This is the Recap page for Roommates and is quite spoilerific as it collects the arc specific tropes. You might also be interested in the character sheets for all the numerous characters.
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Roommates Proper:
Pages 485-506
School Daze
School Daze
School Daze
Pages: 485 Start of Term
, 486 Mistaken Identities, 487 ART, 488 Health, 489 Turning Radius, 490 New Media, 491 Driver's Ed, 492 Rumble and Reunion, 493 Responsible, 494 That Place, 495 MLS, 496 Aunt, 497 Family Feud, 498 Art Major, 499 Time, 500 The Scottish Play, 501 Gee Officer Javert, 502 Social Justice, 503 Director, 504 Scholarship, 505 Good, 506 Don't Hug Characters: Erik, James, Javert, Jareth, Sarah, Christine, Jack Frost, Erlkönig's Daughter (Aisling), Tracy Turnblad, Indiana Jones, Ten, Tony Stark, Gandalf, Aziraphale, Mrs. Norrington, Erlkönig, Darcy, Valjean
New Characters:Ichabod Crane, Abby Mills, Roy Walker, Baymax, Hiro, Tadashi, Dorian Pavus, Imperator Furiosa, Carlos, Stacker Pentecost, The Librarian, Flynn Carsen, Eve Baird, Jake Stone, Ezekiel Jones, Cassandra Cillian, The Pagemaster, Evelyn Carnahan O’Connell, Marian Paroo, Barbara Gordon, Steve Rogers, Lu Yan, the Silent Monk, Eames, Alec Hardison, the Jets and the Sharks, Enjolras, Amanda Waller
Running Gags: Dead in Canon, Science Bros, Javert's Stress Level
Summary: The school season starts once again and the campus is flooded with new faces.
- Berserk Button: Threatening to invoke The Scottish Play in a room full of theatre wonks (one of whom is certifiably Ax-Crazy)? Dammit, Eames...
- Cool and Unusual Punishment: Amanda Waller's solution to the troublemaking Jets and Sharks running around campus? Giving them a scholarship and enrolling all of them in classes.
- Drives Like Crazy: The natural result of Imperator Furiosa as the drive instructor.
- Everyone Is Related: Turns out that Ichabod and James are cousins.
- Fun with Homophones: The Lee building is for art students while the Li building is the gym.
- The Gadfly: Darcy sends the new art student to the Li building instead of the Lee building. Of course, since the art student in questions was Steve Rogers...
- Eames also seems to qualify when he teases the group with The Scottish Trope
- Humongous Mecha: The science students and Tony build one.
- Kill It with Fire: Jareth's reaction in this scene.
- Magi Babble: Jareth and Dorian end up discussing the manipulation of time.
- Mistaken Identity: Ichabod Crane is mistaken for James apparently at least three times.
- Mr. Fanservice: Sarah and Christine are very appreciative of Roy's arms.
- Musical Episode: 501 Gee Officer Javert, starring the Jets and the Sharks.
- Oh, Crap!: Jareth's reaction upon realizing that video game characters had arrived on campus.
- The Scottish Trope: Discussed.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Erik decides he'd rather deal with a twisted ankle than Baymax.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Javert ends up with this expression when Enjolras shows up on campus.
- Wham Line: "Aunt Aileen?"
- X Days Since: "Cataclysm Free for 0.5 days"
Pages 507-519
Lab Accidents
Lab Accidents
Lab Accidents
Pages: 507 Install, 508 Power On, 509 Update, 510 New Hardware Detected, 511 Run, 512 Log In, 513 Load, 514 404, 515 Worm, 516 Databend, 517 BSoD, 518 Reboot, 519 Reset Characters: Erik, Hiro Hamada, Tadashi Hamada, Dorian Pavus, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor, Javert, Jareth, James, Baymax
New Characters: Dum-E, GLaDOS
Running Gags: Science Bros
Summary: Finally deciding to drag Tesla's invention out of the basement, Erik tries to store it on campus. This does not turn out to be a good idea.
- Big Damn Hero: Baymax bursting through a wall and fixing things.
- Continuity Nod: Tesla's invention from very early in the comic makes a return.
- Diving Save: Erik pulls this off to save Tony.
- Dynamic Entry: Erik comes crashing through the ceiling to face GLaDOS
- And then Iron Man burst through the door.
