* OhCrap: When David realizes that [[spoiler: Blaine's stalker has slipped past campus security [[RightUnderTheirNoses disguised as a delivery guy]].]]
212** The Warblers let off a MassOhCrap via ''text-message'' in ''Nikos.''
213* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: In ''Jack Jingly,'' Nick the CloudCuckooLander [[TheStoner stoner]] gets upset when Jeff reveals that Nick said "I love you" while he was stoned last year. They also get into an argument that ends with Nick crying in a locked bathroom, which seriously concerns the Warblers.
214** He keeps saying he doesn't care about his dad Tori, but devolves into {{Angrish}} and BerserkerTears [[spoiler: when he finds out Tori is sheltering Blaine's kidnapper]].
215* OneSteveLimit: Averted since there are three known Blaines at Dalton--Gay Blaine, Muslim Blaine, and Soccer Blaine. Surname-wise, Greg Morgan and Derek Morgan aren't related. Then Nick's cousin Sarah shares a first name with Sarah Edwards, a Dalton counselor.
216* PapaWolf / MamaBear: Greg, Burt, and Carole, in a strong contrast to Blaine's parents. Emphasized in ''King Haggard,'' where Luke asks Greg why he didn't find out [[spoiler: Blaine got kidnapped]] until hours later.
217-->'''Greg:''' I didn't call you because [[ParentalSubstitute I was looking for Blaine]].
218** Tori is very much a PapaWolf for Nick. [[spoiler: He got forced onto the wrong side of the law because of it.]]
219* ParalyzingFearOfSexuality: Obviously Kurt, but David reveals that Blaine has "chivalrous panic attacks" about pushing Kurt too much. Both are (un)motivated by a host of insecurities, played for dramedy. And we've found out that [[spoiler: Blaine's not a virgin, which makes all of the jokes sound horrible now.]]
220** Later, we see Blaine get uncomfortable listening to [[Theatre/SpringAwakening "Touch Me"]]. He takes ''lots'' of [[ShowerOfAngst cold showers]] to deal with his feelings, and he can barely talk about it.
221* ParentalSubstitute: Greg, the Andersons' house manager; he has shades of OldRetainer.
222* ParentalNeglect: Luke to Blaine. [[spoiler: And Blaine's mother is incredibly lax on sex-ed.]]
223* PlayedForDrama / PlayedForLaughs: Sometimes both at the same time. It's a ''Series/{{Glee}}'' fanfic, after all.
224* PlayingWithATrope: There's a lot of this.
225* ThePowerOfFriendship: PlayedWith realistically. The Warblers are [[ShipperOnDeck insanely invested]] in Klaine and [[SeriousBusiness will tamper with school cameras just to validate a bet]], but they genuinely care about their members, such as dragging Blaine into therapy and telling someone that [[spoiler: Blaine has a stalker]].
226** [[spoiler: And forcing the stalker to kidnap them if he doesn't want them to call the police.]]
227* ThePowerOfLove: Is great, but [[{{Deconstruction}} not enough]] to keep Kurt or Blaine from having insane insecurities. Or for Kurt to stay at Dalton.
228* PuppyDogEyes: Both Kurt and Blaine.
229* RealDreamsAreWeirder: Blaine and Kurt's dreams are plot-relevant, but they still [[InMediasRes skip around]] and [[MindScrew follow strange logic.]] In a meta twist, Blaine's dreams in the eighth and eleventh chapters are lifted from the novel. PlayedForDrama in a more realistic manner than usual.
230* {{Reconstruction}}: Veering on DeconReconSwitch by now. As hard as Kurt and Blaine have been deconstructed, the story still makes an effort to show how their relationship makes both of them happy.
231** And ''The Men At Arms'' reveals that as conflicting as Blaine's relationships with his parents are, his siblings and [[ParentalSubstitute Greg]] certainly ''do'' care about him.
232** Therapy isn't as bad as Blaine thought it would be.
233** If the Warblers aren't a reconstruction of ThePowerOfFriendship, nothing is.
234** Blaine's father [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone deeply regrets]] that he's been so neglectful of Blaine.
235* RefugeInAudacity: Secretly taping your friends for months? [[DudeNotFunny Creepy.]] Secretly taping your friends for months because you've got a $200 betting pool on them? Readers go, "Lol, those Warblers and their stalking!"
