It obviously turned out lovely but what started out in your head as the 🤡-est?
Lol it has to be The Light You Hold Inside. Basically I was tearing my hair out over how to write the prompt 'Santa Lucia' for Evakteket's Christmas challenge, and Immy only shrugged and said "easy, just hang some tinsel on a naked Even and there you have it." I thought WELL WOMAN JUST YOU WAIT and opened a doc.
iirc I was the one who was 🤡 enough to add the glowing dildo. (It did work out in the end though).
SKAM season 3 talkback series: episode 4, “Keen på å bade”
The SKAM season 3 rewatch talkback series was done in conjunction with a first-time watch for a small group of newbies. I talked to a cross-section of fans about each episode so our newbies could get a varied taste of what the SKAM fandom was about.
Talk back with the sweet and spicy @hakkepippern (aka Ane_Rikke on AO3)
SKAM 3.4: Keen på å bade conducted on 3, November 2019
@ghostcat3000: Hello! Hello!
@hakkepippern: Hello!
Ghostcat: Welcome to the most low-rent interview on Discord!
hakkepippern: Thank you!
Ghostcat: My laptop has chose this precise moment to shut down so please excuse all typos while I make it happen on this here iPhone.
hakkepippern: My iPad is not shut down, and I still will make typos
@modestytreehouse: Classic laptop-move.
Ghostcat: Excellent :thumbsup: Thank you, @hakkepippern: for joining us today to talk about the first game changer episode of the season: Keen på å bade
hakkepippern: My pleasure :smiley:
Ghostcat: My first question is actually from our previous guest, @newyearsirresolution: "What did you think of Isak and Sana's relationship at this point in the season?"
hakkepippern: Oooo! Up until now we have seen how Sana tried to trick Isak to come to that kose-meeting.
Ghostcat: She Escobar’d him.
hakkepippern: I am not sure if it was love with first sight, but Ms Tits made Sana & Isak happen.
Ghostcat: Nipples forced them together and in doing so, made one of my SKAM wish list things come true
hakkepippern: In this episode they have started texting outside classes.
Ghostcat: That’s right! Is this the first appearance of Sanasol and Isabell?
hakkepippern: I think we can say they have established a tone.
treehouse: Isak is asking her for a favour, isn't he?
hakkepippern: Yes, he is! Sana is accusing him of cheating, he won´t have that and they end up calling each other Isabell and Sanasol.
Ghostcat: I love that she calls him that and his only response is a droll “original.”
hakkepippern: Hahaha. I think we can see clearly how good friends they already are in the clip over bio books.
Ghostcat: Not ‘stop’ or ‘no’ or ‘please don’t’ - Isak accepts that he’s Isabell now. He capitulates.
hakkepippern: :heart: They know each other so well already.
Ghostcat: One of the things I love about Isak is that he’s a good student.
hakkepippern: Yes!
Ghostcat: It’s such a random detail but it tracks. Much like how I loved that Eva wasn’t.
hakkepippern: So dedicated even though his life is a mess.
Ghostcat: His life is falling apart but he is getting that 6.
hakkepippern: Oh, Isak.
Ghostcat: Confession: whenever I want to bum myself out over Isak’s backstory, I think about him studying in that Kollektiv basement, using light from his phone. I AM FUN.
@irazor: :sob:
hakkepippern: You made me cry now when I tried to write something coherent.
Ghostcat: Sorry.
newyearsirresolution: You're a horrible person.
Ghostcat: I am. I have a whole list of terrible Isak headcanons. We can discuss them while hakkepippern returns to coherence
hakkepippern: One thing I love about Sana and Isak in this clip is how their friendship already handles their arguing.
Ghostcat: They are very sibling-like.
hakkepippern: Yes! They throw insults at each other, and then they are back on track with studying.
Ghostcat: Our first time watchers were really stuck on the argument in this episode.
hakkepippern: How do you mean?
Ghostcat: I think they were tripped up with both of them being in the wrong—Isak for his clueless approach (which was hiding the reason he asked) and Sana for equating homosexuality with mental illness (even though she’s using that as deliberate provocation)
hakkepippern: I would be annoyed with Isak too, and can see how Sana wanted to address his ignorance.
