I’m soapyfoam, call me soapy or lynn. I’m a 19 y/o trans guy full of whimsy and fear. blame my low post rate on the unmedicated anxiety and adhd.
I have a very bad habit of liking posts instead of rebloging them (trying to remedy this) I’m in a lot of different fandoms so I’ll interact with whatever. I love love love long complicated headcanons and character analysis’ my bread and butter my hobby is writing non-canon essays longer than any school paper of some character nobody gaf about except me.
I really love any kind of interaction, just please patient, no matter how much I enjoy a kind comment or reblog it’s still terrifying for me to reply. (..really gotta get some medication for that)
uhhh yeah that’s it, stay off my blog if you’re a bigoted racist terf. I guess I don’t really care if minors look at my stuff?? stay safe out there guys uhh thanks for taking the time to look at lil ol’ me.
Pinky x Hal, or Espothier, is probably one of the more out-there ships from Bully. Now before you start grabbing tomatoes, let me explain!
I'm not usually one for shipping unless it adds depth to characters and story, so while thinking up scenarios for the Preps Vs Greasers arc, I was surprised when this crossed my mind.
So buckle up as I desperately try to show you why I'm not crazy, and that this pairing works unusually well.
Let me preface by saying Espothier takes a lot of mental gymnastics, so bear with me on this one. Let's start by explaining Pinky, as her character would get introduced first.
ℙ𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕪 𝔾𝕒𝕦𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕖𝕣
Pinky Gauthier-Harrington is, on the surface, rather bratty and stuck-up. She expects people to treat her like a princess as that's all she's ever been treated as.
Growing up she was pampered, and in return, expected to act her part in the Harrington family. She does not like the Harringtons, sure they treated her well, but they didn't treat others well. If she gets treated like a princess, why doesn't everyone else get that same treatment?
Her only escape from the policing of her every move was her cousin Derby, as she was for him. The two were close, and they were each other's comfort within an other-wise uncomfortable life. (surprising for a couple of rich kids, i know)
But after their families were caught marrying off siblings to keep money within the family, the Harringtons took a bold approach, publicly announcing the betrothal of Pinky and Derby. This forced marriage destroyed their friendship, and with it, the only support Pinky had.
(For a little more info on how I write Pinky and Derby's relationship, click here.)
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While Derby took one extreme of doing everything he could possibly do to please the family, Pinky began to take the other. She started to mingle amongst the lower-class, leaving Harrington House to live in the girl's dorms, and constantly sought after a 'prince' that would whisk her away from her suffering.
She also began to take more pride in helping others - her "everyone deserves to be treated like a princess" mentality motivating her every time she would donate her clothes, tip handsomely at establishments, or buy gifts for her friends.
To try and quell this, her family forced her to go on public dates with Derby to solidify their already waning relationship status. But Pinky, of course, looked for a way out, and she just so happened to find one in Jimmy Hopkins.
𝔼𝕤𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕖
After convincing Jimmy to go on a date to the carnival (knowing how much it would annoy her family), she begins to see Jimmy as an escape. Maybe not as a long-term partner, but it was nice to hang around someone she didn't have to put on a front for.
During all this, Jimmy was starting to become friendly with the Greasers. Pinky sees this as an opportunity to further distance herself from the Harringtons, especially since she was actually having fun, and decides to use Jimmy as a way to begin to hang out with them.
ℍ𝕒𝕝 𝔼𝕤𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕠
Hal is a pretty chill guy with next-to-no filter, and he's not too worried about his weight, or how other's perceive him. He's happy enough in himself, and has a good group of mates he genuinely cares about. But his self-image is pretty low.
He's comfortable enough in his own skin, and prefers being overweight, but assumes no women will like him because of it. And since he's not got a distinct sense of humour or truckloads of money, he pushes women away by insulting them - "hurt them before they can hurt me."
He sees himself as unattractive, and avoids women in general to avoid getting his hopes up.
(For a little more info on how I write his character, head to my yap-fest here, or the Greasers character page here.)
ℕ𝕠𝕥 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕋𝕪𝕡𝕖
Hal and Pinky are not each other's types in the slightest.
Hal prefers women his own size, and those who are equally out of his reach. Where as Pinky prefers suave, chivalrous men who'll treat her like the princess she is.
Now under any normal circumstances, this would essentially soft lock the relationship. But with the power of storytelling, I argue that it makes the growth of an eventual romance even more rewarding.
𝕊𝕝𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕚𝕟' 𝕀𝕥
As Pinky starts to hang around more, the other Greasers have mixed reactions. Some think she's annoying, other's think she's pretty, and Hal doesn't really care. After a few brief encounters, the two don't seem to have much in common.