236** David, Nick, Trent, and Wes drag Blaine to counseling. ''Literally.''
237** ''Nikos'' starts with Kurt and Blaine saying "I love you," [[spoiler: abruptly cuts to Blaine, Wes, and David getting kidnapped,]] and ends with the Warblers freaking out via text-message.
238** Nick's ComingOutStory is... ''different''. His mother thought going to Dalton made him bi, so he smoked a joint to piss her off [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere while packing up and leaving]]. He went to Trent's place and got drunk ''on top'' of being high, then went back home and kicked his mother's headlights out. He also tripped so hard that he ''forgot to tell Jeff he was bi for a '''year.'''''
239** Nick tries to use the BatSignal (an in-joke between him and his dad Tori) [[spoiler: to lure Tori out of hiding to talk to him so he can get arrested,]] and admits that he only thought it up ten minutes ago. (He [[CloudCuckooLander also forgot to tell the police]] BEFORE he started his plan.) Everyone's stunned when it ''works.''
240** The fact that Tori took the bait is ALSO refuge in audacity, because nobody thinks he'd [[spoiler: risk getting arrested, even to talk to his son]]. Tori actually [[GoodParents DOES want to talk to Nick that badly,]] and he knows [[spoiler: that the police would be under-prepared since most criminals wouldn't do it.]] [[CrazyPrepared And he made escape plans anyway.]]
241* TheReveal: Frequently combined with WhamEpisode.
242** ''The Hunters:'' [[spoiler: Blaine's not a virgin.]] Elaborated via FlashBack in ''The Princess.''
243** ''The Butterfly:'' [[spoiler: Blaine has a stalker.]] In ''Nikos,'' [[spoiler: he kidnaps Blaine, Wes, and David.]]
244** ''The Cat:'' [[spoiler: Blaine's father-figure Greg]] is "Jerry."
245** ''The Spider:'' [[spoiler: Nick's father]] is "Spyke."
246* RunningGag: The secret/emergency Warbler meetings, where they essentially [[LampshadeHanging lampshade]] everything about Kurt and Blaine. Nick is constantly harped on for smoking weed.
247* SecondLove: Kurt for Blaine.
248* SecretKeeper: Wes promised he wouldn't tell anyone that Blaine stays up looking at family photos. Wes and David won't show anyone the accidental recording of Kurt and Blaine. Several of the Warblers know [[spoiler: about Blaine's first relationship.]]
249** By default, the therapists are this.
250** ''Everyone'' is keeping some kind of secret from each other. Except Kurt and Blaine.
251* {{Seme}} / {{Uke}}: PlayedWith. Blaine looks like a standard ''seme'', but is unbelievably trusting and naive. Meanwhile, Kurt looks like a standard ''uke'' but is far more assertive and confident than Blaine.
252* SeriousBusiness: The Warblers. They treat everything from [[MundaneMadeAwesome bets,]] {{Zany Scheme}}s, and [[ShipperOnDeck relationships]] to [[spoiler: emotional breakdowns and a StalkerWithACrush]] as if it's life-or-death. (The last two are [[JustifiedTrope justified.]]) ''Forty minutes'' is a record-breaking amount of time to resolve arguments.
253** Which has now been {{Cerebus Retcon}}ned (see CryingWolf above).
254* SexEqualsLove: [[AvertedTrope Not necessarily]]. It gets worse if you try to ''invoke'' it.
255* ShipperOnDeck: ''The Warblers,'' dear god. We have Wes to thank for "[[DuetBonding Candles,]]" by the way.
256-->'''David:''' We need to subtly change his goal from transferring back there to staying with Blaine. ''[[BeatPanel (beat)]]'' At Dalton.
257** They're also betting on Jeff and Nick.
258* ShipTease: Jeff and Nick. They're almost always together, and are now the subject of Warbler betting.
259** In ''The Butterfly,'' a stoned Nick accidentally falls in the swimming pool and somehow mistakes Jeff for Franchise/{{Batman}}. [[LampshadeHanging Nick then remembers his last name is Grayson.]] [[SubvertedTrope And worries that "Bruce" will whoop his ass for cursing so much.]]
260** In ''Drinn,'' Nick insists that Jeff give Blaine a hug, because [[ItMakesSenseInContext Jeff's the only one pretty enough to cancel out the estrogen in Blaine's system.]]
