#i haven’t watched skam in like 2 years

[thefancyspin]

FIC WRITER INTERVIEW

this meme was stolen from @sunoficarus, so thank you! I've barely written a jot in months so it felt nice to write about what I have done in the past.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

185

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

Is there a way to know that without having to count? Haha, up to or more than 300,000 I'd say. No probably definitely more. ETA: okay I figured it out, haha, and it's 482,890.

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

the blind side (mcdanno)

breathe for two (mcdanno)

tell me with your body (skam)

safe at anchor (mcdanno)

outside the lines (mcdanno)

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

For the most part. Sometimes I read a comment when I'm in a rush and don't have time to reply, and then forget to do it. But I always see it and they mean everything to me!

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

There hasn't been many, I'm not built for unhappy endings haha. There was this one though, as part of a collection of robron AUs that I wrote. It got a lot of traction too and people seemed to like it!

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

There are SO many I don't have a clue how to narrow down 'happiest'. 

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

No, I haven't written any! They're not something I dabble in, writing or reading.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not hate per se, but in the due South fandom there's this anonymous person who's notorious for leaving negative comments on fics that feature Fraser/Ray K. And I've had a number of those haha. 

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I'm not sure what that means, what kind? Haha. I write MLM, but mostly vanilla stuff. I'm not really into much more than that.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of? 

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I've been so lucky to have some amazing people translate my works into Russian, Italian, and Chinese.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I did once, it was fun! It was for the Jongens fandom a few years back, called Count on Me. 

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Thats really hard to say. I'd say my top ones are Steve/Danny, Fraser/Ray K, Robert/Aaron, Ben/Callum. Although I have a lot. A lot.

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

None that are published, but I have a Midomer Murders fic in the works that I really hope I can be inspired to finish one day. I also have an SGA fic that I want to complete. They're both longer fics so, I'd need time and energy I just can't seem to find much of these days.

15. What are your writing strengths?

I feel like it's probably dialogue. Also maybe turns of phrase, making sentences have a rhythm. I just like that way of writing.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Let me count the ways! Haha, no, no. I guess I find the descriptive, showing not telling part of writing pretty difficult. Just setting scenes and tying everything together. 

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I do that a little bit when I'm writing for a fandom that's not English, such as jongens or skam. I just like to add a little here and there of what you come to know from the source material. Maybe people find it inauthentic or jarring? I'm not sure.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

That's going back a ways! The first thing I think I posted fic for on AO3 was a soap pairing Will/Sonny, but I was posting stuff for Criminal Minds and MASH way before that on LiveJournal, haha. 

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

Oooh thats easy, I really want to write some Luis/Moritz fic, I'm following their storyline from a German soap. If you're interested you can watch it at the blog @moritzandluis, they have done a brilliant job of uploading it with English subtitles!

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I honestly couldn't say. I do enjoy going back and reading my stuff, but I'm not sure there's any that I like a lot more than another. Anything longer and plottier I guess I get prouder of, just because it's not my strong point and it feels more of an achievement.

[ignoranxed]

because i am so done w losing my thoughts over the very chaotic only friends eps imma put them down here and contribute my 0.0002 cents to the OF meta

here are my stray thoughts post ep4

1. the power dynamic between boston & top: the past two eps have been sooooo layered w this but i loveee the ending of the lift scene in ep4 for the very specific reason that top is TERRIFIED of boston. the second boston turns his back to top, you can see top’s face literally melting into a scared, breathless, child-like expression, almost as if he was holding so tightly onto every last bit of courage possible to make boston feel like he could see right through him but he was actually praying ton doesn’t see through himself. like ofc there’s the whole being subjected to non-consensual sexual advances for the umpteenth time by ton and recovering from that experience thingy, but i am not able to shake away the thought that top FEARS boston.

since ep1 we see that top and ton consistently try to assert power over the other in the most petty yet desperate ways, to say the least (case in point: top’s forced eye roll in the ep1 bathroom scene & ton’s tone & choice of words in ep2 shower scene. this scene by itself too, actually. if i’ve missed anything else plss lmk!!). initially, i kinda brushed it off as part of the hookup culture depicted and the whole idea of top being “top-tier” (as in for ton he feels this need to stake claim on the most coveted & for top he feels the need to maintain his “wanted yet unattainable” rep) but post ep3&4 i am so convinced that there is something more sinister about their relationship that gives ton power over top. i just know this man’s so fucked over by boston and is still reeling from it.

2. we’re most definitely going to get a mewray: call me delulu but my man went from “it’s your life. not my concern” & “isn’t it already good for you if you quit” to “if you quit using drugs, i’ll sleep with you” in under 10 seconds. this mew bitch is gonna lose his shit and make everyone else lose their own at some point and all of the evidence i have for this could be a whole other post.

3. friend-group dynamic: this has been a nagging question for me and i saw a few other posts on this (hidden agenda has taken over my tumblr the past couple weeks so OF took a sad backseat ://) but my point basically being, why have ray, mew, cheum & ton remained friends? what’s keeping their friendship going? we know it’s a min of 2 years that they’ve all been friends for i think, but i just can’t wrap my head around why do 3 people who very often can barely stand each other, choose to do everything together? saving cheum on this cause she’s just the token lesbian who loves everyone so far. they study together, they work together, they party together, they don’t seem to have any other actual friends they hang out with so what’s keeping them tied? and why?

this ep def gave a lot more clarity on mew and ray’s friendship but my question is still not answered.

4. the SKAM colours are back!! i’m sorry but this just makes me super excited :))))))

that’s it for now and more stray thoughts will be updated as and when convenient upon arrival.

i haven’t read enough of the recent OF meta so if any of my thoughts seem repetitive or overdone, pls be kind :))

as a baby bl fan, reading meta makes my whole bl watching experience exponentially better and this is me contributing to that in my little way. okay that’s it thx xx bye

[nohshinwoos]

I made Atori watch Skam og S3 and S4. My power...

ugh yes!! hope she likes it 👀

[otg2012]

Somebody asked me about my favorite BL series and I wanted to make a list but then I thought it’d be more useful to make a list of series I recommend with LGTBIQ+ characters because in some cases they aren’t one of the main characters, or their love story/story happens just in one of the seasons or in individual episodes. If you want more details about any show or you just have any questions, you can always ask me in the chat where I’ll be happy to answer.

I had some doubts about including certain Asian series but I finally decided to add them if I have given them at least 7 out of 10 stars on MyDramaList because even if they could be improved, I think they still have some enjoyable elements and they are worth checking out.

The shows are ordered chronologically and by nationality. I know there are many more shows but I haven’t included anything I’ve not seen (at least 1 season or enough chapters to have an opinion) and obviously, I’ve omitted those with less than 7 stars.

Since these are all shows that I recommend, I decided to make a list of my favorite series at the end as well as I was asked. I tried to make it a top 20 but it was impossible.

I’ll edit this post when I have more series to add or if I’ve forgotten any. 

It’s also on AO3.  EDIT: Updated on AO3 > 12.8.2022 / Posted; 31.7.2022

From USA:

My So-Called Life (1994)

Party of Five (1994-2000)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

Dawson's Creek (1998-2003)

Will & Grace (S1-8:1998-2006 + S9-11: 2017- 2020)

Queer as Folk (US) (1999-2005)  (Edit: I have watched the UK version and I don't like It at all)

Six Feet Under (2001-2005)

The Wire (2002-2008)

Cold Case (2003-2010)

Desperate Housewives (2004-2012)

The Closer (2005-2012)

Ugly Betty (2006-2010)

Brothers and Sisters (2006-2011)

The L Word (2004-2009) + The L Word: Generation Q (2019-2021) (*I’ve watched S1/2019)

The Closer (2005-2012)

True Blood (2008-2014)

Kings (2009) 

Southland (2009-2013)

Glee (2009-2015) 

The Good Wife (2009-2016)

Spartacus (2010-2013)

Parenthood (2010-2015)

Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Teen Wolf (2011-2017) + Teen Wolf: The Movie (Coming in 2022)

Partners (2012)

Political Animals (2012) 

The New Normal (2012-2013)

Major Crimes (2012-2018)

Nashville (2012-2018)

Scandal (2012-2018)

The Originals (2013-2018)

The Fosters (2013-2018)

Looking (2014-2015) + Looking: The Movie (2016)

Black Sails (2014-2017)

The 100 (2014-2020)

Sense8 (2015-2018) (I’ve just seen S1)

Grace and Frankie (2015-2022) (I’ve watched S1-2)

Eyewitness (US) (2016)

Shadowhunters (2016-2019)

Star Trek: Discovery (2017-...) (I’ve watched S1-2)

Pose (2018-2021) (I’ve watched S1-2)

Killing Eve (2018-2022) (I’ve watched S1-2)

The Red Line (2019)

The Politician (2019-...)

The Umbrella Academy (2019-...) (I’ve watched S1-2)

Doom Patrol (2019-...) (I‘ve watched parts of S1)

Hollywood (2020)

Love, Victor (2020-2022) (I’ve watched S1)

Roswell, New Mexico (2019-2022) (I’ve watched S1-2)

Canada:

Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009) (From Canada, UK & USA)

Stargate Universe / SGU (2009-2011) (From Canada & USA)

Versailles (2015-2018) (From Canada, France, UK & USA)

Killjoys (2015-2019) (From Canada & USA) (I’ve seen S1)

Schitt's Creek (2015-2020)

Spain:

Al salir de clase (1997-2002)

Física o Química / Physics or Chemistry (2008-2011)

Vis a vis (2015-2019) (I’ve watched S1)

Merlí (2015-2018) (I’ve watched part of S1)

El ministerio del tiempo / The Ministry of Time (2015-2020).

Paquita Salas (2016-2019)

Toy Boy (2020-2022) (I’ve watched S1)

La casa de papel / Money Heist (2017-2021)

Élite (2018-...) (I’ve watched S1-4 and I don’t recommend S4)

Veneno (2020)

Sweden:

Young Royals (2021-...) (S1-2)

Norway: 

Skam (2015-2017) (I’ve watched just the gay storyline of 1 season)

United Kingdom:

Torchwood (2006-2011)

Downton Abbey (2010-2015) 

London Spy (2015)

Butterfly (2018)

A Very English Scandal (2018)

Years and Years (2019)

Gentleman Jack (2019-2022) (I’ve watched S1)

Heartstopper (2022-...) (S1)

Taiwan:

HIStory2: Right or Wrong (2018)

HIStory3: Trapped (2019)

We Best Love: No. 1 For You (2021) + Fighting Mr. 2nd (2021)

Papa & Daddy (2021-2022) (S1-2)

DNA Says Love You (2022)

Korea:

Mr. Heart (2020)

Where Your Eyes Linger (2020)

Wish You: Your Melody From My Heart (2020)

Color Rush: S1 (2020) + 2 (2022)

To My Star: S1 (2021) / TMS (Movie) (2021) + To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories (2022)

Light On Me (2021)

You Make Me Dance (2021)

My Sweet Dear (2021)

Nobleman Ryu's Wedding (2021)

Tinted With You (2021)

The Tasty Florida (2021)

Semantic Error  (2022-...) (+ The Movie is coming in August 2022) (S1)

Blueming (2022-...) (S1)

Cherry Blossoms After Winter (2022)

First Love Again (2022)

Kissable Lips (2022)

Roommates of Poongduck 304 (2022)

Oh! My Assistant (2022)

Choco Milk Shake (2022)

The Director Who Buys Me Dinner (2022-23) (Still airing)

The New Employee (2022-23) (Still airing)

Japan:

Life: Senjou no Bokura (2020)

Cherry Magic (2020)

Kieta Hatsukoi (2021)

Given (2021)

Utsukushii Kare (2021)

Gunjo Ryoiki (2021) 

Old Fashion Cupcake (2022)

Minato Shouji Coin Laundry (2022)

Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai! (2022)

Eien no Kino - Eternal Yesterday (2022)

Thailand:

Until We Meet Again (2019)

Theory of Love (2019)

TharnType: S1 (2019) + TharnType 2: 7 Years Of Love (2020)

I Told Sunset About You (2020) + I Promised You the Moon (2021) 

Why R U? (2020)

Lovely Writer (2021)

Not Me (2021)

Call It What You Want (2021) (There is a season 2 but I don’t recommend it)

A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021)

Bad Buddy (2021)

Star and Sky: Star in My Mind (2022)

Secret Crush On You (2022)

The Miracle of Teddy Bear (2022)

The Tuxedo (2022)

Cutie Pie (2022)

Triage (2022)

KinnPorche (2022)

The Eclipse (2022)

My Secret Love (2022)

Never Let Me Go (2022-2023) (Still airing)

                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

MY FAVORITE (so far 02/01/2023): 

My So-Called Life (1994) 

Queer as Folk (US) (1999-2005)

Brothers and Sisters (2006-2011)

Kings (2009) 

Teen Wolf (2011-2017) + Teen Wolf The Movie (Coming in 2022)

Black Sails (2014-2017)

Eyewitness (US) (2016)

Shadowhunters (2016-2019)

The Red Line (2019)

Until We Meet Again (2019)

HIStory3: Trapped (2019)

TharnType: S1 (2019) & TharnType 2: 7 Years Of Love (2020)

Color Rush: S1 (2020) & 2 (2022)

Cherry Magic (2020)

To My Star: S1 (2021) & To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories (2022)

We Best Love: No. 1 For You (2021) & Fighting Mr. 2nd (2021)

Lovely Writer (2021)

Kieta Hatsukoi (2021)

Light On Me (2021)

Gunjo Ryoiki (2021) 

Not Me (2021)

Semantic Error (2022)

Young Royals (2021-...)

