#i forgot what episode the actual pose came from but… maybe driving???

[lizacstuff]

SCK/EDSER asks

My inbox was full again, so questions under the cut. Some of these are from today and some are from earlier. 

(asks under the read more)

Anonymous said: Random things that amuse me: 1. When they met, Serkan didn’t seem all that mad that Eda keyed his car but was way more angered by her disdain for him. 2. I always forget about Eda’s ex because I think Eda forgot about him too. Cenk cheated on her and brought his new gf to break up with her, and Eda was more peeved that he implied Serkan was out of her league. (1/2)

The only time he’s brought up again is when Eda pretends to be texting him instead of Serkan (because Ayfer would be madder at her talking to Serkan lol). 3. Whenever Melo is supposed to be mad at Serkan in solidarity with Eda, she just cannot bring herself to dislike him. (2/2)

I LOVE THIS ASK! 

1. I have always wondered about that. Even current, softer Serkan would get PISSED at someone keying his car. He keeps all of his things pristine. You know under normal circumstances he would be infuriated by that and not let it go. The car would have had to go to the body shop and everything.  I think the fact that he didn’t seem all that bothered, other than threatening to call the police of course, is that he was just so gobsmacked by this insanely beautiful, but also beautifully insane, lady yelling at him and handcuffing him that he couldn’t think straight. The fact that she had seriously vandalized his car became inconsequential. 

Additionally, I think when he found out ArtLife had cancelled her scholarship, he became embarrassed and didn’t want to make any more of an issue about it. 

2. I forget about him too. What a tool he was. It also seems a bit out of character for Eda now.  All of her friends and her aunt knew that he was ghosting her, and they made it clear they thought it by their reactions, but Eda didn’t get it? Eda was ready to marry a dude she hadn’t seen for a year? That does not sound like the Eda we know. Independent, fiery Eda? It’s true that she’s grown a lot, but that much? It seems like they designed that relationship to put Eda in the right frame of mind to kiss Serkan on the podium and then, thankfully, forgot about it. 

3. Yes, Melo is all of us. In the early episodes especially, Serkan could be a real jerk, but I know I never held it against him for long, just like Melo.  None of us can resist him, I’m sure we were all cheering her on when she was the one to give up Eda’s Saturday morning location.  And I love it when she calls him enişte. It’s also sweet that he’s fond of her as well. 

Anonymous said: What are your thoughts about Engin and Piril? Sometimes I think they are cute and sometime I just don't think they are meant for each other. I hope Piril's father brings a new story and dynamic that will help us see whether they work as a couple or not.

My thoughts are pretty much the same as yours. In the beginning I really thought they were pretty flat and wasn’t really rooting for them.  Partly because I loved Engin’s character and I was pretty “eh” on Piril. She was so laser focused on work that I didn’t like when she would try and guilt Serkan because he was spending time with Eda. I found that annoying and I thought Engin could have a more interesting relationship (like Melo!).

Alas, that wasn’t to be, however I surprised myself by actually cheering when he proposed, and I really liked their heart to heart talk in the NY episode. On the other hand I wasn’t really charmed by their disconnect when it came to entertaining people. They were SO FAR apart.  Piril was so uptight and Engin so lacksodasical, I think they’ll end up driving each other bonkers and it’s hard to see how that will work, and I’m not sure it’s something I want to watch all that much of. 

Same as you, I’m hope that Piril’s father turns out to be interesting. What’s going on there? Will we find out this episode?

Also, honestly, I’m still pressed they didn’t call Serkan to come to the wedding. (But I assume that had more to do with how quickly they shoot and needing to have scenes without Hande and Kerem in them. H/K were in tons of scenes that episode so it was probably tight with scheduling and they were doing A and B units etc.) 

Anonymous said:  Hi Liza, I hope you are well and you and your loved ones are staying safe. SCK really helped make 2020 better and I'm glad we have the show in 2021 too! Sometimes the letter count in these asks really get to me because I feel like I have so much more to say and ask but oh well. In this ask i just want to say I hope Seyfi and Melo both get their very own happily ever afters. They're my favs and totally deserve it. Leyla too! That actress is so pretty, I wish we got to see her dress up more!

Hello! I’m well, thank you for asking.  I’m not even joking when I saw that SCK was a highlight of 2020 for me. I’m so appreciative for the happy and joyous distraction it’s been over the last few months. 

I LOVE MELO AND SEYFI.  They are two of my favorite supporting characters, and two of the only ones that have stayed at the top since the beginning. Now Aydan is up there with them, but she wasn’t in the beginning, lol! 

Those two deserve all good things. Leyla is also a great character and I wonder what her feelings are towards Erdem. Does she really like him?  

Anyway, I’m not sure what they might be planning for any of them, but I can tell you I’m more interested in how they might end up, than I am with Ceren, Ferit, Fifi, or Piril.  

Anonymous said: This ask may not be worth answering but I've always wondered about Eda's family on her mom's side. I don't think they've ever mentioned it on the show and if they have I may have missed it but it's interesting. It's most likely that her grandparents died and her mom didn't have any siblings but it would be really cool if she did have a family member who understood her and supported her and Serkan unlike Ayfer.

It would be interesting to know, you’d think she would have some relatives on her mom’s side.  We’ll have to see if the show ever mentions it.

Anonymous said: Ok it may be the overthinker in me but unlike everyone else I'm actually worried seeing Serkan wear his engagement ring. If he and Eda reconciled and he knows the truth about her grandma threatening her, wouldn't their game plan be keeping their relationship a secret and not flaunting his ring. But then that's what the fans want, and maybe the writers have a different idea. I'm freaking out with worry that maybe Serkan and Bulca got engaged! But then it looks like his original ring! let's see!

Anonymous said: I'm the one who feared the engagement ring in a previous ask. Well today's pics/videos that show Serkan, Aydan and Seyfi at Eda's home with flowers seem like they are asking for her hand in marriage. It's an assumption but I feel much better. Lol!

See, this is why I always say not to borrow trouble by worrying about the disaster scenario.  Why would he ask Balca to marry him the day after he sexed up Eda? Even if they were hiding it and using Balca for subterfuge, why would they need to go all the way to engaged to do that? 

I’m glad you’re feeling better. I agree that the video posted today with them all at Eda’s house with the flower and the chocolate looks very much like they’re doing the traditional asking for her hand for serious this time! 

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Can’t wait to see them with their rings back on, we’ve been waiting so long. 

Also, I have no idea why they are able to get away with this... maybe Eda found something while investigating that neutralized Babaanne?  At least for the moment? 

Anonymous said: Sometimes I hate being the audience, we know things that the characters don't and I want to yell at my tablet screen. I don't though because I don't want to confirm my parents thoughts that I am crazy, lol! Anyway I wanted to say that I appreciate you and the SCK community because none of my friends watch the show and I'm glad I have people to discuss this with, otherwise I'd actually go crazy. Edser & Hanker & the cast and crew make me happy! They're just amazing and I'm thankful for them!

Me too!  I appreciate the cast and crew AND I appreciate the fandom. There are some very lovely people here, and I’m thrilled that I have you all to discuss the show and ship with because none of my friends or family in real life watch either.  I��ve told many people about it, and sometimes I will drop words or phrases in Turkish that I’ve picked up watching and all they do is roll their eyes at me.  (I enjoy that) 

Also... talk back to that screen, I do. It’s fun. LOL. 

Anonymous said: Thoughts on the fan theory that Eda & Serkan are actually already working together to bring her grandma down? Not sure that I really saw any clues throughout the episode that a scene of the two of them talking together was cut out but guess we could always get flashbacks to show it. I think for me that might make a little sense because how does Serkan not suspect that Grandma flat out made Eda breakup with him? He knows she wants them kept apart, he got arrested and then magically released which coincided with Eda staying away from him, entry of a prince interested in Eda and Eda being chummy with her Grandma 🧐. Or maybe he does suspect all of that but finally understands the risk that she poses to all of them so he agreed to end things? Very interested to see how the show gets us from that heartbreaking breakup to Serkan & Eda being jealous at the restaurant.

My apologies, I know this ask was sent before some of the recent spoilers including the second promo with the... uh... explosion. (sex) So at this point I do not think they are working together, the break up appears to be real. So it will be interesting how the first 2 hours of this episode plays out. I assume the sex will be in the last 15 minutes. 

It looks like Serkan’s tact is to pretend he’s over her and moving on and let that drive her crazy. So I’d say that in order to do that, he has a pretty good idea why Eda broke up with him and knows it’s because of Babaanne and threats against him.

Anonymous said: Can I just say - I really dislike Ayfer. And I just realized that she has had like no growth at all in these 25 episodes. I guess she has an instagram business now? There is such a huge contrast between how they've developed her and Aydan, not only in how they view EdSer's relationship but on their own as well. Aydan is a new woman while Ayfer is still just a hater and a negative nancy about everything. You'd think they'd give her a better storyline with her mother in town but I don't see it

Since you sent this I’ve answered another ask about Ayfer here.  I very much agree with you.  She reacts negatively to everything, I’m not sure why the girls like to hang out with her so much, they have to hide everything and she is like a damp rag covering any bit of excitement. 

On rewatching some of the early episodes, I have noticed that she was negative  from the beginning.  She was even annoying in her first second on screen, when she was waking Eda up to go help with the soil delivery. I hate that shrill voice she uses to say Günaydın over and over again. 

You’re so right that she hasn’t had much if any growth.  Neither she nor Aydan were excited by the Eda/Serkan pairing from the beginning. Aydan was more vocal, but Ayfer was just as disapproving.  And frankly, even though between the two of them, Aydan might have seemed like the more formidable foe to the relationship, Ayfer actually always had more power.  Just because Serkan Bolat is going to do whatever he wants to do and he’s not going to be swayed by his mother’s disapproval, but as we’ve seen in episode 21 Eda is more susceptible to her aunt’s guilt and disapproval. Remember when she asked Eda if she could trust Serkan’s positive assessment of her work because he might lie if he has feelings for her!?! GRRRRRRRRR. 

The other big difference is that once Aydan saw how absolutely heartbroken Serkan was, she completely changed her tune and became supportive of the relationship. Her son’s happiness mattered to her. While Ayfer sat there last week and watched her heartbroken niece and reacted with glee.  Eda’s happiness is apparently not important to Ayfer.  

If indeed the Bolat’s have come to woo Eda, it will be interesting to see how Ayfer reacts.  Will she come around on her own or will Eda have to give her an ultimatum. I wouldn’t mind that, actually.  Give Ayfer a reality check on the way she’s been behaving, just as controlling as her mother. 

Anonymous said:bHey Liza! Thanks for your thoughts on ep25, was looking forward to them today cause you're always rational and I pretty much agree with all you've said lol. The number of ppl mad at Eda/saying her character is ruined is wild, did they watch the same episode?? Eda HAD to end things because of the shit her grandma was pulling, like it wasn't small things she has serious connections, obviously Eda isn't gonna endanger serkan!! I really hope the people being irrational read your answers lol. The only thing that's bothering me about the episodes is that this is supposed to be a romantic comedy and I'm missing that (gotta be honest I fast forwarded thru the Alex ayfer aydan stuff lol) but hoping for some funny Edser stuff at least lol. Also THE PRINCE REALLY DO BE CRAZY lmao

This was also sent before some of the recent schedules. It looks to me like we’re are in for a bit of romance the next few episodes. 

I’M SO EXCITED!!

Anonymous said: the prince is very specifically credited as a guest actor, so i think that maybe he'll only be here for 1 or 2 more episodes max. which makes me think that this arc at least with him directly involved won't last very long. i'm excited about the bombshell to be dropped though because as of right now neither eda or serkan know exactly what babaanne's plan for him is in regards to eda.. and not to mention his other creepy motives that have to do with his dead wife.

I haven’t seen him mentioned in any BTS stuff for 27... maybe he makes his exit is 26? We shall see. 

Anonymous said:  while i understand where serkan was coming from in his decision to not tell eda the truth, it was coming from a purely selfish reason (even he says that) eda's decision is bc of a very real 3rd party threat that would have consequences for serkan's family, business, and his wellbeing. and eda has no time to prepare a plan or anything of the sort; she's basically backed into a corner. i really wonder why serkan is granted so much more understanding in the fandom than eda's character..

I don’t agree that Serkan was coming from a “purely selfish place.”  I don’t remember Serkan saying that and if he did, I’m sure it’s because he’s attributing all his motives to the one he’s most ashamed of feeling.  Because while there was something selfish in not wanting her to know the truth and not wanting her to think of her dead parents when she looked at him, I think it’s clear he was also trying to protect her from those thoughts. He was trying to protect her from the heartbreak of dredging up their deaths, protecting her from having to make the decision to leave him. It was a lot more complicated then just him being “purely selfish.” Remember he inflicted the greatest heartbreak on himself, you don’t do that for purely selfish reasons. 

It would be nice if anytime something went wrong, there wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction to vilify one or the other characters. 

[jordm]

Heartland 13x03 - Rearview mirror review

Previously on Heartland... Lou told Mitch she loved him & oh yeah almost forgot about that whole saga of events.

Lyndy is also talking and giving high fives and it’s real adorable. 

AND we get a “wife” aka Cassandra mention not once but twice! Once when mentioning her doing acupuncture and second when Caleb mentions getting the wife’s approval. If only we saw her (RIP Amy's friends)... but one can dream.

AND a Scott mention (so clearly Ty is still somewhat working with Scott, or at-least using his equipment) so clearly his business is still thriving. Did Ty go back and work with Scott since his own personal side business went downhill?

JACK

IT’S LITTLE JACK (played by actual little Shaun aka Shaun’s son)! 

Anyways, Jack is acting off. He’s yelling at Luke when he accidentally stumbles across his sister, June’s suitcase of things and doesn’t let Georgie help bringing in the hay-bales, even though she helped last year. Through flashbacks, we see what could possibly be the route of it; memories of June and himself from when they were teenagers (even if no one else except him or the audience realize it).

My guess is that Georgie reminds him of June, with the way she wants to help out around the farm and everything, and with Luke unearthing his memories, with Georgie reminding him of June, he doesn’t want her to do anything that brings up good - or bad memories.

Like for example, June saying her dad let her ride (knowing how her riding the horses turns out) and then his hesitantcy to let Georgie ride the cart during the hay bale even though it clearly makes the most sense

or when Georgie loses control for a second, and then gets things back on track, Jack refuses to let her take the reigns again due to what happened to June way back when, when she lost control, accidentally rode over a rock and ended up being dragged by the cart (and DIES; this is why they created the quick release thing right? Like if you get thrown off a jet ski it auto clips off). He doesn’t want Georgie to be rocked off and end up the same even if it’s a totally different situation.

But guys, this is how June dies.. DIES. Which is heartbreaking because not only was Jack not there, but she was only driving because he wasn’t there.  Jack said the reason that he pretends she didn’t exist, is because its his fault she died, but it wasn’t. I do think that this is some form of survivors’ guilt and back then, perhaps it wasn’t ‘normal’ to talk about his feelings with his family, so he never got a real chance to grieve. 

Did his family blame him since him going away caused her to be in this situation, when really it was one mis-placed rock’s fault? Or perhaps the other team members should have been close together to help her OR even better, someone should have been on the bugey with her like Jack was with Georgie (I know it was just sticks but STILL) just incase something happened? Or maybe this was more than a two person job?!?! POINT IS, it wasn’t his fault, even though he blames himself and I believe this story arc is going towards Jack finally finding closure... or some semblance of it because time doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll ever be 100% over a traumatic event.