Ghostcat: Were you annoyed at the time or were you more responsive to their nascent friendship?
hakkepippern: I was like Isak, “gaaaah come on.” But at the same time we see the texts from his mom, and I can understand why he needed to ask the question, maybe just to get it off his chest.
One thing about the texts though: I am not sure if all the misspellings in the texts got through in the translation?
Ghostcat: No. Like what? *leans in*
hakkepippern: She is clearly rambling, lots of typos, missing spaces.
Ghostcat: And not sleeping either. Sending 3am bible-quoting texts to her son.
hakkepippern: Yes :frowning:
Ghostcat: That’s fucking intense. But Isak just reads them in the same flat way he always reads them—like he’s used to it
hakkepippern: And I think maybe we can be a little forgiving towards Isak for not being very sensitive trying to Ask Sana about religion. It is so sad.
Ghostcat: If I can switch things up here, can you tell us about how you started watching SKAM and when?
hakkepippern: I can!
Ghostcat: :chin hands: (Also I'm finally on my laptop, technology... yay!)
hakkepippern: I started watching SKAM around March 2016. I had bought a spinning bike, and since I found it totally boring to use it, I started working out in front of TV.
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha. I love it.
hakkepippern: I scrolled through all the series on NRK and found this high school drama.
Ghostcat: This little teen show.
hakkepippern: I thought it could serve as a nice and easy distraction.
Ghostcat: Famous last words.
hakkepippern: I think I watched four ep of s1 before I started watching without the spinning bike-
Ghostcat: It sucks you right in. Some of our first watchers still miss ole Eva.
newyearsirresolution: (Me too.)
hakkepippern: -and I was used to binging so i was annoyed when i came to s2ep5 and there was nothing more. Then I realized that it said «follow skam everyday on P3.no» And I just hmm…
Ghostcat: Ruh roh.
hakkepippern: Started refreshing.
Ghostcat: Let the real-time fun commence!
hakkepippern: Hahaha. Not very obsessively in the beginning though.
Ghostcat: Most of season two's clips were posted at regular times though, right? It wasn't until season three that the middle of the night updates began.
hakkepippern: That's right.
Ghostcat: Dear lord, I feel for you, because I know my dumb ass would have watched at 3am.
hakkepippern: I wasn't totally out there, I could wait for work to be over before checking the site.
Ghostcat: Smart!
hakkepippern: This was still before summer ´16. It got out of hand.
Ghostcat: Oh, ha ha ha, so this was before.
hakkepippern: Oh yes.
Ghostcat: I have to ask...what did you think when you saw that trailer for Isak's season? I'm guessing you saw it when it was posted?
hakkepippern: I thought something like, ok that's a clear message.
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha, ya think? Were you like, meh, or were you intrigued and excited?
hakkepippern: I was really excited. It was Skam so I was already ready for a new season.
I was afraid we wouldn't see much of the girls though. But I got over that.
Ghostcat: The funniest thing so far about these guest talk backs is hearing people admit they were not that into the idea of an Isak season because ho hum here's another dude.
hakkepippern: It really got to me when I rewatched the Sjalu-clip. I am always tempted to fast forward.
Ghostcat: Is that when you knew you were fully all in?
hakkepippern: Shut up about Noorhelm! Isak is texting Even!
Ghostcat: It's EVAK TIME NOW
hakkepippern: I think I was full all-in already at the bathtub scene. I loved the boys. :heart:
Ghostcat: YES, I love that intro.
hakkepippern: Magnus and Mahdi!
Ghostcat: All these dummies in a bathtub. Ordinary boys.
hakkepippern: Yes!
Ghostcat: Not Porsche-driving financiers!
hakkepippern: We don't want that. Sorry.
Ghostcat: And now we've zipped forward to this episode...we ended with some serious laser eyes and almost-kissing... What did you expect going into 3.4? Were you caught up in the fever pitch of MAYBE SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN??? After all, they've started texting now with more regularity.
hakkepippern: It was quite clear that Even wanted something with Isak. After the let down on Saturday when he said see you at school.
