#also idk why but no matter what color i put Alex in.. he looks more like a basketball player AHSHASH??? I DID MY BEST?? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

katytheinspiredworkaholic · 3 years

Note

I’ve been rewatching CM and god, what I wouldn’t give for them to bring TG back for this revival. I haven’t even watched seasons 12-15 yet because I’m in denial about him being gone 😭😭😩

omg I haven't watched it either xD I've been holding off watching s11e22, The Storm, for like a month I swear. Which, I know is going to be amazing but I also have heard it's the beginning of the end and I'm not readyyyyyyy.

I would give anything for TG to come back. A n y t h i n g. But idk what CBS feels is the appropriate amount of time to be blacklisted or whatever the hell they did 🤷‍♀️ despite how it would be so easy to write him back in, and the missed opportunities is already making my skin crawl.

Okay. This was going to be a quick answer, but I've been THINKING about this way more than I should lately, without ever having watched 12-15 but I feel like I know enough, and with all the projects I'm going to be finishing/starting soon I know I won’t have time to do anything with my ideas. So I'm just going to type this little beginning I have plotted out and maybe one day I'll make it into the fic I want it to be:

(I know you didn't ask for a hc/blurb thing but surprise you get one xD)

CW: Spoilers for season 11-15 that are probably inaccurate af, fighting, violence, bit of blood and injuries talk, some profanity.

((I legit have this all plotted out like a full season, and picture everything as shots and scenes and I know exactly how I would want to bring Hotch back.))

It would start in a small suburban town in Indiana, legit white-picket fence, middle of nowhere, off the grid town. With the most pedestrian name ever, we might as well call it Mayberry. Typical weekend morning, bright green grass and trees and summer sunshine lighting it all up, they still get papers delivered it’s that picturesque. And it’ll pan to all sorts of people on this street of nice, two-story houses, and finally zero in on not the man picking up his paper from his front porch, but the jogger slowing down that the man calls to next door, calling him a name we’ve never heard before -- but the jogger answers with that dark eyed squint and a nod... and it is Aaron Hotchner. Or the man who used to be Aaron Hotchner. He hasn’t gone by that name in years, WITSEC provided him and Jack with new ones.

His house isn’t even really decorated like a home, he’s been in enough over the years to know tell-tale signs of what a happy home should entail. Photographs, memorabilia, nostalgia tucked away in corners -- they don’t have that. He has a couple of photographs he keeps in his office, the only two in inconspicuous view being a photo of Haley and Jack when he was two years old, and a photo of his team the day he completed the FBI triathlon and they all showed up to support him. Everything else of their old life is in boxes in a storage facility in downtown D.C., under another false name that can never be linked back to them.

Mr. Scratch was a poor excuse for why he and Jack were still under WITSEC, but he hopes near daily that it was enough of a reason that no one would question why he didn’t return once that monster was dead. That no one smart enough to read between the lines would go digging for more reasons, or worse -- try to find him -- and they pictured him living a happy retirement very similar to the charade he is living now.

But Aaron Hotchner was never meant for retirement. No matter how easy and simple his days have been the past few years. It was only a matter of time.

He walks through his home that looks more like the insides of a Home Living magazine, to his kitchen which is bright and spacious and tiled white that he knows Haley would have loved, getting a glass of water from the sink and chugging it all in one go. It isn’t until he’s getting a second glass that he hears it. The faucet was supposed to have masked any disturbance, they were careful in when they moved, how they placed their feet, the slowness of the their approach -- but not enough.

Hotch keeps his shoulders relaxed, his spine still ram-rod straight but that’s just how he stands and it keeps tension ready at a moment’s notice. Keeps him on alert, which he needs as he takes slower sips of water and lets all his other sense shift to a heightened awareness. Knows this house like the back of his hand, even if he’s never allowed himself to consider it home, so he knows which floorboards creak and where all the furniture is strategically placed. Always prepared for something like this to happen, even if he never imagined someone would be so bold.

Their mistake.

With a careful tick of his head, peripherals his only guidance, he strikes before the intruder gets to. An iron grip and momentum that propels their face into the metal of the sink basin, shocking them that what their file was so misleading about their target. Retired FBI agent, almost 60 years old, living in Pleasantville with a picket fence and a vegetable garden. This should have been easy. The intruder is stunned by the blow, attempts a quick recovery where they lash out and get a few good body shots into the older man -- but he’s built like a brick wall, can take a blow and give it back twice as hard -- a few more precise hits and another crack of their face to the sink that shatters the bridge of their nose leaves the attacker slumping to the floor.

“You didn’t do your research,” Hotch tells them, breathing a little heavy, opening up a drawer usually deemed for junk and pulls out zipties and an ancient looking cell phone buried deep at the back. “Sloppy. I expected more from him.”

The attacker kicks out Hotch’s knees in a fit of rage (at having his skill set insulted so), leaving them both crashing to the floor. They grapple and fight a bit more, knocking dishes from the counters and pots and pans to the floor from the grill top island, but Hotch is so well-trained in take downs he gets the slighter man pinned with only a split lip and a single hitch in breath. He barely broke a sweat. Knocks the guy out clean, two solid punches to his face, and he stops because he knows better. Has been there before, and they need to question whoever was sent to his house to kill him.

He’s barely off the floor, the intruder binded and stuck in a corner when Jack walks in from early morning soccer practice. Takes one look at the kitchen, his dad with blood in the corner of his mouth, and the guy all in black bound by zipties and already knows what happened. Sixteen, nearly as tall as his father now, he looks only mildly worried for all of two seconds until he sees that his dad has an old flip cell phone held up to his good ear, awaiting a connection with their handler in Indianapolis.

“... Does this mean we get to go home?”

The shot would pan back to Hotch, and he wouldn’t answer him, just tells the person on the phone to ‘patch him through, they have a situation’, and there would be no very obvious look in answer to Jack’s question. But all of us who know him, know the subtle changes in expression and the slight softening to that stern frown, knows what his reply would have been.

The very next scene would be the BAU. JJ and Emily walking at a brisk pace covering a debrief, since they basically run the department now. Everyone has been called in, everyone, retired and moved away and even the ones who cut all ties have been contacted. JJ has just gotten off the phone with Elle, who is working as a liaison in Rome and assured her that if anyone showed up in her home to attack her that they would be leaving in a body bag. But she appreciated the heads up.

In the bullpen it’s more like a family reunion than anything. Garcia has just gotten off the elevators, a flurry of color and blonde curls and bright as ever, Morgan and Savannah are trying to corral Hank and the twins (both girls and pure chaos now that they can walk) while still making introductions with the new team and their families, and asking if Reid or Rossi know anything about what’s going on as JJ gets there and asks for everyone’s attention.

“Not everyone is here yet, Kate and her family are on their way from upstate, Will’s getting the boys from school, and Alex and her husband are on a plane, but we need to get started as soon as possible.”

“What’s is going on, JJ?” Morgan asks, passing off one of the twins to Penelope who is in full baby fever mode despite what is obviously a very bad circumstance that has brought them all together. It’s a juxtaposition that has put everyone on edge. It doesn’t help when JJ and Emily look at each other as if in confirmation, trying to decide who is going to tell them.

“Okay, that doesn’t inspire confidence,” Rossi points out. “What happened?”

Emily sighs and makes a gesture for JJ to take the floor, since she has been on point for most of this.

The bull pen is silent in anticipation.

“Earlier this morning, Hotch was attacked in his home in Indiana,” she says, and whatever anyone thought was going on -- that wasn’t it. The shock across the room is like a bomb has detonated.

Rossi curses something out in Italian, looking down, and JJ immediately realizes how this all sounds. But doesn’t even get to backtrack as Reid looks completely devastated and Garcia like she’s about to cry and everyone else starts shouting questions at her.

“What happened to Jack?”

“How did they even find him? What the fuck is wrong with WITSEC?!”

“Is he okay?” asks Tara, the only intellectual who can see the panic now blooming on JJ’s face.

“Yes, yes! He’s okay, sorry, no -- Hotch is fine. The guy who tried to kill him... not so much, but he should be conscious soon so they can question him.”

“Jesus Christ, JJ,” Morgan says looking like he just aged ten years in the past 30 seconds. “Lead with that.”

“Sorry, I’m sorry. He’s okay, Jack is okay, they’ve been picked up. But... there’s a lot we need to be filled in on,” she admits, which quiets the room once more. “Apparently, the WITSEC had nothing to do with Mr. Scratch. There’s something much bigger and more dangerous going on, and he went under to keep us all safe. As well as himself, and Jack.”

“What is it?”

JJ makes a gesture with her hands splayed as she looks a little lost. “I only know bare bones, we have to wait to hear the specifics and get everyone somewhere safe.”

“You think we’re going to trust WICSEC after this?!”

Emily intervenes this time, “We have a plan, or... Hotch has a plan, I think. We’re just learning about everything as we go, he’s really the one that knows the most about it.”

“Then where is he?” Morgan speaks up again. “If he’s been pulled out, and we’re all in danger, why isn’t he here explaining this to us himself?”

It’s a good question, and everyone looks expectantly at the two women leading the informal briefing.

“Will he come back at all?” Reid asks, speaking up for the first time. It’s been years, that’s a long time to rethink a life like the BAU, and everything it entails.

JJ takes a deep breath. “He’s... in--”

“Out-processing.”

Hotch is at the back of the room. Everyone turns to him, even JJ and Emily look surprised to see him so soon. ((But we all know the CM cinematography love that kind of return shot, so I’m catering to it. For situational parallels if nothing else. Imagine the gif sets.))

“I pushed it as fast as they could go, but WITSEC always drags their feet.” The familiar drone, dry barely-there-humor, breaks whatever spell that had been over the room at the sight of the old Unit Chief. Disbelief and relief and stunned surprise litter every expression, and although Penelope looks like the first to say something, her words change course just as she opens her mouth. Because Hotch is still in civilian clothes, a duffle-bag over his shoulder he used as a go-bag for decades, and beside him with a bag of his own with messy dirty blonde hair is--

“Oh my God, is that Jack!?” she near sobs, the teenager smiling at her in a way that looks so much like Haley, and she goes to hug him first with the boy meeting her halfway. “You’re so tall! And so grown up, look at you!” There’s definitely tears and the team converges on the Hotchners all at once. Reid hugs Hotch first, as tight and bone-crushing as that night in Atlanta all those years ago, followed soon after by Rossi who looks like he might shake the man but just hugs him tight and plants an absurdly embarrassing kiss on his cheek that finally cracks Hotch’s expression into something like a smile. Everyone hugs, everyone, Savannah calls him Aaron instead of Hotch because that was how he’d introduced himself all those years ago, the twins wave shyly and he shakes hands with the newer members that never got to meet him but have heard very tall tales about him for years and years.

(And y’all, it would be the best damn scene and I would sob like a baby watching it.)

Morgan would be the one that would hold back and let the others go first, but it would also be the most profound when Hotch goes to shake his hand and the other man uses that to pull him into a tight hug of his own.

“I’m glad you can still hold your own,” he’ll tease with nearly no heat behind it. Hotch hears it for the caring that it is.

“Like hell I would let that happen twice in my own home,” he assures him.

Everyone settles down, and Emily leads some finer points of what’s going to happen with everyone in the next few hours. Days. Weeks, even, because there’s no knowing what is going to happen next. Hotch observes her, and there HAS to be a shot where she glances over to him and they share a look of understanding -- because she is Unit Chief now, and he approves of what he sees.

But she turns the floor over to him, and Hotch explains what’s going on.

((I’m going to leave the finer points out about the case and the unsub, mostly because I haven’t finished ironing them out yet and I hope once I watch the remaining season I will be able to much more easily))

But at SOME POINT in the briefing, when Hotch is explaining what happened with the assassin in his home and how he apprehended him, and Emily maybe interjects with the injuries sustained and that they are still waiting for the man to regain consciousness. Penelope will 100% lean over to where Jack is sitting beside her and say without flinching, “Your dad is such a bad ass.”

((I also plan on bringing up Reid was in prison in this scene but it will be more humorous than anything because of Hotch’s reaction, stay tuned on that one. Again I’m not there yet))

((and where I’m taking them is also a secret because I need to do research and it will be so damn cool, but Hotch has everything completely planned out -- like he does. Goes as far as asking the few who question him “Secure enough for you?” when he drops where they will be staying and the protection they will have. Full blown mic drop moment.))

“So gather all of your belongings that you have here. Secure pets and homes, call the kid’s schools, whatever you need to do,” Hotch informs them, stepping back into his old shoes as team leader without even meaning to. But no one tells him to stop. “We need to be in the air ASAP, the jet is being prepped as we speak so we need to move on this.”

He leaves it at that, and everyone doesn’t move. Watching, waiting, smirking a little bit (Penelope, maybe even Reid), until he gives in.

“Wheels up in 30.”

Garcia giggles so much she near cackles with it. “Oh, I just got goosebumps!” And by Emily’s smirk and Morgan’s shared grin with Reid, a million watts between them, everyone is up and moving and pulling out cell phones to get their affairs in order.

Rossi sidles up to Hotch at that point, also openly smirking that they got him to say those four time-honored words. “Welcome back, Aaron.”

And Hotch, well -- he looks around the room at the family he had to leave behind without any hope of seeing them again, and feels every hardened edge in his face and demeanor soften. Before he looks to Dave and tells him what’s been going through his head ever since he walked back through the doors of the BAU.

“It’s good to be home.”

((END SCENE))

#CM SPOILERS #If only I could write fic full time xD #GOD I've been dying to write all that down for weeks #and then you my beautiful anon sent that ask and I jumped at the opportunity #sorry I used you for this but I'm so glad I did #I hope you enjoy it if you don't mind all the spoilers #also if anything doesn't line up with canon I am SO SORRY I legit haven't finished season 11 #and I haven't met any of the new team. Not even Luke #But they would all be there #full cast. chaos. It would be awesome #katyswriting #criminal minds fanfiction #no pairings #Aaron Hotchner

96 notes · View notes

seduceme-lovestruck-thearcana · 4 years

Note

im not an anon but HI : ) what if aphrodite wasnt able to postpone the ritual to turn MC into Hera and by the time she managed to get alex up to olympus it was too late to stop it and they have to watch the love of their life become a stranger in her own skin : )))

FUCK MEG YOU GOT ME IN MY FEELINGS. Btw, I took it as in she died because...I think when you become the goddess the soul that originally was there dies?? And I didn’t know how to write it any other way so yEAH ITS SAD AND MIGHT NOT BE GOOD IDK. Also I made this so longer and so much MORE THAN IT HAD TO BE HOPE YOU LIKE IT BC ITS SAD AND LONG KEWNNSN.

Also, I’m waiting for that post on why Alex is your favorite LI part 2 because I desperately need some fluff.