- And after that, Baymax showed up by bursting through a wall.
- Evil Is Petty: GLaDOS"I bet you think you're clever, but I can tell you I have stopped better scientists than you. They were also better looking. But that's not hard."
- Foil: GLaDOS and Baymax. Both are Artificial Intelligence entities, but one is aggressive and spiteful towards humanity while the other is protective and kind.
- Lightning Can Do Anything: Thor's lightning has some interesting effects on Tesla's invention.
- Papa Wolf: Don't mess with Tony's bots. He won't like it.
- Psychotic Smirk: Erik gives one when he decides to take on GLaDOS."No, no, she's not wrong...not about me."
- Symbol Swearing: Musical symbols, in Erik's case.
- This Is Gonna Suck: GlaDOS, upon realizing that Roboticized Tony and full-Ax-Crazy-mode Erik both unleashed at the same time isn't a good idea.
- Understatement: Javert's comment when coming upon a half-destroyed and GLaDOS-infested building? "Well, this is a bad sign."
- Unwilling Roboticisation : Tony
- We Have the Keys: Javert reminds James of this when the latter grabs some dynamite to get into the lab building. (Later, when they get a little closer to the situation, James still thinks he has the right idea.)
- X Days Since: "Cataclysm Free for 7 days (New Record)." Gets changed to zero when Thor's lightning hits campus, and then breaks down entirely as things escalate.
Pages 520-535
Standalone Pages, Spa Day
Standalone Pages, Spa Day
Standalone Pages
Characters:Eve Baird, Jake Stone, Ezekiel Jones, Cassandra Cillian, Loki, Story, Aziraphael, Crowley
- E Equals MC Escher: Cassandra's formula about the rules of narrative.
- Noticing the Fourth Wall: Cassandra actually presses herself against it.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Straight from Norse mythology... Poor Loki.
-
Memetic Mutation: "Netflix and chill"
Spa Day
Pages: 523 Snowman, 524 Arrangements, 525 Shipper, 526 Collision, 527 Destination, 528 Sauna, 529 Scry, 530 Vicissitude, 531 Sloth and Envy, 532 Plot, 533 Photographs, 534 Fireworks Characters: Aisling, Jareth, Erik, Sarah, Christine, Eponine, Darcy, James, Javert, Indiana Jones, River Song, Ichabod Crane
New Characters: Yuki-Onna, Stephen Maturin, Chihiro, Haku, Soot Sprites
Running Gags: Actor Allusion
Summary: Aisling decides to interfere in the lives of her brother and his friends by arranging a spa trip.
- The Glomp: Aisling does this to Jareth
- Internal Reveal: Sarah learns that Aisling is Jareth's older sister.
- Not a Morning Person: Jareth
- Scenery Porn: The Bathhouse
- Seven Deadly Sins: Referenced by the title of the page Sloth and Envy.
- Shipper on Deck: Aisling
- Shirtless Scene: Jareth, James, Javert, and Erik in the sauna
Standalone Page
535 Recall Characters: Norrington, Socks, Disbelief
New Characters: Alexandria
- The Bus Came Back: Socks
Pages 536-541
Hamilton, Fridged
Hamilton, Fridged
Hamilton
Pages: 536 Hamilton Part 1, 537 Hamilton Part 2, 538 Hamilton Part 3 Characters: Jareth, Javert, James, Erik, Eponine, Sarah, Christine, Socks
New Character:The cast of Hamilton
Summary: In which the cast of Hamilton comes to visit the roommates.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Hamilton himself complains about his lack of screen time in the comic. The artist fights back.
- Musical Episode: Naturally
Fridged
Pages: 539 Fridged 1, 540 Fridged 2, 541 Fridged 3 Characters: Erik, Jareth, James, Javert
Summary: The main four roommates argue with each other via notes left on the fridge.
- Call-Back: Javert doesn't want to get involved in anyone's bread problems.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Each roommate uses a different color post-it note: Yellow = Jareth, Red = Erik, Blue = Javert, Green = James
- Wham Episode: While the first two sets of fridge notes are amusing little discussions between roommates, the third one involves a missing shirt that was last seen at the start of the Kings War arc.