Ghostcat: That is a deflating moment. Followed by Eskild's comments to Noora about people leaving others to be with their real loves.
hakkepippern: :frowning: Even texts him Sunday evening anyway. Drops a random meme just like that. Or maybe not “just like that.”
Ghostcat: Even's ancient Seinfeld memes are headscratchers but Isak is so into him he's clearly in that everything-you-do-is-fascinating-to-me phase. SEINFELD MEMES. What a creation Even is.
hakkepippern: WHAT IS IT WITH KIDS WATCHING SEINFELD OF ALL THINGS.
Ghostcat: Usually it's F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
hakkepippern: Well they can have both. Lol.
Ghostcat: We watch Isak struggle with his locker/metaphor and Even sidles up, smoothly, suggesting they pre-game before the Halloween party and Isak is like :slight_smile: OKAY head nod, head nod.
hakkepippern: He is easily persuaded. He is. Both texts from Even set a different vibe before 21.21.
Ghostcat: Even’s texts are very important, I think much more so than other seasons, in terms of establishing character.
hakkepippern: But what about throwing trash behind the lockers?
Ghostcat: One of our first watchers is a high school teacher―she KNEW that trash toss.
hakkepippern: Yikes.
Ghostcat: She sees boys do it all the time. The details, the details on this show. *Chef's kiss*
Speaking of texts―there's an important one here because when Emma shows up and tells Isak THEY'RE pre-gaming with Even and his girlfriend and Isak looks like ??? The texts clarify that their involvement wasn't Even's plan at all.
hakkepippern: Yes, that´s a really important text!
Ghostcat: Which must have been interesting to see in real time...because it clearly reads as: I wanted it to be just the two of us.
hakkepippern: Even clearly tries to make Sonja less important.
Ghostcat: Which... :eyes: She's his "party planner."
hakkepippern: She is just in charge.
Ghostcat: The "liaison" concerned with punctuality.
hakkepippern: All just to plan Even and Isak’s pre-party.
Ghostcat: And Isak plays along but I do love his, "yeah... what's that about?" < also admitting he thought it was a solo hang, JUST BROS.
hakkepippern: Aaaaw yes.
Ghostcat: This was a Friday clip, did you see it in real time, on a Friday?
hakkepippern: Yes, I did! I was waiting for it :smile: Refreshing.
Ghostcat: You must have been so disappointed. What a boring clip. Nothing happens.
hakkepippern: When it started I was like, where did this mood come from? But looking closely, Even is really trying to make eye contact with Isak so the can bond outside the stupid conversation between Emma and Sonja.
Ghostcat: Oh you mean Even being a scratchy scrawl of displeasure? YES. He's trying. But Isak is avoiding his eyes.
hakkepippern: But Isak is not looking back though.
Ghostcat: If you look at gifs of that scene (which I do extensively like it was my job) you can see the precise moments Isak slips and looks at him. Seconds. Where his glance changes and he looks decisively breathless.
hakkepippern: And when the girls leave, Isak is desperately trying to come up with something to say.
Ghostcat: I HeaRD a LOt Of PeoPLe WIll Be THerE.
hakkepippern: When Even is all scratch-talking, let's get out of here. That was actually a little painful to watch
Ghostcat: Even is clearly agitated and it looks like he's using the time―21:21 as a sign he needs to act. Get out, at least.
hakkepippern: I was like whatever, you don´t need an excuse, just leave.
Ghostcat: At the time I was definitely shocked that Isak would leave the girls in his own apartment.
hakkepippern: I didn´t think so much about that. Hahaha.
Ghostcat: He puts up such a front, hides so well, but here he throws all of it out the window in a way that would be near-impossible to take back. How do you lie your way out of that one??? It's his own apartment????
hakkepippern: True. I guess neither Isak or I thought about that.
Ghostcat: A first watcher was like, so does Linn come out, see those girls and go "who the fuck are you people? Extreeeeeeeeeeeme awkwardness.
hakkepippern: I have lived in a kollektiv, stranger thing has happened.
Ghostcat: But of course, we’re not thinking about that, we're outside, with them, on that bike. What did you think then?
hakkepippern: They were arguing anyway.
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha, you're like, good riddance.
hakkepippern: Hahaha.
