#rereading CMH

[gildengirl]

Every now and then, I forget that there's a deleted scene from CMH, where Joe literally shoves Cammie and Zach into a safe and is like, "Have fun!"

Joe Solomon really is the biggest Zammie shipper of them all, and he has absolutely no subtly about it. Like, ZERO chill at all.

[averagejoesolomon]

Just reread the CMH epilogue. Might erase my current life and move off grid to stave off The Darkness

[abarero]

ao3 wrapped 2024 [writers edition]

How many words have you written this year? 258,855

How many works did you publish this year? 10

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? Cross My Heart {and Hope to Die} because I got way outside of my comfort zone with this one and I still think I’m doing pretty well with it. 

What work of yours has the most hits? Kamihama Ultra Beast Files with 962 

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? Uhhh basically any of them. I love comments and going from older big fandoms to tiny femslash fandom has definitely made it rough. So anytime I get a comment I’m thrilled.

Favorite title you used Cross My Heart {and Hope to Die} and Do Androids Dream of Falling in Love? Both of which I think are fun plays on a familiar saying. 

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? No lyrics this year. 

Pairing you wrote the most for this year? Touka/Nemu (can’t let @chairteeth have all the fun)

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? Mikoto/Hanna. They are THE blorbos and I really enjoy playing with their dynamic in different settings. 

What work was the quickest to write? Probably my last minute speedrun for Snow-Kissed Christmas, which I did while sick. I started it the 21st and had all 4 chapters ready to post by the 25th.

What work took you the longest to write? Cross My Heart {and Hope to Die} always takes me the longest because I’m usually doing like eighteen tabs worth of research for historical stuff on each 10k+ chapter.

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? 4, two continuing and 2 new

What’s your longest work of the year? Kamihama Ultra Beast Files at 118,046 words

What’s your shortest work of the year? Reverse, Repeat, Resolution at 500 words

What WIP are you taking into next year with you? KUBF and CMH

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? Canon Compliant and Romance

Your favorite character to write this year? Mikoto, Nemu and Mitsune (also Phichit and Emiri). Mikoto is just so earnest, Nemu has more layers than an onion, and Mitsune has hilarious speech quirks (lol). The other two are just fun side characters which I got to enjoy writing. 

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year? Alina because I know zero Italian so I have to cross reference terms and phrases every time she speaks. 

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? Mikoto/Hanna. Because they’re my blorbos and I cannot get enough of writing them. But I’m also looking forward to some Emiri/Hinano and other side pairs in CMH.

Which work of yours have you reread the most? someone will remember us (even in another time) got me through MagiReco EOS like a balm on my soul.

How many kudos in total did you get this year? 82

Which work has the most comments? KUBF. Thanks to my loyal commenter 🙇‍♀️ 

Did you do any collaborative works this year? Both KUBF and CMH have associated fanart from amazing artists as part of the Mini Bang projects. 

Did you write any gifts this year? 5/10 were gifts or some part of an exchange/event! 

Did you receive any gifts this year? Yes, 4! (Two by @harocat and two from Yuletide)

What’s your most common category? F/F (do it for Sappho)

What do you listen to while writing? MagiReco OSTs

Favorite work you wrote this year? Cross My Heart {and Hope to Die} for being so different than anything else.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?  

“Must be a Christmas miracle then.”

Touka snorted. “Is that what we're calling this?”

She leveled her with a look as she handed over a mug of hot chocolate.

“If you, at any time, call our relationship a Christmas miracle, just know that somewhere, someone deeply religious who hates lesbians is probably having an aneurysm.”

Touka grinned. “All the more reason to do so, I think.” This one from Snow-Kissed Christmas because I am very proud of it.

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?  Mostly surprised by myself when it comes to CMH. Previously if you told me I’d be writing a fic with technically all (MCD is but isn’t there bc they are vampired) the Archive warnings I would have thought it highly unlikely, but here I am. 

[callmehere-iwillappear]

Kinda (very) morbid lol but maybe au where Leo's ghost form kept his injuries? I just think that would make them finally seeing him even more devastating 😭

Also your fic is phenomenal btw I'm glad I saw your most recent post on my dash bc it prompted me to reread CMH 🙏 I love feeling shrimp emotions at 1AM

okay i'm going to keep most of the prompts in my inbox so i don't lose track of them BUT i'm posting this one so i can say 1. that and 2. thank u weeps!!! i'm so glad you enjoy it ;ajfldjslkfd

[incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes]

We all love zammie here, but in what part of the book, what particular scene do you think is the part where you're like, "Yes, this two is meant for each other"?