She tried. She really did. But no matter what favors she threw at the gods and goddesses...she couldn’t save the one she and her child both loved. She was so angry at Zeus they once they grabbed MC and put her on Hera’s throne, getting ready for the ritual, she let her power out and tried to fight Zeus himself. She knew it was dangerous, but she couldn’t help it. She promised to protect her and she loved her and tried her hardest. But she was held back by some other gods and goddess.

And then the doors to the throne room were slammed wide open. A figure that everyone knew ran in to the middle of the room. It was Alex. MCs beloved and the person who would fight for her, even if it killed them. Zeus instantly got them held back with their mother, tired of being interrupted. However, his brother, Hades also had a say in this. But he was held back too. However, Zeus did look at them three with sympathy. “I’m sorry, but we know it has to be done,” he said, anger in his voice with sympathy at the same time. Alex shook their head. “No! It doesn’t have to be like this, please!” Their voice sounded so raw it caused MCs tears to fall even harder as she knew this was the end for her. Hades spoke out as well, his voice shaking with the effort to stay calm and be the mediator he always tried to be. “Zeus, please think about this,” he shouted but it sounded like a whisper to Zeus’ ears. Zeus faltered for a second, but then shook his head and carried through the ritual.

The last words that were shouted from MCs mouth before the ritual were, “I’m sorry Alex! I love you!” Then, way too soon....the ritual was over. MCs body was leaned to her side on the throne. But it was no longer MC’s body...and it was no longer MC there. “NO!” Alex shouted, tears flowing even harder down their cheeks. It wasn’t fair. They feel like everyone knew it, but refused to acknowledge it. The anger held back for so long finally spilled out. “What the hell is wrong with you?! Killing an innocent woman for your own greed!” They shouted to the king himself, not caring of his status.

But Zeus wasn’t paying attention, he didn’t care. He just stared at MCs body with a little bit of excitement. “Hera?” He whispered. MCs body leaned up and sat up straight. This movement confirmed Alex’s worst fear.

Hera was back...MC was gone.

But what made it worse is that she still looked like MC. Her face was MC and it’s what made it hurt so bad. But when Hera opened her eyes, they noticed her eyes were a different color...but it still looked like MC. Hera didn’t even look at Zeus or anyone. She looked straight at Alex and tears fell down her face. She choked out, “I’m sorry.” But that made Alex fall down to their knees.

It sounded like MC, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t the women that they had loved for their whole life. She was gone but she was right there in body. They cried harder than they have ever cried in their life, not able to be ashamed or embarrassed. They suddenly felt one hand on each of their shoulders. They looked up and saw Hades on their right side, on his knees next to Alex, and their mother, Aphrodite, on her knees beside them as well. They noticed that they both had tears on their face. They both cared for MC and to see her meet her end like this pained them both.

They could faintly hear Hera’s choked sobs as well. It pained them even more because, once again, it sounded like MC. All they ever wanted to do was to keep tears off of MCs face, but now they didn’t know what to do. They were helpless. Now they couldn’t feel her, touch her, comfort her, or kiss her anymore. They couldn’t do anything to her anymore. They’d just have to wait for their end to see her again.

Zeus tried to reach for Hera but everyones attention was brought to Hera when she swatted his hand away, the sound echoing loudly in the throne room. Zeus looked in shock but also understanding. “I’m sorry, Hera, for everything.” Hera still looked at him with anger. “YOU RUINED SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE JUST TO FIX YOURS?! YOUR LIFE WAS RUINED BECAUSE OF YOUR OWN MISTAKES, Zeus.” She spitted his name out with venom. It caused everyone to flinch. Her aura was surrounding her body and her eyes seemed to glow bright yellow with her anger rising.

Alex didn’t blame her. They were angry as well, but they still didn’t dare to raise their voice like that at the king of all kings. Zeus was shocked at Heras anger and didn’t know what to say in return. He stood there in shock and a daze as Hera stared daggers at him filled with anger and hatred. He suddenly did begin to feel remorse and guilt for what he did. “I-I didn’t think,” he stated, but Hera cut him off at the end. “IT DOESNT MATTER, ZEUS! YOU RUINED ONE OF YOUR OWN KINDS LIFE JUST TO MAKE YOURS EASIER WITHOUT THINKING OF THEM!” Everyone stood there and listened to her. No one interfered because, well, she was right. She was the only one brave enough to do it. “YOU ARE SELFISH AND SUCH A BAD KING, ZEUS. NO ONE HAS TOLD YOU OVER THESE YEARS. YOU MAY MAKE GOOD DECISIONS, BUT YOUR BAD DECISIONS IS WHAT RUINS YOU. DO YOU NOT SEE THAT?!”

Hera, our of anger, took her ring off of MCs—her finger and threw it on the ground, hard. This caused it to shatter. A bright light flashed around the room and everyone closed their eyes. Once the light was gone, MCs body was on the floor, now inhabited by no one. No soul...nothing. Alex got up off the ground and ran to MCs body laying on the Olympus floor. They got back on their knees and held her in their arms. “MC...” they whispered out. They couldn’t believe this happened. ‘Why did it have to happen?’ They asked themselves over and over again.

MCs body was buried next to her mothers and she received a hero burial as well. This time, Alex wept beside their mother. Josh was invited and if he didn’t like the gods before, now he hated them. But hated Zeus most of all. He refused to look at him during the funeral, and if he did, the look was full of anger and rage. No one knew what was holding him back from tackling him and hurting him like Zeus had hurt him twice now. Zeus didn’t look anyone in the eye either. He realized he had just repeated the cycle. MCs mother and now MC herself. He realized that Hera was right...he was a bad king.

MCs death brought realization upon everyone. Zeus most of all. He decided to do better in the future and apologized for MCs mothers death and MC herself. It was sincere and everyone noticed it. It was the same kind of tone he used with Deukalion. The thought of Deukalion worsened Alex’s sadness because they remember they fought Deukalion with MC. They wouldn’t have even saved their mother without MC. “This wasn’t how things were supposed to happen, I’m sorry, my little heart,” she told Alex as she held them during the funeral. They never blamed her. They know she tried, but their trying wasn’t good enough.

Nothing seemed good enough for Zeus.

Years passed but nothing ever eased their pain. Nothing ever eased Aphrodites pain as well. She had lost her best friend and then her best friends child who she loved so much. It was so much pain just within 10 years of each other. It wasn’t fair, but everyone kept going. Alex was depressed for a long time. Over a year exactly. They stayed inside and didn’t dare go to H.E.R.A. They didn’t know if they’d be able to handle passing her desk knowing that she’s not not there for that day, but knowing that she will never be back for a long time. Sometimes they wake up with their heart racing and their breath coming too fast. It was a panic attack from their dream. Their dream is almost always the same or they don’t dream at all.

The dream consists of Alex on Olympus with the gods surrounding them. However, they didn’t see their faces. They were all just black silhouettes. They were all surrounding Heras throne, but it wasn’t empty anymore. But they turned to the side and saw 2 black figures struggling against some arms around them. They knew it was their own mother and Hades themselves. They were angry and Alex just heard different voices and shouts surrounding them. It hurt so much, but what happened next hurt more. Two more black silhouettes walked in the throne room, carrying a woman but she wasn’t silhouetted. It’s as if the dream really wanted them to know it was her to make them suffer more. MC in the dream looked towards them as she passed them. She struggled against the black silhouettes. Alex tried to reach for her, but the arms holding them back were like stone. She then was placed upon Heras throne, arms stuck on the sides. But she was leaning forward and calling out to Alex. “Alex! Please! HELP ME!” Then figures got in front of her and blocked their vision of her. But then it all went black and they would always wake up to the sound of her screams, echoing out in to the darkness before they woke up to their ceiling.

Then, years after her passing, Alex still thought of her. They never forgot about her and loved her and thought about her daily. They visited her grave everyday and it hurts them. But they talked to her and talked to her mother as well. Hoping that they are together and being happy together. They experienced joy every now and then, but they still missed MC and the happiness they could’ve had all of their life with MC. But no...fate didn’t work like that. Fate was cruel to them and they just...they’re in so much pain.

But then one day, Alex was called to Olympus. It had been around 4 years since MC’s death. They had gone back to Olympus and H.E.R.A knowing MC would want them to. They went to Aphrodites estate and was met with a smile. “Good morning, my little heart,” she told them hugging them as soon as they got in. However, she still noticed the little emptiness in their voice and in their eyes, and Alex still saw the emptiness in Aphrodites eyes as well. But once Aphrodite pulled back, she got straight to the point. There was a bit of excitement in her eyes. “Alex, I felt her again,” she told them. They looked at her with confusion. “Who?” A smile appeared on her face and a tear fell out of her eye.

“MC. She’s back.”

Bitches I’m gonna do a PART 2 BC THIS IS LONG AND I’D JUST RATHER CONTINUE IT ON AN ACTUAL POST AND NOT AN ASK BC YOU ONLY ASKED FOR HERA ANGST NOT ALL OF THIS SO...if you wanna see the rest wait for my part 2 lol.

19 notes · View notes

allsassnoclass · 3 years

Note

15, 18 (specifically for the tie me down 'verse ending since i KNOW you were talking about that but if you don't want to disclose then that's cool i just think about it a lot), and 20 go crazy love you a lot xoxo bella

Thank you bella :)

okay these are going under a read more because they got ridiculously long. I really enjoy talking about my writing lol

also some spoilers ahead....

15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)? I think this really depends! On occasion, I’ll have a title while I’m writing a piece, but otherwise titles are pretty difficult for me because I really want them to have some sort of meaning. I don’t like just plucking song lyrics for them unless the song has some sort of significance to the fic, but sometimes I have to because I can’t think of anything else and that’s the accepted way to name fics. Something like All I Really Want Is You is okay because I referenced slsp in the fic. Something like Puzzle Pieces was taken from a running metaphor in the fic, which I feel better about because it’s something that is more specific to the fic itself. Summaries are also difficult because sometimes I don’t have a few lines that I feel properly introduce the fic and hook the reader without giving things away, but I feel like people are less likely to read if there isn’t an excerpt??? idk. tags are pretty easy though even though I’m always guessing a little and worried that someone will say I should have tagged it with something else or that it doesn’t fit a tag I added.

18. Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterisations?) Tell us about them. For the most part, I don’t have alternate versions unless it’s a prompt fic that I started out going one direction then deleted and flipped it around. HOWEVER the Tie Me Down trilogy DID have a possible different third installment (spoilers ahead)

If I had written the epilogue from Jack’s perspective, it would’ve been a little bit of a different ending. Something I mentioned in both of the first parts was Jack’s restlessness and Alex’s desire for something more settled, and one day I was listening to peace by Taylor swift and was like “wow this is Jack from the tie me down verse,” and that song could’ve very easily been the inspiration behind the third part. Alex’s epilogue was based on best years because he recognized that he hadn’t treated Jack the best but resolved to then make up for it by giving Jack the best years possible ahead with all of his love. peace as an epilogue song would’ve pushed the story away from a crystal-clear resolution. that would’ve focused a bit more on the struggle of making it work with two people who want/need fundamentally different things. It would’ve had much more to do with the compromise of Jack being able to give Alex infinite love and devotion, but not the peace that he craves. Inevitably, something would go wrong. “The rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me.” The epilogue would’ve then been about Jack living with that knowledge and trusting that Alex would stay anyway and that their relationship would be enough, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty of an imperfect relationship in that song, and it inevitably would’ve ended up in the fic. that’s why the Alex epilogue was the one I went with: I needed a strong, conclusive, and positive ending for them, and Jack’s epilogue would not have given that

otherwise though I don’t think my fics shift too terribly much between when I think of them and when they get published. nothing is coming to mind, at least not for things that I have completed.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?) Okayyyyyy a lot of my symbolism is in the short angsty fics and when I talk about it I feel like I didn’t do it well lol but for my unrequited lashton (I was done but you undid me) (spoiler) the buckling of the seatbelt was something I thought about a lot and ending the fic with that action was important to me because it was Luke making the conscious decision to protect himself in this situation. there’s a lot of symbolism in the lie to me music vid in general but back seat of the car/no seatbelt is very significant because 1. he can’t swerve, he just has to take the crash and 2. he isn’t doing the bare minimum to protect himself from the hit, he’s letting himself take maximum damage from it. while Luke may be in the passenger seat in the fic, he can still take that little step to protect himself metaphorically, which goes along with the decision to protect himself by not trying to pursue something with Ashton or try to get the validation from him that he wants but that would ultimately be a lie.

also fun fact! my angsty Luke song is putting the dog to sleep by the antlers, which partially inspired the bear-trap metaphor despite bear traps not being mentioned in the song at all. when I wasn’t listening to a version of lie to me while writing that, I was listening to that song.

the tie me down trilogy also included a whole bunch of metaphors that first appeared in tie me down and I hate that for you. when I do song fics, I really look at the songs for inspiration, so a lot of the figurative language and images in the songs were incorporated into the fics, then I combined stuff for the third installment. best years arguably had the least amount of influence over the installment out of that trilogy.

I have had a few people ask if the cocktail chats reference in off-screen was intentional. it was. that moment in cocktail chats inspired the entire fic. it all stemmed from a desire to put that one little moment into a fic. also my personal thought is that off-screen Ashton pretends to dislike petunia but he actually adores her and calls her darling all the time when they’re alone. Luke heard him do it once and teased him mercilessly.

now for puzzle pieces!!!! sorry bella I know that you asked this question and haven’t read this one yet but I want to talk about it so you can stop reading now because that’s what the rest of this ask is.

I talked about this briefly once, but the colors for puzzle pieces were chosen specifically! there was thought behind it!

Michael got red not just because of the iconic red hair, which is how I almost think of younger Michael, but because it’s a pretty loud and brash color. Michael (especially when he was younger) doesn’t really filter things and wears a decent amount of his personality on his sleeve. that’s red to me, baby!

Calum has always been forest green to be. This is partially influenced by the empathy hoodie (even though that’s a bit brighter than forest green), but it’s more because my associations with green have always said it’s a very dependable, stable color. It reminds me of pine trees, and I think Calum can give off that same sense of reliability in weathering the seasons. It’s a quieter color but can really pop next to another one. It also worked out nicely that Calum and Michael’s colors were compliments

Luke gets gold because he is a sunshine boy! Luke actually was the person I had the most trouble with, because I was flipping between gold, a lighter blue, or pink. Pink ultimately was too close to red to make me be able to visualize what the marks looked like on each boy to my satisfaction like it just looked ugly. I went with gold because there is a lot of outward brightness in Luke. He’s the kind of person where if he’s happy everyone else gets a bit happier, and gold also seemed fitting for the eventual shift into a rockstar and the amount of talent he has

Ashton gets purple, but a deeper purple. Dynamic but still relatively stable, has a lot of depth. Purple is a secret color, but it’s still beautiful and it draws people in. When I visualize it it ends up being a really dark shade, but in reality he’s probably more of a royal purple than a plum purple

I have a lot of favorite moments in that fic but one that’s standing out now is right when Ashton and Michael do their first touch: “The dark purple reminds him of spilling grape juice on his clothes as a kid, and when he collapses into Ashton he feels like they could have known each other at that age, too.” There is something so charming about meeting someone later and feeling like you’ve known them your whole life, and that was significant here because Michael has known Calum and Luke since they were younger (although Luke did come in the picture when they were tweens/young teens instead of kids). I wanted to be sure that although Michael, Calum, and Luke are the triangle, Ashton is an equal part of their soulmate group. He doesn’t have the same history, but that doesn’t matter because it feels like he does.

also pretty early on in the fic (I think it’s when Calum is in Brazil) I say that Michael is always touch-starved for Calum, and I brought that line back in the hair dye scene because baby seasons change but people don’t! one thing is consistent about Michael and that is his love for Calum, expressed here through the love language of physical touch

As for clues for future scenes... :)

anyway! ask me some fun meta writer asks!

