Hush, Hush: Chapter 5

[zelda_queen]

ZeldaQueen: Alrighty then. The sooner we more on, the sooner we get done.

Incidentally, and I know I should have posted this last chapter but I forgot, but there's two things to check out in the comments section of Chapter 3. The first is a lovely, lovely GIF from das_mervin, which shows exactly what would happen if Castiel went up against Patch. The second is a splendid spitefic by mogseltof, in which Nora gets some of her own back

Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...

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Chapter 5

ZeldaQueen: So apparently Nora just goes along with Vee's plan to look up any medication Patch might be on, which means that we start off our chapter with Nora smiling and lying her ass off to the secretary about how she wants to sign up some prescription meds she's on, so she and Vee can snoop around in the filing cabinet. Nora is all upset about this and worries about how she's been engaging in a number of unsavory things, like following Patch to the bar and...erm, that's about it really. And that's not even illegal, though she insists it is. I mean, yeah she didn't pay, but it was more that they gave her a quick pass for that one time. It's not like she got smashed while underage.

Although I must note, both of these things - the bar visiting and this current scam they're pulling, came up in the name of Patch. You know, the guy who said that Nora was too "safe" and needed to liven up a little? Nora even mentions "what was the matter with Patch, that when it came to him, I couldn't seem to stop exercising bad judgment?" If I didn't know any better, I'd say that it looks like a textbook case of the abusive asshole getting his girlfriend (or soon-to-be-girlfriend in this particular case) to engage in dangerous or illegal activities. And yes, I'm well aware that what's going on now is Vee's idea and that both of the examples are hardly smuggling contrabands or getting high, but in Nora's mind, she's clearly uncomfortable with it and it's all worded in that vein. I'm just saying, there's unfortunate implications out the wazoo.

Back to the story. The secretary tells Nora that yes, all medication must be recorded, She sends Nora back to the nurse's office, telling her to just sit on the bed and wait if the nurse isn't there. Now I personally would think that the secretary would keep the student up front and in view, or at least ask to see a doctor's prescription first, but that's just me. Anyway, Nora goes back and her walking into the office is written in the most drawn-out and boring way possible. I suspect that Fitzpatrick was trying to draw suspense, but it just fails.

Also, apparently if Nora was called out on her lie by the nurse, she was to register her iron pills as a necessary medication. I have to wonder, did Nora randomly become anemic a few weeks back? Because I find it very hard to believe that if her iron pills are prescription (actually, are iron pills prescription?) she wouldn't have had to register them at the beginning of the semester. There's also no mention of her having an actual prescription or note from her doctor, so I'd imagine that if the nurse did come in, she'd be mighty suspicious that Nora just shows up near the end of the semester seemingly just declaring that she spontaneously developed anemia recently, would she mind just taking her word on it?

Nora continues to sit there, waiting for Vee's unknown signal. Why is it that people in these books never actually tell each other what their signals are? Nora continues to worry about getting into serious trouble, which I'd say is a legitimate concern, considering that she's trying to get into very prestigious colleges. Truly, Vee is a wonderful friend to put Nora through such stress and potentially ruin her future.

Oh, but Nora also considers herself justified in rifling through Patch's records and whatnot (although I'm confuzzled as to why his last semester's grades would be in the nurse's office), because if he really is stalking her, she has the right to defend herself. By...helping herself to his personal information, how nice. Nora dear, it probably would be a lot more effective and legal to just go to the police with your concerns. They could provide you with protection, arrest Patch's ass, and do the background check for you, with the added benefit of having an actual search warrant. Hell, even the principle or superintendent could legally do most of that (sans the arresting), and you wouldn't have to worry about accidentally botching your future in college.

My logic goes ignored as Vee sneaks into the back office, doing some stupid spy-sneaky walk. She tells Nora that the secretary stepped out of her office, due to Vee using the pay phone outside to call in a bomb threat. Good God, what is with calling bomb threats? It's not an innocent or silly prank, that's serious! And Nora just acts like Vee only committed some minor faux pas and Vee is all chirpy about how they have to leave before the cops get there.

Okay, time out. Time the fuck out!

Ladies and gentlemen, my high school has had some...colorful stories attached to it throughout the years. Here are a few.

Several times during my senior year, there were various bomb threats found written on the bathroom walls. They weren't called in, they weren't mailed to the principle, they were just written on the toilet paper dispensers like any old graffiti. These threats always ended up on the school news channel, and the schools were always searched by the police while the news crew hung around.