This is a great question because I do remember being on board with Zach very quickly. At the end of LYKY I did not think Josh was coming back as Cammie's love interest again. They broke up and I believed that was it for them (I was also, like, in seventh grade lol). So, when Zach showed up in CMH I was like okay it's gonna be him. I didn't realize that until the boys showed up at Gallagher, I was with Cammie in the beginning thinking he was just a guy. I'm not sure how I knew that Josh was done and Zach was there to stay, but I definitely did.

That doesn't mean I thought they were meant for each other immediately. I wasn't shipping them I was just aware of the direction we were going in. Like when Zach held her hand in front of Josh I knew he was going for the quarter, but that's not what she thought about

Luckily, I'm rereading CMH right now so it's fresh in my mind. I think I started really liking them when he saw her after they saw Josh and DeeDee in town. When Cammie is about to duck into the passageway behind the tapestry and she tells Zach she's over it. He tells her she's not but that she will be. It's bold, definitely, and adds to the weird mosaic picture we're painting of Zach. For me he always showed he cared about her just enough that I never thought he was bad. So even though we get scenes like "you don't look hideous" we also get him being upset she blew off their date at the end.

And then there's the kiss of course.

[cammie-morgan-goode]

Please please can I ask a story from you about how Grant calls bex the british bombshell? I finished rereading CMH now and i've always been curious how the nickname came to be! Thank youuuuy

Are you still taking requests? 🥺 Can I please request a fic about how Grant came to call Bex "british bombshell"? Thank you!

Will you please write a fic regarding how Grant came to call bex a british bombshell??? Thank you!! 💗💗💗💗

When you grow up as an only child and then go to an all-girls school, it isn't every day that you get to learn with boys. It's not normal. It's like spotting a house cat in the lion enclosure at the zoo.

Bex was nothing short of being boy crazy. She knew she was beautiful, but she didn't flaunt it. She knew that she was a catch, but she wanted to make sure that the boy she was after knew she was special.

After all, she wasn't a daddy's girl for nothing.

Grant had all the girls swooning the minute he stepped foot into the Gallagher Academy mansion. The girls in the sophomore class had been following him around since day one.

Grant didn't care though. He was there for a purpose and girls just weren't apart of his agenda. So, he didn't really pay them any mind. That is until Bex came around.

The minute that he laid eyes on the British babe, he was practically hooked.

It wasn't like he was planning a proposal. He was there for one thing and one thing only. To learn how these girls trained and learn just how good they were out in the field. Were they friends or were they enemies? He didn't know. And he wasn't about to let them distract him. Not even a little bit.

Grant found himself the object of these girls' every topic. He didn't care. In fact, it was starting to get slightly annoying.

He spent part of his afternoon in the P&E barn. He wore a pair of basketball shorts and a plain t shirt. His hands were bare as he beat at the bag. Zach had been there earlier, helping him with his one-on-one combat but the Blackthorne Boy had said he was needed elsewhere. So, he was alone. Just the way he liked it.

He didn't see her come in which was an oversight on his part. She snuck in like a lethal gazelle, her feet not making a single sound against the dirt. He didn't see her until she was on the other side of the bag. And he hit with all his might.

The bag swayed, hitting Bex square in the chest. She braced her legs apart, keeping her feet firmly planted in the dirt. She grinned at him.

"Is that all you got, Newsome?" She asked, her voice thick with her English accent.

Grant took a step back and cocked his head to the side. He was sweaty and he knew his face was red with heat. He smirks at her. And without a second thought, he throws a punch towards the bag.

Bex grins and holds the bag steady. It nearly knocks her off her feet. But she only stumbles back a step, making her smile proudly at the boy in front of her.

"Not bad, Baxter," he says, nodding his approval.

"Almost like I was trained for this, huh?" She said, placing her hands on her hips.

Grant laughs and crosses his arms in front of his chest. He looks her up and down. He didn't want to admit that she packed a hell of a punch, making Zach hit like a feather. Not that he would ever tell him that of course.

"You sure are quite the British Bombshell, Baxter," Grant says.

Bex's heart beats fast in her chest and it has nothing to do with the heat of the barn. Her legs threaten to send her crashing to the floor. But she has to keep her cool.

"Try saying that three times fast," she giggles. And she is hyper aware that her cheeks are turning red.

Grant laughs and turns back to the bag. He doesn't notice Bex's growing smile. He doesn't notice the way she saunters out of the barn, her hips swaying with confidence.

Bex-the-British-Bombshell had quite a nice ring to it.

