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#this is a long post about how i started watching skam

dummerjan · 1 year

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Getting to Know Your BL Mutuals - Tag

rules: answer the questions and @ some people. include the tag ‘g2ky BL mutuals 2022’ on your post so we can find everyone’s answer.

tagged by @baby-droll thank you :) <3

(I am including everything I've watched in 2022, not just what was released this year.) What have been BLs that took you by surprise this year? Definitely KinnPorsche. I've never had so much fun watching something and I am so glad I got to experience it while it aired even if I only started watching after the 5th episode had aired. Since May my life has been entirely consumed by KinnPorsche and my life has been the better for it. Bad Buddy surprised me as well, it is so unlike other BL series I have seen and Ohm and Nanon are amazing actors. I watched it within the span of 24 hours and the last scene and line were so lighthearted and funny I didn't even feel sad. Never have I laughed so much even though something was over. The Eclipse took me by surprise with how openly political and critical of society it was. Last but not least I have to mention My Tooth Your Love, it might win an award for silliest title but the story itself is anything but silly. Both of the protagonists read as autistic to me - my favourite kind of character: unintentionally autistic. I couldn't adore them more. It is a true comfort watch and I continue to be surprised by the healthy communication and boundary setting displayed. More people should give it a try despite the silly title and odd premise. It is so much more and not at all a typical BL, though still typically Taiwanese. What have been BLs that you felt a bit disappointed with this year? The Eclipse to an extent. It kept getting better with every new episode until the last, I think, three episodes. How the curse related plot got wrapped up was very unsatisfying and clumsy, though they still did great with the relationship aspect. Similar goes for Minato Shouji Coin Laundry, it just was too long and I didn't care about any of the side couples and it got repetitive. I was also disappointed and wholly underwhelmed by the Korean BL series I've watched (Blueming, To My Star, Wish You). I've seen so much praise for the first two but they just weren't for me and I had a hard time caring for any of the characters. The acting felt very stiff and I found it difficult to make sense of the emotions they were supposed to feel when judging by their faces they seemed dead inside to me. What has been your favorite BL this year? KinnPorsche, no surprise there. Favorite BL couples (not just of 2022) This is hard and why they are my favourite is due to very different reasons. A lot of the time I care less about couples themselves and more about the story they help to tell. But some are also proper OTPs of mine for which the relationship is the main draw. - Pat/Pran - Akk/Ayan - Kinn/Porsche - Vegas/Pete - Kim/Chay - Teh/Oh-aew - Tutor/Fighter - Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian If you had to suggest a BL for someone what would it be? Regardless if someone is familiar with BL or not, my top pick would be I Told Sunset About You. Though I think it is barely BL compared to other series. Same goes for Gaya Sa Pelikula. What's your non-BL favorite this year? I have watched mainly BL and everything before KinnPorsche is hazy. I am having a hard time remembering other shows or movies I've seen this year and nothing I would call a favourite of mine, I think. Derry Girls S3 was disappointing, Skam Italia S5 was such a treat and I really liked it but it hasn't stayed with me that long after watching it.

@blventingspace @thiansong @supernovasimplicity @fanfictionroxs @mvickym @varis-world (But there are also several others where I am not sure how much BL they watch aside from KinnPorsche - tagging always makes me anxious.)

#g2ky BL mutuals 2022 #meins #i love tag games and it's a great excuse to just ramble which i am excellent at #this didn't even get *as long* as I had feared #the recommendation question wasn't in the post i was tagged in but i saw it in others so i felt free to include it #any chance to mention gaya sa pelikula and itsay #playing tag

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saecoyle · 1 year

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Some days after the end of S11..

I have a full wrap of my opinions about the SKAM France seasons from season 5 to 12 coming soon... But I wanted to write about S11 in details, so I don't forget my current opinion after a daily watch - which will be very different from my opinion probs one year later, as I will hopefully get the rest of the gen or just rewatch that season.

Firstly first about the main; I adored Rym.

I have a file for that type of characters, the ones that can't process their grief or any situation that happened. And I enjoy how from Lola to Rym, with Bilal and Maya, grief is always a theme with difference nuances in it. For Rym it was the loss of the person she loved the most. Her grandma, but also her only parental figure as she ever remembered. We don't know a lot at first (hence why I think a rewatch will make me love the season harder, as you get more clues at the start, knowing everything), but we know one thing. Rym is angry. About her fate, about how life got so unfair since she found the firefighters outside of her house.

At the start of the season Rym also experiences denial for what she did. So not only the death of her grandma feels unfair to her but also her mother's choice of letting her to other people, as well as her only friend - and crush, to me - rejecting her for that. It is sure, as soon as we discover episode 4 that Rym has severe anger issues and seek destruction as well as escapism that can be filled by the adrenaline of stealing, putting things on fire and more...

And I love it. Because prior other seasons, that also treated and basically always treats of very gray characters. It is very hard for the public to see her as fully white, when you make it her whole theme.

This is something that annoyed me back then, not holding any mains accountable for what they've done in the past. Because to me, gray characters are way more interesting than all white ones, mostly when they're teens, when there is a possibility of evolution.

Moreover, I love that Rym is a teen, from start to end. When she goes throught her difficulties she's a teen. When she hurts people she's a teen, when she cries, when she falls in love. Even when she's unable to sleep because of the gravity of her acts, she doesn't feel like a 16 year old trying to be an adult. She feels like a 16 year old in a teenager situation, that can be has hard as an adult's one, but still belongs to her.

And that is important.

A thematic that belongs to her; And to the writer!

When I read the first articles I was a bit scared. SKAM France has it's backstory of poor writing considering main and secondary characters that aren't white. Or of any characters that has an identity they ignores or do not share, mostly (Something I'll talk in that next post, that will surely be a novel long atp).

Well, I still don't know if the writing team is finally as diverse as it should be (we barely know anything about the headwriters, that probably are too scared to experience the same thing as the previous writers did), and I don't think it is my role to argue if anything hit or missed considering Rym not being white (because I am very white and french and I don't think I know better than the actress, writers and people concerned themselves) - so if it's the case I let everyone speak abt it in the comments. I have though something to say about the theme, and it's how I love when writers actually knows and experienced their subjetcs.

It's something I already said for S7, season about maternity. It is awesome to have someone leading a season that they care about for that reason. And you see it, and you feel it. Because the characters never feels like the support of their theme, or the other around, but both of theme and main are merged so equally that it becomes one.

By Rym (and Zélie), we discover how juvenile delinquency can start (after a huge shock and changes, family dysfunctions, group effect, feeling of abbandonment, anger issue, self destructions habits). How it looks like (conflict, misbehavior, stealing, putting things on fire, putting yourself in danger or even harming someone). The consequences of it (nights in detention, criminal record, even more family conflicts and the possibility of being judged, by the court, the teachers and everyone around her). How it can go further, (to juvenile detention or, in Rym's case: running away, homelessness) and how it can be stopped, how can Rym herself turn the page of this part of her life. And discover a new one.

I wishh; We are gonna get more or her in the next season(s).

And particularly her friend group - the weirdos.

Look I love the cringe-ness of that name, and the fact it was given as a judgment? And they embraced it? Very cool of them, very edgy. Very me. From the one we know the most to the less I have some nuanced, opinions abt them.

For Cléo, we see him for the first time in the very second clip of the first episode. Cléo looks at Rym first, while she's being bothered already by Félix, the N°1 Shithead of Dorian High-School at the moment. He's the first one that includes Rym in the group, one part (to me) because he sees in her someone that he can trust about not liking that so called Clones group. One another part because it's obvious that Cléo had an immediate crush on her. He's the love-interest of the season and not really a major character in Rym's change, while still being a huge part of her support system. He also brings the non-binary representation that I deeply needed for at least 10 seasons of that show, and that was surely maybe needed to explain a bit more (and hope it will in S12) because I have seen for the past months a lot of confusion - if not blatant transphobia.

Since the first episode - second clip we are introduced to him and his PRONOUNS. They are not a question, they are not even french neutrals that are still in debate for some, along with the full inclusive langage. Cléo casually is non-binary and for us as for his other friend he always has identified as non-binary, compared to Max in S7 it is not even a thematic, as we never presents what it is to be trans and non gender comforming. That choice was made and honestly would have been even better if no one took his gender as a insult and decided to hate him more than any. other. characters. Including the bullies, including the foster parents with a huge (white for Sophie) savior complex.

And I don't say Cléo is perfect. Cléo is at Daphnée and or Jo's image a very complex character since the start. We see him get a lot bullied by his ex-bestfriend's friends (and he probably also participated in it). We see him shifting in class, which (to me) is a bit concerning for his own sanity to be honest. In general, from Rym's point of view, she always seem to catch Cléo in situations that can make him almost crack his self confidence shell. As Daphnée, as Jo or even as Basile, Cléo has some tendencies to be very hyper and focused on apparances, during the season he has issue with trusting Rym as she has her own secrets. And it is obvious this is absolutly not about Rym, but especially about himself, linked to his past demons.

We also learn from Jade that she only knows him from september. Meaning he was probably all alone for a long moment. I am sorry but I can't not feel empathy for a such character, and I know he has much more to offer in the next season(s), mostly with Maël's right now.

For Yanis, he probably is the fan-favorite right now. And he kindaa deserves it. I don't know if it's N'Landu Lubansu chemistry with everyone on screen, or Yanis very refreshing writing but I kinda adore his character. We see him for the first time as Rym mocks his style along with Zélie, and I kinda love the way he was presented as a random guy who likes hicking, gaming and axolotls like many teenage boys. But as we discovers him, we see a much more interesting character.

Yanis lives alone with his mother, that is not only a bit strict but also the new Headmaster of Dorian High-School. As it is - he completly lives inside the school and knows everything about everyone new. That's how he learns about Rym's past and how he is way more understanding about her lying, as he starts to gets her both sharing abandonment issues. More like characters like Redouane and others Yanis is very outside of toxic masculinity. His bestfriends doesn't share his interest, as well as he doesn't feel ashamed or see any issues about wearing his mom's clothes or make-up. He doesn't play either in the - sex comptetition or stuff like that, compared to Pablo and Félix as we're starting to see in the current season.

He also adds the mlm representation to the generation. Yeah you heard me, more than 1 representation, a mlm rep that isn't white. It's almost as if they actually listened to their public this year. I would personally say (or headcanon) that he is pansexual. As it was never said it is very implied that Yanis corresponds under the bi umbrella, and that he actually doesnt care about how his partner presents. He falls in love with another gamer- which brings up e-relationships to the table, as risky as it can be, as cool as it can be. At the end of the season we learns that the so called Piranha is a boy, called Cyril. I really love how this generation portrays teenage relationships and it's nuances, it's diversity and everything. How nice it is to see relationship that will not end in misery, or that are as serious as it can be when you're sixteen, and as unserious as it can be. Also, If my headcanon is right I feel like it's a very very neat upgrade on how the show writes queer people and mostly people under the bi umbrellas (Elliot, Alexia, Lola) as the first gen really enjoyed cheating tropes and bi and panphobic partners for them (even tho I kinda liked seeing Maya get a bit toxic-dumb untrusting because of her breakup. love her). Yanis doesn't need to sleep with both women and men to justify who he is, as well as Rym doesn't need many experiences to know she's gay.

Anyway, he's a character I really want to see more. But as my misfortune made all my faves NOT have a season, for each gens ever I am not gonna wish that for him. Please let him shine. He's way too cool 4 school. :(

For Jade, welll we don't know that much about her. We met her at the same time as Cléo, and not only she is very focused in her own world. She's a very unique type of character that we haven't really seen in the show, but we could (?) see some ressemblances among both Elliot, Noé and Alexia. Jade is a very exentric character by her way of dressing herself, her family - being part Irish but also having a grandparent (Pamie) almost written by Wes Anderson - and her own universe. She says what she wants, does what she wants, is a part of a circus classes and doesn't really care about what people say or not understanding some of the social cues.

Of course a lot of people (me in it) pointed that Jade had many many hints for her to be neurodivergent. And honestly I do hope it is the point because as much as I relate to her, I also feel that she could educate a lot of people on the fact that autistic people doesn't especially mean a man, nor a genius, nor someone that can't mask.

I don't know yet what will be about her character, tho it seems obvious that her character will be important in the current season. Her mom Poppy seeming to appear in it, as well as circus friend Idriss and she already has started to show up (some minutes ago,, lmfao). I'm very curious, since she obviously has a crush on Maël for a while now. There is a possibility her story gets to be told, honestly I'm hyped because I love dearly all the members of the weirdos group.

They all give me comfort and an happy feeling that Lamif also made me feel for a while. A family that Rym deserves and that I hope, Maël will feel the need to join too!

I am almost finished with that novel-lenght review; I have to talk about the other characters.

There is many other interesting things to say about this season. How grief is handled, how abandonment is depicted - not only by her mother but also by her bestfriend Zélie. Her bond from her grandmother, to her own mother. Reuniting after both have lost someone. I particularly love that - at the end of the season they do bond over their traditions and religion, that they both shared with the same person back then. Mostly because since S4 badly written season, only Redouane's and Jo's family had some hints to be muslim and jewish, but as well as Redouane himself, that got ignored in the last two seasons. In general I have some critics to make probably around the lack of clips in some manners - like with her foster family or else. But I feel like in general, there is always a season in the year - duo that lacks more clips than the other, more ofter because they can't provide as much or they are told to cut it from the full show. It is sad, but as I am peaceful about it being the first season ever of the gen, it also shows that not everything is done for Rym.

She still has a lot more time to evolve fully. And I will hopefully be there to see that.

#skam france #skam france season 11 #rym brahimi #cléo nln #jade nln #yanis toussaint #very big rant #thoughts abt S11

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shameforskam · 7 years

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exactly a year ago today (oct 30th) was the day i first found skam

im kinda surprised i remember it, i was scrolling through tumblr and saw a gifset with four couples in it all from different shows, all of which i recognized except one, it was a gif from hjernen er alene (of course) and the op had tagged skam so i immediately googled it which at this point in the fandom… didn’t get me very far, i found the skam page and nrk tv which had the shittiest google translate ever and really nothing else, i don’t think the wikipedia article even exist yet (at least on the english wiki), but it gave me the basics: skam was norwegian, in its third season, and it had no official english subtitles yay!

while randomly searching for a translated version of the episodes (i’d found the srt files but i wasn’t sure how to use them yet) i found a youtube channel that was uploading only the isak and even storyline (so also missing a lot from s3) with english subs. i remember avoiding it for a bit because i wanted to start from s1 if i was gonna start at all but upon finding no other translated videos i wound up back there and figured i’d see if it was worth going to the trouble of figuring out how to watch the rest. i watched all the videos in one go and i knew i’d found something i was going to fall in love with, i remember particularly loving bånder and the call your girlfriend scene and not having any idea who the girl with the suitcase was. i needed the backstory on these characters asap. i went back to tumblr and found a post suggesting an extension i could use to overlay the srt files on the episodes, so that's what i did for the next week. that was super fun because anytime i had to pause the show i had to pause both the program playing the subs and the video and keeping them synced up was such a joy lmao. but it was worth it. i loved this strange niche show with such beautiful characters and such rich storylines and dialogue and i felt so excited by what i’d found

as i was catching up on s1 and s2 i was figuring out how to follow along with s3, the format of skam has always been the thing that intrigued me the most and there’s no way to describe exactly what following the story in real time feels like, but you all know that. i watched the next two clips uploaded on the youtube channel but it got taken down on nov 1st. i consider pause to be the first clip i watched in real time. that was when i’d started getting the translated clips from shametv and getting the texts and everything as well on tumblr. that was the first clip i remember seeing had dropped and known i’d need to wait a few hours for subs. i remember i’d just got settled into how the process was working when the show went on hiatus

i’d been all over the skam tag and stalking the fandom every day, loving everyone talking and all the theories (some just hilariously wrong). i have the first post i ever reblogged about skam [x] (a great one) and the first reaction post i ever made [x] i remember being so sad just trying to process the incredible relationship and show i’d just found out about ending in a heartbreaking moment and then leaving me while trump won the election, it was too much devastation for one week! during all this i was in my first semester of college, living with 3 roommates who are now my best friends. i don’t remember talking about skam to them too much to begin with (they’ll probably say different) but one of my roommates also found out about it on tumblr and i showed her how i watched the first seasons. skam came back and on nov 15th we were all out to eat when ingen lever lykkelig alle sine dager dropped. it was exciting every time a clipped dropped but this one was special because we were at dinner and i told my one roommate there was a new clip and we translated the title word for word on a napkin while our other roommates were like ‘what is happening??’ and the title was sad! and i didn’t want sad! and i spent the next few hours trying to avoid thinking about what it could mean and running around the city with my friends and hoping the translation would be up when i got home

that was the night i created this blog. it started simply as a place to put all the posts i wanted to save and to write down my thoughts so i wouldn’t talk my roommates’ ears off. that was the night i committed to actually being involved in the fandom, something i hadn’t done in a few years and not close to the same extent. but skam was special, still is special, it’s the reason i’ve talked to so many people from all around the world now. i never thought that this blog would get followers or that i’d make posts that people would find interesting or that i’d learn to make gifs or that i’d have any influence on the fandom at all. it’s the weirdest thing stumbling on my posts linked to on twitter or used in discussions on reddit when i’m looking through the parts of the fandom i don’t regularly interact with. there’s a lot of aspects about being heavily involved in and up to date with a fandom that i’m still grappling with, and there’re the aspects i hope i never get use to, but i’ve found so much more joy in this show and with this fandom that i would always choose to be a part of it. i don’t know how long i’ll stay, i don’t know if i’ll eventually archive this blog but i’ll be here until my interest with skam fades, until there are no remakes to critique, until i lose track of the cast, until there’s no one left translating and nothing to talk about but i don’t see any of that happening soon

i’ve loved this show for the last year. even with it’s flaws at the root of it all i still love it. i love what i’ve learned from the show and from the fans, i love that the show made me believe in where i want to go. i’m in college studying film and watching skam during that first semester made me 100% sure this was what i wanted to be doing with my life, making media people could believe in, something that touched their soul and made them think, something new and inventive, something people could find themselves in and fall in love with, something beautiful, and that’s really why i’ll always be grateful for this little show, i’ll always be grateful for the people that translated it and the people that continue to translate, to everyone that made me realize something i never would have and think about something in a brand new way, to anyone that’s sent me questions and enjoyed hearing my thoughts, to everyone that made me laugh with some ridiculous post, to everyone that sent me comforting words when i asked, and to everyone that created content that made me love skam even more, it’s been a great year 💙💙💙

#this is a long post about how i started watching skam #thank you to everyone who follows this blog #i hope it brings you joy #mine

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deafchild2000 · 3 years

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Lizzie Saltzman Was Wrongly Diagnosed as Bipolar When She Really Has Borderline Personality Disorder

When it comes to Legacies, I admit as a blogger, I didn't post a lot about Lizzie Saltzman. Either if I do, it's using her #Lizzie Saltzman tag to bring other people to relevance to my Legacies posts, Inheritance fanfiction, highlighting what she did wrong (and not blaming it on Bipolar Disorder), or connecting her with anti Josie posts.

This is one part of the last one but also explores Lizzie.

I'm guilty of a bit of ableism, but only joking with my mom by saying she's bipolar when she suffers from Depression with OCD - long story (which isn't technically wrong since both are under the umbrella term of "Depression").

Owning up to that, as a writer, I do serious research whenever I contemplate writing a character with a mental disability.

Lizzie Saltzman is a piece of work in Legacies and I find her growth fascinating when it comes to comparing her from season 4 to season 1 (and early/late Originals and The Vampire Diaries).

To be frank, she's bossy rude, self-centered, selfish, and a lot more I won't bother to add. However, she's sensitive, caring, honest, willing, and progressive in fighting against her brain chemistry. That growth is something I find rather appreciative in a story about being supernatural and dealing with mental health.

So, looking back at her episodes and comparing it to my restarch, I initially though I was wrong and something got lost in translation, but after double checking and realizing our lovely Legacies fans & Lizzie stans on Tumblr caught it too, I reached a conclusion:

Elizabeth Jenna Saltzman does NOT have Bipolar Disorder!

It's too obvious now, that Julie had the idea for Lizzie having it but not committing to the symptoms right, much less say what TYPE of BP she has!

Looking at it, if she had BP, it would be type 2.

For example, in a related yet unrelated comparison, one character from a show who's acted our the correct symptoms of Bipolar Disorder was Eliott Demaury from Skam France. Now, I don't watch the show, per se, but fanvids filled me in, and watching the scenes where his disability is shown fits everything all my textbook researched to a T! Especially the boat scene, if ya'll Skam fans know what I'm talking about!

Bipolar symptoms:

Mood: mood swings, anxiety, deep sadness, euphoria, general discontent, guilt, hopelessness, or loss of interest or pleasure in activities

Behavioral: compulsive behavior, impulsivity, irritability, restlessness, or self-harm

Cognitive: lack of concentration, racing thoughts, slowness in activity, or thoughts of suicide

Sleep: excess sleepiness or insomnia

Psychological: depression or grandiosity

Also common: rapid and frenzied speaking

See? Simple, easy to see in Lizzie, and if you were a half decent writer, easy to pick out for your character.

But handpicking out symptoms doesn't always work.

Yes, there are differences between men and women woman with bipoplar disorder, but as a writer, I don't play with statistics unless I created odds that meet my favors.

What do I mean? Here are two of the main differences that stick out like a sore thumb: Regardless of gender BP surfaces in, men discover their diagnosis 5 years earlier (the early 20s) than women (late 20s) & Women with BP are frequently misdiagnosed! While children as young as 5 can be diagnosed with as young as 5, there's only a guess that she was diagnosed once her age started hitting double digits!

Meanwhile...

Borderline Personality Disorder is a mental disorder characterized by unstable moods, behavior, and relationships. Something that sounds more in line and more narrow in ages for young children when it refers to Lizzie. And considering the symptoms (list below) overlap with BP, it's easy to reduce how she could have been misdiagnosed!

Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms:

Behavioral: antisocial behavior, compulsive behavior, hostility, impulsivity, irritability, risk taking behaviors, self-destructive behavior, self-harm, social isolation, or lack of restraint

Mood: anger, anxiety, general discontent, guilt, loneliness, mood swings, or sadness

Psychological: depression, distorted self-image, grandiosity, or narcissism

Also common: thoughts of suicide

Notice that mania isn't on the list. Wanna know why? Because:

"Borderline personality disorder involves a longstanding pattern of abrupt, moment-to-moment swings -- in moods, relationships, self-image, and behavior (in contrast to distinct episodes of mania or depression in people with bipolar disorder) that are usually triggered by conflicts in interactions with other people."

So if you just happened to be that witch who made the new werewolf student at your school uncomfortable - and downright said your happy he killed his girlfriend to be able to meet you - and took it out by rampaging on your boarding school's kitchenware and stopping yourself just in time before nearly cutting down your father?

Then, your name is Lizzie Saltzman!

Looking back at this scene in 1x01 in a BPD perspective and not a BP perspective, backed by the fact we (the viewers) don't know she's actually Bipolar by 1x10 and referenced again in 1x12.

Which was either intentional or they had no idea whether to write her as bipolar until later!

And since BPD has types, I'd believe Lizzie suffers from Discouraged Borderline Personality Disorder.

Discouraged Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms:

mood swings that can last for as little as a few hours, or up to a few days, but no one else can see them

suppressing feelings of anger or denying that you feel angry

withdrawing when you’re upset

avoiding talking to others who have upset you and cutting them off instead

blaming yourself whenever there’s a conflict

persistent feelings of guilt and shame

having a “thin skin” and taking things personally

extremely poor self-esteem

feeling like you’re a burden to others

feelings of numbness or emptiness

feeling detached from the world and sometimes feeling like you’re in a dream (derealization)

people-pleasing, even at a cost to yourself

deep-seated fear of rejection

social anxiety and self-isolation

fear of being alone, yet pushing people away at the same time

inability to build connections with others (depersonalization)

self-harm or suicidal thoughts

Acting inward can complicate an already invisible mental illness. With quiet BPD, you may direct significant feelings toward yourself without letting others see them. Such intense emotions may include:

anger

anxiety

emotional attachments/obsessions

fear of abandonment or rejection

mood swings

self-blame and guilt

severe self-doubt

rage

And of course, with a misdiagnosis as big as this, there's bound to be consequences, and who do I point at to state the explosive setbacks:

This girl here! Caroline's gone and Alaric is busy being everyone's parent, so this girl who makes ableist comments left and right shares half of the blame. Not to mention her issues left Lizzie unable to have a life without her!

The other half?

