#more parallels include guys sleeping on the other's couch

[nobigsecrets]

Absolutely no one: What do Tatort Saarbrücken and Hawaii 5-0 have in common?

Me: I'm glad you asked, look at these parallels!

Guys Being Desperate For Coffee

Girls Watching Football

Using Your Partner's Handcuffs

You Guys Talk Telepathically?

The Pining

Mutual Hearteyes

HUGGING

Outfit Choices

[lovesosweeet]

better left unsaid // cth

chapter two

in which orion has leukemia, and calum doesn’t know.

chapter zero, one

july 13, 2018

los angeles, california

calum

-

When we wrap up our final rehearsal for the week, the boys and I are both hyped for tour and drained from the whole thing before it’s even started. We’re all sweaty and eager to go home, yet we can’t manage to actually say goodbye to each other in the parking lot at our rehearsal facility.

It’s funny, seven years of spending practically every minute with these guys and I still find myself wanting to spend more time with them. I guess that’s family.

“What’s on the agenda for you and O tonight, Cal?” Ashton asks and leans against his car. He’s probably the sweatiest out of all of us, but to be honest, we’re all drenched.

I can’t help but smile when I think of her. “She’s been feeling kinda sick lately, so I was just gonna grab some ramen from that place near our apartment and we’ll just take an easy night in.”

“Ah, right before tour? Better not catch whatever she’s got,” Mike quips. “Maybe you should quarantine from each other.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not quarantining from my girlfriend two weeks before I leave her for four months, especially not when she feels like shit.”

Mike mouths “whipped” to me before Luke intervenes. I pretend to whack Mike over the head and ruffle his hair. I know he’s just kidding, but he’s not wrong, so I wouldn’t actually care if he wasn’t.

“Alright, alright, cut it out you two. I’m calling it—let’s all go home now. See you on Monday morning.” Luke doesn’t wait for any of us to reply before he gets into his car and slams the door behind himself.

The rest of us laugh at his quick departure from the conversation but also take it as the end for us all. Mike and Ash give me a sweaty half hug before we’re all clambering into our own cars, mine the shittiest by far. This tank goes through gas at a rate that may honestly be illegal in California, but it’s my car and I love it. Besides, it runs. I get from point A to point B—what else do I need?

Orion. Ramen. That’s what I need.

The journey back to the heart of LA, including the pit stop at O’s favorite vegan ramen shop, takes me about an hour and a half. Actually, I guess it’s her second favorite. There was one in Madrid that she went to all the time that had a Winnie the Pooh sign, so naturally it became her favorite. That one was also far cheaper than any of the options in LA.

I park my shitty Jeep in the parking garage, next to her less shitty but equally beat up Honda Civic. The girl hits curbs and “bonks” other cars as she parallel parks all the time. Naturally that’s taken a toll on her car.

I swipe my fob to enter the building and nod to the security officer in the lobby.

If it weren’t for Orion going to UCLA, I probably wouldn’t live in such a central location, for safety reasons. When we decided to move in together, I didn’t want her to have to drive over an hour stuck in traffic to go to campus every day. Going from living on campus and being able to run to class 5 minutes before it starts is a big shift from living in an apartment, so I wanted it to be as easy as possible for her.

Thus, we live in a super secure building in Santa Monica with 24/7 onsite officers and fob entry for the parking garage and the building.

I take the elevator up to our floor and feel myself start to get giddy at the excitement of coming home to her. It’s so silly—we live together, have been together for two years, and yet I still get nervous to see her.

When I open the door to the apartment, Duke is waiting for me and I hear the sounds of a show playing on the TV in the living room.

“I come bearing gifts,” I call out and set our food on the entryway table while I kick off my shoes.

I’m met with silence.

“O, where are you?”

More silence.

I start walking through our home, looking for signs of life, but end up finding her curled up in a massive blanket on the couch, sleeping. She’s not wearing any makeup and her hair is dirty, pulled into a messy knot on top of her head. She looks adorable, but she must still feel kind of sick. She had gone to the doctor today since she keeps getting these bugs, constantly having a fever and feeling sick, then feeling better, but then the sickness comes back a few weeks later.

I carefully crawl onto the couch and gently lift her legs to lay across my lap, trying not to wake her up, but just wanting to be closer to her. My efforts are fruitless and she stirs, her eyes cracking open sleepily. When she sees me, she smiles.

“Hi,” she says quietly. “How was rehearsal?”

My shoulders rise and fall in a shrug. “Same old. How’re you feeling? Did the doctor have anything helpful?”

She sighs and shakes her head. “Not really, they took some blood samples and stuff to send off to a lab. They think it’s just a bug, maybe a weakened immune system for whatever reason—they said the blood test could help indicate a bunch of different things.”

I frown. She’s been feeling kinda crappy every few weeks for months now. “I’m sorry they don’t have an answer yet. I brought you ramen.”

And just like that, there’s life in her face and light in her eyes while she beams at me. “You’re the best ever.”

Orion sits up and scoots closer to me and lazily drapes her arms over my shoulders. Her brown eyes gaze into mine and she gives me a quick kiss, pulling away too soon for my liking.

“Just one? I brought you noodles!”

She giggles — my favorite sound — and then she’s kissing me again, her lips smooth and soft with her favorite lip balm. It’s birthday cake flavored and she’s gifted me a few tubes whenever she makes me random gift baskets. I’ve gotten shit from the guys for it since it has glitter in it, but who wouldn’t want to think of their girl every time they put on a layer of lip balm?

“Thank you for bringing me noodles.”

“Anything for you,” I say, giving her another kiss. She beams her bright smile at me and then rests her forehead on my shoulder while pulling me into a hug. “Want to eat and then we can take a shower?”

“That may be the best idea you’ve ever had,” Orion says, pulling me even closer to her than I already am, trying to get rid of any space there is between us.

—

A few hours later, we’re back on the couch, the sunset shining into our place through the windows, casting a warm glow over the entire space. We’re all tangled up in a mess of limbs and blanket and pillows; Orion is playing some silly game on her phone and I’m half paying attention to an episode of Brooklyn 99 on the TV. I know I have two more weeks here, but I can’t help but dread the thought of leaving Orion for months at a time. With her classes and our minimal breaks on this tour, we probably won’t get to see each other at all until after the tour is over.

We started out long distance, sort of, since we weren’t in the same place the whole time but saw each other frequently, but we haven’t been touring since the Sounds Live, Feels Live Tour ended a year and a half ago, so we haven’t really had to deal with being apart. I’m not worried about going long distance—Orion and I are stronger and happier than ever. I’m really just going to miss her… so much.

I’m thankful that tour is so crazy busy usually, so the time apart should fly by, and we’ll be having a great time playing shows every night and exploring different cities and meeting all the fans. I just wish O could come with us, but I’d never ask her to take a semester off. Her education is so important to her and I admire her for it, but I do almost want her to try a semester off now. Once she’s done with undergrad and is in law school, she definitely won’t be able to visit on tour, but that’s a problem for future us, I suppose.

They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, but mine is already growing fonder from a mere few inches away. I don’t need more distance.

“What are you thinking about?” Orion’s soft voice interrupts my thoughts.

“No thoughts,” I say, tracing circles on her back. “Head empty.”

She chuckles, but I feel her gaze boring into my face, studying me. “Don’t lie. I know you zoned out.”

I swear sometimes she knows me better than I know myself. Every gift she buys me is completely her own idea—she’s never once asked for ideas or guidance and it’s always something I didn’t know existed but I needed or something I simply needed or wanted. She remembers everything I’ve ever liked at every restaurant we have been to and she knows every word to our songs, which I can’t even say I do. She can tell when I’m drained from being around people and will offer for us to leave before I’ve even had a chance to realize I’m ready to go.

Seen. Known. Loved. I’ve never felt more love from anyone than I have felt from Orion.

“Nothing, really, just being sad about leaving you for a few months,” I reply. When I look down at her, she’s pouting at me with sad eyes.

“Stop being sappy,” she goes. She then rolls her eyes. “It’s not gonna be fun at all to tour the world with your best friends and perform music you wrote to thousands of adoring fans and fulfill your lifelong dream.”

This time I roll my eyes. “Of course it’ll be fun, but that doesn’t mean I can’t miss you at the same time!”

“Even if you were here, I’ll be so wrapped up in LSAT prep and law school apps and classes, you wouldn’t get to spend much time with me anyway.” I know she’d be busy, but we’d be in the same space, sharing the same air, sleeping in the same bed. She’s right though, just the amount of LSAT prep she’s been doing with some of the other kids on the pre-law track over the summer took up an insane amount of her time.

Oh, Orion. Even though she lives her life through emotion and feeling, she still somehow can be logical and rational when it counts, almost to a fault.

“I’m still gonna miss you, so, so much,” I clarify. We lock eyes, and I know that we both know that it’ll be a bittersweet few months apart.

“You won’t miss me. I’ll be just as annoying as I am normally, just from a distance. I can promise you that!”

I crack a smile. “Oh yeah, you’re so annoying. Leaving your contacts on the side of the sink and using the espresso machine at ungodly early hours of the day. Always texting me to bring you a snack between classes. Giving Duke a kiss before me when you get home. Honestly, I can’t stand you.”

She scoffs and lightly taps her hand against my face in a mock slap. “Wow, so you’re leaving me and insulting me all in the same breath? Hit me while I’m down, why don’t you?”

“Hey, you called yourself annoying. I’m just supporting you here.”

“Fine, I’ll stop bringing you coffee in bed then.”

“Wait, no, no, no, I take it all back, please use the espresso machine while I’m still asleep.”

Orion looks at me with her big brown eyes, so round and gleaming with light, staring at me with pure adoration. “I’m gonna miss you.”

I gasp. “I thought you just said that won’t be happening!”

“Oh my god, just stop talking and kiss me!” She laughs and flips over so our chests are pressed together and I can pull her even closer.

read chapter three

—

a/n: hi hi. idk what i’m doing here getting back into writing is hard :’) happy friday folks

[captain-jensen]

Extra Special

Henry Cavill x Reader

Request from @airplanesinlove: Hi! I've seen that requests are open and you'll probably have a lot, but...can I get a Henry Cavill fluff or smut (or both) one shot, pls? We were born on the same day but different years and I like to dream about a parallel universe in which we celebrate together. Maybe you could do something with that? ���️

Summary: Birthday (which you share)  shenanigans with Henry. 

Warnings: implied smut, but mostly fluff. 

   Feeling the sunlight pour through the window and onto your face was the second best feeling of the morning thus far, the first was the feeling of a heavy arm draped across your frame and a warm chest behind you. Without opening your eyes, you slowly turn around in Henry’s arms to face him. When you feel that your eyes are adequately shielded from the light you open them to take in your sleeping boyfriends face. He lies there peacefully with a low snore falling from his mouth. Starting to play a bit with his chest hair and admire its vastness you notice that the snoring stops. “Happy birthday” you say in a whisper. Seeing a grin start to spread across his face you lean over and place a kiss on his shoulder. Clearly too groggy to respond still you start placing more and more kisses on his shoulder, leading up to his neck where you nibble his soft skin a bit. He hums as his arm tightens around your waist. Turning his head he places a soft kiss on your cheek. “And a happy birthday to you too as well darling” he finally responds in an equally hushed tone. You two lay in silence again for a bit longer just holding each other and enjoying the bliss. You and Henry have only been dating for about six months so you were still in the honeymoon stage but you genuinely wanted to make this feeling last for the rest of your life. However, your silent bliss was interrupted by Henry’s gravelly morning voice. “We should get up love” he states.

“Why?” you moan out. “Today’s our birthday, we should just spend the day relaxing together” you say, trying to convince him to stay. 

“I agree, but I’ve also made plans for us. In order to realize those plans we have to get out of bed” Henry counters. 

“Ugh, yeah I guess so. What do those plans include?” you ask slyly while running your hand up and down his chest, pushing your scantily clad body against his own. 

“I’m glad you ask” he responds before kissing you deeply.  “It starts with a shower” he says against your lips. 

“What if I offer an alternative beginning?” you propose. 

“I would have to regretfully decline. I’ve made reservations” Henry says.

“Henry, it’s nine in the morning” you respond.

“Yes, and I’ve made brunch reservations for 10:30″ he states. 

“Ok” you sigh. “That does sound nice, thank you babe” you say with one final kiss to his lips. 

   After leisurely eating brunch you and Henry decide to take a walk in the park together. “How crazy is it that out of everyone, we started dating and just so happened to share a birthday?” you wonder out loud. 

“Sounds fateful to me” Henry responds, giving you a warm smile. 

“At first I didn’t think I was going to enjoy sharing a birthday with my boyfriend” 

“And what do you think of it so far?” He asks inquisitively. 

“I like it” You respond sweetly. “What about you?”

“Well I knew I was going to enjoy from the beginning” Henry answers honestly. “It makes the day extra special” he says looking at you with fondness while you take in the scenery around you. 

“That’s why I enjoy it now” you say. “Want to go home and relax before people start showing up for dinner?” you ask. You had planned a small get together for Henry since he doesn’t get to spend as much time with his family as he would like to. You wanted to keep it a surprise but one of his nephews had let it slip while talking to him on FaceTime. 

“Actually, I was thinking, since I didn’t have time to buy you a proper gift, I want to take you for a bit of shopping” 

“Henry, I said it’s not a problem. You don’t have to buy me anything”

“Yes you did say that, but you planned such a lovely party for me and I want to spoil you a bit” 

“Oh ok, if you insist” you give in, knowing he’s not gonna let up anyway. 

   You guys spend the next couple of hours browsing around the stores in the mall and just enjoying each others time. Henry has to stop a few times to take pictures with fans but it was sweet seeing him interact with fans, including doing his American accent when a young boy approached him calling him Superman. Every time you brought up going home Henry would come up with a different excuse and distraction to keep you busy, because at home yours and Henry’s friends were working together to surprise you. You hadn’t seen your family in a long time because they lived far away, so Henry flew them to London to celebrate with you, and also so that he could meet them for the first time. So in order to kill time you and Henry went to the animal shelter, went and got some coffee and birthday pastries, and even made a trip to the zoo. 

“Henry it’s almost 6, we really should get home and get all of the food out before your everyone starts showing up” you say tugging on Henry’s arm. 

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s go” Henry knows everything should be in place now and that your family should be there. 

   You guys get home just after 6. Henry unlocks and opens the door for you to walk in first. When you flick on the light you’re shocked by a loud “SURPRISE!!!”. It takes you a second to figure out what’s happening, but when you do you notice your parents standing front and center. After hugging them and greeting them, Henry walks up to you and you introduce him to your parents, happy he gets to meet them finally. Your parents turn away to go mingle with Henrys’ parents. 

“I can’t believe you made this happen Henry!!” you say excitedly, wrapping your arms around his shoulder. 

“Well believe it. Surprise!” he responds, bending down to kiss you. 

“Thank you so much” you say against his lips. You guys spend the night talking and celebrating with your friends and family. At one point a large cake comes out sporting both of your names on it and you blow the candles out wrapped in each others arms.  Once everyone leaves and your parents have retreated to their hotel room for the night you and Henry sit on the couch listening to music. “Today was amazing Henry, I can’t say thank you enough” you say squeezing his hand. 

“You don’t have to. I wanted to make today special for you, and just being able to spend the day with you and make you happy has made this an amazing birthday for me as well” he says earnestly, gazing into your eyes with a toothy smile.