The year before I entered high school, there was a scare where a girl ran out of the bathroom, scratched, bleeding, and scared. She said that her boyfriend from another school had broken in and beaten her up and was now prowling the school. The entire place went on lockdown. The classroom doors were barred. Students were told to get on the ground, as far from the windows as possible. My Theater teacher told us that she was in the hallways, screaming for students who were rehearsing to get their asses into the room now. Like I said, it was a scare. The girl was apparently pissed at her boyfriend and clawed herself up to frame him.

When I was in my Junior year, we had another scare. A kid got into a fight and ran off, screaming "Columbine, 2007!" Everyone thought he was going to shoot up the school, so we again went on lockdown. At the time, I was not in class. I was in the theater with several hundred other students, parents, and teachers, as we all were preparing for our school's musical. I was lucky, actually. I was outside when the lockdown was called and only got in because one of the stage hands noticed me wandering around as she was locking the doors. They found the kid in the locker room with no guns, no one was hurt, and all was well.

Now I know that schools have different policies on that sort of thing, but this book apparently takes place in pretty modern times. And Fitzpatrick honestly believes that I'm going to buy that a casual bomb threat called directly to the secretary would not result in a total lockdown and/or evacuation of the school? Or that, surprise, surprise, there's no consequences to it the next day?

You ask way too much of me, Fitzpatrick.

So yeah, they go to the room for student records and Vee starts trying to punch out the small window on the door. Yes, that's very smart of her. They've just called in a fucking bomb threat, they're trying to break into an area decidedly off-limits to students, they're putting both of their academic records and futures in danger, and Vee is making a lot of noise by banging on a window. And when Nora points out that the door's unlocked, Vee pouts because just opening the door is no fun. Oh, those scamps!

Vee says she's going to act as surveillance, which basically means that she's going to abandon Nora and actually do fuck-all. She tells Nora that when she's done, they're to meet up at a nearby Mexican restaurant. As soon as Vee leaves, Nora goes diving around in Patch's file and finds... something Vaguely Horrifying and Mysterious. Just as she discovers this, the principle comes in. Nora gets the file put away before she's caught red-handed and spins some tale about how she was registering her iron pills. Again, there's no request for a note and no one ever says "Well then, we'll call you up on Monday". Apparently it's just forgotten, which is doubly odd because you'd think that he'd hear her slamming the filing cabinet shut and see her crouched on the floor, making her "I got lost" excuse rather suspicious.

The principle tells her to leave, and an hour later she's on her way to the restaurant. I have to bring something else up here. At my high school, even if the students had to be let out unexpectedly (for example, the time we lost all electricity), they still had to remain on school grounds until either every one of them got parental permission to leave or the school day was actually over. The rules stated that until either of those conditions were fulfilled, the school was responsible for every student and thus would get in trouble if said student left early and got hit by a car or something. Point is, was my school the only one like that? Because I find it a little hard to swallow that they'd just let the kids wander off after evacuating for a bomb threat.

Ah well, the long and short of it is that Nora meets up with Vee at Borderline. Hmm, where have we heard that name before? They order their food and Nora randomly describes Vee as "voluptuous, Scandinavian fair, and in an unorthodox way, incredibly sexy", which kind of contradicts how the rest of the book treats her as the stereotypical fat girl who's always on weird diets. I mean, I know what image we're supposed to have, but it's honestly the first time that she's been described in such a way.

Vee leaves to go deal with her period (because yeah, I really wanted to know about that) and...Patch shows up. *rolls eyes* Yeah, who didn't see this one coming?

Patch comes strolling over and it's more than clear that he enjoys how uncomfortable Nora is. He makes himself at home sitting across from her in the booth, while she scoots as far away from him as possible. He makes a comment about five days a week not being enough time with him and reaches over to start grabbing her water glass (no, that's not a euphemism).

Nora asks him if he shouldn't be working, and going off of my own brief time working at Wendy's I'd say yes, just dropping any orders or duties to sit and talk to a girl is a sure way to net yourself at least a bitching out by the manager. Patch ignores her and asks her if she's doing anything Sunday night, because apparently there's a party he wants to take her to.

*closes eyes* He can not be serious.

Oh, and he also calls Nora "Angel" which, besides being terrible foreshadowing, sounds uncomfortably like the sleezy nickname a gang member has for his girlfriend.

Nora insists that she'll never, ever, ever go out on a date with him, and then starts to emulate Bella Swan by telling us how she gets a "hot thrill" at the thought of spending a night alone with him. "Thrill" would not be the world I would use to describe my feelings on being alone with Patch. She also tells him that she doesn't like the nickname Angel, so of course he tells her that he's going to keep calling her it anyway.

Patch then rubs his thumb across Nora's lips. Erm...

This guy needs to die. Like, right now.