KATIE

Guys, I’m totally on Katie’s side. It’s totally unfair that Katie has to share her room with Lyndy, while the foster kid gets the attic to himself. This is why this current arrangement to me, didn’t make much sense, and honestly, still doesn’t. Because either way they put it, let’s face it, they are one room short no matter how they put it.

Not to mention that she came home from Europe to find the entire family dynamic different, with Georgie in the loft, Tim in his trailer and Amy/Ty back in the main house. Lou may have said alright to the new arrangement but did anyone ask Katie about what she wants?! Anyone can see why she’s a little pissy at the new arrangements especially since Jack could easily move into Fairfield.

Luke: “Can you ride?”

Katie: “I’ve grown up on a Ranch, so plenty.”

I mean, it’s true; have we ever seen Katie ride? She’s may have grown up on a ranch but lately (as in the last 2 seasons) she’s been in Vancouver, Europe, a friends, grandma/grandpa... how much time has she really spend at the ranch?

Anyways, I think that Katie has been away so much that when she came back to find that Luke was here semi-permanently, the rooms have changed... and now Luke can ride better than she can - she just feels out of place. Maybe taking horse riding lessons with Georgie again will help her find her place in the family again.

RINGO (with Jade/Caleb/Amy/Ty... it’s an all hands on deck type)

So, apparently Amy hasn’t been working with horses for the past while due to the online troll aka Kirk constantly posing negative reviews, so when Jade asks her to look after her new horse Ringo, Amy is thrilled. Add to the fact that, apparently Jamie Wilcox sold Jade a horse with a broken vertebrae (and was beat while in auction?) and has a history of doing this with other horses. 

SIDE NOTE: How much time does Kirk have on his hands like damn man, get a grip. At what point will he ask himself, “Am I taking this too far?”. We still haven’t seen the Maggie confrontation, so clearly this storyline will be going on a bit more. 

Ty wisely says no to Caleb’s suggestion to lie that there was no Bute in his system to get Wilcox to admit that there actually was. But oh wait - luckily he has another horse up for sale that has been acting up and Caleb has a plan!

Amy: “Just don’t do anything stupid?”

Ty: “Me, Caleb? Never!”

They never got into mischief... never ;) and I miss their mischievous adventures, especially when they work out and give justice to the bad guys.

So Caleb’s plan is to “pretend” to be interested in buying in the new horse, while Ty secretly gets a blood sample. This works, and as long as Jamie doesn’t drug his horses anymore and gives Jade her money back, they won’t tell anyone. And since Jade and Amy (this pairing!) won the buckle, everyone wins! 

I actually genuinely enjoyed this storyline; seeing Caleb and Ty / Amy and Jade working together again was a nice change of pace, reminding me that there are other people in the universe besides the immediate family. Jade giving Amy a glowing review to counter the bad ones probably helps a ton too, especially since she can say “she helped the Ringo and me win a buckle”.

LOU AND MITCH 

Lou is baaack and is hiding her relationship with Mitch from Katie (much to Amy’s amusement), to the point where he is creeping in and out of her bedroom through the window. Like, are we in high school again? Why doesn’t she just go to his place? Doesn’t Katie love Mitch?

Anyways, Lou isn’t fooling anyone with these early nights... okay except maybe Jack because he gets his gun when he hears someone “breaking in” and it’s Mitch just crawling into Lou’s window.

This storyline was basically “kids aren’t as stupid as you think” because Katie knew all along and I still hate that Mitch is being defined by his relationship with Lou but what can ya do? But the result was that Mitch asked Lou to move in with her.  MOVE IN. Y’all how long have they been dating for? I can’t help but think that this is such a bad idea, esp given their history, even if it would solve the bedroom problem and would let Katie have her own bedroom (either at the new place or at the ranch).

SONGS IN THIS EPISODE

Dreamer - Jen Grant

[uas-fics]

Title: Who Needs Sleep Anyway?

Summary:  Kenny's been working long hours, so a Saturday date is just what he needs to relax.

Ships: Stenny

Rating: T

Request from  spaceboi.craig on instagram

~~~~

Four and a half hours at City Wok, eight and a half hours at school, two hours rushing through homework, that's fifteen hours, not counting morning grooming and travel time.

Fifteen hour days all week.

Kenny had never been so thankful for a weekend. A weekend with a Saturday date on top of that almost made not spending the day sleeping worth it.

He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. Even so, he was still tired. Slapping his cheeks might wake him up. Didn't he watch a Mythbusters episode on that once?

As he prepared to smack his cheeks, a voice called out his name.

A hand slammed firmly between his shoulder blades, nearly toppling him over.

“Oh, shit, dude, ” Stan gasped and grabbed his forearm, “are you ok?”

Kenny flashed a smile and a peace sign.

“I'm fine, Stan, my man, but you shouldn't go attacking people like that. Your jock strength is dangerous, ” Kenny teased.

Stan did not look amused. He fixed Kenny with a hard, probing look.

“When did you last sleep?” He demanded.

Kenny held himself firm with a deadpan expression.

“I got seven hours last night, ” he replied. That wasn't a lie, but it wasn't what Stan wanted to hear.

Kenny continued on, “I got plenty of sleep all week. Mr. Kim has been letting me work on my homework at City Wok when there is a lull, so I don't need to do it at home.”

That was a lie, but it pacified Stan enough that he backed off the subject, much to Kenny’s relief.

He would rather not start their date once again reminding Stan that Mr. Kim wasn't all that bad and if he hadn't let Kenny work under the table for the last few years, Kenny’s family would have starved.

Throwing an arm around Stan's shoulders, Kenny asked, “So, what's this date plan of yours and does it involve me driving Sweet Rig?”

Stan snorted a laugh.

“Sweet Rig” was Cartman's sarcastically given name to Stan's car, which all of Stan's friends lovingly adopted.

Sweet Rig was actually Stan's grandpa's car, handed down to him on his sixteenth birthday. The brakes squealed. The back passenger side door only opened from the outside. The whole vehicle shook when the speedometer needle was over fifty-five. It smelled like mold and cat urine and dust, guzzled gas like none other, and Stan coddled it like a newborn baby.

The tank never fell below a forth. He didn't allow food or drink inside. A trash bag waited under the back seat for muddy shoes, and every seventh, like clockwork, Stan checked the fluids.

Kenny batted his eyelashes and Stan pushed him away.

“Nope.”

“Damn, well, worth a try.” Kenny shrugged. “So what are we doing really?” He cast a glance around him.

The morning sun glinted off Stark's Pond. Little rivers of melted snow snaked across the dirt paths. The trees extended into the distance.

Stan puffed out his chest. “Hiking, ” he proclaimed.

Kenny couldn't help but wince.

“Hiking?” He repeated. Stan had to be joking.

Stan nodded. “Yeah, hiking.” For emphasis he turned the backpack Kenny just noticed he had towards his front.

“You see, ” he said as he began to unzip the pack, “the weather is supposed to be gross and windy next week, so I thought it would be a good idea to enjoy nature before then.”

For a moment, Kenny wondered if this was a test. Was Stan doing this to make Kenny fess up to being dog tired? If he did, would Stan give up the charade then drive them to the movies?

The admission sat on his tongue for a best, ready to come out, when Kenny remembered that this was not the first time Stan had done a date idea like this.

He did it before when he and Wendy were still together. It had been the first time he put his hand up a girl's shirt. Stan bragged about it for weeks afterward, earning the respect of his fellows.

Oh, I get it. Stan wants to get down and dirty in the woods, Kenny thought.

Out loud, he said, “oh, that sounds great. I'm game for some outdoor activities.”

If Stan noticed the inflection in Kenny's voice, he didn't show it. Instead, he nodded, pulling out a pair of worn hiking boots.

“Here, ” he set them in Kenny’s hands, “they'll work better than what you have.”

Kenny lifted his right shoe. The sole near his big toe came loose on Wednesday. He'd wrapped some duct tape around it, but when he got home, Kenny would have to super glue it.

Stan set a hand on his elbow and led him to the bench by the pond.

Kenny pulled out a boot’s tongue with a frown.

“Stan, I'm a size nine, this is an eleven,” Kenny told him.

Stan set his bag on the bench to dig around.

“I know, so I picked up some socks. Two pairs should work, you think? The pack has three, I think if two doesn't work.”  

Kenny perked up from the bench seat as he untied his shoes.

‘Picked up’ had become something of a code word meaning ‘you can keep these afterward’ that Stan started using in an attempt to save Kenny some pride when he bought him a necessity.

Kenny didn't complain though. He could always use new socks, with how fast he wore out his.

“Oh, cool, thanks.” Kenny set his shoes on the bench beside him. As he did, he stole a glance into Stan's bag.

Gatorade bottles, granola bars, beef jerky sticks, but Kenny didn't see anything particularly useful for adult recreation. Maybe it was in another pocket.

“Damn it, ” Stan swore. “I forgot the socks in Sweet Rig. Do you mind waiting?”

Kenny shook his head. “‘Course not. Take your time, but, ” here he winked, “don't take too long, lover boy.”

Kenny took great pleasure in seeing Stan's cheeks turn pink.

“Um, yeah, be back.” Stan pointed towards the parking lot before jogging towards it.

Kenny snickered, then leaned back against the bench.

The sun warmed the wood, leaving it pleasent against him. The birds tweeted a lovely song. Ducks occasionally splashed in the pond.

He shut his eyes.

“Just for a moment, ” he muttered to himself.

If the weather really did get gross and windy as Stan claimed, then making a pleasant memory such as this was the best course of action.

After a few moments, his chin lowered to his chest, his breathing deepened, and Kenny dozed off.

~~~~~

On some level, Kenny knew he was dreaming. Somehow he always knew when he was dreaming.

But lucidity of the dream soon faded as the dream solidified into a scene.

He was on a nice couch, in a house he knew he owned— not rented, owned. The walls had posters of scantily clad people in many different poses that showed off their exposed skin.

On the shelves were knick-knacks and pictures of his family. Karen and Kevin were happy and his parents were sober.

This was his dream future.

When he was younger, the room would be filled with the people from his posters, but with age, the people had dwindled to one person laying under him.

He had his lips pressed to Stan's neck and Stan had his hands running up and down his back.

Sounds more wanton than anything Stan had made in real life escaped his mouth.

Kenny pulled back, admiring the string of hickies he’d left along Stan’s neck and collarbone. Stan’s hands stayed planted firmly on his lower back as he scooted to a sitting position.

He hugged Kenny, hurrying his face in his stomach.

“Good...Love you...” He murmured. Stan was sappy and clingy when they made out and Kenny loved it.

He raised his hand to stroke his boyfriend’s hair when a sharp pain resonated from his back.

Throwing back his head, Kenny let out a gasping scream as sharp claws dug into his flesh.

When he looked back down, Stan was gone, replaced by a thick, sinewy claw wrapped around him.

Its nails dug deeper into him as the claw rose up.

Soon Kenny found himself face to face with a creature of nightmares and madness.

Cthulhu’s skin stretched across his face like wet leather. His eyes burned with an orange, unworldly flame.

All around them strange architectures sprung up as did disfigure, unnatural monsters buzzing by like grotesque flies.

Cthulhu squeezed and Kenny bit down on his tongue to hold back another scream.

This creature was his nightmare and, in a sense, his equal. This was one of the few beings that could kill him forever —

His heart froze in his chest. His limbs felt like lead.

If Cthulhu killed him, he wouldn't come back. It would be The End. No rewind. No reboot. No return after the commercial break.

Just The End.

His cries fell quiet in his throat.

Another squeeze and he heard bones crack.

“...no...please...” He whimpered. “I'm happy. You can't do this to me when I'm finally happy.”

Kenny wanted to cry, to scream, to plead that it wasn't fair, that he was scared, that he didn't want this.

He shut his eyes, trying to calm his shaking.

The afterlife stopped scaring Kenny a long time ago, but having all he worked for taken away from him, leaving his love and family alone? That scared him stiff.

He waited for antagonizing moments for the great old one to squish him like a bug, but instead of killing him, Cthulhu turned his claw around and dropped Kenny.

Not once did he open his eyes to see the ground rushing towards him. His body went lax, like Kenny long ago taught it to do when it was one a collision course with a hard object.

The collision never happened.

A pair of arms wrapped around him. His head slumped against a chest. The sound of a strong, steady heart calmed his own.

Kenny had dreams of carrying quite, though he didn't know why. At least they were always a comforting dream.

Usually in his dream, either his mom or dad carried him. This time, the scent of cigarettes and beer didn't fill his nose. The scent of body spray, grass, and dog hair did.

Stan, he realized groggily.