“Well our birthday isn’t over yet. I have one more present for you” you say. “Wait here, I’ll be right back” you say, holding up a finger to Henry as you leave the living room. You run up the stairs to the bedroom and grab a box that you had been hiding from under the bed. Opening it up, you take out the dark blue lacy lingerie and step into it. It’s a set that has a see through, lacy, tight tank top, and a pair of underwear. You give yourself a once-over in the mirror and run back downstairs. You find Henry sitting patiently on the couch waiting for you to return. Walking forward, you go to stand in-front of him and his eyes widen immediately, trying to take you in as much as you can. “Surprise” you say sweetly. Henry is still speechless as you move to sit on his lap. His hands find themselves on your thighs at his sides as you run yours through his curls. “Happy birthday baby” you say, staring into his bright blue eyes. You lean down and kiss him softly. Henry breaks the kiss when it starts getting heated.

“This has been the best birthday I’ve had in a long time” he says with a playful grin. 

“And it’s only gonna get better Cavill” you return his grin and move to kiss him again. He chuckles softly and stands up with you wrapping your legs around his waist instinctively. He walks you both up the stairs, rarely breaking the kiss, and into the bedroom, where your birthdays lasted into the next morning. 

                                                       The End 

[aj-allen97]

Bad Batch Episode Three: Replacements

Spoilers!!!

Once again Crosshair is in what was once his and his batch mates room - the same room with four bunks, two chairs, and a couch. Only instead of sharing the space with his four brothers he is now sharing it with three imperial recruits who are not clones and who look down on him for being a clone.

(This is pure speculation and I know it doesn’t matter now because the fifth got killed, but what’s to stop Tarkin or the other guy from adding another recruit to there squad?)

There used to be five imperial recruits until Crosshairs executed one for disobeying imperial commands.

And yet I can’t help but wonder what if Ass-Hole Blondie was not killed, if he followed commands without hesitation? Or what if they decide to add another recruit to replace Blondie? What then? There are only four bunks?

Even though Crosshairs is their commanding officer they don’t respect him, they think of him only as a serial number, a means to a end more or less. Would Ass-Hole Blondie or even the hypothetical replacement have claimed Crosshairs bunk? Would they have made Crosshair sleep on the couch? Or tell him to make do with the floor? Would they have kicked him out of the room all together?

The Bad Batch looked like they went out of their way to create a space for Echo. They didn’t just dump him on the couch and tell him to deal with it. They went out of their way to install a hammock in their room for Echo, and I doubt that was a easy feat.

It’s just another parallel how different these two teams are.

One was a family who loved, cared, and respected one another and made sure everyone was included and comfortable to the best of their ability.

The other a team filled with natural born recruits who view Crosshair as a outsider, and a clone not worthy of respect.

[deascheck]

A Day in the Life of Sam and Dean Winchester

Summary: Sam and Dean end up in a parallel universe; the Trickster is back at it again. The reader is the key to the brothers getting home.

Word Count: 3507

Triggers: none…?? let me know if there’s a trigger I should have included! I’ll change it!

A/N: Any and all feedback is always appreciated!! Comments, likes, or reblogs welcomed! Thank you thank you to the amazing @that-one-gay-girl for beta'ing!!

-----------

CHAPTER ONE

You headed over to the window, wondering what the weather was like. As you pulled the curtains back a few inches, you saw a dark sky that cast gloom over the earth. Great. A perfect day for curling up with my computer and a good book. Thank God it’s my day off. You walked over to your bookshelf and started browsing, already anticipating a wonderful day to yourself.

You’d say it was about time, too. You’d been working crazy hours for about three weeks. You were exhausted, and the sleep-in you’d just had was only the start of what you needed. Pulling a book from the shelf, you headed towards your favorite chair. It was a big, plush chair that had a lever you could pull and it extended into a recliner. It was old and weathered; your grandparents left it to you in their will. You would never get rid of this chair, or get tired of using it.

As you settled in with a fleece blanket and a cup of coffee, the doorbell rang. God bless… Come on people. I just want a quiet day to myself! You could just feel yourself going into grump mode, so you took a sip of coffee and walked over to the door, mentally getting into your small talk mode instead. You pulled open the door and stared.

“Hi, Y/N? My name is Sam, and this is my brother Dean. We were hoping we could take a few minutes to talk with you.”

You couldn’t believe your eyes. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles were at your door. And apparently they were in character. You couldn’t decide whether to laugh or run and hide. So you opened the door further and stepped aside to let them in. Oh shit, my apartment is such a mess right now.. Shit. That’s it, I’m always keeping it clean. God knows when I’m going to have visitors, let alone friggin celebrities! As they stepped through the doorway, they both ducked their heads and smiled at you, attempting to make you feel more at ease. Clearly the panic was written all over your face. All their smiles did was raise your heart rate.

Once everyone was all situated in the living, and you’d gotten them coffee, you asked, “So, what’s this all about?”

The brothers looked at each other, doing their silent communication thing, and then Dean or Jensen took the lead. “Here’s the thing Y/N. It’s kind of a long story, but the short of it is that we are not from here… and we need help getting back home. You’re our ticket home.”

You laughed. “I’M your ticket home? Ok, come on. I’m willing to bet you’ve never heard of me until today. And you’re actors… So what're you testing me on? Do you need another cast member?”

Sam, or Jared, sighed. He seemed tired. His shoulders were a little slumped and his movements slower than you would have expected. “I get that you think we’re Jared and Jensen. But we’re not. We’re Sam and Dean. We got transported here, a parallel universe, and you are the way we get home.” He looked at you with his famous puppy eyes. “Please, Y/N. Will you help us?”

You stared, unable to comprehend that Sam and Dean Winchester were in your living room. “Give me a minute,” you managed to sputter out, and receded to your kitchen where you grabbed an oven mitt from the counter and started fanning yourself. What is happening? I’m dreaming.. or they’re really truly playing a prank on me. How the fuck do they know who I am? You weren’t sure what to do. You didn’t feel particularly special, with no great talents or hobbies. You were just a simple person, who lived to go to work, and come home; you had no friends. Honestly, you didn't really fit in with anyone at work. You were quiet, and tended to listen more than participate. You didn’t have any witchy habits or any werewolf or vampire characteristics… that you knew of. But if you had any monster tendencies, you were pretty sure you would have been attacked by Sam and Dean, not having them knock on your door and ask you to send them home.

Squaring your shoulders, you sighed, and walked back out to the living room. Sam and Dean were exactly where you’d left them, Sam sitting awkwardly in your non-favorite armchair, and Dean perched on the edge of the couch. They were talking earnestly but quietly.

Sam noticed that you were coming back in the room first, and broke off from the conversation. “Y/N. How are you doing with all of this?”

“Umm… clearly seeing, but still working on believing,” you answered honestly. You shifted your weight from one foot to the other, uncomfortable.

“Hey, sweetheart, I know it’s a lot to take in. But I’m gonna need you to believe it, and work on helpin’ us out,” Dean stated, not unkindly.

You nodded and sat in your armchair, grabbing your coffee from the side table next to you. “Okay.” You said with a deep breath. “What do you need me to do? How am I supposed to get you home?”

Sam explained softly, as if trying not to scare you off. He said, “Well, from what we’ve gathered from this world is that you’re ahead of ours. All the monsters have been eradicated by the hunters. We found a Men of Letters bunker in Lebanon, Kansas, and according to the records, you’re the sole survivor of the Legacies. You alone possess the power to get us home. The records said you are in possession of the inter-dimensional traveling spells, for their protection.” He looked at you with hope on his face.

You laughed. “Men of Letters? Here? Monsters? Yeah, right,” you scoffed.

“I told you she wouldn’t believe you,” interjected Dean, rolling his eyes.

You would’ve been indignant at Dean’s tone, except he was right. You didn’t believe him. It was just too preposterous.

“I know, that’s why I brought these,” stated Sam, matter-of-factly. He reached into his beige denim jacket and pulled out a file full of a small handful of documents. “These are the papers that explain about Y/N.”

Unsure what to believe, you hesitantly reached out and took the file gingerly from Sam’s giant hand. You flipped it open on your lap and started to read the first page. Sure enough, it described how you were a Legacy, and how your lineage meshed with the Men of Letters. My grandfather was a Man of Letters?? What in the hell? How did I never hear stories of monsters then? Or hunters? Your jaw dropped as you continued to read. It described how the spells for inter-dimensional travel were kept in a safe room, and the only key was with you. I don’t have a key! I was never even told about a key, let alone the Men of Letters and inter-dimensional travel. Fuck!

Shutting the file after reading the first couple pages, you looked at them with regret on your face. “I’m sorry to let you guys down, but I don’t have a key. I was never told about a key or spells. I don’t even know where the safe room is!”

Rubbing his face with his hand, Dean groaned. He put his hand up to his temple and started rubbing it with a couple fingers. ‘Alright,” he said. “Do you have a family house that you grew up in? One that held multiple generations?”

“Yeah, I do,” you nodded. “It’s about 10 minutes away, in the suburbs.”

The brothers’ faces lit up as they both had the same thought. The house held a secret room. Looking between the brothers, you smirked. You knew what they were thinking, because, well, you were thinking the same thing. What kind of family history were you about to discover?

You offered to drive, so they wouldn’t have to use a stolen car. However, you made them move the one they’d stolen to get to your apartment. You weren’t gonna have cops knocking on your door about no stolen car. Walking to the passenger side of your Nissan Kicks first, you pushed the seat back as far as it could go. Sam’s legs weren’t going to fit in the backseat. Dean’s would probably barely fit behind your seat.

You saw Sam smirk at Dean from the corner of your eye as you walked around to your door. You smiled to yourself. You knew Dean liked being in the front seat- hell, he preferred to be the one driving. Suck it up buttercup. Getting in, you plugged your phone in for Apple CarPlay to come up and went with your “Oldies” playlist. Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Pat Benatar, etc. You figured that’s what they’d like the most, and to be honest, it had been a while since you listened to it, so you were glad to put it on.

As you drove, you could see Dean’s head bobbing to the music. Night Moves, by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band played through the speakers. You couldn’t help but think of the episode in Supernatural where Sam said, “Don’t ‘Night Moves’ me!” The thought of it made you grin.

When you got to the house, you sat in your car for a minute. You hadn’t been here in about a year. The house was yours, left to you by your parents when they’d died in a car crash two years ago. It was paid off before they died, so it wasn’t like you were paying out the wazoo for it, but you couldn’t bring yourself to sell it. Now you were glad that you hadn’t.

Sam and Dean waited quietly for you to get out of the car. They could tell something was on your mind, but they weren’t going to push it too much since they barely knew you. Sam did ask, “Hey, are you ok?”

It brought you out of your thoughts with a jolt and you forced a smile. “Yeah! Come on, let’s go in. I own it, so there shouldn’t be anyone there. It’s not my housekeeper’s day to clean.” At Sam and Dean’s questioning looks, you added, “I hired a housekeeper to clean every other week. My parents died two years ago, and once I’d finished handling everything, I couldn’t bring myself to stay here. I haven’t been back in about a year. But selling it is not an option in my book either.”

It was a nice house, a two-story brick house with a porch running the entire length of the front of the house. There were four white pillars spaced across the porch. You smiled. You loved that house. There were so many good memories from your childhood. The lawn looked amazing; you paid a company to keep it manicured, as you liked to call it. You were glad, because you would have been embarrassed if it had had two years worth of overgrowth. The roses and peonies that lined the porch were in full bloom, adding a beautiful touch of color to the house and lawn.

You got out of the car and headed for the side door, which was closest to where you were parked in the long driveway. Sam and Dean trailed behind you, admiring the house. You took your key out of your jeans pocket and twisted it in the lock, pushing open the door. It smelled just like it always had. It was a clean linen type of smell, and you would never get tired of it. The housekeeper that cleaned the house clearly had honored your wishes about the scent plug-ins.

The side door opened to a mud room, which was quaint. It had the washer and dryer on one side, as well as racks for coats and shoes on the other. You took your shoes off before pushing through the mud room door. You entered the kitchen. It was a decent sized kitchen, remodeled by your mom, who loved to cook. The kitchen island was spotless and shiny. You smiled. As painful as it was, it was good to be home.

Sam and Dean respectfully took their shoes off and followed you, eager to see the house. You bee-lined for the family room, which had a massive bookshelf that you were going to start looking for research with. Calling over your shoulder to the brothers who were still taking in the kitchen, you said, “Make yourselves at home. Make a cup of coffee, explore the house. Do whatever you want. I’m going to start in the family room and try to find some books on the Men of Letters or something.”

They yelled a thanks back. You heard one of them start messing with the coffee pot. You grinned. Whichever one it was, was a man after your own heart. Dean walked in, clearly looking for something.

“What are you looking for, Dean?” you asked.

“Oh, I’m looking for a blank wall, or a wall with just a picture or two on it. Something that might be a false wall.”

“Hmm,” you said. “The living room has two walls with pictures, and the study has one wall. That’s it for the first floor. Second floor has a lot of walls with pictures- the bedrooms. And the basement has two walls without stuff against them.”

Dean nodded and went in search of the living room. You could hear him knocking on the walls and you grinned. You couldn’t believe this was really happening. Sam and Dean Winchester were in your house, and they were looking for a hidden room that held secrets you hadn’t even fantasized about.

Sam came out of the kitchen with a mug of coffee in his hand. “Thank you for the coffee,” he said softly.

“You’re welcome. It’s nice to get some use out of this house.”

Sam looked at the bookshelf. “I’d be surprised if there was anything here. It was a very secretive society; I don’t think they’d leave anything related to it in the open.”

You rolled your eyes at yourself. “You’re right, of course. But, it doesn’t hurt to look. Not a stone unturned, right?”

Sam smiled and nodded. “Sure thing. I’ll go to the basement and start there. Are there any books down there?”

“Yeah, we’ve got a couple bookshelves down there. My dad absolutely loved to read. The basement door is through this room and is the second door on the left down the hallway.”

Sam headed that direction while you scanned the books. You were seeing about every author known to man, with every possible title but nothing that would alert you to the Men of Letters. You remembered the symbol that had been on the papers in the file about you, and decided to re-scan the books to check for that symbol.

Meanwhile, Dean had made it upstairs, still knocking on each wall. He’d taken to knocking on every wall instead of just the bare ones, in case a bookshelf or a desk or dresser was blocking the door to the secret room.

He trampled back downstairs where you were just finishing with your bookcase. You’d even taken some books out and checked them to make sure they weren’t cut out and hiding anything.

Dean came up behind you and said, “No luck on the first or second floor. Where’s Sammy? The basement?”

As he asked, the two of you heard Sam yell, “Hey guys! I found something!”

You led Dean quickly to the hall and down the stairs. The light was on downstairs and Sam was holding a book in his hands next to one of the bookshelves. He held it up with a knowing look on his face. It was the symbol of the Men of Letters. You laughed with glee. “You found it!! Oh thank god!”

Dean immediately strode over to Sam and said, “If that book was in this case, let’s move the shelf and see if there’s a false wall behind here.”

Sam nodded and together they pulled the heavy bookcase away from the wall, grunting with the effort. You were impressed. That was a heavy ass bookshelf. Dean knocked on the wall behind it. It sounded hollow. They exchanged meaningful glances and Sam said, “Y/N, this is probably where we’ll need the key. Do you know where it might be?”

Your heart fell. You’d forgotten about the key. You had no idea where it might be. “Umm there’s a drawer of keys in the kitchen. It’s got keys for everything in the house. Rooms, safes, the house, etc. I guess we could start there?”

Dean stayed behind, running his hands along the fake wall, looking for a way to get through while Sam and you went back upstairs and to the kitchen. You pulled open a small drawer that looked like it was just decorative. “Smart,” Sam said. “I wouldn’t have guessed that that was a drawer.”

You smiled. “Yeah, Dad did that on purpose. It’s the one piece of input he had in this whole kitchen.” You chuckled a little at the memory of when your parents were remodeling it, arguing about the size and placement of various drawers.