(written by: @cammie-morgan-goode)

[gildengirl]

I just want to thank Ally Carter for naming Zachary Goode, Zachary Goode. She gave us an endless supply of puns to use and I am forever grateful.

[averagejoesolomon]

So, I've been completing a Gallagher Girl reread recently. I'm currently rereading CMH. As is often the case with rereading, I've come across a question, so I'm bringing it here.

Why do you think that Rachel kept that photo of Joe/Matt under her desk? How long had it been there?

Grief is a funny thing, friend. For one, Cam doesn't know about Joe, and maybe Rachel wants to keep it that way—at least until she brings Joe in to teach Cam, and all bets are off. At that point, Rachel may want to prevent any questions about this new teacher who is maybe Not So New to the Morgan family. But also! I get the sense that Matt's death was very public in the clandestine world. In LYKY, everyone tells Cam that they knew her father, that he was a good man, that they're sorry for her loss. It's a handy little narrative element for that book's plot, but it also presents the possibility that Rachel never gets to handle her grief in private. At first, she was looking for Matt. Then the whole agency was looking for Matt. Then Matt was declared MIA. The whole thing just lacks closure all around. So maybe Rachel keeps this picture close because it's the only part of Matt she gets to keep to herself. A picture from the days when she, Matt, and Joe were still together, before they knew what tragedy was to come. There's so much possibility! What do you think?

[incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes]

Thoughts while rereading CMH:

(Also me exposing myself as Zach/Zammie trash)

Every day I think about how my friend read this book and I was like “Keep on the look out for my favorite character!” Then after Zach’s first line of dialogue my friend was like “It’s him. You love him, don’t you? And he’s baby, and your son, and you want to protect him.” A call out.

The same level of dorky, teenage, awkwardness is here. Cammie is also soooo dramatic. I remember being on her side when I first read these but I still think she feels the way she does for a valid reason. High school and your problems during it literally feel like they’re going to last forever. Then you get out and you’re like that’s it? It’s just over?

At the same time Cammie thinking she’s “immune” to boys because she had Josh is so funny. No one has ever gotten under her skin like Zach has.

Part of the reason for this reread was for my fic about Joe trying to set up Cammie and Zach and scenes like the one where Zach and Joe are just blatantly looking at her and talking makes me want to write more after the events of LYKY. Which was not the plan but…

“I got news for you, Gallagher Girl, if you’re not enjoying this, you’re in the wrong business.” He’s right though. Somehow this phrase made it into my casual vocabulary before I got to this part in the book so my subconscious really retained this series over the years

Zach tells Cammie “they’re playing our song” when he asks her to dance and it’s just a silly throw away line he’s giving her and the song actually playing is never described but I’ve always like to imagine it’s whatever song played in the elevator. Not elevator music obvi but an instrumental version of an actual song

I think this is the first time it’s hit me how BAD it looks that Cammie ran away from the ball, while dancing with Zach, who then found her by a secret passageway. Yikes girl

But also… give me an AU where they did try and go to the party in Roseville. That would be so fun.

Zach lying about being with her and Tina believing him over Cammie makes my blood boil

That being said the way Cammie’s main friends, Bex, Liz, and Macey, support her while being 100% real and honest with her is very important. Hope nothing changes that later

The whole scene in the P&E barn is just *chefs kiss*. Zach wants to be her boyfriend so bad lol

Look I know Cammie thinks her dad went to Blackthorne because of the picture and her mom wearing her dads clothes reminded her of him. But goddamn girl you have it bad for this boy. Like imagine you’re Rachel watching Cam and Zach interact and then she asks if you met her father during the same exchange.

I forgot about him catching her coming out of the fireplace and her hitting her head. They’re so cute

Cammie’s confusion over Zach lying, teasing, insulting, and ignoring her while simultaneously being interested in her is justified and entirely too real.

It’s hilarious to me that both when I was 13 and now at 23 I’m sitting here like “Can we get over Josh please? Pursue Zach” 😂

“It would be okay if you liked him, you know.” That sound? Me screaming.

Their date moves so fast and it’s all over the place I’m getting whiplash PLEASE. I did like them joking around. I need that part to be longer.

The phrase “you organized a war party”

Zach being more upset and off put by her ditching him than the organizing of the war party.

[incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes]

I’m gonna do a recap of all my thoughts once I’m done rereading Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy

But GOD the beginning of the ball scene where Cammie comes down the grand staircase of an actual castle in a ball gown and Zach looks at her and says “You don’t look hideous” makes me want to S C R E A M

And maybe choke him. Just a lil.