If Kenny had more conscious control over his dreams, he might have wondered when Stan became so involved in his happiest fantasies, but he didn't, so instead, he wrapped his arms around Stan and snuggled close without ever opening his eyes. Curling up against Stan, Kenny let himself slip back to his earlier dream of the house and of a happy future.

~~~~~

Someone shuffling around under him woke Kenny up.

He blinked looking around.

The interior of Sweet Rig was all around him.

“Oh, shit, sorry, did i wake you up?” Stan yawned, stretching out. He too blinked the sleep from his eyes.

“What's going on? Did we go hiking?” Kenny readjusted himself more comfortably on Stan's lap, his feet hung over the center console of the front seat. He was still only in his ratty socks. Where did his shoes end up? Stan probably set them in the shoe trashbag.

“Nah, you passed out on a bench. I carried you to the car.” Stan explained. “I was going to take you home, but then you hugged me in your sleep.” He smirked. “It’s was pretty cute, dude.”

Kenny pressed his shoulder against Stan’s chest and smiled slyly. “Cute enough for a drive?”

“No.” Stan purposefully took the keys from the ignition and put them in his jacket pocket.

“Worth a try,” Kenny sighed dramatically. He continued, “So, how long was I out? An hour?”

The sun still shone outside, so at least he didn't sleep the day away.

“Try four,” Stan took an open Gatorade bottle from the drink holder.

“Four?!” Kenny gasped, twisting onto his stomach. “You let me sleep the whole fucking day? How can we go hiking if I’m asleep?” His hand grasped the door handle when Stan set a hand on his wrist.

“Dude, dude, dude, it’s fine. You needed it anyway.” Stan shook his head with a smile.

Kenny deflated before rolling back over. His shoulder blades pressed against the car door. The window handle stabbed into his back.

“But...the date...second base and all...” He trailed off, his mind going to the start of his dream.

“Second base?” Stan furrowed his brows. “What?”

“That’s why you wanted to go into the woods. Like you did with Wendy? To fool around?” Kenny’s shoulders slumped. “We could go now, but it’s afternoon, so there will be more people.”

Stan’s face went red. He shook his head. “N-no, no, that’s not my plan.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’d forgotten about that, actually.”

Kenny bolted straight, scraping his back against the door. “You forgot about the first time you groped boob?!” He was almost offended. How could anyone forget such an important milestone?

Stan hummed. “About that, I, uh, didn’t. Not completely.” Kenny fixed him with a confused look, so he went on, “She let me stick a hand up her shirt, but the second I touched her bra strap, I panicked and, um, didn’t go any farther.” He laughed nervously. “Don’t tell anyone, though.”

Kenny’s lips quivered. Snorts escaped his nose. He tried to hold it back, but the wave of laughter escaped nonetheless.

“Really? Really? Holy shit, dude! You went in for the long con on that lie. Remember how Clyde and I begged you to give an in-depth detail on how it felt? Did you just make all that up?” Kenny doubled over, holding his stomach. “Shut up, or were breaking up,” Stan threatened, shoving his hand over Kenny’s mouth. Even his ears were red now.

Kenny pushed Stan’s hand anyway. “Phew, ok, ok, I’m done.” He wiped away a tear. “Back on track, I really am sorry I fell asleep on you.”

Stan raised a shoulder. “It’s cool. You talk in your sleep by the way. Something about being happy and dying?”

Kenny pressed his lips into a line. He didn’t dare tell Stan about this dream in full. Years of dealing with his curse caused him to learn to appreciate it for what it was, a weird, unnatural secret that no one else needed to burden themselves with.

“Nightmare, I think.” Kenny shrugged back. “But it ended on a good note.” He pressed a kiss to Stan’s cheek. Stan wrapped an arm around his waist and hugged him.

Part of him wanted to stay in the front seat and keep snuggling the rest of the day, but the afternoon was so lovely, it would have been a crime to do so.

“I think,” Kenny said, reaching for the door, “I do what to go on that hike now”

[lightsandlostbells]

Skam France season 3, episode 5 reaction

The opening clip gave me flashbacks to this SNL Totino’s commercial, another classic of gay cinema, so I FULLY expect to see some hot pizza roll action later this season. 

Episode 5

Clip 1 - Still no yellow curtains???

Dramatic music. Lucas and Eliott are passionately kissing. The camera swoops over parts of their bodies. Eliott is smiley, Lucas gets in a kiss to Eliott’s nose. The level of intimacy is very strong, that shot of their legs tangled together is nice. I think it’s great that they didn’t back down from the kissing and physical contact in this scene; it’s not that it needs to be very explicit, just respectful and on par to what they’d give for a het couple, and they filmed Lucas and Eliott about the same as they did Charles and Manon last season. Skam was so good in how it depicted intimacy between Isak and Even; I consider it one of the defining features of S3, setting it above other gay romances in media for its lack of skittishness and double standards, and it’s been a consistent concern of mine that the remakes will be a step back in that regard. This clip was definitely reassuring. 

Eliott asks Lucas if he’s his first guy, and Lucas just snorts so Eliott takes that as a yes. Lucas asks the same question and Eliott replies with this Even-worthy eyebrow raise, so Lucas is like, oh, I see! They laugh. So I that wasn’t an actual answer, lol? But I took it as Eliott having some experience with dudes. Could be a variety of things from kissing a boy to hooking up with one to a full-fledged relationship with a guy. Or the Mikael incident, if they include that in S4. They’ve apparently changed a huge amount, but that’s actually one detail that doesn’t need to be changed the way the bus storyline has to be, for instance.

We get some whispery voiceover as Eliott asks Lucas what he thought of him when he saw him the first time in the common room. We cut to them lying shirtless, so this is later in the day, after things got more heated. The lighting is very warm and golden, it’s a very romantic staging. Like there might as well be white curtains billowing in the breeze. (The curtains are white, but not billowy.)

Eliott volunteers that the first time he saw Lucas wasn’t in the common room, but on his first day in the corridor. Basically he describes the trailer to Lucas. Lucas didn’t see him but he was all Eliott saw. So that revelation happened fast. Not a surprise to anyone who saw the trailer (or you know, saw OG Skam) but it cuts out some of the mystery for Lucas - like Isak was doubting Even’s interest through much of the season, especially in this episode and afterwards, and when Sonja said the relationship was fake. Isak was so taken aback by Even revealing it in the last episode in part because he (and the audience) had doubted it so often. But Lucas has this reassurance from Eliott right from the beginning. Lucas just has so much more to go off from Eliott at this point: Eliott is more upfront telling Lucas how great he is, Eliott has said he wants to break up with Lucille and have a relationship with someone else who’s not necessarily a girl, Eliott didn’t choose plans with Lucille over a day with Lucas, Eliott told Lucas he wanted the double date to be just the two of them. Even when Eliott disappeared for a few days, he followed it up by apologizing to Lucas and saying he was sick. And that’s nice for Lucas, that he’s not doubting himself as much, but I have to wonder how this will affect the story? Or their relationship trajectory? When Eliott cuts off their relationship, it will come out of nowhere even more than in Skam. 

Lucas whispers about what Eliott would have done if he didn’t go to the common room, or Lucas came to the bus earlier or later, as they lay there in their underwear with Eliott on his back, in between lots of kissing. The camera keeps cutting back and forth between kissing and talking, different angles, lots of pans, etc.

Eliott saying that he imagines two paths when he has a choice to make, but it drives him mad when he doesn’t know the outcome of the one he doesn’t take. So Lucas brings up parallel universes. (Piano music starts playing at this point, which seems to happen at significant Lucas/Eliott turning points, like the first time Lucas saw Eliott, or when Lucas played piano for Eliott. Like in OG, this conversation might have a huge effect on Eliott and how he sees himself and their relationship.) When Lucas makes a choice, there are all these other Lucases making other choices, like he’s surfing in Bali or in he’s in a NYC skyscraper signing a deal. I don’t know if these are things Lucas actually would like to experience in his life, or of they’re just examples of things that are so far and distant from his present reality, fun fantasies. 

Eliott asks if maybe New York businessman Lucas didn’t jump off the building because he burned out. Lucas says that’s awful, Eliott asks if he’s ever thought about it? That’s good foreshadowing, a good hint as to Eliott’s state of mind.

Eliott says he doesn’t believe in parallel universes, though he doesn’t explain why (like Even say it made him feel lonely). Lucas says there are Lucases and Eliotts in other universes who are together right now. Lucille calls and Eliott groans, then says Eliott #425 can go talk to her, heh. Lucas #1 is very happy with that decision. They lie on each other and it blurs as the clip ends, as they fall asleep.

This is one of those clips that I completely get why people would love it, it’s very apparent, and I don’t think it’s bad, not at all, but at the same time it’s just personally not my thing. I’m sorry! Again, I understand why this clip blew up. It’s just ... similar to how I feel about cupcakes. People love cupcakes. I love some cupcakes! But I don’t care for a lot of cupcakes, like the really fancy ones with tons of frosting, because most frosting is too sugary for me. Do I get why people like the cupcakes with mountains of frosting, though? Or why people prefer the frosting to the cake itself? Absolutely. 

Most of my issue is with the editing. There had so many cuts and jumps and I don’t think it served the mood or purpose of this clip. Actually, I found it really distracting. I could never just relax into the moment because of how the camera was spinning and panning and cutting between different points in time, something that has been done in various scenes in Skam and the remakes, but not usually with weighty dialogue happening at the same time? I found it hard to focus on what they were saying. 

On that note, I don’t think the way it was shot was the best way to demonstrate to their chemistry. I think they have quite good chemistry! But there was so much moving around and cutting between moments that it began to feel like a series of poses rather than two actors working off each other, if that makes sense. 

It just felt a bit too much like this clip was a perfume ad, lol. It’s very heavy and sensual and romantic, and it’s beautiful, but it’s not what I prefer from the Skam universe. It takes away some of the rawness and vulnerability of this kid’s coming out story - something that they’re still integrating into the show by keeping many of Isak’s struggles in Lucas - and makes it more full throttle OTT mature romance. Like - this feels like a romance between adults, not teenagers, and I don’t mean because of the level of intimacy/shirtlessness, more like the level of confidence, the way it doesn’t feel like they’re figuring things out, but that this is familiar territory (and for Lucas at least, it is not). And well, another some of that is because the actors are adults, too. 

There’s some more stuff I can say but again, it’s just not my style for this material. In other contexts I would eat up this hardcore French romanticism, lol.

Clip 2 - Guess Who(’s not staying for dinner)

Lucas wakes up alone at 14:34 on Saturday. It’s later that day, so what’s his excuse for missing Basile’s party? Eliott is not actually there to keep him occupied. Is he just going to lay in bed and smell Eliott’s pillow or something? I realize he’s distracted but isn’t he going to be receiving texts from the guys?

Eliott left him a note on the pillow. It’s a hedgehog in bed, but when you open the note it’s a raccoon and a hedgehog in bed together with a little heart. AWWWW. That’s so cute. It’s so cute I won’t make any interspecies erotica jokes. The note says “Eliott number 3546 is a lucky guy” and that Lucas is handsome when he’s sleeping. Lucas looks bummed, though. I mean, I would be if I went to bed sleeping beside someone who looked like that and I woke up alone.

Lucas goes into the kitchen where everyone else is. Manon has been up early cooking, because she slept on the couch and got woken up by the neighbors. Lucas is like, oh sorry, forgot I’m not in my room anymore. WHY ARE YOU APOLOGIZING, IT’S YOUR ROOM. SHE HAS NEVER LIVED IN IT. (Also, I don’t think she meant anything by it, but her mentioning that she woke up early hearing the noise from the couch comes across as oddly passive-aggressive.)

But Manon is OK with it, because Lucas needed his room more! Eliott seemed super cool! UMMMM this is kinda weird. I know Eskild said the same thing but the situation seemed less pointed, like Manon’s borderline suggesting I know you needed the bed more than I did, Lucas, because of all the gay sex you were having last night.

The roommates all met Eliott when he left and Lucas covers by saying he’s a good friend who got too drunk so Lucas offered him a place to sleep. Manon is all “OK!” in a way that is too casual to be truly casual, if you know what I mean. Lucas gets on the defensive and says what, we can’t bring friends over here now? Now Manon is all, “OK...” in a way that says calm down, dude.

Mika eyes Lucas as he leaves. I don’t think they’ve really built that relationship in a substantial way, but at least they added that brief glimpse to show that Mika has Lucas on his mind?

Clip 3 - Cake!

Lucas and Manon walk into school, Lucas carrying baked goods made by Manon. Manon gets a call from Charles and ignores it. There needs to be a substantial Lucas and Manon heart-to-heart at some point. They’ve set up too much between them - I feel like their dynamic is more developed than Lucas and Mika, or Lucas and Yann this season.

The girl squad + Lucas sit around and eat cake. Well, the girls eat cake, Lucas is sitting back in his seat with his arms crossed. I know you are thinking about Eliott, dude, but there’s this thing people do called “eating our feelings” that works ... not very well in the long-term, but provides short-lived distraction and satisfaction. I recommend it!

There’s a mattress in the common room now and Manon asks, “Don’t you stop napping after kindergarten?” and I like Manon fine but she must have put some crack in that cake. Lmao, what human being is going to be like NAPS??? AN ABSURD TRADITION MEANT FOR TODDLERS. Like when you’re a little kid, you don’t want to nap, you want to run around and keep being an asshole; it’s when you grow up and become miserable that you start to appreciate the art of shutting your eyes in the middle of the day. Anyway, Daphne said the headmaster gave the students the right to nap in the common room. You know, that is a legit quality use for the common room, tbh. Everyone would use the nap room.

The downside is, as Lucas accurately points out, people are going to bang on that mattress. Well, I guess they could like … require the door to the room to be open at all time or something. Or put up a giant sign saying THERE ARE SECURITY CAMERAS IN THIS ROOM AT ALL TIMES. They don’t need to install security cameras for real, just use the sign to dissuade people. (Who am I kidding, none of that will stop the students from banging on that mattress.) Daphne is incensed at the notion, but Imane’s like, hookup-land is what’s gonna bring people here. LMAO. Again, not wrong.

They talk about the ugly mural some more (God I still do not get why everyone treats that mural like it’s a nude painting of one of the orcs from Lord of the Rings, it’s just a somewhat outdated mural, my eyes would glaze right over it). Lucas says he’s waiting for Eliott about the mural and Manon does a little “mhm” so he hurriedly changes the subject (good subtle detail). 

They discuss getting WiFi in the room and one of the nerd dudes who showed up to the first meeting, who has been sitting in the corner, starts talking about how they can get set up WiFi. The nerd dudes have the password. Everyone is happy! But nerd dude says he would like compensation. Daphne assumes they are talking about her breasts as she is showing ample cleavage. Nerd dude says no, they were talking about the cakes. LMAO. I like this guy. Manon hands over a cake, the other girls are sad at the loss of cake. Understandable, but it seems like a fair trade to me. Also, there are multiple cakes and baked goods on that table, just scarf it down before the nerds come back for more.

Manon signs off with, “Bye, bitches!” The others talk about how weird she’s being. Well, yeah, but I’m wondering how her Charles-related sadness translates into her saying, “Bye, bitches!” Trying to put on a super happy and lighthearted facade? Would go along with all the baking.

This scene is cute and all, and I assume there will be relevance to something in the plot later on but ... what does it have to do with Lucas’ story or his POV? Other than a brief look at his closed-off body language (which didn’t last long since he was very engaged in the conversation) and a brief mention of Eliott and the mural, something that has happened before? There just didn’t feel like a point to his story in this clip, whereas every scene in Skam S3 felt like it had a point to Isak’s POV and advanced his storyline, telling us something about his mental and emotional state. I know that the other seasons of Skam didn’t have such a narrow focus, but usually there was some tie-in to what the protagonist was feeling. IDK, is this to foreshadow him and Eliott fucking on the couch? More hinting at Manon being off her game and having Charles problems? My guess is that they felt like they needed a girl squad scene sometime this week. If they had unlimited time for these episodes, I wouldn’t care if they had clips like this, but they do have a time limit, and so I think it’s fair to question if they’re making the best use of it.

