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#the moment i saw his face i said ''bi'' and its one of those headcanons ive been deeply attached to
lollytea · 2 years
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I'm never shutting up about this
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thefanficmonster · 2 years
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omg, headcanons for a goth (not egirl) reader x corpse? i love love love ur writing 🗝
Corpse Husband x Reader (Gender Neutral for the most part but there are some elements that hint to a female reader - feel free to skip those or modify them to your liking)
OMFG DEFINITELY!! Thank you so much for your request, dear! Hope you enjoy the headcanons! XOXO, Vy 💌
- He was intrigued by you the moment he saw you
- Let me correct myself: virtually saw you
- Yeah, you heard that right
- You spotted his attention while he was on videocall with Dave who was facetiming him from VidCon 2019 to offer him some type of a con experience
- The man wasted no time opening an investigation on you right away
- I mean who wouldn’t?!?!?
- You stuck out so much and in such a positive way with your style derailing off the colorfulness of the clothes the people around you were wearing
- Your black and white gown decorated with chains dangling here and there was a dead giveaway that you were the moment that day
- And you were! He had caught sight of you right after your panel for which you had worn the specially made gown
- But not only that, your hair was a story of its own - still is!
- It’s still evenly colored in black and white, making a wonderful effect whenever you spin/twirl
- Yeah, no one can blame Corpse for opening the aforementioned investigation which mainly consisted of asking Dave who you were
- I just want to add, he thought he did that quite casually, but if you ask Dave he can confirm that he sounded like a very nervous schoolboy.
- He’d never admit to it though
- After getting your name and the name of your YouTube channel, he went on a bit of a binge watching spree for a few days
- Props to the guy, you have quite the number of videos on your channel
- Eventually, however, he managed to get up the courage to finally comment on one of said videos and stop lurking
- To be fair, you had noticed him the same day when, after a lot of back-and-forth with himself, he started following you on Instagram and Twitter and also joined on of the Twitch streams you had recorded throughout the VidCon week
- And to the aforementioned comment, much to his relief, he got a friendly reply
- You two hit it off quite well before moving onto DMs and Discord
- It did take a while to finally get on a VC together, both of you shy blobs couldn’t find it in you to do it
- But once you did, you practically never texted again
- And when you finally hopped on a video call was also the day he asked you to be his girlfriend
- Damn straight you said yes
- When you went on a vacation to San Francisco, you stayed with him the whole time which resulted in some bomb pics of the two of you (with Corpse’s face out of the frame of course)
- You often styled him with your accessories and makeup which - as jealous as you are - you’ll admit he pulled off quite nicely
- “You know, maybe the goth style has been made for me!”
- “Don’t get ahead of yourself, pretty boy.”
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So... I wrote something!
It's for the HTTYD movies (though I am working on a books!verse fic currently as well) and mspec Snotlout because I'm projecting. (It's part of a oneshot series of this headcanon, though I've only written one chapter so far.)
You can read this work on Archive of Our Own here, however I do understand that some people do not want to visit that site. Therefore, I have also included my writing below the cut.
Still, it would really be appreciated if you read it on there. (Though not necessary!!!)
Find a happy place, find a happy place...
Details: Angst, Hurt Comfort, General Mspec Snotlout, (If You Squint) Romantic Ruffnut/Snotlout, Mentioned Hiccup/Astrid (sorry), Mentioned unrequited Snotlout/Fishlegs, Set sometime in Race To The Edge and after Big Man On Berk.
Cw: Very tiny mention of iternalized bi/panphobia, Struggling with identity.
~
A blush was spreading across his face, creeping down his neck, splotching onto his chest. It burned. He didn't want it to burn, he didn't want to feel this way at all! (But there was nothing he could do to stop it, some things were just out of his control- no matter how hard he tried to keep them in his grasp.) So he turned away from the window, looking away from where Hiccup and Astrid were laughing and joking (as lovers like them did). He sunk down to the floor, sliding his back down the wall until his knees were brought all the way up to his chest- arms wrapped tightly around them. Squeezing his eyes shut, the dragon rider tried to stop his heart from racing so fast. Deeply breathing, he slowed the approach of the eventfully appearing chance of tears. He didn't like when he cried, it made him feel weak. (Like any teenager born and raised on Berk, he didn't like feeling weak.) Sure, he knew that it wasn't bad to cry; Hiccup had told him that. And though it had been reassuring at the time, it just made him feel worse when he thought about it when he felt like crying. Especially if part of the reason he felt like crying was Hiccup himself. Or maybe it was Astrid? It was getting harder and harder to tell as the days went on, like each second that passed was another second where the lines blurred. Another second where he felt bitter about this whirlwind of emotions- of attraction. Another second where he didn't know what to do. A strangled sound left his throat, he couldn't stop it. (The noise was drawn from in his chest, he could feel his lungs punch out the air even though he didn't want to breathe to get it back in. It was somewhere between a sigh and a groan, coming out sadder than he had meant it too. More pained than he even knew he could be.) That was why it was weird, because he wasn't expecting to hear something that represented how he felt. Because he didn't know if there was even a way to capture the internal conflict he had been experiencing over the last few months. (Had it really been that long? How could time fly and yet crawl so slow at the same time, how could this have started then if it felt like it was only yesterday? And yet, how was it that it felt like years since he hadn't felt unsure of what he 'liked'?) He didn't have answers to these questions, except the first one because he knew what day it had been when this had really started. He had been having questions for a while before it, years back even, but they had really gotten stronger ever since that whole fiasco with Fishlegs. Now, that was something he didn't have words to explain. Why had Thor Bonecrusher just been so... Really, there were no words that could show how he felt! Nothing stronger to explain the bitter anger that he had with himself after coming to his senses, after Fishlegs was properly back. No way to show the way his heart did a little dance whenever he thought about the series of events, even if it was laced with the fury and jealousy that came with knowing that if he hadn't accidently hypnotized the blond in the way he had he could have pushed off this identity crises for later. Why hadn't he just kept his mouth shut? Now he had to relive so many of those emotions again and again, every time he looked at his friends. (Even Tuffnut was doing something to him, and that wasn't very normal.) He curled into and even tighter ball, hitting his helmeted head against his arm again and again, the strength of the action getting weaker each time until it was only a light tap. How was he even supposed to deal with this? Was the answer just giving up; or was it admitting to himself the truth (but, in that case what was the truth)? A whistling sound disturbed his thoughts, and he whipped his head up, turning to face where the noise had come from. Immediately, he made eye-contact with the person standing in the doorway. (He hadn't even heard it open.) Ruffnut. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, the teasing smile that had been on Ruffnut's face disappearing as she made out the intense- real, fear on the
ravenhaired dragon rider's face. Maybe she had been expecting to be able to tease him a little bit, in a friendly way of course, because he had managed to mess up at something again. But no, she saw the emotion behind his eyes before he could realize and put up a mask or anger. She swiveled her head to look out the door, and then turned back to him. "Snotlout?" she asked, "Are you okay?" His face twitched as he tried to smile (managing only something more akin to a pained, teary eyed, grimace). But when he started an attempt to jump to his feet and act like nothing was wrong, Ruffnut rushed forward. She pushed him back down to the floor again, hands on his shoulders and her face full of concern- but firm. "Stay sitting," she demanded, the insistence coming as a surprise to the other as she didn't wait any longer for him to respond. As she went back over to the door and shut it, he tried to argue back. "Why should I listen to you?" he scoffed- though he feared his voice cracked a little in the middle and made the sentence less imposing. But even if this extra emotion wasn't added to the statement, Ruffnut just rolled her eyes as she walked back over and crouched the the ground besides him. "What's wrong?" she asked, taking him off guard with the further worry about his emotional state. "Nothing?" he lied, clear in the fact that the response came out more like a question of it's own. She scrunched up her nose, "You don't sound very sure about that," He was silent. There wasn't any way to keep the 'truth' in his answer evident if he spoke again, so he had nothing else to say. But Ruffnut wasn't taking that as an answer, so she shook her head and reached out, cupping Snotlout's face in her palm and forcing him to face her. "Hey," she stared into his eyes until he flicked his own away, hating to maintain eye contact, "You can tell me, I'm not mean all the time you know," He swallowed, but didn't say anything else. In response, she sighed and let go of his face, leaning her own back against the wall and copied the other's movements- staring forward into the darkness that was the rest of the unlit, empty dragon stalls. Almost in sync, they both wrapped (or re-wrapped) their arms around their knees. Ruffnut smiled at this, turning to see if Snotlout had noticed as well- but he didn't seem like he had. He was still staring forwards, a blankness in his eyes that made it hard to see what he was thinking. Hard to see how he felt. Her face fell once more, and she turned towards the dark parts of the building again- they weren't lit up by the light that made its way through the window behind them, or under the cracks in the door. The dust that floated in the air created little specks of light further in, reflecting what little brightness made it to them through the thickly shadowed space. Trying to keep her spirits up, Ruffnut hummed, "Welp!" She exclaimed, sounding awkward even as she tried to fit in with the shadows and sadness that laced the room. "I don't think this has been a very helpful conversation, but I do really want to help you. I don't bite, you know," Snotlout groaned and put his head in his hands, sounding more aggravated than sad or scared now. Ruffnut bit her lip, "Oh come on, it can't be that bad! I'm not that judging!" Snotlout gave her a look and she thought about it harder. (When she thought about it, it was fair that he didn't trust her fully. Still, this wasn't something she wanted to spread rumors about. This sounded serious.) She had a heart! "Okay," she started. "I'll go first then! I have plenty of things that are stressing me out, and you do too but you're not telling me what's wrong so I'll just talk instead," Snotlout groaned and she looked over at him, "Do you want to speak? Because I'm getting pretty mixed signals here," He didn't respond, but she didn't speak either. She was waiting for him to say something, or leave. He wasn't the type of guy to hide in some stable building and feel bad for himself- usually made some sort of show out of it. Acting like it wasn't that much of a big
deal, so the seriousness he was treating this with was honestly scary. But finally, after minutes that seemed to stretch into years, Snotlout opened his mouth to speak. "I've just been having a lot of questions recently," he said- but it definitely felt like he wasn't telling her the whole deal. "What kinds of questions?" She asked, "Because if it has to do with math or hair care I can't help, sorry," He stared at her, seeming unable to read if she was serious or not. She bit her lip, "sorry," she repeated. "I didn't mean to interrupt you, please continue," Snotlout shook his head. "No, it's nothing," he stated simply, "I should stop wasting your time- go out and build a tower or something," Frowning, Ruffnut shook her head. "You're not wasting my time! I had nothing better to do anyway," "Sure," scoffed Snotlout, "I'm sure," Ruffnut frowned, "Seriously man, please tell me what's wrong. I'm getting worried, you know we both hate to be worried!" Snotlout rolled his eyes and both the dragon riders went silent again. Ruffnut was waiting for the other to speak, while Snotlout was honestly just hoping and praying that she would leave. He was pretty tired already, even if he knew that there really wasn't another way out of this situation. Even if he left, she would be able to track him down if she felt like it. Honestly it seemed like she might feel like it, the worry in her voice seemed genuine, no matter how little he wanted to believe it. (He sort of hated the idea that the people he knew were thinking about him, which was odd considering how much he normally enjoyed the thought. Maybe it was because he felt weak, he didn't want that to be interpreted in anyone's eyes. Things seemed to be changing with him recently, maybe this was the next thing.) It took a long couple of minutes of staring at the dust that floated in the air before the male dragon rider sighed, seeming to give up on the idea of Ruffnut leaving. "Things to have a kind of been on my mind since..." He trailed off, staring into the distance for a second before shaking his head as if coming back to the present. "...since the whole Thor Bonecrusher fiasco," he finished. Ruffnut stared at him for a good long moment, so long, in fact, that he began to wonder if she was judging him. But when she spoke it was clear that she wasn't, "Yeah," she sighed. "I get that," Snotlout blinked, "you... what? With Fishlegs?" The confusion was clearly evident on his face because Ruffnut shrugged, "I don't know man, I guess? But what you would relate to more wouldn't be with him," Suddenly it clicked, "You mean," Snotlout started, sounding quite oddly joyful indeed, "you know what it's like?" Ruffnut cackled, "Of course I do, duh, identity crisis is basically in my name," "Not quite?" Snotlout tried to butt in, but was cut off as the other continued. "Plus, Tuff's also been through similar things- and I'm always right by his side to see it. Though, I guess this is more of realizing that some people actually... are attracted to people and realizing that he's not 'normal' or whatever," The twin turned to smile at Snotlout, "People like you and I go through more questions like 'is it even possible to like everyone?' 'are these emotions even real?' You know?" Snotlout blinked, much of his earlier panic forgotten. She really did understand. He had to admit, it was kind of strange to all of a sudden realize that he wasn't alone in this. That there were other people like him. But it was a good sort of strange. (Something more akin to joy.) It felt... nice to not have to be alone. It was going to take some time to get used to, this solidarity between him and Ruff, but he liked it already. (The plush was returning, but it wasn't bad at this time. It felt sweet, even.) Yeah, he thought as Ruffnut continued on with whatever she was talking about, he could get used to this.
(2,218 words.)
~
Sorry if there are mistakes I was extremely sleep deprived and sad when I wrote this.
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bigskydreaming · 4 years
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I'm having a worse than usual day, so my go to moodlift method is making up headcanons for Dick that don't involve superheroing. You know, the romantic hero, the 'most eligible bachelor' aspect.. gets the focus. Because hey plenty of us had a crush on him growing up. Just for fun, I wanna ask you, do you think he's a slow burn romance kinda guy or intense fiery passionate romance from the get go kinda guy? One more, the age old question, is HE an ass guy or a tiddy guy? Imo he's a thigh guy..
Sorry you’re having a crap day, and uh, hope this didn’t end up not fun, I got lost in the headcanoning and character analysis and zigged and zagged per usual, so……I do not trust my ability to tell, overall. LMAO. But good question, made me think!
I think it depends on the person. I feel like Dick is capable of both, that sometimes feelings just creep up on him for someone over time, but other times he’s just drawn to someone instantly. For me, Babs and Kory is the proof - the instant crush on Babs from day one is more of a Reboot introduction to their dynamic…..in various older continuities, she was more a rival at first. Even as he advocated for Bruce to help train her and not stop her from being Batgirl at sometimes, he still very much was competitive with her, that sort of thing. You could argue it was the schoolboy kinda crush, that idea of a boy pulling the pigtails of a girl he likes because he doesn’t know how to admit he likes her or even realizes himself that he does. But personally, I find that explanation doesn’t really fit Dick, as its more fitting to someone who lacked his early maturity.
The thing is, a lot of people tend to focus on some of Dick’s more immature behaviors and actions, as a grown man and back when he was Robin with the puns and seeming innocence, and just see it as innocence and immaturity…..but I’ve always seen it as a coping mechanism. Dick grew up fast at a very early age, as much as Bruce himself did - they just coped with it in very different ways. People emphasize that Bruce took him in partly to keep Dick from turning out like he did, but they often forget at the same time that Bruce also took Dick in because he empathized with him, saw himself and his own tragedy reflected in Dick’s. Life-altering events had already happened to Dick before he ever set foot in Wayne Manor…..and Dick was altered. He was painfully aware of how cruel life could be, how serious things were, before Bruce ever actually had any ability to halt that realization from ever touching Dick.
The difference between Bruce and Dick and how they turned out, is that with Bruce’s support in those early years, Dick willfully clung to as much of his childhood as was left to him, even if at times it was the ‘fake it until you make it’ mentality. Many of his more immature behaviors are IMO a spiteful defiance of life’s attempt to make him grow up before he should have had to….and Bruce encouraged these things, IMO. He gave Dick the support and shelter, the buffer that allowed Dick to act immature even in the face of gravely serious and dark issues, because quite frankly, Dick cracking puns even while they were face to face with a life-threatening danger is probably a healthier coping mechanism than any Bruce had at the same age, at least in Bruce’s eyes if nothing else. 
But my point is, Dick’s youthful optimism and cheeriness even in the darkest parts of growing up Robin in Gotham City….none of that existed because Dick was truly childish and immature as befitted his actual age, thanks to Bruce taking him in and guiding him to turn out better than he did or whatever that line of thought might look like…..rather, it existed because Dick made the willful and deliberate choice to act as much the child as he could for as long as he could…..and I think that in the early years when things were really good between them and they were largely on the same page, Bruce recognized this choice for what it was, this defiance to the cards life had dealt Dick, and he encouraged and defended Dick’s ability to make this choice and act this way.
But you can’t see the kind of things all the Robins saw and actually be as immature and goofy as Dick acted as Robin, untouched by all of that. Dick was right there in the thick of it all along. How can you avoid being touched by Gotham’s darkness, seeing Gotham’s darkness, when you’re punching it right in the face, you know? You can’t. But what you can do, if you choose to, and which is what Dick chose to do….is not give it the satisfaction of knowing it touched you. The real testament of how mature Dick was or not as a young crime-fighting Robin, how aware he was or not of the grim realities of life, was not in how he acted when face to face with villains and criminals, but rather, how he acted when face to face with their victims. THAT’S where the reality of Dick’s maturity shined through, even LONG before he met Barbara in any canon.
