#also!!! follow Skam Baltimore on tumblr too

[alittleemo]

hey!! i've noticed that you're a fan of the ao3 remakes and i've been thinking about reading some of them. what's your fave thing about each of them? (that you've read of course) have a lovely day!!

oh babe you have MADE my day I would love to talk abt the AO3 remakes 

edit: oh god this has gotten way out of hand. I’m gonna summarize the answer to your actual question at the end of this, so if you would rather skip the dense paragraphs ahead feel free to just scroll down

Skam Boston- this was the first AO3 skam remake I read. Boston is geographically the closest Skam location to where I live (the Northeast Coast), so I especially got to connect with that. I adored Graciela and this girl squad always seemed to connect with me so fluidly, and they all felt really well developed. Iris has really taken the traditional Skam script and put her own spin on it—some of the plot twists really threw me for a loop. The Skam Boston characters are also just incredibly likable- Elias has become one of my favorite Williams, a character who the AO3 remakes have really brought me to love

Skam SF- I have family in the SF area, so once again I was more easily able to connect to the setting of this remake. I loved having a Jewish main in Maya, as I feel like there have been so few, if any, main Jewish characters in Skam. I love the relationships between the characters in Skam SF, and this remake definitely stands out in several moments for me (I still remember the Halloween scene quite vividly). As some shorter points, I love the soundtrack, the inherent relatability of Maya’s life (Me 🤝 Maya = both on Pinterest instead of doing our work) and this girl squad really has my heart. I wish I had more to say but it’s been awhile since I read Skam SF in its entirety lol

Skam Brighton- I found these first four Skam remakes during quarantine, but Skam Brighton especially impacted me because it already had almost four complete seasons for me to consume in my isolation. Isaac did a really great job changing up the traditional Skam storylines to make them more compelling and more inclusive, and in general writing a more accurate and comprehensive portrayal of sexuality, mental illness, racism, addiction, as well as a really interesting view on British teenage life. I also really loved the fact that the majority of the seasons heavily involved theatre—this absolutely decked me with theatre kid feels, and I loved living vicariously through the Skam Brighton squad as a kid who could have been a theatre kid if I wasn’t so self conscious. 

Skam DC- season four of Skam DC is currently airing, so I could write an entire other post just to wax poetic about Safiyya and AJ’s writing. Originally, my dumb ass thought Skam DC would be about a Skam set in the DC comics verse, something I had planned to do but for Marvel (yes, I am Stupid) (don’t even ask me how long it took to realize I was wrong). I loved watching Willa find herself and become so confident. Holly’s season took some traditional s3 elements about discovering your sexuality and once again vindicated our Nooreva dreams, and I also loved the family she found in her foster home. Kai and Jasper’s relationship even prior to s3 had intrigued me so much, and I experienced so many emotions watching them fall in love (the aquarium scene had me weeping). I loved having a black, trans Isak in Kai, rather than yet another cis white boy, and having a combined Even/Jonas created an incredibly complex and compelling dynamic. Safiyya’s season has proved to be just as excellent so far, and we’re finally getting a female Yousef!!! Also the soundtrack slaps so hard

Skam NT- ok so I first “met” Gab as I was reading the AO3 remakes and saw how the same couple of users seemed to be reading all of the remakes. When I finally got to the point where I had to wait for the clips to air, I loved watching to see when he would read them too (is it obvious I had so much free time on my hands during quarantine?). I ended up finding him on Tumblr, and the rest is history... /j. shortly after I followed Gab he introduced Skam NT, which is also set in Britain. Gab has started Skam NT off with season 3, so don’t be concerned if you can’t find s1. The girl squad dynamic is once again immaculate in Skam NT, but you definitely get a lot of the isolation feelings from the Isak season. Charlie (Isak) also has a twin sister, which adds an interesting dynamic to the situation. I loved Lou (Even) so much as well, and really relished having another wlw Evak. One of my favorite things about Skam NT is that it once again does not follow the og Skam script directly, as well as adding in some things that are DEFINITELY original—I am still not over the beach scene y’all.

Skam Colorado- I’m not positive this is actually being aired on AO3, but definitely follow @pianoandcookiedoughlover to catch every update. Like Gab, Skam Colorado is starting off with s3, and I’ve really enjoyed it so far. I love that both Ila (Isak) and Eden (Even) are artists, and the art club was an excellent way for the two to meet. So far Skam Colorado has also gone a lot deeper into Ila’s relationship with Parker (Emma), which I’ve found really interesting, considering most remakes only show a couple, shallow interactions between their Isaks and Emmas. This girl and boy squad seem much more interconnected, which has kept their dynamics really interesting. 

To summarize some of my favorite things:

Skam Boston: the characters and plot twists

Skam SF: the characters and their relationships

Skam Brighton: the characters and theatre and the soundtrack

Skam DC: the soundtrack and the characters and their relationships

Skam NT: the characters and their relationships and the setting

Skam Colorado: the characters and their relationships