Ghostcat: You sound like, watching it, you wanted to leave too.
hakkepippern: I did.
Ghostcat: OMG. I just realized something. Ha ha ha! Isak says it in the previous episode...
hakkepippern: What?
Ghostcat: When he’s complaining about Emma’s love of Bieber, “I should leave, oh wait, I can't, it's my place.” FORESHADOWING.
hakkepippern: Oooooh, yes, he did!
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha, he does leave!
hakkepippern: He does! :smile:
Ghostcat: And Bieber was playing again!
hakkepippern: Oh lord!
Ghostcat: So Bieber migraine, part two lol lol lol!
hakkepippern: You have a brilliant mind.
newyearsirresolution: Fuck you and fuck Julie Andem tbh.
Ghostcat: No, this show is brilliant. Okay, you got your wish, hakkepippern. They left Isak's apartment, they're on that bike, The Song is playing: WHERE WERE YOU AT?
hakkepippern: I loved the bike-scene! It was a perfect scene with the clumsy balancing act from Even.
Ghostcat: To be fair, Even is a fucking giant with extra long arms and legs and Isak is skinny but dense because of all that unexplained muscle. He looks like he weighs more than you think. I felt Even’s no-hands struggle on that bike, but he looks so happy, he doesn't seem to mind.
hakkepippern: I just wanted someone to read Isak´s lips!
Ghostcat: Did anyone? Were you IN FANDOM yet???
hakkepippern: I don't think so. I went through some of the comments under one of Emma's texts. And they were all she doesn't have a clue, Isak is leading her on, it was all in caps and then someone: CALM DOWN IT IS JUST A SHOW.
Ghostcat: IT'S NEVER JUST A SHOW.
hakkepippern: Hahaha it was so funny. Even and Isak are just happy in that moment, it radiates.
Ghostcat: They radiate with JOY! Which is so hard to portray without sliding into mawkishness.
hakkepippern: The fine lines here!
Ghostcat: But I love how it bleeds into the scene―did you think that Even was improvising here? Did they just ride near that street by accident and he realized there was An Opportunity? Or did you think that was a deliberate move? I ask this in the context of the moment not with any thought of the rest of the season.
hakkepippern: I think that is a really hard question. It seems like something you need to plan. At the same time he looks kind of taken by the situation when he stops the bike.
Ghostcat: I thought it was spontaneous
hakkepippern: It doesn't look planned on his face.
Ghostcat: Yesssss. An opportunity. Also the question of the episode
newyearsirresolution: I like to think he planned it and then gave up on it when Sonja meddled but THEN it was 21.21 and he was like, you know what? This is my hot girl summer.
Ghostcat: The fact that he asks it at that moment and not say, at Isak's apartment. Ha ha ha, hot girl summer.
hakkepippern: What is hot girl summer?
Ghostcat: A song, @hakkepippern, that lbr, Even would LOVE. For me, it felt like 21.21 was the green light to get the fuck out.
hakkepippern: I never really paid attention to those Numbers
Ghostcat: I've done dumb shit like that before when younger. Oh, it's 11:11―it's a sign! Come to think of it, it's funny that I never once considered any other interpretation of that moment. It was as clear to me as something direct.
hakkepippern: What was clear to you?
Ghostcat: That when Even asks for the time, he takes the fact that it's 21.21 as a sign to go.
hakkepippern: Aha. I guess. But at the time, I didn't think of it as more than just get out.
Ghostcat: But here they are and Even is doing his sing-songy MY AUNT IS ON VACATION thing.
hakkepippern: And that's his answer to everything.
Ghostcat: And Isak clearly suspects that something is amiss but goes with it anyway because of residual joy or whatever-
hakkepippern: What is leaving two girls at home when you are breaking and entering with EVEN?
Ghostcat: -and I love, love, love how he slows down once they're inside. In the watch, someone asked if they were going to just get naked when Even starts removing his clothes and no wonder Isak's like, umm what is happening. How much do I take off??? Are we swimming in our underwear???? (HALP)
hakkepippern: Hahaha, better to just push him in.