Daphne is by no means required to have a boyfriend, I still root for lesbian Daphne at the end of the day, but that nerd dude who asked for cake instead of cleavage is already a better option than Basile.

Clip 4 - Lucas out of the loop

Lucas waits for Eliott outside of class, but instead it’s his bro Raptor Alex who exits. Lucas asks if the guy in his class is there. You know, the guy. Clearly the only guy who matters in Alex’s class.

Alex says Eliott isn’t there much, he freaked out in class the other day and doesn’t go anymore. Oh no :( I wonder what he means by “freaked out” though, like hopefully people weren’t gossiping about whatever happened? It didn’t make its way to Lucas, in that case.

The boy squad comes around the corner. Lucas completely phones it in when he apologizes to Basile. Not that I care about hurting Basile’s feelings, as my opinion of him is well-documented, but Lucas does, and he’s not even trying to sound sorry. And the family excuse is lazy and not believable at all, like with Isak it was also predictable but he put a smidge of effort into it. Lucas says the excuse like he’s on auto-pilot. The boys just let the excuse roll by, uninterested.

Lucas asks what happened at the party and Arthur says Basile went into the bathroom with Daphne and he won’t tell them what happened. Basile say she stayed on her knees in front of him for a long time. Which I take to mean she was barfing and Basile was holding her hair back. Also her hair smelled good according to him. SIGH. I’m sure this is the start of Basile/Daphne or whatever, but you know, it would be easier for me to buy that Basile is really a good guy if he did not describe Daphne in such an objectifying way. If you’re a fucking gentleman, why are you making it sound like she sucked your dick? I know toxic masculinity, ~it’s realistic, blah blah. They could’ve had Yann and Arthur make the crude jokes and Basile get serious and tell them not to talk about Daphne that way, it would’ve been character development. (Actually, now I’m wondering if there will be a moment like that later in the season. I can’t support Basile/Daphne at all at this point, but I feel like if they want to make him worthy of her in the slightest, he’s going to have to renounce his sleazy, perverted shtick very clearly.)

Lucas looks back after the boys as they leave him behind, not interested in telling him more, barely caring about his absence. He’s just not part of the gang right now. IDK, I think they should’ve directed Axel to play this more remorsefully - not his fault, I feel like they rushed this scene for time reasons? For instance when he sees the boys and apologizes to Basile, there wasn’t time for anything to land, like he didn’t care much, not even that he was disappointed in himself for forgetting. Just this look from Lucas at the end signals what he might be feeling.

Also, very weird choice to put this clip on Tuesday and the one with the girls on Monday? It makes way more sense to switch the two, because basically Lucas must not have interacted with his friends at all yesterday. Even though we’ve seen he has a class with Arthur and we’ve gotten a clip of that class on a Monday (although I don’t know how French class schedules work). 

Clip 5 - Argh

When I started to watch this clip, I noticed it was 2 minutes and 43 seconds long and was like … are you kidding me? If this is the scene, we’re going to just fly through it? What in the fresh hell?

For comparison, the OG clip was 4 minutes and 36 seconds. And it didn’t have the end credits as this scene does, and it didn’t have this opening part with Lucas and Imane (or Isak and Sana).

Without the credits, this clip goes to 2:22. Eliott and Lucas meet outside starting at :55. Meaning there was about a minute and a half for the conversation that defines that second half of the season. Yikes.

Lucas and Imane are in class, I think they’re taking a test. She helps him out when he forgets something. There’s a lot on his mind and he’s not doing the best he can, I guess. Anyway, thoughtful of Imane to help him cheat (if this is a test)? 

He gets a text from Eliott - is this a test or not? It’s not terribly important but LMAO at this teacher who (correctly) notices two of her students passing drugs under the table before class, but fails to notice the same two talking during an exam and one of them whipping out his phone during a silent class period. Cheating must not be a main concern of hers. Eliott is waiting outside the room, grinning at him through the window. So we have students talking to each other, looking at their phones, and non-verbally communicating with other students through the window. Now I’m really surprised that the teacher noticed the weed.

Lucas gets up to meet Eliott outside. Lol, really, dude? He’s going to get a bad grade just because he can’t wait a few minutes. I mean, the desperation is funny, but Lucas is not the brightest here.

Although I laughed a lot when Imane said he wasn’t done and Lucas was like, “Minimalism, Imane. Minimalism.” That might be the best line he’s had on this show.

Imane seems concerned but I’m not sure if she suspects anything’s up with him or if she’s just like how did I get partnered with such a dumbass.

So this clip was ... not good. Bad. It was bad.

This is the kind of content I feared we would be getting from Skam France based on the first two seasons. Luckily it’s been better than this on average, I really do think the show has improved! But not here. It’s such an important scene that I’m disappointed this is the one they bungled. There are multiple things that are ill-advised or underwhelming about it.

I’m aware that I can be harsh/nitpicky/critical about these remakes, but I really don’t intend to come from a place of default negativity, or like, FUCK THIS SHOW FOR EXISTING. And I don’t want to crush people’s buzz if they enjoy something! The reason I get so nitpicky is because I feel like it helps me better understand film-making overall. If a clip just doesn’t feel right, then I want to try to parse out why it didn’t work for me. 

For starters, choosing to place this extremely intimate, private, honest, confessional scene outside. And not in some isolated space, but where tons of people are. You can fucking see students walking around behind Eliott when he’s glancing in the window at Lucas. As Lucas exits the classroom, you can see a girl headed in the same direction as him. I mean … what?? They are not remotely alone? Not only does it ruin the atmosphere of the scene, it tanks the plausibility of it.

Because Eliott’s waiting for him outside, and holy shit, gives Lucas a kiss on the mouth. Dude! People will definitely see you. He knows that he’s Lucas’ first boy(friend) per their conversation in bed, so what is he doing? I guess it’s cute but also, not a great idea to out Lucas like that Lucas hasn’t been with a guy before, Lucas has been deliberating no-homo-ing their interactions in front of his friends, Lucas has been trying to play up his relationship with Chloe (for instance slinging that arm around her when Eliott came to talk last episode, not to mention, you know, dating her while flirting with Eliott) so it’s a completely reasonable and likely assumption that Lucas is closeted and doesn’t want people to know he likes guys. I don’t think Eliott is a bad person for doing this, but it seems weirdly insensitive of him. (Even tried to kiss Isak in public in episode 8, but it was while he was manic, and I don’t want to make that same assumption of Eliott here.) 

Eliott wants Lucas to leave with him but Lucas says he can’t ditch classes. Eliott says he’s told Lucille. He’s really brimming with confidence here, like he just swoops in for the kiss, he brings up Lucille without hesitation, he seems completely sure of himself. Lucas looks a little uncomfortable, though. Eliott is like, doesn’t that make you happy? Lucas says it does, although he doesn’t look that happy. 

Lucas: “I just don’t want you to be sad if it’s my fault.” No offense because this is a tiny thing but this is one of Skam France’s typical flaws from S1 and S2, which they have largely improved on in S3, but here it creeps up again: adapting something from OG without retaining the context that makes it effective.

That’s a line from Isak, and it made sense in context for him, because Even was looking and acting very, very vulnerable when he said that he had told Sonja about Isak. Nervous eyes, hesitant voice. Holding back on his normally demonstrative body language - Even is very tactile but you can tell he’s very restrained at the start of that conversation. He speaks slowly and is very focused on Isak’s reaction, because he really didn’t seem to be sure what Isak would say. It was when Isak said, “Cool,” that Even started to relax, his eyes start to light up, because Isak responded positively. And when Isak said, “I hope you’re not sad,” it was to fish out what Even was feeling, because he needed that confirmation of how Even felt. Isak wanted to know Even wasn’t sad as a way to determine that Even really truly wanted to be with Isak. It’s a nice, subtle bit of dialogue.

Which makes zero sense here because Eliott is radiating happiness. He kissed Lucas on the mouth as soon as Lucas came outside! He’s smiling, his eyes are shining! It’s not subtle! LMAO WHAT. I guess you can take this as Lucas being insecure, but it just feels so bizarre and dense for a character to project joy as strongly as Eliott does and to ask whether he’s sad. However, maybe we’ll assume that Lucas really is just fishing for confirmation. The thing is, Lucas also has little reason to think that breaking up with Lucille would make Eliott sad. Eliott hasn’t said anything about not being able to break up with Lucille; he has made it clear that he would like to move on and have a relationship with someone else, not necessarily a girl. (Compare to: Even talking about how he felt like he was growing apart from Sonja, but saying he could not dump her, as well as not hinting nearly so heavily that he wanted to get into an actual relationship with Isak.) Eliott didn’t choose Lucille over Lucas the other Saturday when Lucas wanted to hang out, he was just busy, not necessarily with Lucille. (Compare to: Even saying he had plans with Sonja, essentially choosing her over Isak that day.) Eliott straight up told Lucas that he hoped their double date was just the two of them, that was his plan. (Compare to: Even feeling basically the same way, but not telling Isak outright in words.) 

And throughout the season, Lucas has been even bolder in some ways than Isak was. He’s done more to go up to Eliott and try to chase him, he’s stolen a class register to find him. On Saturday he felt very confident about making out with Eliott and taking their shirts off. So you could take this as Lucas being insecure, but it doesn’t make a ton of sense even with Eliott ghosting the past few days. I don’t think it matches with the characterization. I think it’s just lazy writing, sorry, especially since much of the other dialogue in this scene is copy+pasted from OG. Or maybe more vulnerability and uncertainty was meant to come through at the beginning of the scene, but the directing and acting didn’t match up with that intention. Whatever happened, this is just an example of why this scene wasn’t very well-adapted. (Also, if Lucas is so insecure he can’t notice that Eliott is smiling happily and kissing him, then how did he get so confident within like 30 seconds to move in for a kiss in public? Overcoming both his internalized homophobia and his doubts to that degree in that short of a time?)

I do want to acknowledge that in Julie’s original script, the scene played out more like the one here, with Even kissing Isak at the very start and having his happiness and desire for Isak more visible. But in Julie’s notes, she also acknowledged that it was a hard scene to figure out and that the changes from script to shooting benefited the scene. Ultimately, this line felt right and fitting to the tone of the OG scene as it was filmed, but here it felt off. I didn’t get why Lucas was asking except because it was in the original show.

We get Eliott asking if Lucas would tell his parents, and at this point I was flabbergasted that they really were going to rush this hugely important, amazing scene to this degree. No room for buildup or mood, just cranking out the dialogue as if it’s obligatory. We get this conversation similar to OG where Lucas explains his dad feels guilty for leaving so he’s not going to say anything, and his mom is crazy so he doesn’t care. There is one nice moment where Lucas tells Eliott not to worry and Eliott says he’s not worried, but immediately asks why Lucas doesn’t talk to her. So you know, he is worried. That was a good, subtle moment. Eliott has a clear sad reaction to Lucas saying he doesn’t need crazy people in his life, and IMO it’s pretty obvious to viewers (though not to Lucas) but I still think Maxence did a decent job here.

Lucas is pulls out the drawing made for him, but Eliott just says Lucas is going to be late for class, all his warmth gone. When Lucas goes in for a kiss, Eliott ruffles Lucas’ hair instead. LMAO. Well, it’s not really funny at all in context of Eliott’s feelings, but it’s also just such a clear shutdown that I can’t help but find it amusing. Lucas does not find it amusing, stands there in surprise and confusion, looking down at his drawing. 

Also, Eliott ruffled Lucas’ hair in episode 2, at the end of their lovely evening together, with a lot of sexual tension between them, so this is an unpleasant reversal. That moment felt like a “hello, I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” This moment is a goodbye.

Anyway, this scene was a mess!

Was there a reason why they were outside? Did someone see them? Is there going to be gossip? Why did Eliott kiss Lucas outside when he knows Lucas is closeted? Why did Lucas go in for a kiss at the end (more on that in a minute)? If there is a bullying/rumors storyline as people suspect, that could just as efficiently be done with, for instance, having them meet in an empty classroom and someone walks in on them or spies on them, or secretly takes a picture of them looking close. Maybe they don’t even see the person in the clip themselves, or they hear a noise but by the time they turn around, the person is gone. That way it would be more believable that they would kiss when they think they’re in total privacy, but could also lead to a storyline where the rumors get out. Or, you know ... there were rumors in OG because of Emma, so just have that escalate with Chloe. She fucking yells that Lucas is gay at the end of the episode. There’s just no need for this scene to be outside, it defies logic, and it kills the mood of the clip. It destroys the feeling of Lucas and Eliott having a secret relationship, it ruins the intimacy of making their feelings so clear to each other and of Lucas’ confession about his mom. It’s a really big deal for Lucas to tell someone about his mom! Overall the setting should reflect the content of the scene and this was just strange. Lmao, they didn’t even seem to go very far, weren’t they talking right outside the classroom? Is Imane going to look up and be like, hmm, there’s Lucas and Eliott having a conversation through the window?

I saw people be happy that Lucas moved in for the kiss at the end, and I mean, I get it, that’s the ideal outcome, for Lucas to be out and proud and comfortable with himself. I’m not going to rag on people for being happy about that. But I don’t buy it. He’s startled Eliott kisses him at the beginning of the clip. Then 60 seconds later he’s moving in to initiate a kiss. In public. Like … what is that doing for Lucas’ character arc? Is the only reason he didn’t want to kiss at the beginning of the clip because he didn’t know what Eliott had been doing, and not because of his internalized homophobia? How did he become okay with kissing him outside where people could see in just a minute? It just seems terribly weak for his characterization, and unrealistic that someone who’s so deep in the closet that he goes around flinging homophobic slurs and romancing girls can undo part of that in such a short time. (Especially combined with the Pride clip the next day.)

On that note, Lucas did not ask Eliott where he had been the past few days, there was no acknowledgment of all that Eliott had been gone, so if that was a problem for Lucas, it got swept away. Not as big of an issue as others, but it seemed odd that it went unmentioned when Lucas spent time looking for Eliott and trying to talk to him.

Why was this scene so short? I know there are time restrictions for the episodes, but why in the world was the cake clip necessary over more time allotted to this incredibly important clip? Just because they’re required to include the girl squad? Does the entire squad have to be in every episode, and was there no better way to include them? For example, instead of this clip, what if we opened with the girls eating cake and talking about the common room, but Lucas gets a text from Eliott and excuses himself, then meets and talks with Eliott? If there was anything relevant about the cake clip for future episodes, start with the girls talking about that, then Lucas gets the text and leaves. Seems like a way better use of time.

I don’t mind Eliott being frostier with Lucas at the end, turning away from the kiss, but he does such a complete mood change in such a short time span that it feels a little ridiculous that Lucas didn’t notice. Eliott up until he asked about Lucas’ parents: smiling his ass off. Elliot when Lucas said that thing about his dad: still a tiny smile, receptive to what Lucas is saying. Eliott when Lucas goes in for a kiss: not having it. There is one thing that they talked about in between Eliott’s mood change (or two, I guess, with Lucas mentioning hedgehogs). The mystery element is made less, well, mysterious and more obvious for both viewers and Lucas. Even still gave Isak a goodbye kiss, a parting affection, meaning that it’d be harder for Isak to immediately trace the source of the breakup to that conversation; Eliott is done with Lucas right that fucking second. I get that Lucas isn’t the brightest, but I’m also like … he’s really not going to connect the dots even a little? Even if he doesn’t understand the whole scenario, doesn’t that stick out to him? (Even when Raptor Alex said something like Eliott freaked out the other day?)