Pages 542-
The Blank Arc
The Blank Arc
The Blank Arc
Pages: 542 Accession, 543 Silent, Alarm, 544 Falling Into Place, 545 Blank, 546 Flee, 547 Encroachment, 548 Yuck, 549 Intercept, 550 Occupied, 551 Secret Identity, 552 Kerning, 553 Interlinear, 554 Keywords, 555 Four, 556 Target, 557 Leitmotif, 558 Tear Down, 559 Shredded, 560 Libretto, 561 Drip, 562 Hypocrite, 563 Syncopation, 564 Crescendo, 565 al niente, 566 Creation, 567 Restart Characters: The Erlkonig, Jareth, James, Tony, Christian, Ariadne, Roy Walker, Alexandria, Sarah, Christine, Socks/Fanon, Disbelief, Harry Dresden, Bob, Javert, Erik, Story, Music
New Characters: Blank
Running Gags: Javert Carrying People
Summary:In which a new Concept appears.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: In addition to Story, Disbelief, and the newcomer Blank, it seems that Socks might also now qualify. He's going by the new name of Fanon.
- Big Damn Heroes: Erik pulls this off to save Socks and Disbelief from Blank.
- Big Red Button: While the color is unclear, the "Team Curiosity Scramble Button" seems to fit.
- Character Title: Page 545: Blank
- *Drool* Hello: Blank does this to Disbelief
- Early-Bird Cameo: Blank first appeared in the cover page Conceptualize
- Enemy Mine: There seems to be a slight hint of this between Story and Disbelief and Socks/Fanon when it comes to Blank.
- Story also tries to team up with Erik against the new threat, though there seems to be some insincerity on its part...
- Go Through Me: Socks pulls this off to try and protect Disbelief.
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: James makes this suggestion in order to look for Jareth.
- Oh, Crap!: Tony, Christian, and Ariadne all have this expression when they encounter Blank and Jareth has it when he senses something is coming, but that also that "there's nothing there."
- James has this reaction when Socks tells him that Blank is targeting "the imaginative. The ones who create."
- Red Alert: Tony tries to warn everyone about Blank, but he gets stopped before he can reach the button.
- Rule of Three: Harry compels Blank to identify itself thrice. In his series, any magical being who is asked something three times has to answer.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Roy's decision when he catches a glimpse of something creepy up in the catwalk above the stage is to grab the kids and run.
- Silence Is Golden: There is no dialogue or sound effects for "Syncopation," "Crescendo," "al niente," "Creation," and "Restart."
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Erik winds up on the receiving end of one of these for a change, thanks to Story.
- Tempting Fate: Jareth says his wards will ensure that "nothing magical is getting in without a key." A few panels later and Blank is staring at the Building.
- James suggests splitting up during a crisis.
- Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: Javert apparently doesn't fit Blank's desires and gets rejected when he/she/it tried to target him.
- Visual Pun: When asked to identify itself, Blank's speech bubbles are filled with blank sheets of paper and new document files with no writing yet.
- Wham Line: This one in 556 Target.Socks: Don't you see the pattern? The ones its going after? What they have in common? Roy... Alexandria... Jareth... Lady Sarah... It wants the imaginative. The ones who create.
- Willing Channeler: When the threat is deemed to be great enough, Erik plays host to Story and Music at the same time.
- The Worf Effect: Blank attacks the Erlkonig with no issue on the first page of the arc.
Stuff not counted in the main series:
The Proto-strips:
New Characters: Erik, Jareth.
Story: Standalone gags about the two characters sitting in a bar. The last mentions moving together.
Story: Standalone gags about the two characters sitting in a bar. The last mentions moving together.
- Actor Allusion: Why Erik gets younger. Still in-universe. Lamshaded by the characters.
- Brown Note: Dario Argento's adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera. You Have Been Warned. Also look at the comment section and count all the baited schmucks.
- Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick / Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: "...drugs, girls, girls on drugs, girls you thought were girls while you were on drugs but who turned out not to be..."
- Drowning My Sorrows: Valentine's Day is hard on a pair of romantic villains...
- Waxing Lyrical: A slight rewrite of What is this feeling... (Loathing) from Wicked.
- There is a fan video that sets the comic to the song here.
- There is a fan video that sets the comic to the song here
Covers & Standalone Extras
Roommates: Erik and Jareth (Cover)
Characters: Erik, Jareth.