Rifling through it, you looked for a key you didn’t recognize. Unfortunately, you didn’t recognize several of them. What kinds of secrets did your dad hide? Your face fell. “I don’t know. There are a lot that I’m not sure of.”

Sam thought for a minute and asked, “Where are your bowls?”

“Next to the fridge,” you answered, confused.

He pulled out a bowl from the cupboard and then grabbed a handful of keys and dropped them in the bowl. “When in doubt, try all of them!” He said with a laugh.

You smirked and grabbed the last couple keys and put them in the bowl. “Alright then,” you said. “Let’s do this!”

Once back downstairs, you noticed a hole where the wall had been. You were glad Sam was carrying the bowl, or you would have dropped it. Your jaw went slack. “What in the world…?” You trailed off, not believing your eyes.

Dean smiled proudly at himself. “The wall had a push spot. I pushed it and it flipped open. But there’s still a door here with a lock, like we predicted. Did you get the key?” His eyes widened slightly at the amount of keys in the bowl when Sam brought it closer, and then laughed. “That’s one way to do it,” he chuckled.

Grabbing the first key, you attempted to get it in the lock. “Oh lord, it’s not even close to a fit. Are there any really small ones? This is a tiny lock!”

Sam fished around and brought out two. “Here, try these,” he offered. You took them from his outstretched hand, ignoring the shock you felt when your fingers brushed his palm.

“No, they don’t fit either. The lock is even smaller than these,” you said in frustration after failing with both keys. You grabbed the locket around your neck for comfort. Your father had given it to you when you graduated college. It was maybe your most prized possession. The only time you took it off was to shower. Whenever you held it, you felt like you could feel his presence.

Dean’s eyes fell on your locket. “Hey, is anything inside that locket?” he asked.

“I don’t think so,” you said. “But I’ve never been able to get it open,” you confessed right after. “I’ve also never tried too hard, either. My dad gave it to me when I graduated around seven years ago. It’s very special to me.”

Sam looked softly at you. “May I?” he asked.

Oddly finding yourself trusting him, you looped the locket over your head and handed it to him wordlessly. He inspected the lock on it carefully after attempting to open it himself. His mouth dropped.

“It’s glued shut!” he exclaimed. He took out his knife and very carefully wiggled it to get through the glue. It was rock solid and took him more than a minute to get through it without damaging the locket. It suddenly sprang open; he’d clearly gotten enough off for it to open. A small key fell into his hand.

“Oh my god!” you almost yelled. “I can’t believe it! You got it open!” Sam handed you the key with a broad smile that showed off his dimples. “Give it a try,” he encouraged.

Trembling, you stuck the key in the lock. It clicked. Instinctively, you pushed, and into view came a big room, full of files, books, shelves, a desk and a table. On the wall was a giant Men of Letter symbol. Unable to get any words past your lips, you stepped in, not believing your eyes.

Sam and Dean followed you in, their eyes taking in every inch of the room. They grinned simultaneously and said, “This is how we get home.”

[dragons-socks]

Baby Bumblebee chptr 4

////////Six Months Later\\\\\\\\\

Bee was walking home from school. Lennox and Ironhide were hunting down Decepticons in Europe, so he didn’t really have a ride today, which was fine. He didn’t mind not going back to the house when Lennox or Ironhide wasn’t there. It’s not that Bee didn’t like Sarah or Annabell, but they just didn’t really get each other. Annabell tried to poke at every nerve Bumblebee had, just testing his patience. And Sarah either babied him too much or acted as if he should already know how to do some complex human thing.

And then there was school. Apparently, Sarah was right about his name. Though Bee still didn’t understand how a girl in his class can be named ‘jasmine’ after a flower, but to be called after the insect that lets that flower grow and flourish… that’s taking it too weird? Not to mention no one in the institute knows morse code, and only a few, including his teacher know sign language. The school said they’d set him up with an interpreter. That has yet to be seen.

“Oh, hey, you’re Honey Bee, right?” Bumblebee jumped as a boy his physical age tapped him on the shoulder. Bee pulled out a small keyring of flash card that said common phrases to help him interact with people who couldn’t understand his other forms of communications. He tapped on the one with his actual name on it. “Oh, well I’m Raven.”

Bee made a saluting gesture; instead of his hand being horizontal and pushed in front of him, his palm was vertical and facing out while his hand moved away to the side of his temple. Then, Bee finger-spelt the boy’s name. Raven looked at his hands with wide eyes.

“Woah, you really can’t speak, can you?” Raven asked. Bee let out angry trills, glaring at the boy. He started to walk faster, getting away from the human. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that!”

Bee chittered, turning around and raising an eyebrow. You have one chance.

“I just didn’t want to believe Harvey. He’s always making up things about other people. My mom says he’s a bully.” Raven rambled. Bee nodded in agreement. Harvey was a larger kid in his class who kept trying to pick fights and make fun of Bumblebee. Bee would hand the kid’s ass to him, but he was still an Autobots and harming humans was still a big ‘no’ in his books. “We should be friends. I see you like Voltron. My favorite is the red lion, but the yellow one is alright too.”

Bumblebee shrugged, not knowing what this ‘Voltron’ was, but decided not to try to confuse the other with too complex interactions. This is the most pleasant conversation he’s had since being forced to partake in the human learning institution.

Soon Raven had to split off to go to his own home, but made Bee promise to meet up tomorrow to walk to school. Bee felt lighter for some reason, almost like he wasn’t so alone. Annabell picked up on his good mood as soon as he entered the house. A toy sailed through the air and whacked him in the forehead.

“Hey, Bee.” She smiled.

“Annabell, stop throwing toys. Go sit in the corner.” Sarah gawked. This turned into a ten minute scream-cry feast in which Annabell was forced to spend time in the corner for longer than her original sentence. Bumblebee was already set up at the table by this point, pulling out his homework. “How was school, Bee?” The woman said as she signed the words.

‘Good, I meet a new friend. His name is Raven.’ Bee signed, his feet kicking in the open air under the table.

“Oh, that’s nice, what did you guys talk about?” Sarah leaned over the counter, ruffling Bee’s hair. He huffed and waved her hand away.

‘He kept talking about some lion-show called Voltage or something? Said I liked it too, but I don’t know why he would think that.’

“You mean Voltron? Your bookbag is designed to look like one of the characters on the show. He probably thought you got the bag because you liked the show, not because it was yellow and black.” She explained, lifting up the bag in question. On the back in vinyl letters did read ‘Voltron’. “We could watch it. So you know what your friend is talking about.”

Bee shrugged at this. He’s tried to watch human entertainment, but nothing really caught his interest. Well, he’s only really seen whatever the Witwicky’s watched, and that was just through their living room window as he was parked in their driveway. Recently, Annabell has been making him watch her shows, which were all about learning numbers, colors, and being nice. At least she has her numbers and colors down.

“Yeah, it can be our thing, when you’re done with your homework we can watch a few episodes.” Sarah nodded to herself.

Annabell was returned from her sentencing. She shuffled up to Bumblebee, holding out the wooden block that she had thrown at him earlier.

“M’sorry, Bee.” She toed at the ground and gave him large puppy dog eyes. Bee huffed and took the block from her. He’s learned pretty fast to accept her peace offerings or have her throw another tantrum.

‘Yeah, I’m sure you are.’ Bee signed back. Annabell jumped around to her mom.

“Mom, what did he say?” Sarah shook her head at the young autobot. “He said, ‘apology accepted’.”

It didn’t take long to finish the easy equations or sentence structures his teachers assigned for his class. As soon as he put his work back into his bag, Sarah ushered him onto the couch and turned on their television.

“Get comfortable, sweetie, the first episode is the longest.” Bee wrapped himself in the yellow blanket that he’s since claimed as his own. As the episode went on, Bee found himself drawing parallels of his own life and the autobots to those of these characters. He was so immersed into this stupid cartoon that he didn’t even notice that Lennox had arrived and sat down next to his wife. Not until the episode was paused.

‘HEY!’ Bumblebee turned to Sarah, jumping a little when Lennox was also there.

“Hey to you too, kid.” Lennox said, his voice thick and his face contorted into worry. Bumblebee sat up.

‘Is Ironhide okay?’ Bee signed, trying to twist out of his cocoon to get a better look outside for the mech.

“He’s fine, Bee. But I do have some bad news. The Decepticons found the base. The Autobots had to be relocated and for your safety, we might not be getting their new location.”

‘But what about Ironhide? He still needs Energon to function. How will I find them once we’ve figured out how to change me back?’ Bee asked.

“They don’t think there’s a cure for you, Bee. Optimus thought it best to cut ties. Don’t worry about Ironhide. We’re still going to get shipments of Energon for him.” Lennox pulled Bee into his chest. Bee didn’t have room to sign his frustrations, but he also didn’t have energy to fight off his prison of warm arms. Instead he let Lennox’s voice swirl around his own thoughts that wanted to drown him.

_______________

Bee slipped out of the house. The moon, street lamps, and his blinking shoe steps were his only light to navigate out of the neighborhood and try to find his way back to Optimus. The mech might not want him, but that was where he belonged, and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

It wasn’t the first time that he realized that walking was much more time consuming than driving. This was just another time that the notion ingrained itself into his head. This was the first time Bumblebee found himself walking for a long time after sunset. It seemed to take longer in the dark. It took so much longer to reach the school than it usually does.

Maybe it wasn’t the darkness of night that had Bumblebee shuffling his feet. Maybe it was the thought of seeing Optimus and the others after a month of not seeing them. Maybe it was the knowledge that this was in direct opposition of Optimus’s orders. This is the most rebellious he’s been in a long time. Bumblebee finds his feet stopping. He looks around and realizes he’s walked himself all the way just a house past Sam’s. The chill has already settled into his skin, but he’s just noticed his minutely shivers. His teeth are chattering, and he feels tired seeping into the very marrow of his human bones. His feet and legs ache. It must have been half the night gone by now.

A rumbling sound brings the rest of the world back into focus. Cars race towards him, screeching to a halt and boxing him in. At first he thinks its normal bad humans, until he recognizes the cars and notices the Decepticons’ insignias.

“I don’t get it.” Starscream’s voice is audible from his vehicular mode. “There is but a human child where the signal emits. No energon, no Autobots. Nothing.”

Bumblebee’s heart spikes. He backs away from Megatron’s right-hand. The other ‘Cons have switched back to their natural state. They leer down at Bumblebee. One even tries to grab at him. He rolls to the side, and books it for a crack in their formation. Breakdown snagged Bee’s leg, scooping him upside-down, before he could make it. Bee kept hissing and sputtering at the Cons, but they weren’t intimidated.

“It appears, Starscream, that the boy is the origin of the signal. Maybe Knockout’s weapon wasn’t as defective as we had first thought. This human child does have a striking resemblance to their mute scout.” Breakdown muses.

Bee lets out sharp whistles, hoping the sleeping humans around them will awaken, but its almost no use. His vision starts to blur as the Cons start moving away. He doesn’t know what to do. He starts pushing against the metal fist around his leg, but with each shove the only result is his palms getting hotter.

Bumblebee can feel in his gut that Breakdown is about to shift. He can hear the t-cog clicking its gears in the split second preparation of turning into the alt mode. Bee panics, pulling his arm as far back as he could and smacking hard onto Breakdown’s grip. Instead of being halted by the warm living metal, his hand pushed in with no resistance. A shot of blue energy cut a path from his hand to the open sky. Breakdown drops Bee on the ground in surprise. Bee is able to twist himself to land on his back rather than just his head. He ignores the searing pain of smacking into the asphalt and scrambles away from his capture. The other Cons make a quick double-back, but not before Bee is on his feet. His palms and fingers tingle from the heat, but are unharmed from the powerful blast-ray. Cons surround him. He pulls his arm back and lets out another blast, sweeping his arm in an arc and taking out a line of the enemies, and also some of the residential appliances.

“Bee?” It’s Sam’s voice as he scampers out of his house in a shirt and boxers. “Where’s Lennox? Why are you here?” Bee doesn’t answer. He can’t answer. He sidesteps a blast from the Cons. Its not enough, Bee is grabbed again. His arms are pinned to his side in Starscream’s hand.

“I’ve got him, retreat.” Starscream proclaimed, ignoring Bee’s chitters and Sam’s shouts. A ground bridge was opened a few feet away. Starscream watched his men walk into the portal before turning to Sam with a viscous grin. “Till the next time, Witwick-”

Bee was once again hitting the ground. His back is singing and his ears are ringing from the gunshot. His vision is blurry, but he can still make out Mikaela cocking back a rifle as Sam ran to him. Sam carefully moved Bee away from the Decepticon, who was clutching his shot-up hand. There was a moment where it looked like Starscream was going to exact revenge. Luckily the portal behind him started to close and if he wanted a ride back home he couldn’t fight the humans. Everyone sighed with relief until they looked down at Bee.

The worried shouts of his friends were cut short as Bee’s small body finally gave it quits and fell asleep.

[idk-maybe-i-did-it]

Scars: Year four, Chapter two

Remus Lupin x Reader

Warnings: Mentions of abuse, Implied abuse, bruising, implied/mentioned sexual assault/abuse,

Y/n's P.o.V.

It's about time to go to bed so we had to get changed. I'm honestly just going to sleep in what I have on because mother never gets me new clothes. I left the bedroom while the boys changed. " Okay Y/n, you can either get changed in the bathroom or we can leave while you change."

I shook my head and sat on one of the bean-bag chairs. Remus looked at me skeptically and James, Sirius and Peter cocked their heads to the side. " Aren't you gonna change?" I shook my head with a grimace. " Money's kinda short in my family so I only have a few things to wear. Not including nightwear."

Sirius and James looked at me weird.

"But, Y/n, your family is one of the richest pureblood families in London. Why wouldn't you have the mon- Oh, yeah." I gave him one of those looks and in one of the most sugary sweet voices I could manage, I said, " now he remembers." He had an 'I'm stupid' look on his face.

"Yeahhhh, sorry N/n. I just forgot for a minute there. You can wear one of Remus shirts or something though. I'm sure my mum wouldn't mind getting you new clothes either." I shook my head almost immediately and James shook his too. I sighed after James won our silent argument.

Remus went over to his trunk and pulled out a short sleeved shirt before handing it to me. I went to the bathroom and pulled off my shirt. I smiled once I put it on. I personally like shirts that fit a bit looser so wearing his shirt felt nice. And it was really soft.

I'm only an inch or two shorter than him so the shirt came down to a little above half my thigh.

Remus looked at me and James ruffled his hair before Remus got mad and attempted to fix his hair back. Sirius looked at me and I looked into his eyes. His walls came down and I could see it in his eyes.

Sirius Orion Black is abused.

He nodded his head in a way only I could see.

After staying awake and watching Sirius and James play chess and exploding snap Remus and I decided to just read. About halfway through my book I felt someone plop down beside me on one of the squishy pallets. I put the book down and looked at Sirius. He stretched his arms behind him before flopping down backwards. It's too quiet.

I looked around the room to see just Sirius and I. Soon I moved my gaze to him quizzically. As if reading my mind he said, " The others went down to get snacks and stuff. We tried asking you wether you wanted something but you looked like you were too absorbed in the book so I volunteered to stay back with you. Told the others I'd stay so you wouldn't freak out once you stopped reading. But, I have other intentions. Gimme your arm."

His face was firm and set, his hand extended as if waiting for me to give him my arm. I gave him a look of which I wouldn't've used around Mrs. Potter. His face became slightly more forceful before pulling my body to where we were sitting parallel to each other. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked me in the eye.

" Y/n, the whole, 'iron deficiency' thing isn't going to fool everyone. Now hand me your arm." 