But rumours begin to be spread that Pinky has left Derby for the Greasers and to protect his reputation, he goes after her, crossing into Greaser territory and breaking their truce. This is the spark that re-ignites the Preps Vs Greasers turf war, and Hal is forced to help Pinky escape - the Greasers may be rough, but they're still gentlemen. (kind of)
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Hal is rightfully pissed. He's one of the best Greasers when it came to scraps and here he was babysitting some prissy princess. The two sneak off campus, avoiding most of the on-going war that had already spilled out into the parking lot.
Hal grabs his bike, and off they speed into the night. They end up in New Coventry, despite Pinky's protests, outside a supermarket with a bag full of various snacks. Pinky refuses to eat, but eventually caves.
This marks a pivotal moment in their relationship. They end up sharing food, a cigarette, and stories about their lives. Hal ends up realising that she isn't so bad, bonding over the shared food and surprisingly fun company.
𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕒𝕦𝕡𝕖𝕣
The two from then on start to spend more time together. Once Jimmy defeats Derby, Pinky no longer has to worry about him getting in her way. As Jimmy turns on the Greasers, she stays with them, even when Lola doesn't, weirdly becoming part of their group - although she'll never put on one of those 'hideous jackets'.
She starts to see Hal as her 'prince', helping him to feel more confident. And Hal chalks their relationship up to the similar sibling-relationship that he and Lola has. But something felt different.
This shift also helps Pinky to mend her relationship with the Preps, still staying in the girl's dorms but often hanging out with them - even with Derby, beginning to fix their friendship and planning how they will deal with their family.
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But as time goes on, Pinky gets frustrated. She begins to realise that Hal is more than a friend to her, but can't understand why he doesn't pick up her advances or sweep her off her feet and become the prince she wants. She decides to take matters into her own hands, buying herself flowers for Hal to ask her to prom, but it doesn't go to plan.
Hal rejects . . . himself?
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He assumes this is nothing more than the advances Lola used to make on him when they first met, thinking that there is no possible way a women would be attracted to him - and he ends up missing his chance. Talking with the other Greasers, they all collectively realise his fumble and help him get back on track, practically dragging him to Harrington House.
What they didn't account for however, was that she isn't the only one who could answer the door. As Hal's mates stand watch from the bushes, contemplating on whether they jump in to knock Derby's teeth out or not, Hal is invited inside.
Derby allows him to see Pinky. She's there in her pjs, eating her feelings, and not at all presentable enough by her standards. But Hal barely notices, gesturing the flowers and stammering through his words. He's terrified of rejection, still thinking he isn't good enough for any women, let alone a rich, pretty girl like Pinky.
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Now this is no happily ever after. Pinky realises that she was trying to make Hal her prince, force him to be something he's not.
She rejects him, but still agrees to go to prom together as each other's date. Hal finally gets to experience rejection, and it wasn't so bad, also learning that women can and do love him for who he is.
This leaves their relationship open ended, with the possibility of being together, or not. I prefer it to be left this way as Hal's somewhat rejection and Pinky's realisation work to better further their individual characters, rather than putting them together as a definte and missing out on that.
ℍ𝕒𝕡𝕡𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝔸𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣
Overall, I ended up falling in love with their dynamic the more I thought about it, and I've only scratched the surface here. Romance/shipping has always felt bland to me, since it feels like I'm seeing the same dynamics constantly, so writing this out was surprisingly fun.
I like the idea that their relationship doesn't blossom from attraction, and that someone doesn't have to physically be your type for you to develop a romantic relationship. It allows for a weirdly wholesome and character focused development that contrasts many of the other common ships in the fandom.
It also ties into the plot nicely, being a catalyst for the Preps Vs Greasers, as well as other character's arcs too.
I think my favorite part about the Bully fandom is that it seems everybody has their own interpretation of every character.
The majority of characters fall into that perfect sweet spot of having just enough canon information to be interesting while having little enough to basically be a blank slate.
Sure , there are characters that are pretty established like the main three and the clique leaders, but we have about 50 other characters we can basically play dolls with! The fact that there are so many different ways people write a given character and each way is completely valid just brings me so much joy!!
That ‘comment on your a03 work’ email hits like a line of cocaine every time. unmatched dopamine increase. shoutout to everyone who leaves a comment on fics. you deserve the world
classic cinema is such a great pastime cause you'll hear somebody say yeah this movie changed cinema forever and is still the standard 70 years later and you'll go into it like surely it can't be good and come out of it like wow no it is that good actually. like this every time
let’s be real the pressure to use AI as an adult is exactly what they said the pressure the do drugs as a teenager would be like but the people that told us that caved immediately for the AI and definitely did not just say no