261** In ''Robin Hood,'' Nick calls Jeff pretty again, River hears both of them think "I love you" to each other while talking to Blaine, and Nick once told Jeff "I love you" while stoned.
262** Nick shows up shirtless at Jeff's place so much that Jeff doesn't feel awkward anymore.
263* ShoutOut: Has its own page now.
264* [[ShowerOfAngst Shower Of Repressed Sexuality]]: Blaine takes a lot of them.
265* ShownTheirWork: The author read a ''lot'' about chivalry to characterize Blaine instead of relying on TheThemeParkVersion of a KnightInShiningArmor, and explores both [[ThePowerOfLove why]] [[CharacterDevelopment chivalry]] [[GoodFeelsGood works]] and [[WideEyedIdealist why]] [[BrokenAce it]] [[LoveMartyr doesn't]].
266** She also averts EpiphanyTherapy or SingleIssuePsychology.
267** {{Unicorn}}s are frequently thought of as sweet, helpless, and pure, and this is why Blaine's dreams involve Kurt turning into one or vice versa. But the author compares Kurt to the medieval unicorn, which is a symbol of pure ''[[PureIsNotGood wildness.]]''
268** [[ConcussionsGetYouHigh Concussions don't get you high]]--they make you nauseous, emotional, and screw up your ability to communicate something as simple as "my head hurts". They can also leave you disoriented and irrational enough to put yourself (and anyone with you) in danger.
269** Sure, everyone got rescued, but there's still Blaine's three-week recovery time, Kurt's hospital bills, and Simon's call to [[Series/CriminalMinds the BAU]].
270* SickeninglySweethearts: [[{{Deconstruction}} Deconstructed]] in that Blaine has no other outlet for love besides Kurt, and he's also really conflicted about the ''other'' kind of feelings.
271* SkewedPriorities: Nick was more worried about getting caught smoking weed than of ''nearly drowning'' (but to be fair, he was high at the time). And the Warblers value their bets over the fuzzy legality of tampering with security cameras, although they do have lines they won't cross regarding Kurt and Blaine's privacy.
272** The Warblers are actually somewhat calm in Nikos, considering [[spoiler: three of their members got kidnapped.]] It's only when Kurt finds out that the MassOhCrap is unleashed.
273** In a darker version, [[spoiler: Littlefinger has traumatized several teenagers and has most likely wrecked Tori's relationship with his son Nick]] because he's obsessed with finding Sansa. This greatly irks his partners in crime, who are respectively a rogue RBI agent and a StalkerWithACrush, because [[EvenEvilHasStandards 1) Sansa's married and 2) she's young enough to be his daughter.]]
274* SophisticatedAsHell: The Warblers, who use a profuse amount of {{Precision F Strike}}s.
275-->'''Brandon:''' We're about to serenade a ''complete fucking stranger.''
276-->'''Nick:''' Yeah, I vote in favor of fucking that.
277-->'''David:''' According to what I learned in Psych, inexplicable crying means that something's been fucked over!
278* StalkerWithACrush: [[spoiler: Alex, from ''The Butterfly'' onwards.]]
279* TheStoic: Wes, though he has HiddenDepths as Blaine's SecretKeeper. Blaine is also very stoic, with shades of WellDoneSonGuy, WideEyedIdealist, and BrokenAce.
280* {{Subtext}}: Several of these tropes are implied heavily at most. And let's not forget the dreams.
281* SureLetsGoWithThat: When Blaine said "[[ExactWords I've never been anyone's boyfriend,]]" Kyle and Lydia thought he was [[ThatDidntHappen pretending his first relationship never happened.]] Blaine's not about to tell them the truth.
282* SuspiciouslyAproposMusic:
283** [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] most notably during ''The Princess,'' where Blaine has a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_therapy music therapy]] session. He sings "[[LonelyPianoPiece Samson]]" by Music/ReginaSpektor.
284** There's also ''The Creatures of Night,'' where the Warblers listen to "[[Theatre/SpringAwakening Touch Me]]" and Blaine ends up uncomfortable.
285* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: In ''The Hunters,'' Blaine says that he's not repressing his feelings (about Kurt). Though he ''is'' repressing his feelings, they're [[ParalyzingFearOfSexuality very specific ones]].
286** Nick keeps saying he doesn't care about his dad Tori, but his actions state otherwise.