Which is how this tangent brings us back to topic, lol….a schoolboy crush being the explanation for some of Dick’s earlier pettiness with Barbara and their rivalry at times, like, just doesn’t track with Dick’s actual maturity, IMO. The actual more likely explanation as I see it is that Dick did genuinely clash with her at times, in the very early years, that his initial attitudes were a confused mish-mash of feeling threatened by her and her possibly getting between him and Bruce, the partnership that was in all but name his unique form of father-son bonding time….but also at the same time still being Dick Grayson and feeling compelled to do the right thing and respect and thus defend her being given the same chance and training he’d been given, to do what they both felt needed doing, that they were driven to do.
So I don’t think he and Babs were instant friends, and I don’t think she was his instant crush….I think it was slowburn with her, he gradually grew to develop feelings for her over time, as his respect for her mind and capabilities grew to outweigh whatever conflicting emotions he felt about her being around, and then eventually blossomed into actual love.
Then in contrast, you have Kory. And I think Dick was instantly attracted to her from the get-go, and their relationship was the very epitome of intense passionate romance and all the ups and downs that go along with it, as befits too of the most primal and passionate people in the DC universe. Dick was drawn to her pretty much from day one, and Kory was as well, and it wasn’t an opposites attract thing so much as two beings resonating on the same wavelength, even if at times from different parts of the same spectrum. 
Because here’s the thing about Dick that I think links the two kinds of relationships and makes them both fitting for him…..he is very much a creature of instincts. He goes with his gut, he responds to things on an automatic and visceral level. But at the same time, the other truth about Dick is that his mind is no less exceptional than anyone else’s in the Batfamily, and his instincts are guided by a hell of a lot more intellect and processing power than most peoples’ are. He’s been trained from the time he could walk, even long before he met Bruce, to have exceptional situational awareness, to adapt to changes in his environment and predicaments with a moment’s notice, to take in every possible relevant detail at a glance when the stakes are literally those of leaping off a high trapeze. Dick trusts his instincts, because Dick’s instincts are exceptional, and with reason.
And this applies to every part of his life, not just the superhero parts. So when Dick feels drawn to someone like Kory, I think he trusts his gut and goes with it….he might not necessarily even know yet on a conscious level why he’s attracted to them and they’re someone he could really fall for and have a relationship with, he just knows that he does feel that way, and trusts that its for a reason. And then at the same time, with someone like Barbara, he likely had those same instincts about her, leading to the times he defends her to Bruce even though he might have clashed with her just minutes before, but he knows there’s a reason for him to do that, act that way, even if it takes much longer for that to transition from a mere possibility of actual compatibility to conscious feelings of actual attraction and love. 
Its all instinct to him either way….but the person he’s instinctively reacting to has the definitive role in whether or not its slowburn or instant passionate attraction….because the other deep truth about him that I feel is relevant here is that Dick feeds off other people, their energy, what they show him and give him to work with….and his instinct is usually to meet them in kind, give the same energy back, unless say, he makes the conscious decision to override his instincts and power through an antagonistic reception and try and forge a positive bond, like with building his sibling dynamic and mentorship of Damian.
But in regards to his romances, as I said, I think the same instincts might be in play with both Barbara and Kory, but it played out very differently because Babs wasn’t initially drawn to him, not in that way at least. She wasn’t putting forth a romantic energy, and so it took awhile for Dick’s own romantic feelings to emerge and for them to finally be reciprocated in time. In contrast, it was hot and fiery from day one with Kory, because Kory was drawn to him from day one as much as Dick was to her, so there was nothing to slow down or stop those instincts from transforming into attraction and romantic feelings from the second he felt them.
As to the rest of your ask, lololol, sorry to be a cop out, but I don’t think there is a specific physical draw for Dick. I’ve always headcanoned him as bi, which is a bit of projection on my part, sure, but also I just genuinely don’t think gender or even physicality at all has anything to do with what draws to a person, or makes him attracted to them. Yeah, sure, I think he absolutely has physical attributes he loves and might put forth as their best attribute for any partner he’s with, but I think its different with each person because Dick is all about individuality….not just with himself and his own independence, but just….people aren’t interchangeable for him. At any level, I think. 
Every person who’s important to him is uniquely distinct in his mind, and I think with his romantic partners, this results in him liking something distinct about them physically, that separates them in his mind from any other partners he’s had. Because I don’t think its physical appearance that’s Dick’s primary source of attraction with his partners….he’s attracted to them first, and then he settles on something physical that’s uniquely attractive to him as well, that’s different in his mind from anyone else.
Because I think the thing that draws Dick to people in all forms of his relationships, but is particularly true and evident in his romantic partners…..is Dick is both drawn and attracted to competence, skill, power, intellect….all the things that make someone hardy. Durable. A survivor in the context of the world of superheroics that he lives in, specifically.
He’s drawn to people he feels he’s less likely to lose. And he’s attracted to people that this is equally true of, and even moreso, to the degree where he doesn’t feel any need to protect them….not because he doesn’t want to, but because it isn’t relevant. He feels and trusts that they’re more than capable of protecting themselves just as well if not better than he ever could.
And he knows better than anyone that nothing’s a guarantee, and even as he surrounds himself with family and friends and romantic partners that all have in common the fact that they’re incredibly skilled, capable and powerful…enduring…..he still knows that doesn’t mean he can’t lose them, that he won’t lose them. And thus IMO they all wind up in distinct categories in his mind.
His family, he’d kill for. His friends, he’d die for. And his romantic partners, the thing that makes him attracted to them, rather than just drawn to them, are those that he has no doubt would kick his ass for ever presuming to do either of those things for them, because they’re more than capable of taking care of themselves, thanks ever so much. He’s attracted to people he feels safe around, in the sense that he’s not always on guard, always worried about losing them, because he trusts in their ability to endure, survive, and thrive. And that he also can relax around, in the sense that he’s not always feeling like its on him to protect them, defend them, that he has to be always to be on guard or watching out for…because its not his job to protect them and it doesn’t have to be, because there’s nothing he can do for them that they can’t do for themselves and wouldn’t prefer to be left to them. And thus with them he can just…be.
Dick Grayson IMO is attracted to one type of person and one type only: his equals in body, mind and spirit. The ones he can stand beside and not feel dwarfed by or lost in their shadow, and at the same time never have to look back to make sure they’re following him because he knows they’re right there next to him keeping up. He’s attracted to those who challenge him, intellectually, emotionally, that he respects on every level, but who respect him on every level too…..with this part being especially key, and the problem he’s had in his canon relationships - they ONLY fall apart on his end of things, make him lose faith in the relationship, when he feels disrespected, that they’re not valuing him or his capabilities or contributions. 
Dick KNOWS his own worth, which is why he’s such a unique blend of confidence and insecurity….he can weather a whole society of people looking down on him because he knows their opinion doesn’t mean shit to him, but still be stricken with insecurity when he feels someone whose opinion he DOES value, like a romantic partner, family or friend, seems to question his worth or what he’s capable of. 
Dick and Kory are my preferred canon relationship because when they’re ALLOWED to work without editorial mandate to break them up or keep them apart, they embody this most fully for me. Because Kory is massively more powerful than Dick, but never regarded Dick as anything other than her equal in the field in spite of that. There was no question that they both regarded each other as fellow warrior spirits that they trusted to have their back in battle above all others. Kory and Dick work so well for me, because with everything else I said kept in mind, they SHOULDN’T work, not as total equals, and yet they DO. There SHOULD be a power imbalance there, and yet there never was. Not one that was felt, anyway, and not one that was ever in any way responsible for any of their romantic problems. Their issues were disagreements born of competing ideologies….but that both felt equally strongly about. Or issues of trust but only that were externally imposed by brainwashing and shapeshifting and bad shitty writing and editorial mandate that I’ll be ranting about on my deathbed. 
BUT I DIGRESS.
Anyway, enough rhapsodizing about Dick and Kory, lol, like that’s anything new. I mean, I could insert rhapsodizing about the potential for Dick and Kyle based on all of the above and other reasons, but that’s nothing new either. And also, whoops, this got super fucking long.
OH UNKNOWABLE UNIVERSE, WHO COULD HAVE FORESEEN SUCH A THING.
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geejaysmith · 5 years
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Kat and I have amazing conversations sometimes and I felt they had to be shared. Also, alienfuckers, dad jokes, Maxwell’s alternative lifestyle and other headcanons, and Ace Attorney: Doug Eiffel edition. Full transcript under the cut.
Gill [Yesterday at 6:05 PM]: On an Unrelated topic: after the finale the crew remembers "OH YEAH, EIFFEL ACTUALLY HAD A FACE-TO-FACE CONVERSATION WITH ALIENS" and now in addition to all the other reasons to want him to Remember they're really freakin' curious to know how that went
Kat [Yesterday at 6:11 PM]: Minkowski: so what did they look like Eiffel: me (They do seem to like his body, they had a few models to choose from when talking to Cutter.)
Gill [Yesterday at 6:13 PM]: Eiffel, probably: at least the aliens think I'm cool I know what was meant by that but your phrasing made me think "In a shocking turn of events, it is the aliens who are attracted to the human." The aliens... are alienfuckers
Kat [Yesterday at 6:17 PM]: I don't think that's their jam but that WOULD be just his luck
Gill [Yesterday at 6:18 PM]: It is unlikely, but also: it would be hilarious
Kat [Yesterday at 6:21 PM]: the aliens keep sending me mental sexts and i crave death
Gill [Yesterday at 6:22 PM]: And lo another shitpost transforms into a fanfic concept, like a humble irradiated lizard becoming Godzilla: "would you fuck your clone?"
Kat [Yesterday at 6:28 PM]: leave him alone has the man not suffered enough
Gill [Yesterday at 6:28 PM]: No
Kat [Yesterday at 6:29 PM]: sigh
Gill [Yesterday at 6:29 PM]: Dance for my amusement, Douglas And also because I earnestly suspect that in the case of Eiffel and an interested alien-consciousness-in-the-form-of-a-Xerox-copy-of-him the answer would end up being "yes"
Kat [Yesterday at 6:34 PM]: idk i feel like it'd be more like "Oh what you spend two fucking years trying to drag us into the star because you can't be assed to make an appearance but you'll teleport across the galaxy for a booty call? Fuck you and I mean that figuratively" later sluts
Gill [Yesterday at 6:36 PM]: Bob is a bad datemate Is this entire train of thought brought on by the fact I still think of the person who expressed they shipped Bob/Eiffel in the tags of the "Take your double to Disneyland" post? Perhaps
Kat [Yesterday at 6:39 PM]: i don't know that you can have this at the same time as 'what if the aliens' bodies are still the people suppressed' without it getting Fucked Up but that's your perogative I guess as long as I don't have to hear about it family can't walk w me tonight so i need to hit the treadmill for a bit. ttyl
Gill [Yesterday at 6:41 PM]: See u in a bit! But ah yes, I hadn't thought of that til you brought it up Points at one explanation of Dear Listener manifestations for some ideas, points at a different explanation for ideas that would become unintentionally Pretty Fucked Up under the first explanation Although there is comedy potential to be found in Eiffel and Eiffel-2 having the "are we down with this" conversation In the /Justin McElroy voice, "someone just discovered they have ~the world's worst fetish~" sense
Kat [Yesterday at 7:33 PM]: a different terrible concept: eiffel with his pop culture references restored will likely be called upon to testify at the united nations
Gill [Yesterday at 7:37 PM]: O h  g o d Ace Attorney: Doug Eiffel edition
Kat [Yesterday at 7:46 PM]: i mean they're gonna have to tell the world SOMEHOW and i'd think the international court would want to know and he's the one with the subconscious recall implanted sidenote if the DL can do that mental transfer could they have just... asked them to reupload whatever their most recent scan of eiffel was there are so many ways around this that's why it failed to get much of an emotional rxn from me
Gill [Yesterday at 7:47 PM]: Minkowski and Lovelace trying to get him to practice his testimony bc if they hit enough subconscious recall triggers they can at LEAST get thru an explanation of the aliens without Eiffel going off into a tangent Once they're off the Dear Listeners' script though all bets are off
Kat [Yesterday at 7:48 PM]: here's a list of preplanned questions your honor we're not responsible if you ask anything else
Gill [Yesterday at 7:51 PM]: Eiffel, maybe: now Goddard didn't send up us there to bring home any xenomorphs but let me tell you, with the Decima project? They might as WELL have let a facehugger get up close and personal with me The translators rapidly swapping notes on late 70's sci-of cinema because a handful of them actually know what he's talking about
Kat [Yesterday at 7:54 PM]: Minkowski headdesking behind him Eiffel English isn't most of these people's first languages
Gill [Yesterday at 7:57 PM]: The news cameras are all dead-focused on Eiffel. He's hit his stride and is picking up steam. "And it was right around the time I was coughing up my liquefied respiratory system that I thought to myself, gee, I'd MUCH rather get a face of alien wing-wong than deal with this!" Minkowski is off to the side. She is visibly restraining herself. No poker face in the world can hide how hard she is longing for death. Whether it is hers or Eiffel's is a subject of contentious debate.
Kat [Yesterday at 7:58 PM]: someone at an elementary school: hey Garcia, is that your dad
Gill [Yesterday at 8:01 PM]: Anne, who was four the last time she saw her father in person, gets one look at the man weaving an intricate Star Wars metaphor out of crimes against humanity and recognizes him instantly, but signs back "I have never seen this guy before in my life."
Kat [Yesterday at 8:04 PM]: good call kiddo
============
Gill [Yesterday at 8:10 PM]: Honestly I love the concept that no matter how much Eiffel may drive them up the wall sometimes the rest of the crew would meet Anne and immediately be ready to kill a man for her sake
Kat [Yesterday at 8:15 PM]: as far as we know he's the only crewmember with kids women in the military... it wouldn't be easy even if you wanted one, which idk if any of them did
Gill [Yesterday at 8:15 PM]: Wait wait, brainwave: it is actually AMAZING that Minkowski had no idea Eiffel had a child because... does he seem like the kind of guy. Who would ever resist a Dad Joke.
Kat [Yesterday at 8:15 PM]: haha fair
Gill [Yesterday at 8:16 PM]: Eiffel: Actually, I have amazing self-restraint when I choose to exercise it. (Various noises of disbelief.) Eiffel: have you ever heard me tell a dad joke? No? I rest my case
Kat [Yesterday at 8:21 PM]: biggest plot hole of the series more like it was too painful a memory but still
Gill [Yesterday at 8:22 PM]: If he ever patches that connection it'll open the floodgates
Kat [Yesterday at 8:26 PM]: He'll become the Maes Hughes of the gang, except with fewer war crimes
Gill [Yesterday at 8:27 PM]: ...has anyone on this crew done war crimes? SI-5 excepted of course, they have obviously done war crimes
Kat [Yesterday at 8:32 PM]: yeah SI5 is war crime central I'm not sure about some of the other stuff executing a prisoner? idk about Minkowski
Gill [Yesterday at 8:32 PM]: Also my thought
Kat [Yesterday at 8:32 PM]: she wasn't a formal pow though it was an ongoing engagement I don't know the rules
Gill [Yesterday at 8:32 PM]: Minkowski Has Done One (1) War Crime (Goddard Futuristics attempts to bring that against her in the court case only for Maxwell to stroll in like lol what's up gang)
Kat [Yesterday at 8:37 PM]: does Goddard in its current incarnation last long enough to sue anyone i mean i think you could sue them for attempted genocide
Gill [Yesterday at 8:38 PM]: Look I have had one semester of business law You were the one who almost went to law school Also re: other characters being parents, the only one I could see going kiiiinda either way on the subject is Lovelace and it wouldn't have been terribly high on her priority list prior to the Hephaestus mission I can see characters having the opinion that they could see Minkowski as a mom but she and her husband both strike me as understanding themselves and one another as being more career-oriented
Kat [Yesterday at 8:44 PM]: yeah if she wanted to rise in the ranks of the military... that would probably be a strike against her
Gill [Yesterday at 8:44 PM] And the implication she's got a Complex about her parents having both left promising careers to raise her Also, Lovelace: Well I always said I could see myself settling down someday, maybe have a family if I met the right person, but when I took the job with Goddard it was legally dubious whether I could actually do that- Eiffel: Because you're an alien? Eiffel: Eiffel: ...wait a sec
Kat [Yesterday at 8:54 PM]: ha It's ok to be gay in space
Gill [Yesterday at 8:56 PM]: Alternatively it's Hera who said that bc didn't connect those dots right away, meanwhile Eiffel saw Lovelace in a flannel shirt once and Knew Immediately Eiffel may be dumb but somehow his Bi-Fi has yet to fail him
Kat [Yesterday at 8:59 PM]: Hera doesn't grasp  human sexuality nuances
Gill [Yesterday at 9:01 PM]: Funny addition to above thought: Eiffel put together that Jacobi was gay after like three days on the Urania, was the only one on the Hephaestus crew to do so, and just never felt it was relevant to bring up Hera, my child... you have much to learn (Also, Hera, probably: I'm experimenting at the moment, I'm looking for a torrent so I can download lesbianism)
Kat [Yesterday at 9:04 PM]: I don't know which option is funnier, that Jacobi is just Really Fucking Obvious but Eiffel was the only one paying attention or that it was super subtle and everyone's like How Did You Do That lovelace's righteous fury overwhelmed her gaydar, she was too mad to go 'same hat'
Gill [Yesterday at 9:07 PM]: Eiffel: I have something to confess to all of you... Jacobi: Eiffel literally not a single person on this ship is straight Eiffel: Oh I was just going to recount a PG version of my wild younger days, let's just say I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two.