Ghostcat: And Even is just negging him the way Isak negs Emma.
hakkepippern: Even having an opinion on how Isak cares about his hair <3<3<3
Ghostcat: That gets Isak to scrunch up his face like an angry squirrel and shove him in.
hakkepippern: It is adoooooorable
Ghostcat: Are you afraid you're gonna fuck up your hair? reads as I AM INTO YOUR HAIR. Did you catch the song reference?
hakkepippern: Even gives so much away. Which song?
Ghostcat: Kissing You from Romeo + Juliet?
hakkepippern: Yes!
Ghostcat: SO you knew what was coming.
hakkepippern: I have seen that movie a couple of times.
Ghostcat: Whispers: underwater smoochy smooches.
hakkepippern: WHEN exactly does the song start?
Ghostcat: Right after they count to three. They go underwater, suddenly in slo mo, the song plays, and everything is blue, blue, blue.
hakkepippern: Right! Because I know I was all like kiiiiiiiiiss. But then I was also like, why the hell does he grab his throat?
Ghostcat: HA HA HA. Meeee tooo. What a cheater.
hakkepippern: And I got really hung up on that.
Ghostcat: Isak looks so furious.
hakkepippern: Like in a creepy way.
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha, you thought it was foreshadowing?
hakkepippern: Skam messes with us. I knew that from the other seasons.
Ghostcat: I couldn't figure out if it was a way to soften the fact that he was going in for a kiss. Eventually, he knew he was, this way he could play it off as a gambit to win. Or if he genuinely was trying to best Isak and once again, saw an opportunity and took it.
hakkepippern: I can see that, and I think I wrote it off as that as well. But still I was conflicted.
Ghostcat: Even is a mystery to us and spending more time with him only brings up more questions. I found him baffling at first, but then got more into him. What is it that he says...something like, you think there are rules here? with that big grin on his face.
hakkepippern: Yes, and that was really beautiful.
Ghostcat: It immediately made me think of "but we can't go back now" < these seemingly innocuous turns of phrase that felt IMMEDIATELY important and meaningful.
hakkepippern: YES. Just BAM.
Ghostcat: You say that you were conflicted though...were you worried going into the next episode?
hakkepippern: No, not exactly. I thought it left on a cute and harmless note. I was just aware of this being a drama, and kind of trying to figure out the plot, I guess.
Ghostcat: Did you, at the time, have anyone to be like: DID YOU SEE THAT? THEY KISSED? AAAAH! < that's me by the way. I did that. To no one. Or was the collective experience of watching in real time more than enough?
hakkepippern: YES! It was a good Friday. I don't know how many times i watched that clip before I went to bed.
Ghostcat: I bet! I watched it several times that first time...I think the pacing of the clip is fantastic, how it goes from the tension of Isak's apartment to the romantic lyricism of Head Over Heels to Kissing You and then of course, the comedy of that little girl yelling.
hakkepippern: I was thinking about one more thing-
Ghostcat: -and Isak's struggle to get out. Those legs sticking out of that tiny window lol. What? Tell me.
hakkepippern: She is underrated.
Ghostcat: The little girl?
hakkepippern: Yes. I know TSM got messages about how crappy the kissing was in that scene.
Ghostcat: I heard about that.
hakkepippern: And I just think the clumsy kissing adds to all of it. :heart:
Ghostcat: I am hesitant about mentioning that to the first watch folks because of separation between actors > role BUT yeah, I love that it's messy and off-center and awkward? He doesn't seem to know what to do with his hands? If it's okay to put his hands on him? It looks like a first time kiss that means something.
hakkepippern: The hands! How he holds on to Even!
Ghostcat: It looks like something important and new and real.
hakkepippern: I remember my first kiss that really meant something to me.
Ghostcat: It captures that, no?
hakkepippern: I was like are we always going to make these slurp sounds?
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha.
Heihallohadet: His kissing in that scene is perfectly imperfect.
hakkepippern: Yes!
Ghostcat: Yes. And on that note, thank you so much, @hakkepippern: for answering so many questions and giving us some insight into this episode!
hakkepippern: Thank you, it was so much fun!
@heihallohadet: Can I ask one question?
hakkepippern: For me?
Heihallohadet: Yes!
Ghostcat: Exciting!
Heihallohadet: Do you remember Tobias in the comment section for the clips??
hakkepippern: No?