Cherry Blossoms After Winter (2022)

DNA Says Love You (2022)

Cutie Pie (2022)

Star and Sky: Star in My Mind (2022)

Triage (2022)

KinnPorche (2022)

Not Me (2021-22)

Posted on 31.7.2022 - Updated 02/01/2013

[hidekomoon]

lgbt tv shows i watched in 2021 ranked by how cool the lgbt storylines were

1. the wilds yeah it came out in 2020 but i watched it this year and it’s amazing, highly recommend it

2. we are lady parts in second place only bc the wlw plot isn’t that prominent; it’s absolutely the best show of 2021. also now that we’re getting a season 2 they can confirm saira as bisexual

3. young royals has all the elements that you’d expect from a teen drama/coming of age but WELL EXECUTED and pretty realistically too, considering it’s about a prince and royalty. it’s the show i wish i had when i was that age

4. the euphoria special jules is one of my favorite characters ever so yeah i had to put it up here

5. druck (skam germany) made me feel so many emotions!! the seasons with queer mcs are the best i really recommend it

6. babysitters club almost cried when [spoiler] came out. she’s not even a main character

7. it’s a sin it WAS good but i’m not a fan of super sad stories and it’s a sin is really, really sad

8. love, victor i mean. it wasn’t that bad, but it wasn’t that good either. what is it with love triangles? i thought we left them in 2010s hetero romance novels

9. pose i mean i have no memory of the last two seasons but i know i watched them and i didn’t hate it so they must have been nice

10. genera+ion meh. bad start, gets better later. often sounds like an adult writing teens, which is weird since a literal teen co-created the show. one thing i can give them though is that it had a realistic, super queer friend group (as opposed to the 1 gay guy and background character boyfriend that we usually get)

11. betty what is even going on in there. s1 was better than s2. it made me wanna skate so here’s that

12. dickinson too disappointed to rank it higher. the aesthetics & some of the concepts were dope tho

THE FIRST SEASON ISN’T FINISHED YET SO I HAVEN’T RANKED THEM BUT YOU SHOULD TOTALLY CHECK THESE OUT:

yellowjackets: not gay enough imo, but still pretty gay and enjoyable if you like girls stranded in the wilderness trying to survive

the wheel of time: fantasy fans, rosamund pike fans, witches enthusiasts, you will love this one (you have to watch the first 6 episodes before deciding if you like it or not because that’s when the story really starts)

[maybeacrowdedmind]

My Headcanoned Autistic Characters Part 2:

Let Part 2 of characters I've headcanoned as autistic commence!

Starfire - Teen Titans:

I recently started watching Teen Titans because I'm a big fan of DC Comics. As soon as she came onscreen and began speaking and interacting with the other members of the team, I was convinced. Starfire is autistic to me. Her inability to immediately understand what people mean is one of the biggest factors, and the fact that the way she shows comfort and kindness are through doing things that provide her comfort is another. Finally, for me, the way Starfire speaks is incredibly similar to mine. Starfire speaks formally, which is something I do all the time. In fact, when I first got diagnosed as autistic (I was nine, which is super young for a girl), I was speaking to the psychiatrist in such a formal and proper manner that he was initially under the assumption that I was either born/lived in England, or that I had an English nanny. My way of speaking and the formal vocabulary I have are a lot less noticeable now that I'm older, but hearing a nine year old speak like a professor was a huge tipoff to the doctor who gave me my diagnosis. So, to see Starfire have a speech pattern nearly identical to mine was big. That, coupled with her lack of understanding social cues, lead me to see her as autistic. A bonus to this headcanon is the fact that like Parker, Starfire has people she is close with who don't shame her for being different than they are, and do their best to communicate with her in a way that fits her needs.

Malia Tate/Hale* - Teen Wolf:

*Quick disclaimer: I am only on the second season of Teen Wolf, so technically I haven't seen Malia's character onscreen yet. However, I have seen a lot of spoilers for the show since I knew about it long before I actually ad a way to watch it, and I have seen a ton of scenes featuring Malia in screencaps of the show, and totally see her as autistic. With that in mind, read on.

Malia is shown to be an extremely honest and blunt person; she has no filter when it comes to speaking the truth, and doesn't understand why things are the way they are, especially if they don't make sense to her. I am not wholly convinced that she and I are not the same person in terms of those traits. I, like Malia, speak bluntly; I constantly have to be reminded that some things are meant to be handled delicately, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't a black and white thinker in terms of what is logical and what makes sense to me. Malia is also shown to be very absolute and loyal, and cannot stand it when people bend the truth or lie to her in order to keep her safe. I am one of those people who would rather hear something hard and truthful than something that is easier but not completely honest. Malia doesn't see the point in sugarcoating, and to me, these facets of her personality are very alike to mine as an autistic person.

Vilde - Skam:

Let me first say that I love Skam with my whole heart. I'm on season four (I love Sana's character) and the show has not once let me down. Every character is vastly different from one another, which keeps it from becoming boring, so if you haven't seen it, I recommend watching it. Vilde is a character I have adored from the beginning as she is incredibly fun to watch onscreen, and is not without deeper layers than a fun party girl. To me, she is also autistic, and my basis for this is largely founded on her fixation with russ time, her moments of slight insensitivity, her questions that are not ones people are "supposed to ask", and her interactions with the people around her. Her goal in regards to russ is a single-minded one, and her hyper-fixation and focus on achieving this goal have a lot in common with me when I'm focusing on a task that has great importance to me. Vilde also has a tendency to get a little too focused on her goals, occasionally forgetting that the people around her have their own things as well. She also asks questions that are usually not asked by people out of social decorum, and has brought the conversation to a standstill after doing so (if I had a dollar for every time I've done that...), such as asking Sana about her hijab and whether or not she (Sana) is allowed to be part of a russ bus due to her religion in a manner that is awkward and slightly off-putting (even though it wasn't her intention), or asking if Noora is a lesbian because if she doesn't want to hook up with one of the boys, she must be. In regards to her interactions with others, people often label Vilde as being too innocent to understand or know things about people and the world (like Eskild being gay or William not having interest in her, but in Noora), despite the fact that she is aware of both. Vilde is smarter than people give her credit for, which Sana makes note of when telling Noora that Vilde is who she would take with her to battle. As an autistic person, I have often been treated as though I am incapable of understanding deep topics and am underestimated in my ability to be aware of what others are talking about or mean. Vilde is not naïve like people assume she is, which is something I find I have in common with her.

That's part two, and I hope you have enjoyed this post as well as part one! If you have any characters you’ve headcanoned as autistic, let me know in the replies. I’d love to see other characters people relate to. Also, if you could please check out the post I made in regards to my sister and the fundraising she’s doing for a service dog and reblog it, that would be greatly appreciated.

[codename-adler]

Dear Tumblr toxicity,

Hi. Adler here. We need to talk.

- TW: mental health issues, depression, bipolar disorder, self-harm, homophobia, transphobia, coming out, xenophobia, islamophobia, racism, implied sexual content, rape, non-con, addictions, abuse, parental negligence, depictions of violence, swearing (please message me kindly if I forget anything)

- What prompted this message: The release of Skam France S7 teaser (emphasis on teaser, will get into that below)

- Where I’m coming from: I will talk from the pov of a white, cis and queer 22-years-old woman (she/her); this is the pov that affects my experiences and the opinions I will share below; but my message comes from a place of deep hurt, and love

- What this is about: My goal is to share a recurring experience that has hurt me in order to spread a message of awareness, maturity, peace and love

- Central content: Skam France, Skam Wtfock, and Skam/remakes in general

From now on I will assume people have enough information for me to talk about the topics without explaining every plotline/character. There are plenty of wiki pages to help you out and I will gladly answer any (respectful) questions asked if a plothole bothers your comprehension of my message. I’m only making these assumptions in order to alleviate the text.

January 9th, 2021.

The francetv slash YouTube channel releases an unexpected teaser video for an equally unexpected seventh season Skam France. The video features Tiffany, a white, cis female teenager, going into labour from denial pregnancy just after winning what appears to be a gymnastics championship. Overall, the video and its release are very dramatic.

The character of Tiffany, also called Tiff, was previously seen on season 6 of Skam France as a bully who persecuted the main character, Lola, both at school and on social media. Outside of this characterization, nothing is known about her. It is majorly accepted that Tiff is not a liked character; she rather poses as one of the antagonists of Lola’s arc.

Now you know the details of what happened, in the most objectively possible way. 

Now I’ll speak for myself.

Before I went digging around for people’s reaction, here is what I initially thought of this video.

1) Shock: I thought Skam France was over, so... Big, big shock.

2) Excitement: I hold this web series very close to my heart. It has gotten me through depressive episodes, anxiety attacks, coming out to my best friend. To see this new development? It couldn’t bring me more joy.

3) Curiosity: I recognized Tiff immediately. I was intrigued as to what would happen to her to set off a new season in true Skam Fr fashion. As soon as she started gripping her stomach, I knew she was pregnant and wasn’t aware of it. Big, big surprise here again.

4) Numbness/Overthinking: As I stared at my screen, motionless, my mind went off. What did it mean? How did she not know? Who is the father? Do we know him? Will the baby survive? Where are the other characters? Will Lamifex be present? What? How? When? Why? Who?

5) Disappointment: No, I did not like Tiff one bit in S6. Yes, I sincerely wished for a season on either Jo (ambiguous and funny teenage girl, cis + white), Sekou (seemingly neurodivergent teenage boy, cis + black), and my favorite, Max (mysterious and grave teenage boy, trans + white) So why Tiff? It felt to me like a missed opportunity, but I did not lose hope.

So, these were the five stages of my emotional process. And then I made the terrible mistake to go look for the fans’ reaction. I didn’t even look at the YT comments, I didn’t go on Instagram, I went directly here on Tumblr. Why? I’m still asking myself that. From S1 to S6 of Skam Fr, I kept my love for the show to myself and only looked at ig and video edits. I tried once, and only once, to look it up on Tumblr, and was greeted by fervent agressivity, disrespect and hate. Why did I ever forget that after watching the S7 teaser? I still don’t know.

The reactions on this platform were wild. People are furious (I get that). People are disappointed (I get that). People are anxious (I get that). People are also verbally agressive, insensitive, hateful, disrespectful and bullies. I don’t get that.

Comments along the lines of “What she gonna do with a fucking baby?”, “Are we gonna watch the baby do nothing all fucking season?”, “Wowwww, teenage pregnancy, so new and relatable!” (note the sarcasm made in the comment here), “Who gives a shit about Tiff?”, etc. 

And then all the mistakes Skam Fr ever made flooded back onto the feed. The wlw misrepresentation, the whitewashing, the overdramatization, the dubious sex scenes between minors, all of it.

Let’s take a break here. Do I condone these mistakes? Nope. Am I a white-bully apologist? Nope. Did I forget every horrible action Tiff has made in the past? Nope. She manipulated a whole school against Lola, she profited from Lola’s mother’s death, she bullied her, harrassed her, pushed her deeper into mental distress. Tiff was a despicable character that I never once liked. The way she was played by the actress made it clear that Tiff was not intended to be a good guy. If I could replace her as the main of S7, I would, in a heartbeat. I’d choose, as I said, Jo, Sekou or Max.

Skam France deeply lacks diversity and made mistakes when attempting to diverse the issues represented. This is not an opinion, it’s a fact. 

Poc representation is very, very low. Only one season has a woc of Islam beliefs as mc (Imane, S4) with poc entourage/family. Only 2 other characters not related to Imane were poc (Sekou and Sarah, S1-S2). These 2 characters were very in the background and served to further the mc’s plotline, they had no real content. (I am not a poc, and so my opinion does not matter here. If you are not poc, your “opinions” don’t matter here, this point is not for you to debate. These are facts.)