🔽

There's a myriad of reasons why people would not take their meds and if Lizzie's episodes are anything to go by, I'd say not just bad med but incorrect medication would make Lizzie worst!

#Lizzie Saltzman #alaric saltzman #josie saltzman #legacies #anti josie saltzman #bipolar disorder #BP #borderline personality disorder

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ghostcat3000 · 2 years

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SKAM season 3 talkback series: Season Three overview, part two

The SKAM season 3 rewatch talkback series was done in conjunction with a first-time watch for a small group of newbies in 2019. I talked to a cross-section of fans about each episode so our newbies could get a varied taste of what the SKAM fandom was about. I didn’t get to post the final two interviews, here they are at last.

SKAM Season 3: Isak - Structure and Symbolism

Talk back with SKAM recapper @lightsandlostbells

SKAM season three overview (part two) conducted on 25, October 2020

Ghostcat: Hello, hello! Long time no see, here in talkback land. Today we have @lightsandlostbells, who provides my favorite SKAM commentary posts over on tumblr! Go and read if you haven't already. How are you? And welcome to this very lowkey chat corner!

lightsandlostbells: Awwww, thanks for the kind intro. Hello! I'm doing well, how is everyone else? I'm new to Discord so I hope I get this right.

Ghostcat: You only have to type and hit enter. I will attempt to keep things profesh but I can't promise that I'll be successful.

lightsandlostbells: Nice. I'm sitting here drinking tea, underneath my coziest blanket, ready to talk about one of my favorite things ever. It's so cool that years later, people still love Skam season 3 enough to chat about it together.

Ghostcat: Yes! Let's get into this thing, we're here to talk about the tidy little miracle of structure that is SKAM season three. On the one hand, it's a deceptively simple season. Boy comes to terms with sexuality. All's well that ends well. Romance, Drama, plus a sprinkling of mental health issues. 10 episodes, most of them under 30 minutes. I'd call it "mean and lean" if it wasn't such a hopeful story, full of love in a non-saccharine way. Once you start taking it apart and really studying it though, you realize that it's super well-planned, almost like it was ON PURPOSE. lightsandlostbells, you write some of the best recaps of the show. I hesitate to call them just recaps because you really dig into what they're about. What made you start doing them?

lightsandlostbells: 😊 Thank you so much! I started with the remake reactions, actually. When Skam France was released, there was a ton of hype due to being the first remake of Skam. Lots of varying emotions ranging from negative to positive - people who didn't want any remakes, people who were intrigued, and people who were so desperate for any Skam content that they'd take a remake. After the initial clips of Skam France were released, I made a few off-the-cuff posts about what I saw as differences between OG and the remake. Eventually, that grew into me recapping full episodes of the remakes.

Ghostcat: Ah ha.

lightsandlostbells: And eventually that bloomed into me going, well, I love Skam season 3 so much, and it's so wonderfully structured and is packed full of symbolism, why don't I write recaps of those episodes, too? I had all these Feelings about it that weren't going away anytime soon.

Ghostcat: Relatable.

lightsandlostbells: It's such a rich season of TV in detail that there was no shortage of things to write about.

Ghostcat: Before we get into what you discovered in rewatching and recapping, can you tell us a bit about how and when you started watching the show?

lightsandlostbells: By total random chance, haha.

Ghostcat: Were you googling "scam" and misspelled? (because that happened to one of our interviewees).

lightsandlostbells: I love it! No, I have YouTube to blame. In October 2016 this show Eyewitness premiered on USA Network. The show was about two teenage boys in a secret relationship who witness a murder while they're hooking up in the woods. I was like, hey, sounds like it could be good. (Funny thing, it's actually a remake of a Norwegian show...)

Ghostcat: Oh yeah...I think I saw gifs of that.

lightsandlostbells: USA Network put the first 10-15 minutes of the pilot episode on YouTube, so I watched that and then a few videos about the show. Shortly after that, my YT recommendations were full of supercuts of gay storylines...including one called Skam.

Ghostcat: YouTube recs strikes again. So you clicked on...a supercut?

lightsandlostbells: I ignored them for a few days and then, late at night, putting off going to bed, I clicked on a Skam video randomly, thinking I would watch a minute or two and then get bored and exit. Ha.

Ghostcat: LOL.

lightsandlostbells: It was actually the neon party clip!

Ghostcat: Oh geez. My favorite thing about that clip is how nobody at that party sees those two boys and their laser beam eyes. They're just bopping along completely oblivious to this high end romance.

lightsandlostbells: After everyone's finished dancing, Even is just standing there dead-on staring at Isak like he wants to kiss him or slowly murder him and everyone's just puttering around trying to find their phones or w/e.

Ghostcat: True, and then Isak shoots that over the shoulder look in the kitchen and Even is like: 👀

lightsandlostbells: The IsakxEven account on Twitter was still uploading the full clips to YouTube at the time. So I watched that clip, was immediately hooked, and then went back and watched the rest of S3 to that point. By reading the comments, I was able to figure out how the show worked, its real time structure, social media, etc. And then the first clip I saw in real time was the pool scene.

Ghostcat: WOW. What a great clip to see in real time. When we watched it with our newbies, they were all yelling. So genuinely happy for this fictional boy.

lightsandlostbells: THAT WHOLE DAY. I was refreshing the Skam webpage for updates. Because I knewwwwww they were going to finally kiss, for real.

Ghostcat: THIS WAS IT. IT WAS HAPPENING. It made sense that they'd kiss. It was the thing that needed to happen but going into their hell-double date, I was genuinely wondering...how. Good ole Even and his lack of chill.

lightsandlostbells: It definitely did. I remember sitting there watching as they got to the Head over Heels bike ride and my heart was just FLUTTERING. I was vicariously swooning through this epic teen romance.

Ghostcat: It is such a swoon-inspiring moment. The music cue is perfect.

lightsandlostbells: I was also watching in unsubtitled Norwegian.

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha! Really??? So you were filling in the blanks HARD.

lightsandlostbells: Yep! That was my whole S3 (and S4) experience. But it was great in a way because I was able to focus entirely on the acting, reading Tarjei and Henrik's microexpressions. I've mentioned before that I was able to tell Even was having a manic episode from the episode 8 kitchen scene by the acting alone, before I had subtitles.

Ghostcat: Really? We're gonna come back to that. Luckily for us, and I really do think this is an enormous part of SKAM's international appeal, both Henrik and Tarjei are wonderful when it comes to non-verbal acting.

lightsandlostbells: They're amazing. I remember when I wrote the recap for that clip, I had to watch several different times because SO MUCH is happening in that scene - with Isak, with Even, with Isak-and-Even, and also with Sonja and Emma.

Ghostcat: What did you think happened on your first watch without subs?

lightsandlostbells: In the pool/bike/double date from hell scene, I thought maybe Sonja just broke up with Even right then and there.

Ghostcat: Well, it does look that way. That entire scene is a gem of silent movie acting too. Isak on the couch and the five billion ways he has of looking around, looking away, looking directly at. All while winsomely sitting there in the costume Emma put together for him.

lightsandlostbells: I just thought Sonja got sick of dealing with Even and called it off right there, lol. The Norwegian kinda sounds like "We're done" in English which is what put the idea in my head.

Ghostcat: Ha! What did you think when you found out it wasn't quite that simple? Were you like I THOUGHT HE DUMPED HER?

lightsandlostbells: Yes, I had a bit of a grumble.

Ghostcat: Sonja and Emma are having this whole socially appropriate interaction while Even growls softly into his beer (I have such a thing for Even's seething in this scene, it's so overt and we've never seen him do that before.)

lightsandlostbells: Sonja's dialogue there is actually pretty revealing for her character, although you don't really understand until later.

Ghostcat: In what way? *chin hands*

lightsandlostbells: Even is not concealing his real feelings at all, and he's trying to get a silent conversation with Isak happening, and Isak's a bit too skittish to reciprocate.

Ghostcat: Isak is almost afraid to look at him directly but he keeps sneaking looks like he's taking sips of Even and then immediately glancing away. In gifsets, you can always spot the moment his gaze lands on Even and away.

etal: (all while in fancy dress too)

lightsandlostbells: So admittedly a lot of this is headcanon/conjecture, but Sonja is talking to Emma about how she's bored and misses having things to do during the day. It makes me think that just as Even relies on Sonja and sees her as a source of stability, in some ways Even is that for Sonja, too.

Ghostcat: Clearly, Sonia misses structure too. Also on the headcanon tip, but it makes me think about how Sonja's university trajectory was also diverted probably by Even's suicide attempt.

lightsandlostbells: Yes! Taking care of Even brings a sense of purpose to her life. We know from a previous clip she's working a crappy retail job that probably isn't very satisfying.

Ghostcat: That idea kind of piles on to Even's complicated feelings about dumping her.

lightsandlostbells: That's a good point! I've wondered about Sonja and university because it sounds like she isn't in school from her conversation with Emma.

Ghostcat: She's not and she definitely comes across as a driven, organized person which is why it surprised me that she wasn't.

etal: (She is, in a way unbalanced, even though she has both her legs.)

Ghostcat: Ha! Yes. It's a complex, thorny situation between the two of them. So much more than just a simple obstacle.

lightsandlostbells: One thing I appreciate about season 3 is that it really shows you why Even and Sonja need to break up without demonizing either of them.

Ghostcat: It's brilliant! It's very hard to do. Andem did a little bit of that with Jonas and Eva, but here, I think it's very high stakes. Was their troubled relationship something that you kind of understood on a surface level on first watch but deepened upon rewatch? It was for me, on first watch, I definitely knew they were wrong for one another, but upon rewatch it felt so much sadder. She's not the obstacle people think she is.

lightsandlostbells: It really is. Season 3 in general develops such high stakes beyond just "will this cute boy get with the other cute boy" and while it'd still be wonderful as a sweet romance, it ends up feeling downright profound by the end. Definitely deepened upon rewatch.

Ghostcat: Andem doesn't skimp on emotional truth with these characters. People don't do things arbitrarily. They all have their reasons for doing what they do. And it's not entirely in the service of a plotline the way it often seems in scripted drama.

lightsandlostbells: She's definitely not a shallow obstacle to be disposed of. Sonja represents Even's larger struggle, as well as being her own person, of course. If I can get into S4 here - I think this is why the conflict works so well with Even and Sonja versus a somewhat similar love triangle-type conflict with the Sana/Yousef/Noora situation. Which doesn't work for me nearly as well.

Ghostcat: Yeah, that didn't work so well. Andem needed Yousef to "give up" on Sana and hook up with someone else BUT it didn't match the character or how his feelings for Sana had been portrayed. The plot demanded it, but the characters didn't agree.

lightsandlostbells: Because once Even breaks up with Sonja, there's still the larger issue of mental illness that he and Isak need to face together. The problem really isn't Sonja's presence, after all. But with Sana/Yousef/Noora, the "conflict" really hinges on miscommunication and a simple 5-second conversation would have saved weeks of drama. It's over as soon as Noora tells Sana the truth. It's not a complex conflict.

Ghostcat: No. Not at all.

lightsandlostbells: Yeah, it was a case of the plot demanding the characters act a certain way instead of feeling organic. Also demanding that no one talk to each other for weeks...

Ghostcat: On rewatch, what was the first big thing you noticed about the structure that made you go, WOW, they did that. Mine was Even's flippant little "Did you think I died?"

lightsandlostbells: Yes, that was huge. I think the pool scene and the subsequent cuddle scene are packed with little moments like that.

Ghostcat: It's handled very deftly. His comment is so throwaway, it could be an improv BUT IT ISN'T and that's bolstered by Even's comments during the I'm Not in Love scene.

lightsandlostbells: Also earlier in the scene, when Sonja reveals that she's graduated. They leave it to you and Isak to connect the dots…hmmm, they're the same age but Even hasn't graduated yet? Wonder why. And then they just move on before you can think about it too much

Ghostcat: And Isak was going to ask Even why he transferred as a senior in Lykke til Isak. But they're interrupted by Emma.

lightsandlostbells: Yep, that too.

Ghostcat: The thing is Isak has been set up from season one as an observant guy.

lightsandlostbells: Emma literally plants herself between them...

Ghostcat: So he's trying to piece things together because he genuinely wants to know Even but Even is very good at diverting his pesky feelings. It made me wonder how Andem decided to spread out those clues and when and why?

lightsandlostbells: That happens all throughout the season. Another big hint you only notice on rewatch: Sonja's aluminum leg.

Ghostcat: Yes and the realization, when you look at the social media, of how often Even tries to communicate indirectly with songs and quotes and references.

lightsandlostbells: That was probably one of the biggest. Because it works so well in character, as Even being this weird quirky guy, spinning this wild story for a laugh, and only later do you realize he was genuinely trying to communicate with Isak. IT'S SO GOOD.

Ghostcat: So good.

lightsandlostbells: That's such a sharp character detail! (The songs and quotes and references).

Ghostcat: Particularly when you loop it with "I saw you on the first day of school" because it recasts nearly everything he says to Isak, not just because we know he had feelings but because now we know he had time to think about what he would say to him and of course, how he would present himself, at his best (cough that deliberate courtyard walk).

lightsandlostbells: Oh yes, "I saw you the first day of school" is absolutely a killer moment. Totally makes you want to rewatch the whole season.

Ghostcat: AND IT WORKS. it's no retcon!! that's what makes it so good.

lightsandlostbells: Even really does treat his life like a movie! Specifically a romantic comedy where he is the star. The paper towels are his version of a Meet Cute

Ghostcat: His love even gets the beauty close-ups in the stoney hang. The other thing that became apparent to me was how on rewatching, Even's influence felt bigger.

lightsandlostbells: It's alllll over the season.

Ghostcat: Yes! I muddled it all up in my head. I hadn't realized that Isak hadn't seen R+J yet.

lightsandlostbells: I mean, from the moment he mentions Baz Luhrmann, and we bring R+J into the picture, that shapes so much of the season.

Ghostcat: But there's Even, doing his best DiCaps Romeo look to camera/Isak. His idea, his framing, his choice of song.

lightsandlostbells: And I was lucky enough to watch from episode 5 onward in real time, and despite all the cuteness and romance, there was this level of dread hanging over everything all the time, because I was expecting the R+J focus to pay off later.

Ghostcat: It's meant to be there. You're meant to feel it

lightsandlostbells: And it does! Just not in the way everyone was fearing

Ghostcat: Using Luhrmann's R+J as the central motif works spectacularly and it's not the first time it comes up!

lightsandlostbells: Yeah, I mentioned in a recap that Isak hadn't watched R+J by the time Even does his alluring courtyard walk to Talk Show Host, so it almost comes across as Even's POV when you make the connection to the film.

Ghostcat: Andem tried to use it in season two with Noora and William in front of a fish tank but it doesn't resonate.

lightsandlostbells: Oh yeah...them.

Ghostcat: Here she brings it back and it makes sense.

lightsandlostbells: Not to get into Noorhelm but parts of S3 feel like course correction with regards to the development of the love interest and relationship.

Ghostcat: I agree. The biggest correction being a couple that actually likes each other.

lightsandlostbells: Yep!

Ghostcat: That's one way to kick things off in the right direction.

lightsandlostbells: And Even has so many interests and hobbies compared to William.

Ghostcat: Even is so different from Isak and yet he DELIGHTS in those differences. Neither of them is trying to change the other. Their differences complement one another.

lightsandlostbells: It honestly is amazing how Evak just works so well as a ship, in all directions. Like, I've tried to break that pairing down into words, and I just fail, every time, because it's got so much going for it.

Ghostcat: Back to R+J as a framing device: Even is a film student > Luhrmann is his favorite > he mentions his love of tragic romance > he sets up that pool kiss > he talks about death and loss > he's fearful of change and yet seemingly absolutely certain of his feelings for Isak. For whatever reason, we know he thinks there's an element of the forbidden with his relationship with Isak and we're led to believe (mistakenly) that it's because he has a girlfriend, but really the forbidden is Even himself, who doesn't think he should have this.

@etal-late: I mean 👆

Ghostcat: By likening them to R+J, he believes their love is fated but impossible but he lets himself have it for a little while. All the clues stack up.

etal: 'The forbidden is Even' ouch yes.

Ghostcat: He's feeding them to us and Isak so that when Isak goes to the church and Nils Bech is up there singing and the neon cross is shining and the montage starts and ISAK FIGURES IT OUT. That run, paired with those strings, and that backward montage―

lightsandlostbells: Oh I'm so glad you brought up O Helga Natt, because that's where I was about to go with this, lol.

Ghostcat: ―hits like a ton of bricks. Suddenly all these little moments, them talking in bed, the kiss in the elevator are reframed in a new context. Their love becomes EPIC.

lightsandlostbells: YessssSSSSSSS (the part of this chat where I get incoherent has COMMENCED)

Ghostcat: And, as we find out at the end of the ep, it's NOT because someone dies. It's because of how real it is.

lightsandlostbells: So going back to what we were saying about Even communicating through notes/art/music: I think that's why Even's text in O Helga Natt is so effective. Because throughout the season, he's been dropping hints to his emotional state through his sketches and song lyrics, and we're like Isak, we're trying to piece it all together. With that text, Even finally lays out his true feelings in this vulnerable, direct manner. Then as soon as Isak connects the dots, all those clues in the season pay off. It was absolutely glorious to watch this in real time because I was dreading this would be a story about death. Instead, it became a story about rebirth.

Ghostcat: YES. Which ties into the story of Isak/Isaac in the Bible.

etal: Woah

Ghostcat: Lest we forget that Mamma has been doubling up on the indirect hints as well. Her texts are also clues.

lightsandlostbells: O Helga Natt is utter brilliance. I know everybody recognizes it's a masterpiece, but there are just so many things happening in it. It was difficult to write about for recaps because I didn't want to miss anything. I still feel like I did.

Ghostcat: Because things continually reveal themselves about it.

lightsandlostbells: Yeah, Mamma even mentions baptism like immediately before the clip, lmao.

Ghostcat: Yeah! It’s oh so spectacularly specific but never labored.

@modestytreehouse: My god she does.

Ghostcat: It feels like a gift.

lightsandlostbells: The pool scene and O Helga Natt are mirrors of each other and I think that's such a testament to Julie Andem's mastery of structure. (Also the cuddle scene and Minutt for minutt are mirrors. Lots of scenes in S3 are mirrors to each other.)

Ghostcat: The symmetry of this season is spectacular. Even with the most throwaway nonsense.

lightsandlostbells: I'm a huge sucker for symmetry and it's all over the place in S3.

Ghostcat: Like Magnus and that cat tongue girl.

lightsandlostbells: Yep!

Ghostcat: Ending the season by making out with a meowing Vilde.

lightsandlostbells: The dance chicks: starts with Isak being alienated from his friends as they drool over hot chicks. They come back so Isak can confidently reject them, in a scene where he also talks about which of his male friends he'd bang.

Ghostcat: I remember watching it and saying out loud OH MY GOD, EVEN CAT HOOKER PAID OFF.

treehouse: (21.21)

Ghostcat: Sana and the 10%. Isak being unable to say a guy is hot

lightsandlostbells: That's such a nice little Christmas bow, lol.

Ghostcat: --to telling his boyfriend exactly that. Avoiding his parents/reuniting with his parents and about to meet Even’s. A party where he’s off in another room pretending. A party where he’s in another room being as real as can be. Lying to truth-telling.

lightsandlostbells: Isak putting on a fake persona to flirt with Emma at her locker about "the asshole" to Isak being himself with her and bringing back "the asshole" comment in episode 10.

Ghostcat: Yes! Everything is suitably rounded upon. It is airtight.

lightsandlostbells: Except the girls who were hungover on a Wednesday.

Ghostcat: They're still hungover, it's four years later. Still fucked up (we are those girls). [Mod note: it’s five years later, we are still those Hungover Wednesday girls]

lightsandlostbells: They might want to pop a vitamin IDK. Lol yes, Julie Andem had a plan for them all along! They were symbolic representations of the audience.

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha.

lightsandlostbells: When I think about S3 I physically manifest into that Ben Affleck smoking gif.

Ghostcat: All this talk of perfection leads me to the final question in this section of our conversation…you know what's coming.

lightsandlostbells: Oh, and the representations of time in S3 also have payoff!

Ghostcat: We didn't get there!

lightsandlostbells: From big talk of "forever" and "infinite time" to "minutt by minutt" and "now" (Sorry)

Ghostcat: Oops. Ha ha ha. But yes! Also important, along with the numbers nudging us along, all that very deliberate time, BUT this is big talk so let me dumb things down with the following question―what is your interpretation of the following emoji hieroglyphics: ❤️ 🐬 🌞 🍆 💯

lightsandlostbells: "Isak, I love you so much and also you make me horny as Flipper. The sun shines out of your dick. Full marks."

Ghostcat: Excellent.

lightsandlostbells: Aren't dolphins notoriously horny in real life? I'm not a marine biologist.

Ghostcat: I am and it’s true, they are famously horny and pansexual as well!

lightsandlostbells: JULIE ANDEM DOING IT AGAIN.

Ghostcat: I'm not actually a marine biologist, but I couldn't resist…the symmetry. :sunglasses emoji:

___

Thank you so much for reading these interviews! I will post a master post of links to all of these if you feel like nerding out at your leisure.

Thank you again to all of our interview participants! You were very kind to say yes.