Kat [Yesterday at 9:07 PM]: Jacobi on Earth: Just matched with myself on Grinder a-fucking-GAIN
Gill [Yesterday at 9:10 PM]: Jacobi: Oh I definitely picked up on it but who wants to go playing into stereotypes by speculating on what may or may not be a promiscuous history? Eiffel: Promiscuous? Look I've got notches in my belt but mostly I just ended up laying in somebody's bathtub at a house party while just conscious enough to nod along to someone else's relationship drama. Eiffel: to several sororities, I was the Gay Bathtub Wizard.
Kat [Yesterday at 9:11 PM]: Maxwell on day one of orientation: So if SI5 is paramilitary what's their stance on alternative lifestyles? Jacobi: I was recruited in a gay bar.
Gill [Yesterday at 9:12 PM]: Her asking the question has my brain going in several different directions
Kat [Yesterday at 9:13 PM]: I think she was recruited right after dadt was repealed... if obama exists in this universe fantasy obama
Gill [Yesterday at 9:15 PM]: One part of my brain: Maxwell is also gay Another part of my brain: Maxwell is exclusively attracted to nonhuman persons Yet another part of my brain, most adjacent to number #2: Maxwell voice, who in their right mind would build a robot that can't fuck? The 4th part of my brain: Maxwell wants to know how chill they'll be with her living exclusively off energy drinks and frozen yogurt for weeks at a time
Kat [Yesterday at 9:15 PM]: honestly I figured whatever it was it was MUCH weirder than just being gay
Gill [Yesterday at 9:15 PM]: Maxwell: I have plans to take over the world with my army of battle bots and rule as their robot queen.
Kat [Yesterday at 9:16 PM]: Maxwell: wait if you were recruited in a gay bar does that mean our boss frequents those or did he just go there to get you Jacobi: Believe me the question haunts me also Jacobi: sounds great i'm in
Gill [Yesterday at 9:16 PM]: Or, Maxwell: I am not joking for an instant when I say that I for one welcome our alien overlords "When I was 13 I tried to get myself abducted by aliens" except it's not a joke it's an actual minor headcanon of mine Also I almost typed "adopted" rather than "abducted" which shows you why Alana would probably want to do that
Kat [Yesterday at 9:19 PM]: she did say she's on bad terms with her family
Gill [Yesterday at 9:20 PM]: She grew up a pastor's kid in a tiny rural town in Montana, hearing that they don't get along is the furthest thing from a surprise to me. The surprise is that Maxwell has a restraining order against them
Kat [Yesterday at 9:21 PM]: tht implies the court found reasonable cause to issue one wack anyway i had a long day, i'm gonna call it a night
Gill [Yesterday at 9:21 PM]: o/ But yeah that Maxwell empathizes with nonhumans, apparently more than with most regular humans, that makes perfect sense to me I can see her frustration with the AI Ethics board in her last job Expressing Their Concerns and her suppressing flashbacks to many a Creationist rant, and trying to keep her eye from twitching visibly, and no I am not projecting I am just coloring in blank spaces in the narrative with my relevant life experience
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lightsandlostbells · 6 years
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Skam season 3, episode 7 reaction
AKA The One Where The Boy Squad Saved the Day
Episode 7 of season 3 is simpler compared to other episodes, artistically speaking - for most of it, there’s no slow motion, no big music moments, or any other Skam hallmarks. That is, until Even’s dramatic ass shows up at the very end. Which is quite fitting, in a way. 
SEASON 3, EPISODE 7 - “Are you gay?”
Clip 1 - Eskild becomes Isak’s guru
Eskild tries to help Noora get over William by showing her the wonders of Tinder. I don’t know if his distaste for William in S4 was something Julie invented that season, as maybe a nod to the part of the audience who did not care for William or Noorhelm, but in-universe I would buy Eskild developing that grudge against Willy around this time. I don’t think he quite knew how much of her S2 angst was William-related, considering she wasn’t an open book and she was dealing with assault-related trauma as well. Here he knows she’s hurting for reasons directly to do with William. 
Noora liked the guy on Tinder with the guitar, awww. William apparently had a guitar, as we saw during the More Than Words scene, but he was never shown playing it or talking about music.
“I just think you’re the kind of person who always has to do the right thing. You always have to be so good.” Hmmm, this says a lot about what Eskild thinks of Noora and her role in Kollektivet. Although I think in this case it mostly has to do with what Eskild says a moment later, about how everyone knows William isn’t going to come back. He really doesn’t think William will return for her and believes Noora is limiting herself by waiting for him. Just because Noora will wait for William doesn’t mean William will wait for her (which ... may have been true, it’s never clear in S4).
While watching this clip in real time, I wondered if, with all these moments reminding us that William is gone, Thomas wouldn’t come back for like a cameo in this season finale. Regardless of my personal feelings on the ship, Julie spent a full season on Noorhelm, and since there were Evak/Noorhelm parallels this season, if Evak ended up together, then Noorhelm would get some closure, right? It was actually a little surprising that she would tank her OTP like that without a hint of his return. 
Noora is making tea in a Star Wars mug. Is that her mug, or someone else’s? Who’s the Star Wars fan in the flat? Tbh ever since Eskild made that Warhammer reference in the first episode, I kind of like the idea of him having sci-fi/fantasy nerd tendencies. Imagine if Kollektivet had a tabletop game night, omg.
Isak has a little smile for just a fraction of a second at Eskild’s dramatics over the Noorhelm saga.
Eskild is really tired of Isak apologizing for the gay pride incident. I think once he got some distance from the situation, he remembered that Isak is young and just coming out, and not perfectly educated on all issues regarding to the LGBT community. Eskild himself likely made some similar mistakes when he was younger and newly out of the closet. Life is a learning process, there’s no point where any of us reach Mount Woke and forevermore say the right thing and hold all the right opinions about issues of social justice.
Also, at a certain point you just want people to stop saying sorry for their mistakes, because you’ve stopped caring about what they did and just want to move on. And sometimes it becomes more about the person saying sorry than the person they hurt, though I don’t think that’s the case here with Isak. But I do think Isak just does not want Eskild mad at him. He realizes he messed up and hurt someone close to him, someone that he frankly needs during this sensitive time in his life, and who already has done so much for him.
It’s hilarious how Eskild’s annoyed mood does a 180 once Isak says he needs some advice. Those are the magic words. Eskild is a dude who really, really wants to nurture others and take them under his wing. He wants to help. And he likes the idea of being Isak’s mentor. Of course there’s the satisfaction of having his opinion listened to and valued, but he also gets to help out a gay kid who’s not as sure of himself as Eskild. Really makes you wonder whether Eskild had his own guru or whether he had to go it alone - if this is a “pay it forward” situation, or if he’s telling Isak the things he wishes someone would have told him.
It’s kind of hard to think about long-term future headcanons for Skam since it existed so firmly in its present, but I love the idea that Eskild would become a counselor for troubled youth or LGBT teens or something like that.
This is also just delicious payback, because asking for help shows Isak does look up to Eskild and respects his opinion, which is what Eskild wants. It’s really fun as Carl Martin stretches out Isak’s request, playing with him. Messing with Isak is probably more satisfying than another apology. Meanwhile Isak rolls his eyes in peak bratty teenage mode. (Tarjei gives some first-rate bratty teenage face in this scene.)
Here’s the immortal guru line, ha! Didn’t Carl Martin improvise this part? 
It’s really nice that Isak felt he could go to Eskild with this concern, though. Coming out to Jonas made him relax a little bit, but Jonas can’t quite understand the specific scenario of being a gay guy (or pan guy in Even’s case) and having relationship drama. There are some factors in Isak and Even’s situation that could be influenced by them being two guys instead of a straight couple, so now Isak wants the input of another gay guy. Still, Isak is mostly looking at the ground while he openly admits his concerns about this thing with Even. He’s very vulnerable, getting it all out there. And honestly, he’s indicating to Eskild that this isn’t just a casual thing with Even - he’s invested in it, otherwise would he be so confused and upset about Even going back to his girlfriend? They weren’t just hooking up, Isak thought they were going to be together.
You can see the mention of “girlfriend” being the thing that sticks out to Eskild, and Isak noticing that and starting to get worried.
I really like this exchange where Eskild asks Isak how honest he wants him to be, and Isak says, “Maybe not too honest,” at first, then changes his mind and asks for the whole truth. That’s such a good little moment because you can see that Eskild wants to protect Isak’s feelings but also doesn’t want to give him false hope or lie to him. He’s really looking out for Isak’s best interests. And Isak doesn’t want to hear the harsh truth at first, which is real and vulnerable, but then he figures he better hear it anyway, which is a mark of maturity.
Look at the bucket of cold water splashed over Isak when Eskild tells him not many guys leave their girlfriends for a guy. This is like the episode opener from episode 4 all over again, except opposed to what Eskild said to Noora - “There are people who leave their wives and families to be with the ones they love.” It’s interesting because he’s talking from a more personal perspective here, as a gay man, rather than Noora’s issue with her het relationship, and his take is more cynical. 
Though even with Noora, Eskild was trying to soften the blow - it was clear he thought William was out of the picture for good, going off how he kept mentioning how Noorhelm had broken up despite Noora’s protests. Similarly, Eskild doesn’t want to let Isak down too much, he wants to qualify that he’s not God or Buddha, this is just his opinion … but he also can’t bring himself to openly lie (in his opinion) to Isak and tell him it’s going to work out fine.
Nothing like Eskild asking if his advice was helpful when Isak’s hope is draining fast, and the clip just ending there.
So I remember there was criticism of Eskild’s advice/POV here, and while I understand why because his advice is flawed and he ends up being wrong about Even, obviously, I think it’s important to keep in mind Eskild is coming from a very specific, very personal perspective, where he’s meeting guys on Grindr who are ostensibly hanging on to a straight identity while having gay sex. As that one dude in episode 2 wrote to him, he’s not gay but he likes to suck dick, etc. - and I doubt that random Grindr guy meant he was actually bi or pan rather than gay; in context he was likely disavowing any non-heterosexual identity. Eskild is talking about a specific type of guy who will have sex with men for pleasure, but would not commit to more long-term relationships with men - relationships that are perceived more negatively in society, relationships that will direct prejudice and scorn toward those involved, relationships that unfortunately can lead to terrible consequences due to homophobia, such as violence, discrimination, family disapproval, etc. He’s not getting a correct read on Isak’s situation - the guru is fallible. But his take on it is from personal experience. (Plus Isak is telling him how Even keeps running hot and cold, showing Isak affection then ignoring him, which is not going to give Eskild the best impression of the situation.)
Clip 2 - Nei, Vilde
My heart gets so warm whenever Isak and Sana are in the same frame.
“I read it last weeeeek.” Why is that one line delivery so funny and memorable? Tarjei is a human meme.
Isak is right, the correct answer is D. Sana is convinced it’s A. One of Sana’s greatest strengths is her conviction in her beliefs, but it’s also one of her biggest flaws. As we can see, sometimes she is strongly convinced she’s right when she’s not, and she can have trouble admitting that she’s wrong. (Another moment: that scene from S1 where Sana and Noora are talking about an assignment, Noora says Sana did a problem wrong, and Sana says that the answer key is wrong.) This part of the scene with Isak and Sana fighting over the answer is here to parallel the earlier scene with Sana talking about homosexuality not being supported by evolution and to foreshadow the coming scene where she does admit to Isak she was wrong about it. We can see that Sana, while a smart person, doesn’t have all the answers. She is just a teenager, after all. And we can see that she’s stubborn in her mindset, so for her to say she was wrong about something is a big deal for her.
Also, in Isak’s season he’s the one who’s got the right answer and it’s Sana who’s wrong, and I believe in Sana’s season she’s the one outperforming him, which is funny and fitting for their characters. They both think they’re the brains of the operation.
“Your own organs don’t release waste.” Sana ... do you not know what poop is....
I mean excretion takes other forms,too, but I am given to understand that poop is a globally recognized phenomenon.
Sana pinching her nose in exasperation is pretty funny, though. She must have perfected that gesture during her conversations with Vilde, but as it turns out, it has many applications!
“Just trust me, Sana, I know this.” “I trust myself and it’s A.” Character-defining statement for Sana right there.
I’d forgotten that Isak says, “This is my subject. I know what I’m doing.” Just to support all those fanfics where Isak is a scientist or doctor. Sometimes facts can be super common in fic, but not necessarily supported in canon, but this bit gives credence to scientist Isak outside of him just generally being smart and getting good grades in biology.
AND NOW, as of this week, we have Julie Andem herself saying that Isak is studying biophysics at university, for people who would like to run with her headcanons.
Isak is like, “Let’s just Google it, I’m sick of you being stubborn,” and Sana’s like, “Well, if you’re so uncertain that you have to check Google,” and I’m like, oh my god what a ridiculous duo, I can’t stop giggling at them sniping at each other. The crankiest friends, I love them.
Everyone’s least favorite teacher returns, still without a bra but this time without a racist comment. Uh, character development? (Wasn’t she some teacher at Nissen? Imagine walking into your classroom and all your students were watching extended shots of your nipples when the clip dropped earlier. Unless she usually free-boobs it, then it’s just another Tuesday.)
Isak and Sana can’t come to an agreement, so they agree to disagree by each choosing an answer and marking it. Almost like … they can agree to disagree on other topics … hmmmm...
You can see Sana frown in confusion as she reads the text, and my heart cracks a little with Isak’s response. He looks over with a smirk, teasing her about not knowing her name and it’s very cute, but his smile drops when he sees her expression. And then when he reads the text, Tarjei does such excellent and subtle acting. It’s not like Isak has a meltdown at the table or anything, but you can see him getting punched in the gut, the shock sinking in. He quietly puts the phone in his pocket, a little tremor in his voice.
Vilde, Vilde, Vilde. I actually love Vilde a lot, messy comments and opinions and all, but this is What Not to Do when you think someone you know might be gay. First of all, you shouldn’t be putting someone randomly on the spot like that, launching into such a personal question without even easing into the subject (“I hope you don’t find this question rude” - too bad, because it is rude). I mean, imagine if someone was randomly like, “Vilde, I hope you don’t think this is rude, but is your mom an alcoholic?” WTF. Second, Vilde doesn’t know Isak that well, certainly not well enough to be asking him that question. I don’t think that question would be appropriate from a close friend, either, but definitely not from their level of acquaintances. Third, if you think your friend might be gay, you should wait for them to bring it up to you, because it’s a very personal matter. It’s a sensitive topic and they’re likely to be feeling vulnerable; they might not be sure of themselves and still questioning their sexuality, they just might not be ready. Plus coming out is something each individual should have control over. With these rumors, Isak has this life-changing moment taken out of his hands.
Sana responds to the text well, though, not acknowledging it, changing the subject by asking about the next bio question, and taking care of their assignment for Isak. You know when she saw Vilde next she chewed her out.
This is probably when things really started to make sense to her about why Isak was so hung up about religion not being accepting of homosexuality, and why he confronted her about it. She realizes that no matter her point, maybe her words had some unintended meanings that weren’t the best for Isak to hear.
There’s fear in Isak’s eyes when Sana gets up. He looks at her like he thinks she might hate him now because she knows he’s gay :(
Isak is not ready to be labeled gay, really, so you can imagine how alarming this is. Not just that he had a relationship with a boy, but that he IS something. He’s something that he’s not yet ready to accept about himself, but suddenly everyone in school knows it about him? 
To make matters worse, when Isak asks Vilde where she heard it, she mentions that she heard Isak and Even had a thing. So it’s not just that Isak is gay, it’s that Isak had a relationship with Even, like ... exactly how much do they know about his life?
What do you think Even thought about being outed? We don’t know whether he was out or not, whether he was OK with it. He wasn’t wearing a pan pride button until S4. Maybe he was fine with people knowing about his sexuality, but it still wasn’t Emma’s call to make, it was his.
Of course here we learn Emma spilled the beans after hearing it from Sonja. You can imagine how this went: Even told Sonja about him and Isak. I don’t have a problem with him doing that. She was his girlfriend of four years, she deserved to know the truth about why Even was ending their relationship. And she also had graduated and didn’t go to Nissen so she wasn’t exactly enmeshed in the Nissen social sphere, there seemingly wasn’t much risk in telling her. Then Sonja contacted Emma, the sweet first-year girl who she got along with so well, to warn her off Isak. I don’t think it was wrong of her to do this in theory? I guess Sonja could have said, “Hey, Isak is not worth your time,” without going into more details about Isak and Even’s relationship, but who knows how effective that would have been. I get it, she doesn’t want Emma to waste her time and get her heart broken. Ultimately it was Emma’s choice whether to keep Isak’s sexuality to herself or not. And we don’t know exactly how Emma outed Isak, since the details Vilde gives are on the vague side. It could have been Emma venting to a friend but not intending to spread it around school, except someone else happened to overhear. It could have been the friend passing it on to a friend, who passed it on to another friend, and it kept going way more than Emma wanted or predicted. Or, I mean, it could have been Emma really angry at Isak and not bothering to keep it a secret, not understanding the severity of what it’s like to be outed (because it’s 2016, Isak, get out of the closet, geeeeeez).