Eliott asking about Lucas’ parents was such a jarring transition, and it’s because of pacing. Even just asks it of Isak, too, in a way that could be jarring, but because of the slower pace, the more vulnerable atmosphere, the acting, it doesn’t feel like a 180-degree scene change, it feels more like a natural direction for their conversation to take. The boys tentatively began the scene and were somewhat walking on eggshells toward each other; Even’s question therefore has a kind of fragility that’s in line with the atmosphere, he’s testing out whether Isak will be OK if they date. There’s a lack of vulnerability in this scene, at least up until that point: Eliott is perfectly fine and dandy, Lucas is apparently conflicted but it doesn’t really land. So the transition of topic just feels sudden rather than fitting the mood. It’s just a hugely weird execution.

Stuff I feel bad about saying but I’m going to say it in the interest of honesty: I think Axel has improved a huge amount from earlier seasons and has done good work in other scenes this season. But it felt like Lucas was bored during this scene. I got zero sense of say, wistfulness from him talking about his mom. He didn’t even seem that happy once Eliott told him things were off and they were bumping foreheads? It could have been a much more layered performance. Like … I just don’t feel happiness for Lucas once Eliott tells him it’s off with Lucille, because Lucas himself doesn’t seem to care. I think his parting look of confusion was good, but during the conversation itself, it was lacking. Is it just because Lucas is putting up a front and not trying to show how much he cares? Then how does that work with him trying to go in for a kiss at the end? Like with the previous clip with the boy squad, I blame this a lot on the clip being rushed and not having time to really sink into Lucas’ emotions. But it was just unfortunate because the material in this scene is so complex. 

Another thing I feel bad about saying but have to admit: Their chemistry has been good so far, but in this scene, it felt off. Like when Eliott went in to bump foreheads? Super awkward. He’s beaming and Lucas is not into it. And you can say that’s because he’s still not sure what’s going on, sure, but there’s no sense of like … wanting to lean in to the touch but feeling conflicted, or the gesture calming him or convincing him, it’s like Eliott is on a completely different plane than Lucas, and that doesn’t really make sense before Lucas drops the bomb about his mom. You can’t avoid that this scene between Isak and Even made such an impact because the actors were so in sync with each other. That scene felt overwhelmingly intimate, like we were spying on them in a private moment (which it was). The lack of intimacy here in what’s essentially a soul-baring moment is disappointing.

Just. Not good.

Clip 6 - Pride

Lucas is lying on the couch, his new home. Mika plops down and talks about how awesome the couch is, especially if someone like Eliott sleeps over again. Again, it feels jarring because there is zero buildup to this conversation, Mika says it right away, no easing into the conversation (and again, I know that there are time restrictions with the episode, and I’m sympathetic but that doesn’t make it feel less weird - not to mention I have quibbles with how they’re allotting their time). However, Lucas is like “seriously?” and Mika does seem to reconsider, saying that he’s there if Lucas wants to talk and getting up to leave. It works in the sense that Mika’s not been portrayed as sensitive to Lucas as Eskild was to Isak, so I can buy him being inelegant with bringing it up, but still, feels more like a necessity of them having to cram in this scene rather than a conscious character choice.

Lucas does decide to tell Mika about Eliott, and Mika seems pleased. Lucas wants to keep it under wraps, though, saying he doesn’t want to scream that he’s with Eliott or walk hand in hand with him. Which feels off considering he was ready to kiss Eliott on the mouth in public yesterday, which would scream he was with Eliott to anyone watching - again, why I feel that moment was inconsistent. Mika compares it to when Lucas was with Sarah, and Lucas says it was fake with Sarah. I like this bit comparing the two relationships. Mika is chill and happy for Lucas. Despite their relationship not being depicted in the strongest way IMO, it’s a nice moment.

Lucas says this doesn’t mean he’s gay, it’s fine to be proud of being gay, but he’s not gay as in camp. When Mika asks what he means, Lucas says he’s not going to tell people how many dicks he sucked over the weekend, or dance to pop music, or post naked pics on Grindr (especially damning since we saw Mika do just that a few weeks ago). Mika of course connects it to himself. Lucas tries to backtrack but puts his foot in his mouth further, saying he’s never going to Gay Pride and throw dick-shaped glitter on people just because he liked a guy. Mika gets pissed and the scene happens much like the OG Pride clip, talking about how the guys Lucas is talking about are suffering for just trying to be themselves. Mika gets pissed and walks off.

I’m fine with Mika’s reaction being more focused on anger whereas Eskild seemed more hurt and betrayed. Eskild and Isak were closer so that made sense. Mika seems more distant from Lucas so it works that the focus is more on his anger, less than someone he considers part of the family is degrading him.

This scene is so important in all contexts, all cultures, that I am really glad it’s here. Of all the things I hope that the remakes do include, the Pride clip is one of them - even if it’s not the exact same speech or dialogue, then a similar sentiment or lesson is really needed.

That being said, I do think they could have done this scene better from a storytelling standpoint, just by building up Mika and Lucas’ relationship and by not rushing the conversation. There are some nuances in the OG that did not come across here - like I think part of the reason that Isak started running his mouth about not being gay was that he noted that Eskild didn’t seem surprised, and Eskild didn’t deny it, saying he met Isak at a gay bar, and Isak was feeling some insecurity over being so transparent. That’s just my interpretation, though. However, Lucas also has not been dealing with the issue of stereotypes and generalizations to this point? His “gay test” was over something else, he didn’t call out the dance teacher for being too gay, etc. so this is like the first time he’s brought up this topic. I know we had the issue of generalizations mentioned by Alex and Imane but Lucas barely seemed affected by that incident. They could have built that up more, or preferably, re-wrote this scene to be more about Lucas’ behavior in past episodes, like him throwing around homophobic slurs just to distance himself from being gay. Have Mika call him out on that (like instead of focusing on stereotypes, Lucas says, “I’m not a [slur] just because I like a guy” and that’s why Mika gets pissed).

Side note, but it occurs to me that I don’t think we’ve heard about Mika and Lucas’ backstory at all? Like how Mika came to let Lucas hide in the basement before Manon invited him to take her room. I hope we hear about it in a future episode, because even if their relationship isn’t as important, it’s still something of an unresolved plot issue how Lucas came to live in the cellar last season.

Also, not to make light of this, but kind of awkward now because Lucas is living on the couch and can’t hide out in his room from Mika after this conversation.

Lucas texts Eliott that he told his roommate. I wonder what he was expecting from Eliott - probably support? Happiness? Eliott wanted to know how Lucas’ parents would react, and Mika’s not a parent but he’s someone in Lucas’ life, who lives with him, so it would be important. Instead, Eliott texts back, “That’s cool, I’m happy for you” which is frankly rather cold and detached, especially considering he follows up with the spiel about needing more time and them going too fast. This makes Lucas angry and he smacks the cushions. I think this is a good reaction, different from Isak who seemed just in disbelief that Even could be calling it off after asking to be his boyfriend the previous day. It fits with Lucas being more hot-headed and feeling out of control. He texts the guys about their plans for tomorrow, then throws his phone aside and sits back. Again, more like he’s pissed rather than stunned.

Clip 7 - Really bad night

The other three boys are playing a video game (not FIFA!) and Lucas is sitting there dejected, staring at Eliott’s last text message. The sound goes from happy fun-time boy party to sad droning despair when we cut from the others to Lucas, like he’s so checked out he doesn’t hear his friends, or the game, or anything, he’s just so focused on that one awful text message.

Yann, bless him, notices Lucas is in a bad mood, and has him get up and go to the kitchen with him. Lmao but also OUCH at Lucas wearing a hoodie that says “romance” at the worst possible time.

Lucas is super snotty about Yann not being able to find one of the many beers in the fridge, but of course Yann just wants to talk about what’s clearly bothering Lucas and why he’s avoiding them. Lucas denies there’s a problem, but Yann wants to know whether they’re friends or pretending? Lucas keeps denying and says if there was a problem, he’d tell Yann, and he just wants to enjoy the night. Curious way of showing that, sitting there completely checked out from everyone else and snapping at them.

I’m so, so glad they had this scene, because I think they’ve done Yann a disservice this season. They’ve cut out some Jonas moments, such as Jonas calling out Isak for his comments on the dance teacher (the French boys didn’t call out Lucas to nearly the same degree, nor single out his bad mood of late) and the scene where Jonas talks to Isak at his locker in episode 4 was not there. Basically, other than the scene in episode 3, there haven’t been many clips to this point that indicate Yann has been watching Lucas and growing concerned like Jonas was for Isak. This part is a great addition and I’m happy they had a moment to build up this relationship.

Arthur and Basile run in and say they got a text about a party at Chloe’s tonight, Basile thinks it’s his night to hook up with Daphne. GOD WHY. SHE SAID NO TO YOU. WHY MUST THIS TORTURE PERSIST.

They want Lucas to get them into the party, Lucas says Chloe is mad at him, Arthur says she’s not and it’s all in his head. How would he even know? They haven’t even been talking to Lucas lately. They just want to go to the party. Yann seems to be realizing that the situation is not good, but Basile says Lucas can’t do that to him, Lucas missed his birthday

Lucas agrees to go with zero enthusiasm, Basile wants a high five but everyone ignores him, thank God. Yann seemed happy when Lucas agreed to go, so I guess he thought Lucas was trying to have a good time instead of moping all evening, but Lucas was so blatantly not into it and peer pressured into going that IDK how you can think Lucas is anything but miserable.

The boys show up to Chloe’s house and Basile is already screaming and being obnoxious with people staring at him, but there’s a guy at the door who shoves Basile back and won’t let them in. In Skam, that guy at the door seemed like a total tool, but this guy? This guy is my hero.

Daphne comes down the stairs and Basile yells at her to tell the guy to let them in. Maria sees him and is all, hey, you were the guy who held my hair at the last party! Daphne is like, oh, so you hold any girl’s hair? And she walks off. Oh, fuck you, Skam France. Of course they’re going with Basile and Daphne. Lol at them trying to pretend Basile is a totally new character and not French Magnus when we get this subplot.

Basile is dismayed. Arthur says jealousy is a good sign. GODDAMMIT. This pairing is fucked up, I don’t care if I sound like a humorless uptight meanie SJW. It’s full of sexist tropes. Basile does not take no for a fucking answer, he’s disgusted and bothered Daphne over and over again, but she’s going to fall for him because he held her hair back one time. We’re just going to reward creepy male behavior because the creep didn’t actually rape her, I guess.

Lucas sees Eliott inside the house and shoves his way inside past the bouncer dude. No convincing the guy like Isak did, just shoving, which goes with his larger temper and sourer attitude. He sees Eliott talking to Lucille. But before he can get any farther, Chloe comes up and says he has no right to be here. Lucas starts to apologize for last time, and Chloe says she’s not mad about that, she’s mad that Lucas used her and treated her like a fool when he’s gay.

She outright yells, “You’re gay, Lucas!” in the middle of a crowded room so I wouldn’t be surprised if someone heard. JFC, Chloe. She is understandably pissed considering the way Lucas has played with her, but it is not okay to out someone like that. She’s being extremely careless. He seems like he’s not even totally present or hearing what she’s saying, like he seems in disbelief that she’s saying what she is. It’s a good reaction, like he’s overwhelmed by everything, and numb that she’s calling him out on what he’s denied to himself and others.

I actually could not tell if Eliott and Lucille disappeared, or if Lucas noticed that they were gone before he left the house. The way it’s filmed makes it seem like he was so rattled by Chloe that he just decided to leave. Eliott was already with Lucille so Lucas didn’t seem about to confront him (compared to Even who was not with Sonja until right as she showed up and kissed him).

So Lucas walks out and shoves Yann out of the doorway. Then shoves Basile. Then Arthur drops a comment about Lucas having a family issue, which seems … out of character, kinda. Mahdi and Isak had more of an established friction than Arthur and Lucas, AND Arthur was very supportive when Lucas first told them about his mom in episode 3. Basile was the one throwing a fit that Lucas canceled the party with the girls. I’m pretty sure that’s why people were speculating(/hoping) that Basile would be the one to get punched, because it was Basile with the prior issue. (But honestly, I feel like Arthur hasn’t been given a ton of characterization in the gang, and his primary role has been to egg on Basile’s pursuit of various women. For all people say Mahdi is underdeveloped? We still knew more about him at this point than Arthur, actually. We had more of a sense of his role in the group, and it didn’t seem out of nowhere that Mahdi would say that thing about Isak’s family.)

Lucas shoves Arthur against the side of the house. Yann jumps in, Arthur manages to hit Lucas in the head, which is shitty but tbh, I can’t get too mad at him since Lucas came out shoving everyone for seemingly no reason. Obviously Lucas is going through tons of shit but the boys don’t know the context, only that he’s lashing out at all of them. 

And as a final blow, as Lucas walks away from the house, he sees Eliott and Lucille kissing against the side of it. Eliott seems happy and initiating the kissing with Lucille, unlike Even who seemed to only respond and get into the kiss after Sonja initiated (and IMO, had a twinge of sadness in his reaction). So Eliott seems way more suddenly OK with Lucille and satisfied with choosing her. Which is kind of interesting because Even was the one giving more mixed signals to Isak, while Eliott seemed so much more sure he was done with Lucille and ready to move on with Lucas.

Meanwhile, Arthur is yelling about how he wants to slap Lucas and how he’s been acting like an asshole for several weeks. Would’ve been good if we got some clearer signs that Arthur was upset about it? Not super obvious, but IDK, more focus on Arthur’s reactions, or being more passive-aggressive. Obviously he could have been bottling up his resentment toward Lucas, but from a narrative perspective, it feels like there should have been more of an indication. (There is some passive-aggressiveness from him in the SM content but I didn’t feel like it really carried into the clips themselves.)

Lucas storms home alone, then starts punching a door and yelling before clutching his fist and sliding to the ground, crying. His fist is bleeding. Again, way more rage, and it seems like the full extent of all that’s happened sinks in only at the end.

Social Media/General Comments

Eliott posts a drawing of rain on his secret IG with the caption “not scared” on it. No prize for guessing what that’s about, but still, very sweet! Not just in a romantic way but a nice moment for himself, not being afraid to take his life in a new direction.

Also, Lucas posts that he’s listening to a song called “Over There, It’s Raining” which is touchingly sentimental, heh.

Chloe is PISSED and is mad about being stood up alone with a crying Lucille and says she’s not going to forget it this time, he’s taking her for a fool. Which is ominous as hell and makes it seem like her outing him is going to be more deliberate, tbh.

Basile’s party was a busy night.

The boys ask “Where’s Lucas?” on IG and document their booze/grocery shopping trip, noting from time to time that Lucas isn’t there. Dude, why isn’t Lucas there? Eliott left in the late afternoon. Anyway, Yann in particular seemed annoyed about it since he seemed to bring it up. Although they were ready to buy Lucas ice cream.

I mentioned this in the last reaction post, but I have ZERO idea why the girl squad showed up to Basile’s party when Basile has been actively creepy to Daphne and when the boy squad was just shitting on the girls a few days ago when ranking them on IG. Not just being gross and sexist in general, but shitting on Alex and Daphne and Manon in particular. I’m serious, why would you even bother with these dickheads?

Sure enough, Basile tries to get a kiss from Daphne in an IG story and she goes for Alexia instead. Why. Why. (Not her giving Alex a kiss, that’s great. Why must I watch this other nightmare of a pairing happen.)

Basile said his hot cousin was supposed to be there, but it looks like just the boy and girl squads showed up, lmao.