#ask #bella #thank you for indulging me #to anyone who read this whole thing: wowza #I have many things to say and will not be concise about it

1 note · View note

cliquestitsandicks · 5 years

Conversation

Tracking Kat

Episode 1: Kat is mourning the end of her relationship with Adena. It has been 5 weeks since the breakup in Paris. She's still looking at old pictures of them and posted one. She still hasn't sent Adena's equipment to her, even though Adena has been texting her asking for it. By the end of the episode, she's admitted to (in order) Alex, Patrick, and Jane & Sutton that she is not okay. She is still sad about the end of her relationship. Alex tells her "you're so hard on yourself. You got your heart broken. There's no expiration date on heartbreak. You move on when you're ready to move on and when you *are* ready, you will find someone amazing. Someone who will never leave." Then Patrick is an entitled, invasive dick. She told her girls she wasn't ready for it to be real yet and that's why she hadn't told them... but she broke down in front of them. She'd finally accepted it was over. End of the episode, she makes an instagram post exposing her vulnerability to the world and packs up Adena's things for good.

Episode 2: Kat injects Jane for fertility treatment. She is very familiar with Jane's reproductive system at this point - best friends. She learns the Wild Susan, a club Adena took her to that became a safe space she frequents and which happens to be 1 of only TWO lesbian bars in the city, is closing. She learns the only reason it's happening is because developers want to gentrify the neighborhood. We learn Kat has a lawyer (not sure how that may come up later) that she met through the #BeReal campaign. Anyway, Kat throws a queer prom as a fundraiser to help save the Wild Susan. It ultimately fails because $42,000 in one night from poor people is a bit much. But it was a valiant effort and, as Kat learns, the gentrifiers were well aware of its impossibility. This episode is leading up to her political career. "I've been so into my feelings lately, it feels really good to challenge my energy into something that really matters". I am so proud of Kat. In Season 1, I would have worried she was avoiding her feelings, but the writers made a big deal of showing she's done the exact opposite of that in the prior episode.

Episode 3: Kat has been researching councilman Reynolds and he's a total piece of shit - helping gentrifiers, cutting funding to parks, and voting against paid maternity leave. She's fired up. Our girl is P A S S I O N A T E & informed! We meet the councilwoman for whom she plans to volunteer and her campaign manager, Tia. Tia's a tiny, bubbly boss with natural hair and a bright smile and we see Kat brighten up. We later learn she and Kat have more in common, both being NYU grads (actually overlapping while there) and both brilliant. Tia, however, is not from a wealthy and connected background. In their initial meeting, Kat tells Tia "I'm just looking for something to channel my rage and depression". Kat enlists her besties to help get the councilwoman to unseat problematic Reynolds. Sutton clearly sees something between Kat and Tia because she does a friend's background check (checking the social media) and tells Kat she looks very single to which Kat responds "it really doesn't matter because I'm still getting over Adena" and Jane seems skeptical of Kat's protestations with her silent smirk. We learn Kat has really soft lips. Kat is the voice of reason for Alex, being the first one to acknowledge the hypersexual "dangerous" Black man depiction that will likely be projected onto him if he admits he is the man in his friend's story. Then we see her naturally command the crowd at the rally. Again, I am so proud of Kat. She isn't holding back when she knows she should speak up. She's taking control of her narrative. She's fighting for what's right in a constructive manner. And now Tia, who has way more experience with this than Kat, is recommending she run for office.

Episode 4: We start the episode with Kat describing what would be her district and job description to her best friends. She's looking excited about the potential to do something that matters and really help people. In her conversation with the Toby (?. don't know, don't care), we get to see more of Tia being supportive of Kat and Kat being confronted with whether she's motivated to actually run or just wants someone to beat Reynolds. We learn Kat had an abortion in 2013 when she was 20 AS IS HER GOTDAMN RIGHT BECAUSE IT'S HER BODY, but it's something she's felt some sort of shame/concern over seeing as nobody close to her knew about it. Then, and this is so great, after telling her friends she has the conversation with Tia. Tia shares that she's had one as well and completely understands not wanting it to be public knowledge, but in sharing her experience educates Kat on yet another way vulnerable people are having their rights stripped, this time through manipulation and "crisis centers" that shouldn't exist. Tia remains supportive and doesn't pressure Kat at all with her decision. "I am by your side if they come for you, but you gotta do what's right for you". When we get that great speech from Jacqueline we see Kat being moved my the statement that you'll never know what you're capable of if you don't take a leap faith to face challenges that frighten you, then you'll never know what you're capable of. [i'd like to pause right now to say Jacqueline is fucking wonderful and i love her like my white auntie. also Sutton needed to hear that again just as much as Kat and i really appreciate this entire moment.] When Kat leaves Jacqueline's celebration, she passes by one of those "crisis centers" Tia told her about and decides to use her voice to help others. "I like to think of myself as a pretty strong, empowered, forward-thinking, open-minded woman. But, up until now, I haven't been able to talk about my abortion. If me putting myself out there helps even one woman to feel less alone, less ashamed, and less guilty then it's worth it." And just like us, dear Tia is blown away. She actually exhales a breath she didn't know she was holding and biiiiiiiitch (!!!! excitedly). and then they're dancing! This is the episode, upon rewatch, when i recognize how often Tia touches Kat unnecessarily.

Episode 5: Kat's entire recap includes Tia, ending with Sutton saying "she seems to be very single". Her very first scene, Tia is complimenting her walking out of some campaigning event we later learn was a Town Hall. Can we just talk about Kat's blazer for a second? First of all, i want it. Second, how did they find something so perfectly her? It's colorful but still semi-professional, fun, but still about her business. Heart-eye inducing. ok. So the next time we see Kat, she and Tia (whose last name they finally mention as Clayton) are reviewing campaign platform and doing debate prep at Kat's apartment. Tia's complimenting Kat almost continuously at this point. Clearly she's impressed, borderline gushing. and Kat tries to brush it off. Tia's not letting her. And there's this moment when Tia forces herself to break eye contact with her (around 5:40 of the episode). The show tells us Kat still hasn't dated since Adena, but Sutton brings up the "stupid smile" she gets whenever Tia's mentioned. She's making better decisions than Patrick and her being compared to Patrick is lowkey happening a lot. I'm starting to wonder if they're setting up Kat taking over digital if she doesn't win the campaign. Ok, the song choice as they pan to Kat and Tia... "I never normally check my phone 10 times in a minute. I'm not the girl to be kept on hold 10 miles from the finish." Again, Tia is very touchy with Kat, never anything inappropriate of course, but the hand is always on the back or the arm. and their interaction is just.. lovely. I squeal. it's so cute. they're so comfortable. Kat invites Tia to the dinner BEFORE (i got the timing on that mixed up before) Tia says she's "a boring straight girl" [the test determined that was a LIE... nah, my good sis Tia is dealing with some internalized homophobia which is no joking matter, but we don't learn that until the next episode]. Apparently, Kat can cook now? So she just liked Adena's food better i guess? idk... anyway. I get why some of the things Tia said can be taken as flirting, but i still believe that you accept what someone says is their sexuality until they say otherwise. yes, that's even when they're saying things like "when i see what i want, i go for it" and "Annndd she can cook. it's hot" and looking at you like that. Kat telling Jane to apologize because he's her boss and she got suuuper disrespectful and would absolutely deserve getting fired makes me proud. She's the mature friend now. She's the one with a level head on her shoulders. Kat finally makes her feelings known to Tia, but this is after Tia has already stated she's straight. Tia reiterates that this is a professional relationship and apologizes for Kat getting the wrong idea. I'm reminded of when Alex Danvers told Maggie Sawyer she was into her and she was rejected... but in that example i was floored and heartbroken for Alex because ugh, i just didn't see that coming. With this, however, it felt like Tia was clear in her words even if it shocked the hell out of me what the words were. So i didn't feel heartbroken for Kat. I thought... tbh... she brought it on herself for refusing to respect Tia's "no", however soft it was. But the writers did let us know it wasn't over with the music selection... Kat looking at "You and Tia make a great team :)" as "I'll go to war for you" plays.

Episode 6: All the emails have been released and Kat has no worries at all about that because she's a professional. And we get to see her be a boss addressing the entire group. Patrick isn't there this episode (YAY for our sanity!) and i think Kat being a boss so often when Patrick isn't around is intentional. When we see Tia, she says last night is forgotten but she thinks it's a bad idea to remain Kat's campaign manager... which is clearly a hard rejection. One can argue that it's too harsh for someone merely admitting they were into you. But it's just as easy to argue that it's appropriate after telling someone, very clearly, that you are not into them romantically and them ignoring that and saying that you were flirting with them on this date they never called a date before you were already there?? so i'm not mad at it. At the end of the episode, we find out that Tia was rejecting herself, not Kat. Turns out, Ms. Tia Clayton has known she's attracted to women since she was in high school, but she "didn't want to want it". Tia is so TINY AND ANXIOUS ABOUT HER SEXUALITY AND MANY OF US HAVE BEEN THERE. But... and i say this in jest... for someone who is really trying not to be out in the open with her gay, she sure was comfortable kissing Kat all outdoors for anyone to see. My good sis is smitten. I'm excited for the story. Again with the music during their scenes though... "I cannot fallll in love with youuuuu. I cannot feeeeel this way so soon, so soon." Also, my girlfriend and I have watched the gifset of the kiss over the phone and swooned (we live in different states for now). This episode, we also got the flashbacks (i missed Lauren so much). Kat's got red streaks in her hair, is a friend to strangers, has regrettable sex with men who taste like pickles, and is cute as a button. She also called Jacqueline "Mama Jackie" and that's it; that's her name now.

#the bold type season 3 #the bold type #katia #kat edison #tia clayton #TBT S3 SPOILERS #i rewatched the whole season today

32 notes · View notes

lightsandlostbells · 5 years

Text

Skam France season 3, episode 6 reaction

I have a Jerome theory and I’m sticking to it

Episode 6

Clip 1 - Lucas gets his turn in the hoodie of despair

Lucas is at school Monday. We get a shot of his bandaged hand that’s a parallel to the trailer for the season, where we also start with a shot of Eliott’s hand. In both situations, Lucas/Eliott is about to walk into the school in a tense, uncertain situation, Eliott facing a new school and new people after his episode at his old one, Lucas facing his old school and old friends after alienating or angering the people he cares about.

Also, the bandaged hand is representative of his emotional ~wounds but that’s ... really obvious, I feel silly saying it.

The angsty piano music, a hallmark of this season, plays as Lucas crosses the yard. The boy squad laughs at him, and if that wasn’t obviously fake, then Raptor Alex miming a blowjob at him while standing with Eliott should be a dead giveaway, because like hell Eliott would tolerate homophobic bullying of Lucas, no matter their relationship status. (Though it’s kinda amusing to think about this scene as an Alex/Eliott AU where Alex is bragging about his BJ game and Eliott is smirking like “damn right.”)

Daphne comes up and kisses him on the cheeks. She’s so effusive and affectionate that at first I thought she already knew Lucas was gay and was trying to jump to the front of the queue to make him her gay BFF. It’s not that, though. She touches his arm and is like HOW BUFF which is hilarious because Lucas is, how do you say, wispy. No offense at all, but I would never be like yeah, that guy looks like he works out. Lucas doesn’t seem to buy it either. Of course Daphne wants him to help move a couch, lmao. Protect the five vulnerable girls going to pick up the secondhand sofa from a potentially shady dealer? I guess Daphne got over her fear that Lucas would be taking over as head of the common room once she realized he was another pair of arms to carry that couch.

Of course when Lucas looks over, it’s not the boy squad, but some random dudes. Not Alex and Eliott but some random dudes. Not Maria and Chloe, but some random girls. All of them seemingly minding their own business and not caring about Lucas one way or another. This puts a different focus on the scene than with Isak, because with Isak he actually was walking into the lion’s den. He saw Emma and Even in the courtyard and psyched himself up to walk between them with his Nas song playing in his ears to psych himself up. Isak was miserable, but in a way it felt like an act of courage; he saw his worst fears on both sides of him, literally, and pushed himself forward. With Lucas, I’m not saying he isn’t brave, but with all those people turning out to not really be there and not really laughing and talking about him, the emphasis is more on his paranoia and fear. It’s a much drearier take on a scene that was already depressing (and I feel like the lighting/coloring reinforces that, too, but err, that’s Skam France’s usual aesthetic so I’m not sure how intentional that was.)

Clip 2 - Yann the voice of reason

Gym class, not for Lucas, but for Chloe. After class ends, Lucas comes into the gym and wants to talk to her. Chloe is not having it. Lucas tries to say she said on Friday is nonsense. He’s not a (homophobic slur) and he asks her not to spread it around. Ohhh boy, this is. Uncomfortable. Completely understandable that he doesn’t want the rumors to get out, and I get why he’d say he wasn’t really gay in order to protect himself, but him using a slur? That’s really sad. That makes this not just a strategic move or an attempt to handle the situation before it gets worse, but something self-hating. There was no reason for him to use homophobic language except to distance himself from being gay, like in episode 3, the advice he took to keep people from guessing.

She’s pissed that he didn’t even come to apologize or talk, just to ask her not to spread it around, so you know she’s not really listening and making this about her own feelings. And look, we can say over and over again that Chloe has a right to be mad, and of course she does. But she also just doesn’t get the seriousness of outing someone. Lucas is begging her not to spread the rumor, very upset, but Chloe says he can’t tell her what to do. Man, so they made Chloe even worse than Emma, despite having Lucas treat Chloe worse than Isak did with Emma. Isak didn’t plead with Emma to not out him while Emma was like, “Whatevs, I do what I want.”