Published between the Pirates of the Caribbean Spoilers and 100 Years War mini-arc.
Halloween 07 Roommates Special
- Halloween Cosplay: 2007. Jareth&Erik as James&Javert.
- Metafictional Device: According to this Censor Boxes are actual things the characters can interact with.
- Guilt by Association Gag: Poor James as a Funny Background Event.
- My New Gift Is Lame: Unfortunately, all of them got the very same lame thing. Santa Claus must have something against them. Subverted with Javert, who is quite happy to receive a hefty lump of coal in the middle of winter, considering today's rising energy costs.
Roommates: Javert and James (Cover)
Characters: Javert, James.
Published in the middle of the karaoke arc.
Roommates - Happy Anniversary
Characters: Javert, James, Jareth, Erik, Aziraphale, Crowley, Sarah, Christine, Legolas, Todd.
[Roommates: Crowley and Azira (Cover)
Characters: Aziraphale, Crowley.
Published around the end of the First Vacation arc.
Roommates: Legolas and Sweeney (Cover)
Characters: Legolas and Sweeney.
Published in the middle of the New Hire arc.
Halloween 2009
Characters: Erik, Jareth, James, Javert.
Published before the 3rd Sketch - Clean-Up.
- Halloween Cosplay: 2009. The main cast as classic monsters.
Roommates: Death and Misto (Cover)
Characters: DEATH, Misto.
Published at the end of the Killed for Canon Meeting arc.
Roommates: Rule Britannia (Cover)
Characters: Jareth, James.
Published at the end of the Second Vacation arc.
Roommates - Mist and Madness (Cover)
Characters: Erlkönig, The Erlking's daughter.
Published in the middle of the Dark!Jareth arc.
Roommates: Femme Fatale (Cover)
Characters: Christine, Sarah.
Published in the middle of the Zombies arc.
Commodore Catastrophe Card
Characters: James.
Published afer the Zombies arc. Club card for the Oh, No! James! club, or in other words the fanclub of the resident woobie.
Holiday Special 2011 - Mistletoe Mischief
Characters: James, Éponine, Javert, Valjean, Aziraphale, Crowley, Erik, Mag, Mr. King, Mrs. Norrington, Jareth, Sarah.
Published in the middle of the Jareth's cold arc.
- Under the Mistletoe: It also demonstrates that Mrs.N. interprets kissing rather loosely. Being Covert Pervert runs in the family.
While The World Spins On
Characters: Talahassee, Toby.Extra for #220 Hunch.
Roommates: Twilight Waltz (Cover)
Characters: Mr. King, Mrs. Norrington.
Published after Such Stuff....
- The Shadow Knows: Mr. Kings glamour isn't perfect.
Roommates - Keep Watching (Cover)
Characters: Jareth, Javert, James, Erik.
New Characters: Slender Man
Published in the middle of the Greet the neighbors arc.
- Jump Scare: Keep Watching. It's animated.
Long Live The King (Cover)
Characters: Mr. King.
Published in the middle of the Wild Hunt arc.
Halloween 2013
Characters: Jareth, Javert, James, Erik.
- Halloween Cosplay: 2013. The main cast as Slasher Movie villains.
Snow Day
Characters: Jareth, Javert, James, Erik, Éponine, Legolas, Captain America.
- Funny Background Event: Legolas and Captain America shield surfing.
- Homemade Sweater from Hell: Well, they are actually not that terrible... but Javert still refuses to wear his. Not that it helps and seems to be his lesser problem any minute now.
Roommates: Conceptualize
Characters: Story, Music, Disbelief, Blank, ???
Published in the middle of School Daze
- Anthropomorphic Personification: All of them.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Two of the characters haven't shown up in the comic yet.
Roommates Sketches
R-Sketch 1 - Random
Characters: Aziraphael, Crowley.
Characters: Aziraphael, Crowley.
Roommates S2 - Pie
Characters: Legolas, Todd.
Roommates S3 - Clean-Up
Characters: Erik, Jareth, James, Javert.
Roommates S4 - Butcher Job
Characters: James, Javert.
- Brown Bag Mask: Javert after a shaving accident here. Not only Jareth is guilty in the sin of vanity.
Roommates S5 - Llama
Characters: Erik, Jareth, James, Javert.