No, he's actually just wiping off her lip gloss. He tells her that she looks better without it, which I think is an attempt at him establishing that he likes how she looks naturally. Instead, it comes across as him being creepy and controlling, calling her by what name he likes and then removing her make-up when he doesn't approve of it.

Nora once again turns into Bella Swan and literally forgets what they were talking about when he touched her. Christ! Fitzpatrick, at least pretend you aren't ripping off Meyer's work! It wasn't even good when she wrote it herself!

She goes back to her previous argument about the party, and how she can't go to it because it's a school night. She also is confuzzled by how Patch is acting towards her. No dear, he's still acting consistent. Just because he's trying to drag you off somewhere doesn't mean he's suffering a change of personality.

I might also add that what I suspect is an attempt at Pet the Dog actually is coming across more as the Honeymoon Phase. I'm so, so sorry.

Nora tries to cool her burning desire with a drink of water (no, really) and tells us "Time alone with Patch would be intriguing, and dangerous. I wasn't sure how exactly, but I was trusting my instincts on this one". She repeats about how she can't go, adding "In hopes of convincing myself more than him" that if the party is something he's interested in, she probably won't like it. She then surprises herself by asking him why he's asking her. "Even though it would probably come back to haunt me, I was curious enough about Patch to go almost anywhere with him".

And just to prove that I'm not making up a hidden meaning to this all, Patch's immediate response to her question?

"'I want to get you alone,' Patch said"

ZeldaQueen: Shall I repeat that?

"'I want to get you alone,' Patch said"

ZeldaQueen: I...was Fitzpatrick stealing lines from slasher movies? I find it hard to believe she wasn't.

To her defense, Nora does have enough brains to pick up on the Signs of Danger from that response. She repeats that she can't go, and Patch asks her if it's because she can't be out on a school night or because she's afraid of being alone with him. Take a guess, dickhead. She replies that it's both, and he asks her "Are you scared of all guys ... or just me?"

*rubs head in agony* Please someone, tell me I'm not the only one who reads that like he's mocking her for being afraid of him.

Oh, and when she doesn't answer, he smirks and asks her if he makes her uneasy. What a great guy. But that's okay, because apparently his smirking is just so damned hot that Nora once again forgets what they were talking about.

Nora brings up that Vee already told her her flaw with guys, and Patch first belittles Vee and then...hold on. Big quote, very sorry

"I was playing with my hands, and slid them out of sight. 'I can't imagine why you're so interested.'

He softly shook his head. 'Interested? We're talking about you. I'm fascinated.' He smiled, and it was a fantastic smile. The effect was a ratcheted pulse-my ratcheted pulse.

'I think you should get back to work,' I said.

'For what it's worth, I like the idea that there's not a guy at school who matches up to your expectations.'

'I forgot you're the authority on my so-called expectations," I scoffed.

He studied me in a way that had me feeling transparent. 'You're not cagey, Nora. Not shy, either. You just need a very good reason to go out of your way to get to know someone.'

'I don't want to talk about me anymore.'

'You think you've got everyone all figured out.'

'Not true,' I said. 'For example, well, for instance, I don't know much about ... you.'

'You aren't ready to know me'"

ZeldaQueen: Right, what's missing there?

Nora never tells Patch what Vee's advice about boys was. She never told Patch that Vee said that she was overly picky and had high expectations. I didn't skip anything. Nora just says that Vee already gave her a lecture and Patch automatically knows the specifics.

I can see two options here. The first is that Fitzpatrick took out any scenes or dialogue where Nora tells Patch what Vee told her and forgot to alter the connecting bits.

The second is that Patch is stalking and spying on Nora and Nora failed to pick up on the implication of that.

Which do you think it is?

Also, I was right. They are pushing for the idea that Nora needs to loosen up and hang with the psycho. I'm not throwing my laptop out the window though, because I know I'm going to need it come next semester.

Also-also, this is more Twilight theft. The girl is just so quiet and boring and the guy finds her so fascinating and knows her personality better than she does and is good for her because abuse and stalking aside, he's the only one that connects to her, you see.

Okay, chapter's nearly over. Nora tells Patch that she saw his student file and we find out what the Vaguely Horrifying and Mysterious secret is -  he doesn't have any records at all, not even immunization files. She tells him that she's going to expose what ever's going on with him, apparently not realizing that if he can somehow just drop out of the sky without any paperwork or history, something a little bigger than delinquency is going on. We get the following exchange...

"'Why are you looking at me like that?' I challenged.

He tipped forward, preparing to stand. 'Because you're nothing like what I expected.'

'Neither are you,' I countered. 'You're worse.'"

ZeldaQueen: And we're done. Good - freaking - God!