Heihallohadet: The guy who would never be satisfied with the story.
hakkepippern: Sounds exhausting.
Heihallohadet: Because he felt the gay love story was being short changed?
Ghostcat: Huh?
Heihallohadet: He was adamant!
Ghostcat: Did he feel it was short changed by this episode?
Heihallohadet: I was trying to see if he was satisfied with this clip, and couldn’t find a comment right away so maybe but you bet he was back on again after the next one. People were trying to placate him. :joy:joy:
Ghostcat: I love that someone's username was ‘chill.’
Heihallohadet: :joy:joy: It’s not a user name, it’s a subject header.
hakkepippern: Well, the comment section lacked some chill.
Ghostcat: Once again, let me just stress how glad I am I didn't experience this show in real time because I wouldn't have understood shit and I would have found you guys and HAUNTED you for information. As opposed to now, of course.
Heihallohadet: :kissing_heart:
Ghostcat: Right back atcha.
hakkepippern: You would be in the comment section as well, asking for translation :heart: I loved how it took NRK so long to post the comments that in the end it was: translation, tnx for translating, translation, tnx for translating.
Ghostcat: I remember reading that TSM broke the cast gag rule to snark on people complaining about how bad his kissing was in that scene, like, nice that you are obsessed with how a seventeen year old kisses. Is that true?
Heihallohadet: He did.
newyearsirresolution: Savage!
Ghostcat: OMG.
hakkepippern: He did.
Ghostcat: I love him.
Heihallohadet: On jodel I think.
Ghostcat: That is some A+ shit. He right tho.
hakkepippern: Perfect.
Ghostcat: But also Isak gets noticeably better at kissing as the season goes on and it reads as true and real which holy moly! what a detail. It's the kind of thing that made me narrow my eyes like WAS THAT AN ACTING CHOICE??? Was that a deliberate choice by the actor with no real experience? NO! and IMPOSSIBLE!
newyearsirresolution: I also see a difference in how Isak kisses Sara vs. how he kisses Emma, so yeah, no way it wasn't an acting/directing choice.
Ghostcat: Julie! *shakes fist* It's infuriating because that's the kind of thing I wish more actors would do, think about their characterization chronologically so that you can see the person change before your eyes or at least have directors guide them there.
Heihallohadet: An extra perk of filming it chronologically
Ghostcat: And he was seventeen years old.
Heihallohadet: :pray:pray:pray:
Ghostcat: I just shrieked that out loud in fury to fully express how baffling I find TSM's skill level.
Heihallohadet: A true savant. No, a natural.
Ghostcat: @newyearsirresolution that's your cue to call him a monster.
newyearsirresolution: Hahaha am I that predictable? Or is he just that awful(ly good)?
Ghostcat: Yeah, a natural but worse, because he works at it too so he's going to keep getting better. Grumble, grumble.
hakkepippern: And what Henrik said about acting and playing Even: “to find true feelings, not just portray him.”
Ghostcat: I feel like I can't even begin to go near what Henrik Holm does this season until after Mannen i mitt liv.
newyearsirresolution: I had no idea what he'd been doing all along, I realized it at the end of the season.
Ghostcat: @Heihallohadet even though most things aren't shot chronologically and yes, it is truly a gift to be able to do things that way, it's possible to track a character and have an actor and director work on this, make sure progression is there. But it so often gets lost. Henrik's work is superb and that is part of why I wanted to do the talk back for that episode before I realized I could not interview myself lol. But also @odeto-psyche will have wonderful insights, I'm sure.
newyearsirresolution: Witnessing you interviewing yourself would have been a chaotic experience I'd love to have. You could do it for the bloopers lol.
Heihallohadet: I am reading through the comments for the clip right now, and it’s kind of fascinating how many people thought that something was definitely off with Even. Kind of perceptive at that point.
newyearsirresolution: Which clip? The pool kiss or Mannen i mitt liv?
Heihallohadet: The pool kiss.
Ghostcat: We discussed it a little when we saw it, Even is curt and dismissive in a way we haven’t seen before in this clip. Isak’s hilarious eye-narrowing look over to him when he’s bickering with Sonja.
newyearsirresolution: Curt and dismissive is one way to say it.