Lucas is clearly unraveling. He bursts out of the gym and runs into Yann. Lucas tries to use his family as an excuse again and Yann cuts him off, saying not to play him. He knows whatever’s happening with Lucas is more than just his parents. Yann is a lot more blunt about it than Jonas; Jonas knew that Isak was bluffing but let it slide without calling him on it. He’s also more blunt about Lucas refusing to talk about his problems. The guys all just want Lucas to get better, and are here to talk to him, but if he doesn’t want to do that, then he needs to fix his problems and come back when he’s better. Completely fair, tbh. I can see how the more straightforward approach works with Lucas; Isak felt more defeated at this stage, like he barely had energy to get through the day let alone put up his usual act, so chill Jonas could get through to him, whereas Lucas is like brimming with anger and fear and seems more defensive, so he needed Yann to just cut through his bullshit directly.

Clip 3 - Pasta is Deep

I feel like a recurring issue with Skam France is that it skips establishing the mood of a clip, often just jumping into whatever needs to happen without a lot of grace, which probably has a lot to do with their time limitations (although this episode is several minutes shorter than average so...) This scene isn’t one that I expected them to recreate so closely, with Isak just ordering a sandwich for like a minute and a half, but it did remind me of how that completely mundane action was so much more than the damn cheese sandwich, because it was about putting us directly into Isak’s headspace and letting us feel how blank and distracted he was, and then what a jolt it was when Even appeared - exactly what Isak must have felt. I think Skam France could benefit from being more careful with staging moments like that, more showing, less telling. Like there’s nothing wrong with the start of this clip but it skips establishing Lucas’ mood entirely, and Eliott comes around the corner so we the audience see him before Lucas does, so there isn’t as much of a reaction.

Anyway, the important observation: Eliott cut that girl in line, what a dick.

There are two plates of pasta on the counter before them, and Eliott says if he were Lucas he’d take both of them. Lucas says sometimes you have to choose. I get that this is ~symbolic and it’s about Eliott trying to have it both ways and Lucas not having that but it’s one of those moments that takes me out because ... why would Eliott say Lucas should take both huge-ass plates of pasta ... except so Lucas can be metaphorical in response ... is that normal? It feels like a very writerly setup to be Deep so the dialogue can have a double meaning, except it doesn’t actually make sense on the first/surface meaning, if you get what I mean. Or else Eliott thinks Lucas is capable of eating two plates of pasta.

Eliott tries to make conversation but Lucas just grabs a plate and storms off. That was some good timing with the angry plate grab. Eliott looks sad and the angsty piano music starts again.

Lucas walks into the cafeteria and sees the table with the boy squad and the table with Chloe and Maria, while Eliott is walking behind him. This time Chloe is looking at him for real. Lucas just leaves his tray without eating and walks off as Eliott notices.

It was kind of odd that they needed both moments of Eliott reacting to Lucas’ distress, like ... we got it the first time when they were in line, we didn’t really need the second time to tell us the same thing we just saw thirty seconds ago. Was that supposed to be Eliott noticing Lucas didn’t want to sit with his friends so it wasn’t just him causing Lucas stress? IDK. Even if that were the case, it felt redundant. (Sometimes with this show I want to be like “have confidence that the audience will understand!”)

Clip 4 - Someone’s gonna catch a disease or a demon from that sofa

The girls and Lucas walk to a secondhand store. The store is like where they keep the props for The Conjuring movies. For some reason this thrift shop has multiple dolls that are missing body parts just hanging out, which is objectively the creepiest thing you could encounter. There are also jars of yellow ... something. I’m not gonna say it’s definitely pee, but it could be pee.

Daphne is once again the MVP of the show for how she screams and runs away when she gets freaked out. She’s so entertaining.

A dude shows up and the scene dramatically cuts to black with the sound of a sharp blade, as if in a slasher movie, but of course then we cut to this guy pouring tea for everyone. Total tangent but you know, a horror series could be pretty fun if it followed the real-time format of Skam. They played with the concept in the cabin episode, as a parody of course, but I would love to see more genre series in this mode of story-telling. A really well-written suspense or horror story could be so effective in real time!

Also, the guy looks like the school psychologist from Skam Italia. And the gym teacher from Skam Italia. Or maybe I just think all older men with beards look alike.

It was the guy’s brother’s shop. He was a compulsive hoarder, which is not a surprise in the slightest. The brother died recently. “Of what?” “I don’t know, I haven’t found him yet.” Lmao, this is a funny scene. They guy is joking and says his brother had cancer, but let’s be real, that’s also a lie. The guy was obviously murdered by those dolls.

The gang gets some additional goodies from their visit. So Lucas has to carry the couch back with Manon and Daphne, Imane and Alex carry the football table, and Emma trails behind with her lava lamp. LMAO. It’s a great image. (I have no idea if Daphne was actually carrying the couch at all, or if she was just supervising. I think Lucas and Manon were doing the heavy lifting, literally.)

They take a break and Lucas rubs his injured hand. Lucas, get help for that! Go to the doctor! I’m sure she has some eccentric yet helpful life advice in addition to her medical expertise.

Daphne comes up to him and asks whether he’s heard from Basile since Friday. NO GOD WHY.

Lucas smiles and says a bit, why? Daphne is like… just for news. The girls tease her by saying she’s actually into him, Daphne says no, he’s so annoying. WHY GOD. WHY MUST WE GO HERE. It’s so aggravating that the best character on this show is going to be paired off with the worst character on the show (and one of the worst characters in the entire Skam universe).

The girls talk about how much their men suck. Daphne says guys are worst than girls. LESBIAN. DAPHNE. PLEASE. I’m begging you.

Daphne says no offense to Lucas, and Imane says he’s not a real guy. Whoa! Hold on a moment there. Lucas’ expression is all WTF, Imane tells him to take a joke. This is one of those casual comments that can cut deep; Imane doesn’t know Lucas is gay at this point, so it’s not quite her assuming that gay guys are honorary girls or something like that. But one of Lucas’ fears is how being gay will separate him from his male friends, and at this very moment he is separated from them. So this is not a reassuring thing to hear. Calling someone a “real guy” can sting for someone who’s struggling to find out just where they fit in with the guys, and now hears that they don’t really belong there. Interesting that they made Imane throw out this comment since it’s more careless than we often hear from her. Not that she’s perfect or anything, just that we more often hear remarks like this from someone like Daphne. But it goes to show that everyone’s capable of these microaggressions.

Daphne says Lucas is so lucky, girls are so much simpler (I guess she means with dating). Irony! Lucas does not say L M A O in response. How lucky can he be when a raccoon man broke his heart? Manon says that’s inaccurate and not true. Daphne thinks it’s easy for Manon to say that when she’s dating the perfect guy. Irony! Manon hops off that couch and says it’s time to go again. I wonder how long they’re going to string along the hints that all is not well with Marles. Noora came back and immediately told everyone that she and William had relationship issues, but Manon is hiding the truth.

I thought this clip was a lot of fun but it’s one that doesn’t really fit with the mood or atmosphere that Lucas is going through right now. I saw people defending it as like a break from the misery and tension, and I couldn’t help but be like ... no! That’s not a good thing! I get that Lucas doesn’t need the same emotional journey as Isak, but speaking as someone who watched Skam S3, episode 6 in real time, the constant pain was a good thing. Sure, it was draining. Sure, it was stressful. But it got you into Isak’s head. It made you feel what he was suffering. It captured his isolation and loneliness. It made the final clip of the week with Jonas such a huge relief (and to be fair, they sure took a different tone with Yann...) Narratively, it was expertly crafted and paced. With scenes like this, it does chip away at some of the tension. I wouldn’t say it’s pointless (and again, on its own there were a lot of funny moments) but again I wish Skam France was better at establishing and holding a mood. Because there are ways they could have shot this scene with similar content, but with more of a consistent emphasis on Lucas’ POV, filtering through his lens. Focus on his detachment, have something in the shop remind him of Eliott, etc. The dead guy’s brother talks about how isolated and lonely the brother was and how he didn’t open up to anyone. Something like that. Except for a few brief moments like the shot of his hand or the response to Imane’s comment, the scene doesn’t have much to do with him, really, and this is a very crucial time in the story to be making us feel what Lucas feels.

There’s also that I feel like a girl squad scene is like a requirement of each episode, and listen, I enjoy them as much as anyone, but I also think that these scenes can feel like they don’t fit with the narrative as a whole. Both the cake clip and now this clip had little to do with Lucas’ POV (compared to something like the Kinsey Scale discussion which was relevant to him). There are some bits contributing to other subplots, like a hint at the end about Manon and Charles, which is probably meant to lead into the next clip where Manon cries, but tbh they’ve dropped quite a few hints about her not being OK by now so IDK this particular one was necessary? And to be fair, other seasons of Skam spread their focus beyond the POV character. But part of why Isak’s season is so good, IMO, is that every single clip contributes to the main story. It’s very tightly written. I guess I can’t help but wish that every clip had a clear tie to Lucas’ character arc even if there are other subplots happening, and not just that other storylines are taking place and Lucas happened to be there.

Clip 5 - Not talking is good

Lucas is up at almost 2:00 watching TV. A late night clip, wow! Glad to see one of these. It’s something that does establish mood and get us into Lucas’ mindset. Timing is one of the most useful tools the Skam format has, compared to traditional TV series.

Manon comes in and he asks if he woke her. She sits next to him and climbs under the blanket. Manon is clearly distressed. Lucas notices she has tears in her eyes. She seems on the brink of saying something, but he suggests they don’t talk about it. He puts an arm around her and she leans into him as the piano music starts again. We’re getting a hell of a lot of that this episode. She cries, he starts to get teary as well.

Lucas and Manon have the most familial relationship in the flat. In Skam it was Isak and Eskild, here it’s definitely Lucas and Manon. They feel like each other’s family. I do really like this scene for showing their bond and demonstrating that they’re both going through something they can’t talk about, it’s really lovely. Neither of them can say what’s troubling out loud. Manon has been needling Lucas to talk to her about his problems, but Lucas doesn’t pressure Manon to talk about what’s making her cry. There’s probably a balance they need to achieve to get to the emotionally healthiest place.

One effect of moments like this is that the Lucas/Manon relationship feels so much more developed than some of Lucas’ other relationships, like they can cry with each other and show emotional vulnerability with each other in a way that Lucas can’t with other people. Like I was rooting for Lucas and Yann’s friendship, and there is a ton to be said about Lucas being accepted by his best friend and what that means in terms of depicting supportive male friendships, but I also completely get why people thought he should come out to Manon instead, because story-wise, this relationship feels different from others. Lucas does feel comfortable with her, even if they’re not talking about their problems, and making the progression to voicing their problems to each other seems like a logical progression.

Clip 6 - Find your Jerome

Lucas has gone to the school doctor from the first season, who tries to guess his name. The final one she guesses is Isak, lmao. Awww. I’m going to be a total sap and say that my heart got all mushy and emotional hearing that name. I miss my boy! I need Julie Andem to deliver that reunion special ASAP. But I do like Skam France’s nods to the original show, they’re not that subtle but they’re sweet gestures.

Lucas says he has trouble sleeping. To their credit, they did show him and Manon up late at night this week, so it doesn’t come totally out of nowhere. I do think perhaps they missed a chance for him to go to the doctor because of his hand. And maybe lie to her about how it happened, but she kinda guesses he punched something and gives him a little speech about not bottling up emotions and taking out his anger by punching stuff? IDK. I think that would’ve fit Lucas’ characterization and his particular struggles, but this is fine.

I love how satisfied the doctor seems when she tells him to avoid blue light. Nailed it!

I feel like this scene could’ve been built up a a bit clearer, because Lucas is all, “IDK why I can’t sleep” and that seems a little ridiculous, like obviously he knows why he can’t sleep all of a sudden. If he didn’t, he’d be like, “Oh, blue light is the problem? That settles that.” He’s got big personal problems. It’s just that he’s not going to tell this doctor what they are. With Isak, he had a clear motive for going to the doctor - there was a text where Linn mentioned her sleeping pills and Isak came in asking for some of those, except the doc gave him some advice to talk to people instead. Like I’m not sure what Lucas wanted from going in here? Because he knows he’s thinking too much at night, but he doesn’t want to tell the doctor the specifics. So I’m not sure what he was hoping for by going here since I’m sure he wasn’t planning on using this appointment as a therapy session. I guess he could’ve been intending to ask for some sleeping pills or something else to help him sleep, but never got around to it because the doctor started to talk about her lover and thoughts of murder. Just a small observation.

The nurse starts telling him about how she also has problems talking about herself due to shyness or modesty (lol, this doctor being shy or modest). But she can talk to Jerome, the man she’s apparently cheating on her spouse with? Or engaging in some mutually agreed polyamorous arrangement, looking at it in a more positive light. (Or Jerome is a mannequin. Somehow that seems like the most plausible option.)

She mentions that her days are filled with teenagers who think they’re pregnant, nice nod to S1, and tells Lucas she can confide in Jerome about her murderous fantasies when her brother wants her to visit. LMAO. Well it’s nice that she can talk to someone about that? Tell me that this tidbit isn’t made dramatically more interesting if Jerome is indeed a mannequin, though. Anyway, she encourages Lucas to find his Jerome, someone he can trust.

Outside, Lucas is sitting and thinking and brooding. He reaches his hand into his pocket and finds a note from Eliott. The tinkly piano music starts again, damn, they’re going for a record in this episode. I think it’s the same tune as when Lucas first saw Eliott. The note is a very cute cartoon of his raccoon fursona, “Eliott 25473” looking at a hedgehog and not approaching him, but “Eliott 34512″ runs towards his fate and talks to the hedgehog. Hedgehog looks super happy to see this raccoon. The animal cartoons continue to be one of my favorite parts of this season.

Lucas sees Eliott walking across the courtyard. That seems to make up his mind, so he puts the drawing in his pocket and gets up. He walks up to someone and asks if they can talk later. The view of the person is obscured just to give you a misdirect that Lucas is talking to Eliott, but of course it’s actually Yann. Yay, Yann! And we’re all so excited for this beloved scene to happen next!

Clip 7 - Coming out to Yann

Ahahahaha.

After school, Lucas and Yann are sitting on a bench in the schoolyard, and Lucas is saying how he has been acting weird lately. There’s the complicated situation with his parents, there’s school, there’s the rent he can’t pay … and he thinks he fell in love. Not with Chloe. It’s not a girl. Yann seems a little surprised, which Lucas observes, but mostly Yann just seems to be listening. Yann is like, but it’s not me? Lucas says no, but there was a time last year … he trails off as Yann seems to be thinking wait, what? So Lucas just holds off elaborating on that confession and tells Yann about Eliott. Yann seems to understand, he’s just nodding and listening, asking a few questions. All is well.

Lucas says he wanted to tell Yann the truth, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He went to see the nurse because he hasn’t been sleeping. She told him to talk to someone he trusts. Lucas talked to Mika and it bit him in the ass. Chloe got mad. Yann asks if anyone else knows. Lucas thinks Manon, Emma, and Alex are suspicious and have guessed, and when he talks to Imane about it, they fight. Lucas asks Yann what he thinks. Yann is turning over something in his head. Lucas wants to know what Yann is thinking.