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Onward to: Chapter 6

Back to: Chapter 4

Return to to: Table of Contents

Comments

[carmyn]

Actually, iron pills can be a prescription because mine are. I'm anemic and it came on suddenly so it is possible that this is something new, but my anemia was caused by something else. So, Fitzpatrick did get that right. Though, I do think the secretary would require a doctor's note and prescription because anemia isn't something you can see and go 'oh you really are sick!'.

Blargh, Patch sucks. I will never, ever understand the appeal of these types of bad boys. I'll take Jack Sparrow any day (the ones from the movies, not Gethsemane's fics), at least he's fun and tells you everything up front!

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Oh, I gotcha! ^_^;; But yeah, still no note and prescription. Plus, I did get the impression that taking those pills was pretty normal for her, so it really didn't feel like it was new. O_o I guess it could be, though.

Dude, Jack Sparrow's awesome! :D Still, he's the sort you swoon over and keep an eye on, lest he make off with your jewelry. XD

[turtlecrackers.livejournal.com]

Hm. Like I said in my comment on the last chapter, my sister's friend loved Patch because he's clearly an evil sonofabitch.

As for me... I can't focus on him clearly being an evil villain when I keep getting the message "He is hot. He is a bad boy and so mysterious and dangerous, but it's okay to keep talking to the guy, because of course, he can't be that bad. Oh, and he's hot" from Nora, the character I'm apparently supposed to sympathize with.

[mogseltof.livejournal.com]

Your school sounds very neat and security conscious. We just had a fire drill that caused three fires (one where a fire proof mat caught fire...) and prompted the discovery that there was no fire alarm in one building.

I think I've given up attempting to make sense of this thing. The author however, takes suspension of disbelief way too far unintentionally.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Well, we had plenty of troubles with the fire alarm. ^^; One time, the entire school was evacuated because someone was spray painting a room and that somehow set off the alarm. XD Another time, we had drills two or three days in a row because some idiot decided it would be a grand end-of-year trick to play. And before that, another idiot pulled an alarm halfway, because he was convinced he could do that without tripping anything. The alarm went off and a bunch of us missed most of our lunch period. -_-

This is just like Twilight, where stuff just happens for no reason at all. As much as I'm loath to admit it, not even the House of Night series makes that mistake. It has egregious pacing yes, but at least there's *some* semblance of logical train of events.

[arynia.livejournal.com]

Having read this book, I find that Patch just gets even more creepy as it goes on. And, to make it worse, when you find out why he actually was hanging around Nora...It would make any sane person mace him, run home, lock the doors and call the police.

So, naturally, she'll do none of that.

[gehayi.livejournal.com]

And Fitzpatrick honestly believes that I'm going to buy that a casual bomb threat called directly to the secretary would not result in a total lockdown and/or evacuation of the school? Or that, surprise, surprise, there's no consequences to it the next day?

My Environmental Science class was held hostage one Monday by a disgruntled student who had apparently figured out before he got his test back that day that oops, he'd flunked. I'm certain of this, in fact, because he brought his father's handgun to school that day. (This was before there were metal detectors in schools. Also, the kid was at a private school where admin wouldn't admit that crimes existed.)

Said kid proceeded to half-load the handgun, removed the safety, and then walked up and down the aisle, occasionally pausing to press the gun barrel against someone's head, spin the barrel (yep, old-fashioned revolver) and pulling the trigger. I was one of the targets. Fortunately the gun did not blow anyone's head off, but it could have.

The student body president and one of the football players eventually got the gun away from the creep (tossing it in a wastebasket, and it DID go off then) and frog-marched him down to the principal's office. The teacher followed and supported their story.

This was what happened the next day:

NOTHING.

No cops. No apologies sent to parents. No counselors to help the traumatized kids who were held hostage and either forced to play Russian roulette or forced to watch and do nothing as the gunman played with his targets. No searches of lockers or bookbags to see if anyone else was carrying. Just...nothing.

Oh, and the gunman? Suspended. Not expelled. Not arrested. Suspended. It was supposed to be for eight weeks, but he was back within the month. (And he didn't get any preventative support from the school, either.)

Most of my classmates didn't think that you could even get expelled for committing first-degree murder after that.

As nearly as possible, it was swept under the rug and never spoken of. I don't think the suspended kid's official record even admitted that he had taken his class hostage. According to one girl who worked in the admin offices and who sneaked a peek at the boy's records, he was suspended for "showing traces of violent tendencies."

TRACES.

TRACES of violent tendencies.

Yeah.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Oh wow. That's frightening. o_o

[parrinoyed.livejournal.com]

That's INSANE.

Now, I live in a small rural area, where it's still considered acceptable that in high school, about half the driving student population will have their hunting rifles in the back of their trucks. But if anyone had tried to bring it on school grounds?