Ghostcat: We haven’t seen that expression on Isak in a while. :snake:
newyearsirresolution: Hahaha. He's just a grass snake now. Doesn't even need to plot and still gets an underwater kiss.
Ghostcat: Not gonna front—I am a sick, sick person but Mean Even was kind of hot to me :hides face: That cold-as-ice “Stop monitoring me.”
newyearsirresolution: Oh ok, for a second I thought you meant the Santa Claus look.
Heihallohadet: Hahaha.
Ghostcat: Ha ha ha. Dude. Am I that bad? Don’t answer that.
newyearsirresolution: Well, you iterated. Sick, sick person. I wasn't sure.
Ghostcat: I am way too open with you guys.
newyearsirresolution: Not that he looks bad in white. Which he probably knows since he showed up in nothing but a white t-shirt at the Neon Party. I mean, he was also probably wearing pants but I'm not sure we ever see the pants, I only remember the shirt.
Ghostcat: Those pants were see-through after that pool. Don’t turn around, bro. I was like :eyes:
newyearsirresolution: So was Isak. I wish we saw his face while Even was climbing that window.
Ghostcat: Yeah, again...was it acting?? Was it an acting choice to look down? I don’t even know. Again, I am so confused by his skill level.
newyearsirresolution: That might also just be a human reaction. There's an ass in front of you. You look at it. Or is that just me?
Heihallohadet: Depends on the ass.
newyearsirresolution: Hahaha true.
Heihallohadet: Speaking of ass, I saw you commenting on the use of ass in Norwegian!
newyearsirresolution: It's so confusing! They say it like, out of nowhere.
Heihallohadet: It’s short for ‘altså’ Which means different things but mainly therefore. So it’s just to underline something. Han sa det ass, he said it (underlined). I’m not a linguist so I’m sure there is a better way of explaining.
Ghostcat: I am still all about NEBBETE.
Heihallohadet: Nebbete is a good word.
Ghostcat: And when we go back to the bloopers, there's a word they say a lot that lingered in my head for days. I don't even know what it is or how it's spelled but it sounds like people saying cleaning or gleaning. I'm going to find it and then point at it while staring at you.
hakkepippern: Klining! Making out!
Heihallohadet: Ah! Hooking up.
newyearsirresolution: I'm less confused about ass now, but I'll keep finding it hilarious.
Heihallohadet: It is, particularly when written.
Ghostcat: KLINING.
*
Join us next Wednesday to read our talkback with @nofeartina about episode 3.5: “Samme tid et helt annet sted” aka Art Core Cuddles and Heartbreak
Ask meme: "“Älskling.” Det är en flämtning snarare än ett ord, ett andetag fyllt av allt som hotar att spränga Isak inifrån just nu, all oro han burit under de här veckorna tillsammans med lättnaden över att de äntligen ser hur himlen blir ljusare framför dem.". Altså hele den helgen. Hvordan den slo lufta ut av meg. Den er så rå og fantastisk nydelig. Og jeg er så glad dere fortalte meg at Isak kaller Even älskling. Det visste jeg ikke, men selvfølgelig gjør han det. ❤️.
Vid det här laget, efter att Isak och Even varit tillsammans i mer än ett år i vinter, vår, sommar, höst-serien, så kunde visserligen @modestytreehouse och jag valt att fortsätta med mer av samma—lite lagom fluff, lite lagom smut, hållit berättandet lätt och lättillgängligt—men det kändes som att det var dags för Isak att få axla lite av en annan roll, och dags att fördjupa deras förhållande. Att låta Evens sjukdom leda dem dit är (för SKAM-fics) förstås en naturlig väg att gå—men för oss var det också viktigt att hålla det just, som du säger, rått; naket och ärligt utan att skygga för de jobbiga och skavande känslorna, men också utan att spåra ner i alltför djup angst. Jag är så glad att du tycker att vi lyckades.
Och på svenska kallar Isak Even för älskling. Speciellt när Even behöver det som allra mest, som här. ❤️
Tack. fina Ane, för att du påminde om den här serien och om ömheten mellan dem!
