Crescendo: Chapter 3
Mar. 2nd, 2012 07:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
zelda_queenZeldaQueen: In which dinner is served and Nora continues to be a bitch.
Also, a happy belated birthday to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
morri_delrae, nix501st, raetekusu, and shaolina! Also, a very belated happy Valentine's Day to you all!
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
Chapter 3
ZeldaQueen: When we catch up to Nora in the next chapter, she is in the depths of despair. Oh yeah, did any of you think she'd actually come to her senses and realize that Patch was a douche and she was far better off without him? Certainly not! No, she's busy going on like this
"The anger was beginning to wear off, but I almost wished I could stay caught up in its fever forever. The emptiness it left behind ached more than the sharp, fiery pain I’d felt when Patch walked out"
ZeldaQueen: Because the loss of her boyfriend of two months is just so horrific. They clearly had such a deep and meaningful relationship, full of good times. My head hurts.
Nora continues to wibble about the breakup, wondering if it's permanent and whether nor not there is "no way around fate or, more immediately, the archangels’ threats".
ZeldaQueen: Pardon me. That was a knee-jerk reaction to that twit blaming all of her relationship woes on fate. God forbid there be problems that stem from issues like their personalities or choices or refusal to recognize and correct their flaws. No, clearly Nora and Patch are such perfect people that their relationship can only be hindered by fate itself. Fucking-a.
So yeah, this leads to Nora getting all pissy about the archangels, bitching about how unfair they are. Yes, you read that right. Nora is complaining that heavenly beings are being unfair because they won't let her do whatever she wants. REALLY
"I felt my anger reignite. Why couldn’t they leave us alone? Why were they so bent on destroying Patch? Patch had told me he was the first fallen angel to get his wings back and become a guardian angel. Were the archangels angry over that? Did they feel Patch had somehow tricked them? Or that he’d cheated his way back up from the bottom? Did they want to put him in his place? Or did they merely not trust him?"
ZeldaQueen: Gee Nora, why in the world would those mean old archangels ever want to send Patch to Hell? He's such a wonderful, fantastic person, only someone really evil would wish harm on him! I mean, it's not like he completely turned his back on his many responsibilities and duties in Heaven because he wanted to hook up with a human chick, basically giving God the finger in the process (which I think the monotheistic religions would agree would go over with God and the other angels about as well as a lead balloon). It's certainly not like he spent his days on Earth, as a fallen angel, doing nothing but gambling, coveting a human body, lusting after women, and generally acting in a way that is considered disgusting by human standards, let alone what angels would judge by. It's really not like he freaked them all out by trying to go through with a forbidden practice, which involved his attempting to ritualistically murder Nora. It definitely is not like he responded to their attempts to go back to actually being useful and helpful by laughing at the offer, seducing the angel delivering the message just to get her to tell him what he was after, and paved the way for said angel going crazy and ultimately having her wings ripped out. And it isn't as if he made it extremely clear that he viewed his job as Nora's guardian angel as little more than a way to sleazily hit on her and make out with her and not actually do his job of protecting humanity.
As for the rest of Nora's rant, why would she think that the archangels are angry he became a guardian? It was outright stated in the last book that they wanted him to become a guardian, presumably because keeping him in Heaven was an easier way of keeping an eye on him! They sent Dabria to tell him how to be a guardian! Why would Nora think that they are jealous of him becoming a guardian angel? I'd personally go with the idea that his pre-guardian behavior was so disgusting that of course they've got him on a tight leash! Fuck, I'd say it's a miracle they kept him out of Hell for this long!
Also, I find it fucking rich that we're supposed to think that knocking Patch down a few pegs is a bad thing.
So yeah, Nora goes back to being all dramatically sad, complete with a single tear running down her face. No, I'm not exaggerating with that. She contemplates calling Patch, but worries that the archangels will spy on that and somehow...do something. I'm not sure what. Seriously, she never gives any thought to how there are many ways to call Patch and say "We need to talk" that don't involve romantic vibes.
