Oh what a wonderful thing to wake up to reading - better than any cup of coffee or tea for me, except for the whole paralyzing me to read it rather than puttering around getting ready to take my daughter to school.
Loved this chapter, especially the BFFs talking to Arnold and Helga. I hadn't really expected Phoebe to speak up on Helga's behalf, even though I should've, and so it came as a nice little surprise for two seconds before I was nodding my head going, "Of course... she's still so protective and caring." Also, having been pregnant, I can understand how those protective instincts flare up further to life.
I also love smug Helga and the car, because it's just so very HER. Why do things partway, when you can go full-force? I really look forward to finding out what Gerald and Phoebe's reactions to the missing Jaguar are. (If you say that's not going to be in the story, then I'm totally asking the question of them in the other entry!)
I do think I spotted one typo, though: Let the Footballhead get the couch and leave your poor, suffering best friend to the couch, right?”
I think you meant room and couch, respectively?
One final note: this chapter made me HUNGRY! I don't get good steaks nearly often enough. My mouth was watering. :D
Hee! Glad I could help make your morning, but OH NO don't put this silly fic before helping your daughter out! XD
It was very important for me to separate them into awkward pairs. I just, really want to nail down this idea that they are both a little fucked up, what with Arnold being totally focused on his parents and Helga being completely focused on him - to the point where they had both let their lives go to pot when hope for those things ran out.
And I think the BFFs recognize this and are also much more protective of Helga in this whole adventure - they pretty much think Arnold's going to get her killed for his cause. I don't think Gerald really believed he could talk her out of going with Arnold, but he felt he had to try anyway. Phoebe tried to be more clever than that by going around Helga and trying to cut things off with Arnold, but Helga's too clever for that.
Oh we'll get to see some reactions, so don't worry. I couldn't have them take the Jag without letting Gerald vent about it for a bit. XD
Fixed! Thanks for pointing it out. I really need to go back and read through the whole thing again.
Hee, I am actually not a huge fan of steak, but it sounded like a really good meal for them.
Don't worry - my daughter was not yet awake at the time. We are part of the breakfast club at her school, which means that she gets fed at the school, so generally, getting ready for school consists of waking up, brushing teeth and hair and all that jazz, making sure there's homework and lunches in place, and then heading out. I promise, I wouldn't have actually put this story ahead of my daughter. (I also had to get up an extra hour early to get some things washed for my husband to get to work in time, so I was stuck with time to kill regardless.)
Hooray for Gerald-venting! I'll hold off on the questions, then, because some things are just so much better in the whole of the context rather than skipping ahead to sneak a taste.
I really love your characterizations of Arnold and Helga in this - the way you recognize that the obsessions could totally destroy their lives and yet, being obsessions, are things they'd do regardless. And I kinda like the concept that, after so long, Gerald is protective of Helga more than Arnold. It's neat to see the way he's moved on and such.
Also, I joke that growing up as a Texan, I was destined to be a steak-eating carnivore. I do love the things, and miss eating them more often, so there's something sinfully voyeuristic to me about reading a fic with steak. Such a strange little thing, but it reminds me of my old home, so.
Still if you have any questions for the background characters like Sid or Stinky or whatever, feel free to ask. They might show up again, but maybe not.
For some reason it's been really important to me to show how problematic the Helga/Arnold relationship can be. And in order for them to ever work out there are a few things that they both have to recognize about themselves and each other. But I won't say much more about that, as I'm hoping that the story continues to show those things they need to think about.
Haha, I think in my own little headcanon for this story Gerald and Helga end up growing close after Arnold leaves. And Helga's always been around, whereas Arnold left and Gerald's relationship with him kind of took a pounding after that.
I do believe I did issue a threat to inundate you with questions today, right? I just need to think up some good ones. Or really, maybe not so much good as just darnit, things I'm curious about. It'll be a nice thing to do while I'm working on cleaning our kitchen and living room today - do some work, come up with and post a question, go back to doing more work.
Your headcanon makes sense to me. I like it a lot, and I suspect that there are a couple of questions there that I'll end up asking.