I love the story about Isak and his family on Koster. How it at the same time is different from the show, in how his family handle his mom's mental illness in a way that keeps the family together, and were Isak is seen and taken care of, but also the same as in how he loves his mom and don't want to hurt or disappoint her. And I love how in both those universes I see a story of a family that has a lot of love for eachother, but while the family in the show is broken up, it brings them closer together (as I interpret it) on Koster.
And I know I mentioned it in a comment, but this really got to me:
"Even sits still beside him.
“But when I was away that summer to Jonas’ though...it was only three weeks, but.” Isak glances up at the clouds floating overhead. “She got sick in a way she hadn’t for years. They had to admit her to the ward for over a month, and I. I just couldn’t leave then.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Even’s hand is on his shoulder, tentative. “You know it wasn’t.”
“I know, but…I guess it didn’t help that I was away.” He keeps his gaze fixed on the clouds. The larger ones, still and white, and the smaller grey ones, moving more swiftly underneath them. “And besides, when she was discharged, it was too late for me to go to Oslo anyway. I had already started the school year here and. Yeah.”
“But what did they say about it? Your parents?”
“My mom?” Isak laughs, shortly. “She said I should go, but she wasn’t well. Even if she said she wanted me to, she didn’t know what she was saying.”
“Are you so sure about that?”
Isak glances up at him. There’s something in Even’s eyes Isak doesn’t really recognize. Apprehension maybe, or worry.
He looks around. The voices of children echo up to them, but at this moment, there’s nobody to see.
On the bench, Isak moves his hand closer to Even’s. Slides his palm across Even’s knobby fingers. Dares to look up into his face and meet Even’s gaze.
“No...maybe not.” He exhales. “But I don’t know. We haven’t exactly talked about it after.”"
And it is a small and quiet conversation. It has no drama, but it hits.
In Seasons (Waiting on You), Isak is of an age when the natural thing would be to break free from your parents. Isak hasn't here, not yet—and it was very crucial for me when writing that this would clearly be his own choice. He wasn't being held on this island against his will, there was no malicious intent from either of his parents—they even encouraged him to go to high school elsewhere, to leave!—instead, he chose to stay. Not out of obligation primarily, but out of love.
It was also a main point that this wouldn't be the cause of a huge dramatic fallout. Like in all families, there are past events that are painful or complicated; and often, I think, they're not always talked about. That's just how it is—there's no huge conflict, but there's misunderstandings and fear because things are swept under the rug.
The moving-away conversation would have to happen here, eventually, because Isak will soon start his last year of high school and would have to leave the island. Here, it hasn't yet, and Isak hasn't been sure how to bring it up. He really, really, doesn't want his mother to feel abandoned or disappointed.
Enter Even, however, and there's the catalyst that makes Isak realize that the joy he feels with Even, the urge to be himself, is greater than the fear. So the choice of leaving the island is tied to his love for Even, and the will to be truly his own person and be open about it. Isak doesn't want that to mean leaving the love he has for his family behind—they can coexist, and he wants them to.
(The relief when his mother sees him, all of him, and makes it clear that she loves him all the same, is just as huge and encompassing as it is on the show though. That single tear will be one of my favorite TV moments FOREVAH).
And, just like you say, this family has a lot of love for each other. They don't always know how to say it, but it is in their actions and choices. And of course, whatever is talked about in her church, Marianne's love for her son wins out. In my world, it always will.
(Speaking of, it was also a conscious choice to not have it rain fire and brimstone in that church, even if the Christian Swedish west coast environment is in many ways a conservative one. As Isak in this story says: it was like I, or people like me, didn't exist. And that kind of erasure can be very painful in its own way).
The conversation you cite above ties into all of these things, and it was an interesting (and tricky) one to write. At this point, Isak does not know about Even's bipolar disorder, so Even's question is a much heavier one than Isak understands (but we as readers know, of course). They're having this talk out in the open, among tourists and children running around, people who might recognize them—so they cannot console each other with the touches which would be their MO. It has to be in their words—and I'm really glad the weight of them hit right.
Thank you so much, @hakkepippern, for coming by to talk to me about this scene and this fic. Your appreciation for it meant, and still means, a lot. 💗