But whether it was through carelessness or malice, outing Isak was clearly wrong of Emma. And frankly worse than what he did to her - he hurt Emma by leading her on, but outing Isak could have had really bad consequences. Isak is lucky that his friends are good people who accepted him instead of rejecting him. Even if he wasn’t gay-bashed or something extreme like that, he could have had to deal with homophobic assholes at school. We don’t see Isak dealing with homophobes until S4, but it’s not unreasonable to think there would be some shitheads who might use homophobic slurs or make fun of him, laugh at him, etc.
Actually, although he doesn’t really deal with bullying in this season, we do see that he has to deal with people like Vilde and the dance girls, well-intentioned individuals who still make him uncomfortable with inappropriate or generalizing remarks. All of that is a hell of a lot to deal with as a gay teenager. It should have been Isak’s choice when he was ready to deal with all of that by coming out to the school. No matter her intentions, Emma took that away from him.
This is my one substantial critique of the season and the only thing I would change. I think we definitely see that Emma’s actions had negative effects for Isak, but it would have been nice to get more open acknowledgment that outing someone else without their consent is wrong. Either by someone explicitly saying that Emma did something wrong, or by Emma apologizing to Isak for what she did. Or both. Her reaction in her final scene with him does seem like she’s apprehensive about speaking to him, so maybe she realizes she messed up, but it would have been good to get this message vocalized for the audience. Don’t out people against their will.
Vilde says, “Sorry if it’s not true.” But not sorry if it is true, because Vilde doesn’t realize that it’s not the veracity of the rumor, it’s the violation of privacy.
Vilde thinks she’s being an ally, too, except of course her comments are just going to make Isak feel worse. This is what he fears - being judged because he’s gay, coming out = people seeing him as a concept instead of as an individual. Vilde is playing into the same thoughtlessness as Emma in episode 3: she’s making generalizations, and positive generalizations are still a problem. “I love gays!” is dehumanizing. Not all gay people are the same. Some are nice. Some are mean. Some are fun. Some are boring. You know. Like the rest of humanity. She’s showing that she’s slotting Isak into this neat little box, which is what she wants to avoid.
If you’ve read Ulrikke’s Skam fanfic for charity, there’s a bit where Vilde kisses Isak on the cheek because she’s trying to make him her gay best friend. But of course Isak is anything but the “gay best friend” stereotype. 
It is kind of ridiculous to imagine Vilde looking at Isak and going, ah yes, there’s a guy who would make a perfect gay best friend. Like Vilde is expecting a shopping partner or someone to give her grooming tips and romance advice, and instead Isak’s preferred BFF activities would consist of lying around, playing FIFA, and smoking weed.
Clip 3 - Coming out to the boys
Jonas asks the important questions, like how does IKEA name their furniture? (And IKEA had an answer for Jonas.) (They told him to have fun at the pre-drink on Friday, lmao. IKEA was just as deep in Skam hell as the rest of us.)
The random girl saying hello to Isak is one of those innocuous-seeming things that really illustrates the negative effects of being outed. Isak is exposed. He’s suddenly a public figure. Even in a “positive” way that’s a lot to deal with; not to be a broken record but he should have been his choice when to come out so he could prepare himself for this attention. 
Lmao, Magnus and Mahdi have their own little musical duo. Also, David’s rapping and dancing in this scene is the funniest shit. His comedic timing was great in this clip.
You can notice a few subtle differences in how Magnus and Mahdi greet Jonas versus how they greet Isak, because there’s still awkwardness over what happened at Emma’s party. Mahdi doesn’t look at Isak at first.
I don’t usually comment on this type of stuff but this is one of Isak’s fluffiest looks. Whenever he leaves off the snapback? Fluff factor increases 200%. Helps that he spends part of this scene looking skittish as a baby deer.
Jonas is the one to mention Isak’s pre-party, signaling that he is cool with Isak and softening the awkwardness of Isak having to do it. Jonas is such an excellent bro.
Magnus readily agrees to the party; I think he’s just such an easy-going dude and not someone who likes conflict. Jonas semi-subtly asks if they’re all in, and there’s a little moment where Isak and Mahdi exchange a look. Isak says that he won’t get violent this time, which is his way of saying he’s sorry, and Mahdi is cool with it and gives a giant lovely smile. So just like that, peace is restored in the boy squad.
I remember this was the clip where I fully turned around on the boy squad and went from, hmmm, don’t know how I feel about these teenage boys? to I love them FOREVER. Just in time for the magnificent Fredag clip.
Of course, then Magnus just has to bring up that totally wacky rumor about Isak being gay. Lol so funny that everyone thinks that!! Because it’s obviously not true!! The relief Isak must feel at making up with his friends must grind to a halt. Because it’s one thing that they’re forgiven him for the fight, but are they going to be OK with him once they learn he’s gay? He came out to Jonas and it went well, but what about these guys? Coming out is going to have to be a continuous process for him, isn’t it? And maybe it will get easier but can it ever get easy?
 I’m not sure Isak planned to come out to Magnus and Mahdi when he sat down. There’s a text conversation between Isak and Jonas about telling the boys since the rumors went around, but I don’t know if Isak entered the room with the intention of coming out right then and there, or if he was just planning on making amends and then coming out to them in a different scenario, like maybe he wanted to tell them at the pre-drink (hey, it could be easier after a few drinks), but Magnus bringing up the rumors sort of pushed the issue. At least when he came out to Jonas, he got to plan the time and place and had some control over the situation.
Jonas is there, though, and he realizes that this conversation could head into uncomfortable territory for Isak. The upside is that Isak does have Jonas there for emotional support, he has at least one friend he knows has his back about being gay, he’s not doing this alone. I live for Jonas glancing at Isak during this conversation to check on how he’s doing. Which is not great - Isak is REALLY uncomfortable listening to Magnus and Mahdi talk about the rumors.
I really like how they handle this part of the conversation, though, regarding the rumors about Mahdi fighting Isak for being gay. It puts Isak and Mahdi, who haven’t always gotten along this season, on similar ground. Mahdi is also a victim of a stereotyping and generalizing, both “neutral” and negative - that he’s Muslim when he’s not, that he’s homophobic when he’s not. Assumptions that are certainly made because of his race. I can’t speak for Norwegians specifically, but it’s a widespread stereotype that POC are less tolerant of LGBT people and more likely to be homophobic. It’s a good thing for Julie to casually include a rejection of that stereotype. Also that Mahdi is really bothered and not amused by other people thinking he’s a homophobe. Magnus thinks this whole thing is so ridiculous it’s funny, while the others really don’t find it funny at all; it’s shitty for Isak and Mahdi personally, and Jonas knows that Isak is struggling.
I do love Magnus overall but I want to duct tape his mouth shut for a large part of this conversation.
Okay, he drives me up the wall here but admittedly I do get a laugh out of that satisfied huff he gives at the end of the talk, like “Good chat, glad we got that cleared up.” Having no idea the seriousness of this conversation.
Poor Isak. His discomfort throughout this clip is very well-acted, good job, Tarjei. He can’t even look his friends in the eye at the beginning. 
And that eye contact Jonas shares with him before Isak starts to tell them the truth!!!! Best bro!!!! He also keeps looking to Jonas for support during the talk, before he tells the boys about Even.
The way Isak comes out here is roundabout, just like before. Like he did with Jonas, he builds up to it - he’s not just like, “Well, there’s some truth to the rumors,” or anything so direct. He starts by winding into the story about the dance chicks, taking some time to get to the point. He needs to work up to saying the words.
An interesting part is when Isak asks if they remember the guy who came up to them and Magnus is like, “The gay guy?” and Isak wants to know why he thinks he was gay. Because Isak is of course thinking about Even, not the random dance instructor. But there’s some stuff to unpack with how Isak gets maybe a little tense or alert about Magnus thinking Even is gay. There are a couple ways you could read his reaction: that Isak is still dealing with what it means to be gay and to be seen as gay, the social perception of it, and can’t turn off the part of his brain that’s full of anxiety about seeming gay, and wants to know what it is Magnus picked up about Even - could it apply to Isak, too? Or that Isak is still thinking about Eskild’s guru advice and Even’s general hot and cold-ness and wondering if Even really is gay (or bi, or pan, or into dudes) and wanting another take on it? Or you know, just confusion over how Magnus could know that much with such a brief interaction. 
To be fair, all of these interpretations assume Isak believes Magnus is capable of a deeper level of perception that he perhaps is, lmao. Or, on the other hand, if someone like Magnus could pick up that Even was perhaps gay after seeing him for like 10 seconds, then what does that say about how people see Isak? 
It’s honestly pretty funny that Isak is like “Don’t you remember the guy who was such a tall swoopy-haired drink of water? Didn’t him returning Jonas’ hat burn into your minds for all eternity until you pass from this world and it’ll be the last thing you see on your deathbed?” Isak, those guys were in a dance girls coma, a random dude returning a hat was mostly a non-event to them. (Yes, Jonas remembered that moment and figured out he must be Isak’s crush, but Jonas is the The Best Friend and paying close attention to all Isak-related anomalies.)
Once more, Isak comes out to people not by saying he’s gay, but by describing his actions (“We’ve had a thing”). Quickly reinforced by Magnus asking whether he’s gay and Isak reflexively rejecting the label. It goes from Isak saying, This is what I did and Magnus saying, So this is who you are? and Isak saying, No, that’s not who I am. Well, maybe a little bit.
I mean, he does say he’s a little bit gay, but I feel like that’s a concession that yeah, hooking up with a dude is not a straight thing to do, he probably feels like it would be stupid to pretend otherwise. But him fumbling with the gay label here shows how concerned he still is about the perception of others about his sexuality. He still has hangups about what it means to be gay and wants to distance himself from societal stereotypes, and he quickly backs into a defense of himself. Isak might be a little gay but he’s not SO gay he’s into every guy he meets. Which should be obvious - he’s not into every guy out there just as these straight boys are not attracted to every single girl on the planet. But Isak is very insecure. Like at its core, this part is sad to me, because he wants to make sure these other guys are not uncomfortable with him and they don’t see him as a threat. It’s completely understandable why he has these insecurities, because of homophobic ideas about predatory gay men, but it’s still depressing that he feels he needs to defend himself when the words about him having a relationship with a guy are barely out of his mouth.
However, here is another really good moment! Magnus is confused because Isak (in his eyes) hooks up with girls all the time, and Isak doesn’t really know how to say he was lying or faking, or he doesn’t want to say he is not into girls at all yet (because if he’s like, “I’m not into girls,” Magnus is going to be like, “Sooo… you are gay?”) BUT before Isak has to handle this deeply awkward moment, blessed Mahdi is like, “Well, he could be pansexual?” THANK GOD. We as the audience know that Isak is not pan (or bi) but it’s completely reasonable as an outside suggestion that Isak might be. So often this is framed as one or the other, Isak could only be gay or straight. A lot of canons won’t even bring up bisexuality, and it’s really rare to hear pansexuality mentioned at all. Bravo, Skam. 🙌
So this tense moment where Isak is suddenly put on the spot and potentially asked to explain his sexual history is diverted by his friends casually discussing and debating pansexuality and bisexuality. Is this the most #woke way they could have talked about it? Well, no, but it’s a realistic discussion and certainly a good thing for the teenage audience to hear. These characters are not experts on every social issue out there, but they’re open to being educated and sharing knowledge with each other.
Like I kind of laugh at Isak pursing his lips, suddenly excluded from his own coming out while his friends debate labels. In a way it is weird that they’re suddenly talking about whether Isak could be bi or pan right in front of him, but not with him, just among themselves. It’s meant in a good-natured way though, they’re trying to understand him. And Isak must find this deeply surreal but preferable to being grilled personally on how he identifies. Of course they could have just asked him whether he was bi or pan but I don’t think Isak was ready to answer that question.
King Jonas is like “However, he identifies, he’s having a pre-party on Friday,” because hey, that’s the most important thing here, where and when they can get drunk. (For real, bless Jonas for changing the subject before it got too strange.)
Magnus using the f-slur is jarring and not excusable and I mean, I hope Jonas later on was like, “Don’t say that word, dumbass,” and Magnus went home and Googled words not to use when your bro might be pansexual and educated himself. I’m not excusing him, but I don’t think we don’t hear anything like that from him later so hopefully he wised the fuck up.
But again, duct tape.
At least Isak does not seem rattled by it and uses the opportunity to roast Magnus. Because it’s just so easy.
Not gonna lie, the clip ending so abruptly after Magnus is like, “Huh?” makes me laugh.
Clip 4 - Love letter, kinda
Is this the shortest individual clip in all of Skam? It’s less than a minute long. I can’t remember any others that are shorter.
I love that Isak stops and takes a moment to size up his locker, bracing himself for his daily battle. And that it just … doesn’t happen. He’s downright stunned when the locker doesn’t fight him and gives way easily. Isn’t it wonderful when a problem that’s been bothering you is finally gone?
Regarding Isak’s locker of character development, the meaning is very clear. Isak came out to his friends and it’s not the end of the world. They accept him. So his locker (closet) can open without a struggle. He’s not stuck in the closet or struggling to keep his secrets from spilling out. It’s fine. It’s such a simple metaphor but it’s lovely.
And on top of that, he has another message from Even!
Even drew that damn phone twice, you can see subtle differences in each version (besides the obvious text messages).
Again, I love Even’s sketches so much. He’s has such a clever, creative, romantic mind. The “this universe” side of the sketch is acknowledgment that he received Isak’s message, but didn’t reply. The “same time in a completely different universe” sketch is what he feels he SHOULD have done, what he wanted to do but couldn’t get the courage to do, or felt he couldn’t. It’s so poignant! There’s so much longing! I swoon. 
This sketch is an apology, too, because he knows Isak must have been hurt by Even leaving him hanging yet again, especially right after Even must have given him some hope with the cheese toastie sketch. This is Even acknowledging that he should have replied and in a better world, he would have.
It makes you think so much about what was holding Even back. I don’t think it was just Sonja (tbh I wonder if Sonja was really in the picture, to be discussed later), I think it was just simply his hesitance over Isak’s comment about mentally ill people. He gave Isak the cheese toastie sketch because he saw Isak was sad and wanted to let him know Even still cared, that his feelings were still there. But then, you know, Isak found the sketch and sent Even a text, and interacting with Isak again just made Even have another round of doubts. He felt like he shouldn’t be doing this, he shouldn’t be continuing this thing with Isak or encouraging it. But at the same time, Even does not want Isak to be in pain. And despite his reservations, despite everything standing in his way, Even wants Isak.
The “miss you” is such a punch in the gut, too. Like we know Even misses Isak because he drew them having cheese toasties together, in another, better universe. But it’s also good to see him state the words so directly. Again, the longing. My heart can’t take it.
This is the drawing that ends up on the wall of the Evak apartment in S4. Isak saved it and they both decided to put it up, even when all the drama had passed, because it was special to them. I like to think it’s a reminder to them of what they went through to be together, and to treasure their life in the present, because going through hell was worth it to arrive at their happiness together.
Look at Isak’s little smile, awwwww.
Not to ruin this beautiful moment or anything but as people have pointed out, Tarjei is reacting to a blank piece of paper.
I think I’ve said this before but looking at Even’s drawing here reminded me of how I am an utter wreck of a human being when I think about his drawings being in the S3 header. Just Isak surrounded by Even’s sketches. Even’s mind, Even’s personality. Even as an integral part of the season, of Isak’s story. I see an Illuminati symbol surrounded by dicks and I’m overcome with emotion. This season still got its claws in me, goddamn.
Clip 5 - REUNION CLIP
This clip is just so heartwarming. When this aired the Skam train had left the station, internationally speaking, and the fandom was so happy and having such a good time with this quality content. It’s really amazing how fast the fandom grew. I think the reaction to this clip was maybe when it sank in for me that Skam was getting big on Tumblr.
The boys talking about russ music at parties reminds me of how S3 is so devoid of anything russ-related compared to other seasons. If Skam had continued until graduation, do you think we’d see the boy squad participating in russ at all, or would they opt out? I mean, I guess we have Jonas’ thoughts on the matter, but what about the others? We don’t see them planning anything, obviously, but a lot of us wanted to see the boys in those overalls. How common is it not to participate?
The way Jonas says “Nate Dogg” cracks me up.
Isak is trying, really trying to get invested in this conversation, but his mind can’t help but roam elsewhere, to Evenland. He is wearing the exact same outfit as in the Bros clip of episode 5, and it’s a similar setup, scene-wise - he’s at a pre-drink with his boys and they’re engaged in a conversation, but he’s very disconnected from it all. The difference here is that Isak has re-established that social connection with them, so Jonas is quick to notice Isak really isn’t there with them, and he checks with Isak. Not just how Isak is feeling right then and there, but making sure to ask about the Even situation. Jonas can deduce that whatever’s got Isak in a mood, it’s probably Even-related. And because Isak has opened up to Jonas, he doesn’t have to sit there in misery the whole time.
The setup of this scene is subtly different from the Bros clip, too. In that one, the boys were all on different pieces of furniture - Magnus and Mahdi on some couch, Jonas across from them on a chair, and Isak between them on another chair - and it made it easy for Isak to sit there disengaged from the group because of the distance. Here they’re all sitting around the same table, a united front, and it’s not as easy for Isak to detach himself. He’s in the same place as they are, he’s level with them.