While I do not particularly find the wlw representation bad, I do understand how it hurts/bothers other queer women. From my perspective, the bar was very low regarding my expectations of the Lola/Maya pair (none of them died *yay* they had a happy ending *yay* they were not typically overfeminized or overmasculinized *yay* Lola  and Maya were respectful of each other, understood each other, accepted each other with all their flaws and their beauty *yay* I truly believed in their love and it gave me confidence and hope *yay* I ould really go on but this is not my main point so I’ll stop here) Regardless of my opinion on Mayla, I understand that to some queer women, it was bothering/hurtful. (If you are anything other than a woman / wlw, this point is not for you to debate. Keep your “opinions” to yourself, it does not matter here. These are facts.)

Like every remake of the original Skam where the S4 was given to Sana/Imane, the Muslim community was not represented at its best, at its most beautiful and respectfully. The character of Imane, although she is my favorite girl of the series, was not portrayed in a way that respected the majority of the Muslim community. (If you are anything other than Muslim, this point is not for you to debate. Our opinions do not matter here. These are facts.)

And so the same goes for the portrayal of sexual assault and child pronography in S2, of mental illness and homophobia in S3, of disabilities in S5, of addiction, transphobia, self-harm and neurodivergence in S6. Again, if you are not part of these communities, your opinions do not matter on these issues. These are facts that are not up for debate.

In other words, Skam France, as well as the original Skam, Skam Wtfock, Skam España, and probably all the others I haven’t watched in their entirety, are NOT perfect shows. They (maybe) tried their best to portray issues of the younger generations that are ugly, shameful, taboo, hard-to-swallow-pills. Of course they made mistakes. Of course they have to be held accountable. Of course they can and should do better. Of course it must be spoken about.

Here is my problem.

The so-called “fans” shamelessly SHITTING on the WHOLE show because of ONE TEASER TRAILER. (btw, this is where I get angry)

I am not talking about the fans making fun of the show and this season’s premise like “Better MCs than Tiff for S7: a romance between the car that almost hit Lucas S3 and the car that hit Arthur S5, or the school’s nurse, or Imane’s dad, or Elu’s rabbit” (that shit’s funny and I’d watch all of these).Or the joke about Wtfock and Skam Fr shaking hands while signing the same contract to disappoint the fans with white MCs (it’s funny cuz it’s trueeeee).

I am not talking about the fans criticizing the producers’ choice of Tiff as MC. There is a difference between shitting on issues and adressing/discussing them. I WANT to talk about how this season’s issue would have been so much better if a woc, specifically a black woman, had been the MC, because black women and doctors are a whole different level of issue than white women and doctors. Add on top of that an unplanned teenage pregnancy? It would have been IMMACULATE. I WANT to talk which wlw couple was better represented, Mayla or Croana/Crisana, and why is that. I WANT to talk about disabilities in black and poc communities. I WANT to talk about headcanons, AUs, to rectify the missed marks. I WANT to talk about our takes on seasons about Max, Sekou and Jo, instead of Tiff’s.

I DO NOT WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR SHITTY, NEGATIVE, UNHELPFUL, HURTFUL COMMENTS.

Just because the protagonist is white, doesn’t give you ANY right to dismiss the issue that is unplanned teenage pregnancy. This is a problem that affects countries WORLDWIDE. Do you know how many deaths are related to minors giving birth? Do you know how many babies die at birth from these pregnancies? Do you have any idea the trauma it puts you through, to go into labor without even knowing you were pregnant in the first place, and then giving birth, and then having to care for a defensless human being? The dilemma of keeping it, or giving it away? The fear that lives in every person able to give birth, that one day they’ll become pregnant, because society turns sych a shameful look to that? No matter your ethnicity, your gender identity, your sexuality, your political stance or whatever shit you bring up to justify your disgraceful and downright degrading comments, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT A MINOR GIVING BIRTH IS NOT AN ISSUE. 

You think the topic has been covered plenty before? Yeah, because shows like “16 and pregnant” and “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant!” are such good examples and show the reality with such an objective point of view! 

Bullshit. Teenage pregnancy is still a taboo, it still kills, and people are still morons about it. 

“Well I guess everybody is secretly pregnant now!” No, Jessica, but you wouldn’t know about it, would you? Because I wouldn’t tell you shit if you were my “friend” and I was going through it. The whole message of all the Skams is not that it presents super relatable issues of teenagers, although it is a big topic of the show. They present some issues that affect the youth in an authentic light, but that’s not it.

Tous les gens que tu rencontres mènent un combat dont tu ignores tout. 

Sois indulgente. Toujours. x x x

//

Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.

Be kind. Always. x x x

THAT’S THE MESSAGE. THAT’S THE WHOLE POINT OF THE SHOW.

And you all missed it.

All of you making dead baby jokes and death threats, degrading people who give birth, shaming teenagers for their pregnancies... Listen to yourselves.

“Well she deserves it, she was such a bitch!” No, Michael, you shit stick. Let’s rewind a bit for you, yeah? It was a GOD DAMN TEASER. We literally know nothing! Nothing at all! Why are y’all getting mad when we saw 3:25 minutes representing a whole ass season! Listen to yourselves. Y’all judge so fast for people pretending to love Skam and its authenticity and its motto.

You say Tiff is irredeemable?

Emma cheated on her boyfriend.

Manon lied and manipulated her friends.

Lucas was homophobic and prejudiced agaisnt mentally ill people.

Imane was homophobic too and went behind her friends’ back to get what she wanted.

Arthur cheated on his girlfriend too.

Lola dragged Elliot down with her in her addiction, lied, was verbally abusive, etc.

ALL THE MAINS ARE PROBLEMATIC.

Any guess why?

BECAUSE THEY ARE TEENAGERS. THEY ARE STILL GROWING AND LEARNING.

Yet we still loved them all. 

So don’t you dare tell me that Tiff deserves this, that her baby deserves to die, that teenage motherhood is irrelevant. Motherhood is not a curse in the first place, nor is it something to wish to inflict upon anyone. Motherhood is different for every single person and nobody except the person living with it can have an opinion on that. We don’t even know if the baby survived, for God’s sake!

There is no excuse for this kind of behavior..

It makes me so angry. Women are discriminated against in a fandom I thought was safe, again and again and again. 

I have to stop here because, well, this is just too much. There is much wrong with Skam (the original AND all the remakes), but there is even more wrong with the fans. I’m done.

You don’t support the show anymore? Fine, then don’t watch it! If I really am wrong, the number of viewers will go down and the show will die, just like you wished. There is no need to be vicious about it. 

I hope y’all are proud of your misogyny. 

Sincerely,

Adler.

[inmyarmswrappedin]

So, because Fatou’s season ends today and, as far as we know, Druck hasn’t been renewed yet, I want to go over the things I feel the team did well in this season and the things I hope they take with them when they sit down to write the next season (which I’m manifesting will be Ava’s).

I think that s5 and, perhaps to a bigger extent, s6, were the team’s attempt to address fan feedback for and criticisms of s3 and s4. So I have hopes that, after possibly the most scrutinized season of any Skams, they are still willing to read even more feedback and sit down once again to craft a couple more seasons (possibly even 3 or 4 more seasons!).

So, without further ado, things that were done well! (Do I have to add “in my opinion”? Do I??)

I liked that for both s5 and s6, the thorough-line for the season wasn’t made obvious or shared in a press release, but rather it was up to fans to connect the story threads for themselves.

I loved that the team sought to address one of the biggest criticisms of s3, that is, that Matteo was given so many symptoms of a mental illness, but it ultimately went unaddressed in the narrative. They did this by giving Nora a dissociative disorder, and Fatou dyscalculia. (Matteo has been headcanoned as being mentally ill and having a disability.) It allowed the teams to develop both fan theories into full-blown seasons and give each of them the importance they deserved.

I have said this already, but I really appreciate that the team chose misunderstood, misrepresented and underrepresented mental illnesses and disabilities. I feel like s5 and s6 will be referents for many years, because they really took the time to portray a dissociative disorder and dyscalculia in a down-to-earth, unhurried way that isn’t meant to shock and awe, but simply allow us to understand why and when Nora and Fatou will struggle. Druck got the viewers to anticipate when Nora and Fatou would struggle, and that’s the first step in being able to anticipate and accommodate the needs of the Noras and Fatous of the world. I really can’t overstate how important this is and what a difference it makes in a real, tangible way. These seasons aren’t meant to be enjoyed for voyeuristic reasons, but they will legitimately help people.

One of the biggest criticisms of s4 was that Amira and Sam didn’t connect as women of color. In fact, it seemed like in s4 Sam was treated as another white friend, when in s2 both she and Amira were the victims of Kiki’s racism. The team addressed this by giving us Ava and Fatou’s friendship, which I want to say might be the first friendship between main characters of color where their race is a substantial reason for their bond. (There are the Sanas with their Jamillas, but the Jamillas aren’t main characters, and then there are friendships like Jo and Megan and Zoya, or Imaan and Liv, or Luca and Yasmina, but iirc in every case their bond as women of color isn’t made explicit.)

Another criticism of s4 was the way Kiki turned into the world’s most understanding white friend offscreen. The team addressed this with the Ava and Mailin storyline, which I think was wonderfully and subtly set up in s5, then built on with the biology test leaked answers.

On the topic of race, I think a major criticism of s3 was that David’s ethnicity wasn’t acknowledged (to the point where a white actress was cast to play his sister gvhvhv). The team has made up for this with Josh (more in the s6 sm than in s5, but I still count it) and with Kieu My. Fatou and Kieu My bonded over being first/second gen children of immigrants, and in doing so, they acknowledged that these characters aren’t white and have different experiences than white Germans.  

The first 6 episodes of this season were some of the finest writing in the Skams. The storylines all connected and built on each other. The motifs were just so good and beautiful and fitting. The themes were all clearly defined and easy to follow.

The tortoise plot was one of the most fun and imaginative storylines in any Skams, it connected Fatou and Ismail in a believable way. And not to rave about a fucking tortoise, but animals can be really uncooperative and that tortoise delivered every fucking clip. Druck has a reputation for being one of the most depressive versions of Skam, but the Maike/Burger plot was just plain fun.

I feel like some of the old gen’s instas were a bit self-indulgent. I’m thinking specifically of Matteo’s memes and how they they weren’t necessarily the kind of memes a gay dude born in 2001 would pick, but someone a decade older. I think this is much better done with new gen. Fatou’s memes reflect her age and her sexuality, and not just that, but Ava, Mailin, Kieu My, Josh, etc. all pick memes and even focus on different aspects of recent news, based on their gender, race, personalities, interests, etc.

I appreciate that the team found a way to fit a sex scene between Fatou and Kieu My to add to the small catalogue of wlw sex scenes on Skams (I’m including the scene in lovleg or we’d only have two lol). While I understood the reasons eskam opted not to include one, I thought there were ways to feature a sex scene that didn’t sexualize the actresses and didn’t require nudity. Cases in point: the lovleg scene, and this scene in Druck.

And it also needs to be said. This is the first original season with a main of color, and the third season overall (after Liv and Imane) where 10 episodes are given to a character of color and no one else. Of the three, it’s certainly the season that loved and respected its main the most. The bar is so low it’s in hell, but Druck did clear that bar!

With all that said, let’s talk about the things I would really want the team to address in following seasons:

The thing I most want them to fix might be small or unimportant for a lot of people, but I think it’s at the core of why the season has been unenjoyable or certain plot points haven’t come across the way the team wanted, for many people. I am talking about the overly expositional nature of the writing.  It appears as if the team approached the writing of the clips with the intention of hitting each beat as noted in their agreed upon outline, and absolutely nothing else was to be added. This is an issue both in s5 and s6. It’s just less noticeable in s5, because s5 is setting up stuff for Fatou’s season, and possibly even seasons that haven’t been written yet. The fact that absolutely every second counts makes for a stressful watching experience for me, because the narrative tension is always heightened. Whereas with Skam, the narrative tension would build throughout the clip. Take the Pride scene in Skam, for instance. The clip allows for Isak and Eskild to get increasingly more agitated as they butt heads. I feel like if this Druck team had done the Pride scene in s5 or s6, the clip would’ve started with both Isak and Eskild already on edge, and cut much of the dialogue that got them there.

On the topic of naturalistic dialogue, this season doesn’t have it. Here is an example from ep 10 clip 2, Wieder vereint/Reunited 11:37.

Fatou: I’ll get a certificate too and bring it over to you. And I checked it, I only have to change one course and my schedule will work.

Teacher: Miss Jallow, you are not the first one to come to me with an epiphany. We could fill entire school weeks with the lessons you missed. In addition, Doctor Steinberg told me about your, well… activities. You don’t have a lot of arguments on your side. 

Fatou: But I’ve spoken to all of the teachers and they said they are okay with it. 