Oh, but there's another reason for Nora to not just get off of her ass and call Patch and sort things out (aside from the usual contrivances and it being laughable that a girl have a spine and take initiative). She has her pride, you see. Yes, really, she pulls that card
"I also couldn’t let go of my pride that quickly. Didn’t he realize he was just as much in the wrong? The whole reason we’d fought in the first place was because he’d refused to tell me what he was doing at Marcie’s house last night. I wasn’t the jealous type, but he knew my history with Marcie. He knew this was the one time when I had to know"
Sweet jumped-up Jesus, where to begin?
First of all, Nora, if you had an ounce of pride, you would not let Marcie's lame jibes and insults reduce you to a puddle of tears every time you two cross paths. And you wouldn't have let that waitress jerk you around and extort all of your money. And you wouldn't have let that bag lady extort half of the clothes off of your back, plus your cell phone. And you wouldn't have let that sleazy guy running the check-out desk at that motel enable Patch's disgusting behavior and make lewd comments to you. And you wouldn't have let your Biology teacher humiliate you like he did, or put up with him forcing you to work with Patch. And you WOULDN'T HAVE LET PATCH STALK AND HARASS AND BE A DICK TO YOU FOR SO MANY CHAPTERS! That's not even getting into how much people are going to walk over you over the rest of this book and the rest! For fuck's sake, you haven't had your pride since the first chapter of Hush, Hush!
Second of all, you're an insane yandere who is more concerned that your boyfriend is cheating on you than the fact that he's stalking and spying on unsuspecting girls. Go get more therapy, or possibly a padded room.
Third of all, you're not the jealous type?
ZeldaQueen: Ah, that's the funniest shit I've heard all day, I swear. *wipes tears from eyes*
Fourth of all, well it's a good thing someone knows about your history with Marcie, because we sure as heck don't! Seriously, she has done nothing to warrant us thinking that Nora is justified in reacting like this.
Fifth of all, Nora's little "This is the one time I must know!" schtick really loses ground when it was not two chapters ago that she also expressed a desire to know what material Patch's bedsheets were made out of and probably where his dirty underpants were so she could sniff them.
And then, for no reason at all, Nora jumps from there to being all suspicious as to why Marcie was in Bo's Arcade. She wonders for what Earthly reason Marcie could possibly have gone there. How about to get drunk, you nitwit? We've already established that she likes to hang out on beaches populated by drug dealers. How is a bar that much of a jump. Nora provides "evidence" that this is weird by telling us that no other students from her high school have ever been to Bo's that she has heard of, and that she herself had never heard of it before meeting Patch. Considering that we're to believe that Nora was totally average and boring before meeting Patch, that really doesn't say a lot.
I'd also like to point out that this sounds like more of Fitzpatrick having no idea what high schoolers can get up to. My lovely hometown of Pittsburgh is where there's an under-21 nightclub called Club Zoo, where the kids from my high school would get into all kinds of shenanigans. Granted Bo's is supposed to be an actual bar, but clearly they don't care about enforcing age limits, since Patch and Nora can get in all the time. Given that Marcie was drunk, they also clearly don't care about checking IDs or being caught by the police selling alcohol to minors, but since when has Fitzpatrick let reality get in the way of her bad boy fantasies? Point is, if a high school girl who already has proven herself to frequent less-than-fashionable places shows up in a bar, why would anyone think there was some ulterior motives besides getting hammered?
But no, Nora immediately jumps to the conclusion that it's too much of a coincidence that Patch was staring in Marcie's window one evening and then just happens to be at the same bar where she was shanked the next day. Granted that is a bit odd to buy as a coincidence. Nora, however, does not come to the obvious conclusion that Patch is stalking Marcie. Instead, Nora decides that it's all Marcie's doing, because Marcie is an evil, evil tramp who surely has decided that she wants Patch's heavenly, bad-boy wiener, and will stop at nothing to get it
"And Marcie was many things, among them seductive and persuasive. Not only did she not take no for an answer, she didn’t accept any answer that wasn’t exactly what she wanted.
What if, this time, she wanted … Patch?"
YOU FUCKING WHORE: 18
ZeldaQueen: All I will say is this - thus far, Marcie has been as seductive and persuasive as a dump truck. Fitzpatrick, it doesn't work if you want to make a femme fatale and then do nothing but make her hammy with a generous side of cheese.