And Yann says, he can’t do this right now. He needs time. And he gets up and walks off. Lucas sits there in shock and misery after Yann leaves as dramatic music plays.

I feel like I need a drink before discussing this scene.

I do not think this was the right narrative choice, for multiple reasons. The clip has already been debated and discoursed, so I might not be saying anything new, but let’s unpack it from several angles. I will say upfront that after this scene, even before we got confirmation, I thought it was most likely Yann was upset about not being trusted, or other people finding out before he did, than because he was a big homophobe. But I still don’t think this makes the scene much better or justifiable.

From a basic writing standpoint: I think this was sloppy. I don’t think it was meant for anything other than throwing more shit at Lucas and some quick shock value. They wanted to surprise the viewers of the original show or throw in a plot twist. But none of this fits Yann’s character. The guy has been encouraging Lucas to confide in him during the season, so for this to happen when Lucas does finally confide? Feels wrong. Keep in mind that Lucas is not just confessing about being gay/falling in love with a guy: he mentions his family situation, his rent, school. Yann may not realize that Lucas was outed, but Lucas does mention the stress he’s felt from other people finding out about him and Eliott. So Yann hears all of this and decides to walk away, because of his own wounded feelings. Yann, after being supportive of Lucas and his family situation for ages. Okay. I get that characters aren’t perfect. But this doesn’t even feel like a choice Yann would make. Earlier in the episode he was like “either talk to us or sort your shit out”? He makes it clear that they’re not going to wait around for him if Lucas doesn’t want to talk, it’s caring but very no-nonsense, which is part of why it feels like his reaction doesn’t fit - he takes it personally that Lucas didn’t come to him. It just seems at odds, and I get that people don’t necessarily react consistently, but in a scripted TV show I do expect characters to react in a way that feels organic to their prior behavior.

Without a doubt it would have been worse to make Yann walk away because he’s genuinely homophobic, but in a way it feels even more contrived that he did so for other reasons? I’m trying to word this properly, but while making Yann homophobic would have been a horrible choice and I’m glad they didn’t go that far, the fact that he’s not makes this scene feel extremely petty in the overall narrative. Like when Yann explains himself in the next episode, it becomes abundantly clear that this was a fake-out, this was meant to throw the viewers off for a few days. It was just cheap. It doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of the narrative.

There’s the racial aspect. You cannot ignore that in this scene. We have two non-black Jonases in OG Jonas and Giovanni reacting amazingly to this confession, and the Skam France writers chose to make their black Jonas react poorly. I doubt their thought process was “he’s black so he’s gonna be more homophobic.” But I do think they should’ve thought the implications through. Because as much as people wanted to say race didn’t matter in this scene - it did. People already had an irrational dislike of Yann for doing the same things that Jonas and Giovanni did, and this clip just confirmed their worst biases. We had people hating the black character because of this change. People being like “I told you Yann was the worst and that he wouldn’t support Lucas!!!” when there wasn’t any reason to think Yann wouldn’t support Lucas prior to this scene. It was uncomfortable to watch this play out in parts of the fandom. And you had one of the character’s best, most shining moments taken away from him. Sure, the scene with Yann in the next episode is great. But the coming out scene is beloved and iconic, it made Skam fans love Jonas when many people had still been on the fence about him due to S1, and it could have been an equally powerful moment for Yann, a character who is already marginalized and dismissed by parts of fandom for being black. He didn’t get that.

Also, when Basile and Arthur ended up being OTT LGBT allies to the point of comedy, and Yann is the one with a bad reaction ... not great that the white guys were overly awesome and the black character is the one who ditched his friend. I’m not saying Yann has to be perfect and that’s the only way he can be great representation. But they had a precedent of this character reacting well and they actively changed that to be worse, and they changed these other two characters to be even more enthusiastic about their friend being gay. Then we also have two other white characters, Manon and Mika, supporting and comforting Lucas when he’s breaking down, in part because Yann rejected him. It’s a pile of unfortunate implications.

Then we have prioritizing the straight character’s feelings. Yann’s reasons for walking away were about Yann, not Lucas. Yann being upset that Lucas didn’t trust him. Yann being upset he wasn’t the first one to know. It’s self-centered. And we’re supposed to assign narrative weight to how a straight character feels about a gay character coming out. This is one of the biggest moments of Lucas’ life, for any gay person’s life. It should not be about the straight character’s feelings. That was something that was so important about the original scene. Jonas showed empathy and understanding that this was Isak’s moment, not Jonas’. Jonas listened. He let Isak talk at his own pace. He asked about Isak, he asked about Even, he didn’t make it about how he, Jonas, should’ve noticed a long time ago or how he felt about it. By making Yann walk away, the scene doesn’t become about the relief Lucas feels, it doesn’t become his affirming moment. In fact, it doesn’t even feel totally like his miserable, shitty moment? Because now everyone is thinking why the fuck Yann did that, what’s wrong with Yann, is Yann going to come back and apologize, etc. The ~mystery takes the emphasis away from Lucas.

In conjunction with the doctor scene… the actual fuck were they thinking? The advice given to Lucas was “find someone who you can trust” with the message that it’s such a relief to open up to someone. And this lesson as it actually plays out? Leads to rejection. Showing that if you talk to people, it won’t be any better, it might actually be worse because then your friend will leave you. What a great message. It’s not like talking to people and not bottling up your feelings is one of the most important lessons of the show. For a show that is aimed at helping teenagers through stress and shame, teaching them valuable lessons to deal with their problems, it’s thoughtless bordering on irresponsible to juxtapose these clips.

And that leads into my final point, which is not just about this scene, but about how criticism can be received in this fandom. We gotta talk about “realism” and its use as a defense in the Skam remakes.

Some people might ask, well, why does there need to be a great message in Skam? Why do there need to be life lessons in these clips? Can’t it just be an entertaining show? Or, the other popular argument: It’s realistic, therefore it’s beyond critique. (Usually not worded like that, but that’s the sum of the argument.)

Yes, Skam is a show built on realism. It is a show that captures teenage acne and awkward pauses and the mundane experience of lying on your bed texting someone, trying to think of the right things to say, in a way that is often glossed over by other TV series. But Skam is not just a realistic show. Skam is an idealistic show and it always has been. The show has always been about trying to give teenagers hope, to present positive models of behavior, to show the best of what we could be.

Here are some things that could be considered “realistic” in S3:

Isak rejecting Even due to his mental illness

Isak getting bullied and beaten up after being outed

Isak’s religious mom telling him he’s going to hell for being gay

Isak shoving himself back in the closet and continuing to date girls

Even killing himself due to depression

These are all extreme examples, for sure. But they’re things that have happened in real life. They’re stories that have been told in media before. Why didn’t Skam go there? Why did S3 end with Isak and Even in a happy, loving relationship, and not both of them dead from reenacting Romeo + Juliet, or Isak crying over Even’s grave, or Isak forever alone and miserable and suffering for being gay? Because that’s not the point of the fucking show.

Skam is not perfect. The characters are not perfect. But you have to ignore a core value of the series if you want to claim that Skam is about realism but not idealism. There is a reason so many characters resolve their problems by talking about their feelings. There is a reason we get so many quotes about how we should have empathy for others. Are there many true villains in this series? The only one who feels completely irredeemable is William’s brother, the sexual predator, and even he got a moment of sympathy when Mari acknowledged how messed up his childhood was. Everyone else, even the ones who act as antagonists, eventually gets some kind of compassion and forgiveness. Isak ends S3 on good terms with basically everyone: his friends, his parents, his roommates, Even, even people like Sonja and Emma. Because the show wants to give you some goddamn hope. Skam wants to demonstrate how good we can be to each other when we try.

I watched this episode of Skam in real time. I was going through Isak’s misery day after day. I was there when the original clip of Isak and Jonas dropped. When Isak came to Jonas and Jonas reacted so wonderfully, it was a tremendous relief for both Isak and the audience. I remember when the regular hearts on the Skam website (the like button) turned into rainbow hearts - it was for that clip, and it was such a meaningful moment. Isak was out, the hearts had changed, Isak had changed, there was no going back, but it was a triumphant change. And it wasn’t Disneyland. The clip was healing. It inspired other fans to come out to their friends and loved ones.

Circling back to Yann’s reaction here: I certainly get why it would resonate with viewers who’ve had similar experiences coming out to people and don’t want to invalidate their responses. It’s not that I think it’s completely out of line with Skam’s idealism for him to walk away. That he comes back in a few days and apologizes is a positive moment with good messages. It’s more that this moment was changed to be worse - I can’t help but feel it betrays that sense of optimism and hope that was built into Isak’s story. Because the fact that they went for the more dramatic shock value moment, rather than the healing moment, feels deeply cynical about what they want for the viewers. As I said above, the change didn’t feel well thought-out, it felt cheap. It’s pretty meaningless in the whole narrative, it’s just a quick gut punch to make you (and Lucas) feel bad. There are other bad things that happen to Lucas that matter in the overall story, because they influence his character or push the plot forward. This felt like angst for the sake of angst. "Realism” should not be a shield for every writing choice on the show, or else we can let all sorts of shitty tropes (and just plain lazy writing) happen in the name of realism.

Also, can we get rid of the idea that Norway is some homophobia-free paradise and Jonas’ reaction makes sense only in an LGBT wonderland? Homophobia is everywhere. Some places more than others, for sure, but nowhere is perfect. Isak’s story was full of homophobia even if he wasn’t getting gay bashed. How do you think he developed internalized homophobia in the first place? If Isak’s culture is devoid of homophobia, then why is he so nervous about coming out to people at all?

And I gotta say, after events in episode 7, it is totally ridiculous to defend this scene as realism and “not Disneyland” when Basile and Arthur are basically wearing Mickey Mouse ears when they learn Lucas is gay. Not that I think it’s wrong for them to be supportive, just that their scene is clearly grounded in idealism.

The original clip with Jonas reacting well to Isak coming out? Was based on a true story. It’s just as realistic as Yann walking away.

Social Media/General Comments

Lmao, Daphne’s inspiration deco for the common room. Dream big, girl. I like Alex’s response of pretty pink and elegant toilet paper decorations. Emma suggests a big box of condoms, which is the most practical suggestion.

Eliott posted a picture of his raccoon fursona throwing out many notes, so probably him struggling to come up with the right thing to say/draw to Lucas.

Daphne and Lucas have a friendly conversation. She really wanted him to go lift that couch.

Eliott posts another picture with a Virginia Woolf quote, saying “In case you ever foolishly forget, I am never not thinking of you.” Should be obvious that he’s thinking about Lucas. Virginia Woolf is a good choice for Eliott to quote since she was supposed to be bipolar, as well as bisexual (not pansexual, as Eliott may identify like Even did, but still relatable as they’re both into more than one gender).

Here’s a post about the Pygmalion reference with the picture Eliott posted. I feel like there’s something to be said about Polaris, too, and Lucas embodying one of the characters in Eliott’s movie, so that it feels like Lucas is lifted right out of Eliott’s art.

Eliott deleted the cartoons of him and Lucille cat after the cafeteria conversation with Lucas about having to choose. He CHOSE.

There’s a very sweet text from Manon and Lucas where she thanks him for last night, it was nice to not talk with him. Awww. They do have a nice relationship.

Emma seems done with Raptor Alex judging by her post “when he’s a fuckboy but he’s cute as hell” which goes along with the conversation when they’re moving the couch. Do we think Emma and Yann will end up getting back together, next season perhaps? Will she and Alex continue to be FWB? Or will Emma find someone else? Or be single for a while?

Super depressing post from Lucas after he comes out to Yann, a cartoon saying “God needs your boat to use as an ash tray” showing that he’s really slipping and feels like he’s drowning. When Yann walked away, he took Lucas’ last shred of hope with him. JFC.

I’m not French so feel free to explain or clarify something I missed.

If you got this far, thank you for reading!

#skamfr reactions #skam france reactions

36 notes · View notes

makeste · 5 years

Text

BnHA Chapter 158: Deku VS Overhaul ~Conclusion~

Previously on BNHA: Eri escaped Overhaul and leaped into Deku’s waiting arms. Before Overhaul could grab them, Deku instinctively activated 100% OFA in his legs and leaped to safety on the surface. Back in the Pit of Despair, Nighteye told the others he’d seen Deku’s death in a vision, and he believes they can’t do anything to stop it. Up on the street level, Deku marveled at how all of his wounds were suddenly healed up. But then he collapsed in pain feeling like his body was being “pulled apart from the inside.” Overhaul reappeared, having merged himself with a new minion, and explained that Eri’s quirk gives her the power to “rewind” humans, reverting them back to a previous state. Depending on how she uses it, she can even rewind them back to nothingness. He made it out to be some cursed thing, but Deku was all “8D” and realized he was carrying a full-HP-restored-and-all-status-ailments-cured healer who was currently using her quirk uncontrollably, unable to turn it off. So he literally fucking strapped her to his back with Mirio’s cape, and activated 100% One for All Full Cowl.

Today on BnHA: We say goodbye to volume 17 and usher in the new era of volume 18. Overhaul monologues a bunch about quirks and mutations and disease and blah blah blah. He says brats like Deku can’t appreciate Eri’s value and the power of her quirk. Meanwhile Togawice watch from a safe distance, and Ochako floats Nighteye up to get him some medical help. Overhaul has more flashbacks about how the Comatose Boss (back before he was comatose) told him to stop selling quirk drugs and not to stray from the right path. Of course, as we all know, he didn’t listen, wanting to restore the yakuza to their former glory by starting a drug war and supplying both sides. It’s arguably implied here that Overhaul may be the one who put the Comatose Boss in his coma, but Horikoshi is very vague about it. At any rate, back in the present day Overhaul continues to rant at Deku, but Deku has fucking All Might power now, and he just. Beats the everloving shit out of him. Like, it takes about four pages. Holy shit. And just like that, this battle is finally over.

(As always, all comments not marked with an ETA are my unspoiled reactions from my first readthrough of this chapter. I’ve read up through chapter 187 now, so any ETAs will reflect that.)

WE’RE DONE WITH THE PREVIOUS VOLUME OH MY GOD. WE’RE ON TO A NEW VOLUME. A NEW VOLUME WHICH WILL FINALLY INCLUDE A NEW FUCKING ARC AT LONG LAST. SOMEBODY HOLD ME

IF KACCHAN ISN’T ON THE CHARACTER PAGE, I WILL FUCKING FLY TO JAPAN AND FIND OUT WHERE HORIKOSHI IS KEEPING MY BOY HOSTAGE AND SAVE HIM MYSELF

HERE WE GOOOO

ooooohhhhh

(ETA: I recall reading in an interview somewhere that Horikoshi usually colors the volume covers in Photoshop, but for this one he felt like doing something different and so he colored it by hand and very much enjoyed it. it looks good!)

somehow I wasn’t picturing this weird mutant Overhaul creature to be red. somehow it makes him look even more like a Zelda boss

100% OFA Deku looks so cool! and his OFA lightning has turned yellow just like All Might’s oh gosh

“a bright future” OH GOD YES PLEASE

THIS TITLE PAGE IS GIVING ME ALL THE FEELS??