In 8th grade, someone heard beeping from a locker, and they evacuated the school (kind of like a bomb threat). It turned out to be an alarm clock. I was away from school only because of an academic thing and was so mad. I missed everything interesting.

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/She tells Nora that the secretary stepped out of her office, due to Vee using the pay phone outside to call in a bomb threat./

So, Vee calls in a fake bomb threat, which would throw the whole school into panic, just to get the secretary out of the way for a few minutes. Charming.

/And when Nora points out that the door's unlocked, Vee pouts because just opening the door is no fun./

Vee, why don't you just hook up with Patch already? You're both selfish, you're both obnoxious, you both mock Nora for not wanting to get into trouble, and you both have her worst interests at heart. You deserve each other.

/She also tells him that she doesn't like the nickname Angel, so of course he tells her that he's going to keep calling her it anyway./

*flatly* My heart flutters.

I'd like to see how he'd like it if Nora repeatedly called him a name that he didn't like. Particularly if it was a rude and insulting name.

/Patch then rubs his thumb across Nora's lips./

Note to Patch, there is such a thing as *personal boundaries.* Why don't you just take a moment to remember a lesson that we all learned in kindergarten, which was "Keep your hands to yourself?"

/No, he's actually just wiping off her lip gloss. He tells her that she looks better without it, which I think is an attempt at him establishing that he likes how she looks naturally. Instead, it comes across as him being creepy and controlling, calling her by what name he likes and then removing her make-up when he doesn't approve of it./

Okay, you know who this guy reminds me of now?

The rapist love interest from the horrible manga, "Haou Airen." The same one that Shaolina was reviewing. There's a moment in the manga where the guy literally tears off the 'heroine's' clothes without giving her any warning. Why? Because he bought a new dress for her and he wants to see how it looks on her. Apparently, it was too much trouble for him to actually *ask* her if she wanted to try it on. He basically ripped off her clothes right then and there without saying a word, and then told her to try on a dress that he wanted her to wear.

Yeah, Ms. Fitzpatrick, it's really not a good sign when your "hero" reminds me of another "hero" who turned out to be a controlling, sexist rapist.

/Patch asks her if it's because she can't be out on a school night or because she's afraid of being alone with him./

Okay, Patch, there are only two things that I can imagine that you are trying to accomplish here. Either you're intentionally trying to annoy and harass her (and if so, then you're doing a great job) or you're trying to flirt with her. If it's the latter, then you're just pathetic. Your lines don't scream, "I'm so sexy and seductive!" They scream, "I'm a sleazebag, stay away."

In fact, it's rather ironic. Edward Cullen flat-out told Bella to stay away from him, while his behavior conveyed the opposite. Here, Patch tells Nora that he wants her to be with him, while his words and behavior seem designed to drive her away. Which they *would,* if this novel took place in reality.

[witty-screename.livejournal.com]

Vee, why don't you just hook up with Patch already? You're both selfish, you're both obnoxious, you both mock Nora for not wanting to get into trouble, and you both have her worst interests at heart. You deserve each other.

Dude...You're absolutely right. Why DON'T they hook up? Oh, right, I guess Patch wouldn't like having someone who isn't visibly upset by his sleazebag attitude. Knowing what we've seen of this Vee chick, she'd probably get off on it (I mean, more than Nora does. Nora at least tries to act offended sometimes; Vee would just start batting her eyelashes like a loony and actually find Patch's crap instantly attractive).

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

I looked around on fanfiction.net, and couldn't really find many Vera/Patch fics. Maybe I wasn't looking very hard, but you're right, you'd think it'd be a more popular ship. Although I suppose Vee isn't spheshul, like Nora later turns out to be. -_-

Still, Patch/Vee should be more popular, if only because we can call the pairing "Pee" XD

[witty-screename.livejournal.com]

Still, Patch/Vee should be more popular, if only because we can call the pairing "Pee" XD

I support this name 100%. It's accurate, funny, easy to spell, and I can pronounce it. :D

But yeah, I can totally see the two of them together if only Patch didn't have some serious sadistic need to constantly embarrass and hurt people, and then get off on their reactions.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"Okay, you know who this guy reminds me of now?

The rapist love interest from the horrible manga, "Haou Airen." The same one that Shaolina was reviewing. There's a moment in the manga where the guy literally tears off the 'heroine's' clothes without giving her any warning. Why? Because he bought a new dress for her and he wants to see how it looks on her. Apparently, it was too much trouble for him to actually *ask* her if she wanted to try it on. He basically ripped off her clothes right then and there without saying a word, and then told her to try on a dress that he wanted her to wear.

Yeah, Ms. Fitzpatrick, it's really not a good sign when your "hero" reminds me of another "hero" who turned out to be a controlling, sexist rapist."