Teacher: You seem to have friends among the teaching staff. Mrs Pavlovic put in a word for you. Okay then, do it and go before I change my mind. [translated by @kieu-tou! Thank you!] 

Like. This is the bare bones version of a dialogue. This should be the first draft, not the final version. The coordinator goes from absolute no to yes, with just one line from Fatou. The coordinator gives reasons that would necessitate more than one sentence of counterargument, like Fatou’s absences and the Biology test leaked answers. The coordinator even says Fatou doesn’t have a lot of arguments on her side, and yet it takes Fatou one line to change her mind!

And of course we viewers don’t want or need a lot of time with the coordinator. And particularly at this point in the season, no one would enjoy a naturalistic dialogue with the coordinator of all people.  But my point is that this is an issue with the dialogue all this season (and last season as well, but this season has been more scrutinized), the reason I picked this example is because of how easy it is to see here.

Which brings us to the pacing of the clips, and specifically the Friday clips. Because the script goes straight to the information the team wants to convey to the viewers, skipping the build up to it, many Friday clips have fallen flat, felt abrupt, and have been, tbh, unsatisfying. Again, I had this issue in s5, but as that season went on, I felt like the team had a better grip on Friday clips. But then they did it again in the first Friday clip this season, and so I think this is something the writers really should work on. The first Friday clip in Isak’s season closes on Isak being sandwiched by Emma and Even on a bench, visually setting up the love triangle, or more accurately, the personifications of who Isak should want to hook up with and who he really wants. But in order to get there, we’re shown a good amount of info, from the way Vilde, Eva and Sana are handling Noora’s absence, to Chris and Kasper, Even hovering around Isak, Emma trying to impress Isak, Isak escaping and, like, draping himself on the walls because he’s so over it all. Isak playing a game on the bathroom to stall for time. The paper towel maneuver to immediately give us a sense of what a weirdo Even is. A conversation between Isak and Even that gives us some clues about Even’s shame, as well as establish interests in common (like weed), and this is all before Emma even joins them! Just think of all the stuff we learn about who Isak, Even, Emma, Eva, Vilde or Sana are as people, before we get to the point of the clip! Fatou’s season simply didn’t have that. Compare it with the first Friday clip of Fatou’s season where the cashqueens quickly talk about the leaked answers, one of the major storylines this season that only gets a couple lines, before Fatou says she doesn’t want to talk about school (Fatou’s struggles with school, another major storyline), and then we’re onto the point of the clip, which is that Kieu My likes girls too. AND FADE TO BLACK. When people say they want longer clips, what they mean isn’t artificially inflate the clip length or add more plot stuff. Just let us watch the characters interact with each other so that we get a feel for how they relate to each other. I know I wish we’d have gotten more of Ava and Fatou interacting with each other before things turned to shit, and Ava with the other girls, so that I know why they all like and value Ava so much. I wish we’d have gotten more of Kieu My talking to the cashqueens about, like, why she didn’t make use of the biology test answers, instead of getting it on a chat. Or food combos they don’t like. So it makes more sense that later on Kieu My actually thinks she and Fatou are friends.  And every line doesn’t have to count. In Skam España, the characters are constantly talking and not everything they ever talked about ended up being relevant. When one of the characters lied about her house undergoing renovations to hide the fact that she was poor, the characters joked about Italian marble and put on bad Italian accents and made that Italian hand gesture. None of this was important to the plot because those renovations weren’t real to begin with, but they made viewers feel like these were real friends joking around, instead of characters needing to hit every storyline beat in a clip.

I have this joke with my friends about Druck always going 🤪🤪 in the last third of every season, in which a season that was very tightly written and cohesive suddenly pulls something inexplicable and pretty much impossible to resolve in 1-3 episodes. Hanna’s season suddenly switching to Mia, Björn creeping on Mia in episode 9! of a total 10, David getting outed in episode 8 and then disappearing for a whole week, Amira’s season pivoting to Mia and Hanna. It has happened in every season except Nora’s, so I thought the team had learned its lesson, but then the forgotten date with Ava happened. To be clear. It really makes no sense that Nora would have hung out with Ava several times since Tuesday, and the topic of the cashqueens being officially introduced to Kieu My wouldn’t have come up. it’s just not realistic.gif I feel like at that point the writing for the rest of the reason became super contrived to keep Fatou miserable and apart from Kieu My and Ava to artificially delay the reunions until episode 9 and 10. Why add a cheating insinuation and the main checking her partner’s messages in episode 8 if you know you won’t be able to properly resolve it? Why make Kieu My mock Fatou’s “uhm” if it’s not going to be addressed in their reunion clip? Kieu My had taken the initiative for a lot of the relationship, so it’s okay for Fatou to take the initiative when it comes to making up. You don’t have to add things that can only be resolved through an expositional info dump. (Please no more exposition than it’s necessary! I think we’ve established that at this point lol.) In the case of Fatou’s season, this is even sadder because I feel like Kieu My’s intimacy issues could’ve been the reason to drive them apart for two weeks, rather than the Maya/uhm stuff. This could’ve also been resolved through Fatou and Kieu My explicitly negotiating their boundaries and how they want to be comforted and how they want to comfort each other, which I thought was the issue with Fatou rejecting Kieu My’s attempts to help while wanting physical touch, while Kieu My didn’t want to be touched but rather seen.  

There are going to be many thinkpieces on why a myriad of stuff didn’t work for people, so I’m going to keep this simple and address one last thing. I think that choosing to focus on Nora’s mental illness and Fatou’s disability is a great choice that doesn’t complicate the themes too much, but Druck (and all the Skams, but I’m invested only in Druck succeeding at this point) still struggles with being intersectional. This is the major reason why the Ava/Mailin storyline ended not with a bang, but a whimper. There just wasn’t enough work done to connect Fatou’s struggles not just to her disability, but also to her race (and even her sexuality). I think that if people really want (and lbr, it’ll be mostly poc who will put in that effort and work), they can see how Fatou’s race affected the way other people and especially adults reacted to her, but this wasn’t made explicit. If Ava and Mailin are going to argue about racism all season, why not connect that with Karin firing Fatou from Aquarius? As it stands, Karin fired Fatou because of a disability neither of them knew Fatou has, and that was the resolution to that storyline. Why not make it explicit that the Physics teacher had preconceived ideas about Fatou because Fatou is black? Why wasn’t Fatou’s disability addressed in the meeting with the coordinator? Why didn’t Fatou express to Mailin that Fatou, too, had issues with how Mailin was acting wrt racism? It felt like, with the way the season was putting so much emphasis on racism, all these threads were going to be connected. In the end though, it almost felt as if only Ava is affected by racism (aside from Mailin mentioning Fatou in the last episode). It’s not like talking about how racism affects Fatou is going to make the topic redundant for Ava’s or Ismail’s season. As a light-skinned black lesbian with a disability, Fatou’s life is going to be impacted by racism in a different way than Ava’s will, as a dark-skinned black fat straight cis girl, or Ismail’s, as a Turkish-German possibly Muslim possibly non binary person. All these experiences are specific enough, and different enough, that they can be touched upon in different seasons without becoming redundant. The fact that Fatou’s season almost seemed to forget at times that she is a black lesbian, doesn’t bode well for Ava’s and Ismail’s season to acknowledge all their struggles.

The bottom line is that this season really was great and did a lot of good, and I feel like the writing just needs to be tweaked a bit for further seasons to be even better and more enjoyable overall. I am very pleasantly surprised by how the team took s1-s4 fan feedback to heart and worked to implement suggestions, and so I really trust them and hope they keep working on the show. It’d be a shame if Druck wasn’t renewed, with this team at the helm.    

[somucherry]

Show Recommendations Non-Thai BL:

A list of shows I’ve watched or am currently watching (Aka not including things I haven’t started yet) for @zouisalmightie 

China- The Untamed (50 Episodes, Netflix, Viki, WeTv):The series follows the adventures of two soulmate cultivators who travel to solve a series of mysteries that link to a tragic event in the past.  Plot heavy story, Lots of characters, due to Chinese censorship lots of homoerotic symbolism and subtext. The leads of the show sing the OST and it's beautiful, Wang Yibo and Xiao Zhan are both members of Idol groups. Korea- Where Your Eyes Linger (9 Episodes, Youtube, VikiPass): The series follows a chaebol and his friend/unofficial bodyguard. This is one of Korea's first forays into BL series. It's short, but has decent pacing and plot.  Mr. Heart (9 Episode, Youtube, VikiPass): The series follows two boys, one that is training/running a marathon, and the other who is his pacemaker (helps him stay in the same pace). It's short, sweet and to the point. I'm really fond of one of the boys because he was on Produce X 101. Philippines- Gameboys (13 Episodes, Youtube): First Bl Drama to come from the Philippines. Follows a live-stream gamer and his fan—who found each other online during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the Luzon Island community quarantine. This one is a bit cheesy at first but does get better, it is however a little bit sad (TW. a death due the pandemic, not the leads.) A season 2 is in the works. Hello Stranger (8 Episodes, Youtube): Amidst the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two college boys cross paths for a school project. Jock/Nerd Trope/Hate to Love. I actually enjoyed this one more than Gameboys, but I'm in the minority I think. The leads have amazing chemistry (or kilig in Tagalog). A movie is in the works. 

In Between (14 Episodes, Youtube): The most important part in a relationship is not the hello or the goodbye but the In Between.  This is about the boys' love (BL) story of Taurus and Otep. Friends to Lovers Trope. While the show is mean’t to be about Taurus/Otep I actually fell in love with the sidestory of Ronin and Makisig more. And I was disappointed that in the end we didn’t get really much of anything for them (unless there’s a planned season 2 that I somehow missed knowing about.) 

My Day (11/14 Episodes, (Airing Currently), Youtube): A romantic comedy series about a young determined culinary intern named Sky making his way into a multi-billion-dollar food company and his boss Ace. Some of this show didn't really hit the mark ie. the writing was very lacking amongst other issues for me but I'm sticking it out because the leads have amazing chemistry and I'm glad I did because it has one of the best intimate scenes that has come from a show this year. (I'm still very much not over it) Quaranthings (7/8 Episodes, (Airing Currently), Youtube): follows the friendship of two boys, and the love that will blossom between them while on community quarantine. Roommates to Lovers Trope. I'm really enjoying this drama even though it makes me want to bang my head on the wall, Judah's character irritates me (also in the minority here). GAYA SA PELIKULA aka Like in the Movies (5/8 Episodes, (Airing Currently), Youtube):  tells us about Karl, a 19-year-old recluse architecture student in the middle of an identity crisis and his new roommate. This just started so I don't have much thoughts about this one so far, but it's been decent.

I have other BL’s I would include but I wasn’t sure if you’ve already seen them (Skam, Yuri on Ice, american BL’s Etc.) I also plan on doing a post about Thai BL’s but there’s to many to include on this post. 

[bowenandjohnson]

To complete the quad, how would you rank the Evas and the Isaks? Only if you feel like it :)

Sorry that this has been sitting in my inbox for like two months, lol. Anyway, let’s do the Evas first 

1. isa keijser, skam nl

queen isa. she also has the esteemed pleasure of being the first eva season i ever watched, but honestly, she doesn’t feel like “eva,” you know? she feels like her own character, and i have to give so much props to both the skam nl team and suus’ acting for making her feel three-dimensional, and able to stand on her own two feet. her little quirks about owning things with avocados on them, or wearing mismatched socks made her so more real to me than other evas. i miss isa. SO MUCH. we deserved more time with her and the other characters. pour another one out for skam nl, please.

2. eva kviig mohn, skam

second is the original that kicked off a show that would then span countries, languages, and continents. eva is so important, i felt her loneliness, her desperation to hold onto jonas after losing everyone else, and then finding a true family with the girls. “your opinion meant more than my own. that’s not how it should be.” is forever an iconic line. we need to stop hating on eva’s season. without her and lisa’s acting, we wouldn’t have skam. thank you, eva. i love you, darling.

3. hanna jung, druck

something i really, really appreciated about hanna was that she was also starkly different from her counterparts. after her season and her breakup with jonas, she didn't take the route of “fun-loving party girl” that other remakes did. she remained sober, but still fun. her relationship with jonas was one that i loved because the druck team took time into building up their eventual reunion (unlike og, a little more foreshadowing would have been nice). and she remained a constant presence in all other seasons. she was there for mia, supportive of matteo, and wasn’t a source of conflict for amira in s4. and i think it’s okay that she wasn’t sure of who she was yet at the end of s4, and still got back together with jonas. she was more confident in herself, and she’s grown. not everyone has their life together, and i think that was a great message for fans as well.