NIGHTEYE YOU REALLY ARE GOING TO FUCKING DIE AREN’T YOU. FUCK

MIRIOOOOOO

FUCK THIS STUPID PAGE AND ITS “BACK IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS BEFORE ALL THE HORRIBLE THINGS HAPPENED” VIBE

(ETA: I HATE IT EVEN MORE NOW!! looking back on it now is giving me the headcanon that Mirio is actually sitting on the bench alone, sometime after this arc, and that’s actually Nighteye’s spirit sitting there, watching over him. I have no idea why my subconscious would choose to come up with a background story for this page that makes me want to cry even more.)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LEAPS OUT OF MY CHAIR AND POUNDS MY FIST ONTO MY DESK IN TRIUMPH]

(AND I REALLY DID YOU GUYS, AND THEN I THUMPED MY FIST ON MY DESK SEVERAL MORE TIMES FOR GOOD MEASURE!!!)

BAKUGOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

AND SHOUTO! AND INASA OH MY GOD, WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE. ARE WE FINALLY GOING TO SEE THEIR SPECIAL TRAINING??

(ETA: I love this volume)

AND SEIJI. MR. MEATBALL. SO YOU’RE STILL AROUND. YOU DIDN’T MAKE IT PAST THE FIRST ROUND, SO I’M VERY SURPRISED THEY APPARENTLY ALLOWED YOU TO TAKE THE SPECIAL TRAINING COURSE. BUT I GUESS WE’LL FIND OUT ALL ABOUT THAT

(ETA: Seiji sure has a lot of spare time on his hands huh)

WELL GUESS WHAT, OVERHAUL, THIS ONE PAGE HAS GIVEN ME THE POWER NEEDED TO DEFEAT YOU AND YOUR STUPID ARC ONCE AND FOR ALL. LET’S DO THIS. FOR KACCHAN AND SHOUTO. THE FORGOTTEN CHARACTERS

wow this opening panel is talking about the possible origin of quirks as a fucking virus spread by rats. like if the fucking bubonic plague gave you superpowers

oh no

I did not ask for an Overhaul flashback and I don’t care about him. go ahead and flesh him out if you must, but no amount of backstory can satisfactorily explain why he’s such a fucking creep

Tongue!Overhaul says that neither Deku nor Eri understand the value of Eri’s power

idk man, Deku’s already making some damn good use of it barely two seconds after discovering that it exists

so he’s explaining that her quirk can be used to rewind the mutation that brought quirks about

how come the version Tamaki got shot with only did this temporarily, though? does this mean the effect is eventually going to wear off on Deku and he’ll collapse with every last one of his bones shattered and probably die immediately omg

also would it then be possible to undo what happened to Mirio? or does the quirk not work on itself? goddammit

and in theory this could potentially even be used for creepy necromancy purposes. ohhhh man

(ETA: and also I’m telling you, the more I think about it, the more I’m becoming convinced that this is the quirk which will eventually bring All for One back to power. eventually someone is going to make the mistake of letting AFO come into contact with Overhaul over in Tartarus, and once that happens, things are going to go downhill fast.)

ironically, this actually seems like the most narrow-minded view of Eri’s quirk possible. most people would look at Eri’s quirk and immediately identify it as a healing quirk. the fact that he turned it into a destructive quirk tells you all you need to know about the kind of person he is right there

also, those buildings he’s casually smashing just so happen to have people in them omg

why would they not have evacuated by this point. there was a fight going on between a dragon and a giant villain for a full 20 minutes. for that matter, you’d think that local heroes would have eventually stepped in at some point. that’s plenty of time for backup to have arrived, and it should have been abundantly clear by that point that they needed it. so much about this doesn’t make any damn sense smh

(ETA: I think later on they confirm that there were only a handful of civilian injuries, though, and they were only light scratches and stuff. but all that means is that they got lucky goddammit.)

wowwwww Overhaul. wow

I’ll take “most ironic things villains have ever said” for $500, Alex

LOL

AND SO OVERHAUL WAS KICKED INTO SPACE, NEVER TO BE HEARD FROM AGAIN. NOTHING OF VALUE LOST, ETC

Deku’s thinking to himself that Eri’s power is getting stronger and that she doesn’t know how to stop it. “just like the first time I used One for All”

he’s thinking that she basically has her foot stuck on the gas pedal

OH HEY YOU GUYS

is he “Deku” now? no more Izuku-kun or -chan or whatever?

as for Mr. Compress, he got squished by Ryuukyuu and melted

Ochako’s floating up to the surface with Nighteye in tow. and they were smart enough to avoid removing the spike in his stomach so he doesn’t instantly bleed out

does Nighteye even still have his left arm omg

now we’re flashing back again to the old boss chewing out Overhaul for getting into a fight with some dude and laying him out in critical condition

the boss thinks Overhaul is going behind his back and undertaking some secret venture in the drug business

he says he told Overhaul not to get involved with those drugs. I think that was the flashback we saw some chapters earlier

and he’s again telling him “you must not stray from my path”

why am I starting to get the feeling that the boss never actually got “sick” and that was Overhaul’s doing as well...?

oh my god is he talking to Kurono here

I feel like this is the only person who could plausibly be shipped with him. it doesn’t hurt that at this point he’s literally the last Precept standing

Overhaul’s determined to restore the family back to its former glory

oh here we go. finally the complete master plan

so first they flood the streets with some of the “incomplete products” they have on hand that can temporarily erase quirks

and once people have gotten a taste of that they’ll all be clamoring to purchase the completed product from them at sky-high prices

!!!!!!

SO YOU’RE TELLING ME MIRIO’S QUIRK CAN BE RESTORED OH MY GOD. THERE IS HOPE!

did they actually start to work on that particular serum yet?

anyways, because the boss isn’t A COMPLETE MONSTER, he’s immediately telling him no

you know, this is one of those instances where the time-honored mob tradition of doing away with a troublesome family member before they get even more troublesome would not have gone amiss. just sayin’. in hindsight he probably wishes he had

instead he just told him “if you’re going to disobey our way of thinking then you should just leave”

Overhaul says all he wants to do is repay the boss for taking him in

then why don’t you start by, I don’t know, FUCKING LISTENING TO HIM oh my god

but instead he went behind his back, continued torturing the innocent little girl, and proceeded with his plan

(ETA: okay, so! after much discussion, I have come to agree with the people saying that this scene...

...which I initially took to be Overhaul relenting, followed by the transition from the flashback back to the present, is in fact actually Overhaul making the decision to take his boss out of commission. the fade to black and the startled look on the boss’s face are intended to show that Something Bad is about to happen. and the next panel after that is just Overhaul thinking about how he owes a great debt to the boss, and that if they proceed with his plan, they can restore the family. “look forward to it, Pop.” so yeah, that does make sense.

what still annoys me though is that they don’t explicitly confirm it, even though it’s arguably the key moment in terms of Overhaul’s development into a villain. the series has no problem showing Eri’s torture in way more detail than anyone ever needed or asked for, and yet this key scene merely gets hinted at. it’s basically the thing all of these flashbacks are leading up to, and then they just... don’t show it.

there is one possible reason I can think of for this, which is that this scene is from Overhaul’s perspective, and because he wants to continue thinking of himself as the loyal son who’s doing this all for the sake of his father figure, it makes sense that he would censor his own recollection of the incident in order to further convince himself that it was all for the best. but while that explains the vagueness, there are still tons of other ways Horikoshi as the author could have confirmed it for us. for instance he could have showed it from Kurono’s perspective instead. or hell, just confirm it with a simple line of dialogue if you have to. but narratively, I think the decision to leave it inconclusive hurts the story by robbing us of the coolest, most dramatic and defining moment of Overhaul’s past.

so idk, I’m still not the biggest fan of this scene. for me, it comes tantalizingly close to being the kind of super dark twist I was hoping for, but then fails to stick the landing. so I’m hoping the anime can improve on this a little bit.)

so now we’re back in the present, and there are a few panels of Overhaul screaming that everyone else is missing the bigger picture, and he’s trying to destroy this world (the word “world” being in quotation marks, so I assume he means society, not the actual world), and that the “fake heroes” who are fixated on their tiny notions of justice need to stay out of his way

boy this is getting tiresome. it’s like someone combined Stain and Overhaul and created... Worse Overhaul

but he really doesn’t stand a chance against a 100% Deku, I think

well, we just had three huge pages of Deku beating the shit out of Overhaul. what do you guys think. climax? are we done at last?

oh my god you guys

;________; WE DID IT

(ETA: this is the quickest Final Battle a 40+ chapter arc has ever had. I’m not complaining, mind. good god am I not complaining)

so Deku punched Nighteye’s vision in the face?? apparently?

I mean, there didn’t even seem to be any point where he was even remotely in danger of dying. so either there’s something coming up, or Nighteye really screwed up on that one

either way it’s not like I mind? holy shit. we’re done? we’re really done?? ARE WE MOVING ON FROM THIS ARC

oh my god you guys. hey google play “We Are the Champions”

hang in there Kacchan and Shouto. we’re coming, lads

no bonus, this volume is pretty skimpy on the omake content honestly. but hey guys, tomorrow our favorite villain with too many hands makes his own long-awaited reappearance! google, when you’re done with this song, get ready to play some AC/DC next. we’re about to embark on the Highway to Hell, baby.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #overhaul (bnha)#midoriya izuku #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #okay you guys #just letting you know right now my manga-reading progress is about to take another hit for the next few days #because I just got a subbed copy of bnha two heroes #so I'm gonna be watching that #and I'll be liveblogging it as well so it's gonna take a while #but oh my god I'm so excited

40 notes · View notes

whimsically-ominously-auspice · 4 years

Text

This punk

You see that teal blue square to the right of the screen?

That's the booth me and my great aunt and 3rd cousin used to allllwwaays sit at.

And she would eat crab legs and the owner would always being special tools for my aunt and they only had two sets so we always returned it directly to her when we left.

He's a punk.

...

So then Alex took me... He said "where do You want to eat? I have money. No i really do"

And he was always bugging so I said "do you like Chinese?"

So he said "yep"

And I said "I know this one spot you will love because every time I see you, you're complaining about how hungry you are. Come on lets go"

So he told me "what's with you? You're never this nice to me!"

But i had went over to see Brandy and she had just left for work and i fell asleep on the couch because he said he didn't know where she went and he left me alone and sat on the floor which was absolutely disgusting with some animal fur like white masses of fur. Cat apparently but when I was there the cat always hid under their bed. So it was just gross. But he was all nice and I would hear the door creak and it would wake me and he would say "shhh she's asleep" and one girl was loud and I was all "you guys I got a headache" and he kicked them out.

So after I woke up I was staring at him and watching him and I touched his ear with my toe. And he like moved his head to his shoulder like I was a bug. So I did it again 4 more times and he said "if this fly one more dam time" and he got up to get the fly swatter off the wall. It was dark because he was playing PlayStation like one... It was 1998.

So I was all do I dare? I thought about it and I was all I bet he's slow because hes into this game and it happened to be a race car game..so..

4 more times.. Then I put my toe on his neck and he goes "alright thats it if I have to turn on the light to find you and wake her!!! -- oh ill turn on the kitchen light, that's what ill do" so he did and then he waved the fly swatter around and was all "don't wake her" finally he could see my eyes open and more so my smile and he was all "are you awake? No probably not. Ill just play my game here and maybe then I can get me some food. If she will take me. Yeah usually she says she will take me to the store but usually u say I don't want to" then suddenly he hit pause and put his arm on the couch and then looked at my face and said "huh" like he was asking me and I said nothing and he squeezed my knee 2x and said "yeah you know you are"

And I said "take you to the store or....?" Because by then he was so oblivious I wondered if I could smoke and him even notice. So I timed my lighter when it was loud and in a turn in the road so he would be paying attention to the game.

"No smoking hot! All I smell is smoke! Sabrina are you even awake or just messing with me?"

"Asleep" and so i would blow my smoke hard into his face and all.

"Now I'm realky hallucinating! And i ain't smoked since... Idk when doesn't matter!"

So I put my toes on him again because i was all if i finish this cigarette and he doesn't notice im actually awake. Hes dumb.

"Alright then! Im mad!"

And he turned on a lamp in the other room and he thrn could see my eyes because the lamp unlike the kitchen light was in front of me and he looked at me and then the lamp "oh you want it off? Ill turn it off"

"No its alright i need to put this cigarette out"

"Oh then you want it on. I want it on. We will leave it on. Now where is this bug?"

"A listening one or a one with feet?" And i had to laugh.

"No a listening one is uhh in the bedroom... Oh wait you actually do talk?"

"Yeah" i giggled

"That's why i always ask if you want to go to the store because you are always so silent but i think if i ask you you'll tell me "yeah i want to go to, too" but you never do. Are you really awake?"

"Why would I say i would want to go to too? Why not I'm heading that way like i usually do?"

"Because you would bring me back..."

"But why? Would you want to?!"

"Alright that's it IM DREAMING! im going to take my shirt off. Do you see me?"

"Yes you're naked"

"No I'm not besides im not even naked. I just said I would but your head turned like you didn't want to see that's what i do know"

"What color is your under wear? Red?"

"No blue"

"You better be checking because when you went into the kitchen to turn the light on, you lifted your shirt to wipe the sweat off your forehead even tho its not hot. And you seemed to be upset about your hallucinating i tonight i should give you your privacy."

"Oh. How long have you been awake!?"

"And he whines!!"

"And i can't believe you. You say you want me to have my privacy but you're laughing so hard you can barely talk!"

So i just laughed...

"So is there even a bug?"

"Oh you mean this?" And i ran my toes down his back

And he threw his controller down "are you fucking kidding!?!?!"

And i laughed and said "yes"

And he picked it up and said "no youre not"

And then i put my toe on his ear and left it ao he went to slap my toes and his hand touched my ankle "is that your leg?"

"Mmm no!"

"Alright now you're bugging me!"

"It was my ankle!"

"You know youre not infuriating as i thought. I say leg. You say no and i think you're lying but you say its your ankle"

"You know i don't live in the direction of the store anyway"

"Yeah you do. I live south of you"

"By a couple of blocks!"

"I live North of you i mean"

"Well i head south but not all the way to the store! I dont even live as far as my gramma! But i do always go to the store when i leave here anyway"

"How come?"

"To get something to eat. Usually I get a hot pocket, pepperoni and a couple of chips, sometimes a brownie no its a fudge round by little debbie oh and a Pepsi"

"You get that every night? I thought I was hallucinating"

"Hey do you think you're hallucinating when ever a girl tells you to give her a kiss?"