287* ThemeNaming: Ky'''l'''e, B'''l'''aine, and '''L'''ydia. Their father is '''L'''uke.
288* ThereAreNoTherapists:
289** Blaine avoids dealing with his issues because "they're not that bad" compared to Kurt's. They certainly aren't, but they're still pretty serious.
290** Kurt doesn't want therapy because he might get [[DontYouDarePityMe pitied]]. Blaine and Kurt both rely on Wes and David for emotional support; the latter is studying to ''be a psychologist'', yet doesn't even think that maybe they should talk to an actual counselor instead of their friends. Which is pretty much how [[TruthInTelevision real teens]] act.
291** No longer applicable, as of ''The Hunters.''
292* ThickerThanWater: Blaine won't let ''anyone'' question how his parents raised him, and he puts up with his father's ParentalNeglect by saying things could be worse.
293* ThoseTwoGuys: Wes and David, when they're not being a WithAFriendAndAStranger trio with Blaine. Jeff and Nick, also.
294* TwoScenesOneDialogue: ''The Princess'' jumps between three different scenes (denoted by '''then, now,''' and '''later''') and two dialogues. While the first scene is what happened to Blaine a year earlier, the second and third scenes are about Blaine telling Sarah and Kurt about it.
295* TitleDrop: In ''The Hunters.''
296-->'''Sarah:''' Hunting the unicorn--the way you are, just looking for it--that means you're trying to [[MeaningfulEcho make yourself better]].
297* ToBeLawfulOrGood: The BAU has a really tough decision between [[spoiler: risking the chance of letting a kidnapper escape the law]] and [[spoiler: putting a troubled teenager's very loving father in jail for sheltering said kidnapper.]] That's ''before'' they know [[TragicVillain the accomplice is only doing it because of blackmail threatening his son,]] which is its own "lawful versus good" decision.
298* TranquilFury:
299** In ''The Red Bull'' after [[spoiler: Kurt frees himself from almost getting choked, he pummels Alex in turn until Wes and David drag him off]].
300-->''He is far past screaming, and he'd look almost calm if it weren't for the tenseness and [[BerserkerTears the furious glimmers]] down his face.
301** [[spoiler: Greg/]]Jerry is also very quiet after questioning [[spoiler: Alex]], once the dean calms him down. He flicks an ice-pick from his sleeve to land point-down on the table, then [[NothingIsScarier leaves it there long enough for him to get uncomfortable]] before he resumes the conversation.
302* TrueCompanions:
303** The New Directions. The Warblers are also close-knit and [[ShipperOnDeck care a lot]] about Kurt and Blaine's relationship. When Blaine implies that his situation with Kurt has happened before (with even worse consequences), they're rightly pissed.
304--->'''Nick:''' We need to find that bastard and rip his fucking ''kneecaps'' out!
305** They also set up [[HeroSecretService a buddy system]] to keep track of Blaine once David [[spoiler: realizes Blaine is getting stalked.]]
306** Wes and David [[spoiler: ''force Alex to kidnap them'' because they won't leave Blaine alone]]. The other Warblers are [[spoiler: helping the police look for them.]]
307* TVTeen: Averted behaviorally, similar to canon. Nick smokes weed and swears every other sentence, Blaine's stupidity and clean-cut nature is noted to be exceptional, the Warblers are almost too GenreSavvy [[WrongGenreSavvy for their own good]], and there are quite a few mentions of the Warblers getting wasted at parties.
308* TwoferTokenMinority: Blaine is a gay half-Asian. Terry Hanari is also a gay Asian.
309* UndercoverCopReveal:
310** [[spoiler: Greg is Jerry.]]
311** [[spoiler: Farhad]] is also part of their group.
312* TheUnfavorite: Blaine. When he tries to call home and get a ride from his dad, it takes three tries and his ''brother'' finally answers. It's implied this has happened before. In ''Maid Marian,'' it's revealed that he and Luke used to be very close.
313* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: Terry, to Blaine.
314* UnreliableNarrator:
315** It's realistic unreliability (they're teenagers, after all), but there's a lot of misconceptions going around. On a technical note, the narration is third-person limited rather than omniscient, which skews a lot of things towards whoever is the narrator at the moment.