Last but not least, thank you to our first watch crew for agreeing to go on this little ride back in 2019. We hope you enjoyed watching SKAM with us. 💗

#SKAM #SKAM season 3 talkback interviews #lightsandlostbells #Isak Valtersen #even bech næsheim #SKAM meta #SKAM season 3 #Julie Andem #there is a wonderful second half of this interview where we discuss remakes of season 3 #in a purely structural way #but out of respect to fans of those remake seasons we'll keep it inside baseball #skams3rewatch2020

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fatoujallovv · 3 years

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hey hi besties 🥺 i recently hit 500 followers and i wanted to take a moment to thank everyone that has hung out with me for the past 10 months. whether you’ve helped me learn to gif, supported my writing, humored me when i do a billion ask games, or just been with me along the way, i’m so so grateful for the amazing family i have here 🥺💛 this lil blog is my safe space and i wanted to let you all know how much you mean to me 💗💗💗💗

i’m doing a few things to celebrate 💛 first is one of those as ranked by my followers things 🤪 i’ll prob leave the form for a couple weeks if u wanna vote :)

vote for ur fav of my top 15 skamverse characters here!

next is gif requests! this is inspired by @fatoudixon’s lil christmas present series bc it was so adorable 🥺

give me a gifset idea that would make you happy, or send me a mutual you love and an idea for a gifset you think would make them happy. you can just give me a character/music video etc, or you can describe color(s) you/they like, a fav character’s trademark lil mannerism, a theme, a quote, parallels, literally anything and i’ll do my best to bring your idea to life!

if you don’t know what to request, a list of skamverse seasons and musicians i'll gif is under the cut! if we have a mutual interest i didn’t list, u can totally go rogue 🤪 if ur requesting a gift ideally i’d be mutuals with them bc i wanna do a Good Job and not seem like a weirdo gifting to people that don’t know me lmao so feel free to read thru things under the cut as I should (hopefully) have tagged all my mutuals unless they've been inactive for 200 days bc I don’t wanna to bother them akjfghjgakj butttt if in doubt feel free to dm me to check!

last i want to send loving brainwaves to the mutuals that have made tumblr such a fun and comforting place for me, so that's under the cut as well :’)

things I'll gif :)

skam: skam france (i haven't watched the new seasons tho eek), druck s3 + new gen my beloved, og s3 and s4, skam nl (i just started the other day so i've only watched isa’s season but by the time i finish these i hope i’ll have watched both ajhfahfj) music: troye sivan, conan gray, hayley kiyoko, dua lipa, dodie, lennon stella, one direction & solo harry, and i like plenty of others just these are the ones i feel like i know and like a significant enough portion of their discography 😌 but i love giffing music stuff so don’t feel limited to the list !!!

alrighttttttttt time to get sappy 🤪✌️

to my mutuals:

whether we frequent each other’s asks or we only ever interact telepathically by liking each other’s posts, thank you. thank you for putting awesome things on my dash, thank you for the amazing things you create, thank you for hyping up my personal posts, for tolerating my very long tags, for sharing all your lovely personalities. a lot of you feel more like pocket family than pocket friends. thank you for allowing me a space to be myself for pretty much the first time ever and being the most amazing and kind and talented friends I could ask for 💛💛💛💛 without further ado, here’s my bizarre way of saying i love you: mutuals superlatives.... kind of.....

mutuals i want to sip tea and watch the sunset on a porch swing with: @wilderness-solace @tawmlinsun @katzen-kinder @evilhersxlf @sanabakkoushd @saltyflowr @awake-dreamer18 @lesbianearn @fireflysxx @katnisseverden

mutuals i want to take me to a museum and tell me about all their favorite pieces of art: @luxandobscurus @nyttvera @smblmn @lepetitepeach @nellsdani @blanxkey @beachbathe @fatoudixon @vexedtonightmares @clairdelalune @demauryss

mutuals i would go on a rollercoaster with if they asked even though i hate rollercoasters with everything i am (i will protect u at all !!!! costs !!!!!!): @kritiquer @vanillalipstick66 @ffriluftslivv @sunflouwermoon @lesbeanadiamcnll @isakeijjser @maxberninis @birthdaysentiment @letisnotonfire @sandersdocs @thenerd10

mutuals i want to adopt me like pls i literally have the paperwork ready: @spiritinanitecap @alwayskissmeatnight @caroldanvr @lallemcnt @buckywilsn

mutuals i want to be my cool older sibling pls and thank u <3: @alexauriant @tsjernobyl @ayarambles @lifeisevak @germericangirl @bethisneckdeep

mutuals i want to take on a petting zoo date SO BADLY: @sonderthroughthestreets @harubirus @lololil @racoons-hedgehogs-and-pixiedust @polarisrodulv @yaraaimsakul @genjasafin

mutuals i want to literally kiss on the lips: @lieverobbe @graceryders @hidden-joy @arzkiya-hai @ijzerengels

mutuals i want to be at the sleepover after i kiss the other mutual on the lips: @alinaoretscv @starryfreckles @fatousjallow @isakeijzer @theflowerisblue @dagcutie @franboos @gucciboner @torisgf @sandersyasmina

mutuals i would call if i needed to dispose of a body: @lucasotteli @noorengels @thegirlyouknow @lolasluquette @womenstan @herlade

mutuals im scared to even call mutuals bc holy shit I am Unworthy: @veerledejaegers @noramachwtz @marjvn @fatoujallow @floraflorenzi

my wedding bc why not it’s my post bride: @hidden-joy ofc <3 wedding party: @luxandobscurus @lucasotteli @sandersyasmina @vexedtonightmares @clairdelalune flower girls: @thenerd10 @arzkiya-hai @ijzerengels @yaraaimsakul ring bearer: @genjasafin officiant: @fireflysxx wedding planner: @katnisseverden

#ellie500 #<< tag to block for gif request stuff #ellie's skamverse top 15 #<< tag to block for the characters as ranked by my followers #ok that's all I talked too much as always no surprises there but I love you allllll 🥺💛#i may be silly and ... schedule this for when europeans r waking up just for fun #so if you see this on ur dash at 3am for me don't be concerned im prob awake but im not actively posting this rn i promise

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amy-oswin-lovegood · 2 years

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It's hard to believe this rewatch has come to an end! I'm so thankful to peacestew, parallel-univers, chillerhjemmesmiley, emziess, and everyone else who organized and contributed. When I was debating whether or not to participate in September, December felt so impossibly far away. I'd already made the Skam + English posts before I even knew this was happening, but I didn't know if I wanted to do anything else. Then I had an idea for the first clip, so I thought I'd at least do that and see if I wanted to do more later. And somehow that turned into making a gifset for each clip over three months. I'm honestly pretty proud that I was able to keep up with this, especially since I was figuring out how to make gifs as I went. I've been able to try out different layouts and effects and things and I've learned a lot compared to when I was applying edits to each frame manually on gimp. Anyway, here's some final rambling thoughts about Skam sesong 3. Thanks again to everyone!

First and foremost for me, there's the way the show deals with mental illness. Isak's ableism is subtly reinforced through small comments throughout, and then in a big way by Sonja's outburst. But then in the last couple of episodes, these views are dismantled by Magnus and Even and even Sonja, leaving you with the message that mental illness does not define or invalidate a person, that it does not stop them from deserving love or respect. Even's arc has helped me work through so much internalized ableism, both due to society and to my own insecurities. Over the last five years, I've felt my experiences start to line up with Even's more and more. Of course there are the manic and depressive episodes themselves, but also the frustration at feeling monitored, the dread of being a burden, the fear of hurting everyone else, and most recently the loneliness in watching friends graduate while being left behind. But seeing these experiences from an outside perspective has also helped me work through them in better ways. This show gave me comfort when I felt scared and powerless, and hope when I felt like I couldn't live with this anymore. Its message that people can still love you, that you are not crazy or broken, has carried me through many scary conversations when I felt people needed to know about my bipolar.

I've not struggled with my sexuality to the same degree that Isak does, but his relationship with his parents is something that feels very real to me. The complexities of having a parent whose mental illness causes you pain. Reconciling past hurtful actions with new attempts to make amends. Parents always fighting. The resentment for never getting a full apology, just sweeping mistakes under the rug. The desperation of I don't want to go back there I can't go back there please don't make me go back there. The longing for love and acceptance from the same person that you can't even trust to comfort you. Isak's parents may not be the focus of his character, but there's something really relatable about this being another thing he has to deal with on top of everything else, another problem that no one knows much about. Something that's always lurking there unaddressed, that you've learned to talk around and avoid. It's likely that a lot of other problems stem from these broken relationships in one way or another, but they feel impossible to fix.

Anyone who's heard me talk about Skam knows that I think it's amazing and has sat through at least a small amount of rambling about how they did whatever aspect just right. But even though it's been really important to me over the years, the only person I've ever actually shown it to is my sister. Because giving someone Skam, specifically season 3, feels like saying this is what it's like. This is what I'm like. And that can be terrifying, but at the same time that closeness has helped me explain things when I didn't know how, both to myself and to others. I'm so grateful to everyone involved in bringing this show to life, from the creator and production team, to the cast and crew, to the fans who translated and uploaded every single piece of content. Skam told real stories with real teenagers in the real world in a way I've never seen before or since. Stumbling upon this show on a sleepless night when I felt scared and anxious and powerless and alone changed my life for the better, and for that it will always hold a special place in my heart.

#skam

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bruisingknees · 3 years

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Gossip Guy “Ismaïl L'Hamiti is Younes in Wtfock episode 111″ [2/4]

Watch the podcast here Transcrip for part one here

E: Anyway, are you in a relationship?

I: No.

E: No.

I: No.

E: Intentionally? Are you focusing on other things?

I: It was an intentional choice for a long time. I think for at least two years it was clear to me that I didn’t have any desire to be in a relationship. But I think that now, after two years,… This is almost like a –

E: “Please DM me.”

I: DM me, please.

E: No, but now you are ready for something.

I: Yeah, maybe I am. But if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen, and I’m not going to start looking for it or anything.

E: Okay.

I: Because I do enjoy all the time and energy I can put into myself.

E: Yeah.

I: And I really utilize it. So I think that’s nice. But yeah, if someone were to cross my path and make me think: “Okay, I really can’t let this pass me by.” Then maybe I would…

E: So you’ll take it as it come?

I: Exactly.

E: Is the world going to know when you’re in a relationship?

I: Uhm.

E: Now that – I mean, there are going to be a lot more eyes on you. Will you immediately be making Instagram posts saying: “Hey, I’m in a relationship.”

I: No, I don’t need that straight away.

E: Would you rather keep your relationship offline or?

I: Yeah. Yes.

E: Okay, yeah.

I: Later on I don’t see the harm in posting something about it, but yeah. I’d rather keep it close to the chest.

E: I think… I saw a tweet the other day that said a relationship should be private but not secret. You don’t want to deny the other person’s existence, but you shouldn’t air out everything –

I: Yeah.

E: Like your sex life and who knows what.

I: No, exactly. That’s true.

E: That’s how I see it, at least. But I don’t know, I’m also just trying [my best]. So, have you noticed that there are a lot of Yousmina fanpages?

I: If I’ve noticed?

E: Yeah.

I: For sure.

E: Have you seen any fanfiction?

I: What?

E: Fanfiction.

I: Fanfiction?

E: Have you never heard of that?

I: I’ve never heard of it before.

E: Fanfiction is when fans start making up their own plotlines. They’re usually a little more sexual. Like One Direction had a lot of fanfiction of like girls being like: “Okay, you wake up in the hospital and One Direction is standing next to you and Harry [Styles] is like, just come with us. And you go home with them.” And then all these things happen that you don’t really want to read about.

I: So it’s creating stories around –

E: Yeah.

I: Okay. But yeah, they’re there.

E: Really?

I: Yeah, but I don’t think it’s very sexual – because this season isn’t very sexual.

E: No, but maybe that’s exactly why people would be like –

I: Oh yeah, like that.

E: I’m going to let my imagination run wild.

I: No, but I do see stuff from time to time. And then I think: “Wow, these people really take the time to make some funny shit.”

E: Yeah. I think it’s really cool to see sometimes how much time gets put into things like that.

I: Yeah.

E: And how good people are at editing.

I: Yes!

E: For example, when Veerle and Nathan’s season [season 2, Zoë] aired there were a lot of Zoë – Zo – Zoë en -

I: Zoenne.

E: Zoenne.

I: Yeah.

E: Some of those [fan] videos have millions of views on YouTube sometimes.

I: Yeah. That’s –

E: And they’re edited really well.

I: It’s fans who make them, it’s really…

E: But so you’ve seen some of them?

I: Yeah, I get tagged in edits and collages sometimes.

E: That was going to be my next question: could you please follow back my fanpage?

I: Your fanpage?

E: Yousmina314, that’s me. No, no. Imagine. No, no I was just scrolling through some fanpages earlier –

I: I was really thinking like…

E: “Oh, fuck.” No, I just think it’s funny to see. I just wanted to see if you’ve seen them. Otherwise I would’ve shown you some right now. “This is what people have been making!” No, okay.

I: No but there are a lot of them [fans]. And at first I was really surprised by the community behind [wtFOCK/Skam]. And what all of this means to them. And how wtFOCK has changed some people’s lives in one way or another. And I always think: “Wow, that’s really…” Yeah, it’s just beautiful to see how they take it personally.

E: Sometimes it’s just that taboo subjects are talked about in a relatable way. You know? Things that don’t really get talked about much, but that everyone goes through.

I: Yeah.

E: I think that’s really fucking great about the show.

I: No, that’s true.

E: Have you noticed anything in this season, or other seasons, that you could relate to and that made you think: “Damn, that hits close to home,” or something? That made you think: “It’s cool that they’re talking about this – this specific subject?”

I: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. This season – I’m Moroccan myself, and Muslim, so I – I could relate to a lot of the things Yasmina was struggling with. And so, yeah. For sure. There are a lot of things where – this whole season, really. It’s about a lot of things that I can relate to in terms of prejudice, racism, home life, friends, booze – and yeah just a Muslim family in a Western culture. How do you deal with those things? How can you keep your values and when do you lose them, you know? And those are all things I experienced myself.

E: Yeah.

I: Yeah.

E: No. Okay. Lighter subject: if there was a button right here that could make all the extinct animals in the world come back, all at once.

I: Yeah.

E: Would you push the button?

I: For sure.

E: Yeah?

I: Yeah.

E: Fucking dinosaurs!

I: Oh.

E: We’d have a velociraptor walking right by here.

I: I hadn’t thought that through.

E: Of course you have the cute extinct koala-shit, but you also have –

I: Have koalas gone extinct?

E: There might be some kind of koala that’s gone extinct, is what I was thinking?

I: Oh okay, like that. I was like: “What did I miss?”

E: There are a lot of cute animals that have gone extinct. No, no. Fucking imagine. No, no.

I: I was thinking about all the recent animals like the white rhinoceros that went extinct recently. The Siberian tiger also went extinct for real. And there were some whale-like…

E: Could be. There are –

I: There are so many animals that we –

E: We booted out of this planet.

I: They’re fucking gone.

E: Yeah, this really isn’t okay, actually. But if you could bring all of them back at once, would you?

I: To be honest, if it were up to me dinosaurs don’t have to make a return.

E: No. No I can image.

I: No, not dinosaurs. I can see one right there.

E: Oh yeah, there’s one right there.

I: Are you into dinosaurs or something?

E: No, it’s just entirely… I was thinking about how many animals there are that don’t exist anymore.

I: No, that’s true.

E: That we’ll never be able to see in real life, even if we wanted to. Not that I’m in a hurry to go and see a lion in the wild, but if I really wanted to I could get there. And then I thought: “What if we could bring those animals back to live?” But then I started thinking about Jurassic Park shit, because there they bring back the dinosaurs.

I: Yeah.

E: So then I thought: “Maybe not everything.”

I: Maybe not. No, exactly. I think it would cause a lot of chaos.

E: What I think is scary as fuck as well is the ocean. How do you feel about the ocean? Have you ever stopped to think about what the fuck is down below the surface of the ocean?

I: Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes I think about that.

E: Yeah, that’s a short answer. It doesn’t always have to be a long answer.

I: Yeah.

E: I just think it’s funny to watch all those animals that – have you seen those videos? Of what [lives] beneath…

I: I’m the kind of person who, as soon as I see there’s a new documentary about the ocean or the planet, I’ll check it out. I enjoy that.

E: What are some documentaries that you’ve seen about subjects you find interesting?

I: The other day I watched a new one on Netflix, something Earth something?

E: Earth – wait, I think I saw the one you’re talking about.

I: Cause there are a couple of them by now.

E: Earth and Earth 2.

I: Yeah, there you go. I watched that recently. But I fell asleep halfway through.

E: “It was so fucking interesting, but I did fall asleep.”

I: But it’s so nice, just lying in bed and watching the world.

E: After watching a nature documentary, do you ever feel like: “Fuck, I have to become a better person. I have to do better by this planet.”

I: Yeah.

E: Yeah?

I: I also watched this documentary – I think it was about the ocean. It was about global warming, and they showed the consequences it had on animals. Like there was this walrus – I don’t know if you saw that?

E: No.

I: So because of global warming there’s a lot of snow – surfaces of ice that have melted away, and there are a lot of walruses. And as soon as they go on land - usually they’d go on land on ice, and they’d have a lot of space and they could all lie next to each other and sunbathe. But because there’s so little ice left they have to go climb rocks. There’s not a lot of space, they’re all cooped up together, and walruses they don’t know about height. All they know is swimming and chilling on ice. So what happens is they climb all the way up just to find somewhere to chill in the sun, and then when they want to go back in the water the just go down and they don’t realize it’s literally 60 – 50 meters high.

E: Oh, what the fuck?

I: So they fall down super dramatically. And then down there you have all these dead walrus bodies on top of each other, missing pieces and really… Yeah, it’s terrible.

E: Holy fuck, dude.

I: And that’s because of us…

E: Because we’re making the ice melt.

I: Because we’re making the ice melt, yeah. And that was really [a bummer].

E: Does that make you – because Sven, who’s here in the office. Not right now, but usually he’s here - He watched an ocean documentary the other day and was like: “I’m never eating fish again.”

I: Oh, really?

E: And then the next week we went out for sushi together. Is that something – have you ever been like: “Fuck it, I’m never taking a hot shower again.” Or: “I’m not eating any more meat.” Or: “I’m going to cut down on eating meat,” after watching a documentary?

I: I already don’t take hot showers. I only take cold showers.

E: Okay, and why’s that?

I: I was inspired by this Dutch Dude, Wim Hof, I don’t know if you know who that is?

E: Yeah, I know him.

I: And yeah. He got me to only take cold showers. I’ve been doing it for 7 or 8 months by now. So I’ve…

E: And do you feel like you feel better after taking a cold shower?

I: I think I do.

E: But…

I: And maybe it’s just enough to think you do.

E: Yeah. In the end it is all in your head.

I: Exactly.

E: I think it’s meant to make you feel more awake at the start of the day.

I: No, it’s really like… you get in the shower and you turn it to ice cold. At first it’s really like… okay.

E: It’s cold.

I: It’s cold. But after a while you start building up this tolerance towards the cold and then at the end you get out of there and you feel like: “I really needed that.”

E: Okay.

I: And now I can start my day, or something like that.

E: You’re not the first to say this. Nathan Bouts, also in wtFOCK -

I: Yeah?

E: He also told me about that.

I: Oh yeah, I –

E: Talked to –

I: Talked to Nathan about it once.

E: No, the only time – the last time I took a cold shower was because we’d run out of hot water at home.

I: Oh, okay.

E: So I had to take the cold shower.

I: You had to.

E: Then again, you do feel it. There’s this kick of energy –

I: Yeah, there’s a boost… And just purely what Wim Hof says about taking a cold shower – it sounds legit, you know what I mean? He’s done so many tests, in universities, and with scientists and all those professors don’t have a clue –

E: How the fuck –

I: “How can you do this? How can you regulate your body temperature?” and all that shit.

E: Yeah.

I: So when he says it, I believe it.

E: Alright. No, fair enough. He can prove that there is some truth to it because: “Look at me.”

I: Exactly. Didn’t he have – oh man, I’m covered in mosquito bites.

E: Oh.

I: It’s that time of year. No, he had all these viruses injected, like on purpose by doctors. And then he showed them how he destroyed those viruses by himself

E: What the fuck?

I: Yeah. So he let his body look for the virus and kill it.

E: He goes looking for it?

I: He goes looking for it.

E: Actively?

I: Actively. He’d be sitting there and they’d inject 3 or 4 viruses – if they’d do that to you, you’d go down or have to go to the emergency room. But he got it done and then just through his body he healed, then and there.

E: What the fuck. Is that dude immortal or something because what the fuck is that?

I: I don’t know. I don’t know.

E: Okay, this is news to me.

I: Yeah, he’s… It’s sick.

E: And that’s the goal? Getting injected with viruses?

I: No, definitely not.

E: No, just living a slightly healthier life.

I: Exactly.

E: And move towards…

I: Exactly, whatever can make me better as a person. Why not?

[/26:24]

#wtfock #gossip guy

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smithsparker · 2 years

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REVIEW: EVERY MONTH OF 2021

RULES: post your favorite and/or most popular post from each month this year (it’s okay to skip months!) ❣ i was tagged by ali @evelynhugostjames !! thanku sm for tagging me ali!

JANUARY: my most popular post this month was this kieutou gifset which honestly, they deserve it, i loved this clip sm 💞 but my favourite one (and the one i need to shout out skjdskf) is this set i made of skam nl season 1, which... holy shit that took me so long skdjkd i almost quit like 3 times while doing it <3 also special mention to this post which was my first fic ... ever?? so that was cool :D

FEBRUARY: in february i started to rlly get into doctor who so i made this rose tyler gifset which blew up like. Very quickly lmao, so that is my most popular post this month. and this month druck season 6 also ended, and i wanted to make something for that bc i really really loved it, so i made this set :) and honestly it's still one of my faves ive made today! i love fatou sm 🥺💞

MARCH: i finaly started to find some different fandoms to gif for other than skam: this month i made a lotr gifset! which did pretty well for the amount of effort i put into it aldjskd and i do love it but this month i made another super long & complicated gifset for skam nl season 2 akdjskd you'd think i'd learn from the first time... but i love how it turned out so that is a win at least!

APRIL: my birthday month! 🎈 funnily enough i did not make a post for my own birthday but i made my favourite this month for someone else's birthday which... was posted on my own birthday skdjskd dodie is my fav musician and her bday is one day before mine! my most popular post this month (and ever actually!!) was this parallel between doctor who and much ado about nothing - david tennant & catherine tate are such a great duo skdjsj

MAY: alt er love week time!! this was such a fun week and it gave me both my most popular and my favourite post: this elu set was most popular (and also very ugly in my opinion oops skdhsjd) and this druck season 5 one was my favourite!! i really like the colouring 💞

JUNE: this month i made very little content skdjksd but i think even if i'd made more, this skamverse pride month set would still be my favourite. it's also the most popular post this month! which it totally deserves 🌈

JULY: man, u can see that it's summer skdjsd in july i also made v little content, i only had one post this month lmaooo this month i watched the doctor who 50th anniversary special which i loved and i loved clara a lot, so i made this gifset! i do still like it a lot 🥺

AUGUST: this month's posts are both non-skamverse! who am i! lmaoo but for real, i think this month i really got into giffing other fandoms which i am so glad about bc it just opened a lot of doors for me :) so august's most popular post was this twelve/river set (theyre the superior doctor/river pairing change my mind😌) and my favourite was this malina + bookquotes set ⭐

SEPTEMBER: school time again which meant less time for gifsets, but it also meant alt er back to school week!! both posts are from that week: this one of our favourite dumbass lucas lallemant was most popular, and my favourite was this one of liv and isa, which was my first time working with overlays (and it looked rlly well if i may say so myself hehe) ❣

OCTOBER: in october i, again, didn't have time for a lot of gifsets, so this time it's just one: my most popular and my favourite post was the isi inci main character moment walk! this one kinda blew up which i love bc xe deserves it 💜

NOVEMBER: only one post again lmao in november i took some time off bc school was absolutely shit, but i still found some time to gif luckily! and i am v happy about that because honestly, the eva mohn gifset i made this month... might be my own fav ever i love it so so muchhh !!

DECEMBER: this month i did a lot more!! my most popular gifset was a hit with the wlws as far as i know - yaz in her 1900s outfit from doctor who flux... it was terrible to colour but so worth it skfjskdh 💞 my favourite post was this isa keijser set with orla gartland lyrics, two of my fav things and i think it looks rlly good!! plus a special mention to my very first malina fic, u love to see it 😌❣

okay this has become VERY long alsjakd but i hope this will also be fun to look back on later 💞 i'm tagging @ramonapest, @belloves, @lucasotteli, @fatoujallovv and @isiinci!! feel free to ignore and i apologise if you've done it already - i am late to the party as always skjdskjf

#ali 💖#thanku sm for tagging me!! i had a lot of fun with this <3 #tag games

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inmyarmswrappedin · 3 years

Note

as a lurker in most of the skams fandoms i’ve gathered that some remake stans accuse druck stans of having a superiority complex bc they feel that druck stans act like the good parts of druck can be separated from the flawed parts (as in the bad parts don’t define the entire show), but then accuse other remakes stans of not being critical enough of their fave if they do the same (as in the bad parts of the other remakes do define the entire show). so i think it’s mostly about hypocrisy?

Lmao anon. Is that so? Is all this actually about Druck stans being hypocrites?

(Btw, here's a post about how "Druck stans put Druck on a pedestal" is the same as "Remake stans put their fav remake's LGBTI rep on a pedestal", and here's the anon who complained about remake stans also accusing them of being hypocritical. You know, like you just did in your ask. Just to show that it's all the same 5 arguments.)

You can try to pin the absolutely atrocious writing that wtfock has featured since its first ever clip on Druck stans' pedestals, hypocrisy, superiority complex, David/Matteo's lack of shower/cyberboning scenes, Amira's 7 episodes, the pov switching to Mia, Victoria, or any number of things as much as you want, but lbr: what Wtfock stans are mad about is the fact that the writing team gave them absolutely NOTHING to cling to for s4 and s5. They aren't mad that Yasmina's season was a racist trainwreck, because everyone with two braincells to rub together knew after s4 that they couldn't expect this writing team to deliver a good Sana season. But they clung to the hopes that they'd get Robbe/Sander fanservice, they'd get Robbe/Sander moving together, they'd get Yasmina hacking into Robbe's mainframe for the chats, they'd get Robbe and Sander making out in a classroom or a street, they'd get Robbe's birthday video for Sander, or Yasmina attending Sander's birthday party. They'd get a plot in the back half of the season or they'd get a Sander POV clip. They'd get Robbe and Sander being Yasmina's supportive besties. They'd get Yasmina turning to Robbe when the girl squad and BA were being hopeless. They'd get Sander being Younes' roommate, or Badr's former boyfriend. They'd get Robbe and Sander agreeing with Yasmina that Britt is a monster.

If Wtfock stans had gotten even a handful of these things, I can guarantee that they'd give no fucks at all what "Druck stans" or anyone else thought about the season. Just like they didn't give two fucks when "Druck stans" thought the cyberboning plot was gross and simply said "Druck stans" were just jealous because David and Matteo didn't have such scenes. (Lmao... please.)

But instead, what they got was Robbe and Sander being trotted out specifically to make Yasmina's mom come across as a homophobe, VERY sparse social media content (with the content that was supposed to be Sander's birthday party, being something Yasmina just watched on her phone in ep 1), and finally, Robbe siding with Britt over Yasmina, being completely unsupportive, whitesplaining racism, and, out of all possible hoodies in the world, wearing one with a slur and a racist caricature emblazoned across the front.