4. megan flores, skam austin / eva vazquez, skam españa

megan, like eva in og, was created by julie andem herself, and i think that’s pretty important, as well as the fact that she’s the only eva of color at this point in time (excluding the LatAm remakes, which have yet to air, and are exempt from this). at the beginning of her season, she is struggling with academic pressures, shows signs of depression, and we see that her homelife is much more volatile than other remakes, as her parents are constantly heard fighting. i think that explains a lot of why she hangs onto marlon, despite the fact that they aren’t good for each other. it’s why she struggles with alcoholism. i wish that her season was more than eight weeks, because megan was one of the most fascinating, flawed evas we’ve ever seen. i wanted more of her with her parents, more of her with the GS, and with abby. her feelings of isolation, jealousy, anger, sadness were incredibly compelling, and i wish we felt that connection with her in season 2 with grace. they were supposed to be best friends, and i never felt that in grace’s season, sadly. i did like how they showed her drinking as an actual problem though, other remakes don’t. (also julie rocha deserves more praise for taking on this show as a 17 year old! for a person who didn’t act before, i thought she did wonderfully.)

i also really enjoyed eva v.’s season in skam spain. i applaud alba, who much like julie, took on this show at 17, and hadn’t had much acting experience. for me, i more enjoyed the changes they made to eva’s story overall. they made vilde the one who sent ines the pictures of eva and cris making out, they made the school cyberbully her, and they acknowledged her shitty behavior towards lucas after he came out to her. i think alba did much better with acting in later seasons, but the fact that they made her connections with the GS much more prevalent in s1 is great, and i really enjoyed how she made it clear to nora that what miguel did was not her fault, and that she continually reached out to lucas after her season. eva prioritized her friendships, and i really liked that change! she was a solid eva overall.

5. emma borgés, skam france / jana ackermans, wtfock

personally, i haven’t seen emma outside of s3, s6, and s7. i think it’s cool that she’s a tattoo artist! and that she prioritized herself outside a relationship at the end of her generation. she’s fine.

from what I've seen of wtfock as well, i like jana as well. she has more of a fiery streak, which i especially enjoyed when she and yasmina flipped off senne. she’s perfectly fine.

6. eva brighi, skam italia

i’ve only seen bits of s4. i like that she encouraged sana to go after malik, and that she stayed by her side the whole season. 

all the evas were okay, i don’t hate any of them.

isaks will come later! thank you for your question, and sorry again for my late response!

[flodaya]

Hello I just saw your post in the tag about druck and wanted to ask you something because I really really value your opinion. Someone else said they can't watch anymore because druck feasts themselves on the suffering of a sixteen year old. That they like it too much to make her suffer. (In my mind it sounded like the person thinks of druck as misery porn?). I believe you are German too. Do you have a similar opinion? My German is not that good. Maybe I even misinterpreted their post. But as a person suffering from a mental illness I love this season. It's doing such a good and raw approach.

hi, i feel so honoured that you value my opinion. i think this is a very complex questions so get ready for me to ramble a lot (haven’t done that in a while)

first of all, i want to say i love this season so far but i also have to admit that i’m not as emotionally attached to the season and the characters at the moment due to my personal life and lack of time and emotional energy, so maybe my opinion comes from a bit of an “outsider druck stan point of view”

do i think the portrayal of nora’s mental illness is accurate and depicts MIs well? yes, this fandom has been begging for a season about someone who is mentally ill and now that we get one we realize “oh this might be more triggering than we expected” but it’s so hard-hitting for a reason. it’s not a romanticised look at MIs and i personally appreciate that 

is this season hard to watch and do I understand when people have to take a step back? ABSOLUTELY YES. there is a reason almost every clip comes with a trigger warning, the trigger warning is there so people can distance themselves and avoid potentially difficult subjects to not be affected

would i call the season misery porn? i personally wouldn’t, for two reasons

1) nora goes through hell, arguably more than any other main on druck, but she isn’t left to suffer alone, she has a very constant support system. either it’s josh, or fatou, or her sisters

and 2) they aren’t piling on problem after problem. she isn’t mentally ill, and then her mom dies, and then she gets bullied, and then she gets sexually assaulted, and then she has a suicide attempt (yes i am summarizing skamfr s6). she deals with dissociative disorder and her mom is an addict, that’s it. it’s a lot on its own of course, but it’s the topic of the season, these two things are the driving force, the focus, her pressure (aka druck). yes there are other side plots: the ganggang, she has a falling out with her friends. but these side plotlines are either barely connected to nora directly (ganggang) or it’s caused by the underlying problem (her undiagnosed untreated mental illness) 

TL;DR i don’t think nora’s season can be considered misery porn, but i absolutely support and can understand why people need to distance themselves. her season is for sure one of the hardest skam seasons to watch (up there with nora g’s season) but imo it’s a really important and honest portrayal of an untreated mental illness 

[tennesseewilliamshakespeare]

i haven’t been a skam austin blog in awhile but i’m gonna keep posting about this austin terry (daniel) thing as long as i still have things to say.

one super common comment i’ve seen is “how does someone participate in a project like skam which is super accepting and inclusive of the lgbt community and then turn around and say shit like this?” and i think it helps to realize that skam austin ran 2018-2019 (probably started production in 2017) and while people can grow and change in a positive way, it is also entirely possible for them to change in the other direction and become more enmeshed in fundamentalist christian viewpoints. at one point in the full video (i haven’t watched the whole thing yet) when he’s talking about how christianity has impacted his life and worldview he says “over the past year” which especially supports my hypothesis that this belief is a relatively recent development for him during a year that was so hard on so many people’s physical and mental health. again, not defending him, not saying it’s ever okay to promote any sort of homophobia coming from any source, but like. mocking a deeply repressed texan 22 year old with maybe 2 acting credits to his name does not a big win for gay rights make. 

[ghostcat3000]

SKAM season 3 talkback series: episode 8, “Mannen i mitt liv”

The SKAM season 3 rewatch talkback series was done in conjunction with a first-time watch for a small group of newbies. I talked to a cross-section of fans about each episode so our newbies could get a varied taste of what the SKAM fandom was about.

Talk back with the wonderful @odeto-psyche​ (aka shoulderbone on AO3)

SKAM 3.8: Mannen i mitt liv conducted on 30, November 2019

@odeto-psyche​: Hello there :blue_heart: Thank you for having me on here, I am super excited.

@ghostcat3000​: Hello, hello! I am still mostly asleep on account of being a raccoon person who wanders around at night eating trash so please forgive my slow response time.

odetopsyche: You take your time, I just had my second coffee today.

Ghostcat: Good morning from NYC and thank you so much, odetopsyche, for coming by to talk to me about my favorite episode, Mannen i mitt liv.

odetopsyche: God Morgen from Oslo, where it is 15:30 right now. I am honoured. This episode is one of my favorites.

Ghostcat: I can't believe you're in Oslo this morning, you're really showing up all the other non-Norwegians.

odetopsyche: Haha, I try.

Ghostcat: FULL IMMERSION FOR THIS TALK BACK.

odetopsyche: The first time I was here was this time last year actually and I had some serious Skam moments, it was beautiful. But despite it being -3c here, it's beautiful as shown in the show.

Ghostcat: Did you bump into any SKAM actors? Because that is my nightmare.

odetopsyche: I did.

Ghostcat: Who? Where? I forgot, but please answer for the more awake who don't know this.

odetopsyche: At a bar where I knew the actors would be. It was actually really chill, they were all there for the con and I just wanted to see what was happening, so I went. I got to meet Henrik briefly, with a photo, a wave, and then that was that. I also met some of the Skam Italia cast. I never have done anything like that before, and haven't since, mostly because I'm not super into actor culture and don't watch tv. "Actor culture." "Fan culture." You know what I mean.

Ghostcat: I feel you.

odetopsyche: The last show that I watched that I truly fell in love with was Skam in late 2017. Over Christmas time two years ago, very late to the game, but because I was never in that loop, and found it by accident.

Ghostcat: And here we are, with you getting suckered into having a conversation about it with some random person online… By accident?

odetopsyche: I found Skam totally by accident. No one recommended it, I'd never seen it online. In 2017 I was living in London and studying my masters, so I never had time for any online findings of new shows, fandoms, the like on tumblr or beyond. When I finished that degree I was on tumblr for the first time in months and months, and was randomly on the search page and saw a random post - seriously - and read it and then looked it up. That make-out gif later, I found it on Dailymotion and watched season 3 in one night.

Ghostcat: What was the random post? (Unless it's spoilery―then give me the secret wink)

odetopsyche: No it's not. It was someone recommending LGBTQ shows and I just read the description and was curious. And I was just looking up all of them on the list, but that was the first one I picked. And that was that.

Ghostcat: Ah, so you saw season three first (not unusual post-season three really).

odetopsyche: Yes, I did. Then I rewatched it all from season 1 to 4, slower.

Ghostcat: Did you find it hard to follow without knowing the other characters? Or was it just go, go, go―immediately caught up in the momentum?

odetopsyche: Truth be told, until about episode 5, I wasn't really paying attention. I was doing other things and had it on, sort of following.

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha, okay. What caused the turn?

odetopsyche: Sorry, that's not true. It was episode 2. The window scene. Then I was like, oh.

Ghostcat: Right, right. You had the fanfic oh moment.

odetopsyche: Then episode 5 when he has his Kanye moment, then I really stopped everything―went from my oh shit the lighting the actors the stillness the silence―to now I have to write something about this.

Ghostcat: (nods, drinks tea)

odetopsyche:  So after that episode, I knew if I found a fandom for it, I would probably see what's in it. Explore a bit, write a bit, etc. Episode eight was...quite incredible.

Ghostcat: Yeah. Before we get fully into it. I want to go back a little and present a question from our previous talk back guest, @etal-late​, for you: how does the setting and the whole architecture and space of the hotel add to the scene?

odetopsyche: Okay.

Ghostcat: Which, I guess, technically, puts us right at the climax of the episode but like that hotel scene we'll move around in time a bit.

odetopsyche: Excellent. Well, for me, the hotel scene is from where Isak steps off the curb outside of KB, when Gambino begins to play, to the end of the scene when he leaves the hotel in the dark. That entire sequence is blue. It's nearing real winter and the sky is a toneless gray, the buildings go from the west side's white and neutral facades to steel, glass, and taller business buildings and hotels. It's also just near the central station, so you really feel like you're not a kid anymore but in the 'city' part, alone and adult. Which I feel matches exactly the experience Isak is going through, checking into a hotel  feels sort of  like this romantic, exciting 'quasi' adult experience he's having.

Ghostcat: Yes.

odetopsyche: Inside the hotel, I feel like it also repeats this theme of feeling adult. It's not the Kollektiv, it's not Even's room with all his posters. It's a nameless, pale, anonymous backdrop. But I also am implying that 'feeling adult' also is meant to feel like you're 'out of your depth' ~~ a frequent adult feeling, might I add.

Ghostcat: Lol. That is the entirety of what being an adult is for me.

odetopsyche: Yes.

Ghostcat: A mad scrambling improv of "having it together" (spoiler: you never have it totally together). It's a rite of passage for all teenagers that...I want to say transgression but that's not the right word. That first thing you do that feels like something so far outside of your scope but you're unafraid (mostly) because you're doing it with another.

odetopsyche: It's certain a transfer. And an interference, I think, as well lol, to your sense of what the world appears to you to be.

Ghostcat: I remember cutting school once, leaving at the usual time, but taking a bus into Manhattan and meeting my boyfriend and spending the whole day together. It felt like a different world. It was a different world.

odetopsyche: Yes and you're in this 'bubble' together that is as intoxicating as doing drugs out in public in the middle of the day.

Ghostcat: Always with that nagging sense of can I get away with this?

odetopsyche: Same chemicals released in your brain. So I definitely understand why Isak and Even could have this experience and go along with it and get caught up.

Ghostcat: And go up. Literally.

odetopsyche: That's the wave, the whirlwind.

Ghostcat: The ride up to the suite in that elevator, leaving the city behind and being in the clouds a bit.

odetopsyche: This is Andem's goodness here.

Ghostcat: Yeah, she knows what she's doing.

odetopsyche: It's such a normal elevator in reality and yet she makes it really feel like that swooping feeling up in your gut.

Ghostcat: It's like she took the word "high" and started to think about all the ways she could indicate it without slapping us in the face.

odetopsyche: Also, one of my top Isak/Tarjei acting quirks is the little 'eyebrow raise' before they kiss, while the Weeknd is playing.

Ghostcat: I love that. It's such a challenging look―flirtatious and sweet and unafraid.

odetopsyche: These are the types of things that, once I clued in to what I was watching, absolutely thrilled me. And has since forever set Skam apart, is that subtlety.