Oh yeah, I remember that review. Yeah, very charming fellows in both this book and that manga -_-

[a-lovesuicide.livejournal.com]

You know, we're only at chapter five, but I already pretty much know what my feelings are towards this book:

[mancalledtrue.livejournal.com]

My school had the occasional safety drill post-Columbine, and I was once called in for counseling after joking about a "death list" (my lack of social-scene reading abilities at work...), but otherwise we weren't quite that protective.

But call in a bomb threat and I'm pretty sure they would have hung you by your feet from the rafters before the day was over.

And I really hope that in real life, Nora would have taken Patch's genitals with a hunting knife to protect the rest of the world by this point.

[winki-pop.livejournal.com]

Wow, a creepy scene. That happens in a restaurant with the helpless girl being interrogated and, dare I say, 'dazzled.' Sound familiar? :P

Oh, and to add to the Twilight-copypasta I noticed: He softly shook his head. 'Interested? We're talking about you. I'm fascinated.' He smiled, and it was a fantastic smile. The effect was a ratcheted pulse-my ratcheted pulse.

'My stomach was full - of butterflies,' anyone? :P

Vee leaves to go deal with her period (because yeah, I really wanted to know about that) and...Patch shows up. *rolls eyes* Yeah, who didn't see this one coming?

So, do people usually just announce that kinda stuff (your period) at the table all the time in America? Can't say that's a tradition we have in Australia :P

God, just when I think this story can't get any creepier, Patch justifies to me even more why he should be on Cops being tasered by a 6 foot 6 policeman for millions of viewers to see :P Plus, Patch keeps putting that song in my head: 'I always feel like/somebody's waaaaatching me!' XD

And I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but since Patch is supposed to be the 'bad boy' and ~Italian~ in this story, but it kinda reminds me of the stereotypical stories of old (like in old Harlequin novels) where the ethnic bad boy is always 'bad news' and doesn't play by the rules. Now, considering if Patch is supposed to fit the whole 'dark and swarthy' mould , wear a leather jacket and hang around in 'ghetto' areas, then that could lead to some pretty Unfortunate Ethnic Implications. Which kinda irritates me, because, of course all ethnics must be involved with crime somehow >.<

I don't know if that's just me, but in some books whoever is ethnic in a story is either seen as 'exotic' or 'shady' somehow (like Twilight, the Native American wolves are seen both literally and figuratively living like 'animals').

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

/So, do people usually just announce that kinda stuff (your period) at the table all the time in America? Can't say that's a tradition we have in Australia :P/

No, not that I've noticed. I'd certainly never announce something like that in public myself. Vee's just being annoying.

/And I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but since Patch is supposed to be the 'bad boy' and ~Italian~ in this story, but it kinda reminds me of the stereotypical stories of old (like in old Harlequin novels) where the ethnic bad boy is always 'bad news' and doesn't play by the rules./

Oh, yes, I know about those. I've seen plenty of awful Harlequin novels featuring bad-boy Italian millionaires, bad-boy Greek shipping tycoons, bad-boy Egyptian sheikhs, etc. who all manage to hook up with pretty, pale, WASP heroines with bland names for some reason. I'm Greek-American and it ticks me off whenever I see Greek love interests in these types of stories portrayed as swarthy, "exotic" bad boys, as if Greece is some mysterious, dangerous country located somewhere other than Europe. And don't get me started on how those books stereotype Middle-Eastern love interests or how they always have to pair "ethnic" heroes with WASP heroines.

/Now, considering if Patch is supposed to fit the whole 'dark and swarthy' mould , wear a leather jacket and hang around in 'ghetto' areas, then that could lead to some pretty Unfortunate Ethnic Implications. Which kinda irritates me, because, of course all ethnics must be involved with crime somehow >.</ You're right and it does have unfortunate implications. Especially since Nora has a name that sounds Anglo-Saxon and is supposed to be the "good girl," while Patch, who is described as being tanned and has an Italian surname, is supposed to be the "bad boy." Maybe Fitzpatrick was trying to create an "opposites attract" romance? Except that Patch isn't just some wild kid from the wrong side of the tracks; he's a sexually aggressive creep and stalker who deserves to be slapped with a restraining order.