When Isak says Even has a girlfriend, Magnus asks if he is pansexual. HOW RIGHT YOU ARE, SON. Look at Magnus, using his new vocabulary. 
These boys are just darling. I kind of love how Jonas is the friend who is like 100% Team You, like … the friend who will join in with you when you’re spilling your romance woes and be like, “What is his DEAL?” and give you all that commiseration you want, but also the advice you need to hear. And Magnus is like oooo, are we talking about Even? Isak’s friends want all the dirt on their boy’s boy. Like they are invested, they are ready and willing to hear about Isak’s interpersonal issues. 
But isn’t it nice for Isak to be able to talk about this with people? That once he’s no longer keeping this huge secret, he can talk with his friends about his romance problems, just like they can talk about their girl drama? It’s no different than Magnus talking about Vilde, except with less TMI. That’s the obvious contrast between this scene and the Bros clip. Isak starts off detached in both scenes, but in this one the boys bring him back in.
And to be fair, Isak could hypothetically had shitty friends who didn’t accept him, or who were theoretically OK with him being gay but didn’t actually want to hear him talk about hooking up with boys because it made them uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that happens in real life. Like … Isak was not unjustified in his fears and in his keeping secrets. It’s just that his friends turned out to be great, and that opening up to them was a positive step.
One annoying part about coming out to his friends: Isak having to deal with Magnus’ incredibly heterosexual questions. But also, it’s nice that the other boys are clearly rolling their eyes and groaning at Magnus being a dumbass, it’s treated as Magnus bieng inappropriate. And this exchange is a small but valid misconception to include in the show, because it’s a big thing for straight people to ask who’s the man and who’s the woman in a gay relationship - they’re still mapping the relationship onto heteronormative roles. Each romantic relationship MUST have a man or woman role in it. And of course that’s not the case. Not to mention this question is also clearly linked to sexual roles, like … two men having sex are two men. It doesn’t matter what they’re doing during that sex. No one’s the “woman.” (I mean, I think Magnus is asking how they decide who’s the top and who’s the bottom? But there are no guidelines for that, either, lol. Those are things people decide as individuals when having sex, it’s not a universal rule who does what. Or I guess Magnus is just very confused about how gay sex works, lmao.)
Magnus’ question always reminds me of this scene from The Office.
Isak’s roast of Magnus here is one of the finest roasts I’ve ever heard, like someone serve it with carrots and enter it in the county fair because it’ll win a blue ribbon. He goes in for the drag about straight sex and then circles back for a snap at Magnus’ lack of action! Double roasted! So roasted it’s burnt! You’re going to be chewing on that sucker and end up spitting it into a napkin. Even Jonas is impressed.
Lmao, I know Magnus is meant to be the clueless straight guy, but I like headcanoning him as stumbling into a bisexual epiphany in a few years. Like sometime after he graduates he’ll be like … ohhhhhh, that’s why I had those questions about gay sex for Isak and was so invested in Evak and was struck speechless by Even. 
JONAS IS THE FUCKING BEST, LISTEN TO HIM AND HIS WISE OLD WIZARD EYEBROWS, ISAK
Really, Jonas just cuts past the bullshit and says for Isak to put his foot down about this whole Even situation. It’s now or never. Stop letting Even play with your heart. Did Jonas have a flair for relationship advice when he and Eva were together, or has he gained some wisdom from his own experience with love drama?
This scene is just such a joy! Usually in media, the gay characters are the ones who help out the straight characters with their romantic drama. Here it’s the opposite. Especially because these are straight boys who are completely fine with giving their gay bro advice on how to get his man. This is honestly great of Julie to normalize this behavior. I’ve heard comments that maybe this situation is idealized, that the boy squad are so cool with everything, but you know what? Skam, for all its realism, is frequently about ideal outcomes - not just how things are, but how they should be. Giving teenagers a roadmap of how to react in unknown situations.  
Also, how great is it that Isak has been listening to endless conversations about girls, sitting through dance chicks performances, basically going through all these social rituals and bonding with his friends over heterosexual desire, feeling so isolated from it all, and now finally he’s included? His coming out has opened the door for Isak to both be honest about his own attraction to men and no longer having to feign interest in girls. Freeeedoooooom!
The boys are also using their knowledge of dating girls to help out Isak, translating it to him dating a boy. And I mean, there is a different social context with straight relationships and gay relationships, so their advice might not always fit perfectly with Isak’s situation. However, it matters that they’re not othering Isak (well, Magnus is with his questions, but those are laughed at and shut down). They’re able to maintain an easy connection with Isak, not filtering him through a different lens because he’s into a guy. Which is absolutely what Isak wants, to be treated the same.
Isak is very encouraged by the boys telling him to put Even on the spot and be blunt with him about what’s happening with them. I think it’s funny that Magnus is like, “Yeah, it sucks when she leaves you on read,” and we hear it happens to him all the time. Somehow that does not surprise me!
Isak is friendlier and not as blunt as Jonas encouraged him to be in the text message to Even, thanking Even for the drawing at the beginning. He’s human, he’s soft for Even, he can’t totally hide it. But he does make it clear that if Even doesn’t want something more, then this needs to end. 
“Call me when you’ve broken up with your girlfriend.” What a line. You harness that self-respect, Isak.
They’re all so proud of their boy Isak for standing up for himself. They’re even like “Bros! Brothers!” when they clink their cans. You have to imagine that even if this thing with Even hadn’t worked out, Isak had a strong support system to get him through the heartbreak.
Lmao, Even answers immediately. Isak giving him that ultimatum and laying down the law really made him sweat, huh.
No, really, let’s talk about what Even thought when he got this text.
Now personally I believe Even was no longer in a clear relationship with Sonja when he got this text. I think whatever happened with them at Emma’s party was either temporary or ill-defined, and they were still technically on a break through all of this. Mostly because Even ends up getting to Isak’s apartment SO FAST. Like ... was Even breaking up with Sonja as he was running out the door??? Did he shoot her a break-up text during the night, after when Isak was asleep? I’d like to think he didn’t do Sonja that dirty. 
But yeah, Even responds so quickly. Right after Isak sends that first text, Even realizes that he might lose him. And after all this hesitation, knowing that Isak doesn’t want mentally ill people around, fearing that he could hurt Isak, that Isak could reject him once he finds out the truth … after his efforts to push Isak away, Even can’t do it. When Isak makes plain that Even has to put up or shut up, it takes zero time for Even to make a decision. Or at least, he has to talk to Isak. The thought of losing Isak outweighs any other concerns he might have. There’s something about the simplicity of it that gets me. When there’s no time or room for doubt, Even chooses Isak in a heartbeat. 
Jonas is of course the master of strategic texting. Don’t call Even, because calling will put you on the spot and bring you closer together than texting. Isak has to be a little aloof, make Even think he’s really about to let go. Play it cool. The magic words are Chiller hjemme. Lets him know you might be available, but you’re not desperate to talk with him. (Seriously, how did Jonas get this smooth?? I assume from experience but lmao, the evolution between S1 and S3 Jonas is like ... Bulbasaur and Venusaur.) (I don’t know Pokemon that well, if there’s one that has magnificent eyebrows please let me know.)
Isak’s facial expressions throughout this whole texting debate are so funny to me. He’s practically a wide-eyed innocent? He’s so earnest, he really does want to talk to Even! Plus with his little curls popping out from under his snapback, he looks very young and fresh-faced to the whole ultimatum via text message thing.
And he keeps wanting to add more to the text, like “just call me,” or suggesting a smiley, and Jonas shoots that shit down. What a character moment, honestly? Isak the young inexperienced texter and Jonas who has gone through multiple desired relationships. It is really cute that Isak wants to add a smiley! But Jonas is right, it completely would have made him seem too eager and destroyed the perception of aloofness. 
What smiley would he have landed on, though? 😀 or 🙂 or 😁 or 😎? I’m partial to the sunglasses emoji myself. Chiller hjemme 😎
There is a conversation to be had, by academics who study the impact of modern technology on everyday communication, about the instinctive knowledge these teenagers have about subtleties in non-verbal expression, such as recognizing the impact that a smiley can have in changing the tone of a text message, and combing Skam for all related examples of strategic use of electronic messaging and/or social media to send messages to their peers.
STRAIGHT UP
Sometimes I think Marlon’s finest acting on the show is that self-assured look he gives Isak when he says Even will call, or that gasp of overjoyed satisfaction when Even shows up at the door a few minutes later. Those are just some damn fine expressions.
This moment where the boys sit in silence, waiting for the text, is so good! They’re hooked into the drama! They want their boy to get his man! And that forlorn shot of the phone sitting on the table among the beer cans, inactive. Not lighting up with the desired response from Even.
It’s also really sweet when the boys try to offer suggestions why Even isn’t responding. Even Magnus has a reasonable idea about checking the typing bubble. When it seems like Isak has given up, Mahdi says maybe Even is just somewhere he can’t talk right now. (Which was accurate, seeing as Even was probably hauling ass over to Isak’s apartment.)
Poor Isak, you could see how he was getting hopeful and feeling better when this whole texting idea started, he was proud of himself for being proactive and putting his foot down with Even’s indecisiveness, he had a little smile and some light in his eyes. And now, the resignation is seeping in. Tarjei does a lot of these smaller reactions so well. Isak is still smiling a little, but it’s bitter, he’s telling them that Even is going to flake again. I mean, I’m not even sure Isak is totally convinced that Even won’t respond. I feel like he does still have that spark of hope, he’s just trying to tamp it down. He knows Even has a history of running hot and cold and he doesn’t want to get too optimistic.
Guys, I’m so emotional about these kids. Tarjei is such a good actor that all of his micro-expressions are giving me pinpricks to my heart. And I’ve seen this a million times and I know that in less than five minutes Isak’s going to be shaking off his virginity like he’s a golden retriever come in from the rain, BUT. But I feel so bad for this kid and his disappointed face.
And the rest of the boys, too. They’re there with their friend Isak getting his heart broken. Even, you’re letting down not just the man of your life, but the whole crew!!! 
The other boys try to make some conversation about other topics but Isak just sits there, checking his phone again. At this point, watching the clip for the first time, I definitely thought Even was headed over to Isak’s - no way could they have this random conversation about fermenting beer at school without something big to interrupt it. Also, we hadn’t seen Even at all this week, so he probably had to make an appearance. Still, that wait? Feels like forever.
THAT DOORBELL RING, YESSSSSS. Didn’t our hearts leap up at that simple sound?
How Even got there so fast is such a mystery, too. I guess he doesn’t live that far away, and he could have taken his bike, but I mean, he’s literally there in two minutes after Isak sends the Chiller hjemme text. Two minutes! Sometimes it takes me two minutes just to put on my shoes and leave the house.
I kind of like the idea that maybe Even was already in the neighborhood, or out for a walk or something, trying to work up the courage to go over to Isak. There’s an Instagram post from Magnus of the boys drinking in the kitchen, so if Even happened to see it, he could recognize it as Isak’s kitchen, he could know Isak was at home, he might find himself wandering in that direction….
Lmao, I love them asking Isak if he invited more people and Isak being like, nah, you guys are the only friends I have. It’s kind of self-deprecating but uh … also true. And of course that’s why it was important for these bros to accept Isak’s sexuality.
The boys are really into saying Eskild’s name for some reason, they do it in episode 2 as well. WHERE IS MY ESKILD/BOY SQUAD INTERACTION. I wrote this in the episode 2 recap but I want to know what the boys thought of Eskild, especially prior to Isak coming out, because that probably would have influenced Isak’s attitude toward coming out to his friends?
We don’t get a shot of Even standing outside the building, even though it would be within Isak’s POV. I’m assuming because it would have been too complicated or time-consuming to film for just a short shot. Or maybe for Dramatic purposes, it’s more striking to just have Even appear after the week by smoldering in the doorway, and it heightens Isak’s brief anxiety by keeping Even’s reveal in suspense. But what do you suppose Even was doing outside as he waited? Bouncing up and down nervously as he tends to do? Hands in his pockets? Panting from getting to Isak as fast as he could?
Speaking of Drama, lmao how dramatic is Even, that he just SHOWS UP, in the time it takes to make toaster strudel, with no warning? Hypothetically he could’ve texted I’m coming over to Isak, but of course that would ruin the intended effect of Even just landing at Isak’s door. It’s such a cinematic movie. I think love of movies is so ingrained into Even’s personality that sometimes he just does what a romantic comedy protagonist would do.
Or else Even was just not thinking anything but Isak Isak Isak must get to Isak and didn’t even consider anything but getting his ass in motion. Which frankly, I think is quite likely!
This is a very minor point but the way this clip was filmed always throws me when Isak gets up and we see how tiny the table is. They show it at the start of the clip, but the texting debate feels like some knights of the round table shit in terms of importance. It feels like it should be way bigger and instead they’re sitting at this little square.
The boys are so delighted that Even is there. And it makes me laugh so hard that Magnus is excited about getting to meet Even, L M A O. I mean, even if he assumed that Isak and Even were just going to have a long talk and not bang it out, how awkward would that have been? Who wants to meet your friend’s sorta-maybe-potential boyfriend when they’re presumably about to have a serious discussion about the fragile state of their relationship?
And of course Isak is like FUCK THAT about his friends meeting Even right then and there. Tarjei’s delivery of, “You can’t meet him, what the fuck are you saying?” is perhaps underrated in its comedy.
Lmao, Isak gets so cranky here, too, he went from soft “Smiley?” Isak to RARRRRR grumpy teenage boy in like two seconds. All thanks to Even’s presence, of course!
Bless Jonas yet again for just immediately starting to pack up, no questions asked.
This is a Romeo + Juliet song when the boys start leaving ( “Local God” by Everclear”). I believe it was used in the film when Romeo and his crew are hanging out, so it’s a bro song. We don’t hear any of the lyrics in the clip but they sure are interesting:
I feel just like a local god when I'm with the boys. We do what we want, yes, we do what we want. I feel just like a local god when I'm with the boys.  We do what we want, yes, we do what we want. We do what we want. Yeah, we do what we want. Be my Romeo,  Tell me all about your love,  Tell me all about your pain, Baited breath and rubber gloves.  Be my Romeo,  My go-go Romeo,  I see you twist and turn,  You look so fuckin' stupid.
So yes, bro song with direct mentions of Romeo.
All the chaos and casual catastrophe of the boys getting up to leave, I love it. It’s all the typical stuff when you leave a party - where’s my phone, where are my shoes, what’s happening, etc.
Also that Isak herds them out the back door, he really does not want Even to meet them, it’s gonna be too awkward and it’ll be anything but chill if Even knows Isak sent his friends away to get some alone time with Even.
“These aren’t even my shoes!” I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, I truly love these teenage failboats with all my heart.
They are champs for leaving when Isak asked them to, like even with all the confusion this was relatively swift and efficient.
Oh my God, guys. When Isak shuts the door, "Local God” (the song associated with his friends) instantly stops, and he is left there alone, for just a second, and the opening of Lykke Li’s “Tonight” starts … I get butterflies in my stomach. Isak is nervous, I’m nervous, we’re all nervous. What good directing from Julie, switching so quickly from a comedic mood to this vulnerable romantic mood, and how she can do that in just a few seconds with some well-chosen music and a moment to breathe.
Yeah, that moment to breathe, from Isak … where he shuts the door and looks toward the other side where Even is knocking, and takes just a brief pause to collect himself, and you can see how unsure of himself he is … good acting, good directing, just. Good.
AND THEN HE OPENS THE DOOR AND EVEN LOOKS LIKE THAT
I honestly do not feel Isak opened the door with the intention of getting laid, or that Even came over with the intention of getting laid. Especially Even, actually. I think Even really just panicked at the thought of losing Isak and ran over. It’s possible that maybe Even was even going to explain a bit - I don’t know if he was going to go over everything, necessarily, but I think Even wanted to make some things clear - that he wasn’t with Sonja, or that he wanted to be with Isak. I don’t know how he would have brought up his bipolar disorder though I guess it’s possible he could have pushed himself to do so. And maybe in that little pause moment, before Isak opened the door, he thought to himself about the possibilities of what could happen when they were alone, but it was wrapped up in every other uncertainty or fear, such as Even dumping him or saying he wanted to end it, or that he couldn’t leave Sonja. But it all changed when Isak opened the door and they looked at each other; they had missed each other so much and wanted each other so much that talk wasn’t happening.
Even looks really rattled and vulnerable when Isak first opens the door, I’m sure he’s thinking over how he’s going to explain himself, maybe psyching himself up to disclose his mental illness, as mentioned. But he softens a little when he registers Isak, because despite everything, it’s Isak.
Isak is trying to keep it together and play it cool at first and then Even Hallas at him a few octaves lower than normal so that’s not happening. Lawd, Henrik.
Even starts to look a little hesitant and nervous again as they pause too long at the door, like, oh right, I ran over here without a clear invitation. Is this okay? Am I welcome? Should I go?
But obviously Isak is just like, fuck it, and goes in for the kiss. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. Isak initiated the kiss, Isak has been proactive throughout the evening, Isak is more assured in his sexuality that he can do this.
You know what else has experienced character development? Isak’s tongue. 