Ghostcat: One of our newbies thought Isak might have some hesitation here and I bit my tongue because I wanted to shout LOOK AT HIS FACE, THAT EYEBROW, HE'S ALL IN. The subtlety is sublime. It makes one a part of the experience because you come to the associations naturally.

odetopsyche: It is, we're all flies on the wall here, rather than an audience. It's a great feeling.

Ghostcat: Thrilling but we'll come back to the hotel in a bit. Do you remember how you felt at the start of this episode? Were you worried going into this one?

odetopsyche: Quite excited, since the reunion was the episode before.

Ghostcat: I know some audience members were concerned that Isak never had a talk with Even. He just immediately leapt.

odetopsyche: I did have a thought like this, but not at this moment. For me, it made perfect sense that he would do this. He is a teenager who is in the throes of his first reciprocated crush and is kind of having puppy love levels of feels, which are Total Serious Ness when you are 17.

Ghostcat: They might as well be full-on love.

odetopsyche: Yes. Though I did feel his guard was still up when he got up. And he did tell Even the truth about how much the Sonja thing upset him, even if he didn't use the exact words.

Ghostcat: With time you come to understand love differently but that first full-on flush is a wild overthrow.

odetopsyche: Indeed.

Ghostcat: I was quite proud of Isak.

odetopsyche: Me too. I felt really happy for him, relieved, and hopeful.

Ghostcat: Which sounds like a ridiculous thing to say, but I felt such a sense of kinship with this kid.

odetopsyche: His comment 'only you can feel what you feel' was intensely powerful, that same kind of power that paralleled his negative comment about mental health in the locker those previous episodes.

Ghostcat: Yes, so powerful. It really grabbed me and then the camera pans to Even and he is equally captured.

odetopsyche: It also exposed his vulnerability a great deal. Given he doesn't know about Even's mental health history really, for him to say this carried a lot of depth to follow. It was quite a profession, almost like an I love you without knowing that is what he was saying.

Ghostcat: Yes, definitely.

odetopsyche: Even felt this though, and it must have felt so good, so validating (also an intoxicating feeling), and so pure coming from Isak. Which I think touches on this theme we see.

Ghostcat: Even's explanations about Sonja confused the fuck out of me but I believed the ramble of it, if that makes sense?

odetopsyche:  Where Even sees Isak as 'pure' in the sense that he doesn't know Even, isn't hurt by him, and Even really tries to protect him from whatever he deems a threat, whether it's himself, or Sonja, etc.

Ghostcat: Especially himself. It felt like something difficult was going on, more than your usual “we're done because she's a b” sort of talk.

odetopsyche: So the rambling Even did also was a bit of red flag.

Ghostcat: Yes, but at the time, I didn't pick up on it. I thought it was just SKAM's hyper-realistic dialogue, ha ha ha.

odetopsyche: One because I am weird about how people explain their break ups. And his 'control' explanation, I didn't quite understand what he meant. I chalked it up to their relationship being so long.

Ghostcat: That rambling, I've-never-had-to-articulate-this-before type talk. I understood control as gaslighting of some sort which seemed weird given what Even has shown us so far.

odetopsyche: I do have to say, that as someone who has experienced a relationship ending akin to the end of Sonja/Even, I do really feel for her. I know that maybe is not the most common opinion but I felt that Sonja became the enemy in her own relationship which must have felt like shit. And I could understand, in that way we understand that people are complicated, that perhaps she did feel controlling to Even because she was aware he was leaving her―emotionally, physically, etc. So I thought maybe she was clingy, or manipulative. And I didn't understand why Even didn't seem sad it was over with her. Or perhaps it just didn't seem like that to Isak―seeing as this is his perspective, and he wouldn't have witnessed those moments.

Ghostcat: True.

odetopsyche: A six year relationship doesn't just end like that. Likely it had been over for a while, or never quite recovered from the last time they nearly broke, and so Isak was a catalyst, rather than a breaking point. Which is how I choose to view their ending.

Ghostcat: Though Isak's POV is an interesting thing. He's observant and mindful of other people, he has a lot of moments of "regret."

odetopsyche: Yeah he does. Which I really appreciated. Because it's human.

Ghostcat: Yes. His moments of understanding that he'd done wrong.

odetopsyche: He hesitated, because he knew obviously it was something he wanted to do so badly, badly enough that he would forget for moments that Even was with Sonja, but those would loop around.

Ghostcat: And going back to fix them.

odetopsyche: Yes.

Ghostcat: I love that about the character, his willingness to evolve.

odetopsyche: Yes, me too.

Ghostcat: Which you wouldn't expect―how open he is to change given how he starts the season.

odetopsyche: I know. It's quite impressive, in my opinion, how quickly he unravels some of these inner resistances and leaps. I guess being a teenager is like that though. Sometimes you arrive at these cliff sides and you jump with your eyes closed because what else is there to do but grow.

Ghostcat: (btw, I agree with you regarding Even and Sonja―but I suspect that I'll veer into spoiler territory there so I'll come back to this in a future talk back.)

odetopsyche: Totally understandable, I look forward to it :smile:

Ghostcat: What strikes me though, is that when you're a teenager you don't always know growth is happening. Things are happening.

odetopsyche: No, you can't know. We only see it in retrospect, like a holographic sign.

Ghostcat: Yeah, and Isak is introspective.

odetopsyche: But that is why Skam was great, because we as viewers simultaneously could see these moments whilst also being Isak and sharing his experiences.

Ghostcat: We spend a lot of time in SKAM hanging with our mains in silence. When they're in bed or zoning out or whatever. But Isak's alone moments always seem especially active to me. There's a real hum to his brain.

odetopsyche: That was one of my favorite things about Skam; the silence. It sets it apart from many other shows, and most of the remakes. It tells a huge story.

Ghostcat: Yes! The willingness to be quiet, let things take time. Real time.

odetopsyche: It makes the music more important, it gives the acting a lot more space, and we, the audience, are made to wait patiently with our mains and stew with them.

Ghostcat: It's the stewing, ha ha ha. You're really in it with them.

odetopsyche: All of the mains do this well, of course. Tarjei has a very masterful way of expressing the minutiae of his body language for us to see, and that was a delight.

Ghostcat: I can think of so many moments on the show that really stretched out and I actually thought wow, that's a bold use of time there.

odetopsyche: I appreciate especially―not just for it's meme content―the scene where he finishes Romeo + Juliet and lies on his back in silence. This was so relatable.

Ghostcat: That is a wonderful clip.

odetopsyche: It is.

Ghostcat: All he does is watch a movie―"ISAK sits in bed and silently watches Romeo + Juliet." If I read that in a script, I wouldn't think, oh, that's gonna be magic.

odetopsyche: Exactly. I like that it is bold, though, because I can see the style and effort in these purposeful moments and it leaves a specific taste in your mouth.

Ghostcat: I mentioned to you that we were going to touch a bit on the social media content for this week.

odetopsyche: Yes, I went through and re-read them all.

Ghostcat: I must confess that when I first saw this, I was not looking at the social media, but when I went back and read it on the rewatch, I was like damn, they really thought about the build in this episode.

odetopsyche: Indeed.

Ghostcat: There's very little Even in the social media extras and then this week, it explodes! Isak posts Even’s photo on his instagram.

odetopsyche: Honestly, the social media is brilliant here. I think Even's back all of a sudden and it's like a dam being broken. All of a sudden we're in the flood, which is the flood of Even all of a sudden becoming so available to Isak again.

Ghostcat: But even that photo is genius, in terms of character. Even playing a video game.

odetopsyche: Yes!

Ghostcat: Could be just a bro? But then he's wearing Isak’s shirt. (Not a bro?)

odetopsyche: But everyone who is meant to know, knows it's definitely not just a bro. Which is such a statement from Isak.

Ghostcat: Yeah, exactly, it's such a statement and then the building back and forth between Even and Isak, where you realize he pretty much stayed there all week. They don't just go from reunion to hotel.

odetopsyche: Also, the idea that Even's been there all day hanging out, playing video games, and then yes―continues to basically be there all week. Yeah, exactly. It's a build up of Even totally up in Isak's space, literally, mentally, emotionally, just amping it up and up and up. Even is a brilliant character and the way they write him is great because you do just feel everything being supercharged.

Ghostcat: And Eskild takes that photo of them and shares with the kollektiv (with Isak's consent I'm sure because Eskild is very careful with Isak that way) and Isak says don't share it, we're not official or anything. Which made me go, Boooooooy. Even is at your house EVERY DAY. What do you think is happening?

odetopsyche: Which I think matches his inner feelings. In a way we can see Isak's experience of the intensity as a reflection of Even's inner state. Yet, as we see in the group chat with the Kollektiv, there is still some hesitancy of making it  public.

Ghostcat: Yeah, and I thought it was Isak hesitating being out.

odetopsyche: I think it's that, and also, the drama at school about Emma-Even-Sonja-Isak etc.

Ghostcat: And yet... at the hotel, Even introduces him as his boyfriend and Isak posts an insta story right after, a photo of the two of them in their hotel room.

odetopsyche: I know that was so cute. Isak was 'numb with happiness' I CAN'T.

Ghostcat: So any hesitation disappears and really being with Even openly matters more than any other drama.

odetopsyche: You can see, though, those hints of babbling. At the first watch, I thought Even was just being goofy, giddy excited (which he is) because on re-watches I do see it as rambling now.

Ghostcat: He's totally rambling.

odetopsyche: Very friendly, but unusual, given how polite and quiet Isak is. Not the norm here, certainly

Ghostcat: My favorite little bit of acting in that reception scene: Isak's giddy little fist pump.

odetopsyche: Ha ha.

Ghostcat: Like, good job, me! I AM handsome. I did it!

odetopsyche: It's precious.

Ghostcat: It's so goofy and sweet and it's going up against the rambling and the teenager using a credit card to book a hotel suite which is expensive as fuck and what is happening??? There were too many things happening for me to fully sink into worry until of course, they're eating their mini-burgers and drinking their champagne and Even completely stops making sense.

odetopsyche: Yes. That was obviously difficult to watch for me, and also on re-watch. I think it's quite good of HH and his acting was pretty good, as well as the reactions of Isak's face, as he slowly lost confidence that Even was making sense. What was doubling intense were the cross cuts between this scene and them in bed.

Ghostcat: The last time we saw that effect was in season one with Eva and Jonas' break-up and it immediately gives you the sense of this is an important moment.

odetopsyche: Yeah, that was a great scene.

Ghostcat: That is being documented by our main as it's happening, stored and saved for later.

odetopsyche: I will never forget Tarjei's/Isak's head in the bed with half his face obscured and that single bright red cheek.

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha, about that shot.

odetopsyche: Yes. It's a moment.

Ghostcat: My co-mod and I have a joke about TSM only needing one eye to act. Julie Andem likes to frame half his face with a single emoting eye. It happens a lot and in that scene, along with that red, red cheek. It's especially vulnerable. He really does look like he's falling asleep, pure exhaustion and we, as viewers, want him to wake up because the sound design and the black-outs and Even are telling us to brace ourselves.

odetopsyche: Yes. It does. He also just looks like he's been running on pure energy and adrenaline for an entire week.

Ghostcat: He's up in that bathroom building an ODENSVIK bathroom cabinet. I didn't know whether to laugh, scream or run. What is he doing in there and why does it require so much banging???

odetopsyche: I didn't know―the cut shots were brilliant though, and finally you thought―as a viewer―something was about to be revealed. Also keeps us totally within Isak's pov.

Ghostcat: Did you guess? At the time, did you guess? Or had you been spoiled?

odetopsyche: Guess what was going to happen, or why he was acting like that? No, I did not. I really didn't understand as it was happening, I couldn't pause to think, only watch and wait with that same fascination when you're watching a crash about to happen.

Ghostcat: Okay, I know you have time constraints, so I will let you go. We always think it's going to be short and then I start rambling. Forgive me. Before you run, any final thoughts on this episode that we didn't get a chance to discuss?

odetopsyche: Haha, No don't apologise. There's so much to this episode, as a pivotal game-changer, which was equally shocking (and soon I learned, very Skam like) to have an episode like this so late in the season.

Ghostcat: Episode 8. Always a killer.

odetopsyche: I think this episode is obviously so crucial and intense because it both confirms all we wanted all season (and Isak wanted) and also totally brought us down to question everything again. A super high and super low. Of course, we're left with this gut wrenching feeling of him searching the city and panicking, and then the confrontation with Sonja, we really feel Isak's panic. And confusion.

Ghostcat: When she says Even's with the police and Isak gives that big long shaky exhale.

odetopsyche: And thus arrives the full circle of the 'out of the depth' Anonymous city/adulting cold architecture, blue tones of the city's steel and glass, the hotel, and now we're in his murky darkness where you are totally drowning, and you have no idea. Yeah, he's obviously relieved and feels really guilty. Possibly unbearably so.