No amount of Druck fans criticizing Druck's choices to ~prove~ that we aren't blind to their faults is going to change the fact that the wtfock writing team knew people have been defending Wtfock for this long only because of Robbe/Sander, Zoenne and the hope that they'd make Jens canonly bisexual... And yet they didn't just fail to deliver on all three fronts, but they actively made each of these fan favorite characters so unlikable, that there's simply nothing to defend and cling to. To the point where even Wtfock stans don't find anything salvageable about s4 and s5. The only difference is that I would extend that to s1-wtfockdown as well. But when it comes to affection and trying to see the good among the bad, there's virtually no difference between the way Wtfock stans write about s5 and esp s4, and the way I write about those two seasons.

So really, stop talking about Druck stans for two seconds, and start examining the way the Wtfock writers have portrayed Gen Z since the very first clip: sex-obsessed, slur-dropping, vicious, vapid, shallow, addicted to social media, disloyal. Start examining the number of times Wtfock used triggering moments for shock value and then did nothing about them. Start thinking about the way the Wtfock writers wrote Moyo as by far the most overtly homophobic s1-Elias in Jana's season, how they handled other characters of color. Start thinking about the way Milan was portrayed as jokingly making overtures towards teens not just once, but three times (moving to kiss Robbe at the end of s2, getting in Senne's bed ~as a joke~ and that Samsung #sponcon with Moyo). And you'll find this shitty writing was a thing before s4.

#ask #wtfock #Anonymous #sorry for not taking your bait #if you want to read my criticisms of druck eskam and every other skam #you can just go on my tumblr instead of generalizing an entire fandom #:)

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gallavichthings · 3 years

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Writer’s Spotlight

Starting now, we’ll be posting interviews with acclaimed writers in the Gallavich fandom. The goal is to get to know them and their process a little better. If you would like to suggest a writer to be interviewed, please leave a message in my ask box with their Tumblr url (or other form of contact) so that I can contact them and, hopefully, interview them (we do understand that not everyone is up for this). The interviews are conducted via written chat, with very little editing.

To start of this series, the writer interviewed is our very own Jen - @thevioletjones (Violet_Jones on AO3), author of Backdrifiting, Tag Team, Corey & Parker, Oceans of Time, and dozens of other well-renowned stories.

GT: So, how did you come up with thevioletjones?

J: I've been using Violet Jones or some variation ever since I was on LiveJournal when I was 17. It's mainly based on my love of purple. Jonesing for a violet fix. Lol

GT: Oh, I see! That's cute. It's my favorite color too. Ok, so tell me a bit about yourself. As much as you're comfortable with, of course.

J: I'm an 80's kid. I'm Aquarius. INTP. True Neutral. I'm American, but I grew up in Venezuela. I've also lived in Canada and a slew of US cities, mainly Los Angeles, Austin, and Miami. I work in the tech industry, but I just got certified to teach English as a second language, so I might get into that, or a field where I use translation (Spanish/English).

GT: Do you speak any other languages other than English and Spanish?

J: Not fluently, but I'm dabbling in Italian. I understand it much more than I can speak it. I like it, but I'm too much of a perfectionist. It takes me way too long.

GT: Do you read or write fics in other languages too or just in English?

J: I tried to start a Spanish translation of one of my fics, but honestly, it's just really tedious, and it feels weird because the characters speak in English, not Spanish. There's a disconnect with the material. I tried to read Even/Isak fic from Norwegian Skam at one point, and I couldn't get into it for the same reason. They speak Norwegian on the show, so treying to suddenly act like they just spoke in English made no sense to me.

GT: Ok, so let's talk fanfiction. When did you start reading it?

J: When I was 17 and Queer as Folk US started. That was the first time I ever used the internet to find out more about a show, and I stumbled upon the small community of fans for it. Back then it was all on Television Without Pity, Yahoo Groups, and dedicated fan websites, then it started being very LiveJournal focused. So that was the first fanfic I ever read, and the only other fandom I've ever written for.

GT: I haven't even heard of Television Without Pity. That was a website?

J: Yes. It was a snarky message board site that had reviewers who did harsh recaps of a long list of shows, and then users could discuss. It was funny, but there were also a lot of what we called "flame wars" at the time. Lmao TWoP is the common nickname. It definitely has its place in fandom lore, especially with some specific TV fandoms. I think it got most famous for Dawson's Creek. Maybe Buffy too.

GT: When did you start watching Shameless and what made you ship Ian and Mickey?

J: I started watching Shameless US specifically because of IxM. I had seen the first couple of seasons of Shameless UK and wasn't really interested in watching a remake of it. But then I read something on the AV Club, which is where I used to hang out and just do general pop culture fandom stuff, where they talked about how the best gay relationship on TV was hiding on a second-tier cable drama on Showtime. And my interest was piqued. I think I even watched some of the supercuts on YouTube before I started watching full eps. I honestly can't remember. I just loved the underdog nature of their story and thought their chemistry was great. Oh, this was at the end of season 5 right when everything went to shit. Lmaoooo

GT: When did you start writing Gallavich fanfiction? What made you start?

J: I guess I was only a reader for maybe 6 or 8 months? Maybe a year, idk. I'm terrible with time. And I really didn't want to get so sucked in that I was writing fic, but of course it happened. It's the usual story of like, wanting to read something that no one else was really writing the way you wanted it, so the only solution was to write it myself. I hadn't written anything fictional in at least a decade, so I was really apprehensive about it. But then once I started, I loved it, and it became my primary creative outlet. I still don't know how to quit funneling all my ideas through the IxM lens. It's almost frustrating. I just checked and my first fic was published in June of 2016.

GT: What's the most fun thing about writing Gallavich?

J: I guess their sense of humor matches mine in a way that makes it easy to write entertaining dialogue and scenarios. They feel really authentic.

GT: And what's the most difficult thing?

J: Mmm, I have a well documented dislike of canon, particularly post-S5, so I love to live in AU Land as much as possible. So sometimes I worry about how people might perceive the characterization when I try to write slightly more evolved versions of them. I also just get tired of reading them always written with the same well-trodden issues in every fic, so I tend to exclude certain canon elements, like Ian's bipolar, and Mickey's early internalized homophobia, etc. I guess I don't really find anything difficult to write about them, but I always hope the readers' perception isn't something I don't intend. Namely, that they don't feel OOC even when given different circumstances and ages.

GT: Do you prefer writing Ian or Mickey?

J: That's a hard one to answer decisively. I like writing them both for different reasons. Mickey can be more fun, for obvious reasons, and Ian can maybe be more relatable. But I also identify a lot with Mickey too. They each have things to connect with and channel different parts of myself.

GT: You said Mickey can be more fun for obvious reasons. What do you mean?

J: I mean, he's just inherently more funny and offbeat. He's a very unique character in the fictional landscape.

GT: That's true. What about other Shameless characters? Who are your favorites aside from Ian and Mickey?

J: Early on, I really liked Fiona and Lip too, and Mandy to a certain extent, but I don't really care about any of the other characters anymore. I haven't been invested since S5.

GT: Do you include them when you write?

J: I tend to really just focus on the two of them (IxM), and use the other characters sparingly. I do include Mandy more than any other secondary character (to IxM).

GT: How much research do you typically do before or during writing?

J: It depends on the fic, really. For the most part, I don't have to do too much research, because I keep it pretty real world. Things will always pop up that make you do random searches, but only some fics that are more AU and out of my depth will make me do a lot of research. I did quite a bit for Deaf Group, since I'm not deaf, and want to get it as right as I can without offending people. And the most I've done is for Oceans of Time, because I want to be historically accurate in every possible respect for that one. That led to a lot of rabbit holes and cool stuff. But yeah, I will look up anything that gives me pause, ever. And I double-check words and meanings a lot too, just to make sure I get exactly what I want and don't fuck it up. I have a pretty broad vocabulary, but everyone misremembers things or learns things the wrong way sometimes.

GT: What kind of fics do you write the most? (One-shots, multi-chapters, canon, AUs, fluffy, smutty, angsty…)

J: Always AUs, usually multi-chaps. I would prefer to categorize the majority of them as humorous slice-of-life, I guess? I definitely don't shy away from smut, but that can get boring to write after a while. And I prefer fluff over angst, but I try to stay on the right side of being cheeseball about it.

GT: What does your writing process look like? Do you outline? Do you post as soon as the chapter is done or do you accumulate chapters before you start posting?

J: Definitely outline. Depending on how complicated or long it is, I might do it more detailed for certain fics. I try to evenly distribute the word counts between characters, since I tend to do both IxM POVs. I have no willpower to sit on something, which is why I have so many open WIPs. As soon as it's ready, I post it. But there's an editing process beforehand. I've never understood people who just post shit without even reading it over and correcting errors. I always find shit that needs to be better, not just spelling errors.

GT: Do you post as soon as you have the first chapter done or do you wait until it's all complete?

J: As soon as a chapter is done, I post it.

GT: What are your favorite comments to receive?

J: I mean, anything in depth is great. Those are few and far between for most of us. It seems like the fandom selects who gets long comments and who doesn't or something, idk. So anytime I get someone who genuinely enjoys the writing enough to be thoughtful about it and give actual feedback, I greatly appreciate it.

GT: What's your favorite Gallavich fic that you’ve written so far and why?

J: The Backdrifting series is close to my heart, because it's my original baby, and it's the trajectory I would've loved to see for IxM post-canon (at the time), but Oceans of Time is my favorite, because it's actually very challenging to write and it's completely different than anything else I've written, as well as anything that anyone else has written for the fandom. I wish it were more popular, tbh. I feel like it's slept on for the amount of work I've put into it. But it's still a WIP and I have half still to go if I ever manage to get back to it. Lol

GT: What's your favorite or some of your favorite fics in the fandom?

J: It's easier to say who my favorite writers are: Devovitsuasartes, Romanticalgirl, Anomalously, Pink_Ink, LanJevinson, Loftec, and Kissteethstainred. Obviously there are a lot of other great writers not all represented here, and a lot of other great fics. I definitely tend to choose stuff written a while back, though. It's harder for me to get into newer stuff.

GT: What’s your favorite trope?

J: I'm a typical Enemies to Lovers hoe. I also like Friends to Lovers with like miscommunication and pining and shit. And any inventive kind of AU that's well-written. I like as much uniqueness as possible, because at the end of the day, we're all just reading the same basic storylines with the same two dudes over and over and over again. Gotta make it stand out, both in ideas and in style.

GT: What's a fanfic pet peeve of yours?

J: Omg, I have a lot of them, because I'm a salty bitch. Mainly, I just want stuff to be in character and not feel as if it's written by someone with their own agenda that doesn't serve the actual characters. If something seems overtly girly and just not like two men would behave, for example, that bothers me a lot. I have a lot of little things, but I'm not gonna sit here trying to list them forever. Lmao

GT: What’s your favorite season of Shameless? Do you have a favorite episode?

J: I suppose it would have to be S4. And the episode where Mickey comes out at the Alibi and then screams about loving dick to Terry on the sidewalk. There has never been and never will be another scene as iconic as that on this show, ever.

GT: What’s your favorite Ian x Mickey scene?

J: I guess the episode where Ian took Yev, and then Mickey goes with the Gallaghers to pick him up and then they take him to be committed at the psych ward. I feel like that's when we really saw Mickey openly express his deep feelings for Ian for the first time, and that felt amazing. I also love the whole "Love is a Battlefield"/"Let's go on a date" scene. For me, canon ends when they both say "Mooooooo" with big smiles as they're about to go to Sizzler. Lmao

GT: That actually leads me to my next question: if you could go back and change one thing in canon, what would it be?

J: Just one??? Lollll... I mean, I definitely wouldn't have ever let Noel leave the show, so I guess that's it. The 5x12 rewrite that abruptly had Ian break up with Mickey and the whole bullshit thing with Sammi and going to jail. All of it is trash.

GT: It made no sense at all. Ok, last question: what's coming up next?

J: Shit, hopefully a couple of endings to some WIPs? Lollll... I have the final chapter of An Ever-Fixed Mark half-written, so that may be the next one to be published, but nothing has come easy lately and I haven't been writing at all. I also have just one chap left of Deaf Group, and then the rest of Oceans of Time. I still want to write the last 3 parts of Backdrifting, and I have 2 one-shot prompts sitting around. Whatever I can actually bear to write if I get the inspiration will be next, but I highly doubt I'll start anything new. Just wrapping up what I have will be a major victory.

GT: Thank you so much, Jen, for helping me pilot this. :*

#Gallavich #Ian x Mickey #Shameless #Shameless US #Gallavich fanfiction #writer's spotlight #mod post #thevioletjones

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eagles-translated · 3 years

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Analyzing the writing of Eagles

Here's a post I've been wanting to make for a while! I've expressed my thoughts on some of the storylines in previous posts, but I've never done a complete post on the writing of the whole show. I've divided this post into separate parts, focusing on each season and its plot points. Keep reading to see my analysis of the writing in Eagles! 👇 Word Count: 18k

If you've stumbled upon this post from the Young Royals or the Beartown tag (tagged them since I've drawn some parallels from those shows), here's a brief summary of what Eagles is, which you can watch with English subtitles here. This post contains Eagles spoilers from 1x01 - 3x10.

Eagles is a Swedish TV show that revolves around a few teenagers living in the Swedish ice hockey town Oskarshamn while experiencing friendship, love, and rivalry on the ice.

To start this off I would like to say that I have no experience with professional screenwriting and if anything, this is just a way for me to procrastinate on actually writing my own projects.

I love experiencing new stories and when I discover one I really like it's just natural for me to branch off with "what ifs" and to start wondering how the story would've turned out if some things were changed. Sometimes it's with a storyline improvement in mind, and other times it's just out of plain curiosity.

You might feel like this post is leaning towards the critical side, and I can definitely understand why since there are a lot of small details that I've picked apart from all seasons. I added a section for each season with things that I thought were really well done so this post wouldn't be too negative.

I actually did enjoy all seasons and I feel like the quality of not just the writing but every single thing has steadily increased each year.

Season 1: Tropes and clichés

Eagles premiered its first season in 2019 and was, despite many negative reviews, a big success among its target audience. Every episode on SVT Play amassed around 700 000–800 000 views and there didn't seem to be any doubt that the show would get renewed.

What the critics had issues with were that "Eagles rarely takes the unexpected path, and feels like a slightly soulless product of studied target group thinking a little too often," (Karolina Fjellborg in Aftonbladet) and "In Eagles, the characters seem to be locked in the role of a "teenager" but the humanity is missing. They've simplified the construction of the character," (Django Lorentzson in MovieZine).

Eagles was unfortunate enough to constantly be compared to SKAM in its infancy, and that's a tough comparison to live up to. SVT sort of shot themselves in the foot as they were the ones who contributed to it. While the show was still in the casting process, SVT wrote an article hyping the show up as a Swedish SKAM (which has since been edited, but led many to falsely believe that it would involve all the familiar SKAM characters with some hockey elements sprinkled in).

So, why exactly did critics think the first three episodes of the show were predictable and soulless? Well, it's pretty simple. They'd seen it all before. The setting, the characters, the storylines—just in different TV shows and movies.

Season 1 for me is nostalgic and very enjoyable despite its clichéd nature. I also felt like I'd seen the show before due to its generic storylines, but there is a reason why tropes are tropes and why clichés are clichés. It's because they're tried and true, and actually somewhat good writing tools as long as you expand on them. The keyword here is to expand—a story doesn't magically become good simply because you mimic something another writer has done. Tropes are fine to use but you can't just apply them and stop there. Everything in a story needs to be developed in order to be good.

It's safe to say that it's pretty much impossible to write a story without any tropes that have been used before. Striving to avoid clichés at all costs in hopes of making your story as original as possible is harder than it sounds, and almost impossible to boot. Here's a great piece of advice for aspiring writers written by a user on Carvezine:

[...] if you look down at your story and are worried it’s already been told before – don’t spend another second thinking about it. It has. A million times. The only difference is that it hasn’t been told by you. Accept that regurgitation is part of writing, and just do your best not to regurgitate the same way as the guy next to you. We’d all do well to acknowledge there is at least a portion of our stories that are really someone else’s. [...] Beyond that, write with the motivation that if you don’t get around to telling your story, eventually somebody else will.

Even the greatest books have storylines with some clichés. And that's not really a bad thing, either. Think about it. How many times have you decided to binge a TV show solely because it reminded you of another series? Or picked up a book simply because you love a good enemies to lovers romance, a battle between good and evil fantasy, or whatever it might be?

I found this article from Masterclass that perfectly describes what tropes are and why they're used. It's written from the perspective of novel writing but it is still applicable.

A trope in literary terms is a plot device or character attribute that is used so commonly in the genre that it’s seen as commonplace or conventional. For example, a trope in superhero stories is a villain who wants to take over the world. Tropes are popular for a reason—if something has been written about over and over again, there’s a good chance that it’s something readers enjoy reading! Tropes can be helpful, but a novel made up only of tropes will quickly start to feel stale and predictable to readers. That’s why you need to read up on tropes—and then innovate. Deliberately taking a favorite trope and turning it on its head is a great way to put your own unique spin on the genre and keep your readers interested.

Eagles, in its first season, didn't really do a lot of expanding upon the tropes they used and it's understandable that they were still trying to find their footing. I can also imagine it's difficult to do so when you only have eight 20 minute episodes in the season.

However... There definitely should've been more work put into these characters to make them their own. It's tricky, yes, but still achievable if you don't abandon them in their cookie-cutter form and try to actually decorate them with something unique and fresh.

So, how did they write their characters?

Felicia's character and backstory

To start off, Felicia is a famous influencer known for starring in a reality show next to her former NHL professional father. There's already a clear disconnect because it's hard to relate to a character with such a public past and large following. But it is 100% possible if you let the viewer know the character has humane qualities just like the person watching the show.

Look at Wilhelm from Netflix's Young Royals, another Swedish TV show. Wilhelm is the prince of Sweden, set to attend a prestigious elite boarding school, and is the heir to the throne. That doesn't exactly sound like a relatable scenario, does it? And yet the writers make it work because when we're introduced to Wilhelm we realize he's just like everybody else. He wants a normal life, he latches on to his older brother for support, he has anxiety, and he struggles between following his heart versus doing what his family is expecting him to do. A lot of these factors are relatable among the audience.

So, let's look at Felicia Kroon. She is in many ways portrayed as the main character of the show. Eagles starts off with her family having moved to Oskarshamn and the following episodes focus on her developing relationship with Ludde as well as her traumatic past. There's almost too much focus on Felicia here, and I'll get back to that.

Comparing Felicia to Wilhelm from Young Royals, they're both well-known teenagers with famous parents. Of course they have different circumstances considering Felicia is Instagram popular and Wilhelm is a blood royal, but in the grand scheme of things they're similar. Felicia is even referred to as a "Kroon princess" because of her last name Kroon bearing a resemblance to the Swedish word kronprinsessa, meaning crown princess.

The students of their respective schools treat their attendance as a big deal when they first arrive and then Wilhelm and Felicia start spending time with the "popular" crowd despite not really fitting in there.

I personally found it easy to relate to Wilhelm but difficult to relate to Felicia. Some people may feel differently, but her character is basically a popular party girl who attracts the attention of one of the school's star players and is "welcomed" by the popular crowd on her first day of school. I put welcome in quotation marks because Klara, the leader of the girl group, isn't exactly the most welcoming person but she does welcome Felicia to the school. My point is, Felicia doesn't have a lot of relatable traits in the first episodes.

Felicia then goes on a date with the guy she's met, Ludde. Okay, so there haven't been that many layers to her character yet. We're at the third episode and so far she's been kind of flat.

Near the end of the third episode, we get some depth to the character and we hear her back story.

Felicia: [...] We don’t have a good relationship, my dad and I. And that’s probably why we moved from the beginning, because he’s an idiot. We’ve never been close, but… Elias and he have been since they’ve had hockey. [...] And mom has been really involved, so… And I… They’ve never really cared about me. And… And I haven’t really been a problem either. I’ve had good grades, good friends, and… I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I don’t talk about it to people. [...] I just felt so fucking lonely and invisible. I was worried all the time, couldn’t sleep, panicked because I couldn’t sleep… So I started going out more. It went overboard. It started affecting school, my grades slipped… I started taking things to be able to concentrate. Everybody does stuff like that. And then I still couldn’t sleep, so… I started mixing with sleeping pills. And there’s always wine and booze at our place. I don’t want this to come out, that’s really important. Ludde: Of course, I’d never tell. Felicia: One night, something happened that made me… Act out of control more than usual. I woke up the next morning in the hospital. So they sent me to rehab. It was really rough for mom and dad that I was suddenly in focus. When I woke up, dad wasn’t even there. Ludde: What made you take too much that night? Felicia: I’d forgotten my phone at home, so I ran up and got it while my friends were waiting in an Uber. Then I came into the hall and I heard noises. You know, like, when somebody is doing it. Ludde: Okay. Felicia: And I thought it was really weird because mom wasn’t home. So I went into the living room… Dad was fucking my mom’s best friend. On the rug below the couch.

This gives Felicia more layers and does separate her from every other "popular pretty party girl" trope that you see on TV. But this is a huge info dump, and that's a problem. I would've liked to see this happen on-screen instead of only being told what went down. The golden rule of Show don't tell, as people like to say.

Show, don’t tell is a writing technique in which story and characters are related through sensory details and actions rather than exposition. It fosters a style of writing that’s more immersive for the reader, allowing them to “be in the room” with the characters. In his most commonly repeated quote, Chekhov said, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass."

This back story could've been more impactful that way if, perhaps, the show began with Felicia in a hospital bed with a strong headache and hazy flashbacks of that night where she saw her dad sleeping with another woman. Then we're introduced to her mother and brother sitting next to the hospital bed tired and worried, and Felicia notices her dad isn't present. They tell her Felicia is being sent to rehab and then there's a time-jump before we see the Kroon family having moved to Oskarshamn.

That's just an idea I threw together at the top of my head, but you get my point. It would've been more interesting if we knew from the beginning that Felicia had a traumatic past like this, leading the viewer to want to know more about what actually happened.

We did get a brief flashback at the very beginning of the show—we see Felicia partying with her friends and taking some pill before lying unconscious on the ground. There's also a glimpse of Ludde's car accident with Andreas yelling at him to get out of there.

That segment only lasts for around 45 seconds and it's easily forgettable upon your first viewing of the show. It's also hard to even recognize Felicia in the dark nightclub setting with the flashing lights. Some dialogue in that short scene could've made it more memorable, because I found that when I first watched season 1 I remembered Andreas yelling at Ludde despite that being drowned out by the music.

Ludde's backstory was way more well-done, in my opinion. We see him having crashed the car and bleeding from his head. He looks terrified and almost frozen by fear, needing to be pulled out of the car by a panicked Andreas yelling at him to bring Ludde back to the reality of the situation. We see Andreas yelling and pointing, telling Ludde he needs to run now. It's more powerful when we get to see it.

And in episode 8, when we learn the truth of what happened, it's not a long and dragged-out monologue. It fits into what's going on in the story. Felicia and Ludde have known each other for a few months now and are much closer than they were on their first date. They've had disagreements and fights, but at this moment they're in a good place.

And it feels like the right moment for Ludde to come clean about what happened to him.

Ludde: Hey… There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you. Felicia: What? Ludde: About… My brother. It’s not really as everybody thinks. Felicia: What do you mean? Ludde: That night when he crashed… It wasn’t Andreas who drove the car. We were on our way home from one of his buddies. We’d had some fun drinking. And then… I’d just started learning how to drive. So I nagged and nagged at him. Felicia: So you were the one driving? But he’s an adult- Ludde: He was drunk as hell. He was going to leave the car, but I thought it was so cold and it was only three blocks away so I thought that I could drive. Felicia: And what happened? Ludde: It was slippery and really dark… And a car came. I hit the brakes in time, but it… Yeah. Right after he pushed me out of the car and yelled that I should run home straight away. He really didn’t want me to get into trouble. So, yeah… It was fucking bad luck. I want to just gather everybody and scream that it was me. Felicia: Hey… I love you. Ludde: I love you too. I love you so fucking much.

As Ludde is telling Felicia what happened as the other car came, we see a silent flashback of it along with Ludde's voice narrating. We see Andreas pulling him out of the car and yelling. Cutting to this scene that we've already seen in the beginning but might've forgotten about is a smart choice and makes the story Ludde is telling more real. We see it unfolding as Ludde is telling this to Felicia. It's a powerful scene.

We then see Felicia hugging Ludde from behind, a sign of support with no words needed. She tells him she loves him and Ludde says it back. It's an honest and sweet moment that comes at a perfect time in the story. It's not too early like Felicia's backstory was.