The first time I watched that part I think my eyebrows legit jumped off my face. No offense but gay storylines on TV frequently feature dry, tight-lipped, no-homo kissing so it’s nice when actors actually kiss like they mean it. Isak and Even really want each other, it’s believable.
But seriously, this is actual progress for Isak and demonstrates that he’s more grounded and confident in his sexuality.
That moment when they break off the kiss for just a second - I’m pretty sure it’s Even who breaks it off to look at Isak, as if to ask whether he’s sure he wants this. And Isak wastes barely any time before diving back in, by way of an answer. Not gonna lie, that moment when characters stop kissing to look at each other, searching for an answer in the other’s face, is one of those romance tropes that I enjoy, so this was a good scene for me.
Even lost his denim jacket somewhere between the front hallway and Isak’s bedroom, by the way. I’m just imagining Eskild or Noora stepping over it when they got home and being like, yep, Isak had a busy night. (Linn would probably step on the jacket and not notice.)
Even shoves Isak against a wall because he is living that fanfic life.
Kudos once again to Tarjei and Henrik because they really keep kissing and stay in their character’s passionate mindset. There’s a moment where they sort of break off to start undressing and Even swoops in for another brief kiss - it feels like these two seriously can’t stop kissing, they want to be kissing, and it’s a small moment but it makes it feel like they genuinely desire each other.
Lol, Even was going to take off his hoodie first but then decided to divest Isak of his shirt, what a gentleman.
I don’t know why I love that snapback coming off but I do. It’s just funny to me in a way? Like the snapback would get knocked off anyway when Isak took off his shirt but he’s instead he has to make a Moment of it. You know shit’s getting real when the hat comes off.
This bit that goes from against the wall to in the middle of the room shirtless (they moved around!) is just so tender??? Like that bit where Even taps Isak’s lip with his thumb and gets in a quick nose rub. What the fuck. 
I mentioned this in my episode 5 review but this scene is what made up the footage in the mysterious hiatus trailer that had everyone in a tizzy for 10 days, except not all of the footage in that trailer made it into this clip, so there’s extra Evak sex scene footage out there. I am sure this would be of interest to no one, obviously.
Not to be weird but I legit think it is nice that Tarjei is doing this scene with this large zit on his forehead because that’s OK! People don’t have perfect skin when they have sex. 
I feel like Isak is having a spiritual experience when Even goes down his body, like he’s not even entirely there. Is this happening to me??? 
Also, totally a callback to the very first scene of the season, when Emma tries to blow Isak in the bathroom and he’s not having it. He does not express such reluctance when Even goes down on him. A+ narrative parallels, Julie, A+.
But this was a really good first time scene (if you believe, as I do, that this was their first time together) and a lovely sex scene that wasn’t either too exploitative or too coy. The Evak sex scenes are handled very well in this season. 
And Lykke Li’s “Tonight” was a gooooood choice. How simple and painful is the desire behind those lyrics. You can just imagine how Isak and Even have been missing each other and pining, and how this song expresses the feeling that they don’t want to let each other go. And all this emotion goes unspoken, tonight they’re not going to talk about their heartbreak, tonight they’re just going to show each other all that pent-up longing.
But also, the end song over the credits, “Crave” by Pharrell Williams??? Spectacular. We watch this emotional scene set to this incredibly sweet song full of longing and vulnerability and then the credit song is just like … sex. Sex is a thing that is happening. It is the equivalent of an eyebrows waggle and a suggestive wink. Bet you can guess what they were doing after the credits rolled!
I love this show so much, oh my God.
Social Media/General Comments:
The text that Isak sends in reply to Even’s cheese toastie drawing seems so polite, like Isak rewrote it a million times trying to decide on the right tone and phrasing and everything and finally went for something very neutral, trying to reestablish the conversation between the two of them without seeming too eager.
Eskild sends Isak a long-ish text after their talk on Sunday, where he basically strives to give Isak more encouragement. You can tell he really thought over what he said to Isak because he truly wants to be helpful to him and be a good guru. He realizes Isak is young and probably in his first relationship with a guy, and Eskild can’t help but feel protective and not want Isak to get his heart broken. It’s honestly such a sweet message, because Eskild is first and foremost looking out for Isak’s well-being. Like … there’s a thing in media (and fanfic, sometimes) where a character’s friends are more concerned with making sure their romance works out, rather than whether this romance is right and good for the friend. Isak’s friends in this season are supportive of Evak, but they’re Team Isak first, and they’re not afraid to tell Isak when they think Even is doing Isak dirty or when it might not work out. See also: Jonas in this week’s Fredag clip.
Anyway, Eskild tells Isak how happy he is that Isak came to him for advice, and that’s beautiful. It’s supportive of Isak relying on his friends rather than bottling up his feelings. And he says that he thinks Isak is brave- incredible, show-stopping, spectacular, etc. I mean telling Isak he is brave? What a wonderful thing to say to a kid who’s still in the early stages of coming out and is dealing with a ton of insecurities. Eskild is the fucking best, guys.
But he’s also offering to hook up Isak with someone and help him move on to another guy if that’s what Isak wants, lol. Getting in his jab about tights and mascara but in a good-natured way.
You know who else is the fucking best? Jonas. Isak texts him about the rumors with Even spreading and Jonas is so supportive and sweet, offering to talk to the guys for Isak and telling him not to stress over it. With a heart emoji, no less ❤️
Isak also decides that he should be the one to tell the guys. My brave boy!
Jonas also posts an IG on the same day of the text with him and Isak as Simon & Garfunkel, with the hashtag #bros. Basically a show of support for Isak. Like. CAN YOU BELIEVE. My heart gets so warm thinking about these kids. Skam is a space heater for my soul.
Text between Kollektivet where Linn does not want to leave on Friday and Eskild is dragging Linn out of her cave. I mean, sometimes you want to chill, but this is probably good for Linn. Get her out of the house.
Text between the boy squad after Isak comes out to all of them. They’re able to rib him about his “family dinner” so things are back to normal.
I want to mention that Isak uses a Broad City gif. I don’t know if Isak actually watches Broad City, but the idea is pretty funny.
I know Magnus can be dense as hell but he uses a gif of Sam Rockwell in Galaxy Quest in response to Isak’s drag and like, Galaxy Quest is the greatest film of all time so clearly Magnus is a man of superior taste and intellect.
PS he says something that translates to “never giving up hope” and I’m going to take that he meant “never give up, never surrender.”
Mahdi says Friday is going to be nice because “bros united.” Awwww! That’s especially nice coming from him since he and Isak had the friction; I feel like this is his way of saying he’s really over what happened between them and he just wanted them all to be OK.
I remember when this episode was airing in real time, people had a lot of theories about what would happen on Friday. Jonas mentions an Elvebakken party and Magnus mentions a gay bar. I remember people thinking they might go to the Elvebakken and see Even, or hear about Even’s past from Bakka people, or that they’d go to the gay bar and Isak would hook up with someone or run into Even or something. Instead Isak never made it out of his apartment, lmao.
Also, Magnus being like, “I’m up for a gay bar” is not hurting my bi Magnus headcanon at all. I know, I know, he’s that bumbling straight friend. Still!
Isak texts Eskild about his second drawing and Eskild is like, “Play hard to get.” Which obviously did not work on Friday. He also calls Isak his little godkitten which is. Adorable.
As I mentioned above, Magnus posted a pic of the boy squad at the pre-drink and that’s why I think Even might have seen it and moseyed over in that direction and was already lurking in the vicinity, as to account for him showing up so fast.
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nekoabi · 6 years
Text
Falling For You - Chapter 4
This should be the final chapter, but I may continue, I’m not too sure quite yet. Also, surprise! It’s 2:45am!
Once again written in one go because I have no self control. I’m also SUPER happy with this chapter, as it made me squeal as I was writing and I got to sprinkle in a couple of my headcanons for this AU.
Oh! Many thanks to @not-so-innocent-bi-sander for being an angel and helping me with the nicknames in this <3 
I also have to give major thanks to my boys: @illisienthar and @laks440 for beta-reading for me <3 
Chap 1  Chap 2  Chap 3
Originally based off of two Busted songs (Falling for You and That Thing You Do) but they didn’t influence this chapter at all. It was all my brain’s ideas.
Fun fact: the combined word total of this fic is enough for me to submit it as my dissertation and then not have to complete a viva.
High School AU Ship(s): Logicality, Prinxiety. Word Count: 3311 Warnings: Nothing that I can think of. If there is something, please let me know!
Summary: After looking back at their actions, Roman and Logan decide enough is enough. They create a plan. Virgil finds Roman, planning on finding out the truth. The end is fluffy and wholesome.
---
All the planning and scheming had begun sometime last year when Roman had pointed out the differences in the way Patton acted around Logan.
The blushes, the constant staring, the fact he would recount even the smallest details. Roman had even gone so far as to find several lists of “how to tell if someone has a crush on you” to prove his point.
Logan was surprised, and highly flattered. It had taken a week for him to fully process the information and consider his own feelings for the shorter boy. He did his own research and found that he was showing his own signs of having a crush. This took another week to fully settle in his mind, but thankfully it was summer vacation, so he didn’t have to figure this out around Patton. Instead he came to the conclusion that perhaps a relationship with Patton would, in fact, be quite enjoyable.
Roman’s eagerness to prove that Patton had a crush on Logan had taught Logan the physical signs. Prior to the end of the school year, Logan began to notice similar signs from Virgil towards Roman. He shared this information with Roman later that day, once the pair were alone. He found out that day how high Roman’s voice can go when he’s happy.
It had been Roman’s idea to wait and see if the others would gather up the courage to tell the others. It had also been Roman’s idea to see if they could help push it along by teasing them a little. Logan may have contributed to the plans. Logan may have already had the idea before Roman proposed they work together.
After many arguments over text messages, they agreed to not go out of their way to engage with the other two. At least, not to tease them.
There had been the couple times early during the holidays where they had all managed to meet up. They had been subtle, pushing each other to take risks with it, which Roman delighted in. The result had been Virgil and Patton huddling up together that evening, when they thought the other two were asleep and whispering to each other for what felt like hours.
During the gap between meeting up, Roman and Logan had kept in contact via text messages. Most of them were Roman brainstorming up ideas and Logan rejecting them for being too forward or too extravagant.
This constant communication meant that once Logan received the call from Patton, he felt it his duty to inform Roman of the event. Patton called.
The response was instant.
WHAT!!! WHAT HAPPENED!! TELL ME EVERYTHING!!!!
Logan relayed the events with precision. Roman’s response was full of exclamations and praise, as well as theories and ideas of where to go next. The conversation slowed to a halt all of a sudden, as Roman was pulled back into familial activities. He was off on his fourth trip, not surprising considering his family’s wealth.
Roman returned soon after, but there was only a day before they were to go back to school. No time to really meet up. That was until he overheard that his mother was planning on returning something to Virgil’s house. He offered to go instead, so she could stay home. Once he’d entered his friend’s home, Roman’s phone was in his hand. He updated Logan immediately.
@ Virgil’s. Need a plan! Thinking about pet name. Thoughts?
Roman stared at the text screen, impatiently bouncing his leg up and down. He glanced behind himself to the door where Virgil had disappeared. His head snapped back to his phone when he heard the notification noise.
Depends. What have you already said to each other?
Roman snorted softly. He asked me if I was the whore he paid for.
There was a short pause before the next message.
Romance is truly alive between the two of you.
This time, Roman laughed to himself. Don’t be jealous.
The kitchen door closing loudly caused Roman to drop his phone quickly. As much as he wanted to show Virgil and finally get him to confess, that wasn’t a part of the plan. The rest of the day passed, and Roman was about to leave. He took pause and decided one last action wouldn’t hurt. So, he stretched as high as he could, arching his back ever so slightly. Roman’s eyes squinted, but he kept his gaze towards Virgil.
That’s what he was looking for.
Roman left and waited until he was out of sight before pulling out his phone to send another update.
---
Now, alone at their lunch table, Roman and Logan reflected on their actions. Well, if reflecting meant Logan pointing out the flaws in their plan as well as berating himself for going along with it.
“Okay, okay, I guess you could be right. Perhaps we shouldn’t have been so subtle about it.” Roman rested a hand on Logan’s shoulder, “But that doesn’t mean we should give up!”
Logan, who was holding his head in his hands as his elbows rested on the table, glanced to his friend. The look he gave was full of venom. “Oh. Is that so?” While his body language indicated defeat, his voice was bitter, “and what wonderful idea would you have us enact? Something grand and eccentric, I assume. Well, I want no part of it if it is to cause more issues, Roman.” His eyes cast back down to the table.
There was a moment of silence between them, filled only by the ambient chatter surrounding them. It felt too loud. Logan finally understood what Virgil had meant that one time when-
“No. Too all of that.”
Roman’s voice brought Logan out of his thoughts. “What?” He snapped his head up, a look of confusion on his face.
“I mean, no, that is not what I was thinking about doing at all.” Roman wouldn’t meet his gaze, his eyes occupied with looking around the room, “I hate to admit it, but you are right. I had a better idea, which will be simple… at least, that’s how I envision it going…” He finally looked at his friend, “Would you like to hear it?”
---
Roman sighed as he leant against the wall next to his locker, head tilting back. Today had been a mess, but at least they had a plan for how to make it up to their friends. He closed his eyes as he attempted to relax, which meant he didn’t see the person who approached him before they spoke.
“I need to talk to you.”
Roman opened his eyes and smiled as he locked eyes with Virgil. He pushed himself away from the wall, “Of course, I’ll always have time for you, Patrick Grump.”
“Roman. This is serious.”
Roman flinched at the shift in tone. He straightened himself up and spoke plainly, “Of course. What’s the matter, Virgil?”
He noticed how Virgil’s body went slightly rigid at the comment as well as the steadying breath he took, “Class is starting soon though, so... walk and talk?” It was posed as a command but came out as a question. Roman couldn’t help the way his eyes softened.
“Sure.”
They both turned and began walking down the corridor in silence. Roman waited, allowing Virgil a moment to get his thoughts in order. All of them were aware of how Virgil needed that extra bit of time to plan out what he would say during conversations he deemed important.
“Does Logan like Patton?”
Roman was taken aback for a second. That was not the question he thought was coming. His eyes looked to the boy at his side, locking gazes with him. He noticed the intense protectiveness coming through Virgil’s gaze, along with a sense of pleading.
“Just tell me.”
They’d both stopped in the middle of the hallway now. Staring at each other. The bell had already gone for class, but neither of them moved. They were alone.
Roman was yet to say anything, too lost in the sudden change in the boy in front of him to even think of a response just yet. He took in the strong stance making Virgil stand tall which meant he was the same height as Roman, he noticed the clenched fists shoved as far into the deep pockets of the hoodie Virgil always wore, Virgil’s gaze was piercing through his entire body as if reading every thought. This was all offset by a slight shake that was slowly making its way through the other’s thin body. Without much thought, Roman took a step forward and rested his hands on the side of Virgil’s shoulders.
He considered covering for Logan. He truly did. For only a second. Those eyes finally focusing on his own for longer than a second pushed the thought far away. “Yes, he does.” His voice was barely above a whisper. He didn’t intend to speak so quietly, it was a simple reaction.
Roman saw Virgil go to speak, but then stop and think. There it was. The sudden realisation of where he was. The rising panic was showing and Roman spoke again, attempting to act as normal as he could. In one swift motion, Roman’s right arm was resting along both Virgil’s shoulders and they were both continuing their way down the hallway. Both of them walked in silence as Virgil steadied himself.
“I was thinking of trying to get them together somehow, but I was having some troubles coming up with ideas that I could do on my own…” Roman kept his voice steady, his gaze forward. “However, if I had an accomplice…” He saw Virgil glance up at him from the corner of his eye, “It would be a lot easier, especially if said accomplice was a really good friend?”
There was another beat of silence.
“What idea do you have, Roman?”
Perfect.
---
The bell rang, signalling the end of the day. For as much as he was looking forward to the day when it had begun, Patton was far too eager for it to be over. He’d embarrassed himself at lunch, and then he’d pulled Virgil away, and worst of all, he’d probably damaged his friendship with Logan. There was no way he wasn’t aware of his crush now.
The boy sighed and threw on his bag as he stood, leaving the classroom with his head down. He made his way to his locker. All he had to do was open it, put its contents into his bag and leave. Nothing more, nothing less. He could deal with his thoughts on the walk home.
Patton unlocked the door with a resigned sigh. Sure, he’d love to see his friends and speak with them, sort it out before he left. But he couldn’t bring himself to face them all. He rested his head against the metal of the locker above for a moment, as if it would still his racing thoughts. Patton physically felt his body jump when a hand rested on his shoulder. He turned quickly but relaxed just as fast.
“Virgil, you scared the life out of me!” He smiled stiffly and smacked the other’s arm as lightly as he could, “You’re always so quiet. You gotta teach me how to do that sometime, kiddo.” Patton turned back to his locker, trying to be quick but not obviously so as to not raise suspicion.
Virgil simply moved to lean against the lockers, “Firstly, I’m older than you. Second, please stop pretending… It won’t help…”
Patton shut his locker with more force than he meant to, turning to give yet another stiff smile to his taller friend. It dropped off quickly as he saw the sympathetic look on Virgil’s face. He sighed and dropped his head, feeling the tears pricking again, “I messed everything up though, Virgil…”
The hand was back on his shoulder.
