The Strays ⎈John B Routledge⎈

Fun Facts

The pocket knife that CJ carries (the knife in the 'This is War' aesthetic) is literally my knife. I took that picture. 

In the 'Pogues For Life' aesthetic, CJ is taking the picture of the group which is why she's not in it. (Hint: Remember that thing I told you about The Pogue Handbook?)

The matching friendship bracelets the Pogues have are actually canon in the show. I'm not 100% on what they're actually made out of or the real story behind it, but yeah.

The knight in shining plastic from the chapter 'Dick' was a reference to a Waterparks' song.

JJ and CJ only have licenses because their school still offers driver's ed. John B would still have his regardless, but he'd of had to pay for it himself. Much like his electric guitar and amp.

John B has his own laptop which was passed down from his dad when he started high school. JJ and CJ also have one that they share (it's left at John B's place) that CJ bought for them. CJ also bought her own phone, whereas JJ found a phone left at the Boneyard after a kegger.

Everyone except Pope and Kie pay their own cell phone bills. They have Straight Talk.

One of the porch couches was Kie's family's old couch. Instead of throwing away the still good couch, the Pogues moved it over to the Chateau. The other porch couch was the Routledge's old couch before Big John got the new pull out.

There's lots of random shit at the Chateau. Two picnic tables, a round table, a canoe, an old bench seat from a car, a line of buoys, etc. These are all things they picked up over the years, either being passed on or found on the side of the road or straight up just stolen.

John B never let anyone inside his dad's room. Whenever someone drunkenly crashed in his room or JJ confiscated it to mess around with a girl, John B slept in his dad's room, on the other couch on the porch (usually Pope passed out on his preferred one), or the hammock.

JJ and CJ both carry Zippo lighters. CJ's was a 15th birthday present from Kie and JJ's was found on the beach in 7th grade. They look like below. (CJ, JJ)

John B and Pope believe in God. They don't prescribe to a religion, but they believe there's a God. Kie is agnostic. She believes that there's a god, but not in God. She also thinks Greek mythology makes more sense. JJ and CJ are atheists; they think if there was a god, he's a dick and that they're gonna make their own destiny. This is why I spell it differently depending on the perspective.

One of John B, CJ, and JJ's nicknames is 'The J's/The J's with J's {joints}.' This is reflected in the sign posted above the treehouse door (Home of the J's) and the fact that all three of them sometimes call each other J. Other nicknames for the treehouse: tiny cabin, home of the three musketeers, home sweet home, the hooter hut.

The nicknames 'Indiana/Indiana Joans/Indie,' 'Arc' {from Joan of Arc,} and 'book keep' are all plays on CJ's/John B's middle names. (I'm hoping to add those that didn't make the first cut in when I do final editing.)

CJ and JJ are the oldest of the group, followed by John B, Pope, and finally Kiara. The twins actually turn 17 during this book, on July 19th. They were born during the Cancer/Leo cusp. John B is a Virgo/Libra baby, born on September 25th. Yet another cusper, Pope was born on November 23rd, making him a Sagittarius with Scorpio traits. The only non-cusper of the group is Kiara; a Capricorn with a January 15th birthday. She is also the only one born in 2003.

As some of you may know, I'm a stickler for details and accurate layouts. I watched the entirety of season 1 of OBX over again before writing this just to find little details like what jewelry each of the characters wore. I took screenshots of the layout of the house and the HMS Pogue that I've used to know what things are where (or even just that they are there) and also made a crude layout of the Chateau with them. It's not completely accurate, I'm not positive that's the laundry room, and I'm pretty sure there's a closet on the wall beside the "laundry room" but yeah... if you wanna use it, be my guest

Bills came on the third of every month and Kie+CJ were paid every Tuesday. Despite the $7.25 minimum wage, they earned $8 an hour, plus tips.

The ship name 'Joker' is from John B and CJ's middle names: Joans and Booker.

The plan for the book to end with Luke Maybank getting killed off and half of the first epilogue were done about halfway through the book.

Both of John B and CJ's children are named after stars. (Hopefully, you see the significance.) Their oldest's name literally means 'blessed star' (Aster: star, Benedict: blessed). Madison's middle name is Lyra which is a constellation. In Greek mythology, Lyra represents the lyre of Orpheus; it's said to be the first lyre ever, and its music so great that even inanimate objects such as trees, streams, and rocks could be charmed.

CJ and John B's wedding anniversary falls on my birthday. JJ and Pope's is exactly six months after their engagement, one month for every year they were together. 

The decision to make Haybank/Mayward/Jope/PJ a thing in the epilogue wasn't 100% decided until we were almost to the end, but you can see parts where I dashed it into the story because I was highly considering it.

After Pope and JJ got together, JJ carved their initials into the treehouse tree much like CJ and John B did. When the treehouse fell into disrepair, John B went and carved out both parts of the tree and gave JJ his as a present. That's how Pope learned about the Tiny Cabin. (This was mentioned in the epilogue but kind of obliquely as I was trying to keep PJ under wraps until JJ showed up.)