I sort of understand why Felicia's backstory was info-dumped because it was right before the drama of Mats accidentally spilling the beans to Klara's family. They wanted the audience to know what happened to her early, so they could move on to the plot point of Felicia thinking Ludde was the one who told everybody.

But we don't need every single detail of Felicia's story. Let it come organically. The only thing that was really needed was for Ludde to know that Felicia had struggled with drug use and was sent to rehab for this storyline to work. The reason why could've been saved for later, and it would've made for a more interesting reveal. Maybe just have Felicia allude to seeing something that night, but don't tell the viewers right away what it was.

In 1x06, Felicia is incredibly upset when she hears that her dad was the one who told Klara's family what happened to Felicia in the US. And rightly so.

Felicia: Don’t you get it? You ruined everything! Mats: What? Felicia: You told the whole damn town about me! About the US! Mats: I really didn’t mean to disclose you- Or disclose us. Sorry. Hey, sorry. Flisan, please. Hey. Felicia: Did you tell them you fucked mom’s best friend too? Yes, I saw you.

If this had been the moment where we first find out what Felicia saw, it would've been more surprising. Our reaction would've mirrored Mats's, and it would've been more heart-wrenching to know that Felicia was traumatized by an affair her dad had only to be cheated on herself in the very same episode.

Ludde's problematic nature

One of the scriptwriters of Eagles, Fanny Ekstrand, was interviewed in the behind-the-scenes documentary Edvins Skådisdrömmar. In this interview, she states:

Ludvig, he's the one who's been the easiest to retain the personality of. Because he's so... He's calm and friendly, but he makes dumb decisions. Ludvig isn't a typical hockey guy. He has a bunch of other qualities—music being one of them.

I found myself slightly disagreeing with this take, despite knowing Ekstrand is literally a part of the writing team and most likely helped shaped Ludde's personality. I just interpreted Ludde's character (at least in season 1) differently.

I also didn't find him that much different from any other typical hockey guy just because he happens to have another interest. That's a bit like saying Archie Andrews from The CW's Riverdale isn't a stereotypical jock because he also plays the guitar.

In season 1, we see Ludde break into the rink because he wanted to test out the ice. He just loves hockey that much. He also uses it as a way to express frustration and anger, which we saw in 1x05. He flirts with the new girl in school and in the beginning he even uses it as a tactic to gain a position on the main hockey team. This was confirmed by the creator Stefan H. Lindén in his Q&A, where he said:

My idea has always been that Ludde was blown away by Felicia and that he really likes her but that they both initially interacted and met to go swimming because Felicia knew it would piss her dad off and Ludde knew that it might throw Elias off since they were competing for the same position in the team.

I would say that the characteristics of a typical hockey guy would be someone like Adam—obsessed with the sport, flirting with girls, going to parties, and just spending a lot of time in the rink. Ludde checks off all of these points. However, I will give this the benefit of the doubt since season 2 Ludde seems to change a lot and it's easier to interpret him as the calm and friendly guy he was supposed to be in season 1.

So to me, Ludde wasn't calm and friendly at all. In season 2, yes, but when we're first introduced to him?

Ludde shows anger issues and violent tendencies in 1x05 when he head-butts Elias and breaks his nose. It's violent and messy. He then yells at Felicia to leave when she's trying to communicate with him and belittles her drug problems solely because she's rich. To me, Ludde wasn't a nice person in 1x04 either when he let his friends make suggestive comments about Felicia and what she was like in bed.

Omar: I can tell you one thing - you’re not borrowing my towel today cause I don’t know where that dick has been. Adam: It’s nice when she sucks, right? Omar: Can’t you tell us some more, does she bite you or is it just really, really nice? [...] Adam: Is that what you sound like when you’re coming? What does she sound like?

This was described as "locker room talk" and the writers probably wanted to show an authentic view of what being a hockey player is like. I understand that. But it's a little problematic when it's later swept under the rug and treated like something that we're just supposed to accept.

Elias: [...] it’s not very fun to sit in a hockey locker room where people are talking about how nice it is to fuck my sister. Felicia: Ludde would never say anything like that, you know that. Elias: He wouldn’t? It’s a locker room, Felicia. That’s the only thing they talk about.

It did not sit right with me how Felicia seemed to be the one Elias blamed in this scene, and Ludde and his friends never faced any real consequences for what they said. Elias did lash out at Ludde, but there was no severe consequence for Omar and Adam's comments.

Compare this scenario to another Swedish show, Beartown on HBO. Beartown is similar to Eagles and focuses on a hockey team in a small town with one of the star players hooking up with a girl who's recently moved to their small town.

This girl is raped by the hockey player. And because of his status as the star of the team, he has almost the whole school behind him. The girl however is labeled as a lying slut. It's unfair and frustrating to see it happen, but it's authentic and done in a way that doesn't glamorize the ugly side of hockey culture.

Eagles is not as dark as Beartown so this comparison might be a little unfair. Beartown's whole storyline did revolve around this incident while in Eagles the hockey culture is treated more as a side thought. It's like they decided to throw in a taste of what goes on in a locker room just to create drama without really addressing it further.

Beartown did a much better job of portraying the problematic and toxic elements of hockey culture without making it seem like it's just something normal that we should accept. It was honest and raw. If you haven't seen the show, this short video does a great job of depicting how much thought was put into the toxic hockey culture, winning mentality, and subsequently hockey players thinking they're entitled to do whatever they want.

So, to respond to Ekstrand's quote from Edvins Skådisdrömmar—I did not experience Ludde as a "good guy" who only makes dumb decisions at all. In season 1, he's a bad person for letting his friends sexualize a girl he likes and letting her brother hear their disgusting comments. He's a bad person for fighting with her brother and later yelling at her, saying her drug issues are insignificant despite acting supportive of her only two episodes earlier.

I don't mind conflicts like these because they drive the story forward. I didn't particularly like Ludde in season 1 because of the reasons I just stated, but they're necessary to create drama and make the show interesting.

It's just weird to me how one of the writers is saying that Ludde is a calm person and a good guy when that is not at all how I interpreted his character.

Eagles is a show targeted towards a young audience, among them probably a lot of easily influenced pre-teens. What kind of message does this send to them when the guy letting his friends sexualize a girl he's slept with and on top of that laughing at their inappropriate comments is referred to as the good guy?

Klara is mean... What else?

From the moment we're introduced to Klara, it seems obvious that she'll play a living and breathing version of the infamous Alpha Bitch trope. She's also a prime example of the basic Popular is Evil trope and has her own Girl Posse consisting of Sara and Amie.

Klara feels threatened by the arrival of a potential new popular girl, Felicia, and does everything in her power to bully Felicia to show dominance. She barely shows any good sides of herself.

The only instance I can think of where we sort of see season 1 Klara in a positive light is when she talks to Amie in 1x05 about their friendship and then accompanies Amie to her audition for the school band.

Klara: Ever since Felicia started at school… It’s felt like you only hang out with her and that you’ve forgotten about me. She like took you from me. Amie: But I haven’t forgotten you. Klara: No, but do you get what I mean? Amie: I get it, but I haven’t forgotten you. Klara: No, I know. Amie: I know, but it just turned out that way when school started. Klara: Okay. Amie: But I’m sorry. Klara: It’s fine. Amie: Are you sure? Klara: Yeah. You can make it up to me when you go on your world tour.

Klara is really supportive of Amie's musical endeavors, but she also uses her support as a way to alienate Felicia from the girl group. It's very on the nose and kind of feels suffocating in the way it's written.

Klara: Amie, did you remove the clips? Amie: Yeah, she said they weren’t good. Klara: She’s just jealous. It’s so obvious. I mean, I’m jealous. You sing absolutely amazing. I don’t know, I just think it was really rude of her to sit in the cafeteria and criticize you like that Amie: Yeah, maybe. But she apologized. Klara: But still. That clip of you in the bathroom… Like… Sorry, but I’d be so mad if someone had posted something like that of me. I mean, you were standing there without makeup, completely non-fixed up. And the whole thing with her filming you without you knowing. That’s really weird. You don’t do that. Don’t you think so?

I'm sure there are plenty of people who act like this in real life. And maybe that's part of the problem, because Klara in season 1 really isn't an interesting character. We've met this person before and we know exactly what she's like. There's nothing new to discover. So season 1 is essentially just Klara being petty and rude every chance she gets, and to me it felt like a large part of her character was written just to stir up drama.

In 1x06, we see Klara backstab Amie by filming her making out with Ludde at her Halloween party. But I thought it was established in 1x05 that Klara feels like Amie was taken from her? And if Klara actually cared about Amie and didn't want to lose her as a friend, she wouldn't just stand by and watch with her phone recording the whole thing. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

Klara even made that whole point about how it was really weird of Felicia to film Amie without her knowing. So why would Klara do it, when she expressed that's weird and not something a normal person does? Is that supposed to be foreshadowing? Because if so, that's a clear contradiction and not how foreshadowing works.

When Sara happens to see the video on Klara's phone she immediately says that Klara should delete it.

Sara: What is that? Did they know you were filming? Klara: No, of course they didn’t know. Sara: Oh my god, Klara. You should probably delete it. Klara: I’m going to! But it’s crazy, right? Sara: Yeah, god. But seriously, delete it. Klara: I’m going to.

So Klara says she's going to delete the video. But it's still unclear why it was filmed in the first place if Klara insists that she's going to delete it. It's not like she filmed it just to show it to Sara either, since Sara wasn't meant to see it and only saw it by chance while swiping through Klara's photos on her phone.

It doesn't make sense for Klara to film a video like that of her best friend that she's supposed to care about. It doesn't make sense for Klara to film a video of anybody without their knowledge when she previously made a big deal about how you shouldn't do that.

What Klara's character is, is a bad attempt at the classical mean girl. She's clichéd, boring, and full of tropes.

Even her eventual character development is riddled with tropes like the Heel Realization where a character realizes they're actually one of the bad guys. This realization seems to come in 1x08, where Felicia calls Klara out on her behavior.

Felicia: You know what, Klara. I’m so fucking tired of your fucking comments. You didn’t get to be Lucia this year. Poor you! Was dad unable to fix that? Cry then, Klara. Cry. You’re so fucking mean. Everybody here is tired- Everybody here is scared of you. Even those who liked you once, they can’t take it anymore. Klara: That’s not true. It’s not true. Felicia: Yes, everybody is scared of you. You know what? Look around. Show people some fucking respect. Klara: Well say something, Amie! Amie: What is there to say? She’s right.

Klara needed a wake-up call like this. It's just unfortunate that she goes back to her mean girl behavior and posts the video after Amie insinuated that Klara wasn't a real friend. Klara already knew that Amie felt that way since she said Felicia was right in her assessment of everybody being scared and tired of Klara. So wouldn't it have made more sense for Klara to post the video right after that moment instead of during Amie's performance?

Or rather, why not pull a Subverted Trope and not have Klara post the video at all after she realized how horrible she'd been acting? That would've made me respect her so much more and be a great introduction to her character development in season 2.

The Halloween Incident

To me, the whole Halloween episode was questionable. First off, we never got actual confirmation of what happened in that room between Amie and Ludde. Some viewers insist that they only made out and others believe they went all the way. Here's what the creator of the show, Stefan H. Lindén, had to say about this in a Q&A post he did:

I think if you went into the writers room of Eagles and asked all of us what really happened in that room [between Ludde and Amie at Klara's Halloween party] we would all have different answers. I know what happened, but I’m not sure we will ever truly know for sure, unless Ludvig or Amie eventually are open enough to admit to anyone what really happened.

This is kind of a vague answer, but that's fair considering that when Stefan did this Q&A the latest episode that had been released was 2x05 and he probably didn't want to spoil anything. However, looking back at this answer knowing how the season turned out I still feel like it's unclear what happened. It's also strange that Stefan seems to be saying that they never actually decided what happened between them since the writers "would all have different answers".

1x06 was just an odd episode for me overall. Lots of things felt rushed and underdeveloped. Let's not forget that this episode also contained, in my opinion, some of the weirdest lines in the whole show (along with Elias's strange monologue about plague vampires).

Ludde: Hey, I only have like 3%. Do you have any power? Adam: Are you wondering if I have a power bank in my shorts? It’s coming-

Ludde: I like shellfish. (said to Amie, wearing a lobster costume)

Up until this episode, Ludde has shown zero interest and attraction towards Amie. We are basically told that Ludde only hooked up with Amie because he was so drunk that he practically had no idea what he was doing.

In 1x02, we see a drunk Amie try to kiss Tobbe and upon getting rejected she moves on to make out with Adam. She gets overly friendly when she's drunk so the fact that she makes out with Ludde later is... Weird, but not entirely out of the realms of possibility.

Ludde on the other hand is moping about Felicia all night. He regrets how he yelled at her at the end of 1x05 and it shows. He's trying to drown all his problems in alcohol and it seems to be working, because when it enters his system he seems to be on top of the world.

What I found kind of ambiguous in this incident was if Ludde even remembered what happened that night. He was drinking so much compared to Amie, who doesn't really need as much alcohol before she reaches her "overly friendly" state. I thought for sure that Ludde was oblivious to the situation when he woke up in his bed the next day and immediately messaged Felicia.

There are just so many questions to unpack here that were never answered. What prompted Amie and Ludde to go into that empty room? Why did Ludde come with her? Why didn't Adam seem to care about this, when he'd been sitting next to Ludde and taking care of him most of the night? And as I wrote before, why would Klara film this video of her best friend when she previously expressed that was a weird thing to do?

There's just too much in 1x06 left unanswered. The Amie/Ludde hook-up was a badly executed plot twist because there wasn't anything hinting that this would happen. It just came out of nowhere.

Unbalanced screentime and Elias's wasted potential

A large portion of season 1 was dedicated to Felicia. This was kind of a let-down for me since I thought more focus would be placed on Eagles as a hockey team (after all, that's what the show is named after). I also thought more attention would be on Elias since he's the talented star player who's supposed to live up to his father's legacy.

The show starts with a couple radio hosts hyping up how Elias Kroon, son of the legendary Mats Kroon, is going to join the Eagles hockey team.

Host #1: [...] It’s finally official. New center in the junior team - Elias Kroon, son to the legendary NHL-pro Mats Kroon, who has now chosen to move home from the US to his hometown where Elias will play in his father’s old club Oskarshamn Eagles. Host #2: This is so freaking cool. Who doesn’t want a Kroon on their team? Host #1: We hope that he’ll take a spot on the A-team.

But we don't learn a lot about who Elias actually is in the first episode. The attention is on Felicia and her interest in Ludde.

Elias is so discarded that he barely has anything to say in the first couple of scenes we see him in. Here are all his eight lines in 1x01, and I'm not even joking.

Elias: Yes. Elias: Shut up. Elias: Ow. Elias: It's fine. Elias: Really? Elias: Fucking hell. Elias: I'll stay here. Elias: No, it's fine.

In 1x02 he has even fewer lines. Three, to be exact, and all he says is that his injury is a sprain and that it's fine. Essentially just an echo of two of the lines he had in the previous episode. It's nothing new.

There's a way to have a character stand out when they don't have many lines, but Elias just fades into the background with every other extra. There's too much time spent on having other characters talk about Elias than us actually getting to know him. So when we do meet him, it's pretty underwhelming.

Compare Elias to his sister who gets so much more attention from the writers. I don't really understand why either, since I thought Elias was a much more interesting character than his influencer sister. Felicia's character only seems to revolve around a guy. I wonder how many times we've seen that before?

In 1x02 we see the Eagles hockey team play their first game, but Elias is unable to play and has to sit in the stands for what was supposed to be his debut match. Why? Because during a hockey practice session in 1x01, Adam rams his stick into Elias to purposely injure him. I mean, fair enough. Adam is trying to get Ludde on the main team since he and Elias are competing for the same position. The shot of Adam smiling after Elias sprains his wrist is a bit too on the nose, but whatever.

What this does is minimize Elias' presence in season 1 by a lot. We don't see the son of the legendary NHL professional play an actual game until 1x05, which is more than halfway into the season. It's kind of disappointing but I understand the injury is done to dramatize his situation.

Elias barely gets his own storylines in the first few episodes. He just has things done to him instead of acting on his own. When we do see him on screen he gets injured by Adam, reprimanded by his father, and later told he can't play in his debut game.

His sweet side (or any side of him, really) isn't shown until 1x03 when Amie wakes up at the Kroon house and Elias reassures her that they didn't do anything together and that she can borrow Felicia's clothes.

Elias doesn't really do much for the plot until he hears Ludde's friends objectify Felicia and he starts a fight with Ludde and confronts Felicia about it. That's when it feels like Elias is actually a part of this show instead of just being an extra shoved into the background. His actions are finally affecting the plot.

Elias's potential in season 1 was hugely wasted. The only episode where we actually got to see him shine was 1x07, when he travels to Karlskrona with Amie. We find out he doesn't want the hockey arrangement his dad has planned for him and that he's actually a pretty goofy guy who likes making jokes (and eating green candy).

If less time was spent with Felicia and the distribution of every episode's 20 minutes was more balanced, season 1 could've been massively improved. It got much better in season 2, but season 1 suffered and made many people think that Felicia was a basic and unentertaining character.

The side characters and their comic relief

So one thing that I found really disappointing with Felicia's amount of screentime is that we barely got enough time for the other main characters, let alone the side characters.

What I mean here is that the only people we really know on the Eagles hockey team are Ludde and Elias. Ludde's friends, Adam and Omar, just feel like comic relief sidekicks. We don't really know what they're like, besides the fact that they like to make jokes and mess around.

This issue is largely created by the short running time the episodes have along with season 1 only having eight episodes in total. That's definitely understandable. It did get better in season 3 where we see Ludde having a deeper conversation with Adam and Omar and they finally don't just feel like the comic relief characters, but actual people with layers.

Ludde: I’m going to quit hockey. Adam: Are you serious? Omar: What the hell are you saying? Ludde: It’s not the same anymore. I’m not passionate about it. I… Yes, it sucks, but… I’ve thought about it for a while now. Omar: We make jokes about it and all, but… Yeah. It wouldn’t be the same without you. Kingelikingen. Adam: I get that it’s a tough choice. But yeah… You’ll work things out. You and Felicia. You always do. Ludde: You guys are pretty awesome sometimes, actually.

This scene was really sweet, and I wish we could've had moments like this between the guys in season 1. Just one scene to show that they're not just the "typical hockey guys". It feels like Ludde was the only person on the team in season 1 who wasn't just a background character. Even Elias, who you would assume should be at the forefront, isn't properly developed until 1x05 where we see him defending his sister and starting a fight with Ludde. Otherwise, it very much felt like Elias was kept in the background.

There are also guys on the team called Herman, Simon, Näslund, Ekbäck, Hoffmann, Berglund (even Montell, which was a fun nod to the show's director)... But who are they, actually? Do you even remember their names? To be honest with you, I don't. Because they're just names—not actual characters.

None of the other guys on the team get any depth. They're just sort of there as extras and to give the audience a sense of comedy with their "hockey team shenanigans". This was illustrated in 1x08, where Adam and Omar make their teammate Liam do a "sexy dance" on a table because he lost his virginity. Or a more extreme example—Jönsson, who only exists to be the comic relief and the unlucky guy who just can't catch a break.

In 2x04, Jönsson is told by Jack to do extra time in the gym and gets told off when he only spends a few minutes on the exercise bike. Later, Jack also makes a joke about how he should get Jönsson a defibrillator. In 2x09 Jönsson invites Ludde, Adam, and Omar to come to his mom's place to hang out. After he's left, Adam makes a comment about how there's no way he's going to "rot" in Jönsson's apartment that doesn't even have a balcony.

Don't get me wrong, these scenes aren't bad and I don't mean they should've been scrapped. Comedy can absolutely have its place in a show like this. Let's take the scene where Ludde flashes a couple of unfortunate old ladies on his first date with Felicia as an example. It feels like something a teenage boy would do to try to make a girl he likes laugh. It's a brief scene and it's nice to see Ludde being able to goof off only moments after talking about Andreas. We know that's a touchy subject for him.

However, it feels slightly overdone sometimes with how almost everybody on the hockey team is only there for comedic purposes and to fill space. It's more refreshing when they're shown to be multi-dimensional. I wish this is something that the writers would've considered when the show is literally titled after the hockey team, yet most of the hockey players are hardly in the story.

To add to this, it felt like Sara and Tobbe completely disappeared from the story in season 2. With Sara we understand that she probably didn't want to hang out with Klara anymore after knowing she filmed the Halloween video and posted it on Instagram, so that's fair. But it would've been nice to see Tobbe stick around in season 2, and I'll get back to why I think that.

The potential of season 1

When I look back on season 1 I feel really nostalgic. No matter how many small details that irked me, I can't deny that the setting of the show is beautiful and I really appreciate the depiction of it. Instead of showing Oskarshamn as a boring small town, we're shown the beauty of it which is incorporated into the storylines.

Some examples would be Ludde and Felicia's first date at Gunnarsö and walk through Havslätt, the gorgeous view of the Oskarshamn harbor from Klara's house Villa Högklint, and Badholmen where the school band performs and we later see Elias and Amie walking by in season 3. All these places are listed on the Eagles Oskarshamn site and I feel like they did a great job tying the storylines in with the locations.

Another aspect of season 1 and its writing that I really enjoyed was Elias and Amie's budding relationship. They just have a natural chemistry together and the dialogue between them also felt authentic and sweet.

Season 1 is just a very polished teen drama overall compared to some of SVT's previous series.

Back in 2007-2010, SVT used to air a soap opera-style show focusing on a few teenagers living in Gothenburg that was called Andra Avenyn (translation: Second Avenue). I was only seven at the time but I watched this show religiously as it aired three times a week. Just mentioning the show brings a lot of nostalgia.

Andra Avenyn amassed around 500 000 viewers per episode and was, just like Eagles, nominated for a Kristallen television award. But how good was it, really? If I take off my rose-colored glasses for a second and actually consider the show's highly dramatized storylines and unlikely scenarios, it had a tendency to drag on (which usually happens with soap operas). It didn't offer a realistic view of teenage life and on IMDb it currently sits at a rating score of 5.6 stars out of 10.

Comparing this old teen series to SVT's newer one, Eagles season 1 was a huge improvement and continues to be the most popular teen series that SVT has aired so far.

This idea and all the characters have lived in Stefan H. Lindéns mind since 2008, while Andra Avenyn was still on the air. It's actually amazing how high the quality of most TV shows has risen since then. Eagles has a rating score of 7.4 out of 10 stars on IMDb and has become internationally known in a way that Andra Avenyn never was.

Eagles season 1 laid the groundwork for SVT's most successful teen series of all time, and that's a huge achievement.

Season 2: "Subverting expectations"

When Eagles came back for season 2, the script made it kind of obvious that the writers had listened to the critique of season 1 being predictable.

I did find season 2 a huge step up from season 1—the directing was so much better and when it came to the script we got a deeper look into all the characters that they hadn't really scratched the surface of in the first season. My main disappointment however was that it felt like they threw in a bunch of weird plot twists just for the sake of "subverting expectations".

The core idea of subverting expectations can be great if done correctly. You lead the audience to believe they know what's going to happen, but then you surprise them with an unexpected and clever twist.

A post in Cinematography written by Mason Leaver defines the phrase of "subverting expectations" as:

[...] a method of surprising the audience with some element of a story, be it the plot, themes, characters, etc. This goes beyond a “twist” in a film. Expectation subversion actively works within the genre of a story, and attempts to reinterpret or subvert the conventions of that genre, breaking patterns in surprising and interesting ways. However, this method of surprising the audience is not always well received- it can sometimes be the source of heavy criticism from fans of the tropes which have been subverted.

This included "unexpected" relationships such as Elias/Klara and Amie/Ludde. The former actually worked, but the latter? Not so much.

Amie's crush on Ludde—make it make sense!

Amie and Ludde were my biggest issue with season 2, and it felt so out of character of Amie to be head over heels for Ludde. They work great as friends but romantically they're a huge mismatch.

But they have music in common, I hear you say. Yes, they do. But having a shared interest doesn't mean people are automatically a good match. You have to consider their chemistry and overall compatibility.

Before actors are cast in a show or movie where their characters will be romantically involved with each other, it's common to do what's called a chemistry read. Here's a neat description from an article in Backstage written by Caroline Liem:

Chemistry is the complex emotional or psychological interaction between two people. If this were a romantic article, it would be about love. Instead, we are discussing the astonishing rapport between two actors, and how that connection is achieved in order to book [...] the role. A chemistry read is an opportunity to read with actors being considered for a role opposite yours, usually lead roles. The main purpose is to see how you instinctively connect and work with the other actor.