“We already went through this. You didn’t mess anything up…”
The silence told Virgil that Patton was still unsure in believing him. It was frustrating, but Virgil had to stick to the plan.
“You wanna walk together?”
That cheered the shorter boy up. He immediately sprang up, his eyes wide, his smile genuine. “Really?! Would you?!”
Virgil huffed out a small laugh, “I mean, I offered, right?”
Patton’s worries were thrown aside for a while as he thought about walking home with his friend. He waited, and they spoke about the rest of their day as Virgil emptied his own locker. They made their way outside, laughing something or other. It wasn’t important enough as it flew right out of Patton’s head as he glanced forward to see a familiar figure with their back to them, waiting a little way down the road. Virgil noticed it himself, and they both shared a glance.
It was if Patton could read Virgil’s thoughts.
Talk to him. I’ll be a little way down the road if you need me.
A small nod from Patton and Virgil walked forward. He passed Logan, offering a small goodbye that was quickly returned. He made his way down the street, waiting until he was just out of sight before turning off and making his way back around through some backstreets. When he found the back of the mastermind behind the scheme, he ducked down and approached. “Hey, where are they?” He whispered.
Roman pressed a finger to his lips in a shush motion before nodding over the bushes in front of them. In unison, the two peaked above the leaves just in time to see Patton approaching Logan.
They watched as he hesitated, but spoke anyway, “Uh, hey Logan. What’cha doing out here? Don’t you normally, uh, walk home?” Patton offered a hesitant smile as Logan turned to look at him. The smile faltered slightly as he noticed the fact that Logan’s cheeks were a soft shade of pink, and it all together failed when the sincere smile was added.
“I was waiting for you. I felt there was something you needed to hear.” Logan reached up and adjusted his glasses, a small nervous habit he rarely showed, “Patton, I apologise for earlier. I didn’t mean to cause such a reaction. I hope you can forgive me for my previous actions.”
Patton leaned forward, hands clasped together to stop himself from reaching out to Logan, unsure if his friend would be okay with such an interaction, “Of course, Logan! You’re so impor-” Logan raised a hand, palm out towards Patton. The shorter boy stopped suddenly, eyes wide and showing a slight ounce of fear as he swallowed hard.
Logan took a step towards his friend, “I apologise again, but I wasn’t quite finished with what I intended to say to you.” He reached out and rested a hand on Patton’s shoulder, “I was hoping that, instead of you simply accepting a verbal apology, I could make it up to you by other means.” Logan’s eyes searched the other’s face, looking for any sign he could possibly take to infer the other’s reaction.
Patton was sure his face was bright red, but there was one question he needed answering at this second. “H-how long…?” His voice was quiet. The soft chuckle he got in response threatened to end him on the spot, but the softening of Logan’s eyes is what caused the soft squeak to escape his throat.
“It came to my attention several weeks before the summer break. However, the past is unimportant. Patton, would you allow me to make it up to you? Perhaps by allowing me to take you out on a date of some kind?”
Patton could almost not believe the words that just reached his ears. His eyes were wide with shock, the fear gone. His mouth hung open, his cheeks hot. He wasn’t able to form words, his brain had shutdown, left him. He could only nod slowly. Eventually, he found some words, “T-th-that… wou-would be… nice…” His words were gone again as the boy in front of him smiled wider than he had seen before.
“I’ll text you with the details later this evening.” A thought crossed his mind as he continued to stare at the boy in front of him. He couldn’t help but indulge, he wanted to see the reaction this would cause, hoping it would be positive. Logan lent down and placed a gentle kiss to Patton’s right cheek, feeling the warmth seeping into his lips. He pulled away and smiled fondly, watching as the shorter boy’s hand reached up to hold the spot. “I shall be looking forward to it immensely”
And with that, he turned and walked off in the direction of his house. The pair behind the bush were almost as shocked as Patton. Neither of them had expected that turn of events. They didn’t move until Patton had distractedly walked off in the opposite direction, seemingly forgetting that Virgil was to be waiting for him.
There was a beat of silence.
“That was unexpected.”
“Yup.”
The two glanced at each other before breaking out into laughter. They ended up sat with their backs to the plant they’d been crouched behind, letting the tension of the day leave their bodies.
“What a first day back, huh?”
Virgil rolled his eyes before glancing to the boy next to him, “That’s one way to put it. At least, we don’t have to listen to their drama anymore, huh?” He turned and leaned his head back, closing his eyes.
Roman stared for a moment but was interrupted by his phone notification. He quickly pulled it up and checked. A text from Logan. As surreptitiously as he could, he opened the message. Your turn. Roman couldn’t hold in his laughter as he locked his phone again.
Virgil had one eye open, watching Roman as he checked his phone. The sun was just beginning to go down and the light it cast reflected off the other’s hair, showing off the ginger-y coloured strands that ran through out it. He couldn’t help the small smile that was tugging at the corners of his lips as Roman laughed to himself, but he fought to keep it under control. While Patton and Logan had worked out well, a small bubble of hope was beginning to form in his chest. It grew larger when Roman stood and offered a hand to him.
“C’mon. You should get home. I’m sure someone will eventually remember the promise and come looking for you.” Roman grinned as the other boy grabbed his hand to pull himself up. This was the perfect time.
Roman quickly put his acting skills into effect, feigning a sudden look of inspiration, “Virgil. I just had a thought.”
“That’s never good, but okay.”
Roman’s face dropped, changing to an offended look as he scoffed, “My ideas and thoughts are the true catalyst for what just occurred, so you can’t say they’re all bad. Anyway, I think you’ll enjoy this one.” The persona dropped as he took a step towards Virgil, watching as the other boy’s face became suspicious. “I was inspired, shall we say. Virgil, I’ve also been aware of your feelings towards me and I, too, have decided to finally act upon this.” He pulled up their still connected hands and placed a gentle kiss against the back of Virgil’s before making eye contact again, “Would you let me take you on a date, my potential romance?”
Virgil stood stock still, unable to move. His eyes followed Roman’s every movement, searching for any sign this may be a joke, “You’re serious…” He said, after a long pause.
“Deadly.”
He paused, searching Roman’s eyes one last time, “Well, then, uh… sure, yeah. Let’s do it.”
Roman surged forward, pulling Virgil into a hug. It took a moment before the other boy practically melted into the embrace. Today was definitely not what he expected.
-
Tag List:
@not-so-innocent-bi-sander @didsomeonesayprince @llamaly @justanotherpurplebutterfly @iaminmultiplefandoms @stay-in--place @sombraplayslazertag @hanramz-the-fanders @bangthekobrakid @pantton-sandacers @anony-phangirl @alextheodd @pattongirl @twettypuff
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franeridart · 6 years
Note
Would you ever consider uploading your Kekkai Sensen piece onto Redbubble? My friend and I are massive fans and I would love to own a print or tshirt with it on it!
Done! Just click on available products to see all the stuff it’s on! :D and thank you for liking it!!!
Anon said:YESSSSS qlu is such a good fic!!!! literally the writing is.... so good and so in char!!!! loved seeing art of it!!!!!!
YAH!!!! Asma’s one of my top favorite bakushima writers, she’s got such a good grasp on them and her storytelling style is always incredibly on point, I love reading her stuff so much !!
Anon said:I highkey love your art.
Anon said:Ahh I saw art of that scene before and thought I was content with that but OMFG YOURS IS FUCKING AMAZING
THANKS I’m super glad you liked it!!!! You shouldn’t make that sort of comparisions tho, anon :O 
Anon said:I honestly love the fatgum fam so much (they're actually the only reason I'm reading the series alongside Tsuchako; I saw your pictures of them, fell in love, and proceeded to speed through the manga in hopes of seeing them) and seeing your art of them makes my day.
OH BOY I’m happy you liked that one!!!! And I hope you’re enjoying reading bnha regardless of whether the fatfam or tsu and uraraka are on screen, anon !!!!
Anon said:I'm ganna scream if none of the bakusquad members end up running through those doors and tackle Kiri tbh, especially Mina considering we had a flashback to her during his fight
I would actually point more towards Kaminari being the most probable one to react on screen, since he’s always got something to say in scenes like this one - and in general towards Kami, Baku and Sero being the ones to... confront? Kirishima specifically about this mission, not because I don’t want Mina to be there too! But generally as far as past arcs go Mina seems to be more part of the girls group than anything, and since Tsuyu and Uraraka were there too she might be between the ones reacting to Tsu and Ura more specifically (like she was the one to fawn over the two of them after their first day of internship) while Sero, Baku and Kami were the ones to react on screen to Unbreakable AND the ones Kiri spoke to about his insecurities to begin with... then again, given the flashback I do hope Mina will be proud of him on screen......... aaaahhhhhhhh I guess we won’t know until Horikoshi will finally show us, will we? ;u;
Anon said:slides you one (1) dollar and half a corn chip, "so um tododeku?" ps your art is beautiful and soft I love
Thank you! And I guess I do have a tag for them? Tho it’s mostly old stuff.... ahhhhhh it is my fav Deku ship, so I might draw more in the near future! Keep the dollar and half corn chip for now haha
Anon said:hello! that food that you drew looks?? delicious??? i would gladly eat it,, anyway sorry for the weird message! have a nice day!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH it was seriously fun to draw too, I’m happy you like how it came out!!!!!
Anon said:YOUR HAIKYUU ART AAA I LOVE!!! 💕💕and also bnha just,, that tALENT MY GUY👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 kill me now pls 😍😍
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anon said:DO KIRI'S BOYFRIENDS NOT KNOW HE'S IN HOSPITAL!? HOW WILL THEY RESPOND WHEN THEY FIND OUT
THAT’S WHAT I’M HOPING HORIKOSHI HIMSELF WILL TELL ME NEXT CHAPTER, ANON!!!!
Anon said:pls draw some miritama!!!
In the future, for sure! They’re one of my favorite bnha ships, after all!!
Anon said:THE MATSUHANA!!! yes, bless that post, thank you for seijou third years
THANK YOU FOR LIKING THEM!!!
Anon said:I just wanted to say that when I am in a depressed funk your art always makes me feel a bit better :)
Ahhhh boi that does mean the world to me!!! I’m so happy I can help you out a bit, anon!! ;u;
Anon said:YOUR ART = MY LIFE BLESS YOUR SOUL 👌🏿💕
I’m sOBBING thank Y O U ;O;
Anon said:I really miss ur haikyuu stuff but u have stopped doing 'em... draw something for me please?😽
Can I ask you to not, like, dismiss the fact that I have, in fact, been drawing haikyuu? Aside from the last one, since I got this ask before posting that, but in the past month as I have made present more than once in answer to asks exactly like this one I HAVE been drawing haikyuu again - you think it makes me feel good to have hours of work been treated as if they never happened? That it makes me want to draw more? Just to have even more people come in my inbox and ask me why I’m not drawing haikyuu anymore, as if the stuff I drew doesn’t even exist? If you meant this ask as in “you’ve stopped drawing only that”, then I’m sorry, but bnha is the fandom that’s making me the happiest at the moment, I’m not stopping drawing for it. I am willing to draw more haikyuu, when I feel inspired to do so, but only if you guys stop treating hours of work as if they never existed. It’s really, really not a good feeling, nor something I have the wish to feel any more than strictly necessary - if the stuff I draw has to end up ignored anyway, then I’m just straight out not gonna draw it anymore
Anon said:Bi i love your art a whole bunch
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!! ;u; thank you lots!!!!!!!
Anon said:I cry, everyone you draw is so pretty and the background in that bakushima pick you posted a few days ago was amazing (the starry one, where they're holding hands), I stared at it for hours.
BOI I’M SUPER HAPPY YOU LIKED THAT ONE !!!!!!!!!! I was really unsure about it but seeing you guys like it is making me incredibly happy!!!!
Anon said:your KiriBaku Baccano AU is everything I never knew I needed mostly because I didn't think anyone else remembered that anime
You and me both, anon! The baccano fandom sure is a silent one, despite its name hahaha 
(..........................baccano means racket in italian, ignore me)
Anon said:can you draw bakugou finding out kiri's in the hospital? ily
I’ve drawn stuff sorta for that scenario thrice already (x x x) but for anything more specific I’m gonna have to ask you to wait for after I’ll know for sure if Horikoshi will give me a canon version of that or not! I really do hope to get that scene in canon, but if Hori will fail me I’ll most probs fill the void for myself again haha
Anon said:GOSH the way you draw kaminari is so CUTE
THANK YOU!!!!!
Anon said:we saw Kirishima recently being taken on that stretcher, how do you think bakugo would have reacted to Kirishima being that hurt (assuming they're in love at this point) ?
Again, I’m gonna answer this one once I’ll know for sure Horikoshi won’t give me the canon version! If we’re lucky we’ll know in a couple of days !!!!! ;u;
Anon said:AAAA THE LIL MUMMY KIRI!! The newest chapter ended me, Horikoshi owns my soul and he aiNT TREATING IT RIGHT!
YO WHAT A MOOD
Anon said:OH MY GOD THAT COLLEGE AU WITH BAKU IN THE SWEATER THING WITH GLASSES IS EVERYTHING. I CAN DIE HAPPY
cont:I JUST SAW THAT IT WASNT MEANT AS AN AU BUT BOI NOW ITS MY FAV AU
GOOD I’M !!!!! SO GLAD HOLY SMOKES THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!!!!
Anon said:Is it me or is Kaminari's fringe slowly taking over his face? I love it!
If you’re talking about my art, then yeah, sorta! Thank you for liking it! Tho I have to admit I’ve kind of always drawn it like that, I don’t understand in a practical way how with his parting that far on the side his fringe doesn’t fall in front of his eye and that sort of subconsciously ends up showing in the way I draw him haha
Anon said:i praise lord yeezy everyday for how much kiribaku you draw, you're the real mvp 🙏🙏🙏
;O; thank you my friend, you’re way too nice!!!!!
Anon said:I have that headcanon that Bakugou actually uses LOTS of emojis in his texts. Kirishima is stunned when he first finds out (and no one believes him)
If you’re talking about emojis and not kaomojis then I’m with you on that lmao mostly cause I feel like Bakugou would be a really lazy texter but would at the same time be the type to dislike writing without capitals or proper punctuation and so on, so to avoid having to put actual effort into texting he just answers (when he answers) using one single emoji and thats it. It’s up to his interlocutor to understand what he meant with it. Up until now the only people who get it 100% of the times are Kirishima, Sero and surprisingly Todoroki.
Then again, I do think you meant kaomojis lmao
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wifeasami · 4 years
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Zhu Li, Tarrlok & Ozai if its okay to send 3 :)
ZHU LI:
Sexuality headcanon: i know i keep saying characters are bi....... but she’s bi.
Gender headcanon: i get nonbinary vibes from her....
A ship I have with said character: i like her relationship with varrick marginally more in the comics than in the show, which still isn't a whole lot. like am i remembering it wrong or did he go from treating her like an assistant to proposing in the span of like, a day? and she accepted?? i don’t even know how a relationship between the two of them could work, at the very least it has to be after a considerable amount of time bonding in a romantic context rather than going straight from boss/assistant to married (because there are moments where he still treats her like an assistant after marriage and it’s played for laughs?). and i know i know this sounds like a NOTP, but i don’t hate zhurrick. i like the potential it has and wish it had been done better, & hope it will be.
A BROTP I have with said character: okay i loved her and asami being Business Babes in turf wars
A NOTP I have with said character: bolin???? because apparently that’s a ship
A random headcanon: she keeps rabbits. idk why, that just popped into my head and i like it
General opinion over said character: nothing but respect for my president of the united republic. honestly i’m glad zhu li’s getting time to shine away from varrick and recognition of the incredible person she is! the presidency thing kinda came out of nowhere, but i’m glad we don’t have to see raiko’s dumb face anymore. and you KNOW she’s gonna kill it.
TARRLOK:
Sexuality headcanon: that gay coding is intentional, right?
Gender headcanon: hmmm i think tarrlok as a trans man could add some interesting context to his backstory, particularly in regard to him feeling inferior to his brother, as yakone was at least a teenager when the NWT forbade women and girls from fighting. so if he held those beliefs by the time he had kids, having a daughter may have been a disappointment. transphobia is never brought up in the avatar universe, but if the water tribes are okay with being gay then i would hope being trans is okay too. in which case i could see yakone being happy about it, but at the same time harder on tarrlok for not measuring up to “being a man”.
A ship I have with said character: i hc that he had a long-term partner, a waterbender and healer, who ended things with him when he started to become more paranoid and oppressive towards nonbenders in his anti-equalist quest.
A BROTP I have with said character: his relationship with amon/noatak was really interesting, and something i wish we saw more of. even just like, a longer conversation between the two of them before their deaths.
A NOTP I have with said character: KORRA. AMON. they're so disgusting.
A random headcanon: can't think of a better one rn, so i hc that he became basically his mother's carer before he began his career in government, shortly after which she died, as if she was holding on until he got his life started.
General opinion over said character: he’s a good villain! the joseph mccarthy/a. mitchell palmer parallels are fun, and the fact that he's partly inspired by azula is really evident. book one's plot just holds a special place in my heart, and i love characters with complicated family dynamics, so tarrlok and his family are up there as some of the most compelling characters to me
OZAI:
Sexuality headcanon: straight, but he's incapable of feeling love or affection.