316** [[spoiler: Alex]] is ''very'' unreliable. His sugary introduction in ''The Creatures of Night'' contrasts sharply with his actions in ''Nikos'' and ''The Red Bull.''
317* UnusuallyUninterestingSight:
318** Only the freshmen at Dalton care that four Warblers are hauling Blaine around like a sack of potatoes. Apparently, they do this for at least one of their number every year.
319** Ms. Bradford bumps into Nick and Jeff, who are both soaking wet, and Nick is acting strangely (because he's high, but she doesn't know this). She immediately "gives the nurse a head's up."
320** Jeff drags Nick by his collar into the bathroom, arguing about when Nick was stoned last year and forgot to straighten something out. The Warblers find no problem with this, and immediately start betting that [[ShipperOnDeck one of them said "I love you" while Nick was stoned.]]
321* UsedToBeASweetKid: Luke Anderson, which is why Blaine's {{Love Martyr}}dom is so depressing. In a subversion (inversion?), it's a wonder Blaine's ''stayed'' a sweet kid.
322* WallBangHer: Jeff attempted against-the-wall sex. [[DoNotTryThisAtHome He needed Midol after ten seconds and he nearly dropped the girl twice.]]
323* WellDoneSonGuy: Blaine.
324* WhamEpisode:
325** ''The Clock,'' ''The Princess,'' and the second half of ''The Butterfly.''
326** ''Nikos.''
327* WhamLine:
328** After all the Warblers' mostly-affectionate jokes at Blaine's lacking sex drive, [[spoiler: "I'm not a virgin"]] hits ''really'' hard.
329** While Dalton is in chaos after [[spoiler: Blaine, Wes, and David get kidnapped]]:
330-->[[spoiler: '''Greg:''']] "Having a rough patch, [[CodeName Tom?]]"
331* WhatYouAreInTheDark:
332** PlayedWith during ''The Clock'' for Kurt ''and'' Blaine; they're having a heartfelt talk about Kurt's transfer, and don't know they're being taped by the Warblers. Which leads to a [[ForegoneConclusion subversion]] of ThePowerOfLove--Blaine really has changed for the better and they're both head-over-heels for each other, but Kurt is too independent to be content with staying at Dalton.
333** David and Wes don't know they're being recorded either. When they need to decide between [[spoiler: calling 911 or running, which would risk Blaine getting run over]], they TakeAThirdOption by [[spoiler: forcing Alex to kidnap ''all three of them.'']]
334* WildTeenParty: Frequently referenced, and David once drunk-texts Kurt after getting hammered at one.
335* WrongGenreSavvy:
336** The Warblers think Kurt and Blaine are a fairy tale couple and desperately want them to live happily ever after. Unfortunately, this story is based on ''two'' deconstructions of that very thing.
337** Blaine is so [[WideEyedIdealist trusting]] and [[ChronicHeroSyndrome helpful]] that Greg needs to ''spell out'' how lucky he is to have met Kurt instead of a ManipulativeBastard or a ConsummateLiar. (Or a ManipulativeBastard who ''didn't'' genuinely fall in love with him.)
338** Terry may have thought he and Blaine would be HighSchoolSweethearts. Unfortunately for him, that title goes to Kurt.
339** [[spoiler: Blaine's stalker Alex]] thinks that 1) Blaine is in an AllTakeAndNoGive relationship, and 2) he's the DoggedNiceGuy who'll win Blaine in the end.
340* YouAreTooLate: [[spoiler: The police find Wes and David in Alex's basement, but Blaine panicked and ran off two hours earlier.]]
341* YouNeedToGetLaid: The Warblers think Blaine should. [[spoiler: [[InvertedTrope Inverted;]] getting laid was a ''huge'' factor in why he's so uptight.]]
342* ZanyScheme:
343** The Warblers try to change Kurt's ringtone to a "[[ThePowerOfLove Love overcomes all]]" song (Music/{{Aqualung}}'s "Brighter Than Sunshine"), but accidentally change it to a sad song (Augustana's "Boston"). Kurt's just confused.
344** The Warblers hack Blaine's Facebook to send Kurt a marriage request and [[RefugeInAudacity a five-page poem]]. As gay marriage is largely illegal in the US, it's a sore spot for Blaine.
345** The Warblers lock Kurt and Blaine [[TenMinutesInTheCloset in the closet]]. Their motive isn't even recognized, since it's such a standard prank.

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