This obviously wasn't done for the actors playing Amie and Ludde, since there didn't seem to be any intention of having their characters be involved in a romantic relationship.

That was even confirmed by Stefan H. Lindén in his Q&A of season 2, where he said that a love triangle between Ludde/Felicia/Amie was planned but later scrapped.

I can confirm that from the beginning of development of the series and the first version of the storyline a triangle drama was at some point intended for season 1 but later removed – however when creating the characters, Ludvigs skill in music and arts was always there from the beginning so by knowing that, we always knew that interactions would appear between them. When looking back at Season 1, in the first scene by the lockers when Amie tells Felicia who Ludvig is, she does know exactly who he is and she is well aware of that his friend Tobias is a music guy that Amie wants to get to know. Also when looking at it, when I was the same age as Ludvig and Amie I, and I am sure a lot of people can relate to it, fact is that we never really knew if it was love or friendship in the beginning.

Knowing that the triangle drama was scrapped for season 1, it makes sense why it seems so arbitrary. There was no groundwork laid down for this pairing before it was hastily thrown together in 1x06 for a cheap plot twist. This continues in season 2, where Amie and Ludde start spending more time together. Yet it's hard to see Ludde as a potential love interest for Amie in the way the writers want us to. They still come off as friends despite having hooked up at a party.

I mentioned that Tobbe should've stuck around for season 2 and here's why. Tobbe was written to be the leader of the school band that Amie later joins, and he was friends with Ludde before the video was posted. He would've been a perfect fit for the Amie/Ludde music storyline but he's completely absent. He had the potential to be the person who could've helped them with the song a little and then later picked up on whatever there was going on between them.

I think the Amie/Ludde storyline could've hugely benefitted from a scene between Amie and Tobbe, where Tobbe asks if she actually has feelings for Ludde and we get to hear exactly what Amie is feeling. Maybe she's torn, not wanting to get together with Ludde because of how much they hurt Felicia, but at the same time finds it hard to suppress her feelings. A scene like that would've allowed us to get into Amie's head and make the Amie/Ludde storyline much clearer.

To add, this storyline was in desperate need of more interest from Ludde's side. There needed to be some indication from him that would make Amie believe he liked him back, even if that wasn't the case. All we get is Ludde complimenting Amie's song and then a hug in 2x05 when Amie says the record label in Stockholm wanted a meeting. And apparently, that was enough for Amie to think Ludde was interested in her despite him blowing off the Stockholm meeting and Amie hearing Ludde say that the Halloween incident was a mistake.

Ludde and Amie don't really mesh as well as Elias/Amie do or even as well as Ludde/Felicia do. Elias and Amie had sparks flying from the very first scene they shared. That pairing is one of the main reasons why the show became popular internationally, and why is that? Because of the actors' chemistry.

Amie and Ludde are a clumsy attempt at throwing together two people who don't really work together with the intention of "subverting expectations". And I suppose that's what the writers wanted to depict—an awkward crush that doesn't really make sense, which I'm sure many people have experienced as a teenager. That part is fine. But what I didn't like about this storyline is that Amie had no good reason to believe Ludde would be interested in anything with her beyond a platonic friendship.

While season 2 was airing, I was convinced that Amie wasn't actually in love with Ludde. She was just lonely after the aftermath of the Halloween video and mistook her feelings for Ludde as love when she just appreciated his company. Here's what I wrote:

So as we know, Amie kissed Ludde in episode 6 when he was in the hospital after having been injured during the hockey game against Karlskrona. She immediately seemed to regret having done that and ran out without an explanation, leaving Ludde alone and confused. I honestly don’t think Amie has any romantic feelings towards Ludde. I think she might mistake her feelings for a crush or something, when in reality she’s just lonely and appreciates Ludde always being there for her and giving her compliments on her musical ability. Ludde was complimenting Amie at the hospital, saying she was amazing, and I think Amie was just really touched by that and maybe wanted to thank him somehow, and ended up kissing him. And then she freaked out and left because oh my god did she really just kiss Ludde. It was an uncomfortable and awkward situation and that’s probably why she ran out. However, I really believe that if she had just stayed to explain and apologize, Ludde would understand and they could’ve just laughed it off. But this is a drama show so of course that wouldn’t happen! Do I think the writers are making them into a couple? No, definitely not. They know that season 1 was sort of predictable and cliché, so they’re making season 2 as different as possible by including these unexpected pairings such as Klara & Elias and Amie & Ludde. But Amie and Ludde won’t ever be a couple, because Ludde is still very much hung up on Felicia. I don’t see them as a couple either - yes, they have music in common, but they work way better as friends than in a relationship.

In Edvins Skådisdrömmar, which is a behind-the-scenes documentary of Eagles season 2, writers Fanny Ekstrand and Michaela Hamilton discuss the writing of the show in the documentary's third episode. The third episode is mostly focused on the lead-up to the scene where Amie kisses Ludde at the hospital. Adrian Öjvindsson, who plays Ludde, says:

Filming the kissing scene was [...] awkward and weird, actually. And that's how it ended up. Yandeh and I haven't really had any intimate scenes. In this case you could take in that it was weird, because that's also what the scene wanted to depict.

When Edvin reads the script, he describes the scene as a "nightmare" scenario. I agree. And the lazy build-up to this Awkward Kiss trope doesn't make it any better, because just like the Halloween incident this doesn't make a lot of sense.

It's supposed to be awkward and weird, just like Adrian said. But he also mentioned one of the most important details: Yandeh and I haven't really had any intimate scenes.

Before this kiss scene, there was nothing that indicated any chemistry between them. No accidental hand-touching, no longing stares, no nothing. Just a friendly hug. A proper build-up to the kiss scene would've made it feel less out of place.

The love confession from Amie to Ludde in 2x10 really threw me off as well. The confession to me made no sense and honestly felt like a prank call. There was no feeling behind it and zero reason for Amie to believe that there was a chance Ludde liked her back.

At the end of 2x08, Felicia goes to Ludde's house after he's confessed the truth to the police about the Andreas situation. Amie happens to overhear the conversation and she hears Ludde very clearly say that he's not interested in Amie.

Ludde: Felicia, there’s nothing between us. Between me and Amie. It was really the biggest mistake of my life. Felicia: Goodbye, Ludde. Ludde: Felicia, please!

Amie, now having her heart broken, crosses Ludde's name off the contract while crying. She knows he doesn't feel the same. So why would Amie even bother to call Ludde up to tell him she's "in love with him"?

Amie: [...] Hey, Ludde… Ludde: Yeah? Amie: It feels really weird to hear our song now. Because I know who the lyrics are about. And… And I… I really like you. Or, well… I’m in love with you. I just need to know how you feel. Or if you feel anything. Just tell me. Ludde: I’ll always want to be your friend, Amie, but… It’s Felicia I’m in love with.

This moment is on par with the awkwardness from the hospital kiss between them in 2x06. The second-hand embarrassment with this one was really rough, and what I don't understand is why this was even added to the script when Amie had already gotten the confirmation that Ludde didn't think of her in a romantic way. This storyline could've ended in 2x08 after Amie overheard the conversation between Ludde and Felicia.

It really didn't need to drag on for the whole season, essentially making Amie's whole storyline in season 2 about a guy. Her moment of finally getting signed to the record label was ruined when it could've been regarded as a fresh start if the storyline had just ended where it should have.

What this storyline did instead was ruining my favorite friendship of season 1, which was Amie/Felicia. This mess made it so hard for them to reconcile and they didn't end up properly addressing it until 3x09, spending almost two whole seasons mad at each other. It sucks that the writers decided to drag out their fighting and disagreements for this long when they could've instead shown two girls in solidarity who don't let a guy get between them and their friendship.

Amie apologized in 3x03 for how she hurt Felicia, but Felicia made it clear in 3x06 that she still harbored ill will towards Amie for what happened at Halloween (which in the timeline of this show was more than a year ago).

Felicia (to Amie): Are you going to start slobbering with [Elias] now too? Just give me back that sweater first, I don’t want slobber on that. Thanks.

I talked about how much I disliked the Amie/Ludde storyline in this post, with my main reason being that it really messed up the character dynamics that were established in season 1.

This storyline [of Ludde and Amie hooking up]—along with Amie falling in love with Ludde—is by far my least favorite one because it messed up the whole character dynamic. I feel like Amie and Felicia won’t ever go back to the kind of friendship they had in season 1 before the Halloween incident because the trust was so broken, and Amie really should’ve tried harder to apologize to Felicia like Ludde did instead of going after her best friend’s ex in season 2.

If there's just one thing I could change about this show, I would 100% get rid of the Amie/Ludde storylines. There is nothing that annoyed me as much as those storylines did.

Amie's musical ambitions

I've talked about this a bit before in another post because this was something that really bugged me about Amie's character in season 2. Here's what I wrote:

I honestly still feel like Amie’s whole storyline with sending in a rather basic demo written by two teenagers with little to no experience and then getting praised on it [by the Stockholm music producers] with comments such as “it’s going to be a real summer hit” felt so unrealistic to me. Maybe they only said that so Amie would accept their offer or something, but that’s still very strange because she would have still said yes without a doubt. I can understand that they thought Amie was marketable as a person and there was this bonus with her having gone viral before on Felicia’s Instagram, but that demo did not seem good enough for me to be immediately released as a single and then have them decide on the spot that Amie would be given a contract. I mean, come on. It never felt earned because we never really saw Amie struggling with her songwriting journey to achieve this dream. Sending in one demo to one record label and having them immediately want to make a whole album with you just doesn’t happen in real life unless the song is extremely good or you have a very unique voice. Amie is really talented but there are hundreds of people just like her, if not thousands. I was never convinced by her getting signed so quickly in season 2. I understand that they wanted to establish her as a successful artist [at the beginning of season 3], but that felt so rushed. I was so sure that the record label would screw her over and steal the song rights to record it with another artist who was already established, and that we’d have to see Amie work even harder to achieve her dreams. But we didn’t get that at all. Where was the struggle? [...] Of course I wanted to see Amie achieve success (and I was happy when she did), but the journey there was so bizarrely easy. She didn’t start to seriously work on making her music career become a reality until season 2. Amie had dabbled in music prior to that, like when she auditioned for the school band and did that performance of Follow, but she didn’t truly start to work towards it until season 2 when she decided to have her work sent to professionals in the business. And then, just five episodes later, she gets contacted by the record label in Stockholm. To put this into context—season 2 took place somewhere around March, and episode 5 around three weeks into April. So when Ludde first started helping Amie it took less than two months for her to get signed. You could argue that the song was just that good or that Amie is just that talented, but it never felt like a realistic storyline to me.

It's tricky to write a storyline like this when you only have ten 20 minute episodes in the season and a limited amount of screentime for every character. All that is understandable. But it's strange that they didn't opt for a time jump to really sell this storyline and make it believable.

Eagles uses time jumps a lot, but somehow this particular plot point was omitted from that and kind of glossed over. I don't really understand how they expected us to buy this storyline. The viewers aren't stupid, and more effort should've been put into this storyline.

In the post where I wrote this, @gajana18 also had an interesting thing to add:

[...] it's equally unrealistic that this huge record company would be hounding Amie, a teenage onehit wonder essentially to come back to the label- don’t they have other bigger artists?

This is a very strong point. Considering how Amie kept expressing that she wanted to finish school and then proceeded to ignore their calls, it's weird that they didn't just decide to discard her contract when Amie clearly wasn't taking her singing career as seriously as they wanted her to.

So, back to season 2. Maybe they could've gone with the record label stealing the rights to Amie's first song and screwing her over. This fuels her to try again and after a time jump of a few months we see Amie having worked really hard on a new and better song. Maybe even a whole album. And this time, she's learned from her past mistakes and improved her songwriting. This time, she's successful in her endeavor and it feels so much more earned after knowing the struggles she's been through to get there.

I also feel like a storyline like that would've made people sympathize with Amie more in season 2. It was really hard to root for her when she had nearly screwed Ludde over by not giving credit to his songwriting and saying "fuck him" when he didn't return Amie's feelings.

Klara's character development

When we're introduced to Klara in season 1, she's a stereotypical mean girl with wealthy parents who is the popular girl at school and has her own followers.

In season 2, the writers decided to develop the character. We find out Klara has issues at home and her mom is barely there. When she is, her parents will start fighting. Klara is feeling really lonely and doesn't really hang out with her friend Sara as much as she used to.

I appreciated the added depth, but it seemed like a drastic shift. The changed perspective could attribute to that but when you step back and really look at s1 Klara and s2 Klara, they're like two completely different people.

Maybe Klara's reputation suffered after she posted the Halloween video? Maybe she had a change of heart after Felicia finally confronted her during Lucia? I mean, I guess.

But what most fans (including me) didn't like about Klara in season 2 was that there were no clear consequences for her after she posted the Halloween video. Klara still hangs out with what seems to be the popular crowd and she has people to go out with. In a post I wrote last year about my thoughts on season 2, I wrote this:

I actually wish that Klara would’ve become more ostracized from her school friends to emphasize how alone she is, but she seems to still be pretty popular so that was kind of disappointing. I thought the fall-out of her posting the video would be worse, but I guess not. Anyway, I like that they’re taking a disliked character and making her into a better person. Feels like it’s been done a few times before, but I still appreciate them doing it. I hated s1 Klara for being so one-dimensional, but s2 Klara is well on her way to being a pretty good and nuanced character.

Her character development sort of comes a little out of nowhere, though. Her reputation wasn't ruined by posting that video and she didn't really lose any friends besides Sara (she had already lost Amie prior to posting that video considering what Amie said to her after Lucia in 1x08).

So what prompted Klara to become this whole new person who actually considers other people's feelings in a relatively short amount of time? Here's a conversation between Felicia and Klara in 2x07.

Felicia: Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about? I understand that we’re not best friends just because you and Elias are together. We’re not here without a reason, right? Klara: No, I get that this feels weird for you. And if you don’t trust me after everything that’s happened - or that I’ve done. Felicia: Klara… Klara: I know that I haven’t acted like the world’s best person. And I regret that. Sorry.

But why does Klara regret her past behavior? What made her realize she hadn't acted like the "world's best person" if the ramifications from posting the Halloween video were so minimal?

Was it the relationship with Elias that made Klara change? No, I don't think so. When they first start talking at the bar in 2x03, Elias tells Klara that he doesn't always agree with Felicia and that he has his own viewpoints. In 2x07, he says Klara wasn't the one who messed up, but rather Amie and Ludde. And in 2x09, the script tells us that the Elias/Klara relationship seemed to bring more change to Elias rather than Klara.

Felicia: What did you do to him? Klara: What? Felicia: He’s smiling. Elias is like a whole new person since he met you. Klara: Stop. Felicia: I mean it!

So what made Klara change? In 1x08 she's mocking Felicia's drug problems and posts a video that will for sure ruin Amie's reputation. But at the start of season 2, she's suddenly become more withdrawn and considerate of people's feelings.

I can only name one factor that actually makes sense, and that's the fighting between her parents. Klara seems to turn into this quiet child when she has to listen to her mom and dad yelling at each other. This is something that didn't really begin until season 2, when Ola's company GECED started going under. This storyline was very well done.

But the other things, like Klara's reputation and friend group which you would assume would be affected, remain as they were in season 1.

Jack's sudden character change

Jack came into season 2 as a charming and charismatic character, seemingly fooling everybody into thinking he was a good guy. He knew the Kroon family from before and both Felicia and Elias were none the wiser when it came to the eventual reveal of his true colors.

Here's what Stefan H. Lindén had to say about the Jack character in his season 2 Q&A:

Bringing Jack in was actually originally not my idea, it came from my writer colleagues after that they revised my storyline notes for Season 2, while I was still down in Oskarshamn shooting Season 1. We had always intended for a character to come in and raise the stakes but I never imagined it to be Jack. When we started to develop the character, we all started liking him so he was kept in the story. Like with any new character we never really know who they are and what [the] point of them for coming in is [...]

Personally, I feel like the point of Jack's character is pretty obvious. When he first comes to Oskarshamn he is very much the embodiment of the new love interest coming in to date the girl who has broken up with her previous lover, while the previous lover still loves her and does anything he can to get her back although she's dating someone new. Jack is the Romantic False Lead trope who later becomes an alpha-dog Jerkass.

What I found interesting about Jack compared to Klara (in season 1) is that Jack isn't just a bad guy. He's very clever with his manipulation tactics and can easily charm people with his good looks and charisma.

When Felicia accuses Jack of cheating in 2x07, he manages to spin the whole thing around and make Felicia apologize to him and say it was stupid of her to believe he would cheat on her. I talked about this in a post while the season still aired, before Jack's true colors were revealed. Here's what I wrote:

I still don’t know if Jack really is cheating on Felicia with Olivia (the girl that texted him) but I would say he is. Jack is incredibly confident and charming, which makes him able to easily lie and manipulate people. We know he’s not an entirely good person since he’s already lied to Elias about not knowing that Mats would bring him back to Eagles. I wouldn’t be surprised if he really did hook up with Olivia and ended up being a really good liar. The fact is that not only did he deny it but he then shamed Felicia for blaming him and causing a scene, ultimately shifting the focus in the argument to her and making Felicia feel bad that she even confronted him in the first place. Jack says that maybe they shouldn’t even be together, which causes Felicia to backtrack and apologize. It’s actually pretty impressive how Jack was able to spin that around to blame Felicia and make her apologize.

Jack is able to take a small detail and use it as ammunition to get what he wants. In this situation, he brings up the girl in the Stockholm club that Felicia partied with and also kissed.

Jack: You shouldn’t accuse me, either. Felicia: What? Jack: I saw on Instagram, you and some girl in Stockholm. Have I whined about that? Coming here and blaming me for things, it feels really immature. Felicia: Fuck. Sorry, Jack.

Jack wasn't bothered by that at all. It happened before Felicia and Jack were even an official couple, and all they had done was hooking up at a party while Felicia was high. Jack, having cheated on Felicia, couldn't care less about the random girl Felicia kissed. That was just something he used to manipulate her.

When we discover that Jack is actually cheating on Felicia, he immediately reverts to a one-dimensional "evil" character. He's become the 2.0 version of Klara in season 1—written in just to stir up drama.

This "master manipulator" version of him just goes down the drain and Jack turns into a manchild who starts petty fights, files a police report because Ludde pushed him, and says to Felicia "I'm gonna tell on you!". Alright, maybe those weren't his exact words, but you know what I mean. It's a sudden shift and you start wondering how Jack was able to hide this version of himself so well before.

In 3x05, Jack sees Ludde and Andreas after a hockey game and fumbles trying to find any insult he can to hurl at Ludde. Everything he says from that point on is just line after line to really solidify that Jack is the bad guy. You didn't forget that, right? Here, let's have Jack call Felicia a druggie so you know just how shitty he is. And have him call Andreas a junkie later for good measure—there, that should be enough for people to understand that Jack is the villain here.

Jack: Johansson! Ludde: What the hell are you doing here? Jack: What does it look like? Ludde: I guess it’s you I should thank for the victory. Nice work. Jack: What is Felicia doing these days, then? Does she miss me? Ludde: Hey, you’re shutting up now, do you get it?! Jack: Jesus Christ. Do you think you can save her? What do you think she even sees in you? You two play in different leagues, Ludde. Ludde: You have no idea what we’re like. Jack: Come on! You should leave her. While you can. She’ll just pull you down into the dirt with her. You’re no hero, Ludde. Isn’t she still doing drugs? Once a druggie, always a druggie, right?

Jack is a horrible person, but at least he was able to pretend to be a good guy in season 2. And that was actually really fascinating. I wish we could've seen more of Jack's manipulative side that he showed in season 2 instead of making everything coming out of his mouth be a half-assed attempt at insulting the other person. That's a pretty boring villain, in my opinion.

Jack's backstory of his father being an alcoholic and him starting to resent the whole Kroon family because they had everything growing up while he didn't is interesting. It would've also made more sense if his anger was only directed towards the Kroon family since they're the ones he grew up with. They're the ones he was after the whole time.

His anger towards them feels cheapened when Jack also starts insulting Andreas (who he's probably never met before) for no good reason. It's like Jack's human qualities are just gone and all that's left is this empty shell made to start fights. His backstory didn't really make anybody sympathize with him, either.

The improvements of season 2

What I liked about the writing in season 2 was that they explored new ideas and had some solid storylines (besides the mess that was Amie and Ludde). Elias and Klara actually worked pretty well as a couple, even if they were pretty much the 2.0 version of Felicia/Ludde as the "wealthy, popular pretty girl starts dating the star player on the sports team".

Felicia finally gets some more depth. The scene at the end of 2x02, where Felicia and Leila park their car near the harbor and just start crying, is so powerful.

2x05 is also one of my favorite episodes of the show, as well as the ending montage of the 2x10 season finale. In Gameday, we had a very touching scene between Felicia and Mats where they finally communicate. It's not the most understanding conversation but it's a start. It's an interesting contrast between their talk in 1x06 where Felicia revealed she saw Mats cheating on Leila versus the talk they're having now.

Another one of my favorite scenes is when Felicia and Ludde meet up at their bench in 2x10 after Ludde has called her up asking Felicia to come if there's any chance of them getting back together.

The dialogue is simple and to the point. There's no long-winded love confession for the sake of drama. It's a moment that the whole season has been building up for, and when we finally get there we realize that this is how love should be.

Easy and simple.

Ludde: You came back. Felicia: Yeah, I did. Ludde: Do you remember our first date here? Felicia: No. I’ve forgotten. Ludde: I was so freaking nervous. Felicia: Everything you said… Did you mean it? Because you hurt me, Ludvig. And I… I’ve really tried to hurt you back, but… It’s not possible. I can’t… Not love you. Do you think… Do you think it can be us again? Ludde: What do you think? Felicia: I don’t want anything else.

Ludde admitting how nervous he was on their first date is sweet and shows us how much they've been through. Felicia is struggling to find the words to say and she's acknowledging how hurt she was, but still can't seem to find it in her heart to hate Ludde. It's honest.

Another plotline that I think was a little underrated in season 2 is the GECED company going bankrupt and Ola, Klara's dad, is under investigation for financial crime. This isn't a storyline you would usually see in a teen series. It's much more serious. It also gave us a really touching and poignant scene in 2x08 between Ola and Klara sitting on the floor of his office, where Klara has to comfort her father who starts crying.

Ola: When you were little you used to sit like this. On the floor, while I was working. You had your own room, but you wanted to sit with me. “Help daddy work”. Mom’s doing the right thing by leaving for a while, don’t blame her for that. Klara: What, you can’t just leave because things get a little tough. Ola: Maybe you should get away for a while too. You know, I never wanted you two to… That you… Everything’s gone. Klara: It will be fine. It will be fine. Ola: Sorry. I’m sorry.

In 2x09, Klara is at a party when she notices a bunch of missed calls from her dad. She immediately senses something is wrong and rushes home to find her dad having attempted suicide. It's executed very well and I really liked the more serious tone they went for in season 2.

It set up season 3 perfectly, which continued with the darker themes but balanced them very well with the more light-hearted moments.

Season 3: Finding one's footing

Season 3 was a highly anticipated season. I thought the season 2 finale was masterfully done and it left me wanting more. When season 1 finished on its cliffhanger of the video leaking, the focus only seemed to be on that.

But with season 2 there's Felicia/Ludde getting back together and Ludde having been sued by Jack, Jack threatening that he would leak all of the Kroon's family secrets, Klara's dad passing away, Elias deciding to get on the train and go to the draft combine anyway, Amie having finally become a recording artist but being isolated and heartbroken... There's so much to unpack, and it's a lot more interesting than the ending of season 1.

Where's Jack?

Jack is supposed to be the main villain but he's gone for most of the season, failing to show up until 3x05. In the season 2 finale Jack makes a huge deal about how he's going to destroy Felicia's life. He's threatening her in a very violent and abusive way.

Jack: [...] I know a lot about you, Felicia. And your nice family. It’s enough for me to leak to one news site. I can destroy you. Do you get it? I’ll tell them everything. The drugs, the cheating, your abortion! Felicia: Shut up! Jack: Hey. Huh? Did you seriously think I wanted to be with you? The little Kroon princess, who has gotten everything for free her whole fucking life! You and Elias! Like spoiled brats! You don’t understand what it means to fight for something!

In 2x10, Jack decides to report Ludde for assault but he doesn't follow through on destroying this family that he hates. If there's anything Jack seems to despise above all, it should be the Kroon family, right? So why did he fight back with Ludde but not the Kroon family?

I expected Jack to leak all the Kroon secrets at the beginning of season 3, but Felicia seems strangely calm at the funeral which I'm assuming only takes place two weeks or so after Ola's passing in the season 2 finale.