"No. Idk. Why?"

"Because i just did. 4 or 5 times"

"You what?" And he said "you lie" the same time i said

"I lie"

And he put down his controller all violent and he said "well you know what liars do around here?"

"What?"

"Get punished"

"And ill bet that's your kiss" and that fucker is fast! I barely had time to duck or even have time to finish teasing him

"Oh now don't duck" and he started tickling me

"Oh you're so mean to me!!" I had to gasp for air

"Oh! I'm mean huh!?? Then you get tounge too as soon as you quit laughing"

So i did...

...

So when we went to the restaurant the owner said "the same booth?"

And i said "uhh im with someone different" and tapped his shoulder

And she said "okay then the second one" and did wll Vanna White like i taught her "here's your booth!"

So he told me to get my plate first and I saw him talking to her and she came and said he ordered me a Pepsi and was it okay because i always got water. I told her it was.

Because my aunt was on social security I always got water to make it cheaper for her plus i didn't drink alot of water at home. My cousin would get Dr Pepper and my aunt would get 7up they carried for her in a can but i got water. And she asked me at the table "why you always get water but he gets you a Pepsi and you say its okay?"

"Oh because my aunt doesn't have alot of money and she always pays and always says she will pay and I work over across the street at Mazzios and I always advise people on a budget when they ask what is cheap to skip the drinks and get water instead although we have a water filter and it takes way longer to get the drinks"

"And do they listen?"

"No, but that's also because I recommend one of the deals that comes with soda"

"Oh now I see you" she touched my wrist and wagged her finger at Alex "now I don't want you beating her!"

And she walked off and he was all "woah!" And looked down at the table and laughed "you look amused sobi can i ask you--"

"Yeah?"

"What the Hell do you do in this place?!?!"

'What?! Why?!"

"Idk how many customers you remember but this is a buffet and it gets busy!"

"Almost all my regulars. I always work the same nights"

And I heard all this laughter bubbling up from around the corner

"Oh my now here she comes"

"What? No you're kidding me" he said angrily

"She will watch" but the laughter continued "go get your food!"

"How long until she comes?"

"When she quits laughing"

"How long?"

I heard the door swing to the kitchen "oh she will be awhile, she went to the men. Go get your food!"

"Oh wow its getting louder and that's just HER!! Are you sure she won't be back soon?"

"Uh huh. Once she calms down she will tell the boys and then she will begin to laugh again then she will stop and we will hear them when the door opens and closes that's when you know shes out but you don't hear it creak. Idk why I never do"

"That's ghost! Doesn't it bother you they're always laughing at you?"

"No. Go get your food! I told you this is a fun place! Go! Eat. Food! Hello! Comida!"

"I wanna see how long it takes. They never and I mean never heard her laugh much less "the boys" how do you know who works in there anyway?"

"Oh I bust in there!! Its a long story she will likely tell you"

"No you tell me because I don't want them laughing at you. This is making me mad"

"You are mad. I mean really! My food is getting cold. I can't eat without you... Okay Fiiiinnne! One day I came in here and she had tears in her eyes. But she didn't. Wasn't upset or anything until i heard the door creak and then these make voices yelling at her. And she came back and she had tears in her eyes. And everytime she went in they yelled and i thought no way they are beating her. Or else why would she be so upset?! So I went in there and there was no one. I MEAN NO ONE. The whole kitchen was EMPTY. So I knew what i heard and I asked her and she said yes there were indeed in fact people behind that door. So I went and opened it and There Were!! And so I yelled and they even laughed at me and so one of the guys came out and he looked like he had blood all over him you know on his apron and he told me "no she is just upset that you look like someone she knew long time ago in a past life." And she had come up right about that time and he wrapped his hands around her shoulders and said "no we love this one" anyway that's the story why i know they are all men"

"So why does she do Vanna White like you do?"

"Oh she asked me. Food! Cold!"

"Why would she say that to you?"

"No i say that to you! Now! Goooo!"

"No answer me first"

"Fine ill starve. They're gonna CLOSE! NOW! GO! FOOD!"

"Then I guess you better answer me. Look. I didn't pick on you about bugs--"

"That's because we had sex"

"Alright but ill be right back but don't go anywhere"

"Where am I gonna go!"

"Well I'm gonna go. Youre right she does take a long time! Okay? Ill be back"

"Alright" then I got paranoid like why would he say that? So I looked in my purse for my keys. Which were there.

He came back

"I didnt want to seem like a bum or anything but I was so hungry I was about to eat off your plate" and he looked down "wow this is food. I am awake aren't I?!"

I seen our waitress, the owner, duck down like a a kid and duck walk over and say "this is his booth"

And he got so scared!!

"Woah hey! Where did you come from?! I got scared!!"

And she stood and laughed and shook his shoulders and patted his chest. "Oh you're all grown! No time to be scared!"

"Oh! Well okay then. If you say so" he had tears in his eyes

"This is his booth like I say. She sit right here" she patted the seat behind him "always. Not ever on tbe other side. She used to until you started to come here when the 1st booth was always full then she only always sit in this chair right behind you. I tell you I notice" and she squat down "she always do this at work, too. When her back hurt. I think it's to get eye level or seem inferior. But I ask her one night at work. She passed. I never sit on her section -- she always work where it's closest to the entrance to the kitchen and I ask her too if they had sections and she said no and so I ask her why she squat and she rubbed the small of hwr back right here and she say "because my back always hurts and it provides some relief""

"No way! I always wondered that too!"

"When do you go in there? I rarely see her!"

"Well apparently you always have your regular customers you're always intuned to!"

"Well if you notice i am very busy!" I kicked him under the table "you should sit in my section!! they keep me busy all my regulars...."

She laughed and repeated what she saw.

"You, too. Little Missy!"

"Ill be right back i have to tell the kitchen!"

"I see why you dont get mad! For all their laughing"

"Why is that?"

"You're cute!"

"Oh my god really??! All that -- you hear that? You look smug with pride but i say it why -- they're laughing and you're blushing?"

"You treat me like such a little kid"

... .... ...

"So do you want dessert?"

"No I'm full" I laid down in the seat

"Don't go to sleep"

"Oh well" I touched his blonde hairy knee. He moved them

"What are you doing?"

I sat up "well you were adjusting uncomfortably in your seat but I didn't see anything"

He leaned forward and laughed like a maniac... Blushing.

"Can I ask you Something?"

"Shoot"

I shook my head "that's not what I meant to say, can I Tellll you Something?"

"Shoot. That means go ahead"

"Yeah well I know." I put my thumbs between my eyebrows

"Well what's wrong? Hey are you okay?!"

"Well Idk if I should that's all. Our maybe just not here, I couldn't tell. Or even if it matters... In so many ways"

"Just please tell me"

I smiled but tried to hide it"

"Just tell me"

"Only because you whine, I just wanna tell you I didn't think you were as big as you were"

"You mean...? What? What are you referring to?" He took a sip of Pepsi

"Only if you don't drink"

"You mean this?" He stuck his straw in his mouth and did a head bobble and stuck out his hand "I'm not stopping until you tell me"

"I mean your dick" I scarcely had time to close my eyes while the soda he spewed and choked on flew straight into my face from his mouth "I knew you were going to do that" I crossed my arms on the table while soda dripped off my nose and down my cheeks and off my hair. I waited while he choked and the waitress patted his back and tried not to laugh

"See? She likes you like I told you, she did not even yell. You two enjoy ill be around the corner there. Clean up her" she gave him one last pat then turned to me "I thought I would have to give him the heimlich he was choking so bad. You be good" then she brought a fresh warm towel from hot water.

And he cleaned my face "no no that has bleach!" She said

"Too late" I replied.

"Okay so now after all that I'm just gonna ask you what you mean"

"Ill leave you to be but I'll be just around the corner"

"No stay"

"No I'll be just around the corner"

"Which means she can hear" i whispered loudly. She laughed.

"Now before you answer I mean about "too late""

"Oh because you washed my face"

"Oh not about you being pregnant?"

"No I'm on my period. I think. No wait. I stopped. No why?"

"Oh she was talking I guess you didn't hear"

"I guess not"

It was quiet at the table. A little too quiet...

'So about that dick"

"Which one?"

"Yours! So i never thought it would be so big because youre so skinny"

"Being skinny has --"

"No stop. Now listen to me. So when we humped I thought yeah I'm right he's small"

He put elbow to fist on the table "what?!"

"But then when you took your pants off...I thought well hmm he might be bigger than I thought"

"Geez" he brushed his hair to the side... Seemed to be nervous but pleased

"Wait I'm not done" I leaned forward to whisper "but when you pulled out I thought, wow man that's big where in the hell did he put all of it?! I just thought you should would want to know"

"What?! That im a big dick?!?!"

"No that You're bigger than average. Alot. According to books anyway"

"I just want to go home with you right now"

"Do you want to drive? I mean unless you drive slow. I'm assuming since you drive racing games you like to go fast. You do have a license? I mean a real one?"

"Geez. I mean yes. Yes I do. Want to see it?"

"No its alright I trust you.. But what do you mean about geez? I mean this time"

"How much did you see? How long were you awake?"

"Since the first bug... Well wait! Don't blush yet because before that i heard you were really angry and something like "now what the hell would Sabrina think? I beat that bitch like that. But she deserved it tho. Now I'm all bloody" and I heard the sink and i heard paper towels. And I went back to sleep. I think. Then i heard "dam! That fucking slut coming in here all loud like that, sorry honey. I hope you're okay" then I was confused but you patted my leg so i thought and i hoped you meant me and i thought that was odd I didn't like you like that you always annoy me so i turned around to look at you and a realized you don't annoy me at all. I annoy me. Because I'm always hoping you mean you want me to take you to the store but then you turn me down and it makes me feel sad. Why do you always do that?"

"Because I'm always hoping that you will say yes. Then you do and i realize I'm not so hungry after all and so i choose to stay home"

"Instead of going with me?!"

"Because i don't want to bother you"

"And you bother me! Like! Alot. So please dont do that to me no more"

"What? Ask? Or not go?"

"Look if you ask me then you should go if I say yes"

So he did it again so the second time he asked me I said no. The 3rd time I didn't answer and the 4th time i said no.

The 5th time Jesse and Matt Hagan were there so i told him "get your money and lets go, hurry before I say no again"

They all wanted to go so I said "no. Two doors. Only two can go"

So when we came back I took a minute to finish my cigarette on the porch. Alex rushed in all "what the fuck?! Stay here!!"

Apparently Matt Hagan had his bag threatening to dump it out until he was told how many times we kissed. Then when I went in, he was beating the shit out of him and Jesse.

So I pulled him off and said "come on lets just go you can go to my house, my dad won't care"

Then they were all mocking me and he said "you're right lets go. He's dead or nearly. Y'all don't be touching my stuff. Lets out. Hold my hand"

I took a look "yeah that Matt Hagan is dead"

"Jesse ain't. He will probably resuscitate him"

"You mean mouth to mouth?" I stopped at the door and yelled back in "have fun with mouth to mouth you Boys"

So then when i took him back a week later they were still there... And so they snatched his bag off his back and Jesse turned it over to dump it while Matt ran off like a little bitch. Snatched up his cocaine and took off.

Then they both got in my car to snort it so I called the cops when they refused to get out and kept locking it when I unlocked it. They were all handcuffed and arrested for attempted grand theft auto.

Brandy lied and said they weren't because they were embarrassed. They had good lawers from OKC so they got off with 1300 hours community service total. 700 each which they paid some poor snuff to do it. Then they killed them. 2 black guys as if matt or jesse are superior to anything much less two legit men

I don't play with their shit. Don't fuck with me.

0 notes

fandom-obssessed-writer · 7 years

Text

Zach Dempsey (requested)

Anon asked if I could write an imagine where the reader was once close to Zach before high school but they drifted apart then reader stumbles upon that one scene where they are drinking near the liquor store and she knows it’s not like him and he says it is because he misses her

Okay so idk if this was supposed to be platonic or romantic, but i was thinking it sounded more platonic than anything so... yeah AND ALSO YAY FOR MY FIRST ZACH

At first you were okay with it, the drifting apart. You two had been fighting over petty things and losing interests in certain things you shared. You two were maturing, becoming adults. While he became a jock and went out to parties and games, you were going to college ready classes and going on blind dates your parents had set up. You got a new group of friends and so did he. It was simple. But then you started to miss him, a nostalgia that needed three years to grow it’s biggest and harshest, a need for Zach to be with you once more. Because once upon a time Zach Dempsey did not care what people thought, and once upon a time, you loved him and he loved you. You were like Ying and Yang, the symbol without a bit of each of the other’s color was Ying Yang. Not Ying and Yang. Now you were just Ying.

So High School was hard, it had always been that way. It became even harder when your newest friend Hannah took her own life. Even harder when Clay became distant because of it. Then you needed Zach more than ever; a simple hand holding yours in reassurance, a pat on the back... even a smile. Instead it was hushed whispers, ignorance, and condolences. They didn’t realize their somber looks helped nothing -- they were nothing. The worst part was you or Hannah’s parents never got a note... or a goodbye. It was just done, like one day your relationship with Zach was. Now all that existed was memories and broken hearts. Just the two.

So you found yourself reliving both every single day. A trip to the local liquor store, a chocolate bar, and a bottle of stolen vodka--sample size of course. Every day that’s where the memories sprung that slowly led to a good day’s heartbreak. Maybe if you had still been friends with Zach things would have been different. Maybe you would not have met Hannah-- maybe it wouldn’t hurt as much. But you couldn’t ever say that out loud, because Hannah was the best person you knew. So losing her in any parallel universe would have stung like a bitch.

it was an exercise in futility. You knew that the same clerk would be there, with the same expression on his face playing the same game. You knew he would charge you the same amount for the same candy bar and give you the same cheeky grin.

So maybe this time it was different. Maybe you just needed a little change. So instead of coming and going, you stood for a while, contemplating the decisions before you. There were so many candies, liquors, and cigarettes. So you grabbed one of each. When the bell above the door jangled you paid no mind, just grabbed your different candy bar before going to the liquor aisle.

“Well, well, well.” You heard a voice behind you.

You didn’t turn. You didn’t need to. That voice was the one that near everyone hated around school but would never say it. Bryce Walker, the high schooler who looked more like a soccer dad than any soccer dad ever. The forty looking one. It wasn’t the time and you weren’t in the mood, so you grabbed the handle of the fridge and yanked it open, going in to grab the bottle you wanted.

“Rum? Bad, L/N. Never thought you were one for drinking.” Bryce asked, suddenly behind you and very, very close. You shuddered and turned to glare at him, pushing his chest roughly.

“Fuck off, Walker. Fucking grandpa looking ass.” You stormed to the cash register before he could react, ordering the clerk to get a pack of cigarettes for you as well. “Here, I’m going to use the bathroom, hold my stuff for me.”