I stared at him in shock before he pulled my arm. " Most people would easily be fooled by the iron deficiency slip up thing but from the eyes of someone who's abused, it's much harder to fool. I bet you have a bazillion more bruises and crap than these. Not going to push you to say anything though. I'm just going to say I'm here if you need to talk about anything like this. I'll understand and won't judge, okay? So don't hesitate if you need to talk about things dealing with this. And I know you're probably not allowed to tell anyone about this but, technically I figured it out. I want to tell the boys but if you don't want me to then I won't. Okay?" He released my arm and looked up at me. I managed to nod my head before he sighed and stood up. I took the hand he had extended and pulled myself up with it. A single tear rolled down my face and Sirius pulled me into a hug. We simply sat together by the bean bags until the boys came back with snacks. Eventually we had to go to bed. I was on the one farthest left and Remus was closest to me.

But I couldn’t sleep, At least not with memories flashing through my brain.

Horrible ones.

Mother had just gotten home from the local wizarding pub and brought one of her male friends back with her. Tonight was not going to be fun. She took one look at me and scoffed before leading the male to the living room where they started talked which developed to eating each other's faces off.

While internally gagging, I started on food. Hoping to goodness I didn't burn anything. Once finished I made their plates and placed them on the table before I heard moaning. Great, they're having sex on the couch. I went over and, without looking, told them dinner was ready.

I stealthily grabbed a blanket and, after they put clothing back on, placed the blanket on top of where they had done the dirty. Gross. Mother came and ate before beating me bloody while the guy was in the shower; leaving me to clean the mess she made up. Slowly, I pulled myself up and crawled my way over to the counter before standing up and propping my arm against the counter and wiping the bloody mess up.

I fell down to the floor and started crawling to the stairs before I felt a pair of strong arms lift my body up. Someone brought me upstairs and to my bedroom before laying me down and leaving. The stranger got a rag and wiped off the blood before putting a potion of some sort down my throat and all the pain went away.

The stranger poured another one down my throat and if I hadn't been half conscious from blood loss I would've smacked him but, I could barely keep my two eyes open. Everything became a haze and I couldn't really tell what was happening.

The last thing I could remember were someone's cold hands roaming my naked body

Then,

everything went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I had been washing the table before I felt a fair of arms yank me and push me against a wall, pinning my waist against the wall while slowly dragging a wand  over the flesh of my shoulder. He murmured a few words and instant pain spread all over my shoulder, I could feel the cold blood seeping down my arm. Quite suddenly, I was thrown down against the floor and someone muttered 'Mufliato' before pointing the wand at my and yelling, 'Crucio'.

I jerked awake with a start and came face to face with Remus who was leaning over me worryingly while dabbing my face with a moist rag. Before I could register what was happening I could feel Remus wiping unknown tears from my face. Gently, he helped me move from my pallet to against the wall. He put a hand to my forehead and felt it.

" You were burning up with a fever and murming for something along the lines of 'stop'. I thought it was a nightmare and put a rag against your head, trying to wake you."

He put the rag back against my head and pulled me into his chest; holding me comfortingly and protectively. He pulled my legs into his lap which in turn pulled me too. It was just my luck that Remus was the only one to wake up and it also made sense. I buried my face in his chest and could feel tears brimming my eyes, I struggled to hold them back.

Remus adjusted his hold on me and started rubbing my back while whispering encouraging things in my ear like, ' it'll be okay', ' you're safe now', 'it's okay to cry'. Eventually I gave in and started crying my heart out while burying my head in his chest. I'm starting to be glad that Remus was the one who woke up. He was the closest one to me, meaning if one of them was going to wake up from my silent sobs it would be Remus.

He put his chin on my head and continued to soothe me while I cried. It had been forever since I had cried. Eventually we fell asleep, curled in upon each other's grip.

James's P.o.V.

I woke up because of a sharp pain in my side. Then, I leaned over and put my glasses on.

Okay turns out it was just Sirius poking me with his wand. " What the hell Sirius!" I whisper-yelled. He shushed me and pointed to where Y/n and Remus were laying. They were in the corner on the ground laying together, his arms wrapped around her frame, her head on his chest, her leg over his and almost wrapped around his hip. But, they were laying on the floor together and it looked as if he were trying to comfort her or something.

They looked kind've cold. I turned my head to Sirius, " Should we put a blanket over them or give them a pillow or something Sirius?" He looked at me before going to grab a few pillows while I went and took a blanket out of the hallway cupboard. Sirius held them up while I slid the few pillows under their heads and we both grabbed the corners of the blanket before carefully pulling it overtop them.

We silently high-fived before looking at the clock. 8:30. Only about thirty-forty five minutes before mum would call us down for breakfast. Sirius and I started getting dressed before Peter awoke. After he got ready and saw Y/n and Remus we made sure the lights were off and they were asleep before heading down for breakfast.

Y/n looked like she could do with a good nights rest.

And it's starting to worry me.

———————

Drop a vote, drink some water, eat some food and remember You Are Loved!

^ - ^

[crowdedimagines]

Sleepover - David Dobrik

Living with David was one of the best moves for your relationship. Being close and always coming home to each other was perfect after busy days of work.

I first met David through Natalie. I grew really close with her when we were both sent by brands to go on a trip to Hawaii. Neither Natalie or I knew other people on the trip so we became close. After we came back, we kept in contact. After becoming so close so quick it felt weird not talking to each other constantly. I’ve never made a best friendship so quickly. It didn’t take long for me to meet David after that. I didn’t want to like him at first, but he’s so persistent and sweet. We started dating a few weeks after meeting. Now it’s been a year since I met Natalie and I’ve moved in.

“I’m home!” I cheer, walking into the house. I kick off my shoes at the door, David is sitting in the living room with a movie on the TV.

“How was your day?” David asks, pausing the movie turning to look at me.

“It was good. Lots of good meetings for future projects.” I run a hand through his hair, ruffling it slightly.

“That’s exciting.”

“Where’s Nat?” I ask, it’s almost time to get dinner so it’s odd to not find her out here.

“In her room. It’s been a rough day for her.”

“What? What are you talking about?” I ask shocked.

“I don’t know, she won’t talk to me. She’s just in a mood.”

I roll my eyes knowing that there must be something upsetting her.

“I’m gonna go check on her.” I pat David’s chest before walking to Natalie’s room. I knock softly on the door.

“David, I told you I don’t want to talk to you.”

“What if I’m not David?” I ask, letting myself in.

She nods and scoots over on her bed which I take as an invitation to join her. I lay down parallel to her and face her.

“What’s going on?”

She pauses for a couple seconds before diving into everything that’s going on that’s upsetting her. A mixture of issues with her family back home, ex boyfriends, and overall life sucks are what produce the ‘bad mood’.  

“What can I do to help?” I ask after we’ve talked for a while.

“Nothing.” She sniffles, “I’m fine. Just go back and hang out with David tonight.”

“Well, obviously that’s not happening.” I roll my eyes with a smile, “You were my friend before anything else with him. I love you, Nat. I think we need a girls night.”

“Girls night?” She smiles slightly.

“Yeah, movies, cookie dough, face masks. Let’s have a girls night.” I grin, getting more and more excited.

“David is just going to want to join in because he loves you. My best friend stole my other best friend.”

I never looked at it that way. Natalie was the one who brought us together and made us close. I never thought she felt left out because we started dating.

“I’ll handle David. You just pick your favorite movies to watch later and meet me in the kitchen. We’ll make our cookie dough and then we’ll have a sleepover in your room.”

Natalie gets excited with the idea and starts looking through movies on Netflix. I get off her bed and go back out to the living room where David is still seated.

“I need a favor.” I sit down in front of him, making him pause his movie yet again.

“What is it?” He smirks, his mind automatically going to a dirty favor.

“Not like that.” I roll my eyes. “I need you to go to our room. Like for the rest of the night.”

“What?” He asks, suddenly very confused with the request.

“Natalie has a lot of stuff going on and she needs a girls night.”

“Well, I can just-”

“No, baby.” I place a hand on his leg, “She’s already talked to me about how she feels like she kinda lost both of her best friends because we started dating.”

“I had no idea she felt that way.”

“Me either. So I need you to stay in your room all night.”

I start dragging David up off the couch and pushing him in the direction of our room.

“I haven’t even had supper yet.” He argues.

“I’ll order you Chipotle.”

“Ugh, I love you.” He groans.

“I love you too.”

I peck his lips quickly and pull the door shut behind me. I get all of the ingredients we’ll need and Natalie comes out and we start baking.

“What movie did you pick?” I ask, we sit down on the couch, both of us with a small bowl of cookie dough.

“13 Going on 30.” She grins, we’re both happy with her choice of a rom com classic.

I bring David his food and we watch a couple more movies before we decide to go to her room and set up for the night with face masks.

“Hey.” I walk in to see that David is still up editing.

“Hey, ready for bed?”

“I’m crashing in Natalie’s room.” I smile.

“What?” He asks, yanking out both of his headphones to give me his full attention.

“It’s a girls night. Usually that includes a sleepover.”

“We all live in the same house.” He rolls his eyes.

“Exactly. So if I slept in here tonight, it would just be like any other night.”

David can’t argue with that. I change into a pair of shorts and a clickbait shirt that is a couple sizes too big. I brush my teeth and come out of the bathroom to catch David still pouting.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” I lean in and press my lips against his in a kiss that he doesn’t reciprocate.

“Hey, don’t pout. I’m only going to be twenty feet away.”

This time David connects our lips in a kiss before I leave. I come in to Natalie’s room to see she’s already in her pj’s too and has a variety of face masks for us to use.

“I want this one!” I say after picking one that sounds like it’ll help with some of the issues I have.

We both walk into her bathroom to apply the masks and set a timer for fifteen minutes.

“So, how is it living with David?” Natalie asks once we’ve settled on the bed again.

“What are you talking about? You live here too, you know it’s good.” I laugh.

“I know, but if we didn’t and we were having girls night we would be talking about boys. Since I have no men in my life right now, we have to talk about you.” She smirks.

“It’s been really good,” I give in, “I was nervous, I’ve never lived with a boy before, but he’s made it kinda perfect. It makes me so happy to be able to come home to him. To both of you guys really. How often do you get to live with your two best friends?”

“How do you see it with him long term?” She questions, her brows raised.  

“What like marriage?” I laugh, but her quick nod shuts me up, “I don’t know. I could totally see myself spending the rest of my life with him and building a family with him, but I am in no rush. I’m good for a couple years.”

Natalie nods to agree with me. We stay up late, it feels like when we first started being friends. We still have endless things to talk about and discover about each other. We put on another romantic comedy to fall asleep to. Natalie crashes in almost the first five minutes of the movie and I crash not long after that.

The next morning waking up in Natalie’s room is different. It felt like I should be cuddled up against David, but he’s down the hall.

“Good morning.” Natalie says, smiling looking over her phone.

“Since when are you a morning person?” I groan, pushing my face back into the pillow.

“Since when are you anti-morning?” She quips back.

“Since my boyfriend has completely trashed my sleeping schedule.”

I feel Natalie get up from the bed and open her door.

“Well, if you get up now I might have postmated some pancakes from our favorite diner.” She sings, walking away.

“No way!”

I push off all of the blankets and follow the sweet smell of pancakes that are just hitting me. David is already sitting at the table, digging into his take out box.

“Morning.” I lean in and press a kiss to his cheek.

“Hey.” He grins back.

“How was your sleepover?” He asks, taking a big gulp of orange juice.

“It was a lot of fun!” I smile.

“What did you guys do?” He shovels in another bite.

“We watched movies, baked, did facemasks, had some girl talk, and then crashed.” Natalie summarizes.

“Girl talk? Does that mean you talked about me?” David smirks proudly.

“Duh.” I grin.

“All good things I hope?”

“Always.”

~

i hope yall loved this concept as much as i do

[kor-ra]

Fun challenge for you based on your recent tags: Explain to me, someone who has never watched a single episode of the 100, why you ship Bellarke? I am curious, and I'm hoping this is entertaining for you to do lol

Oh gosh ok you asked for it, the flood gates have been opened. Sorry this took so long to answer but I wanted to explain it in the best way I could (or at least try to). I’m going to do a short version and a long version so people don’t have to read my entire explanation lol. Also I’m only going over the plot as it relates to their story, so there will probably be some holes.

Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake are soulmates, plain and simple as that. The growth that they have had since the first season till now has been a long and winding road. They were enemies then became co leaders then best friends and now are (hopefully) on track to admitting that they love each other. The amount of parallels the show draws between them is insane and they both have such a profound understanding of each other due to their shared leadership role and constantly being the person that the other one goes to when they need someone to comfort them. Time and time again they choose each other, even during some of the most difficult decisions they will ever have to make. Their growth almost always comes back to how they influence each other to try and be better people. Canonically, they make better decisions when they are together: The Head and the Heart. They cannot exist as their full selves without each other in their lives because their lives have become so intertwined with each other that they are fundamentally different people when they’re apart. No matter how often they’re apart, they always find a way back to each other. And if nothing else, the gazes and longing hugs that they give each other just oozes love and understanding.

Ok that was the short version. Here’s the Long Version🤪

Ok so Bellamy and Clarke definitely did not start off this way. From the very first episode they are at each other’s throats. Clarke is trying to be the practical leader to get these kids to survive while Bellamy is the dynamic leader inspiring these kids to “do whatever the hell they want”. They don’t see eye to eye and Bellamy even says he’s willing to cut off Clarke’s hand to get what he wants. This doesn’t change until 1x03 when Bellamy sees Clarke mercy kill Atom, another kid on Earth.

This girl, who he thought was a pampered princess, was able to make this tough decision while he couldn’t. After that they begrudgingly try and coexist together. Then “Day Trip” happens and Bellamy and Clarke go off on their own and almost die by a rogue delinquent. They kill him and while they’re recuperating Bellamy wants to run away from all the hardships and mistakes that he’s made. Instead of holding it against him, Clarke gives him forgiveness (“if you want forgiveness, I’ll give it to you ok, fine you’re forgiven”)

For the first time they are truly vulnerable with each other and make their first decision to lead together. This is the turning point. From then on they co lead together, sharing the burden and responsibilities of leadership and being the person that the other depends on. They don’t always get along but they learn to rely on each other. The season ends with them separated at the end of their first big battle. Clarke closes the drop ship door to save her people from the enemy and she thinks he didn’t survive the blast outside

S2

Bellamy and Clarke are separated (a common occurrence that you will soon find out) Clarke is trapped in Mt. Weather and although the rest of her people are comfortable there, she is determined to get out and find out if the rest of her people -cough cough Bellamy- are alive. Bellamy likewise also starts to look for Clarke. Angst and drama ensues, but the important part is that we get our first ever Bellarke hug and man is it a good one (and an absolute fan favorite)

Like Bellamy is so stunned by the way she RUNS and wraps her arms around him and slowly after the shock hugs her back. But this hug cements just how important they’ve become to each other. From here on out they protect each other. Bellamy saves Clarke from being poisoned, he volunteers to go into Mount Weather and Clarke (originally) violently opposes it saying that “She can’t lose him to” in reference to losing the boy she loved, among other things (imo this is when Bellamy starts to develop real feelings for Clarke). Finally towards the end of the season when they face off against the “big baddie” they have to make the choice to kill hundreds of innocent people among the guilty to save their own people. An impossible choice, and Clarke being the self sacrificial puppy that she is wants to “bear it so they don’t have to”. But Bellamy won’t let her do that, they’re going to share that heavy burden. And they pull the lever together

So they return home, people rescued and the guilt hanging high above their heads. But for Clarke the guilt is too much to bear and she tells Bellamy that she has to leave. And Bellamy BEGS her to stay, even repeating that same line that she said to him in the beginning of the show. However, she leaves him and her people behind, which would lead them both down a path of hurt.