Ghostcat: Like he saw but refused to see?

odetopsyche: And very out of his depth abruptly at once again. Drowning in it. You remember suddenly that he's a child again when he messages Eskild. (Woops, not sure if that's in this ep or beginning of ep 9...)

Ghostcat: Isak, who questions everyone's motivations seemingly at all times.

odetopsyche: Yes.

Ghostcat: We saw the text, it's okay. The group needed to know Isak got home safe.

odetopsyche: But it's hard to want to question Even's motives when that would mean questioning if he's worthy of something he wants so much. And so Isak doesn't.

Ghostcat: Well, Even's the man of his dreams.

odetopsyche: That's exactly right.

Ghostcat: This episode introduces us fully to Even really and brings up the question of what that means exactly: “The man of your dreams.” What does that even mean? How real is that? How much have you constructed?

odetopsyche: Even materalises so much for Isak, of his feelings, his desires, and that fact that others may desire him too. His real form, too, not his mask, but as a boy-to-be-man attracted to other guys. So how devastating it is to be questioned as real/not real.

Ghostcat: Yeah, he's everything to Isak.

odetopsyche: It really sucks.

Ghostcat: The episode begins (sort of) with that real/not real question. Even questions his own feelings, ones he’s never felt anything like before. “Only you can feel what you feel,” Isak answers. And it ends with Sonja's answer: not real, all those feelings were a "sick idea" and Isak's stricken face.

odetopsyche: What is beautiful though, in my opinion, is that―at least for me―I didn't leave the episode feeling like Even was malicious or shady. I just felt he had secrets, ones he understandably did not reveal. So it's heartbreaking without...breaking our hearts over characters we believe (and want to believe) are redeemable and kind. Which I do feel Even is, regardless of what he did or he did not tell Isak.

Ghostcat: Yeah, especially since it was always posited that, as Jonas said, he was “playing” Isak.

odetopsyche: And I do feel Isak is, regardless of the fact of what happened.

Ghostcat: Oh absolutely. Even wanted to be able to have Isak in his life despite thinking he's the worst thing for him, even if it was for one week, and Isak didn't look too closely. Even though, given his own experience with his mom, he had a growing sense of something being wrong.

odetopsyche: Yes. It would have been very devastating if it turned out Even was a character who did things along the lines of what Eskild was talking about, and that was the big reveal. But instead it's much more personal and traumatic of a reveal for Even, which exposes something about him that he cannot always control, and something he cannot walk away from. So I did really empathize with the MI line, not only because I have my own experiences in relation, but because it wasn't like he could explain everything just for the sake of Isak knowing. But rather there was a deep personal stake in this that he couldn't quite reveal, because it would be a vulnerability you can't return from; only move on from. Does that make sense?

Ghostcat: Makes total sense.

odetopsyche: Yeah.

Ghostcat: It's another starting point. Once that information’s out, you begin again in a world where that is a thing that defines you, something you always have to be aware of. Your partner knows and you know that they know. “We can’t go back,” part two.

odetopsyche: I like these self-invested survival skills of these young characters, they truly feel like teenagers to me. And they were, haha. So I really identified with why neither of them did anything but what they did.

Ghostcat: Yes, absolutely. so relatable. SKAM has plenty of drama but doesn't feel soapy. It has a rawness.

odetopsyche: No, it remains outside of a lot of cliches. Because it utilises the stress of awkwardness, silence, feeling left out, mopiness, rather than drama, constant confrontation, and intense expressions of love etc. So we feel tense despite it not being soapy. You're right, I do have to get going now

Ghostcat: Go go go. Thank you so much for coming by to chat with us! Enjoy your Oslo time. :smile:

odetopsyche: Thank you so much for having me on again, and making me break out of my shell and do this. I hope I answered all your questions. I have been really enjoying reading everything people say.

Ghostcat: We'd love to hear your take. Now go enjoy the freeze!

odetopsyche: Thanks! Ciao babe.

Ghostcat: Chao, as we say in The Motherland.

*

Join us next week to read our talkback with @heihallohadet​ about SKAM episode, 3.9 Det går over and its transcendent final moments.

[santiagonex]

As 2020 is nearing, it’s time to see what 2019 has brought us when it comes to gay representation in tv shows and movies. Below ‘read more’, there’s a whole list of tv shows/ships/movies (with pictures and basic description) which include/are about gay (used as an umbrella term) men and couples (so basically have gay storylines and at least one gay person is a main character of the show/movie).

Since I’m a gay man, I keep up mostly with mlm, if I included wlw as well, I don’t think the list would be complete with my lack of knowledge, so sorry about that. I’m pretty sure there are more competent people who can do that instead of me.

Total Count of TV Shows in the list: 65 Total Count of Movies in the list: 27

 Anyways, here we go.

TV SHOWS

TV SHOWS WITH TITULAR/CENTRAL GAY CHARACTERS/SHIPS

The Other Two: the funniest most-relatable show centered around three siblings – one of them is gay (left). A must-watch for sure. He’s pretty much the hugest part of the show, there are some love storyline (...and they were roomates), some self-loving moments and iconic lines. Just watch it, you won’t regret it.

Sex Education: show about two best friends, one of them (right) is gay. His name is Eric and he gets involved with his enemy Adam (left). Amazing show.

Special: show about a gay man Ryan (right) with mild cerebral palsy, who wants to live his life as an independent person to the fullest. Easy and short show to watch.

Druck (German SKAM Remake): if you don’t know SKAM, it’s pretty much a show where each season is devoted to one character. Third season of German SKAM aired this year and it was revolved around a gay guy (left). For the first time in SKAM history, the main character’s love interest is a trans guy (right).

Skam France (French SKAM Remake): the French version of SKAM had a gay season this year as well. 

WTFock (Belgian SKAM Remake): Belgium has a season focused on the main gay character this year as well.

El corazón nunca se equivoca: I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of Aristemo from ‘Mi marido tiene más familia’. Well, they’d already aired the first season of the new spin-off centered around their lives in college (I think).

Merlí: Sapere Aude: Bruno (left) and Pol (right) fans, it’s time to make some noise. Brunol is coming back because Pol is getting a spin-off which will be taking place in university. Bruno will be in it as well. First episode airs on 5th of December this year.

Pose: second season of Ryan Murphy’s popular show with main transgender and gay characters has aired this year.

The Politician: another show from Ryan Murphy was created. The main protagonist of the show (right) is played by Ben Platt and he’s gay. The show contains many LGBT+ main characters.

Tales of the City: the revival of the Tales of the City sequence of miniseries aired this year. The show includes many LGBT+ storylines.

The L Word: Generation Q: the revival of The L Word show will air on 8th of December this year. The show is mainly about lesbians, but based on trailer, there will be a gay couple included as well.

Years and Years: very futuristic show with a political message. Includes both mlm and wlw as main characters.

The Red Line: the plot of this show involves a white cop in Chicago who mistakenly shoots and kills a black doctor named Harrison. Harrison had a husband (left) and daughter (right). The show deals with the consequences of the event.

Now Apocalypse: all I’m gonna say is that Beck from Victorious got to make out with Scott from Teen Wolf, Matty from Awkward and Jake from Glee. The show was renewed for second season and later this statement was taken back and it got cancelled – which I guess says enough about the show.

This Close: the show is about two best friends who are deaf. One of them (left) is gay and has a storyline and spicy scenes with the guy on the right and some other guys as well. 

Schitt’s Creek: David (right) and Patrick (left) aka the cutest softest couple of all time. The last season of the show will air next air. Watch the show if you wanna laugh and watch the healthiest gay couple on tv. They also got engaged this year, which was beautiful.

NEW TV SHOWS (1 SEASON) WITH MAIN GAY CHARACTERS/SHIPS

Daybreak: both main characters and basically on different sides of the battles. Who wouldn’t want to watch enemies being in love Romeo & Juliet style.

El Juego de las Llaves (The Game of Keys): very interesting and fun show to follow, the one on the right is the main character. He’s closeted, has a girlfriend and gradually realizes there’s something else out there. Nice kissing scenes, plus one very spicy scene. Doesn’t hurt that the guy on the left he will be involved with looks like a dollar store Chris Evans if you squint hard enough.

Five Bedrooms: 5 strangers moves in. The guy in the middle is gay. His mom is a very traditional Indian woman who just wants grandchildren. The whole show is heart-warming and sad at times. The guy gets fair share of screentime and some love interests including a cop from the neighbourhood.

Made In Heaven: Indian show that follows the lives of Tara and Karan (left), two wedding planners in Delhi running an agency named Made in Heaven. Karan is gay. Very progressive show with spicy gay scenes.

What/If: haven’t seen the show yet but friends said these two have a nice storyline in the show. Threesome included.

Bonding: show about two best friends Pete (left) and Tiff (right). Pete is gay. They basically... do freaky shit for work... umm. Just watch trailer or something.

Osmosis: I have no idea what the show is about but the guy on the left is set to betrying to find a soulmate or something. I think I remember seeing some spicy scenes.

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists: basically some gay romance with the guy on the right and someone else. The one on the left dies the first episode so I did not even bother after that. But you can be the judge of it.

Doom Patrol: Larry (left) is a superhero, kinda. There’s something haunting his past, though. Something that involves being gay.

The Umbrella Academy: Klaus (left) my favorite character. He’s kind of a hero along with his other siblings. There’s a deep gay storyling along the way.

Weird City: anyways... all I’m gonna say is that Dylan O’Brien played a gay for one episode in a show. Wish there wasn’t this huge ugly age difference.

Roswell, New Mexico: cowboys, aliens, bisexuality, homosexuality and all that. Didn’t really see the show but there’s a lot of content with these two.

Good Trouble: never saw the sow but the guy on the picture is a main bisexual characters. There are some mlm scenes.

The Society: Grizz (right) and Sam (left) literally the highlight of the show. Just watch it, it is worth to see it for both of them. Sam is also deaf. The show is basically about a bunch of teenagers getting stuck in a town with no one else in or around.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The High School Musical tv show has just started airing on Disney+. Carlos (left) is confirmed to be gay and to be getting a nice development this season which will probably involve Seb (right) as well.

The Heights: Australian tv show. Sully (left) is gay. Got a thing for Ash (right) at the start. Then things were messy. Then they suddenly kissed. And the things are messy again.

El Club (The Club): very interesting show. The gave these two really (like REALLY) spicy scenes. Some romantic stuff. But there’s really not much depth in my option. Check and see.

Volevo fare la rockstar: didn’t see it but it’s an Italian show and there’s a romantic storyline between these two.

No Good Nick: Jeremy (right) came out this year on this sitcom. Nice and very weid sitcom. Unfortunately it was cancelled, but the way they handled his gay storyline was rather nice.

World on Fire: follows lives of ordinary people from Britain, Poland, France, Germany and the USA during World War II. Two of them are gay. And yeah one of those two is Will from sense8.

TV SHOWS (1 SEASON+) WITH MAIN GAY CHARACTERS/SHIPS 

Andi Mack: the show that made history. Andi Mack is a Disney Channel show and for the first time in Disney Channel history, Cyrus (right) came out using the word ‘gay’ and made it official with the recurring character TJ (left) this year. The two-season slow-burn was really worth it.

Shadowhunters: Malec got married this year. Yay.

Grey’s Anatomy: Levi and Nico still going strong.

La Casa de las Flores (The House of Flowers): despite the first season making it seem like it was the end for Diego and Julián, that’s not the case. In season 2, they’re stronger than ever, the scenes are spicier than ever and the show is gayer than ever.

Baby: first season was mostly focused on Fabio (face on right) realizing he’s gay. The second season has shockingly showed us that Brando (face on left) is gay as well. Very toxic ship so if you enjoy Gallavich this is probably for you.

Élite: Omar and Ander continuing their journey.

Shameless: Ian (up) and Mickey (down) came back to Shameless season 10 as main characters. About time.

Station 19: new love interest (left, a deaf character portrayed by a deaf actor) was introduced for Travis (right) in the season 2 finale. Let’s see what happens in season 3, which airs in 2020.

Ackley Bridge: they pretty much baited us with Cory (left) and Naveed (right) this season. They stayed just friends, but Naveed found a love interest, so that’s nice.

Find Me In Paris: Never saw the show, but Jeff (on the picture) is gay and his love interest Isaac gets introduced in second season that aired this year.

13 Reasons Why: Tony and Caleb going strong. It was also revealed that Monty (right) is a closeted gay and had a storyline with Winston (left). There’s probably more to come with them in next season. 

Insatiable: unfortunately they didn’t serve much Bob (right) & Bob this year. But they introduced detective Rudy (left) and there were some scenes and twists and turns. Whatever.

Riverdale: I don’t care. Kevin (left) is still there. There are some gay charcters based on wiki, but yeah. Crumbs, I bet. Whatever.