Then, a whole year passes with no indication that Jack is ever going to leak anything. As season 3 was airing, I commented on how strange this felt in an ask I received:

One of my main questions about the time jump is the whole thing with Jack saying he was going to ruin Felicia’s and the Kroon family’s reputation in the press. It seemed like nothing really came of that? I’m pretty sure that detail hasn’t been abandoned entirely and that Jack will come back (we’ve already seen a glimpse of him in the third episode), but it feels strange that Jack threatened to leak all her secrets and then just never did. I got the impression that Jack was a person who, when having his pride wounded, would do pretty much anything to get back at the person who insulted him. And yet there’s no mention of where Jack has been during that time or what he’s been doing. I feel like I would be pretty paranoid about this if I was Felicia, but we don’t see this haunting her until episode 3 when she sees a flash of Jack before realizing it was just some random guy. It seems strange that Felicia was relatively at ease during the funeral (which I assume took place not long after Jack first threatened her) and after the time jump. We don’t really know what’s been going on during that year, but Felicia seems to be fine and like she hasn’t had any thoughts of Jack at all. Maybe she assumed that his threats were empty and that he wouldn’t actually leak anything to the press, which is reasonable but at the same time I don’t understand why Jack has yet to do anything after a year. He was really pissed off in the season 2 finale, after all.

Going to repeat one of the things I wrote here because it deserves to be mentioned twice, and this point is one of my biggest issues.

I got the impression that Jack was a person who, when having his pride wounded, would do pretty much anything to get back at the person who insulted him.

I feel like this was kind of a plot hole that wasn't explained. Jack is ruthless and doesn't hold back at all when his true colors come out. He has no problem talking about the sexual relationship he had with Felicia in front of her father. Jack is just that horrible.

So what prevented him from ruining the Kroon family's lives earlier, when it seems to be the thing he's wanted for years?

Michael's predictable predicament

Michael first appears at the end of 3x04, where he calls Amie up to tell her he's her father.

Man: Hey! Sorry for calling so late. Is it Amie? Amie Condé? Amie: Yeah. Man: I saw you on TV the other day. I’m Michael Condé. I’m your father.

In the next episode, we get a voice-over of the continued conversation between him and Amie.

Michael: [...] I understand if it’s shocking. I’m in Oskarshamn for work for a few weeks and— Could we meet up someday?

So, it's clear what the writers are going for here. It's the estranged father who returns into the child's life when they've become successful. We're made to believe it's a Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You trope when Michael meets up with Amie and tells her why he left.

Michael: So Petra, she— Has she said anything about me? Amie: Well… That you moved from Sweden before I was born… That you’re working as a lawyer. That you didn’t want to see me. Michael: I was… I was young when we met. Your mom and I. And everything went really fast. I was in love, but she had feelings for somebody else. And when she found out that she— That she was expecting you, then… She didn’t want me there. She said I wasn’t father material. To some degree she might’ve been right, but… I wasn’t much older than you are now. I had just gotten into a law school in Berlin. When I finally came back to Sweden, then… She didn’t let me see you. I had already lost you by then, but I want you to know that I— I’ve thought of you. And about a week ago, I… I’m seeing you. On TV. There you are. With my last name. I’m so proud.

However, it's pretty easy to identify the holes in Michael's story. To be honest this whole storyline was predictable from the very start. Before Michael even came into the story, I made this post which pretty much summed up Michael's whole character when we didn't even know he existed yet (this was when 3x03 was the latest episode that had aired).

I don’t think we’ve heard any mention of Amie’s dad in the whole series except for 3x02 when Amie was being interviewed and was asked about the Condé name where she said that while Samuelsson was from her mother’s side, and Condé was from “the other side”. I found her word choice a little interesting. I don’t think Amie’s dad has passed—but rather that he’s alive and just chosen to not be a part of her life, which is why Petra seemed to be a little offended when asking Amie why she didn’t want her last name anymore. This might also be why Amie said “the other side” rather than “my dad’s side” because they have an estranged relationship. [...] I’m not really sure if they’ll do anything with Amie’s dad (maybe they’ll go for that trope where the parent who previously abandoned their child returns after the child has accomplished something big/something major happened and the parent wants something from them for personal gain?).

When we actually get to meet Michael and hear his explanation of why he left, I wrote this post pointing out some of the holes in this storyline.

Michael meeting Amie only after she’s become famous is a little suspicious, but it’s understandable if he previously thought she didn’t want to meet him and then sees her with his last name on national television. Obviously he would contact her after that. I feel like there were some question marks with Michael’s whole story though, and the fact that his work just conveniently happened to send him to Oskarshamn after he’d just seen Amie on TV. Maybe I’m missing something here, but how did he know Amie had gone back to Oskarshamn if he saw her living as a pop star in Stockholm? Was this information about Amie quitting the tour and going back to her hometown even online? If Elias (who actually witnessed Amie saying she was done and quitting) seemed taken aback when he saw Amie in Oskarshamn, then how did Michael know?

I do think Michael will return for season 4 though, so hopefully this storyline will be straightened out a little. We don't really know what Michael has been up for the past few years and if he has a family of his own. Maybe he'll contact Amie again to tell her she has some younger half-siblings?

They ended on sour terms, but if Michael does have his own family it's something Amie deserves to know and she can decide whatever she wants to do. I'd also like to see a Michael/Petra reunion, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself.

This storyline wasn't bad, and I do appreciate we got to find out what the situation with Amie's dad was. I also liked how I was able to sympathize with Michael. He's not entirely awful, even if he did put a lot of blame on Petra. It's one of those situations where you don't really know what it's like to be in Michael's position unless you've experienced it, and it's very realistic.

Plot holes

Some of the plot holes of season 3 that I've already mentioned are how Jack waited a whole year before leaking the Kroon family's secrets and how Michael conveniently knew Amie was in Oskarshamn when nobody seemed to know she was coming except her mom.

I actually don't mind that it was never explained how Michael got Amie's phone number either, because that's usually pretty easy to find with a Google search. Things like addresses, economic status, and even your criminal history are easily accessible in Sweden when googling someone's name. So finding someone's phone number is probably fairly easy as well.

On the other hand, one of the most glaring plot holes appeared in 3x08. In this episode entitled Lost, the Kroon family is frantically searching for Felicia who has gone missing. Leila and Elias knock on Petra's door to see if Amie is there and might know something about Felicia's whereabouts. Petra tells them Amie isn't there and they leave.

Someone left me an anonymous ask which I answered in this post, pointing out how it was strange that Elias didn't just call Amie to ask her when she wasn't at home. We know Elias has her number because they've been talking on the phone and texting each other several times before in the season.

In 3x08, when Elias and his mom go to Amie's house and ask Petra if Amie has seen or spoken to Felicia or whether she's home, I couldn't help but wonder, uh Elias why not just call Amie and ask her if she has seen or spoken to Felicia? [...] if Elias had called her and she heard how frightened him and his family were and police being involved she would have told him and then there would be no point in the 3x09 episode really.

This is a very strong point. You could argue that maybe Elias just didn't think of that but if they went out of their way to visit Amie's house only to not find her there, it would seem like calling her instead would just be a logical next step in the situation? Here's what I wrote in response to this ask.

This is an issue I had with 3x08 and 3x09 as well. I had a hard time actually enjoying the moment between Felicia, Klara, and Amie knowing that her family was getting increasingly worried for her and even thought for a short moment that Felicia was lying dead at the bottom of the ocean. All that could’ve been avoided. To add, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me that when Klara finally decided to call someone she called Amie instead of Elias. An ex-friend of Felicia’s instead of her brother who could’ve helped a lot more. What was Amie supposed to do when she showed up at the hotel, exactly? I know there was the thing with Klara only knowing Amie’s number off the top of her head, but there is no reason why she couldn’t have gone down to the reception while Felicia was sleeping and asked to use a computer just to get a quick message to Elias. Like, “hey, Felicia attempted something bad but she’s safe with me, we’re at this hotel in this room but she didn’t want me to call anybody, I don’t know what to do”. That would’ve been so much better than keeping quiet about the situation for nearly 24 hours. I know that Klara probably has trauma from leaving her dad at the hospital after his suicide attempt and that she probably didn’t want to go against Felicia’s wishes. I understand the first part 100%. But Felicia was in a very bad place emotionally and was thinking that her whole family hated her when that wasn’t the case. I feel like in a situation like that you kind of have to be the bad guy just to ensure the family that Felicia was safe. Even if everything turned out alright in the end, it could’ve gone so much worse if Felicia had wanted to be kept hidden for longer. [...] Elias calling Amie would’ve been an easy solution to this whole debacle but we would’ve lost the drama. It’s still somewhat of a plot hole though, like you said.

I understand it was done this way for dramatic effect, but that doesn't really patch up the plot hole.

I also found it strange how many people turned on Felicia after Jack ruined her reputation in the press. I talked about this in an ask I received.

I don’t understand why the public turned on Felicia so harshly. And Leila too, for that matter. The way Jack told the story about how these two women had things done to them should indicate that they’re not the ones to be blamed. If I read this article and found out an 18-year-old girl got pregnant by a “violent criminal” who forced her to abort and then abused her I would not be angry with the girl. I would be angry that she was physically abused and also outed on her sexuality for being bi. If I read this article and found out Leila had been cheated on by her husband repeatedly with her best friends, I wouldn’t be angry at her. I would not agree with the decision to turn to alcohol (same as Felicia turning to drugs), but I wouldn’t blame them. And I feel like a lot of people should’ve been on Leila’s side after finding out the reason why they divorced. I don’t understand why people are saying they’re disappointed in Felicia and calling her fake when she’s been through so much trauma in her life. I feel like if this actually happened in real life, all the blame would be shifted to the men because they’re the ones who—in this story—are painted as the bad guys (with the exception of Jack, considering he was anonymous).

I got another anonymous ask sent in after this, pointing out how the anger directed towards Felicia was considerably more about her drug use rather than the abuse she endured. Here was my response to that:

[...] the drug use should’ve been understandable considering the stuff Felicia had been through was also written in that article. I don’t know. I can understand people unfollowing her if they didn’t want their young children to be exposed to all the controversy, but it’s still strange that everything Felicia received was hate messages. Did everybody just skip over the part where the anonymous source stated that Felicia was violently forced to have an abortion by an ex-criminal and probably did so out of fear for her life? Yes, we know this is fake, but why didn’t anybody seem to mention this? [...] they seem to have written this storyline with the idea in mind that the public was against the whole Kroon family. Felicia got comments such as “So fucking disappointed in you and your family”, “What a nasty fucking family”, “You and your family are so fucking disgusting”. So I think Leila received plenty of hate for drinking instead of divorcing her husband sooner and basically turning a blind eye to all the problems her family went through. That’s what Jack told the press, at least. The anger seemed to be directed towards every member of the Kroon family and that didn’t make a lot of sense to me.

Again, this is something the writers did to dramatize the situation and they kind of forgot to consider that what Jack actually told the journalist wasn't as incriminating for Felicia and Leila as it were for Mats and Elias.

The magic of season 3

What season 3 really excelled in, to me, was delving into some more serious topics as well as showing the gradual development of Amie and Elias' relationship. Amie and Elias are the prime example of how a slow burn is so much better than having a couple get together too fast, like Felicia and Ludde did back in season 1.

While season 3 was still airing, I wrote a post dedicated to questions I had received about Elias and Amie. Here's one of the things I said about them:

I think Elias’ interest in her really started to grow after he saw how caring Amie was to Felicia, and later on connecting with her on how they both ended up back in Oskarshamn after following their dreams which didn’t exactly turn out the way they expected. Yes, Elias has always sort of been watching and admiring Amie from afar, but that interest didn’t start growing until he actually got to know her. The experiences they had in the US and Stockholm, respectively, probably changed their mindsets and in my opinion it makes so much more sense for them to get together now than it would’ve in season 1 or season 2.

I still believe that Elias and Amie are the best-written couple of the whole show (at least so far), because they just make sense. We'll see what season 4 has in store for them because we have yet to actually see them in a romantic relationship, but I feel like their personalities and characters just fit together really well.

Another thing I really appreciated was the depiction of Felicia and Ludde's declining relationship. Things like that happen so easily, and I liked how we see Felicia do this huge gesture of planning a picnic for Ludde in 3x04 but there were still underlying problems between them. It's like that in real life too—no matter how big of a romantic gesture you make, communication will always be the number one priority in any relationship and that's where Felicia and Ludde fall short.

The obvious disconnect between them when it comes to money is also important. It's been like this from the beginning, but season 3 gave us an actual conversation about it.

Felicia: Please, I can’t talk about this. Seriously. It was stupid of me to bring this up from the beginning. Fuck, I get such anxiety talking about the future— Ludde: You get anxiety? I’m the one walking around with no money in my account. Mom and dad had to get a loan to pay off mine and Andreas’ fines. I’m playing on a shitty old synth, and living off you like some leech. That’s anxiety. Felicia: Everything isn’t about money. Ludde: Says the one who has money. Felicia: Move out then, if it’s so fucking hard to feel like a leech.

This felt very realistic. Of course a person like Felicia wouldn't think money is everything when she's never experienced financial issues. She's able to move out into her own one-bedroom apartment as soon as she's turned 18, it seems, and doesn't worry at all about the cost of furnishing and decorating it. She didn't even pay for it herself, because Mats mentions he's the one on the mortgage loan. It seems like Felicia has never had an actual job either, and that's starting to worry her because she has no idea what she should be doing.

Felicia: [...] I don’t know what I’ll be or what I’ll do in the future. I don’t know that. Ludde: You’re still an influencer— Felicia: Don’t say I’m an influencer, please. Do you think I want to be that my whole life? It’s not even a career. I'm— I’m graduating next year, and I… My grades suck, and— I have no plan. I only have you. Not like that—I have you. That’s what I have. I want to be here, in Oskarshamn. I don’t want to go to the US and chase some dream and be a hockey wife. That’s not a life. Sometimes I wish neither of us had a plan, just us together here.

Felicia's character finally offers something interesting here, which I've waited for since season 1. She's not just a party girl anymore who has issues with drugs. She's a privileged teenager who is co-dependent on the guys she meets and who has anxiety about the future, to the point where she wishes she could stay in Oskarshamn in her little apartment forever stuck in limbo.

She has to face a harsh reality when Ludde decides to break up with her, and later on when her name is slandered in the press and people all over the country are sending her hate messages. Her own family is furious with her and Felicia has nobody. She's pushed away a lot of people and her mental state is just crumbling in front of our eyes.

It's a strong storyline and actually very well executed. Almost everything gets taken away from her, and at the end of 3x07 you can almost feel what Felicia is feeling. We've been with her through this whole journey, almost, and we understand why she feels like suicide is the only answer.

It's tough to watch that final scene of 3x07. It's greatly amplified by Alva Bratt's superb acting, but the writing of the journey there is also amazing. It's very difficult to write a sensitive storyline like this.

Overall, I don't have a lot of critique towards season 3. I loved most of the episodes. I elaborated on this further in a separate post:

[Episodes 3x04 and 3x05] showcased what Eagles should be all about so well, which is relationships plus the struggles you go through as a teenager in a small town, and then of course hockey. The hockey game episodes are really good, even if I don’t think 3x05 topped 2x05 (the game where Ludde got tackled and knocked out). I loved the contrast in Date night of the budding relationship between Elias and Amie and then that fight between Felicia and Ludde on the cliff. [...] It was interesting to see how this sweet gesture from Felicia turned into a fight between the two of them. I thought that was very realistic, because no matter how big of a gesture Felicia made to apologize there were still underlying problems that they needed to talk about. I also loved the “non-date” between Elias and Amie in this episode. It was cute to see them goofing off before the movie started and then talking about it on the way home. I liked how Elias could connect to her on how they had both returned to Oskarshamn. The recent episodes that dropped last week (3x08 and 3x09) were very strong and discussed some important subject matters [...] They were dark, but not necessarily bad because they needed to happen. However, I have to say that I prefer Eagles when it’s about hockey and teenage relationships. 3x04 and 3x05 made me kind of nostalgic for season 1 and I liked the vibe they both had.

Eagles season 3 is in my opinion the best season of the show so far, and we haven't seen any signs suggesting that there is any reason for season 4 to not be even better.

Season 4: Hopes and wishes

Considering how each season has been increasing in quality bit by bit, I have pretty high hopes for the writing in season 4. I'm excited to see how the transition from teenager to young adult will be portrayed in the main characters, and what their future will hold for them after they've graduated.

My main questions are if Felicia and Ludde will find their way back to each other or if they'll remain broken up (that would be realistic as well), if Klara will reconcile with her mom, what's in store for Elias's hockey career, and if Amie will leave her label and maybe opt for something more independent.

I also want to see how Felicia deals with the new home she's checked in to, and if Ludde will in fact go to the school now that it seems Andreas will be getting into trouble again.

Amie and Klara are kind of wild cards here, because it somewhat feels like they've already reached their happy endings. Amie is famous and successful in her pop music career, and Klara has found her place as a businesswoman following in her father's footsteps. Maybe these developments should've come in season 4 instead of rushing them.

Nonetheless, I have faith in the writers. The writing suffered a little in seasons 1 and 2 but it has gotten better. Most of the things I pointed out about season 3 were just small details in an otherwise stellar season.

In conclusion...

This post was critical, but I tend to be critical of every show I watch. Eagles is still a very special show for me and having grown up in a Swedish small town myself I'm very fond of the show and its characters.

So huge thanks to the creator, Stefan H. Lindén, for making this show a reality and also to the director Carl-Petter Montell for contributing to the writing in season 3. And of course the writers of the show which include Michaela Hamilton, Fanny Ekstrand, and Anton Nyberg (plus Amanda Adolfsson who helped write 1x02 and 1x05 and Simon Ekbäck Nordström who is credited for helping with the hockey scenes in 3x05).

I hope you guys enjoyed this long, long post and major kudos to you if you read this far!

#eagles svt #svt eagles #eaglesspoilers #young royals #beartown #björnstad #been working on this post for a few days so i really hope you enjoy it!

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alexiaugustin · 3 years

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good morning mutuals and everyone else on tumblr who is cool and made my year! this is gonna be my mutuals appreciation post 2020 because if anything good happened this year then it's getting to know all of you guys so there's that. i love you all so so sooo much and always love to see y'all and your gif sets / memes / crack posts /rants / edits and so on and so forth on my dash. you made this year beautiful and i just wanna thank u for that!💘💘 (also im sorry if the picture above activates anyone's fight response i just thought that it would fit if i went back to where it all started)

@engelkeijsers mare my love i don't even have words to describe how much i love you and am happy to have you in my life. i consider you one of my closest friends by now and that's why i always message you whenever exciting shit happens in my life (or whenever shit goes down that ofc depends🤪). our phone calls were so fucking funny and i loved talking to you sooo much i can't wait to meet you in real life one day!!💖 please feel hugged you're such a beautiful human.

@dreamaur ann my beloved mutual i love you from the bottom of my heart and just wanna thank you for being the cute bitch that u are who always remembers our mutuals anniversary like....🥺🥺 i just love that we always watch and read and stan the same things like what kind of soulmutuals behavior is this?. can't wait for s&b to air so we can always freak out about kaz and inej and everyone else together. i'm kissing your cheek and wish you the absolute best for 2021 because u deserve the best😽

@sotorubio silja i love you and your blog so much you just have such a galaxy brain and you're so eloquent and your blog is one of the few that i check on regularly because i don't wanna miss a single post you make. here's a fun fact before i properly got to know you i thought that you were sooo intimating i don't even know why and then we started talking at some point and i was like "hold on a second they are SO lovely and warm actually and not intimating at all hdhdh" as you might have figured out by now i always love talking to you about skames or rant about 13rw and everything else. i just love u!!!🧡

@helmtaryn aurore you are probably the first person who ever started talking to me on here and so it all began and we always talked abt skam france before s6 started and during and you're just such a wonderful person!! thank you for always being there for me and helping me with my french homework i truly cannot thank you enough for that because you're constantly saving my ass jdhd. you're just so fun to talk to and such a talented gif maker like... for real your gif sets always knock me out and you're always so original in what you gif🥺❣

@geminibf i know i've told you that before but your blog is my comfort blog on here literally just seeing your posts on my dash always makes my day and you're one of the most beautiful ppl i've ever known like how do you even manage to do that🥺💘 plus you're sooo talented at this point im convinced that there's absolutely nothing that you cannot do so yeah i have no idea where this sentence is going but i guess what im trying to tell u is that i love u and im so happy to be ur friend

@alterlovex niiiii❣❣❣ you're not even like a tumblr mutual you're like my tumblr sister (figure out what the hell this is supposed to mean jdjd) and you were one of the first people who hyped my stupid posts up and it always made me go 🥺😭. i started following you despite the fact that u had a wtfock icon (honorary) and i absolutely never regretted it. you're so beautiful and warm and so is your blog and i will try to talk more to u again in 2021. im virtually sending you so many flowers🌷🌻🌸💐

@jorgecrespo you're just the coolest bitch alive. i followed you for your skam rankings and stayed for your whole entire personality. every post you make truly just slaps, you never miss, and i relate to you so much jdjd. the way you answer anon messages will forever be my favorite thing about your blog and just the way you talk in general like without even seeing your url i always know when it's you who wrote a post. i love you❕❕💖

@jusdekiwi you and aurore are the reason why french people deserve rights, you are such a lovely and genuine person and i absolutely love you and your chill vibes on your blog. also thank you for helping me out with my french homework thingy once like. thank you so so much for being so lovely and taking your time julia!🌻

@suburbanenigma carmen i love you and all of your posts and just the vibes on your blog!!! also omfg your riverdale side blog always makes me laugh soo much i truly cannot wait for s5 to air so we can make fun of it together because i will live blog the shit out of it too!! you're just one of the coolest bitches ever i don't know how else to say it. i love you and cant wait to talk to you more next year. you're such a blessing for this hellsite🦋✨

@sundaymorninghangover julian you are one of my oldest friends on here and i've loved you ever since i found your blog and figured out that u were a part of the having taste club (skames fandom) too!! you're so chill!!! i love your brain!! i love your posts!!! and most importantly i love you. please keep on blessing my dash with your cool posts because they are definitely appreciated and loved in this house. also i miss your frog icon (please don't hit me in case it wasn't a frog) it just spoke volumes about your vibes but i love ur new one too!! still associate the purple heart with you so here it is 💜💜

@lesbeanfatou clara you simply are an angel. you used to have a nora grace icon and i went: that's it, she's the one, she has taste im gonna follow!! and look it was one of the best decisions ever. you're my favorite chaotic n cool mosquito hater and i just love you so much and you made my year beautiful!! thank you for always listening to me when i came into your inbox to have a break down (positive or negative) over the we feel in love in october girl and thank you for teaching me how make edits!!!💐💘

@aoixe you're one of my favorite skamfr hate blogs and certain men hate blogs (if u know u know) i always love talking and ranting with you and am so glad that we're sometimes just dming!! you're vibes are so cool a d you seem like such a chill person i love you and wish you all the best for 2021!!❣❣

@fatoudixon ana i love you and your blog so so much and especially your druck reaction videos on youtube!! you seem like such a genuine and beautiful person and even though we're not talking much please just know that im always happy to see you on my dash. happy new year to you!!💘💘

@cash-queens sam🥺 you're so sweet and kind this hell site truly doesn't even deserve you but we all love that you're here anyway!! i would protect you with my life and i hope that we will get to talk more in 2021 because you're such a lovely person and for now im just gonna wish u a happy new year✨

@avaceleste sophiaaa💌 you've been here ever since the very beginning of skamfr season 6 and i always love talking to you and long live our eliola jokes, you were probably the person i started this cult with so here is our eliola emoji starterpack one more time in 2020 💏🌧🎬

@hashtag-ohboy-nicetry i have no idea whose side blog this was but the url alone made my entire year🤭🤞

@ random love anon❤ i love you and hope that 2021 will be a good year for you because you absolutely deserve it!!! wishing u nothing but the best i always love to see you around!💐💘

all the other amazing blogs i love and am always happy to see on my dash (doesn't matter if we're mutuals or not)

@floraflorenzi / @bi-kieu-my / @gumptin / @thegirlnooneknows5 / @littleweirdoss / @sohereisthisasshole / @noramachwtz / @nori-in-pink / @ayellowcurtain / @mailinrichter / @ijzermanora / @fudgetunblr / @lesbianfatous / @norgestan / @cfgc / @avaspereira / @theflowerisblue / @smblmn / @jon-astronaut / @amiraamore / @parelmoer / @stqrz 💘❣💐🦋💌🌸

i wish all of you a very happy new year and thank you for all of your gifs, posts, translations, fanfics & edits you all truly make this place beautiful❕💘