S3

And hurt they do. Clarke leaving didn’t fill the hole of guilt in her heart, and Bellamy was left to (try lol) and heal his broken heart on his own. I will also say that both Clarke/Bellamy get their own significant other with Lexa/Gina respectively and this is because (imo) they both go down paths where the other is not in the picture I’m so certain that if they stayed togehter, they would’ve been together and that’s why they’re always separated. But then for the first time in the 3 months since she left, Bellamy finds Clarke, while she’s being taken captive and literally DROPS EVERYTHING to rescue her. When he finds her it is the most tender thing.

This is soon interrupted when Roan (her captor) comes back and Clarke BEGS him to save his life, saying “I’ll do anything. I’ll stop fighting just please don’t hurt him.” Bellamy gets stabbed in the leg and and Clarke and Roan get away. Unlike a normal person, Bellamy Blake is hopelessly in love and devoted to Clarke so he STILL TRIED TO GO AFTER HER WITH A HOLE IN HIS LEG AND WE GET THIS BEAUTIFUL SCENE RIGHT HERE

Cut back a little while later Clarke is safe in Polis with Lexa, trying to unify their two clans and Bellamy finds her again. He tells her to come back to Arkadia (their home) but she says she needs to be here (in Polis). This breaks his heart and is what sets him literally down a VERY DARK PATH of murder to try and justify a war (complicated stuff, what matter is he fucks up). Clarke eventually does come back to Arkadia only to find a very angry and heartbroken Bellamy who tries to justify his actions (You Left Me). They have a very Bellarke™ talk full of emotion and love.

And just when you think everything is going to be alright, he handcuffs her to a chair lol. And they spend a good chunk of the season apart.

When the going gets tough however, they know that they need each other. And after episodes of not speaking to each other they have another one of their Bellarke™ talks and hugs where Bellamy says “I was so mad at you for leaving. I don’t want to feel that way anymore” And then they hug like this, like c’monnnnnnn platonic my ass.

I’m going to speed up for the sake of getting to more stuff. But they end season 3 as they always do, fighting the evil together. Other highlights include Clarke’s (brainwashed) mom using Bellamy as her 1st choice to sacrifice in front of Clarke. There’s also a cute hand holding scene hgngnghngg

For all the angst however, this is the first season when other people call them out on their feelings (mainly Bellamy’s tho) for each other well Octavia already called him out during the first hug but that doesn’t count because She knows him too well. His other friends call him out for not being devoted to his old girlfriend Gina (who died) and Murphy comparing his feeling for Emori (his CANON love interest) to Clarke.

S4

Ok, I know a lot of this post has been focused on Bellamy’s feelings and that’s mostly because Clarke has had a love interest in every season so she hasn’t had time to recognize her own feelings. However during s4, we get to see the extent of just how much Clarke means to Bellamy as well. There are a lot of moments in this season so I’m just going to try and focus on the big ones/my faves.

(This isn’t super important, but in the 1st episode of s4, Clarke is still grieving her gf Lexa who died and IMMEDIATELY AFTER, we get a cut to Bellamy like way to be subtle guys. no platonic explanation for this edit)

Ok basically what you need to know about s4 is that the world is going to end by a nuclear radiation cloud thingy called Praimfaiya and it’s up to Bellarke (along with some other peeps lol) to save everyone from it. So one of the things Clarke has to do is write a list of 100 people to choose for a potential bunker. So of course Clarke puts Bellamy on spot 99 but can’t bring herself to write her own name. So Bellamy who is sleeping on the couch wakes up because his Clarke is sad sirens are going off to tell her to put her name down. (If I’m on that list, you’re on that list) Still she can’t do it sO BELLAMY DOES IT FOR HER (because this boy needs her to be with him). and then he puts his hand on her AND SHE LAYS HER HEAD ON HIS HAND....so tender.

Ok so a few episodes later Bellamy (and Kane) get held hostage and Clarke has to sacrifice part of a large shelter that they need to escape Praimfaiya for them, it’s a tough decision but one that Clarke obviously makes. (Literally the only reason Bellamy was even taken was because Roan knew how much he meant to specifically Clarke). I can’t find a gif, but trust me it’s worrisome

Ok god next episode is when we start getting into that high stakes shit (THAT I LOVE). So basically Clarke and Bellamy are going to be separated AGAIN and right before he leaves Bellamy says this

LIKE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ARGUE THAT HE WAS NOT ABOUT TO CONFESS HIS LOVE TO HER LIKE CMON PEOPLE LOOK AT EVERY TROPE OF THIS EVER. Clarke of course was like “No, we will see each other again” but uhufhdjejdwkndwk he was going to say “I love you” in my book

Ok now towards the end of the season, most everyone in Skaikru is in this Bunker except for Octavia and most of the grounders (people on earth who survived the original radiation). I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned this yet but Octavia is Bellamy’s younger sister and throughout the show he has sacrificed so so much for her and risked a lot of things to keep her safe. So now when Bellamy learns that Octavia is alive and outside the bunker he rushes to open the door for her. But here’s the catch: if they open the hatch, there’s a chance the radiation is bad and everyone in the bunker (THE HUMAN RACE) would die. However, because Bellamy needs to save his sister he’s willing to take that risk. For Clarke, that isn’t though and POINTS A GUN at him. But Bellamy says if she shoots she’s “going to have to make it a kill shot”. AND SHE CAN’T BRING HERSELF TO SHOOT HIM. CLARKE CANNOT KILL BELLAMY EVEN IF IT MEANT SAVING THE HUMAN RACE. Of course it was fine but still man c’mon.

And then later in order to try and lighten the mood, when they’re trying to drive the rover, Bellamy makes Clarke laugh and IS SO DISTRACTED BY HER SMILE HE CRASHES THE CAR. ok moving on

OK HERE IS THE BIG LEAGUE MY FAVORITE BELLARKE SCENE IN THE SERIES. So Bellamy and Clarke have this big heart to heart cause Clarke thinks she’s gonna die and it is the softest scene ever. So Clarke, thinking she’s going to die says “You’ve got such a big heart Bellamy. People follow you, you inspire them because of this (his heart). But the only way we’re gonna make sure we survive is if you use this too (his head aka what Clarke represents in their relationship” AND TO THAT RESPONDS “I got you for that” IN THE MOST TENDER WAY LIKE THEY’RE SO IN LOVE. And also they have one of the best bellarke hugs of the show.

So Bellarke and like 6 of their friends head off to the space station to avoid the death wave. However, the satellite that allows them to get in isn’t working, so Clarke sacrifices her self to go and fix it while the rest of her friends can go to space. Bellamy makes the HEARTWRENCHING DECISION to leave her behind in order to save the rest of his friends from the death wave. So Spacekrew go up to the station to wait 6 years until Earth becomes habitable while Bellamy grieves Clarke’s death.

Except she’s not dead

Clarke has special blood called “nightblood” that made her immune to the radiation. She spends the next six years on the only available plot of green land left with her adoptive daughter Madi (who has nightblood and she found when she survived the radiation.) So for the next 6 years CLARKE CALLS BELLAMY ON THIS RADIO EVERY DAY. This radio doesn’t even work, but Clarke calls him anyways to keep her sane and (imo) this is when I truly think Clarke realizes the depth of her feelings for Bellamy, because I for sure wouldn’t call my platonic buddy EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for 6 years (THATS 2199 DAYS) like c’mon

S5

Ok so 6 years have passed, and Clarke is waiting for Bellamy + Co (Spacekru) to come back to Earth. But before Spacekru comes back, another ship lands on Earth full of escaped prisoners who have been cryogenically frozen for the past like 150 years. So basically they come to Earth, capture Clarke and hold her hostage, while Madi (her adoptive daughter) escapes.

Literally a little while later Spacekru finds their way back to Earth and stumble upon Madi who tells them Clarke is alive, much to all of their shock but ESPECIALLY Bellamy (cause ya know the love of his life is back from the dead). So he goes to find and rescue her his wife from the prisoners. When he finds her they threaten to shoot him on sight, but he has leverage. He can send a signal back to the spaceship so, he trades 283 lives in order to save Clarke because of course he does.

Bellamy and Clarke finally have their moment to reunite 6 years in the making and it’s as soft and sweet as you could ever expect it to be and they have another one of their classic Bellarke™ hugs.

Ok so happy ending now for them right? They’re finally back together !!! Well NOPE because after Bellamy was done grieving Clarke he got himself a girlfriend :))))))) named Echo (context Echo was an assassin/spy the “bad guys” until end of s4, then she went up to space w/ them) but Bellamys whole schtick is forgiveness, which he learnt from Clarke COUGH COUGH . Anyways when Clarke sees them making out for the first time she is let’s just say ~taken aback~

and the second time she sees them she looks straight up heartbroken !!!

Now that Clarke has finally realized her feelings for Bellamy he’s with another girl :///// But Clarke still holds a very dear position in Bellamy’s heart and we see that when he confronts his sister. Remember Octavia? The sister who he would do anything for??? Well now she’s kinda lost her marbles and became an evil dictator when she was leading everyone in the bunker. So now due to ~plot~ Octavia wants Clarke dead. Bellamy CANNOT have this happen. I mean he just got her back !!! And he pleads for Octavia to save her life and Octavia says this

HIS SISTER WHO KNOWS HIM BEST (well besides Clarke lmao) CALLED HIM OUT ON HIS FEELINGS. And the best part is that Bellamy doesn’t even try to deny it. Then he says “I can’t let you kill Clarke , O” AND PROCEEDS TO POISON HIS SISTER. THE ONE WHO HE HAS RISKED HIS LIFE FOR LIKE FOREVER (she doesn’t die tho) Bellamy choses Clarke over her without hesitation, and that has come a long way my friends. 

Ok while, we’re riding this high it gets kinda worse. So, remember Clarke’s adoptive daughter Madi? Well now Spacekrew wants to put this thing called the flame (ok sorry I glossed over it before but it’s really important to the show, I just hate it !) which all previous leaders of the grounder people had, in Madi’s head because she’s the ~destined~ leader (it’s confusing I know just roll with it). Clarke is like fuck no because she also hates the flame (queen) and doesn’t want Madi to become a leader and carry that burden. So Bellamy locks Clarke up to get to Madi, but then Clarke grabs Madi and leaves Bellamy to die in Octavia’s apocalyptic fighting pit to fend for his life.

Not looking great right? Bear with me for a moment lol. So flash forward to the end of the season and one of the prisoner dudes accidentally sets off a bomb that’s going to destroy the one green valley that was left. Bellamy is pissed at Clarke for leaving him to die, but Clarke was only trying to save Madi but doesn’t know how to fix this. Then Madi (our mini bellarke shipper) tells Bellamy how important she is to him. Like this girl probably watched her make these calls every morning, SHE KNOWS

And just like that Bellamy cannot be mad at Clarke anymore, because he realizes the bond and isolation and dare I say LOVE she must have for him to do that. So they all make it back up to space as Earth explodes for the 2nd time (RIP). So remember that prision ship with cryogenic pods? Yea so now basically everyone who is on Earth is going to rest in these pods until Earth heals itself. Except it doesn’t (at least not in the 10 years they had hoped for). So two of Bellarke’s friends and couple named Monty and Harper stay awake and spend their remaining years finding another planet to live on. And when they find one 125 years later guess who they picked to wake up first. You guessed it, the co leaders themselves Bellarke. So they have a tender moment watching the sun rise over this new planet

S6

Ok this is the last season before we’re caught up but my god it’s a big one for Bellarke. Ok so the season starts off on this new planet and everyone is distrustful of Clarke for what she did on Earth to protect her daughter and make ONE personal sacrifice when she sacrifices everything for everyone all the time god Anyways, on this new planet due to this like “red sun” they hallucinate on the surface and Bellamy says to Clarke “I don’t need you anymore Clarke”(remember this it’s important). After the red sun fiasco, the actual residents of the planet show up (they were descended from an earthship that came there like 250~ years ago).

(I can’t believe I almost forgot to put this but Bellamy tells Clarke about the radio calls before they hallucinate and it’s such a whole some scene and helps to bridge the gap between them once more)

So the people show Bellarke + crew their customs which includes a ceremony where they repent and let go of their past mistakes. Clarke uses this to apologize to Bellamy for her actions as she declares to him “Hey, you’re my family too. I lost sight of that. But I promise I will never forget it again” like boyo that scene brings me to tears like fuck !!! and then once again they have a classic Bellarke™ hug and god it’s a GOOD one.

So yay, they’re on good terms !! That means something bad is about to happen again per usual. So it turns out the leaders of this group of people have been alive for 100s of years using these “mind drives” to back their consciousness up and put into new bodies when their current body dies (fun!). And take a guess as to who has the special blood and can be a new host :))))))))))

Clarke gets stolen and *dies* so Josephine can take over her body. While Josie!Clarke fools everyone for like an episode, guess who is the first to think ‘hey that’s not really Clarke’ ofc our boy Bellamy. AND THEN THEY GIVE BELLAMY AN ENTIRE EPISODE TO GRIEVE CLARKE LIKE HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO LOOKS THIS SAD THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE. way to be subtle JR

But then guess what !!! Clarke isn’t dead. She’s trapped in her own mind, but very alive. And you’ll never guess how Bellamy finds out. Josie!Clarke taps her fingers on her legs and Bellamy interprets it as morse code that translate into “ALIVE”. LIKE IMAGINE TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO SOMEONE THAT YOUR SUPPOSED DEAD WIFE BESTIE IS STILL ALIVE CAUSE SHE SENT YOU MORSE CODE, LIKE MY BOY I KNOW YOU LOVE HER BUT THAT’S QUITE A STRETCH.

Anyways, this sends Bellamy into overdrive mode, because goddamn it he is not losing her a 3rd time. Throughout the next episodes we see Bellamy prioritize Clarke over everyone, including his girlfriend Echo when she is in danger. He risks himself and even the lives of others to try and save Clarke to get Josie out of her head. And it all culminates to this masterpiece of a Bellarke scene.

Clarke’s heart stops and she won’t get up and Bellamy arguably becomes the most desperate he has ever been. He whispers, “the head and the heart” before LITERALLY BECOMING HER HEART AND PERFORMING CPR ON HER AND BANGING ON HER CHEST TO GET HER TO WAKE UP (HOW MUCH FURTHER CAN THEY TAKE THIS METAPHOR). Even when Octavia gives up, Bellamy yells at her that she’s not dead. “I need you” the first time he has openly admitted that he PERSONALLY needs her in his life. “You’re a fighter Clarke now get up and fight”. Clarke literally (in her mindspace) finds the will to get up and fight by hearing Bellamy’s voice. And like a miracle she wakes up and AN ICONIC AND BEAUTIFUL Bellarke™ hug occurs, even though it looked like she was literally about to kiss him !!!!!! Like tell me these aren’t heart eyes ?!!??!

So then for the rest of the few episodes Bellamy is still super protective of Clarke but they have to split up again because ~plot~. BUT WE HAVE ONE MORE GREAT HURT/COMFORT BELLARKE MOMENT IN THE FINALE. Clarke’s mother had just died, and who does she seek in a crowd for comfort: Bellamy...hopefully you know this by now. God they give each other such meaningful looks in this last scene and have another once again iconic Bellarke™ hug, but it’s a hug where they run into each other like from s2 !!!!! parallels

So they end s6 closer than ever and now we’re all caught up in the present to s7 and lemme be honest besides 7x11, it’s been a HORRIBLE bellarke season, but last episode has had things shake up finally god. So basically everyone assumed Bellamy was dead (including Clarke!!!), but *surprise surprise* he’s alive, but as they soon find out he’s been brainwashed by an evil cult. NOW IT’S CLARKE’S TURN TO SAVE HIM BY BEING HIS HEAD LIKE HE WAS HER HEART LAST SEASON (or I at least hope so). As of writing this post, Bellarke isn’t canon but I’ve been watching this show for 5 years and these two have such a hold on my heart it’s embarrassing, but I hope this explained to you why I and many others will be ridiculously obsessed when it comes to them hehe. Pray for us to be canon, we only have 5 eps left for this beautiful story to come to a conclusion.