The absence of Lucas is so well-documented in the IG stories from this party that it goes from passive-aggressive to just plain aggressive.

NO, do NOT let Basile and Daphne leave together. Daphne is really really fucking drunk. They’ve been gone for like 30 minutes…. Daphne’s friends just let her wander off with Basile when she’s super drunk and has made it clear she doesn’t want him? JFC.

I did not worry that Basile was actually going to rape Daphne or something, because that would be way too extreme for this show in this season. I did worry that we would maybe get more “comic relief” sexual harassment that the SkamFr crew doesn’t seem to realize is harassment. Plus, in-universe we have had Basile touching girls while drunk, we’ve had him being creepy. So while my knowledge of genre/TV prevented me from thinking he’d assault her, there are completely valid reasons to be concerned for Daphne in this moment. 

The Skam France must have seen people’s horrified reactions to the Basile and Daphne content, because they broke Lucas’ POV to have a text message between the two of them. Daphne says “thanks for your help last night, you’re not so dumb (don’t tell anyone I said that)” and Basile is like, you’re welcome, hope you’re feeling better! And like … I’m relieved that this was all it was between them, but I’m still pissed this is where they’re going with it. I hate that Basile “not being so dumb” after all is going to be his redemption or whatever. This dude has been gross enough that it’s a meager consolation. It’s as if I kicked you in the face and knocked you down and then helped you stand up. One nice deed doesn’t make up for everything else.

Not to make generalizations, but: I have lots of problems with Noorhelm/William, in terms of sexist tropes, but there’s something about that storyline and his character that feels specifically like a female fantasy. I can tell a woman wrote it. Taking the bare bones of that romance: handsome rich bad boy falls for strong independent girl and changes his womanizing ways? Classic romantic trope. At its core, it’s not so different from something like Twilight, the “dangerous” guy and the one girl who’s special enough to break through his walls. It’s something that is appealing to women (not all women, obviously, but it’s disingenuous to pretend this isn’t a popular romantic dynamic.) It is appealing to women because the love interest is someone desirable.

The Basile/Daphne thing, though? Male fantasy. I can tell men were behind the camera (even if those dudes are not straight). Because I don’t think women particularly enjoy this dynamic. A gross dude who pursues a girl despite her being uninterested? Not really a fantasy that women have, that their nasty classmate or co-worker will keep trying to romance them until they’re worn down. In fact, many women have to live through this so-called fantasy and know it’s not pleasant. Basile is not portrayed as romantically desirable, and that’s not a value judgment on his attractiveness or anything, just a fact about his characterization. What I feel is that we’re supposed to align our empathy with Basile more than Daphne: the poor unlucky awkward loser who has a good heart, really, he’s just not the most skilled with girls. And that’s why it seems like it’s a male fantasy. The unlucky-in-love guy is the one who will get the girl at the end of the day. It’s funny and relatable to the male writer/director/crew because, no offense, perhaps they don’t get the girl’s perspective. The societal pressure and media characterization is not the same with the genders reversed. Men are socialized not to take no for an answer, to think that they are entitled to women’s affection.

Anyway, I really don’t think they expected some of the backlash to Basile and to Basile/Daphne, they probably figured it would be funny, like Magnus/Vilde, ignoring that Magnus/Vilde did not have the same consent issues and harassment. So in S4 it’s likely we’ll get more wacky Basile/Daphne antics and TMI, since they don’t have time to take the viewer feedback into account before they film the season.

Lucas trying to get Eliott’s attention by sending him a picture of a baby hedgehog is really cute. He also embraces that hedgehog motif by posting a pic of one on IG. I find that really endearing, like he’s latching onto something Eliott said about it, he’s making it meaningful. It reminds me a lot of Even latching onto every single thing Isak did and making it a Thing between them.

Meanwhile, Eliott had a shit time - he didn’t reply to Lucas at all, it seems, although Even replied briefly to Isak after he left, even though he didn’t give clear answers to why he’d gone. Eliott is instead posting pics of My Own Private Idaho alluding to his rough situation, saying everything will be all right, and then showing his raccoon fursona behind a brick wall after Lucas tells him that crap about not wanting mentally ill people in his life. Which is way too sad than anything involving a cute cartoon raccoon has the right to be.

There’s an IG story of Mika and Manon book shopping, referring to their “common passion” and mentioning a gay author, which makes me think they went shopping for LGBT-related books in relation to what’s happening with Lucas. I mean I guess their common passion could just be books in general, but I like the idea of them trying to find ways to help Lucas.

Mika also makes an IG post after the Pride clip about respecting “queens” and LGBT elders for their sacrifices and all the shit they’ve had to go through. It’s a more structured way of what he was expressing to Lucas in the clip and would have made for a great speech, although I think it makes sense for him to be angrier in the heat of the moment, and then this is him gathering his thoughts afterward, when he has more time to think about what to say. Great post, though.

After the end of the episode, Eliott posts some sketches of his raccoon and Lucille the cat being all cuddly, which I think were deleted later because I can no longer see them? But I think they’re the same sketches he had done earlier in the season, pre-Lucas, so it’s like him going back to the status quo, same as before, by getting back with Lucille.

Yann posted a pic where Basile and Arthur are happy and Lucas is so blatantly miserable that it feels like a parody, why the fuck would Yann even post that if he’s concerned about Lucas’ well-being. 

I’m not French so please feel free to clarify or correct me if I missed something.

If you got this far, thank you for reading!

[firebirdsdaughter]

Hee hee hee...

... I found a Zi-O 14 raw...

I’m gonna watch it!

(I’m still tired though, so this’ll likely be a speed through and then I’ll do another post later, but anyway, more below!)

(So it turns out I lied. I got way to into the episode. Sorry.)

In no order:

YES! Geiz you softie, I knew it. Even if you’re gonna defend it by saying it’s bc you want to be the one to kill him or whatever, I knew you weren’t gonna leave it at that.

It’s making me think of something from the musical ep of Buffy (disclaimer: I have not actually watched Buffy I just have the music from that ep bc... I love show tunes. No. Really. That’s why.). Weird comparison, I know, but hear me out--Spike’s got this line that goes (w/ some less applicable parts removed) ‘I hope she fries ... I better help her out.’ Literally, I feel like that's what happened here. Geiz is like ‘I totally do not care at all that he is dead, absolutely not, not for any reason whatsoever, I’m going to leave now good-bye. ............ OkaymaybeI’mgonnagosavehim. But only bc I want to be the one to kill him. Not bc I care at all in any way even a little bit.’

RYUKI!

Yeah, yeah. I know it’s just Tsukasa, but, I mean... Ryuki.

Aw, he did the henshin kinda like how Takeru used to do it. ^^ God, Tsukasa, what are you doing giving me warm fuzzies?

THREE GHOST NO WAITING.

TSUKASA LOOK WHERE YOU’RE THROWING YOUR SHIT GO PICK THAT SWORD UP RIGHT NOW!

NO! MY BABY! WHY HAVE THE LAST THREE TAGS BEEN IN ALL CAPS?

Okay, yeah, but... We already know Takeru has one/it. So... Hm. Does Tsukasa know that? At this point I just never take anything this man says or does at face value, so...

Ooop. Yup. Guessing he dropped that on purpose. What is your plan here, Tsukasa?

SOUGO JUST LOADED TAKERU INTO THE TIME MAJIN. HE’S MAKING HIM DRIVE. I LOVE THESE TWO GOOFBALLS THEY ARE SO CUTE.

Wait. Is future¡nonRider¡Takeru gonna meet past¡Rider¡Takeru?

OH. Oh... Wow. Okay. Not the plan I was expecting to be implemented. A... Apparently Takeru’s new Force Push works on physical stuff, too. Alright then! Sure, I’ll take it!

WAIT IF GHOST SOUGO ISN’T THERE HOW IS TAKERU GONNA GET BACK???

Oh, hey Woz. I guess. He seems... A little frustrated about something?

Sougo, why are you making a face like you got caught talking in class? You don’t have to feel bad about this. You did a good. A... Side from semi-stranding Takeru in the past?

Wait... If the incident never occurred, then Another Ghost was never created, then Takeru never lost his memories, then he never got deRidered... But the Ghost Watch exists so he should still be deRidered.... Augh! I knew I didn’t have the brain for this time travel stuff! I’m gonna stop thinking about it.

And now Uhr (or whatever his name is) is gonna pout. Which is probably gonna be destructive.

But also... MAKOTO!!!

Though... Why is Makoto here? Though, I guess I’m not sure when exactly this would fall during Ghost, since we weren’t given any timeline indication for it. Seems to be after Takeru and Makoto made up, though... I guess he was in the area? And then saw Takeru getting attacked.

Yeah, okay, so he’s still Spectre, which means the Ghost timeline hasn't been erased yet.

Aw, and he doesn’t know it’s not the Takeru from his time. So... Are we gonna have two Takeru’s? I’m curious.

IT JUST APPEARED! NOW IF PAST¡TAKERU SHOWS UP WE WILL HAVE FIVE FOUR GHOSTS!!!

Unfortunately, we lost one bc Tsukasa is a dick.

I’m assuming Takeru’s memories are back, too.

Makoto is just staring at him (looking absolutely fantastic, might I add) like ‘dude wtf are you okay? What’s going on?’

THEY DID THE POSES THEY SAID THE THINGS

Uhr, why are you surprised? Did you not do your research or something? YOU PICKED A FIGHT W/ THE ACTUAL KAMEN RIDER GHOST.

I realise this is all gonna get erased by the end of this (come to think if you erase the Ghost Timeline... What happens to Makoto and Kanon? I mean, Takeru never dies... Do they never get sucked into Gamma? Bc the accident never occurs, or bc Gamma never exists? And if Gamma never exists... What about Alain? And his family? Oh Dear.) so this won’t happen, but it’s really funny think about Makoto mentioning this to the Takeru of the past later and having 2015¡Takeru be like ‘Makotonii-chan wth are you talking about?’ and Makoto is like ‘Wth do you mean wth? YOU WERE THERE!’

SWARTZ JUST SHOWS UP TO SCOLD HIM. I love this evil time manipulating family that hates each other.

Okay, but Uhr is gonna turn the brother into Another Ghost anyway... But now he’s not dead, so destroying the Another Ride Watch isn’t a moral dilemma anymore.

And there go Makoto and Takeru.

EXCEPT THAT’S TAKERU FROM THE FUTURE HOW IS HE GETTING BACK.

Wait... Is Geiz still in 2015? Maybe he can give him a hand.

Sougo, did you just realise that Woz does not actually have your best interests in mind? I’ve known that since nigh ten episodes ago.

I feel like Makoto was either just like ‘Takeru what the hell is going on?’, ‘What are you doing here?’ or, ‘Weren’t you wearing something else half nd hour ago?’ (okay, probably not that last one). And now Takeru is scrambling bc he can’t very well be like ‘yeah I’m actually Takeru from the future who forgot he was a Kamen Rider etc.’

Mika there w/ the accidental save. I’m sure a little sister looking for her brother is gonna hit a nerve w/ Makoto, too...

Poor Makoto. He’s getting Gaim Arc Tsukuyomi’d. It’s okay, honey, this’ll all have never have happened by the end of this episode.

He’s still, like, two dimensional, though. Physically, I mean. Like, Flat Stanley. He can fit through tight spaces if he turns sideways.

Takeru is such a terrible liar he has to look the opposite direction. It’d be really funny if the Takeru of 2015 came running up right after they leave. Poor Makoto would be so confused. Even more than he already is.

Poor guy, I’m so sorry. Don’t worry. Like I said, by the end of this, this’ll never have happened.

Aw, Geiz came back. I’m glad he’s alright.

Also... OH MY GOD I JUST NOTICED SOUGO MOPING IN THE CORNER.

It sounds like he’s complaining, but I don’t speak Japanese, so I’m not sure. I’m really confused as to why Takeru didn’t tell them, though... Like, did he think they wouldn’t believe him?

Oh, yeah... What’d they tell Junichiro? He doesn’t seem as worried as he’d presumably be if he knew Sougo was technically dead...

Tsukuyomi taking one for the team w/ this conversation. Geiz is just sitting there like ‘this is one of the most awkward moments of my life.’

Oh my gosh, they just came in. Poor Takeru’s running around so much. His feet have gotta hurt by now.

Takeru don’t talk to Sougo when you know no one else can see him, for pity’s sake.

See what I mean? Everyone is looking at you like you’re nuts.

Oh for... SERIOUSLY? YOU’RE ONLY TELLING THEM NOW? You bloody little troll. It’s okay, I still love you.

I’m... Pretty sure they just mentioned Akari. Aw, that’s sweet. They couldn’t get her back, but they didn’t forget her.

I’m starting to wonder if the Ghost cast just have a group chat and Takeru’s actor was like ‘hey who’s free during this time period?’ and these are the folks who could make it.

Aw, Geiz is embarrassed. I saw you doing the awkward embarrassed thing. Poor Tsukuyomi just collapses in a chair.

Oh my gosh... Geiz is mad that that they made him embarrassed and have feelings, so he’s got both Sougo and Takeru by the shoulders like an angry big brother or something, and poor Takeru’s trying to explain, I love this episode. I also love how bad Geiz is at feelings.

Wait, though... Did they give Sougo his body back, or did they just temporarily revitalise his ghost? Bc I seem to remember that while Takeru was a ghost, he was capable of being corporeal at times.

I love how Sougo is just nodding along w/ what Takeru’s saying like ‘Sempai, save me!’

Geiz is like ‘You asshole... I GOT DOUBLE RIDER KICKED FOR YOU!’ He’s totally gonna try and kill him again for this...

This is totally like that moment in Dekaranger when Hoji got huffy about something and stalked out and the rest of the team just started giggling and someone literally said ‘He’s so bad at feelings!’ Bc Geiz is very bad at feelings. I love him, he’s so hopeless.

Yeah, it’s fine, Takeru was able to make it so he was no longer reanimated. And confused the hell out of poor Makoto in the process!

Geiz is also embarrassed about the Ghost Ride Watch getting destroyed. It’s okay, peaches, you got double Rider Kicked, remember? Anyway, Takeru’s got one. Well, I mean... Presumably it’s the same one. Just... It’s in a time loop. And it will be until we finish changing time. At least we know it’ll always come back, bc Puma Zi-O has to have it for Geiz to steal in the first place.

Aw, the Time Jacker sibs are working together! Guess Dad frustrated.

Robot fights? In my Kamen Rider? It’s more likely than you’d think!

Aw, look at that. They just got their gamers on.

Oh, nope, now we’re Build and Cross-z.

God, you boys REALLY SUCK at not being in sync. Are you sure you weren’t meant to work together?

Woz here, trying manipulate Tsukasa. Please. You don’t play a player.

Still excited for the day Geiz uses Sougo’s name.

Geiz here, sharing the powers again.

Tsukasa is sitting in this construction equipment like one of your french girls.

I think Tsukasa just asked Woz who he was talking to, and Woz was like ‘Uhhh... I dunno?’

I just realised... Sougo’s Decade Armour has a barcode on it?

YES! THANK YOU! I knew I could count on you, Tsukasa. He just yelled at Woz to either stop or be quiet, I’m pretty sure, snatched the book and closed it. Bringing back Masahiro was a great choice, I love this. So long as he can keep it up. I hope he’s not overdoing it between this and Jinga.

Either that or he said ‘too long,’ which is also true.

Oooooooo. He can use two Riders at once on the sword.

Woz, are you just realising Tsukasa is doing what he wants, not what you want? Seriously?

Like I said, I do trust Tsukasa to at least have noble intentions/goals, even if his methods are rather... Questionable at times. I do believe he does take his post as a Kamen Rider seriously. Even if he’s... Tsukasa.

The Decade Armour is chanting ‘HEI-SEI HEI-SEI HEI-SEI etc. etc.’ and I’m afraid I must admit I love it.

Aw, Tsukuyomi and Takeru waited for him to wake up. Geiz isn’t there bc he’s embarrassed.

Junichiro is scared of Tsukasa, and you know what, valid.

Also Geiz is gonna kill something and for once it might not be Sougo. It’s okay, dude. Like I said, at the end of the day, he is a Kamen Rider, the goddamn leggy bastard.

HE’S JUST EATING THE FOOD OH MY GOD THIS MAN IS UNSTOPPABLE.

I love how he apparently takes the camera off to eat.

And Tsukasa is still himself, even though the Decade Ride Watch exists... Hmm... So either the thing about there being two Koutas was true, or... There’s something else going one w/ leg asshole here that allowed him to keep his memories when even Fruit Jesus lost them.

That’s... Actually an okay photo? Tsukasa, have you improved?

Geiz is gonna try and kill him again. Sorry, sweetie, he’s just like This. I wouldn’t advise picking a fight right now, he’s been around the block multiple times. He’d just trash you again.

Is Woz... In the scene? Or is he... Not? Is he trying to predict Tsukasa? Oh, this’ll be interesting. Tsukasa vs Woz.

Geiz is still glaring, Tsukuyomi looks a little like a frightened rabbit.  Zi-Ot3 isn’t sure what to make of the leggy bastard just yet.

So, the preview...: Is Puma Zi-O planning to beat his past self into submission? That’s... Dark. What’s the relationship between Woz and this Kisshan fellow? Did Puma Zi-O feel like Woz was screwing up, so he sent Kisshan back, or was this the plan from the start? Does Woz even actually work for Puma Zi-O? Is he just playing a part and biding his time for something else? Looks like, as a comment I saw put it quite well, Puma Zi-O is entering the chat next week. Kisshan is gonna throw Geiz and Tsukuyomi around, much to Sougo’s horror, it appears. And Tsukasa... Not sure what Tsukasa is up to yet. Not that I expected to know.