Gender headcanon: cis man
A ship I have with said character: NOBODY. tho i’ve said before that his relationship with ursa does intrigue me while also making me extremely uncomfortable. i’m just gonna copy and paste what i wrote then: “i would love to read a well-written fic from ursa’s point of view, chronicling her time in the royal family, that’s respectful towards her and doesn’t go all game of thrones on the abuse she received, and handles it better than the comics. she’s such an important figure and deserves a better story than what we got.“
A BROTP I have with said character: ozai neither has nor wants nor deserves friends
A NOTP I have with said character: literally everybody, but especially ursa
A random headcanon: hmmm doing the math means izumi must have been born when zuko was in his 20s, so i hc that ozai was still alive as she was growing up, and while zuko banned him from ever seeing her, ozai still attempted to sway and influence her like he tried with zuko, with undercover prison guards and such scheming with his followers on the outside. i can see life imprisonment eventually making him into a shell of his former self, but i believe he's still a bastard for some decades before that.
General opinion over said character: god he’s a fucking asshole. his character is written well enough to make me incredibly angry and hateful, but he’s still bottom of my list of favorite main villains. the show did a great job of building him up as this super powerful final boss, but for me personally he’s not as compelling as azula and the LOK villains (maybe excluding unalaq, as they're quite similar). like, i find his personal life and relationships much more interesting than his ambition or power
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lenucciagreco · 7 years
Text
the loved ones
an anon sent me a prompt a hot minute ago to the effect of “Richard is a total know-it-all, but especially about Jared.” this is... sort of about that but mostly tries to answer some other questions i had about their relationship, Jared’s life offscreen and outside of the Pied Piper bubble, and also how “normal people” would feasibly treat the both of them.
that said, this is VERY MUCH lighthearted wish fulfillment, so, pretty average stuff from me LOL.
words: 3,096
content: Richard is bi and bad at communicating, a lot of Jared headcanons that probably contradict the writing, some OCs i was forced to make up to properly tell this story that also definitely contradict the writing.
He has elderly friends. He actually has elderly friends. This is fine.
Richard tries not to visibly claw at the armrest of the tiny wing chair in the corner, a thousand afghans and granny-square blankets draped over its back. He wouldn’t usually picture a house like this as belonging to people named Muriel and Eloise, but as he always has to remind himself, this is Northern California, and the tiny, dour church ladies he’s used to are few and far between.
“So, what was it you said you did again, dear?” this unsettlingly kind woman with the oxygen tank asks him, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of herbal tea. “I know Donald said something about—”   
“Richard and I met through work, Muriel,” Jared cuts in, his expression growing more tense. Maybe that’s just in his imagination. “Actually—well, I’ll embarrass him if I say this, but he inadvertently rescued me from the bad situation I was in before. At Hooli.” 
Muriel pauses, and then her face suddenly lights up: “Of course, of course. He’s told us all about you.”   
The other woman (her wife, who he’d first introduced to Muriel years ago, as Jared explained in the car) steps away from the cutting board she’s been zeroed in on for the last fifteen minutes, and leans against the kitchen island. She’s younger than Muriel—maybe in her late sixties—and hair is cropped and dyed black, almost auburn in parts, the sleeves of her denim shirt rolled to her elbows.   
“This is that Richard?” she asks, regarding him with a stiff smile—as if to show him she isn’t hostile, but not much more. His stomach turns. “Donald, you two haven't—”
Muriel reaches for her walker and stands up, unwavering in her cheeriness. “Eloise, won’t you help me pick out something from the cellar? And we should really start getting the table ready. Can you two finish with the salad?" 
“Of course,” Jared says. His face is calm again, but he can tell he’s close to yanking him from the seat by the arm, already preemptively apologizing for bringing him here. Richard stands up and smiles at him in a way he hopes is reassuring, and goes to the kitchen. 
His last date before all of this, what feels like ages before he willingly got in a car headed to a ranch in Sonoma, was also his all-time worst. It was an actual get-your-number-and-go-to-dinner type date. It was with some girl named Hannah; a freelance web designer who used to work at Hooli, too, although they’d never met before. It had been going well on the whole, until his mind jumped to the worst possible thing mid-conversation, something stupid like right, gastronomy just means the study of food and culture—my friend Jared actually knows a lot about— 
“You mean Jared Dunn? That guy always kind of gave me the creeps.” 
“What?” Richard picked at his dessert, trying to look casual. “I mean—why’s that?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” she said, “something about his demeanor always just bothered me.”   
“That’s funny,” he said, then caught himself. "Or—well, it’s not that funny, but I understand. He really is a great guy if you get to know him. It’s just that people don’t always, um…respond well to him?” 
“He seemed nice”—she repeated this word as an afterthought, free of any actual meaning—“just not very good at picking up on social cues.”   
“God, you just described everyone I know.” It was meant to be a joke, but he was the only one who laughed. He sloshed the wine in his glass, a tiny purple stain dotting his thumb. 
“And the oversharing,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “Some people are okay with it, but for me it was just—it’s too much.”   
“It’s not for the attention, though,” he says, his tongue starting to feel heavy from the wine. “Not like everybody else. It’s like—he thinks he needs to give a disclaimer to everyone he meets, 'hey, I’m kinda fucked up and have a lot of trauma but I’m fine!’ Don’t get me wrong, some of the stuff he tells me, just offhand, is insane. But he’s a literal genius. Like Jesus Christ, he’s a walking encyclopedia on naval history, 19th century American poets, the DSM—” 
“You know a lot about Jared,” Hannah said, quietly.   
“Um.” Richard put his glass down. "Yeah, I guess I do.”   
He saw the waiter come down with two more drinks and, mercifully, the check.
“I’m so sorry,” Jared starts, the second they’re alone. “I didn’t tell you everything when we were in the car.”   
“It’s okay,” he says, “just—what did you tell her about me that made her hate me?”   
“Eloise doesn’t hate you. She’s just a little protective of me. Really, she’s like this with everyone I bring over.” 
“Jared.” He leans both elbows onto the counter and looks him in the eye. “What does that mean.”   
“It means,” Jared says, absurdly calm, “that she's like this with everyone I bring over, Richard. We do this dinner every year, and she always has something to say about my guests. It has nothing to do with us.”   
Richard notices the tips of his ears are red. He decides not to prod anymore, even if the answer just makes him feel worse.   
Instead he steals a sliver of cucumber off the cutting board and chews it. He feels the urge to make himself useful in the kitchen, but Jared’s stonewalling him by standing at the counter, shoulders squared, slicing the tomatoes at a worrying pace. He can’t help but think he looks just like Eloise minutes ago, right down to the posture. 
When he sees a person he cares about in pain, he mirrors them. Richard knows that. He also knows she can’t be his birth mother, because she died when he was twelve. When he told him this, at four a.m. lying face to face in a bunk bed, Richard reached out his hand and pulled it to his chest.   
This is not good. It’s fine. They’re going to be fine.   
A huge, bony cat butts his head against Richard’s ankle and slides past him. He’s counted three. It yowls up at the counter, probably well aware of the biggest pushover in the room. But Jared doesn’t fold. 
“It’s not for you, Bartleby.” He scoops it up in his arms, a heap of gray fur and flailing paws, and attempts to hand it off to Richard. “Can you take him outside? Please?”   
He can’t really say no, so he gets a good grip on the cat and heads out the screen door. When he gets outside, Eloise is standing on the patio, uncorking a bottle of wine.   
“He doesn’t let everybody hold him like that,” she says, nonplussed. As she says it, Bartleby slips out of Richard’s arms. (What an awful name.) “He’s a little anxious.”   
“Me too,” Richard says. It’s a joke, but not really.   
“So how did you meet Donald?” she asks, cutting through whatever fifteen layers of bullshit he was operating on. “Why do you call him that other name?”   
“Um.” He stops, realizing he’s never had to even really confront the issue. “When I met him, that’s what he told me his name was, and it just stuck—I mean, he’s never asked me to switch. Are you saying that I should?”  
“I don’t have any opinion on what you should do,” she says, and he physically feels himself get knocked down a peg or two realizing this is far from the first time she’s had this conversation. "I just expect you to treat Donald well. He has a knack for getting manipulated by other people who don’t actually value him.”  
“I’m not one of those people,” he says. “He’s really helped me. Through a lot of awful shit. And—he’s told me, you know, things about himself—”   
“He tells everyone his things,” Eloise says. “Anyone who’s willing to listen.”   
“Like—the real things.”   
“Like what?”   
Jared steps out onto the patio, salad bowl in his hands. “Everything’s ready. Where should I put it?” 
The first thing he did after the worst date of his life, after climbing apologetically out of a Lyft, was make a beeline to the garage. Jared was there, and awake—he almost always was at that hour, back then. He was under the cheap duvet, on his laptop, leaning against some milk crates.
“How did it go?”   
“Jared,” he said, staggering to the air mattress and kneeling at the edge. “I fucked up.”   
“Oh.” He shut his laptop and sat up straight, watching him crawl closer. Richard was sure he was trying not to touch him, not to physically engage at all, expertly restrained. Always so respectful of his boundaries, always Richard’s needs before his own. “What happened? Did something go wrong with Hannah?”   
(In hindsight, he seemed a little too eager to ask.)   
“I—just realized I need to stop fucking kidding myself,” he blurted, feeling blindly for Jared’s knee. Was he crying already? It felt like it, on his face. He was pretty loaded. “I need to stop. Stop pretending.”   
“Pretending what?”   
“That—you’re not the person. The person I want to be with.” He could barely understand himself, he was sobbing so loudly, probably sounding ridiculous. “But it’s so stupid and impossible that I have to lie to myself about it.”
“Richard,” he said, hands suddenly on his shoulders, dead calm. “You’re very drunk.”   
He saw right through him. Something about his placid denial, the insistence that nothing was wrong, enraged him in that moment. “I see you looking at me all the time. I notice everything, dude, so don’t just fucking pretend you don’t want this—”   
“Richard.”   
He tried to lean in, writing checks he can’t cash. “Please. Just tell me it’s possible.”   
In some far-off fantasy world Jared could have just dropped his scruples and they could have fucked right there, on that awful air mattress, with his head two inches from the concrete. But instead he just grabbed both his wrists and held onto them, forcing Richard to go still.   
“I do. I do want it.” He looked him square in the eye. “But I don’t really think it should happen like this. Do you?”   
It wasn't a rhetorical question. Richard pulled his hands away—he wasn’t holding on that hard—and considered his options. Then he shook his head.   
“Okay. Is there anything else you want to tell me?”   
“No.”   
He cleared his throat and put his head down, on the corner of the pillow. Because there’s some fucking good left in the world, Jared slipped his arm around his shoulder and pressed his lips to a spot beneath his eyebrow, and neither of them had to say a word. 
More people start to trickle in, some of them names Richard actually recognizes—Muriel’s daughter and tiny blonde grandchild, aunts and distant friends that seem oddly excited once they find out who he is. Jared does a lot of the talking for him, anyway, and lays it on thick (probably to apologize without ever having to say anything.) Richard’s a Stanford-educated engineer; Richard’s got a brilliant mind; you two would find a lot to talk about. But before he even scratches the surface with anybody he gets whisked off to someone else.  
Which is just as well, really. He’s never good with strangers, and as usual, Jared took steps to circumvent it, steps Richard wouldn’t even think to take. Maybe he is like every other schlubby boyfriend he’s brought over.   
Muriel rings some kind of New Age dinner bell, loud and clangy, and everyone gathers around the outdoor table. It’s beautiful, actually—the backyard stretches out for what looks like forever, a wooded path not far down the hill. Once Richard finds his seat, he glances up and suddenly sees Jared pouring him a glass of wine. 
Something about the whole image is just weird. The only thing that comes out of his mouth is: “Oh. It’s white?”   
“Red wouldn’t go with this meal,” Jared says, “technically. You’re at a table of oenophiles that would say so.” 
“Right.” He already feels a little disoriented.   
“Not a big wine drinker?” Muriel asks.   
“I like it, just—” 
“That’s quite alright. It’s meant to be enjoyed with food,” she says. “This is from our vinery. We only serve what we make to friends.”   
“And Trader Joe’s,” Eloise says.   
“And Trader Joe’s. But that’s just to keep the lights on. Should we have a toast?”
The wine goes down light and easy, perfect for an amateur like himself. Eloise, spearing a few pieces of vegan gnocchi, addresses him from the other side of the table: “What were we talking about before, Richard?” 
“Whatever it was,” Jared pipes in, “I’m sure the rest of the table wouldn’t find it very interesting.”   
Of course, everyone but the three of them are caught up in other conversations. Richard looks around for some other kind of lifeline that he knows does not exist.   
“It was about you, Donald,” she says, perfectly genteel. “Just—that you two had gotten to know each other quite well in the last few months.”   
Jared knits his brow, his voice pitching up the way it does when he’s upset: “We’ve known each other about four years.”   
“I know,” Eloise says, “but this development is recent?”   
He turns to Richard, but it seems like he’s already made up his mind by the time he looks at him. “About six weeks. I don’t know why it’s so important.”   
Even she backs off after that, but Richard can tell it’s with great restraint. “Forgive me. I was just curious. Especially after the conversations we’ve had before.”  
“Eloise, it feels—really unnecessary to bring that up,” Jared says (easily the harshest thing Richard's heard him say to someone he cares for.) “Of course I forgive you. But I—” 
“No, you’re right, this is total bullshit.” Richard pushes his wine glass away from him, a little stunned at the words coming out of him—but he feels stone-cold sober and fed up with watching this same scene play out. “Jared’s a grown adult. He can make his own decisions about who he wants to date without screening them for you.”   
“Richard,” he says, his hand suddenly clasping the top of his arm, “it’s not that. She’s talking about something I said before—” 
“It doesn’t matter what you said, like, upwards of a year ago. I was probably a massive dick to you back then.” He feels eyes on him, but keeps going anyway: “She’s just using your words against you. It’s manipulative as shit and I’m not playing along with it.”   
Suddenly the table is quiet. Muriel asks, slowly: “Is everything alright, dear?”   
Richard shakes his head, pushing his chair out and standing up. “No. Sorry, I should—I should go. Sorry, everyone.” 
He hears Jared say his name, but it’s too late. He makes a break for it into the woods.
Somehow he managed to steal the rest of the wine from the ice bucket, too. He’s already made enough of a prick of himself that he figures it can’t hurt. So there he is, wandering on someone else’s property with a bottle of Sauvignon blanc. At the bottom of the hill is a tiny river, snaking a few miles down—he finds a swing chair hanging from a tree and falls back into it, just now noticing he’s half in the bag.   
Jared’s not far behind, of course. He secretly hopes he’ll turn around and prolong this conversation for as much time as possible, but the sound of his voice, his footsteps get closer until it’s unavoidable.   
Then he’s standing behind him, hand on the back of the chair, steadying the rope. “Are you okay?” 
“Why are you asking if I’m okay? I just fucked up twenty people’s evening when I was supposed to impress them.” 
“I don’t care about impressing anyone,” Jared says. “Eloise—helped me a lot. I owed it to her, for you two to meet. That’s all.”   
“Well, she met me,” Richard says, mustering a completely inappropriate laugh. “What did you say about me before that was so bad?”   
He sits down beside him. “Just that I—talk a lot and I wasn’t sure if you listened, always. But I know that’s not true now—”   
“Of course it’s not true.” Richard turns to him. “Jared, I remember everything you tell me. Like how you’re a Pisces and prefer regular Cheerios to fucking honey nut. Like—how in the tenth grade you had to memorize 'O Captain, My Captain' and it stuck with you forever. You used to daydream about sailing away from wherever you were but you were in landlocked Pennsylvania so you didn’t even see a boat in a harbor until you were nineteen and took a bus to the Jersey shore, but you kept saying you were going to the shore because that was the only thing you heard people call it, you didn’t even know it was in New Jersey until you got there. You love children. And animals. And anyone who listens to you which means a ton of shitty people take advantage of you, or they treat you like shit because they don’t get it. 
"Your favorite book is Moby Dick because you like stories about the ocean and—I don’t know, you probably relate to the whole thing of chasing something aimlessly and having it haunt you every day of your life until it kills you, but I don’t want it to kill you, Jared, I just want you to be well-adjusted and fucking happy—”   
He stops him. “I am happy. I’m happier than ever with you. Always.” 
“I’m sorry,” Richard says. “I shouldn’t have said all that. I made a prick of myself in front of people you really wanted me to meet. And you worked so hard to try to make them like me—I fucked up whatever chance we had.”
“I don’t care what they think.” Jared reaches for his hand, looking strangely giddy about all of this. “I mean—I do, but I care more about you. About us.” 
“There’s an ‘us’ now.” He doesn’t say it out of skepticism—it’s something closer to relief. 
“Yeah.” There’s a pause as he slips his arm around his waist, a troubled expression when Richard doesn’t answer, even as he leans heavily into his side. “You do know that. Right?” 
“I know.” He stares out in front of him, at the dappled sunlight and soft grass, in this place he knows he’s no longer welcome in, and squeezes Jared’s hand. “Is it okay if we go home?” 
“Of course,” Jared says. They do not move. 
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