[witchywinchester99]

Chris Evans Masterlist

One Shots

(Smut = *)

I Told You So - Chris has a thing for saying he told you so to you, he has a thing for. Between their close friendship, working together, and other relationships all standing in the way, pining after each other without realizing becomes commonplace.

For Your Safety - Chris always pushes you away because he doesn’t want you to have to be in the public eye and doesn’t want to hide a relationship.

Just Stop - Chris gets jealous of your relationship with Sebastian.

Sick - Chris takes care of you after having a heat stroke on set.

Fou d’amour - Chris takes you out in the middle of the night to finally get some alone time together.

Sunrise - You and Chris watch the sunrise at the beach after a twelve hour day of filming .

Mature - you guys have a 12 year age gap and overhears him saying stuff about their relationship and her

Faster Than You Can Fall Asleep - Chris and the you Skype while he’s away filming since they miss each other so much, but little does she know she won’t be missing him for long.

Just Wait - Chris returning home from wrapping filming on Avengers: Endgame.

Sleepy - You can’t sleep until Chris cuddles with you.

Hanging Around - Mornings spent watching John Mulaney on Netflix and afternoons making out on the couch are always fun, right?

A Weekend Away - Chris comes home to you who had a really rough day and suggests a long weekend away might do them some good.

“You Fell Asleep on my Shoulder” - During a plane ride Chris accidentally falls asleep on your shoulder but you don’t mind.

You Make Me Crazy - Chris gets jealous which leads to a fight.

Lost Without You - Chris is there for you after a bad day.

My Girl - Chris gets jealous when someone flirts with his girlfriend whose younger than him.

Before the Oscars - Fighting before attending the Oscars and not making up until afterwards.

Meeting Captain America - A day at Disneyland with Chris and his family. Only his nephew Miles gets excited to meet “Captain America”

Distance - You try to break up with Chris when the distance gets between you guys.

Early Mornings - Your to tired to care when pictures of you and Chris are taken at 6am on your way to Avengers: Endgame Press junket.

Red Lace* - Wearing red lace and Chris takes your virginity.

Headshot - You and Chris are moving in together. As you place the photo albums into a box, one of the photos falls out and you can’t help but tease Chris about it.

Comments - Chris’s gf posts a pic of her at the beach and guys are blowing up her comments & Chris gets irritated/mad

C’mere - Chris calms you down after a bad day.

Hangover - After coming back from a party in the middle of the night your hungover the next morning. He starts teasing you before having se, telling her that it’s the best way for hangover.

I’m Yours* - You get jealous and insecure after Chris shoots an intimate scene with his ex-girlfriend.

Too Tired - Chris and the you have a door-slamming, voice-raising, tear-filled kind of fight which ends with sleeping in separate rooms. Well, trying to until he realizes he can’t sleep without you.

The Kiss* - Making up after an argument

Phone Call - Chris gets a call in the middle of the night after you get in a car accident.

Leave Me Alone - Chris forgets your first anniversary together

My Mistake - You guys have a fight the night Chris planned to propose–but he’s been acting distant. You think he was cheating or falling out of love with you. You were very wrong.

“I can’t do this anymore” - You want to spend more time with Chris but when arguing he gets defensive and says he wants a break instead.

Perfect Night - Chris proposes while on a trip to Paris together

Change Your Ticket - Your boyfriend, Chris doesn’t want you to leave. So he’ll make sure you never have to leave again.

You - Telling Chris your pregnant after a rough patch in your relationship.

Happy Birthday - Telling Chris your ready to have a baby on his birthday.

Interviews and Special News - Chris and you are married and going through a round of press interviews, although the movie isn’t the only thing your worried about spoiling.

Lazy Day - A lazy day while your pregnant with Chris.

Pregnancy and Dogs - Dodger is protective of you when your pregnant

Baby Talk - Talking to your nine month old son like he’s on adult

Vaccine - Your daughter needs to get a vaccine shot and thankfully Chris is there to make it all better

Birthday Cake - It’s your daughter’s first birthday, and you wanted to make her first birthday cake.

Catwoman vs Captain America - You are married to Chris Evans, who is known for his role as Captain America from the Marvel Universe. You are an actress and landed the role of Catwoman from the DC universe. Of course a bit of rivalry will occur.

Not in Front of the Children - Chris and you spend the morning with your lovely little family. Between making breakfast, longing embraces, and sharing cute anecdotes of their daughter.

Series

Daddy Hair Care

Prologue - waking the morning after not knowing what happened after you went home with Chris

Surrender to Me

Prologue - You see Chris as more than a friend.

Headcanons

From friends to lovers

Being Younger & Dating Chris Evans.....

Dating Chris Evans Would Include.....

Taking your virginity

Being afraid that Chris won’t like you anymore because you’ve gained a little weight

Preferences

When You Like to Sleep in Inappropriate Positions and Places

Aesthetic

The Evans Family

Quotes

Talking about Brie Larson being Captain Marvel

Gif Sets

Interviews

Talking about his mom

“Being Good is in our nature”

Talking about Skydiving on Ellen

The Hollywood Reporter Photoshoot

Favorite drink - Men’s Journal

Chris + Plaid (2015/2019)

Award Shows

Presenting at the Oscars with Henry Cavill

On Set Captain America: The First Avenger (2010)

Pre Serum Steve mid transformation (pic)

Before We Go

“Thank You for not saying stupid”

On set of Gifted (2015)

Bts with McKenna Grace

On Set Of Avengers: Endgame (2017)

Bts of the funeral via Tom Holland

Avengers: Endgame Press Junket (April 2019)

With Chris Hemsworth at Shanghai Fan Event

Film Roles

2000 vs 2014

Not Another Teen Movie (2001)

The movie cellular (2004)

The Movie The Pefect Score (2004)

Puncture (2011)

Captain America: Civil War (2016) Gag Reel

Chris in Lobby Hero (March 2018)

Human Torch vs Captain America parallel

[clericbyers]

Can season 4 starts with Will making out with a guy in his bedroom (kind of like the mileven one) but they don't show us his face and then Joyce knocks at the door and Will starts panicking and shoves the guy into the closet. After a brief conversation with Joyce, Will close the door and opens the closet and there he is, Mike Wheeler smiling, with messy black hair, pink cheeks and puffy red lips waiting for Will to take him by the shirt and start kissing him again.

ooh mygodd OH MYGODDD

okay so like, episode starts off with landscape shots of the Byers’ new town, maybe the “Welcome to ___” sign is included as a parallel to show that this is very much not Hawkins. The sign isn’t spray painted, it looks clean and new, and this town is vibrant yet calm in a way Hawkins never was and never could be. The shot pans to a mailbox much like we had in 1x01 with the Wheelers and the mailbox reads “The Byers Residence.” Inside, we see El and Jonathan in the living room listening to music together as they sit on the floor and lean their backs against the couch. Jonathan is chatting about the song playing and El cocks her head but watches his hands and nods along before sifting through more of his records. She picks up a sleeve with bright colors and shows it to Jonathan, who perks and then starts laughing but we never know what about exactly as the camera moves on to where Joyce is setting up the dining table. There’s five forks in her hand despite the Byers family being four people and she’s humming lightly to herself as she starts platting the table with her freshly cooked meal. Joyce looks happier, less stressed with a healthier flush to her face as she moves about the room. She’s dancing a little to the music Jonathan is playing for El, mouthing some of the lyrics as she places the fifth plate down. Joyce scans her handiwork and then steps into the living room, watching Jonathan and El with a warm smile.

“Dinner is ready,” she interrupts with a softness, “is Will still in his room?”

El nods distractedly, still searching through Jonathan’s record collection. “He’s been in there all day.”

“I can go get him,” starts Jonathan but Joyce waves him off with a shake of her head.

“You two clean up a little and then sit yourselves for dinner; I’ll get him.”

El and Jonathan start cleaning up, still talking about music together, and Joyce takes a moment to take in their closeness, which allows the camera to off the trio to the hallway for a hallway shot. There’s music coming from this direction too, similar to classic rock Jonathan was sharing with El. Will’s muffled voice carries through the hallway and the camera switches to inside his room, where he’s rolling his eyes, obviously facing someone but the camera only shows Will’s face. His cheeks are flushed, hair ruffled and messy but in a way reminiscent of purposeful mishandling rather than just-woke-up bedhead. Will’s eyes flutter shut and he leans in while grabbing at someone’s face, murmuring something unintelligible that makes the other person laugh. His hand blocks enough view of the face of whoever he’s kissing (and the person’s hoodie is doing a good job covering the rest), but it’s Will’s left hand at that, the one with the calculator watch on his wrist.

A larger hand overlays Will’s and he kinda steps back from where they were standing in the middle of the room until his back hits his desk and then he pulls himself up so the angle is more straight ahead. The other person is muttering something between kisses and it makes Will pull him in closer by the collar of his hoodie and then suddenly the sound of knocking echoes through the room. With a quickness, Will shoves at the other person, clambers off the desk, yells, “give me a sec, Mom!”, and then scrambles to stuff the guy into his closet with a hushed apology.

Will straightens his clothes and hair as best he can and then opens the door trying to look like he hadn’t just had his tongue down someone’s throat ten seconds ago. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Dinner’s done; Jonathan and El are just waiting up on you.” Joyce takes in Will’s appearance and frowns. “Were you sleeping?”

“Huh?” Will rubs at his neck. “No. No, I was up. I was drawing.” He motions vaguely to his desk where papers are scattered from when he scrambled off the surface. “I’ll be there in a minute then.”

Joyce smiles and starts to walk away, but then quickly turns back to Will. “I forgot to double check if one of your school friends is coming over. I thought you said you’d have a guest over tonight. I already prepared a plate if so.”

Will shrugs, rubbing at his arms as he crosses them. He looks distracted, brows furrowed as if contemplating what he should say next. Joyce cocks her head. “Is that a no? I’m sure Jonathan wouldn’t mind splitting the plate.”

“No! I mean, yeah, I have a school friend. He’s in the bathroom right now. Probably will be out in a second.” Will smiles as innocently as he can without it seeming like too much of a cover up. “I’ll wait for him so he isn’t all confused and we’ll make our way over, yeah?”

“Okay then.”

When Joyce leaves, Will closes his door and leans against it with a heavy sigh, rubbing his hands down his face as he groans. He perks when he remembers he had stuffed that dude in his closest and rushes over to open the door, raising his eyebrows as he spots someone half-tangled in his hoodie, arms raised and crossed in the sleeves of the garment as he struggles to take it off.

“What are you doing?” Will reaches out to help peel off the hoodie, which leaves an argyle sweater underneath. “I still don’t know why you wanted to wear a hoodie over your sweater. It’s winter, yeah, but we have heaters in this house, you know.”

The guy shakes his head and hangs his head down as he starts rearranging his floppy hair. A calculator watch rests on his right wrist. The camera pans to Will, who is watching with amusement and fondness written all over his face. He reaches out and then the camera switches to Will’s hand reaching up to cup a pink flushed freckled cheek.

“Yeah,” a familiar voice starts and the camera pans up until Mike Wheeler’s face is shown in full, “but the hoodie makes me feel like you’re hugging me and I like that. Keeps me extra wam.” Mike bites his bottom lip and then ducks down to steal a kiss which Will accepts easily. “Didn’t your mom say something about a school friend?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I meet them?”

Will pulls away and tosses his hoodie toward his bed. “It’s you, doofus. You’re technically a school friend.”

“You could have just told Mrs. Byers I snuck in and stayed over all day.”

“First, you did not ‘sneak’ in; El invited you in while Mom was out.” Will plays with the collar of Mike’s sweater. “Second, I panicked a bit, alright? She would have been asking so many questions about why she didn’t know you were visiting all day, asking if everything was okay with you and Nancy and Mrs. Wheeler, or even me at that.”

“You say that like she’s still not gonna ask when she sees me at your side in a couple minutes.”

Will leans up to press a kiss to Mike’s cheek. “Yeah, but at least at dinner I’ll have you, El, and Jonathan as means to move the conversation.”

[bettycooperoutfitwatch]

4x02 Chapter Fifty-Nine: Fast Times at Riverdale High

Senior year!

Just a mere glimpse at this shirt—what looks to be a sleeveless pink polo. Echoes of the sleeveless shirt she wore at Pop’s in her first (fully-clothed) scene in 101. 

It’s possible Betty wore this skirt in 311, visiting Hal in prison, but it’s a little inconclusive. The platform pink Chucks are very familiar to us. 

(What are they projecting here??)

Catch me lusting over this cropped sweater. The navy cuff detail is quite nice. Notice Betty takes her ponytail out, literally lets her hair down, to celebrate with friends and toast to their senior year. 

And, you know, this. Everyone’s like awk, and I’m like, teenagers, Riverdale, etc, shrug. 

(This is a Natori Cherry Blossom bra, we saw one in the flash forward in 322 in a different color.)

Not the first time we’ve seen Elizabeth in a Jughead Jones S-shirt. 

Nor the first time she and Jug crashed out on a couch only to wake up in a tizzy. 

The lines of this outfit remind me of her drag race look (206): high-waisted jeans, a nipped-in waist, a crop top. I honestly adore this outfit—the red, white, & blue stripe ribbed shirt, cropped, the Chucks, the dark wash jeans. 

Gray envelope purse, first appeared on the scene in 219 and holding strong ever since. 

Guess Backpack 2.0 is still around. 

(Betty wore this collar in 209, Veronica wore it in 211, now we have completed the trifecta.) 

Betty only rarely breaks out a new purse, so it’s always an occasion when she does. 

Betty’s outfit and her blonde ponytail bring Bret Weston Wallis (l o l) to label her ‘very Sweet Valley High’—which for a brat like Bret, who participates in a salon discussion of Moby-Dick, is notably not high praise. Historically, Betty’s been underestimated by those who judge her visually. We know Betty isn’t a person to be trifled with; Bret’s sure to learn that in time. 

A+ coordination of the polka dots with the overalls, Elizabeth. 

Honestly, Betty’s read on this place isn’t wrong. I know prep schools, I went to one (albeit a Catholic one, which is a slightly different beast.) Additionally, Veronica states that there’s no school more ‘nihilistic and/or privileged’ than Stonewall. Things to remember...

There’s a lot to suss out about this storyline, and I’ve got a lot of thoughts on it already. But that’s Jug’s story; it’ll intersect heavily with Betty’s, given their relationship, so we’ll chat about it when it does. 

Kevin, still drinking milk, bless. 

This pink bomber (with a red stripe detail) first popped up in 305. Compare this Betty-confronts-Kevin-in-the-woods moment with the one we saw in 203 for an interesting, if difficult to parse, parallel. 

Ah, yes. This dress is probably why I started this blog. (We’ve come so far, guys.)

This is lightyears away from season 1 Betty, but it does have all the signifiers that would suggest this is the same person, just one at a different point in their life. It’s a sporty polo dress, it’s preppy. It’s even a color (goldenrod, mustard yellow, etc) we saw Betty play with early on in the show’s run. 