Oh, yeah, and wasn’t there a recent scan leak of Geiz’s Time Majin using a Diend Ride Watch? So... Are we actually gonna be seeing Kaito, or... What? Bc Kaito and Geiz, that’d be a pair. Kaito would probably tease him, and Geiz would fall for it every single time. We’ll see. I have no expectations as far as returns go bc I know they’re limited by availability and willingness, so let’s just go with the flow!

Alright. I’m sorry this was so long. Virtual toffees for anyone who read all that. I still love Geiz, he’s bad at emotions and embarrassed by feelings, I love it. Presuming we’re gonna have a ‘Puma Zi-O is my enemy, Tokiwa Sougo is my friend’ moment at some point (kinda like Ryuuga had over Katsuragi and Sento respectively). Poor Tsukuyomi is trying to wrangle these idiots, but I wish they’d give her a little bit more to do. Tsukasa remains Tsukasa, not surprisingly. Hope to see more of the bitter Time fam that hates each other in the future. Who knows, since Sougo is going to 2068 next week, maybe we’ll even get to meet Goggles.

Also, for anyone wondering why it says ‘Puma Zi-O’ all over this... Well, my computer kept correcting ‘Ouma’ to ‘Puma’ and I eventually decided that ‘Puma’ was funnier. That’s all.

Here’s a shot of Makoto looking attractive despite poor quality to finish off:

[fullmetalirin]

Fullmetal Alchemist OG vs. Brotherhood: Reconciliation with Al (OG 23-24, BH 09)

OG stretched this into two episodes, adding its own subplot for the second one.

Fullmetal Alchemist Episode 23: "Fullmetal Heart"

Ed, recovering from his wounds from the laboratory, is scolded by Ross for almost dying. Needing his automail repaired, Ed calls for Winry to come to Central. When Winry arrives at the train station, Al still contemplates what Barry had told him. After the brothers refuse to tell her about the events, Winry leaves in a fury and is dragged off by Hughes to his daughter's birthday party. Hughes tells her that men tend to hide things so as not to worry anyone. Al decides to confront Ed about what he was afraid to tell him, asking if he was really an artificial soul.

Ross slaps Ed. During her scolding she continues the "you're just a kid" theme, and asks him to trust her more.

Cartoon face when Winry realizes she forgot the screw. Appropriate, given Winry's established character and the fact this is a breather episode.

The military is investigating the laboratory. Hughes says they're explaining it away as Scar's doing.

Some of the prisoners blabbed that they saw Grand. I again have to wonder what Envy was thinking.

Oh, I spot Izumi in a crowd shot!

Hughes is purposefully keeping Mustang out of the loop.

Cartoon skit where Winry tries to convince Ed to take his milk.

Winry admonishes them for not telling her about the danger they're in.

Hughes explicitly says Winry's like a sister to Ed. Ew.

Gracia made a cake for Ed. That's sweet.

Al sulks because Ed brings up a memory he can't remember. If he really was just constructed memories, surely Ed wouldn't point out the holes? Also why would Ed have made so many personal sacrifices for him. He's so stupid to fall for this.

Ed tells Winry everything, and he thinks Al's mad at him because he didn't make the Philosopher's Stone. Ed admonishes himself for not doing it, even when Winry says obviously Al wouldn't want him to. This is shaping Ed into a pretty dark character.

Winry knows what Ed wanted to tell Al but Al cuts her off. This is so contrived.

And now Al is convinced that everyone he's ever known being in on the conspiracy is more plausible than him being real. Seriously?

Al hits Ed so hard it splits his lip.

Ed plans to jump off the building after Al and has to be restrained by Winry.

Fullmetal Alchemist Episode 24: "Bonding Memories"

Al has run away after not receiving an answer from Ed. He soon runs into Scar, who has been hiding among other refugees from Ishbal as they are terrorized by mercenaries posing as the state military soldiers with Barry accompanying them. After being reunited with his brother, Ed and Al reaffirm their existence.

We open with the Ishbalan camp. It's attacked by the military, including Barry. Suddenly he is being portrayed seriously.

An alchemist uses harpoons to make a transmutation circle that sends electricity everywhere.

Ah, Scar actually is badly injured from the 5th laboratory.

After the OP we get an abridged flashback to last episode's ending, which I don't think is necessary.

Pathetic fallacy: it's raining now, when it was a clear sky last episode.

Sloth picks up the call from the soldiers tailing the Ishbalans. Ominous!

Al thinks about how strange it is that Leo wants to forget his memories, because wow, that's the exact opposite of him! This seems unnecessarily waffling, probably added to fill time.

Al calls Ross, so she continues to be the more important one.

Old dude says Ishbalans value blood above all else.

Ah, but when Leo reached out for his mom when the invaders came, she ran away from him. Wow, that's heavy.

Al uses alchemy to cage the soldiers while he's outside the building. How did he know where to aim?

Al is unscathed after a direct hit by a bazooka. How strong is this armor???

Ed makes a wall to protect them, but it doesn't hold up for longer than a few seconds.

Okay, so the harpoons aren't making the glyph, they just make a circle and the glyph magically appears. I don't think that's kosher, but I believe alkahestry can do that in the manga so what is consistency anyway.

Barry dies, having fulfilled his purpose, instead of sticking around for another arc to stalk Riza and make more jokes about how hilarious murder is, because that would be weird.

The locket protects Rick, and breaks open in the process. They find eye medicine that shows their mom was going blind, so she actually thought she was running towards them, not away. That's sweet, if a little contrived.

The alchemist runs back to Sloth, who drowns him with her liquid body while calmly sipping tea. Our first look at her powers, and nicely creepy to boot.

The Elrics see the Ishbalans off. Scar affirms Al's humanity, which is nice of him. Ed just tries to grill him on Ishbal's Philosopher's Stone, to which he does not answer.

I'm not sure how I feel about the resolution to the mom – I'm generally not in favor of "blood is everything" or "one grand gesture makes up for a lifetime of petty abuse" as tropes. They could have easily just had the mom abandon them and have that be the last word. But this is a nice ending, and it's good that the Ishbalans get at least a little happiness here instead of only being used as a prop for the white characters.

And you know, it actually does strike me how much this episode really is about the Ishbalans. Despite ending last episode implying this was going to be about the brothers, Ed is almost completely absent and Al is a leaf in a river. Leo and Rick drive the plot, and Scar is actually the one who defeats the antagonist.

FMA Brotherhood Episode 9: "Created Feelings"

Edward is hospitalized following the incident at the fifth laboratory. Needing his automail repaired, Edward calls for Winry to come to Central. Winry arrives and repairs Edward's arm, adding the small bolt she forgot to insert back in Resembool. Alphonse still contemplates what Barry had told him about being a doll created by Edward. Hughes invites Winry over to his daughter Elicia's birthday party, where she laments that Edward and Alphonse never tell her anything. Hughes tells her that men tend to hide things to avoid worrying anyone. Alphonse then confronts Edward about whether he is really an artificial soul. Edward storms off and Winry yells at Alphonse, telling him that Edward was terrified Alphonse may have blamed him for getting him stuck in the armor. The Elric brothers then fight, with Edward emerging as the victor. They both reminisce about their past fights, reaffirming their existence. Meanwhile, Scar wakes up in the care of Ishvalan refugees.

We finally stop with the alchemy exposition opener.

Still get a recap of the last episode, though.

Cartoon skit where Ed's angry the laboratory was destroyed.

Ross still slaps and scolds Ed, but it's played for comedy before abruptly transitioning into seriousness because what is tone. She also has Brosh play backup. Her speech is pretty similar. Though she gives the same line about trusting adults, she doesn't call Ed a kid.

Comedy skit where Ross worries Ed would penalize her for slapping him because what is tone. We do get the additional information that State Alchemists have the rank of major, though.

Does Ross have a different voice actor in Brotherhood? Her voice sounds a lot higher-pitched and more childish.

Ed calling Winry is more comedic, and he asks her to do a service call instead of her volunteering.

Oh wait, we do get a flashback to Winry finding a missing screw. Did I forget that? It's hard to keep the two continuities straight sometimes.

Comedy when Brosh calls Winry Ed's girlfriend, followed by him tearing his wounds open, I think? He has to go in a wheelchair afterwards.

Ed generally does not seem to be acting like he's injured or in pain at all. In OG he seemed visibly drained.

Al sees a kid with a windup toy and gets sad. I feel like that's a bit too on-the-nose.

Winry complains the train ride was uncomfortable.

Izumi still gets a cameo, walking behind Winry. We see her face so it's a bit more obvious.

Ed needs to be admonished by the peanut gallery before he comforts Winry for blaming herself. Wow, he's a dick.

Same bit with Ed refusing his milk, but it becomes a full-on skit complete with Armstrong barging in.

Ed's the one to bring up Al acting weird.

We see Winry sneaking the screw out of her bag to put it in, which I think is a nice bit of subtle comedy.

Since Al isn't wrecked here, we spend more time on him walking around and doing stuff while he sulks, which feels like filler to me.

Hughes assumed Ed called Winry over so he could bang her and we get comedy about it. Thank you for cutting that, OG.

Hughes drags Winry to his house without telling her it's Elicia's birthday. It seems like the only purpose is to make a joke when Winry is confused.

Winry is enamored by Elicia's cuteness.

Winry is the one who says they're like brothers. Ewwwwwww.

Hughes' pep talk is similar, so the weird gender thing is here too. It's actually worse – he says it's Winry's duty to be receptive to them when they do open up, not that she should be proud she's the one they open up to when they can't keep it together. Maybe that's just different translations, but…

Cartoon skit where Hughes threatens kids to treat his daughter nicely. Not necessary.

Gracia offers to house Winry as long as she's in Central, which is nice of them, and an echo of their offer to the Elrics in episode 1. This is doing a good job of showing they're good people.

Similar thing where Ed jokes he wishes he had Al's body. Al's reaction is much more dramatic, to the point I can't take it seriously. Less is more.

Cartoon when Al makes his accusation. Seriously?

Ed walks out instead of talking to Al, because the idiot ball's getting passed around today.

Cartoon when Winry smacks Al because lol female on male violence is funny.

Winry does get to tell Al, and we even get a full flashback to Ed telling her.

Winry points out the plot hole of why Ed would sacrifice so much for a doll.

Al runs after Ed and Ed fights him. This is stupid. Al points out he should be opening his wounds, but he does not, which is stupider.

Oh, but I see the real point: Ed beats Al for the first time. Because that's what's really important here, the winning.

The reminiscence scene is similar, but Al adds that they fought over who got to marry Winry, and Al won but she shot him down, thus foreshadowing the Edwin romance.

Ed is more aggressive towards Al, asking rhetorical questions about if he really thinks all his desires are fake.

Then Winry agrees with Hughes that the manly way of not needing to talk about feelings works sometimes too.

Flashback to Kimblee in the war before Scar wakes up.

We end with Scar saying he got the arm from his family; I think that's the first time we've heard that in this continuity.

Conclusion

So as you can probably guess, I like OG better. Brotherhood just can't stop the madcap comedy. Every time it attempts to be sad and somber, it falls completely flat. Al has even less reason to believe this or care without the addition of Tucker literally doing exactly what he fears plus his memories fading, and it's all resolved too quickly and neatly. The drama just feels so manufactured: the author was like "WHAT IF THERE WAS TENSION BETWEEN THE BROTHERS WOULDN'T THAT BE COOL", made everyone hold the idiot ball to contrive it into possibility, then it's wrapped up in one episode and we're done. Like Nina, it's not a thing that builds or goes anywhere or matters.

On the flipside, I think this is a rare instance of OG not spending enough time talking about feelings: Ed's confession isn't engaged with or reflected on at all, it just gets the same "of course I don't hate you!" response seen every time this trope appears. If there was ever a time to throw the action to a grinding halt for some navel-gazing, that was it. And I actually did think Brotherhood's flashback felt more vulnerable and genuine than Ed's confession in OG, though the difference wasn't by orders of magnitude.

On representation: OG is better. Brotherhood says the woman will deal with your feelings, then turns around and has her declare that actually toxic masculinity is great. Her only purpose is to be a plot device and cheerleader. OG actually deconstructs toxic masculinity by having Al spiral so bad he doesn't let the woman deal with his feelings, forcing Ed to actually open up instead of fighting it out because he is a MANLY MAN and that is the only language he knows. In OG, their fight is serious and Ed gets seriously injured. In OG, we have the emotional intensity of Ed nearly leaping off a building because he can only think of Al. In OG, we have the genuineness of Ed spending a whole day trying to rescue Al. Actions rather than words, eh? OG continues to be miles ahead of Brotherhood at the "let's talk about our feelings" genre, even when hampered by the source's utterly moronic plot.

And by God it is moronic. I'm trying to think of a way you could fix this plot and I'm not coming up with much. You could maybe go deeper on the Philosopher's Stone thing, with Al seeing Ed's willingness to kill people for it over Al's objections as proof Ed only really cared about fixing himself… That would fit well with the theme of miscommunication, since Ed sees it in the exact opposite way. I could even buy him working himself into a conspiracy that Ed only made him to carry him back to the Rockbells when he was bleeding out, or maybe, what with Tucker and his Nina clones, he thinks since Ed went there with the intent of getting someone back, he decided to make a doll to keep him company when Plan A failed… but ugh, even that doesn't work because he should have made a doll of the person he was actually trying to get back. Maaaybe instead of thinking he was a total fabrication he might think Ed just made the memories instead of getting the real Al's soul, but that wouldn't actually change anything, ultimately. Ed and the audience are still invested in him, so it doesn't matter.

The conspiracy of everyone they've ever known needing to be in on it is just so absolutely ridiculous. It's not impossible to make someone emotionally compromised enough to believe that, but I can't think of what could possibly push Al that far. Ed would have to be treating him completely differently, like not trying to sacrifice himself for Al every five seconds and constantly fussing over him and just generally loving him 24/7. Like seriously, why would Ed give himself up to Scar for a doll? How did Al just conveniently forget that? And that's not even getting into the fact that Winry and Pinako recognized him even in the armor when there is no way the unconscious kid in his arms could have possibly coached them on his grand conspiracy in advance… None of it makes the slightest bit of sense.

[akiharashizuka]

Cradfight Vanguard G: Z turn 9 thoughts

Evil Governor Gredora

Wait what. Kai goes to Europe (assuming Gaillard is there) and leaves New Nippon with Kamui and Misaki. I feel like he has been travelling around a lot ever since mid-Next. he returned to Japan from Europe, than started chasing Chaos Breaker and ended up in Singapore, than Hong Kong and now Europe again.

Looks like there is some internal strife. Aside from Dumjid disobeying the orders. Gredora pretty much does what she wants. Well, taking revenge for the Relics doesn’t go against the orders though...But Chaos Breaker seems to be the real problem for them. 

Gastille is so chill, finding simple explanations for everything while reading newspapers xD But he uses quite a rich vocabulary. 

So close to seeing Wakamizu’s face...

He hacked the surveillance cameras of the whole city O_O That’s amazing! Darkface may be how he is, but he’s skills and intelligence are genuine.

Oh no...So, Noa meeting up with his teammates is no more no less than Chaos Breaker’s scheme to use them to escape his chasers. This is the same trick he used on Chrono...

Something about this part made me chuckle xD I don’t know what though.

I’m impressed Kamui knew immediately that someone took the phone. Geez, Darkface could have let him speak a bit longer, since Kamui’s warning was very important. Or, maybe it wasn’t Darkface or Gredora who took the phone.

Anyway, Misaki has demonstrated a bit of her driving skills. Wish she could have remained in the previous outfit...

That looks like a Jojo pose.

Hmm, when Darkface said that Gredora is the oldest Apostles, I believe he was referring to the fact that she was one for the longest time. From the beginning to be more precise. I don’t think he was referring to her actual age. Though, she must be, indeed, very old.

I like how Darkface was quick to “retreat” when Gredora told him to shut up.

Like son like mother, I guess., I know it’s the other way around, but this fits in the current context, with the Jojo poses. 