The clerk nodded with boredom before handing you the black key. You stormed passed Bryce once more and he just stared at you as you passed, winking before you were out of sight. You made a face of disgust.

As you looked in the mirror you stared at the blue rings under your eyes, the nights of countless sleep. The nights that you wished your best friend Zach was holding your hand while he slept on the floor, the nights that you texted Hannah ‘til four. And under those bags were something deeper, because yes, you missed Hannah but you had been wrecked before she had found you. Before her death you were the same. It seemed the people kept leaving you; there was something about that that was ironic to you. The day Hannah died you had gone to the movies without her, the day you lost Zach you had told him you did not care. It seemed that you were pushing people away.

When you were done in the bathroom Bryce was gone and you sighed with relief, going back to the clerk and handing him your money. As he counted your change you looked out the glass door to see Clay Jensen riding after Tony Padilla’s car on his bike. There was another friend who had distanced himself.

It was almost serene when you exited the store, your expression placid and your bag full of shit you were going to do the first time alone and your wallet lighter. Almost. In this part of town it was quiet or way too fucking loud, and this time it was quiet... but then it wasn’t quite. There was yelling, whooping, and booing. The three things teenage boys did on a daily for every single reason they could conjure up. This teenage yelling though -- it was familiar. It was the yelling you heard at any of Liberty High’s sports games, the yelling heard in the halls, the yelling that made you so angry you could cry. The yelling of the people who had torn you apart from the thing you needed the most.

“Standall, I cant believe it! Jensen demolished you! What the fuck!” That was Justin Foley.

“Fuck you, Justin. I’m not in the mood.” Alex Standall, someone who had broken Hannah’s heart.

“Give me the bottle, Alex. I’ll finish it for you.” That was the voice. The voice of a person who once loved you and you still loved. The person who was the missing piece of your life as of late. Zach Dempsey.

During your freshman year when the blow of the separation was still a raw, open wound you had cornered Zach why he was acting the way he had been -- ignoring you, playing mean games with other people. He had just rolled his eyes, “People change, Y/N. Maybe you should too.”. Maybe that blow had hurt worse than the time that he had stolen your smelly markers in the sixth grade and then denied the whole thing. Maybe that’s what made you a mess.

But he could have told you that a million times on repeat, and you still would not believe him. People can change, but they could also just simply hide who they are. Underneath that cracked asphalt of a facade is the truth bleeding out like a nice, golden sunlight. This was not the Zach Dempsey that glowed like a rich, gold coin. This was the Zach that did what his friends did because he was scared that if he did anything else something would happen. His would be replaced, he would be made fun of, or his worst fear: he would lose all of his friends and just be ignored. Old Zach would never drink in broad daylight where any cop could catch him -- underage and intoxicated.

So you rounded the corner with you plastic bag swinging and faced the group you knew was there. They were all leaning against someone’s car coolly drinking from two bottles and laughing their woes away. Zach was sitting on the hood, his black hair sticking in all directions and his eyes squinted as he chugged the rest of the malt liquor.

“Zach.” You said loudly, standing in the middle of the alley opening. All eyes turned to you as Zach nearly choked on the liquid, his eyes going wide as he swallowed the drink carefully before looking at you. He winced before throwing the bottle to Justin. He caught it and downed the rest.

“Oh, uh, Y/N...hi.”

“Get in my car, Dempsey.” You sighed, pointing to your car across the street.

The other guys whooped and hollered, yelling out things you ignored as you stood there, swinging your bag around.

“Y/N, I don’t think-” Zach started, taking a step forward, before Bryce stopped him.

“Go, Zach. We’ll meet you at my house.” Bryce stared you down as your eyes flickered towards him -- a dark, unreadable expression on his face.

You turned without another word and walked to your car, knowing that Zach was following obediently. You threw your things in the back seat before sitting in the drivers side, waiting patiently while Zach took his time.

It had been so long since you had spoken to Zach, so many years, but you knew what was right to say. When he was buckled up you stuck the keys in and turned the car on. “Alright listen, Zach. I know you. Say what you want, deny it, but I know you and your family. I know that the Zach that I used to hang out with -- the Zach I still see in the hallways sometimes would never do something like this. How would your sister react if you all got caught? Your mother? It’s still light out, Zach. You’re not like this... and I care about you too much to see you do this. Especially with people like Bryce.”

You sighed after your mini rant and started to drive, not giving him much of a choice in the matter. You weren’t driving to your house or to his -- you were driving to Monet’s to get his system clean. He was sitting in silence, thinking your words over.

“Y/N...” He said, unsure of what to say.

“And I know we drifted apart, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t miss or care about you, Zach. The loss of Hannah just made it even harder to cope without you by my side. Clay Jensen has been too out of it lately. I just need someone, and if you need someone I’ll put you before me. Because I care about you more than I care about myself.”

You stopped at a stop light and looked to see that Zach was wiping at his eyes, before sniffling strongly and shaking his head. “Y/N, there is a reason that I was doing what I was doing. I miss you too. I only do these things to fill the hole in my heart that you vacated quite a while ago. I miss you so much, you were my best friend.”

You turned to Zach and placed your hand over his on his thigh before squeezing it reassuringly. He gave you a teary smile as you pulled into Monet’s.

“Can we go back to where we were? I just really need someone. Preferably you.” You asked him softly, looking away slightly.

There was rustling before he put his arms around you. “I was really hoping you would suggest it.”

~~ this made me emotional

(not edited)

pls gimme the thing called love

#zach dempsey #zach dempsey imagines #13rw #13rw imagines #13 reasons why #13 reasons why imagines #hannah baker #clay jensen #justin foley #bryce walker #jessica from 13rw #lmao what is her last name

218 notes · View notes

megatraven · 3 years

Note

who’s your favourite LI from each series you’ve read? :o and why?

*claps hands together* ALRIGHT!!!! (warning: as i typed i grew more and more long-winded and i dont apologize for it but u should kno)

alright obviously i have to start off with Astoria, of which Alex is my favorite LI! I'm not gonna go into why because *gestures to entire blog* and i've made multiple posts about it

from Immortal Heart Society, it's definitely Emilio thus far. admittedly i havent tried reading the other two, but I like emilio a lot! he's really grumpy and weary it seems, but i find the grumpiness charming and the weariness feels like it's there to be driven away by mmc's fresh approach and excitability. he's fun so far!

from My Siren Crush, I gotta say it's Maxime so far!! he and Arianna only have 6 episodes each so it's hard to say, but i LOVE his personality and how sweet he is. I really like that he's shy and that he does a lot of different kinds of art, and how gentlemanly he is!

from Ever After Academy, it's definitely Arin!! Sure they've only got one season so far, but they were my favorite character almost right off the bat, before we even knew they'd be getting a route! I love how much they care about the people around them and ho they do their best to do the right thing, how they take on so many responsibilities and are willing to do so again and again, if that's what it takes to get a happy ending for everyone. they're so funny, too, and i just really am a slut for the dynamic they have with fmc, the HISTORY....... incredible

from Tales of the Wild, it's Bram!!!!!!!! my sweet bear boy, he's so kind and gentle and strong and Stubborn af..... i really really love bears so i knew i was a goner the instant we were able to vote for him to be a new LI. his route is really interesting so far, too, what with MC being a dinae whose animal form was stolen! he cares so much about her and just wants to keep her safe, to the point he makes a Very Important Oath to her... like......... he cares her....... its so sweet..

from Reigning Passions it's gotta be Xenia!!! :D i admit i have a Slight obsession with spider-people, and the moment I saw her i knew that I was gonna love her to death. when she got a route i was so overjoyed! she's just. so genuine in everything that she does, she does her best to truly do what's right and what's good for the kingdom, and for mc. she's incredibly smart and resourceful, her magic is SO COOL, and she's just really really gorgeous. i like her dry sense of humor and her blushing sprite...... i love that she slowly gives her trust to mc, and confides to her about personal matters such as her late husband, and how she clearly still loves him even whilst loving mc. she feels like such a unique character, i really just adore her <3

from Sin With Me, i've gotta say my favorite atm is Onyx! I love all the routes, but DAMN onyx's really went all out with making her a fucking DRAGON?!??!?!?!? queen shit. she was also a really unique route in that she dealt with a lot of trauma from past abuse and had to learn to open up about it and accept that what happened t her wasn't right, and that she wasn't a failure for it. it had such a strong found family feeling, even compared to the other routes. everyone just wanted her to be happy. they accepted mc into their ranks quickly because she made onyx happy, and that's all the troupe wanted. and she is so pretty and funny..... she's so CUTE...... and i think it's one f the few cases where the LI is shorter than the MC?? idk she's just. so badass, and i loved her route to pieces!!!

from Sweet Enchantments my favorite is Lucien! (with a shoutout to emeril for close second)! the character growth he undergoes in his route is just ASTOUNDING, it's written and paced so well, i can't help but love it and him!!! also one of my favorite colors is turquise and thats His Color(tm) so im a hoe for that. i just. really my big thing with him is that he grows and flourishes into such an incredible character, so sweet and humble. he's also a very very funny LI (imo), and i love seeing him interact with all the other sweets characters! his cgs are the most gorgeous things...... there's a scene where he takes mc into the human world, to a cafe so she can call her parents, and it's so sweet. there's another where he takes her out and plays soccer with her. he just cares so much about her and her wellbeing, and even when he gets afraid that she'll leave him (when she's feeling homesick especially), he talks it out with her and learns to move past those feelings. he promises himself to her before he's even out of Sweets, and i just.......... it's so romantic and precious ;O; <3

from Havenfall it's always gonna be Mackenzie!!!!!! she was my VERY FIRST lovestruck route so she is always going to have a very special place in my heart. plus i mean. LOOK AT HER. her cute face and her CUTE WOLF EARS <333 she's so cool and nerdy!!! she's so STRONG!!! her protective streak is so charming and endearing..... the way that she forgives annabelle and damien and accepts them into her little supernatural family is really precious <3 she's so strong and that strength comes not only from her, but from her bonds with everyone else, and it's...... magical. it really stole my heart and sold me on lovestruck!!

from Love & Legends my favorite (so far) is Alain! I've only read three full routes so far, but Alain is incredible despite the shortness of his route. afaik it's the only route where the mc actually has magic (which i like), and they're ACTUALLY childhood friends to lovers in that mc is a reincarnation across time and space of his childhood friend. he's so cool and sweet, he would do absolutely anything for her because he loves her so so much. which is definitely one of his faults and what led him to being one of the Witch Queen's generals, but when mc came around......... you could tell he was so broken hearted by everything, but that he couldn't bear to not love her, even when it made him bad. and you can see that love again, when mc is selfish, and he leaves her out of anger in chicago. he keeps an eye on her despite his anger and his hurt, because his love is that strong. at some point, this one god speaks and says that alain's route is the only one of his lifetimes that doesn't end in tragedy, where he gets to be happy. i lvoe that trope so much even though it hurts so much. in the other two routes i've finished, he can't leave the witch queen's side, because she's that friend he knew, who he's loved for so long. in his own route, he's only able to leave the witch queen because he finds mc- a glance into what the witch queen could have been. who she should have been. someone kind and strong, who would love him, too. i dunno. his route is just really amazing and so is he :)

in Starship Promise......... it's a hard choice, but i have to say Nav ;O;; whenever i think of nav i think of that one fucking scene........ the one that broke my heart and made me cry for like Days. Stop him. Stop him. Stop him. gods, that was an incredible scene, i don't think i'll ever get over how powerful it was. not to mention... SALAD BOY!!!!! nav is Also a very funny character. he's a secret sadboy who tries to hide it with his charm and good looks, which, A for effort bud. he ends up being unable to leave mc behind, because- even though it scares him- he's fallen for her. his story is really incredible, he's an amazing character and it was wonderful to see him get the justice he deserved.

for Villainous Nights, i'll have to say my favorite LI is Lorelei! :D i'd say renzei and juliette are super close seconds tho. but Lorelei!!!!!!!!! I think she was one of the first routes I read following mackenzie, and she was definitely the first I read from villainous nights! i loved how strong and silent she was, and how much she loves coffee, and how she can make the earth quake. i always loved how hard she tries, how much effort she puts into being in control of herself, how much she does to try making things right. she did bad things in the past, blinded by optimus' promise to do good. and when she realized it, she couldn't stay with them. she turned her back on them and did her damned best to make up for all the hurt she caused. she loves the earth and its people and its nature, and she wants to keep it all safe. she had a broken heart, but with mc by her side, she's finally able to heal and find closure that she couldn't get before, on her own. not to say every LI isn't unique, but lorelei's is another route that just really stood out from the others. her panic attacks, the way she goes mute when she's overwhelmed, how the earth trembles when she gets angry or afraid and how she tries to push her emotions down to stop it........ i havent any of that- especially her muteness- in any other LI in the app. (not that ive read every story yet). lorelei is really incredible and i love her lots my butch wife ;O;

for Queen of Thieves, it's DEFINITELY Nikolai! first and foremost he's demi!!!!!!!! which i was so excited to find out about!!!!!!!!!! that made me instantly love him, and i think that ended up being the reason why i finally started reading QOT at all. i'll take all the a-spec rep i can get, thanks. aside from that, his route is just..... incredibly well-written. everything about it feels like it has this quiet intensity, which matches him perfectly. his self-sacrificing bullshit..... his truly tragic backstory........ how he came to make the poppy........ ho much he loves his little family, how much he loves mc, how much he loves ELIZABETH......... there's nothing abut nikolai that i dont love. he's so smart, but so fucking stupid sometimes, it's the best. he's the best. that first night, in his last season i believe, when he didn't have a nightmare for the very first time ever........... i don't know if i have ever been so happy for a fictional character before. i was so overjoyed for him. he's an incredible character and so, so interesting and multi-faceted, i can't imagine anyone else taking place for my #1 qot character :^)

and last but not least.... Gangsters in Love! My favorite here...... changes a lot, i'm not even gonna lie. it's ALWAYS constantly changing between chance, rory, and ash. like. i just can't pick one. so i wont go into as much detail here as the other paragraphs, but chance is just so FUNNY and dumb like yeah he's a badass ganglord wh orides a motorcycle but also he wears a shirt with a stupid little frog on it i LOVE him. i love how much he loves his gang, how much he loves mc. and ash... who WOULDNT love ash? he's such a sweetie and his smiling sprite makes my heart stumble and he's a dog person???? dream man. he's so silly and cute, he does his best to protect the gang and find justice for his sister, it's so admirable ;o;; and RORY!!!! rory is so badass and cool, she's wicked smart and kinda reckless but in the most charming way. i always really appreciated that her route touched on her alcoholism and showed her growing past it. i loved her character growth in general, and i ESPECIALLY loved how she acted towards stella and how she grew to love her.

that's..... that's it, i think!!!! :0c thanks so much for asking!!!!

#meg speaks #lovestruck voltage #lovestruck

5 notes · View notes