[averagejoesolomon]

Glad to see you posting again cause I just reread all the books and W O W I’m in my feels. Also for some reason I never read the epilogues until now and was I prepared? No. Do I need a Netflix series? God yes.

They do that to ya!  You remember them being good, but you never remember how good until you’re knee deep into your first CoveOps lesson and Joe Solomon is remembering how to love people again, that’s just how it goes.  How about that CMH epilogue, huh???? That boy’ll getcha

I too am hoping for a series.  Disney+ would also make sense, since Disney is the original publisher.  Fact is, I don’t know!  Dont even know if its happening.  I’ve waited 10 years, what’s a few more?

[incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes]

He literally calls her beautiful later while they’re dancing I-

I’m gonna do a recap of all my thoughts once I’m done rereading Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy

But GOD the beginning of the ball scene where Cammie comes down the grand staircase of an actual castle in a ball gown and Zach looks at her and says “You don’t look hideous” makes me want to S C R E A M

And maybe choke him. Just a lil.

[incorrectgallaghergirlsquotes]

This was also my first time reading the Declassified Epilogue for this book. Additional thoughts on that:

I love Zach and Joe content

“I got stupid, Joe” “You met a girl.” I love this whole little exchange. Joe warning Zach, Zach admitting he likes Cammie.

We then IMMEDIATELY follow this up with Zach saying something waaayyyyy out of line. (I think I legitimately gasped. Baby you can’t say that.) And Joe absolutely bodies him for it 😂

Seriously Joe almost murders Zach twice in a ten page epilogue scene

I need more context. I need more Zach and Joe scenes. What did Zach say last December Joe? What was the deal that you two made? I’m gonna have to write it myself aren’t I?

Thoughts while rereading CMH:

(Also me exposing myself as Zach/Zammie trash)

Every day I think about how my friend read this book and I was like “Keep on the look out for my favorite character!” Then after Zach’s first line of dialogue my friend was like “It’s him. You love him, don’t you? And he’s baby, and your son, and you want to protect him.” A call out.

The same level of dorky, teenage, awkwardness is here. Cammie is also soooo dramatic. I remember being on her side when I first read these but I still think she feels the way she does for a valid reason. High school and your problems during it literally feel like they’re going to last forever. Then you get out and you’re like that’s it? It’s just over?

At the same time Cammie thinking she’s “immune” to boys because she had Josh is so funny. No one has ever gotten under her skin like Zach has.

Part of the reason for this reread was for my fic about Joe trying to set up Cammie and Zach and scenes like the one where Zach and Joe are just blatantly looking at her and talking makes me want to write more after the events of LYKY. Which was not the plan but…

“I got news for you, Gallagher Girl, if you’re not enjoying this, you’re in the wrong business.” He’s right though. Somehow this phrase made it into my casual vocabulary before I got to this part in the book so my subconscious really retained this series over the years

Zach tells Cammie “they’re playing our song” when he asks her to dance and it’s just a silly throw away line he’s giving her and the song actually playing is never described but I’ve always like to imagine it’s whatever song played in the elevator. Not elevator music obvi but an instrumental version of an actual song

I think this is the first time it’s hit me how BAD it looks that Cammie ran away from the ball, while dancing with Zach, who then found her by a secret passageway. Yikes girl

But also… give me an AU where they did try and go to the party in Roseville. That would be so fun.

Zach lying about being with her and Tina believing him over Cammie makes my blood boil

That being said the way Cammie’s main friends, Bex, Liz, and Macey, support her while being 100% real and honest with her is very important. Hope nothing changes that later

The whole scene in the P&E barn is just *chefs kiss*. Zach wants to be her boyfriend so bad lol

Look I know Cammie thinks her dad went to Blackthorne because of the picture and her mom wearing her dads clothes reminded her of him. But goddamn girl you have it bad for this boy. Like imagine you’re Rachel watching Cam and Zach interact and then she asks if you met her father during the same exchange.

I forgot about him catching her coming out of the fireplace and her hitting her head. They’re so cute

Cammie’s confusion over Zach lying, teasing, insulting, and ignoring her while simultaneously being interested in her is justified and entirely too real.

It’s hilarious to me that both when I was 13 and now at 23 I’m sitting here like “Can we get over Josh please? Pursue Zach” 😂

“It would be okay if you liked him, you know.” That sound? Me screaming.

They’re date moves so fast and it’s all over the place I’m getting whiplash PLEASE. I did like them joking around. I need that part to be longer.

The phrase “you organized a war party”

Zach being more upset and off put by her ditching him than the organizing of the war party.