I like how she isn’t arrogant about her status. Even when challenging them, she seemed to recognize their courage and respect them.

When I first read Gredora’s skill, it seemed simple, but now, when I see it in action, it’s very troublesome to deal with. 

Darkface fanboying (that doesn’t sound like the right word, but oh well) over everything she was doing was funny xD There was even that moment when he started clapping.

Another thing I liked about Gredora was how she informed them about Chaos Breaker’s reputation on Cray and how he trolls everyone.

It’s so painful to watch Arata defend Noa...because Gredora is right. 

Thought the reason why Noa chose Chaos breaker as his avatar would never be addressed. I’m glad they added it, with mentioning that Chaos Breaker is basically a villain. Can’t say I’m satisfied with Noa’s reason, but it isn’t that bad, I guess. I mean, there must be real life players who use Units that are villains, according to the lores, but are either very helpful, or fun to use and end up becoming their favorites. 

On a side note, I noticed an error in the subs, when it comes to Tachikaze’s keyword. It’s supposed to be Engorge, not Overheat.

Looks like Gredora is also wise. Well, Megacolony is a group of warrior insects, so no wonder that the queen knows what drives a warrior and what can bring them down. When she asked Arata who stand before him, she wanted to point out that he got so absorbed by his emotions that he forgot to pay attention to the opponent.

I’ve been looking forward to seeing this. So, it can make a rear guard power up to 99.999 (Quintet Nine because there are five nines...Not a bad name). That’s a lot. It forces the opponent to use any guarding means possible because, otherwise they would automatically lose, but then Zoa and the other rear guard can freely attack. Now that’s scary. Guess a Perfect Guard might solve the problem. Plus many more guards for Zoa itself. 

Also, I liked that Gredora used Darkface Alicides as well and it was specifically him that got the power up.

So, it was the real Noa after all, but Chaos Breaker was only being quiet and enjoying the show. That explains why neither Arata nor Makoto suspected anything. More so, this whole experience gave them hope. I like Chaos Breaker’s exasperated face when they said that xD

However, Gredora hasn’t quite finished yet. I feel like the moment was too fast. When it came to Megiddo and Drachma, they took their time showing off each Dragon in their full glory, as well as the opponent’s fear. Maybe they plan on doing so in later episode.

Ok, Chaos Breaker flees, while Arata and Makoto take the hit. Typical of him.

I like Gredora more and more. She even admitted that part of the reason why she was able to chase Chaos Breaker was because of the boys. As an antagonist, she’s great. 

And it ends with these 2 finally arriving. Well, gredora did say that she wanted to take revenge on Q4, so now’s the perfect chance. Except that Kai, the one who beat Darkface, isn’t around anymore xD

From the preview, it seems Kamui will be her opponent. I can see the match going either way. If Gredora ends up losing, I doubt she’ll return to Cray. I still think she’ll do so eventually, and pass the torch to Darkface, but now is not the time.

[scurvgirl]

A Life Worth Living

More Dad!Marassal, when Marassal arrives that morning after Dirthamen and Selene meet.

Dirthamen belongs to @feynites

Selene belongs to @selenelavellan

The plan had always been to find Selene after Dirthamen came of age to have a relationship like that. So Marassal took him traveling when he turned 21 and every little lead that Marassal scrounged up came up empty.

He couldn’t find her or her son. They had vanished. Which, all things considered, was understandable, They were still reeling from the Templar involvement all those years ago. But it made surprising Selene with this very good man he’s raised difficult.

When they return home, he has an episode. His skin crawls and shivers, expanding and retracting in painful contortions. Desire has been denied and she regrettably does not deal with that and it’s been getting worse over the years. Dirthamen tries to help, comforting touches, making food - but there is only so much he can do while Marassal keeps his desire, the thing he wants, secret. His back shivers and his wings spring from his back from the magical pressure. They’re not pretty bird wings, he is not pretty when he is...like this.

He had never wanted to be pretty like this, the goal wasn’t to be seductive but to be terrifying. To be left alone. The desire for freedom beating so hot inside of him.

But it doesn’t phase Dirthamen, if anything it...helps cue him. Marassal has gotten those whole self-care for his abomination self down to an art. He keeps himself happy, he’s learned how to take care of himself by not fighting his desires, by accepting them and acting. It’s...resulted in a few issues, but he is alive and not dying. Self-care is important. But there are times where this self-care only goes so far.

Marassal’s lingers on the couch, heaving as his body tries to find an equilibrium in form. Dirthamen makes dinner - chicken and dumplings soup, and he helps Marassal slowly sip on it.

By the morning, Marassal is back to normal. Desire is riding a bit higher than normal, tinting his normally brown eyes purple, but he’s contained in his body. Dirthamen has questions, so many questions, and Marassal does his best to answer them.

“How did you become an abomination?”

Marassal blinks and when he smiles, his teeth are ragged and sharp, “That is not a story for my son to hear.” Dirthamen’s eyes widen slightly but he nods and moves onto more mundane questions.

Years pass but Marassal doesn’t give up. Dammit, he’ll find Selene. He’ll find her. It’s more than setting her and Dirthmen up, now he’s genuinely concerned for her. Desire aboms do not hide like this, it’s unnatural for them. The more they hide, the more they isolate themselves from society...it’s like a sickness, not being able to feed and sustain the Desire, slowly and surely corrupting the spirit to desperate levels.

It’s how aboms become the abominations of old.

He goes through all of his contacts and begins to infiltrate police databases. Looking for any clues.

Nothing.

Dirthamen is twenty-seven when one of the leads dings. Sort of. There has been a recent submission of a set of equations to a publication of Mathematics Today. The contributor of these equations is listed under a blatant pseudonym. He gets in contact with the publisher who have nothing to contact the contributor with other than an email.

Hm. Sending a “Hey! Your true love isn’t dead and he can be found at these marvelous coordinates!” won’t work. If anything, it’ll send her deeper underground.

Instead, Marassal contacts Dirthamen and poses the idea that perhaps emailing coupons to the bookstore will generate more revenue. It’s not a hard sell, and Marassal offers to take up the emailing.

He puts in the email he got from Mathematics Today and attaches the coupon.

Buy One $10 Book and Get one Free!

It lists the store’s name, the online store, the telephone number, and most importantly the store owner’s name. It’s...a bit of a longshot.

But then...then he gets that wonderful text. A strange woman by the name of Selene asking Dirthamen to come home with her.

Finally.

He drives all night to make it into the city where Dirthamen and Selene are set up. He picks up muffins and doughnuts before heading to the apartment. He quickly assesses the environment and finds it lacking - there are few places for indulgences, mostly laundromats, pawn shops, and small family owned restaurants. Not that there is anything wrong with these fine establishments, but they’re not particularly nourishing for Selene and that is concerning.

The apartment complex is even worse. Drab and depressing, colorless, filled with people who are unable to fulfill their desires. And what desire is filled is not the sort to keep Desire healthy. There is despair and longing but no actual desire beyond hopes and dreams. Nothing concrete, nothing sustaining.

The tendrils of her passenger eek out past the door to her apartment, flaring irregularly as he tries to gain a hold of what is going on. Marassal can only catch a few stray thoughts.

Is this real?

How is he not dead?

What’s going on?

Dirthamen.

Oh dear, ooooh dear. Perhaps...he should have reached out to Selene after rescuing Dirthamen. Assured her that her love wasn’t dead like the reports….

One of them would have taken him from us, his own Desire laments.

No matter, what’s done is done.

He knocks on the door and Des flares in severe annoyance.

Now, now, Des, is that any way to treat an old friend? Desire coos. A moment passes before the deadbolt and locks click open and Selene cracks the door open, eyes bright purple.

“What are you doing here?!”

He holds up the boxes of muffins and doughnuts and smiles, “Dirthamen! Dirthamen, darling, I’m here,” he turns to Selene with a smile, “my son asked me to come, he believes you need help.”

Des wriggles possessively in front of the door, clearly not wanting to share the only source of desire fulfilled in an...undetermined amount of time. Desire unfurls inside of Marassal and reaches out to Des, letting some of her power roll out and onto him. An olive branch,of a sort. Selene’s eyes flash and she shivers.

“Selene, I am not here to take him away - but he does need to keep his blood sugar up, otherwise he gets a little moody. In fact, here,” he takes out a doughnut and hands it to Selene as he walks by, “get your blood sugar up, it helps.”

He walks into the apartment and Dirthamen emerges from the small bathroom, smiling.

“Papae! Oh good you brought food, I forgot to ask. I was looking in the fridge and I didn’t really see anything, so thank you. Sorry Selene, I should have told you. This is my father, Marassal and he’s like you? I think, I mean you have some of the signs that Papae has when he’s not feeling good so I just thought that he could maybe help?” Dirthamen fidgets and Marassal sets the boxes down before walking over to Selene. Desire inside of him unfurls and presses into Des, asking for communication.

What is going on?!

We rescued Dirthamen as a baby - we made Mythal and Elgar’nan believe he was dead and we rescued him. Raised him, loved him, supported him.

A barrage of emotion swirls in Selene’s aura, half Des half her as the tenuous equilibrium they had suddenly comes into flux. Des is awake and starving. Desire pushes them to eat the doughnut, and she begins to nibble on it, slowly gaining more momentum as she goes. Desire gives Des a bit more sustenance, he drove by a plastic surgeon’s office earlier and his tank fill to burst thanks to that. Des practically latches onto Desire, demanding more.

Desire gives as much as she can before it gets a little tenuous for them. By then, Marassal has guided Selene to the couch and she’s digging into her second doughnut. Dirthamen eats his blueberry muffin and doesn’t interfere in the clearly magical and very demonic activities going on.

“I’ve been thinking about becoming a house flipper slash restorer. There are all these houses in the area I live in that are roughly one hundred years old but they’re practically decaying away, it’s just not right. I lived through that era, I know what houses looked like, how they should feel. I just need to get my contractor’s license...that should take what? A year or two? Making people’s dreams come true with homes...that sounds like a good profession, you know, I could use a business partner with it. You could handle all the financials of it, help good deserving families get good homes? Just until you’re on your feet again, if you want, just an idea. Still, I’ve been in the mood for a career change. Sex line operator is just not doing it anymore.”

“Papae!” Dirthamen sputters and Marassal rolls his eyes.

“Don’t worry, I’ve only done it for the past five years.” Marassal rubs Selene’s back as she finishes eating her doughnut, rambling on about his future prospects. Her breathing deepens, her eyes become clearer, sharper. Des settles a bit more inside of her, not completely and not without agitation, but it’s better. Much better.

Her eyes dart over to Dirthamen and Marassal waves Dirthamen over.

“I need to use the restroom, how about you hold onto Selene for a bit?” Marassal stands and Dirthamen takes his place. Selene presses herself against him almost immediately, needing that contact.

This is real, Des. Desire reassures. This is real, he is alive, he’s here, he’s healthy and good.

[jacquessnickets]

If I’m not mistaken this ASOUE meme was made by @lastchancegeneralstore​, so a quick thanks to them for the opportunity! 

Favorite book in the series: The Miserable Mill, believe it or not. Far be it from being the best book in the series, of course, but I’ve got a very soft spot in my heart for it.

When did you read them for the first time: I must have been about 13, because I was in middle school when I really got into it for the first time. Funnily enough, I never actually made it through the whole series -- I got to maybe the first couple chapters of The Grim Grotto, kinda figured out the rest of the story from various online sources, then forgot everything that happened in each book until I finally read them all properly. If I could go back and do it properly, I definitely would.  


Favorite character: Jacques Snicket has stolen my heart. Other all-stars include Charles, Hector, and Uncle Monty.

Kit/Dewey or Kit/Olaf: Kit/Dewey 100%. A good way to make me sad is to remind me that she kept talking and asking about him in The End without knowing he was dead.

Favorite Quagmire: I like all three, though Duncan seems to be sort of underappreciated compared to his brother and sister. Therefore, I shall pick up the slack.--


Favorite Baudelaire: I like all three of them too! I’ll say Klaus because he’s so salty and sassy but at the same time I think he cries the most out of all three kids, and I can appreciate a child character who behaves in ways a child might despite his maturity and intelligence.


Favorite Snicket: Jacques, naturally. ;y 


Did you see the 2004 movie in theaters: No, though I saw it pretty soon after it came out on DVD. I mostly remember the ads for it playing on Nickelodeon.


Thoughts about the movie: I think it’s enjoyable enough as a standalone film, but as an adaptation of a franchise it was a little sloppy. The allusions to VFD are too scarce for a fan of the series to enjoy and too vague for newcomers to understand, and Carrey’s performance was really overhyped in commercials and was played much more comedically than I think it needed to be. Overall it could have done much better, but it wasn’t so terrible I wouldn’t watch it again.


Favorite quote: From Who Could That Be At This Hour?: "If someone wanted to torture me until I told them a critical piece of information, all they would have to do is get my socks wet.” because sAME

Have you ever met Daniel Handler: No, but I would love to.


Thoughts about ATWQ: IT’S SO GOOD. Like ASOUE was a great series I enjoyed very much, but ATWQ is different in its style and substance that it’s a nice combination of fresh and familiar. 11/10 would read again

Favorite ATWQ character: I love so many of the characters, but if I had to choose a number one spot it’d be a three-way tie between Moxie Mallahan, Dashiell Qwerty, and Jake Hix. 


Favorite moment in ASOUE: Oh there’s definitely a few. Klaus saving Charles from the saw, Friday telling Olaf off and the other islanders not buying his disguise, any time an adult was kind and gentle to the children, and Kit driving like a maniac then casually mentioning her pregnancy are some good ones. One I wouldn’t say was quite my favorite but one that was definitely impactful was Dewey’s death. I had been reading the series over Skype to my friend, and it was the first time I’d ever read through the series in its entirety when I finally got to that book. I knew it was coming, I knew how and when and why it was going to happen. And yet, as the words started leaving my mouth, I could hear and feel myself getting choked up over a guy I’d known was a goner for years. I didn’t cry, but it was the only moment I really got physically emotional over something that happened in the series.


Would you ever get an eye tattoo: This is the only tattoo I have ever seriously considered getting. 


Fire-fighter or Fire-starter: Fire-fighter, if only to be the really edgy morally ambiguous one who has no issue suggesting we just assassinate the villains who pose a legitimate threat to people.


Least favorite character: Is Poe a cliche answer? I don’t care, that guy sucked. Dishonorable mention goes to Stew Mitchum.


Did the Quagmires survive: YES, EVERYONE IN THAT HOT AIR MOBILE HOME DID  


In your opinion, what is the great unknown: It’s very tempting to think it might have been the Bombinating Beast, though another interesting idea might be that it’s some sort of submarine. After all, having the Quagmires, Hector, and the Widdershins reuniting just to get gobbled up by some sea monster seems a little lame.


Did you like the way the series ended: I do wish a there had been more loose ends tied up, but I like how the ambiguity gives us opportunity to imagine where the Baudelaires went from there. The Beatrice Letters does a very good job of giving some slight insight as to what happened after they left the island, but not enough that we have any clear, concise answers.


What question do you most want answered by Handler: In the series proper and especially in ATWQ, there’s a lot of focus on Lemony’s relationship with Kit. Yet not nearly as much attention is paid to Jacques; the narrative of his death is kind of gleaned over in comparison to Kit’s, and he doesn’t even show up in ATWQ outside of sparse references. So my question is, what was the nature of Jacques and Lemony’s relationship both in childhood and adulthood? Jacques and Kit? How did his death affect them?

What are you most excited for about the Netflix series: MY SERIES IS FINALLY GETTING A PROPER, COMPLETE ADAPTATION 


Binge watching or spacing out the episodes: I binged. I was a caveman for 8 hours the day it premiered. I will binge again when the second season is released.

I tag: @stuckonswan because she’s the only friend of mine regularly on here who has read the whole series--