[winki-pop.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Anyone who's meant to look the slightest bit dark (kinda like me) we're all supposed to have some kind of agenda and be from the 'wrong side' or 'exotic and seductive' or whatever! Especially when this type of stereotypical character is trying to 'seduce' the clean-cut WASP-y girl and take a walk on the dark side (pun very much intended :P)

Please Patch, we don't need anymore douchy Italians in our culture. We're fine with the ones we already have at the moment (hello, Snooki! :P)

[marionros.livejournal.com]

>>>And don't get me started on how those books stereotype Middle-Eastern love interests or how they always have to pair "ethnic" heroes with WASP heroines. <<<


But the targetted readers of those Harlequin 'romances' are WASP women, usually if not happilly then at least comfortably married to boring-but-dependable White men, who enjoy to fantasize about men who are everything their spouse is not: 'exotic', 'exciting' and 'dangerous'.

Now mind you, they enjoy a FANTASY, and they KNOW it's a fantasy. Like rape-fics - you know the kind, fanfics where the 'heroine' is raped but falls in love with her abuser because, well, fill in the gap - these kind of stories never reflect what the readers want in real life. People in general LIKE living 'boring' lives. 'May you life in interesting times' is a CURSE. 'Boring' lives are safe, but we humans enjoy the thrill of the illusion of danger. That's why we take rides in a roller-coaster and take bungee-jumps.

I suspect that 'Hush, Hush' is a similar kind of book. It offers its readers an illicit affair with someone who is 'forbidden', 'dangerous' and certainly not the kind of person the reader REALLY want to hang out with. The 'heroine' is a 'Nice Girl', one who gets A's and is a virgin for a reason; she reflects the targetted audience. The authority figures in the book are absent (parents) or else mocking the heroine/reader for being a virgin, as does her peers/best friend. This to give the reader permission to follow the author into the fantasy-thrill of forbidden, dangerous sex. This is also the reason why the female protagonist is always a dimwit and a victim; if she is a victim, she can't be hold responsible for the illicit sex, and thus the reader is absolved from feeling guilty enjoying the *fantasy* of forbidden sex.

These kind of fantasies usually only florish when life is very, very safe. Girls who life in neighbourhoods and countries where rape is a very real possiblity tend not to fantasize about being molested by 'dark, handsome men' (reason why the target-audience are middleclass WASP teenage girls).

I understand why these kind of books sell like hotcakes, why they are usually so illogical and unrealistic (they're not supposed to be), why the female protagonist is always a dimwitted victim and why the abuse in them is sold to the audience as 'romance'. What disturbs me is not the fact that these abuse/rape kink stories exist but that they have lost their 'guilty pleasure' status. People used to read Harlequin novels, KNEW they were trash, enjoyed them regardlessly (or maybe even more because they were considered trash) and own up having read them to their friends with a giggly, "oh, I spent the whole evening on the couch with one of those awful bodyrippers. You know, innocent maiden, dark and dangerous swashbuckling ne'er do well overpowering her and sweeping her to his lair.. That and a box of chocolates, giggle, giggle. Bliss!"
Nowadays, trash like 'Twilight' and 'Hush, hush' is presented as good and wholesome YA lit!

Anyway, excuse my ranting! Better to have the same 'tude as Fascinating Aida in the following clip on writing bestsellers ("Stuff art, we'll be laughing all the way to the bank!")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOt1Rz1InHo

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"So, do people usually just announce that kinda stuff (your period) at the table all the time in America? Can't say that's a tradition we have in Australia :P"

Ehh, she technically refers to it as "that time of the month", but you're right, I don't hear many people talk about that. Generally falls under TMI XD

-_- Yeah, you're right about the unfortunate implications (which I actually put on the TV Tropes page :P) At least Nora's not the blonde girl, but still...

Oh, and apparently he waves around a pocket knife a lot and rides a motorcycle in later chapters. Woohh.

[angel-renoir.livejournal.com]

Dear LORD this is painful x___X

Patch is a CREEP. He's currently acting like the vampire bad guy in this one game I play who spends the entire game trying to capture the heroine to use her to perform a magic ritual (points to avatar). Which, as I've heard, is precisely what Patch is trying to do with Nora. Yikes.

Angel? The only guy I've ever seen or heard call a girl "Angel" is the Phantom but that's a special case. That just sounds so odd coming from someone who is supposed to be a teenage boy (we all know he isn't).

The "Honeymoon Phase" link is dead, by the way. The site's closed. What WAS it supposed to be?

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"Which, as I've heard, is precisely what Patch is trying to do with Nora. Yikes."

It pretty much is. And yet, they are in True Love by the end. >_< I don't think something will survive by the end.

Given how Patch is all Tall, Dark, and Swarthy, it give the unfortunate implication that he's like the stereotypical gang leader of those stupid Latino gangs you see on TV. -_- Lovely, that.

Oh. I'll link it somewhere else. The Honeymoon Phase is a phase in the cycle of abusive relationships. Basically, it's when the abuser temporarily regrets everything they've done, apologizes, and gives the abused spouse/partner/person lots of gifts and affection. This phase is often why victims of abuse don't leave - they get to this part and convince themselves that it's all over and that the abuser really has changed their ways. Usually though, the cycle just goes on.