Charité: second season (which has the two main gay characters) takes place in Berlin in 1943. You don’t need to watch the first season at all, to understand the second one with them, it’s basically a stand-alone.

Animal Kingdom: Deran and Adrian’s story coming to an end?

The Magicians: Well, they killed off the central bi character Quentin (on the picture), so fuck them. 

How to Get Away With Murder: Connor (left) and Oliver (right) still there.

Dear White People: haven’t seen it, but Lionel (on the picture) is still there and he’s gay.

Zoe Valentine: there’s this web series and these two have a storyline in second season that aired this year.

SOAP OPERAS AND TELENOVELAS

Sturm der Liebe: Boris (left) and Tobias (right) are married and lived happily ever after. Really cute and sometimes dramatic storyline overall. Check it out.

Malhação: Vidas Brasileiras: Santiago (left) and Michael (right) had a gay storyline but the show ended this year.

Malhação: Toda Forma de Amar: Guga (right) and Serginho (left) have a gay storyline in the show.

Eastenders: Ben (left) and Callum’s (right) storyline has begun this year.

Neighbours: David (right) and Aaron (left) aka husbands still in the soap.

REALITY SHOWS

Queer Eye: five gay guys helping others. Season 3, 4 and a special have aired this year.

Are You the One?: for the first time in the show’s history, season 8 of this dating reality show had an all-sexually fluid cast this year. Which means mlm and wlw and anything else. Really fun show.

MOVIES

Benjamin: don’t even remember what the movie was about but I rec because it was cute and I mean hello Merlin.

Boy Erased: homosexuality and religion. Has a Troye Sivan in it. Very decent movie.

And Then We Danced: my favorite gay movie of this year. All the things they had to do to be able to film this in homophobic Georgia (the country)... just wow. It’s a must-watch.

Who Would You Take to a Deserted Island?: didn’t know what to expect from this movie. It is based on a play and it shows. Watch and be the judge of it. The acting was really highlight of the movie.

This Is Not Berlin: hasn’t seen it yet since it was just officially released. But it is included in an LGBT+ section so... hopefully they didn’ lie.

Rocketman: movie about Elton John with Taron Egerton and Richard Madden... I mean, phew.

Un Rubio (The Blonde One): gonna watch this, apparently it’s amazing based on what some of my mutuals have said.

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan: Jon Snow being gay and kissing Chris Zylka. Made by Xavier Dolan. A literal tripple threat. Genuinely enjoyed the movie and the soundtrack.

Ranchlands: haven’t seen this but my friend said it’s amazing.

Steam Room Stories: this movie was something... Eating Out levels of ‘I-’ but without all the sex. I guess watch this if you are bored.

Posledice (Consequences): very spicy and intriguing movie. Slovenia snapped with this one.

Papi Chulo: didn’t like this movie and the concept of it but... you can check out and see for yourself.

Dolor y gloria (Pain and Glory): Antonio Banderas kissing a man. Hopefully it really is a gay-related movie because I haven’t seen it yet.

Die Stropers (The Harvesters): brilliant cinematography but I expected much more from the movie.

Giant Little Ones: what happens when you’re into your best friend’s sister but the best friend gives you a BJ. Well... watch and see.

Kanarie (Canary): a war musical about a small town boy who gets chosen to serve his compulsory two year military training in the South African Defence Force Choir and Concert. Loved the involvement of the Boy George music, aesthetic and story. One of my favorites this year. 

Luciérnagas (Fireflies): haven’t seen it yet but the description says that the main gay character (right) “flees from persecution in Iran and ends up living in the tropical town of Veracruz.”

El Angel: haven’t seen it but apparently there are some implications it was lowkey gay... so yeah.

Dear Ex: from wiki “San Lian was devastated when she discovered her late ex-husband left his insurance payout to his male partner Ah Jie. She decided to bring her son to fight for their rights, but her son instead chose to stand on the other person's side.” Will watch this soon, sounds interesting.

Sauvage: one of the best gay movies this year. Don’t know how to describe it so let me copy paste the description “ Léo is a sex worker who uses drugs whilst longing for love.”

Sócrates: haven’t seen it yet as it was just released.

Marilyn: story about a farm worker who discovers his sexuality in a hostile environment. Didn’t see it since someone has told me there are some scenes that are really HARD to stomach and I ain’t about that life.

Les Crevettes pailletées (The Shiny Shrimps): the movie is about an Olympic swimming champion who makes a homophobic comment in a television interview, and is disciplined by the national swim team with the responsibility of coaching a gay water polo team who aspire to compete in the Gay Games. Sounds and looks like an amazing comedy and can’t wait to watch it when I will be able to.

Fin de siglo (End of the Century): it’s not out yet as far as I know, but it’s about two men who meet in Barcelona and realize they have met already 20 years ago.

Matthias et Maxime: another excellence by Xavier Dolan. Story about life-long friends who question their sexual identities after they kiss. Looks amazing and I can’t wait for it to get released finally.

The Goldfinch: not a gay movie, but I’ve seen many people considering it as LGBT+ cinema because of the book and you know what, they kissed after all so you can perceive it beyond friendship if you want. If not, then just skip it. I feel like it is worth mentioning it tho.

Mapplethorpe: movie is about the life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Didn’t see it but Doctor Who plays him so there’s that.

UPCOMING

TV SHOWS

9-1-1: Lone Star: The spin-off of a popular show 9-1-1 by Ryan Murphy is premiering 19th of January 2020. It’s confirmed that the main character TK (a firefighter, left) will be romantically involved with the main character Carlos (a police officer, right). The show will also have a main trans man.

Love, Simon: The Series: A Disney+ Love, Simon spin-off is on its way and will premiere in 2020. The series will follow Victor (right) and his coming-out story at the same high school where Love, Simon took place. Didn’t find a photo with his love interest. The guy on the left will most likely be his enemy.

[sotorubio]

Fuck I love you, you know that?

I also can't remember a singly sex scene in skam France that wasn't sexy? And that's not the point in a TEEN show (I mean only wtfock and their season 3 was worst)

But I think the portrayal was kinda harmful. Tbh. See. I am not trans. But max having issues with sex in the beginning (and tiff maybe should have had those too, she fucking gave birth. That's even traumatising if you want a kid!) is a plot point they integrated and should have handled.

I mean Druck also has a trans love interest and god their sex scene was beautiful. Respectful and they even communicated and it was obvious they were vulnerable, inexperienced and stuff.

And I just think this whole thing??? Like?? Skam France could have done something good. Show that consent is sexy (Druck did that too. Will also always remind me of skam season 2 where William was like even if you don't want to anymore, I can't stop. Like???)

Show them talk. like?? Maybe even explain to tiff that was fucking weird I still forgive you, because out of unreasonable reasons I am in love with you. Bit I am not lacking anything and I don't need a fucking sex Toy. This and that I am insecure, but I still have the hots for you. Let's take it slow.

I don't know. It's annoying me.

NO ILY ❤️❤️

and Yeah skamfr sex scenes r always literally just abt the sex n how hot n aesthetic it is zero regard for the fact that sex is actually an emotional thing too n involves so much more than a close up of someone's tits or ass msgbsljflsjd but that's just "french culture" am i right 😌.. it's like. if they only did it once or twice it'd be just like Okay! that's one approach to sex for sure, u can portray it like that sometimes! but when it becomes a pattern n they choose the silent passion & sexy aesthetic over realistic n respectful portrayal of teenagers so hard that it overrides canon insecurities & barriers for sex then it becomes a huge problem. i haven't watched wtfock but from what ive seen from other bloggers it seems to be terrible in that too so i definitely belive u :/

also yeah druck did a great job w it i believe! it just puts such a stark contrast on skamfr bc their approach w every couple is so wildly different in a bad way... druck has always put so much respect into it but france doesn't even bother to consider that maybe having sex for the first time after giving birth can be a big deal? or that discussing ur discomfort w intimacy means that u need to sort that out before having sex? it's so weird....if u don't wanna talk abt those things then don't introduce them as plot points, shouldn't be that difficult

it's a day later n i still haven't come to terms w the fact tiff actually did that i just can't comprehend it. like what was the reason. it DOES seem almost offensive but i don't know what we're supposed to think of it 😭bc like ofc there's nothing wrong w using toys as an addition to ur sex life n ur partner should be willing to talk abt those if it's smth u want but i can't help but put it into the context of max being trans like. would tiff have brought that to a cis dude's house for their FIRST time. it's just weird... i guess it's supposed to be like. a joke. tiff being haha silly uwu n we're supposed to find the awkwardness endearing but it just doesn't seem like any of that to me. once again it just comes back to the fact that if we had seen them talk abt it, seen a discussion... max could've talked abt what he's personally okay with n tiff could've been like oh also could we use some toys i would like that. then we didn't have to wonder.

but idk even then i feel like it's SO unnecessary to include The Gift for us to know exactly how these teenagers r gonna have sex like. it should be enough to know that they Did. we don't need to know the details bc even if the actors r older these characters r still like 17 at best? weird as fuck.

n don't even get me STARTED on the fucking willrat thing from the OG that was So disgusting...... like there r hundreds of reasons to hate him but that line alone should be enough yet he still has fans drooling for noorhelm 😐😐😐

bottom line: don't write abt 15-17 year olds if ur goal is to write abt sex. that shouldn't be a controversial opinion either they just have riverdale brain rot

[pianoandcookiedoughlover]

my own skam remake??

hey everyone, it’s your girl here, who still doesn’t know what she’s doing.

um

so

i may have messed around and ended up writing a season for my own skam remake?

now for some explanation:

basically, in the months of april/may (i literally cannot remember exactly when) i was like, “hey, i kind of want to write my own skam, taking elements i loved from the og and remakes and still doing my own kind of story."

so that’s what i ended up doing. i started with season 3 because that’s the storyline i connected to the most, just wanting to put my own spin on a story i hold really dearly to my heart. i finished my first draft of it in late june/july and i shared it with a friend of mine - who’s writing i absolutely adore - and she had overall really positive thoughts on it. something that really struck me was that she thought that “people should watch this over 13 reasons why.” now, i’m not here to talk about the often questionable-at-best portrayals of certain things in that show. but it made me think, “i have somewhat of a platform with tumblr, maybe this could help some people, or at the very least be some more content for them while they wait for whatever remake or show they want to see. why not post it?”

and now here we are. posting it. 

soon.

the first clip of season 3 is set on october 17th of this year. what i’m planning to do is schedule all my posts to be released at the time the clips are set, that way it’s almost like the og show just . . . not a tv show.

i’ll also be posting this on ao3, and i’ll drop all the clips of an episode there when the last clip of the episode is released here. i know that the og skam used to have regular weekly episodes but mine are completely chaotic (what a surprise), so while a lot of them end on fridays or saturdays, there are a few that end midweek, so it’s kind of a mixed bag.

it is written in a script style format (a lot of fun to explore since i had never done it before) but as a disclaimer, i am nowhere near being a professional writer and i’ve just been doing this as a fun project. if you have some tips or advice on how to improve, i’d love to hear it, but i just want to make sure that it’s out there that this could probably be done 10x better by someone with script writing experience.

i have been writing my season 1 and 2, and i know generally what plot they’re going to follow, so the stuff mentioned in this season should carry over well. those are set in the fall of 2019 and the spring of 2020 respectively, which obviously have passed, but if this is remotely interesting and you all want to see more, i can absolutely post those when i’m done, they just won’t be exactly matching the days they’re happening. i also want to write a season 4 and 5 at least, and maybe more if they come to mind, but i don’t want to get too in over my head,

so, i guess i should give a little bit of explanation of what it’s about. 

this season focuses on ila (yes wlw representation, we love to see it). this isn’t a carbon copy of the og version (this has 11 episodes, for starters) but i really wanted to keep a lot of things because i have such a big place in my heart for the og season 3. i think i’m going to keep it as vague as that, just because there is something to be said for how fun it is to go into something a little bit blindfolded and be surprised as you go.

i did a lot of research for this entire project, but i haven’t been through everything all of these characters have personally myself. if anyone reading notices anything that is inaccurate or a poor portrayal of a certain group/topic, please please let me know. i want to make this as authentic as i can and i’d much rather redo things that aren’t good representation than leave them be just for the sake of it.

i’ve scheduled another post for a week before the first clip that gives a rundown of all the characters and both their physical characteristics (what i imagine in my head) and their personalities, so hopefully that should give you all that are reading this and planning to read the show an idea.

if you made it through this, thank you so much for reading! i am tagging all of the skam remakes because i feel like this could appeal to anyone who watches any of the remakes. 

so, yeah. that’s what i’ve been up to. let me know if you have any questions or thoughts or if you think this is overall an awful idea and i should burn this entire thing (why don’t i get more self-confidence)