It’s in the details that we see growth. Her hair is down and tousled, casual, very different from the ponytail we used to see her in almost without fail. The ponytail hasn’t gone away (she wears it in this episode, frequently)—she’s just not as buttoned-up as she once was. Which, also: her cleavage is...glorious.  

I think these are the blue velvet Mary Janes she first wore in 211. 

Another crop top, and much bolder than what we usually see Betty in at school. I fully would have gotten detention for baring my stomach. Well—I would have gotten detention because I was out of uniform, but the cherry-on-top would have been the stomach-baring. The Sisters would have been scandalized (and my Sisters’ order was way more liberal than the Sisters of Quiet Mercy—stripped of their affiliation in Vatican II as they apparently were. But the Catholic Church has always historically tussled with the women who make up their orders. This is the strangest aside. ) 

Betty wore this skirt in 202 (giving Cheryl the shakedown) and then again in 316 (during that episode’s opening number.) The knit crop top evokes a sweater she wore briefly in 314, and yet another abstract animal-print motif sweater in 320.

Alexa play The Look of Love. 

Pink sling-backs, how coordinated. 

(You can tell it’s the same skirt from the center v-detail.)

(Defo FP’s kid.) 

Okay, yes, this top is accidentally see-through. It happens to the best of us, and it certainly can happen on a television set with bright-ass lights. Whatever, still cute. Also, it’s a Natori Feathers bra (also here). 

First saw this skirt in 202. Lotta repeat items and motifs in the ep, and yet it still feels fresh. There’s been growth. 

And then there’s our flash forwards. 

Everyone’s looking for Jughead in the woods, wearing these search party vests. Betty wore this zip-up in 316, while staking out the Farm (and also in 317 and 318, in a scene that bridges those two episodes.) 

I wonder what kind of before/after vibes we’ll get in wardrobe with these flash forwards, if any. Season 4 is the first of these Outfit Watch posts I’m not doing retroactively, so it’s a new kind of experience. We’ll see how it plays out. 

Summary: 9 different outfits—including one instance of sleeping in ur boy’s t-shirt, and one flash forward. 

I Own This: Well, yes. I own that Natori Cherry Blossoms bra (in that Sea Spray color and 2 others.) (I also own the Feathers she wears with the accidentally see-through top.) (Wish I owned both of the stripe tops she wears here, love them.)

Is Betty a River Vixen??: Veronica and Cheryl certainly are (and a creepo tries to photograph V in the locker room post-practice), but Betty’s not in attendance. 

That backpack?: RIP Backpack. You really served us well for 3 seasons. We’ll remember you. this is so sad alexa play sarah mclachlan. Backpack 2.0 reigns. 

The Season 4 Crop Top Count: I’m not taking any chances here, because we get 3 in this episode alone. 

Best outfit: For me it’s really a draw between the goldenrod polo dress and the first-day-of-school striped crop top & jeans.

gif via @fyeahriverdale​

Honorable mention to Veronica’s bra, which my boobs wouldn’t tolerate but is indeed *chef’s kiss*

[couptale-creator]

Couptale chapter 3

The skeleton and the bottle

   Frisk had been left alone, in a dimly lit house that apparently housed somebody by the name of Sans, its was hard for her to make anything out so she fumbled around for a few minutes before happening upon a light switch next to the door leading inside. She flicked it on and the first thing she had noticed was another bright yellow star that she quickly interacted with saving, whatever that meant, she wasn’t sure what the thing could possibly do at this point. After that was taken care of, she went to looking around the room, there were several whiskey bottles, some still with a bit of liquid in them spilling out from under the couch, probably with more under it. A spot on the wall was blackened where a painting or photo used to be hanging while a doorway led into what looked like a fairly small kitchen, a small tv hung on the wall opposite of the couch, it looked pretty cheep with quite a few scratches and fractures in the plastic surrounding the tv screen. Although the tv itself at least looked like it was intact enough, Frisk then turned to the stair that led up to a second floor, quickly walking up the steps she was presented with two doors. Entering the first door Frisk was presented with a room containing a large bulletin board with string attaching photos that were pinned with push pins, opposite to the board a large desk was seated. It was cluttered with papers along with an overturned picture frame, not allowing her to see what it held, there was also a closet although it didn’t hold any clothes, it didn’t seem to hold much of anything. That was until Frisk noticed the small safe that was tucked away in the corner of the closet, with how dark it was in the closet it would be hard for somebody to find it without specifically looking for something. Feeling content with how much she had checked in the room and not feeling like invading this guy’s privacy she left the room, heading over to the other door. She quietly creaked the door open and the first thing she spotted was a small looking twin sized bed that was laying on the ground, turned parallel with the wall opposite of the door and pressed against it. In the bed she could see the outline of a figure, snoring loudly and tossing and turning in his sleep, she guessed that this was Sans. Before waking him up, she took a look around the room, there were a few whiskey bottles around the bed along with a trashcan that held whiskey bottles almost up to the brim, pressed against the wall to her left there was a treadmill that looked like it had seen its fair amount of use, along with a bookshelf full of books, on what, she couldn’t tell. The wall opposite of the treadmill and bookshelf there was a closet, possibly full of clothes unlike the other one she had investigated. Frisk, satisfied there was nothing left to investigate moved over to the side of the bed, well, it was less a bed, more just a mattress on the ground, but it was close enough and gently shook the sleeping figure. The figure shook around violently, tossing the blankets around himself before quickly sitting up with a gasp, light blue droplets of sweat dripping down hi skull. That’s when Frisk realised that this person, Sans, was a skeleton, he quickly locked eyes onto Frisk and put a hand on his head. “Are you…. Kid, uh, get out of my room, I’ll talk as soon as I get up.” He said tiredly, laying back in the bed, Frisk was still taken aback slightly by the fact that he was a skeleton, it didn’t make much sense as to how that was even possible but she quickly left his room anyways to not be rude. It wasn’t a long wait until Sans left his room, clothed in some night robes, probably just the first thing he could find to throw on, he quickly closed the door and gestured for Frisk to follow him while he walked by and down the stairs. “Alright kid, where did you come from and who brought or told you to come here? I assume you just fell down from the surface.” Sans spoke as he moved into the kitchen with Frisk in tow, grabbing a kettle, filling it with some water and setting it down on the stove turning it one to get the water to a boil. “W-well, a madam called Toriel met me in the ruins and helped me, then s-somebody named Dogamy just, brought me here saying I’d be safe.” Sans was nodding his head while listening to what Frisk was telling him, taking the kettle off the stove once it started to boil and pouring it into a mug, taking a packet of coffee beans and dipping it in the water. He then shut off the stove and dropped the kettle in the sink moving back over into the living room and setting down on the couch. “Well then kid, seems like you’re gonna be staying here for a bit until I can get in touch with Toriel again. Which is a bother, I need to get one of the newfangled, what do you call them, telephones, there’s plenty in the capital, the queen and king even have one in the palace but I guess its impractical to have one where the only good detective lives.” Sans kept going like that for a while grumbling to himself about how he barely ever had the equipment he needed to keep up with all his work, all in a very grumbly talking to yourself volume of voice. All the while sipping the hot coffee that he had just made, eventually he got back to talking to Frisk with a small shake of his head realising that he had wandered way off subject. “Anyways, you’ll need to stay here until I can arrange a time to move you to the capital safely, I guess I should probably get you something to eat then, you must be starved.” It didn’t occur to Frisk the amount of time it had been since she had actually eaten and suddenly now that he had brought it up the emptiness of her stomach was way too noticeable. “Yeah, didn’t notice until now but I’m starving, do you have any food here sir? I did see a bar looking place, you could get me something to eat there.” “Yeeeeeaah, I’ll need you to put on something that’ll hide you a lot better than what you have, although it should be pretty safe just going to Grillby’s, don’t want to take any chances! Don’t call me sir, either, don’t like it, too formal, just call me Sans.” He said while standing up, quickly running up to the second floor, a bit of clamour going on before he came back down with a heavy black trench coat and fedora handing it to Frisk. “There, put that on and make sure that your hair is tucked into the jacket, use the hat to make your face less visible.” He said hurriedly as he ran back upstairs, rummaging around and coming back clothed without a hat but a tan trench coat and black leather dress shoes, after quickly putting on her own clothes Sans spoke. “Sorry kid, I only really keep business clothes, that includes trench coats.” He said apologetically while moving over to the front door.

 “That’s perfectly fine sir, or, Sans, I might say though those are some very fine shoes! How much did they cost?” She continued on some light conversation as she moved over next to him as he opened the door and stepped out, she followed behind quickly. “Oh these, they’re of fairly good quality, although I’m not sure of the price difference between here and the surface but they were around four dollars, you don’t have a bad pair of shoes yourself, I suspect that you knew the price, you just wanted to make friendly conversation.” He guessed, closing the door as he spoke and beginning to walk to the right of his house, towards the bar, Grillby’s, Frisk figured that it must be the name of the owner although she wondered who would name their child Grillby. “Well, you’re right, so, would you mind telling me why there’s so much caution with what I do? Seems like there’s a lot of danger around here…” She stated while looking over her shoulder, looking around like somebody would jump her at a moments notice.

 “Later, after you eat, its not something light to discuss, so, I don’t have much money, I’m not hungry right now anyways, so lets go in, order you some food, you good with just a pork chop and salad?” Frisk nodded, now wasn’t the time to be picky about the food given to her, what was offered was definitely something that she wouldn’t pass up though. It was only a short walk before they made it to the bar, barely anything, one they entered into it Frisk tipped her hat down to cover more of her face, since Sans wanted her to use the hat to hide better. There were about two dozen monsters sitting around tables, drinking, playing cards and eating all of them making plenty of noise. They both sat next to each other on bar stools a strange fire person approaching them, it looked like it was alive then it clicked to Frisk why the owner was named Grillby, it brought a small giggle from her. The monsters in the bar mostly ignored both Sans and her when they entered so Sans was able to quickly order some food from Grillby who quickly nodded and ducked into a back room to seemingly make some food. Although not before ordering himself a shot of whiskey that he planned to put on his tab, he quickly looked around the room making sure that nobody looked all too suspect, like they might attack them. With Grilby gone and Sans having made a look around the room they were left with some time to banter about something, or someone. “So, what all is life like on the surface these days?” He asked curiously, in a low voice while sipping on his shot of whiskey, not wanting to down it in front of the kid. “Well, right now, not the best, I don’t know what’s really going on but a lot of people aren’t doing good for money, a lot of people don’t have jobs too.” As she finished speaking Sans nodded his head in understanding, taking another sip of whiskey. “Hm, doesn’t sound very good, heh, sometimes I wonder why some monsters are trying to get out into a world like that, really doesn’t bode well for any of monster kind.” After that the both of them fell quiet, not being able to think of any conversation topics, although they wouldn’t need one after all. A floating monster burst into the bar, looking like some sort of wizard, while behind them a large armored monster was trudging its way into the bar, everybody went quiet at their entrance the only thing making noise being them and a record player in the corner of the room. Taking the hint that these two monsters might be dangerous Frisk tipped her hat down in front of her face, looking down at the bar top. “So as I was saying Knight Knight, with a combo as great as ours any human would certainly stand no chance, say, why’s it so quiet in here? Come on people! Liven things up!” The wizard said with a chuckle, an uneasy talk started to bounce around all the monsters that were doing whatever they were doing, with the appearance of these two monsters it seemed everybody was afraid.

 “Ugh, what a dump to need to patrol Knight, there is absolutely, NO WAY, they’d be stupid enough to keep a human anywhere near here if one fell down recently, so come on, lets get something to eat.” The large knight like figure grumbled a bit and followed behind the small wizard monster, it’d much rather be patrolling right now than eating the garbage food this place had. “Maybe if your mouth wasn’t running as fast as it always is we’d actually find a human Madjick.” Knight snapped back after he had finished talking, she didn’t know why she had to always be stationed with this completely overconfident incompetent fool but if that’s the way it was going to be she wasn’t going to be happy about it.

 “Hmmmm, look what we have over there Knight!” Madjick said while paying absolutely no regard to what she had been saying, he motioned to the skeleton sitting at the bar, Sans, he was always on their hit list, anybody to actually kill him would be rewarded with praise and promotion.

 “Heheh, maybe we could take him outside and annihilate him!” Knight immediately shot Madjick a furious look, grabbing him with her right hand, her hand almost going around his entire midsection, crushing him. “You are mad! Do you know how many of ours he’s killed? How many more he’s beaten and put in prison? We’ll be slaughtered!” All while they were talking Sans had been listening in, quickly downing the shot glass full of whiskey he pivoted on the seat to look over at them, leaning back on the bar top.

 “Well maybe we’ll just have to see about that, if you think you’re up for it.” He said confidently, sliding off of the bar stool, Madjick grinned and floated back over to the door, while Knight just stood there, questioning what led up this point in her life. Sans pushed open the door and held it open, his eye sockets going completely black as the two walked by, Madjick being completely unaffected while Knight Knight was still just as horrified about what was about to happen, then Sans closed the door and it was silent. Frisk had looked back as they left, watching Sans exit with them, her attention only brought back to the bar top once a plate with a sliced pork chop and salad was roughly placed in front of her.

 “Don’t worry about paying, Sans will, eventually, just eat and go before you cause a ruckus.” Grillby spoke before turning to another monster that had called his name and quickly getting to serving what they ordered. Frisk looked back to the door before picking up a knife and fork in both hands and getting to eating up the food, her empty stomach screaming at her to hurry up. Once Frisk had cleaned the plate of food and waited a good thirty minutes for Sans to come back she got up and left the bar, keeping her hat down to cover her face, not wanting to draw the attention of one of the monsters like the two that Sans was fighting right now. She looked around outside Grillby’s, there was no sign of Sans anywhere and thinking it might be a while before he gets back, she returned to his house after only a minute or two of walking, his house was fairly close by and the town was small. While she had been looking around, she had noticed that there was a shop in the town too along with an inn, those would be interesting if ever she needed to stay somewhere else close by. Coming up to the door to Sans’s house she twisted the doorknob and opened the door stepping inside to see Sans and Toriel sitting on the couch, talking. Sans looked over to Frisk, a small drop of light blue sweat dripping down his forehead as he realized that he had left the kid at Grillby’s.

 “Heyyyyyy, kid! Why don’t you head upstairs to the room next to mine! I’ve got a bed set up for you! So just get some rest and I’ll teach you some things that’ll help keep you alive down here!” Toriel stayed quiet for a moment, nodding to Frisk, she had to talk to Sans for a bit, especially with how he left Frisk out somewhere. Taking the hint that It’d be good for her to sleep now she quickly took off her shoes and moved around Sans, quickly dashing up the stairs, the door was already open for her and inside was just a mattress resting on the ground. She took off the trench coat and hat, throwing them across the chair that was sitting in front of the desk in the room, she then sat down on the bed, taking off the rest of her clothes, folding them and setting them down next to the bed. Laying down on the mattress she moved around to get the blanket over top of her and allowed a gentle sleep to take hold of her.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

TWD 10x07: Open Your Eyes - First Thoughts

How did everyone like the episode? Man, it was sad! And kind of a cliffhanger on many levels. As usual, today’s post will be relatively short, just focusing on first, broad thoughts. And I’ll do details tomorrow.

***As always, Spoilers about below for episode 10x07. Don’t read until you’v watched! ***

Okay, in terms of TD stuff, OBVIOUSLY I have to mention shirtless Daryl and Dog. I think this was a really important scene (and not just because of shirtless Daryl; promise ;D) For the first time, like EVER, we see inside Daryl’s room here. He doesn’t have a bed, for the record, but rather a couch with a pink pillow. (Pink Theory.) Kind of interesting. He has a box full of arrows and a table that’s chalk full of knick knacks.