#mutuals appreciation #i rly hope that i didn't forget anyone

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sotorubio · 3 years

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hi if it’s not too much trouble do you mind elaborating on the post about the cinematography being better in s7? bc i 100% agree and have been thinking the same but also haven’t really been able to articulate why? like if someone asked me this anon i wouldn’t be able to give them specifics but i KNOW it’s different. sorry 😅

it's definitely not too much trouble i already know this is gonna be long as shit bc i have so many Thoughts on the matter

it is indeed p hard to articulate so i'll give some examples & comparisons n share my thoughts based on that!

first i think it's important to recognize the context of a show like skam. it is made to represent every-day teenagers who might enjoy but not ever relate to characters & stories on some fantasy/murder mystery shows abt teenagers. the very core of skams is realism n accuracy to real life. we as the audience are not only supposed to be onlookers of the events we're meant to feel connected to the stories n relate to the main characters.

skamfr has some VERY beautiful shots if u look at them independently. if someone just showed me a screenshot of one of them i'd be like wow! that's stunning! but that's not what i'm supposed to feel when it comes to skams. if i go watch an artistic full length movie at the theaters i Do want to see beautiful shots that look like art n have a lot of symbolism behind them but when i watch skam i'm supposed to think "that could be me. that looks like my life" i'm not a lowly spectator who could never have such a beautiful life but instead the audience should see their lives directly put on screen.

skam france has been rly consistent w it tho! it's been their brand since like season 3.. but it did get worse in s5 & 6 i think bc they started to try too hard for original storylines. i think it's very intentional n if they were making another show i wouldn't say it's bad rly (altho sometimes it is that too bc they try too hard fmgjkd). out of context a lot of their cinematography works bc they usually tie it into the plot to represent the events but they just picked the wrong style for a web series. like babes u are not submitting this to the academy pls chill.

now let me introduce u to the most despicable shot in skam history (in my humble opinion)

HELLO??

now before anyone says. yes i know this sequence of shots has a purpose. this is exactly what i mean that if it was some other show w different goals it wouldn't be such an issue bc yeah this looks great right? it's a "sensory clip" we r supposed to "hear" what it's like to be deaf n specifically what it's like for arthur. but.

let's put this into skam context. we as the audience should see ourselves in arthur, not necessarily entirely but we should feel he's just like us, a teenager w his own unique struggles & life experiences. now tell me, when u feel depressed or sad or have had the worst week of ur life n u must drag urself to the shower... is this what it feels like? first of all do u take the shower in the fucking dark???? just for the aesthetic?? do u stand DIRECTLY in the middle letting the water hit u exactly on the top of ur head forming a symmetrical shade on u while u just... stand there. do u feel like ur ascending in the shower as u dramatically raise ur chin literally what the actual fuck is this. don't get me wrong sometimes u just actually do stand there doing nothing bc u just feel so horrible but that's not rly the feeling this clip awakens?

this leans a bit into the romanticization of arthur's season which wouldn't be as bad (still cringy but not as bad) if arthur had already accepted himself at this point but no he's basically suffering in the shower n we are looking at him like wow that's so pretty. let's imagine how we could make this clip feel more real n how we could actually see ourselves in him here:

stop making ur main characters of the season the main characters of the world. just bc arthur is feeling terrible doesn't mean the whole world imitates his feelings. in a symbolic movies masterpiece it would but not in a concept like skam. one of the worst things abt feeling terrible is seeing how the world just goes on around u. imagine how real it would feel like if he was in the shower w the generic yellowish light on that a lot of bathrooms have. we could see his silhouette slouching in the shower through a shower screen. or maybe a shot similar to the example pics but the ugly lights are on n the water is annoyingly dripping in his eyes & he doesn't look like they're trying to give him a halo n make him into a jesus archetype. the bathroom would look the same it looks on a rly happy day or a boring day bc this day only sucks for arthur n the universe isn't gonna come to his house to give him a cool background bc of it

same w this comparison

two underwater shots, both rly pretty & heavy on symbolism but the other one is literally waiting for those "this looks like a renaissance painting" comments n the other is rly pretty but still looks like real life humans who r not doing a photo shoot for vogue. which do u find more relatable? which situation makes u think Yeah that's real life?

like look at this camera position of "barely above water" this is like.. almost "ugly" but it's so fucking real n probably closest to the feeling of a first person point of view shot that u can get to

now the s7 camera decisions seem sooooo much better compared to all this. they have a lot of time to still make super dramatic shots that distance the viewer from the story line but so far so good. maybe they'll pick this up again to make the world revolve around tiff as she faces hardships but let's hope not 🙃

i genuinely love this shot like it's super down to earth & feels real but they have still easily kept in the symbolism. like tiff is literally putting walls between others n herself. jo feels like she's literally talking to a wall. tiff feels alone & secluded even tho someone is in the same room as her. yet they didn't have to make it look like smth out of an obscure indie film whose purpose is to have the audience in awe instead of representing them.

yeah the first person point of view of jo going in and out of frame while doing sit ups mightve been weird or cringy but 1. that's skam for y'all & 2. i'll choose that any day over arthur ascending like jesus in the shower.

#inbox #anon #skam france #long post

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crowleying · 3 years

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If you weren't so drunk | f!reader

Date: 15.03.2021

Pairing: Edoardo Incanti x Reader, side Elia Santini x Filippo Sava, past Edoardo Incanti x Eleonora Sava

Reader's pronouns: she/her

Words: 3.275

Fandom: SKAM Italia

Characters: Reader, Edoardo Incanti, Elia Santini, others

Genre: Romance

Length: Oneshot

Warnings: Alcohol, fluff

Requested: No

Prompts: "How much did you drink?"

"Aw, you're so cute."

"What did you do?"

"Yeah, well, if you weren't so drunk maybe I would."

"That's not fair."

"You promised me a cookie!"

"Did I ever tell you how beautiful your eyes are?"

"Stay here tonight."

"You're fun to touch."

"How do you get your skin to be so soft?"

Summary: Your friends leave you getting drunk by yourself at a party. Edoardo finds you and takes care of you.

A/N: I'm back after such a long time! I started long time ago and then left it because life got in the way, the other day I stumbled on it and I decided to finish it. It wasn't supposed to turn out so long. It's not one of the longest I've ever written, I just thought it would be shorter. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! (Yes, I do miss Skam Italia.)

English is not my first language so feel free to correct any mistake and I would love to know what you think about it. REQUESTS ARE OPEN. I posted a List of prompts, so check it out! Let me know if you would like to be tagged in my works.

IF YOU LIKE MY WORKS, PLEASE REBLOG THEM

Masterlist

Ao3

[ID: gif of Edoardo Incanti smiling sheepishly and looking down. End ID.]

It was ridiculous. The way Edoardo had fallen for you without even noticing was something Federico never stopped teasing him about. He didn’t know how it had happened nor how he had failed to notice you earlier. The first time he took notice of you was at that party where those homophobes had insulted Martino. Both Giovanni and Elia had defended him without thinking twice about it but so had the Villa Boys and you. Being Elia’s best friend, you were close to all the boys. You had been the only girl taking part in the fight and once it was over, he had noticed you worriedly checking Elia to see if he had any injury without caring for your split lip and the cut on your eyebrow. Back then he had thought you were Elia’s girlfriend, and he had his thing going on with Eleonora, so he just pushed you to the back of his mind. Since then, he had seen you many more times, but you had never looked at him, not even once, it was frustrating. You didn’t seem to be infatuated with him like most of the girls of the school, nor did you try to fight him like Eleonora had done, it was like he didn’t exist for you. He didn’t understand. He wasn’t used to it.

The thing was that you were so shy that you barely spoke to people who weren’t the boys, you hadn’t even been able to become friends with the girls. Moreover, you weren’t really the type of person to steal someone’s boyfriend and Edoardo and Eleonora seemed very cute. So, you had just put aside your feelings, never voicing them, because you really liked Edoardo, but you weren’t so naïve to think you had any chance with him.

When he and Eleonora broke up, he couldn’t take his mind off you anymore, there was nothing to distract him from you now.

You didn’t really want to go to that stupid party, you just wanted to stay at home and watch the last episode of your favourite TV series, but Elia had dragged you there along with the boys. Not ten minutes after your arrival they were all gone. Giovanni was somewhere making out with Eva and Luchino with Silvia, while Martino and Niccolò were dancing. Elia had promised he wouldn’t leave your side, but he was gone the minute he saw Filippo. You were happy for your best friend, but you had no idea what to do all alone at a party you didn’t want to be at. You decided that the best way to spend the time there was drinking. You only ever did that with the boys because you needed them to take care of you when you were drunk. You were much more talkative then and extremely funny, or so they said, but you lost the ability of doing anything on your own.

Edoardo found you almost two hours and several drinks later, you were already talking with a nice plant near the sofa you were sitting on.

“Oh my God, Eli, he’s coming towards us!” you said to the plant, noticing Edoardo making his way to you. You smiled from ear to ear.

“Hey, Y/N, how are you?” he asked sitting down next to you.

“Oh my God, Eli, he knows my name” you exclaimed to the plant before looking back to Edoardo who now had an amused smile on his beautiful face.

“How much did you drink?” he asked, trying not to laugh.

You thought about that for a while before showing him your thumb extremely close to your pointer. “This much.”

He looked at you with an expression which said, ‘You can’t think I will believe that’.

“Okay, maybe a little more” you said shrugging your shoulders and taking another sip of your umpteenth beer.

“Come on, I’m taking you home” he said getting up and straightening his shirt. He looked so good in it and your dreamy expression told him you appreciated it, but he didn’t need to guess it since you said it yourself. “You look good in shirts.”

“Thank you,” he replied smiling genuinely. “Now get up so I can take you home.”

He took a jacket that was lying beside you on the sofa. “Is this your jacket?” he asked but you didn’t notice because you were deep in conversation with Elia-plant, and you were telling him that Edoardo was taking you home and that he didn’t need to worry.

Edoardo shook his head and checked the pockets of the jacket finding a phone and looked at the wallpaper which was a picture of you and Elia making silly faces. This confirmed it belonged to you. He put it back in the pocket and took your hand to help you standing up. When he got you to stand up, although not straight nor without help, he helped you to put on your jacket.

You waved at the plant and Edoardo put his arm around your waist to keep you upright and lead you to the door stopping only to take his jacket. He then proceeded with you out of Federico’s house and to his car. He helped you climbing in the passenger seat and then fastened the seatbelt. You were looking at him with a stupid smile.

“What?”

“Aw, you’re so cute” you said sighing.

He smiled. “Thanks.”

He closed the door and went around. Once he had closed his door too, you burst laughing and he looked confused at you. “What did you do?”

“A little puffy fart” you said taking your arms around yourself. He tried once more not to laugh and put his jacket on you as a blanket.

“Do you think you can tell me where you live?” he asked starting the car.

“In a flat in a white building. I like it there because I know everyone.”

He smiled. “Maybe you could tell me the name of the street.”

“Mom says I shouldn’t give my address to people” you said looking at him suspicious.

“How can I take you home if you don’t tell me where it is?”

“Mh... What will you give me if I tell you?” you asked thoughtful.

“What about a cookie?”

You smiled satisfied and told him the name of the street.

“You’re incredibly easy to bribe” he commented amused.

After putting the address in the satnav, you left the parking lot. Nobody said anything for a couple of minutes and Edoardo thought you had fallen asleep but when he glanced at you, he found you staring at him shamelessly.

“What?” he asked with a smile.

“Mh... Has someone told you your hair isn’t shitty? I like it.”

He laughed at that but kept looking at the street.

“Actually, the only person who told me it is shitty was Ele...” He began amused but by the end of the sentence he seemed sad. You were way too drunk to notice it.

“Filo agrees, actually,” you pointed out.

“Does he?” he asked, not really interested and you nodded.

“Aren’t you afraid he will take Elia away from you?” he asked trying to sound casual. He failed to do so but you were too drunk to notice.

“Do you think girls will take Fede away from you?” you asked closing your eyes.

“He is my best friend, it’s different.”

“I know he is.” You didn’t think you needed to add any explanation to it. “I want a puppy” you said, instead.

“A puppy?”

“Yes, so every time I’ll look at it, I will think about you. You seem a lost puppy, right now” you explained giggling, one eye open and fixed on him.

“It’s because I don’t understand what you’re trying to say” he admitted.

“What is there to understand?” You furrowed your eyebrows.

“I think Filo likes Elia” he said glancing at you.

You chuckled. “He better, Elia likes him too.”

“I mean Filo likes-likes him” he repeated trying to make you understand what he meant.

“Elia likes-likes him too” you replied closing your eyes. “I bet they’ll get together by the end of the week, Gio says by the end of the month, Niccolò thinks…”

“You and Elia aren’t together?” he interrupted you.

You chuckled. “No, he’s like a brother.”

“Oh…” He sounded relieved. “And you don’t have a boyfriend?”

“How do you know I’m straight?” you asked sleepy.

“I’m sorry… I just assumed…” he replied embarrassed.

You sighed. “You should never assume. I’m single.”

“And you are…?”

“Bi.”

Edoardo nodded and didn’t say anything else for a while.

“Do you like someone?” he finally asked. He turned to look at you, but you were already asleep. He smiled softly.

He parked in front of your house and got down. He came to your side and unfastened your belt.

“Hey” he whispered. “We’re home.”

You moved. Your eyes were still closed. “Cookie.”

“What?” he asked confused.

“You promised me a cookie!” you said opening your eyes.

He snorted and helped you out of the car. “I’ll give you one… tomorrow.”

“That’s not fair, I want it now” you pointed out.

He closed the car and helped you to the door, then rummaged in the pockets of your jacket to find your keys. When he found them, he tried to open the door. It wasn’t as easy as it normally would because he had to try different keys before finding the right one while you kept touching his face. “Please, stop. I’m trying to open the door.”

“You’re fun to touch” you said with no intention of stopping. “How do you get your skin to be so soft?”

“If you stop touching my face and let me open the door, I promise I’ll show you my skincare routine.”

You let go and he finally managed to open and let you in.

“On which floor do you live?”

He counted on your fingers and after a very long moment you replied “five.”

“This building only has three floors” he pointed out, then sighed and helped you up the stairs looking at every door you passed by looking for your surname on the doorbell. When he finally found it, he once again had to find the right key but was finally able to open the door.

You stumbled in and swore against the doormat. He urged you to keep silent as he closed the door behind you. He quickly found the kitchen and sat you down at the table to give you something to eat and some water to drink, hoping that would help with the hangover.

You munched on the bread staring at the table silently, too sleepy to do anything else and then drank the water. He then brought you to the bathroom so you could brush your teeth and then to what you said was your room and it really seemed so if the pictures with you and the boys all over the walls were something to go by. He sat you on the bed, took off your shoes and your jacket and put you under the blanket all dressed. He took your phone out of the pocket of the jacket and plugged it in. You seemed to be already asleep, so he kissed your forehead before leaving but you grabbed his wrist and looked at him wide-eyed. “Stay here tonight” you whispered.

“I should go…”

“Please.”

That was all it took for him to give in and lay down next to you. You were still staring at him.

“Sleep now” he said.

“Did I ever tell you how beautiful your eyes are?” you asked completely out of the blue.

He smiled. “No, we never talked before today. Yours are too, by the way.”

“That’s a pity” you said sadly but it only lasted a few seconds. “Kiss me?”

It took a moment for him to reply, he wasn’t expecting this. “Yeah, well, if you weren’t so drunk maybe I would.”

“A small kiss? Pretty please?”

He sighed and kissed your cheek. “Now sleep.”

You nodded and cuddled next to him. “I like you” you whispered moments before falling asleep.

“I like you too” he whispered back. Before he fell asleep, he sent a quick message to Federico to let him know he had left to bring you home.

He was woken in the morning by the light coming in through the window. He squeezed his eyes and ran a hand on his face and then in his hair. He felt someone move next to him. He opened his eyes wide. It took him a moment to remember what had happened the night before. He tried to move your arm wrapped around his waist so that he could leave. He didn’t want your parents to find you in such a compromising situation. He had never really cared before but now suddenly it seemed important.

The movement woke you. You squeezed him closer for a moment. “Fuck, my head hurts” you mumbled.

“Where do you keep painkillers?” he whispered back, which caused you to suddenly open your eyes, closing them right away. There was too much light.

What the hell? Was the one in your bed really Edoardo Incanti? Did you two…? No, no, you were still completely dressed.

You tried to open your eyes once more, now more carefully. He was looking at you and he was fully dressed too.

“Do you mind fetching me some water from the kitchen?” you asked. You needed to take care of your headache before you could think of why he was in your bed.

“Won’t your parents be angry?”

“They are away for the weekend” you replied slowly sitting up. He put the pillows behind your back so you could be more comfortable, then he got up and left. You looked at him surprised and only when he disappeared you closed your eyes again and ran a hand over your face. You took the painkillers from the bedside table and in doing so your eyes fell on your phone.

You took it wondering how many missed calls you would have on your phone. You groaned when you saw the actual number.

“Everything okay?” Edoardo asked walking in and handing you a glass of water and some bread.

You smiled. “Thanks.” You nodded. “Yeah, I just have so many missed calls from the boys. I should call Eli; he must be so worried.”

Edoardo nodded and took his own phone. “I should go” he said, not wanting to impose.

“You can stay, if you want” you replied.

You ate some bread and took the painkillers before calling Elia. He picked up at the second ring and without giving you the chance to say anything, he started scolding you.

“Are you crazy? Leaving like that, without telling anyone where or with whom you were going?” You opened your mouth to reply but he didn’t let you. “I was scared to death, and so were the boys. What were you thinking?! I would have never expected anything so stupid from you!” You felt bad, he was right about everything.

You heard someone, probably Filippo saying something along the lines of “go easy on her,” to which Elia replied “no, she needs to understand.”

You felt your eyes getting wet. “I understood and I am sorry, okay? I’m sorry you and the boys were worried, I really am. I was drunk, I thought I had told you” you said and your voice broke. You felt Edo caressing your back soothingly. Elia stayed silent for a moment.

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault, I left you there alone knowing perfectly well you didn’t even want to be at that party in the first place” he finally said.

“It’s not your fault either, you’re not my babysitter” you pointed out.

“I know but I was a bad friend.”

“No, you weren’t.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay” he admitted.

“I am.”

“Is he still with you?” Elia asked and for a moment it confused you. You turned to look at Edo.

“He is…” Edoardo took his gaze away from his phone and looked at you questioning.

“Did he treat you right?”

You heard Filippo chuckling and telling Elia to let you be. “She is my best friend, I’m just worried about her, okay?” Elia said back.

You snorted. “He did, he was a real gentleman” you assured, glancing at Edo who smiled back. “How did you know he was here, by the way?”

“He sent Federico a message telling him he had brought you home. That’s how I knew you weren’t dead. Now, get him on the phone, I need to talk to him.”

“Eli…” you started, but he cut you off. “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on him, I promise.”

You sighed and handed Edo the phone. He raised his eyebrows confused. You shrugged. “He wants to talk to you.”

He took the phone hesitantly and accosted it to his ear. “Hello?”

You couldn’t hear what Elia was saying but you saw Edo’s expressions. They were quite funny.

“I won’t, I promise” Edoardo said. “Okay, okay, bye.” He gave you the phone.

“Eli…” you said in the phone. “Don’t worry, I behaved. See you tomorrow at school?”

“Yeah”

“Okay, have a nice day.”

“You too, say hi to Filo.”

“Hi!” you heard Filippo’s voice say. “Filo, my ear!” Elia complained.

You chuckled. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

You ended the call and facepalmed. “I’m sorry about that.”

Edo chuckled. “It’s okay, he was just being protective, I understand that.”

You smiled.

“Do you remember anything about last night?” he asked after a while.

“Not really, did I do something embarrassing?” you asked hiding your face in your hands. “Oh my God, we… we didn’t… did we?” You looked at him worried.

He hurried to reassure you. “No, no, we didn’t have sex.” He shook his head and his curls bounced at the motion.

“Good, good” you said nodding to yourself. “I mean, it’s not that I wouldn’t like… I mean, it’s not that you aren’t attractive, it’s just… I wouldn’t like not remembering it” you explained when you saw his hurt expression. “God, this is so embarrassing” you mumbled hiding your face in your hands once more. Your cheeks were positively burning.

“Hey, it’s okay” he tried to reassure you. “You just said you liked me, and I wanted to know if it was the alcohol talking or you really like me.”

It was getting worse by the minute.

“I did, didn’t I?” You sighed. This was the moment, if you didn’t do it now, you never would. “Fine, yes, I like you, but I know how you are. I’m not interest in a one-night stand and-”

“I like you too” he said cutting you off.

“I’m saying I am not just attracted to you-”

“Me neither, I really like you, I can’t think of anyone else, I-”

“How do I know you’re not playing with me to have sex with me?” you cut him off.

He hesitated. His past as a womanizer was coming back once more to bite him in the ass.

“You don’t and I understand why you don’t trust me on this, just give me a chance? We can have a date to get to know each other and then you can decide where you want this to go. We can stay friend if you prefer. Just give me a chance, that’s all I ask” he almost begged you. “Also, Elia said that if I hurt you, he would hang my balls on the Christmas tree” he added slightly amused.

That made you laugh. It was very Elia-like.

You nodded. “Okay, one date.”

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itsjamethyst · 3 years

Text

Thank you to the lovely @pennygalleon for the tag.

Rules: Tag nine people you want to know better

Three Ships:

1. Drarry. I came back to Drarry after a somewhat long Harry Potter hiatus. Coming back to Drarry has reignited my love for the HP world, and throughout all of my ship/fandom obsessions I always said that I'd write fanfiction for them, but I never did. My very first Drarry fanfiction is still a wip, but I find it so crazy that after all these years I'm back to where I started. I could write a whole long post detailing all the reasons why I love Drarry, but I wouldn't want you to sit through all that, so all I'll say is that I love how emotionally complicated they can be in fanfiction. I love character studies, and I love going in depth into a character's mind, motives, and emotions. No matter the pov or subject matter, Drarry have so much rich history and characterisation that reading about them finally understanding each other, and finding love through all the hate is so interesting to me. There's no other ship quite like Drarry.

2. Elu (SKAM France).

I have no proper words to express how much I adore season three of SKAM France. I know some people don't enjoy the dramatised, highly produced filmography of the France adaption, but it is so, so up my alley. There are so many gorgeous scenes in this show that has made me laugh, smile, and cry at the same time. The chemistry, the acting, the authenticity, how they dealt with mental health issues. Lucas and Eliott are so raw and flawed characters and that's what I love most about them. To me, Lucas and Eliott are like poetry. Gorgeously written, emotive, impactful, and one of those things that I'll never truly forget in a really long time.

3. Nygmobblepot (Gotham)

My third favourite ship changes a lot depending on what new thing I've fallen victim to, but for the past year and a half it's been Ed Nygma and Oswald Cobblepot. I mean, they bring a whole new meaning to strangers-to-friends-to-(unrequited lovers)-to-enemies-to-(backstabbing friends)-to-(remorseful)-enemies-to-lovers.

Well, try and put that as a tag on ao3.

Nygmobblepot are a rollercoaster, but I love them dearly. Their characters are so interesting and nuanced, and ship aside, whenever their characters are on screen (together or otherwise) are some of my favourite scenes from the show. (Except for the Lee/Nygma story line, I'm sorry but that is not welcome in my household. I loved Lee and Gordon together, and Ed *deserves to be with Oswald* so that ship train wrecked two good ships). Anyway, Martin is their adopted son--that's all I'm saying. Watch Gotham, thank you and goodnight.

Let's quick fire answer these next questions--go go go.

Last Song: You and I -- Ben Platt. His voice is phenomenal, he's such an inspiration to me. I'll be happy with 5% of his talent please, where can I buy his vocal run abilities?

Last Movie: Tangled. No surprise there. What can I say, I'm a woman of predictability.

Currently Reading: The last book I (didn't) finish reading was Nine Perfect Strangers. Drarry fanfic has taken over my life.

Currently Watching: Gotham. Shameless. Outer Banks. (Cobra Kai when it finally comes out!)

Currently Consuming: Coffee. It's either coffee, hot chocolate, or water.

Currently Craving: Music. I'm in the mood to sing songs at the top of my lungs. Volume max, my favourite playlist blasting on my speakers. That's what I'm craving to do right now.

Tagging: Only if you'd like to!

@nyleskies @opaleopioid @tontonguetonks @this-searing-light-the-sun @anaxandria-writes @bubble-gumhead

And anybody else. 💜

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