[angel-renoir.livejournal.com]

Oh ha ha ha. Our lovely romantic love interest is acting like the bad guy of an RPG game. Lovely. Granted, I'm guilty of liking that crack pairing between said bad guy and heroine in the RPG (not Hush Hush), but... well, I do try to build up some semblance of interest between the two and some character development and whatnot.

Anyways.

Ah, that kind of Honeymoon phase. I read in a psychology book about Love and Obsession. Most of the time the abuse just goes on and that what goes on between them is OBVIOUSLY obsession.Unless the psychologist turn out to be speaking bullcrap, then... yeah. Not Twuu Wuvv.

[yemi-hikari.livejournal.com]

I think this is where I left off in your journal because of computer problems. I'm going to likely be sparce about comments, but this one... this one warrented commenting on.

Seriously. Any bomb threat would get the school, or that particular school building locked down. And people are saying that young adult novels shouldn't be critiqued? Well, goodness knows I am wondering how THIS kind of mistake gets past the editors. Because this is something that the person reading the book to get it published would take note of.

High School

[emily debellis (from livejournal.com)]

I just wanted to share about the high school subject. Mine was...there were a lot of bad people there to say the least. My junior year we had a lock down for nearly two hours because three people got on campus with guns. They were looking for some kid to murder him cause of some gang related shit. As far as being let out early, every student was the school's responsibility from the time they stepped on campus to the time they touched their front door when the day was over. After that they were left to their parents or guardians. We had marshals that patrolled the school cause we got so many threats. This Fitzpatrick lady does not know how a high school works.

[arpeggio513.livejournal.com]

K, I'm gonna leave some music to sooth everyone here, cause it looks like we're all gonna need it as we go farther along with this whole series.

The Poem For Everyone's Souls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GEWkIANz4I

[mibamonster.livejournal.com]

', and an hour later she's on her way to the restaurant. I '
About what you say after this: I have to admit, I'm Dutch so you probably know more about how it works in America. Here, though, when you have a free period or let off early, you can just go home. You can do drugs, you can drink coffee, you can watch a movie for all they care. I don't think (but I'm not sure) they're still responsible. And after a bomb threat my school would probably freak and want to know all students are safe, so that would change the situation. (Then again, we've never had bomb threats, nor do I know of any schools who have, so I don't know what the Dutch policy on that is.)

'Patch then rubs his thumb across Nora's lips. Erm...'
Why doesn't she swat his hand away? It's fucking weird when someone suddenly does that.

I hate you, Patch.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"About what you say after this: I have to admit, I'm Dutch so you probably know more about how it works in America. Here, though, when you have a free period or let off early, you can just go home. You can do drugs, you can drink coffee, you can watch a movie for all they care. I don't think (but I'm not sure) they're still responsible. And after a bomb threat my school would probably freak and want to know all students are safe, so that would change the situation. (Then again, we've never had bomb threats, nor do I know of any schools who have, so I don't know what the Dutch policy on that is.)"

It might just be my school. I don't know if it's an American-wide thing. I just know that when I was in high school, everyone was let home once because we lost all electricity. We had to stay in our homerooms for a good ten to twenty minutes, and then we could only go home after the homeroom teacher got permission from our parents. She called each kid's family individually, had them get on the classroom phone, and only then were they let out.

Presumably for a bomb threat, they'd also want to make sure that all students are present and accounted for, especially post-9/11, Columbine shootings, etc.

[katistrophe.livejournal.com]

Are you scared of all guys ... or just me?
Dammit, Patch is a creep. Newsflash, buddy: if your pickup lines all sound like you picked them from slasher movies, it's pretty obvious that someone would be creeped out.

Also - a bomb threat? Seriously? Couldn't you come up with something else? Like, I don't know, talking to the secretary, then going "I don't feel so good" and having her help you? Or, well, anything which doesn't have that big consequences? Police and bomb squads and whatnot, that all costs money. Hope Vee and Nora have to pay for that.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"Hope Vee and Nora have to pay for that"

Nope! There's absolutely no follow-up or consequences for it! You'd think there would be, but it's totally forgotten.

[leaf-drop.livejournal.com]

Iron supplements are in the vitamin aisle, and you don't need a prescription for that. Her doctor might have given her a recommended dosage per day but no, she wouldn't have to have those registered by her school nurse.
So that's just stupid. If I'm to be correct, vitamins/supplements are nutraceuticals, and are not regulated by the FDA meaning, no prescription. Also, why is she even anemic anyway, other than to get dizzy at the most convenient times around Patch? .__.