In the end, I think what really grabs me about this fic is the fact that you haven't taken the easy way out. There's no, "Oh, he's back after all this time and so sexy and of course, love makes everything all right, so we're happy and lovey-dovey." Because that's not what the show is about. It's one thing for a bit-of-fluff story, like my Traditions, to ignore the growth, and change, and very nature of the show. But a story like this... a story with such meat on its bones. It deserves real exploration, and growth, and discovery, and heartache, and all of that. And you're giving it exactly what it deserves.
Aww, you're so sweet. I am trying hard to add a lot of depth here and really make the characters struggle to figure out what they do/don't want. I don't want it to be easy for them to just fall for one another.
Loved this chapter, especially the BFFs talking to Arnold and Helga. I hadn't really expected Phoebe to speak up on Helga's behalf, even though I should've, and so it came as a nice little surprise for two seconds before I was nodding my head going, "Of course... she's still so protective and caring." Also, having been pregnant, I can understand how those protective instincts flare up further to life.
I also love smug Helga and the car, because it's just so very HER. Why do things partway, when you can go full-force? I really look forward to finding out what Gerald and Phoebe's reactions to the missing Jaguar are. (If you say that's not going to be in the story, then I'm totally asking the question of them in the other entry!)
I do think I spotted one typo, though:
Let the Footballhead get the couch and leave your poor, suffering best friend to the couch, right?”
I think you meant room and couch, respectively?
One final note: this chapter made me HUNGRY! I don't get good steaks nearly often enough. My mouth was watering. :D
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It was very important for me to separate them into awkward pairs. I just, really want to nail down this idea that they are both a little fucked up, what with Arnold being totally focused on his parents and Helga being completely focused on him - to the point where they had both let their lives go to pot when hope for those things ran out.
And I think the BFFs recognize this and are also much more protective of Helga in this whole adventure - they pretty much think Arnold's going to get her killed for his cause. I don't think Gerald really believed he could talk her out of going with Arnold, but he felt he had to try anyway. Phoebe tried to be more clever than that by going around Helga and trying to cut things off with Arnold, but Helga's too clever for that.
Oh we'll get to see some reactions, so don't worry. I couldn't have them take the Jag without letting Gerald vent about it for a bit. XD
Fixed! Thanks for pointing it out. I really need to go back and read through the whole thing again.
Hee, I am actually not a huge fan of steak, but it sounded like a really good meal for them.
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Hooray for Gerald-venting! I'll hold off on the questions, then, because some things are just so much better in the whole of the context rather than skipping ahead to sneak a taste.
I really love your characterizations of Arnold and Helga in this - the way you recognize that the obsessions could totally destroy their lives and yet, being obsessions, are things they'd do regardless. And I kinda like the concept that, after so long, Gerald is protective of Helga more than Arnold. It's neat to see the way he's moved on and such.
Also, I joke that growing up as a Texan, I was destined to be a steak-eating carnivore. I do love the things, and miss eating them more often, so there's something sinfully voyeuristic to me about reading a fic with steak. Such a strange little thing, but it reminds me of my old home, so.
Reply
Still if you have any questions for the background characters like Sid or Stinky or whatever, feel free to ask. They might show up again, but maybe not.
For some reason it's been really important to me to show how problematic the Helga/Arnold relationship can be. And in order for them to ever work out there are a few things that they both have to recognize about themselves and each other. But I won't say much more about that, as I'm hoping that the story continues to show those things they need to think about.
Haha, I think in my own little headcanon for this story Gerald and Helga end up growing close after Arnold leaves. And Helga's always been around, whereas Arnold left and Gerald's relationship with him kind of took a pounding after that.
:)
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Your headcanon makes sense to me. I like it a lot, and I suspect that there are a couple of questions there that I'll end up asking.
In the end, I think what really grabs me about this fic is the fact that you haven't taken the easy way out. There's no, "Oh, he's back after all this time and so sexy and of course, love makes everything all right, so we're happy and lovey-dovey." Because that's not what the show is about. It's one thing for a bit-of-fluff story, like my Traditions, to ignore the growth, and change, and very nature of the show. But a story like this... a story with such meat on its bones. It deserves real exploration, and growth, and discovery, and heartache, and all of that. And you're giving it exactly what it deserves.
Reply
Aww, you're so sweet. I am trying hard to add a lot of depth here and really make the characters struggle to figure out what they do/don't want. I don't want it to be easy for them to just fall for one another.
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