Me and my peeps already examined the pics as best we could. Most of it seems to be tools and fishing tackle. There have been a lot of fishing references around Daryl in the past, and plenty this season as well (such as the story about him and Merle fishing that he told Connie.)

It actually struck me as somewhat reminiscent of Beth’s cell in 4x01. I was kinda hoping we would see Beth’s knife in there somewhere. Most of us have looked closely at the pics and haven’t seen it, but it’s probably in there somewhere. Remember, Norman confirmed that Daryl still has it.

He sets the acorn Carol gave him on the table and stares at it. Yes, the Carylers are gonna claim that he’s thinking about Carol. I think he is contemplating what she said; but by extension, he’s thinking about Beth. Donniers will say he’s thinking about Connie, which is kind of true because Carol asked about her when she gave him the acorn. But we all know who he’s really thinking about, right? 😉

For the record, he takes off his shirt (heavy emphasis on the X scar and the two parallel lines—I like to think of them as train tracks—beneath it), lays down on his pinkish (kind of mauve) pillow with dog, and stares at the acorn.

Since Dog represents Beth’s return, I choose to think of this as a Daryl-taking-off-his-shirt-and-lying-in-bed-with-Beth sort of scene. Hehe.

Okay, this one isn’t at all Beth or TD related, but I gotta say how much I loved it. It’s pro-Carzekiel. Spoilers mentioned Carol putting on Zeke’s ring in order to hurt the whisperer, right? But they didn’t include what he said to her right beforehand.

Basically, he threatened to rape her. He said he knew he was the prisoner, but if they were outside the walls, he’d “take her like a bitch in heat.” Which is pretty much a rape threat. So, Carol puts on Ezekiel’s ring and beats the hell out of him. I LOVED it! It’s basically her saying she still belongs to Zeke. This guy made a sexual threat, and she uses her husband’s ring to beat up her would-be rapist. My favorite Carol moment all season!

The “bitch in heat” line is also a dog reference. So, part of the Sirius/return symbolism.

Plus, it establishes that the Whisperers are cool with rape. Of course, we knew that from the CBs, but this is the first time they’re addressing it in the show.

In terms of Siddiq, we also learned some interesting things. He had a good heart to heart with Rosita. It was really sweet and made the ending more tragic.

It’s worth noting which theories were proved wrong here. A lot of the fandom (not just TDers by a long shot) thought perhaps Siddiq had helped kill the pike victims, especially Enid. This definitely disproved this. It was a good theory, but we now know this was never about Siddiq being evil or doing anything twisted. It was always about Dante.

He tells Rosita he’s never warmed to Dante, not because he’s a bad guy (or so Siddiq believes at the time) but because he misses Enid. The two of them doctored together for 6 years and had grown really close. So her death affected him and haunted him the most. And when he looked at Dante, he wished for Enid. I thought that was sweet and really tragic.

@frangipanilove​ also pointed out something that does pertain to Beth symbolism. In episode 1, the very first time we see Siddiq have a PTSD episode, he’s watching Dante’s mouth. Remember this? Dante even razzed him about it, asking if Siddiq wanted to kiss him because he was staring at his mouth so intently. Even then, Siddiq’s memory didn’t surface, but the point is that the writers hinted at the truth in the FIRST episode and the FIRST time we saw this happening with Siddiq.

So it’s yet another example of very potent, purposely-placed foreshadowing that was then paid off. Kind of like Beth saying she’s gonna make it? Get out like Noah? Daryl saying he’ll meet her down the road? This is what the show does. Whether it’s paid off a few episodes later or a few seasons later, it’s ALWAYS paid off.

It doesn’t seem like Siddiq told anyone about Dante OR the water before he died, so no one realizes the water is making everyone sick. That’s not good. Dante kills him right next to Coco’s crib. The baby’s not in it or anything, but still. Super cold. And um, you know, with Beth symbols in the background.

The spoiler site reported the tiny detail of the camera showing Siddiq’s arm dropping when Dante kills him. 

I gotta say, the arm thing didn’t especially stick out to me, and I kind of wonder why the spoiler source included that extremely subtle, random detail. I’m not saying it’s NOT a Beth thing—given other Siddiq/Beth parallels this season, it probably is—but I probably wouldn’t have pegged it that way, if the spoilers hadn’t reported it and someone hadn’t sent in an Ask saying it might be a parallel to Beth.

Just makes me suspicious about maybe AMC feeding info to the spoiler site, you know? Because Siddiq isn’t even lying on the floor at this point, the way Beth was. Dante was sort of…holding him from behind, and his arm just drops downward as he passes out/dies. But it’s like they really wanted us to catch that detail.

Oh, in terms of what I was right about? Last week I said Cheryl’s line to Siddiq (It’s like I’m sleeping next to the Grim Reaper) was either a death omen for her or Siddiq. Both of them died this episode. (R.I.P). Just saying.

I know it’s short, but that’s about all I got for today. Again, details tomorrow. And then I have a lot of small, but very exciting things for you guys. Crossing my fingers that I’ll get them all posted this week. Mostly, I’m sad to lose Siddiq, but it comes with some very interesting implications, which I’ll be discussing throughout the week.

What did everyone else think of the episode?

[lightsandlostbells]

Skam France season 3, episode 5 reaction

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

Episode 5

Clip 1 - Still no yellow curtains???

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clip 3 - Cake!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clip 4 - Lucas out of the loop

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clip 5 - Argh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Anyway, this scene was a mess!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Just. Not good.

Clip 6 - Pride

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Clip 7 - Really bad night

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Social Media/General Comments

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

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

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

Basile’s party was a busy night.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

If you got this far, thank you for reading!

[okietokiee]

Fic: Söt (Ch. 1)

Summary: Skwisgaar comes to terms with some extremely un-metal, disgustingly mushy feelings he has for the new kid. (Pre-Klok, right after the audition)

Rating: Teen

Chapters: 1/5

Pairings: Skwisgaar Skwigelf/Toki Wartooth

Notes: This is my first Skwistok fic and it’s basically an excuse to make Skwisgaar suffer badly over the fact that he finds Toki insanely, irredeemably fucking adorable and he can’t stand it LOL 

Also, apologies for any mistakes! 

Skwisgaar Skwigelf was not a man known for being overly emotional. He was an absolute charmer to the young and old groupies alike, but he kept a definite distance between himself and his bedmates, ever the polite, handsome, closed-off gentleman that always sent off his multiple lovers with a suave kiss to the hand and a non-committal wink, hinting at a second round that was unlikely to ever occur.

His blase, cool-tempered nature did nothing but draw even more blushing ladies to him, each more provocatively-dressed and seductive than the last. Even the GMILFs often primped themselves up a bit for him, wearing their silkiest, shiniest nightgowns and bonnets.

But no matter what, Skwisgaar kept a certain air of nonchalance around him and he knew exactly how it drove the ladies wild.

Skwisgaar would’ve been content living his days like this forever; known as the golden, emotionally-constipated adonis that could fulfill every woman’s ultimate fantasies, as long as those fantasies included nothing about a relationship or commitment.

He’d never even felt much emotional pull towards anyone in his life, not even the sexiest groupies that loitered around after a show.

Skwisgaar attributed it to the fact that no one was interesting enough to catch his eye in any way. He was a God of guitar and sex, and regardless of how much the groupies’ skimpy outfits and embroidered aprons tugged at his loins, they never tugged at his heart.

At least, that used to be the case.

Hell, it would be so much easier for Skwisgaar if it would stay that way because he’s extremely happy with his life, thank you very much. He’s a handsome, collected gentleman with refined tastes and raunchy habits.

And these are the reasons he can’t fucking wrap his head around whatever it is he’s started feeling whenever he’s around his band’s new rhythm guitarist.

The audition for the new rhythm went a lot more unpredictably than he’d originally expected, and he ended up going against his own whims and hiring some kid on the spot.

And that’s the perfect description for the guy. He couldn’t be older than 16, which was practically a child in Skwisgaar’s opinion when compared to his 25 years on earth. Toki was his name and he was young, naive, and as hilariously out of touch with American culture as Skwisgaar once was when he first immigrated.

The kid normally wouldn’t even cause a blip in Skwisgaar’s radar, let along change his course completely. Now, in the comforts of his small, dingy room in his tiny, rundown apartment, Skwisgaar rapidly fingerpicking his guitar, questioning his sanity.

He wouldn’t lie and say that he was completely oblivious to his reasons though. Shocked and appalled, yes, but regardless of what his broken english suggested he was not completely daft to the inner workings of his own mind. The kid had something about him. It wasn’t just ambition and it wasn’t just talent. There had been plenty of those types who had auditioned before him that Skwisgaar completely blew out of the water. Boring mechanical techniques and overconfident arrogance was no match for the brilliant and dexterity Skwisgaar could exhibit with his eyes closed.

No, the kid was special somehow. And it was driving Skwisgaar crazy trying to put his finger on what, why, and how this Toki seemed to shine brighter than a blazing star when he played. He can honestly say without a doubt that he’d never felt that intoxicating burst of pure energy while playing in his life.

The guitar is his heart and his music the blood that flows through it and keeps it beating. It’s the only thing that he can say, with no hesitation, brings him pure unadulterated joy and satisfaction.

The feeling of playing his music was a feeling he never thought anything in the world could top; the best drugs or hottest groupies in the world would never best the feeling of his explorer in his hands, creating the godly music that effortlessly flows through his fingertips

He never thought it could possibly get any better. At least, until that kid showed up and showed him exactly what it meant to rise to the highest precipice of his art, experience the exhilarating speed of music pouring out of his soul, and for once in his life, experience this with a kindred spirit, the first person he’s ever met who could so closely match him riff for riff. Regardless of Toki’s abrupt downfall, Skwisgaar was still awestruck at what the boy was capable of.

The fact that this short, half-starved runt that looked like he’d been living off the streets can just waltz in with his beaten up Gibson and push Skwisgaar to higher limits he did not even conceive as possible; it was infuriating and intoxicating all in the same breath.

This young boy with his familiar accent and friendly demeanor. His big, blue eyes and his soft chocolate hair.

Fuck, his existence alone was doing something to Skwisgaar and he couldn’t stand it.

Those eyes were just too blue! He’d never seen anything like them before, even in Sweden, he didn’t remember ever seeing such big, icy eyes that did something to him he felt too disturbed by to acknowledge.

Suddenly, Skwisgaar was interrupted from his pensive musing by a hesitant knock on his door.

“Comes in.”

Slowly the door opened and the pair of blue eyes driving Skwisgaar mad with something he can’t explain peeked through.

“Um… H-hellos Misters Skwisgaar, Nathans told mes I shoulds asks you if I can sleeps in here tonights... Is that alrights with yous?”

Toki, the poor lad, was tensed up and visibly nervous, bracing himself for a rejection and scolding for bothering Skwisgaar after strict instructions to leave him alone and find something to entertain himself with the rest of the band in the living room.

Skwisgaar was exhausted after a long day of battling mediocre guitarists, he wanted some reprieve from everyone and everything. If any of the other members had bothered him when he was in one of his moods, that would be grounds for a litany of angry, barely-understandable curse words, but this was different. Skwisgaar sat up from his bed, setting his Gibson down next to him, and gave Toki a slight, indifferent nod.

“Fines. Just donts be makings too much of the noises. I’m tryings to write a new solos.”

“Yes, Misters Skwisgaar! Toki will be quiets! You won’t evens knows I’s here!” Toki smiled widely, making a move to presumably leave and retrieve his meager belongings.

“Toki.”

Skwisgaar spoke too fast to stop himself. Toki gave him a confused look and Skwisgaar was internally facepalming.

“Justs… calls me Skwisgaar. I’m nots a olds grandpas yet!” He tried to laugh off his mistake.

Toki’s smile brightened even more, something Skwisgaar didn’t think was possible. “Yes Skwisgaar! Tank yous!”

And with that he was off.

It was apparent that Nathan had decided to pawn off the new kid to Skwisgaar for tonight and likely every other night in the foreseeable future until they can figure out a better living arrangement.

Out of every member of the band, Skwisgaar was the only one who had his own place. It was a ratty one-bedroom on the bad side of town, but it was his. Pickles and Nathan rented a considerably nicer place together as roommates, where they did most of their recordings, and Murderface crashed (lived) on their couch more often than not.

After they discovered Toki was basically homeless, it made sense Nathan would lump them together. The two matching Scandinavian guitarists, of course Nathan would force them together like two peas in a pod. Didn’t mean Skwisgaar couldn’t complain about it.

“Tsk. Fuckins racist.”

“Whats you say Skwisgaar?”

Skwisgaar was startled up.

“Eeuugh! Toki, don’ts comes in without knockins.”

Toki looked sheepish. “Sorries… I just wants to says I gots a sleepinks bag from Pickle! It’s… uh… okays if I sleeps now?” Toki stumbled through.

This made Skwisgaar pause. He took the moment to give Toki a long, hard look, something he hadn’t done since the kid completely changed his perception on guitar playing completely. Looking closely, he saw the obvious signs of exhaustion on Toki’s face, his sunken cheeks and dark, baggy eyes. Skwisgaar assumed its been a while since Toki had a comfortable place to sleep and a roof over his head. And a shower too now that he thought about it, seeing Toki’s clean hair and skin which was hidden under a layer of grime just a few hours ago. Did he eat? Surely the rest of the guys would’ve gotten something, though Skwisgaar was prone to skipping meals. Because the kid was definitely in desperate need of a meal-

“Skwisgaar?”

Snapped out of his train of thoughts, Skwisgaar forced himself to regain a mask of indifference.

“Yeahs, go aheads Toki. I was abouts to bes sleepinks too.” Skwisgaar waved to a plush white rug parallel to his bed to signal for Toki to take that spot. “Turns off the lights.”

Toki happily obeyed and curled up on the soft faux fur rug Skwisgaar was oddly attached to.

A few minutes ticked by in complete darkness and Skwisgaar was tense in the dead silence. Then, all too abruptly, Toki broke it.

“Ah… Skwisgaar?”

Skwisgaar forced himself to relax and apathetically replied, “Yes Toki.”

“Toki just wanteds to says… tank you. I am sos happies I mades it to the audiktions. Toki promiskes you won’ts regrets this. Good nights.” Toki said gratefully with an obvious smile in his tone.

Skwisgaar was speechless. And he remained speechless, until he heard Toki’s soft snoring fill the room. Of course he deserved to be thanked. He was the lead guitarist of Dethklok, a master of his craft. It was an act of true goodwill, him letting this runaway kid join them. Hell, Skwisgaar didn’t need much to fill his ego and he expected all mere peasants to be grateful for whatever he deans to give them.

But this was different. What Toki said, those innocuous, meek words, they didn’t fill Skwisgaar with the usual self-importance. They made him feel strange. Like there was a twisting in his gut and a disturbing pit in his chest that almost felt warm and mushy. The shit normal people probably feel when they see a newborn kitten. Not Skwisgaar though, he was the stone-cold adonis, even kittens didn’t soften his heart. Regardless of how soft their fur is, or how big and beautiful their eyes are, or fuzzy their tiny little paws-

“Euugh!” Skwisgaar let out an involuntary sneer which he quickly quieted. He chanced a glance at Toki’s still snoring form and breathed a sigh of relief.

Yes, fine, maybe kittens had certain characteristics about them that were pretty nice, but Skwisgaar was confused at his train of thought. Whatever it was that Toki made Skwisgaar feel, it was reminiscent of the yucky, gooey emotions small animals inspired in him as well.

Skwisgaar had no clue what to do with that fact, but his exhaustion was finally catching up with him. With a sigh, he rolled over, and fell asleep to the rhythmic snoring of one Toki Wartooth.