Speaking of food, guess who happens to show up at this point? Yes, Scott and his mother are here! And batten down the hatches folks, because this is not going to be a pleasant rest of chapter. It's just an endless procession of Nora whining and trying and failing to be clever. I'm also fairly certain that we're supposed to find this scene, funny, but I can't say for certain. Like with Meyer, I honestly have a hard time knowing if Fitzpatrick is trying to be funny or not.
So. Onward!
Nora hears knocking at the door and calls her mother, because apparently her telephone is connected to a wormhole and causes time to stop while she talks on it. Yes, I'm still pissed about the last chapter of Hush, Hush. What of it?
Nora's mother tells her to let them in. Nora proceeds to be a whiny little bitch and says that she'll let them in, but she doesn't know them so she'll just let them sit by themselves in the living room while she mopes in her bedroom. Yes, she pretty much says just that. Nora also is a passive aggressive bitch, trying to sound as wounded and unhappy as possible. You see, she feels that because her pour, tender soul was ripped in twain by Patch's departure, it's unreasonable to expect her to entertain company. She doesn't just tell her mother this though, for contrivances. Also, because "it wasn’t like I could confide in my mom. She hated Patch. She wouldn’t sympathize. I couldn’t take hearing the happiness and relief in her voice. Not now".
Putting aside the fact that Nora's mother disliking Patch is as understandable as Charlie hating Edward, when has Mrs. Grey ever given the impression that she'd show pleasure in the face of her daughter's grief? I mean, okay I'm sure she'd be happy. I'd be happy if my daughter had a boyfriend like Patch and then dumped him. But we're supposed to believe that Nora's mother is such a comforting presence, that she's been so kind and so loving to her daughter, and yet this one time, Nora simply can't confide in her? Bullshit!
But, like I said, it's all contrivances. Nora uses her being upset at dumping Patch as a convenient excuse to be a rude fuckwit during dinner, and we're supposed to think it's legitimate. We do not. We are not stupid.
Nora's mother predictably does not take well to Nora's declaration, which we're apparently supposed to think is oh-so-insensitive of her. Nora is bitchy and acts like a bratty child, complete with an exasperated "Fine, I guess I'll do it!" and throwing her phone across the room. She marches downstairs and answers the door and we get... um, this...
"The guy standing on the doormat was tall and well built— I could tell, since his T-shirt fit on the snug side and blatantly advertised PLATINUM GYM, PORTLAND. A silver hoop ran through his right earlobe, and his Levi’s hung dangerously low on the hips. He wore a pink Hawaiian-print ball cap that looked fresh off a thrift store shelf and had to be an inside joke, and his sunglasses reminded me of Hulk Hogan. Despite all this, he had a certain boyish charm"
ZeldaQueen: Erm... Fitzpatrick, I think your fetishes are showing. I mean, seriously? Oh no, he has a hoop earring and low-rise pants! What a bad boy! And a... um, pink baseball cap! Really! And a tight-fitting shirt! All of which, except for the earring, Patch has! Christmas, Fitzpatrick, expand your repotoire!
Anyway, this fellow is Scott Parnell, and he will be our Jacob expy for this series. He steps inside and takes off of his sunglasses - are you shitting me? Fitzpatrick's hitting all of the checklist points here, isn't she? - and asks where Nora's mother is and what they're having for dinner. Nora's response is to turn to the audience and be a rude little shit
"I didn’t like his use of the word 'we.' There was no 'we.' There was the Grey family, and the Parnell family. Two separate entities that happened to be sharing the same dinner table for one night"
ZeldaQueen: Jesus Christ, why is she so angry at the Parnells? Okay, I could almost buy her being angry that her mother is trying to set her up with someone else. Yes, her mom wouldn't know she and Patch broke up, but I could still buy her being irrationally upset. But the Parnells have nothing to do with this, and she's nothing but cold and bitter towards them! What happened to her saying before how she'd be a good hostess?
Scott tries to make small talk with Nora, and Nora shoots him down. He apparently decides that talking to her is a waste of time (smart fellow) and asks if there's any beer in the house. Because he's a bad boy (the only type of guy Fitzpatrick seems capable of writing) and bad boys all drink beer.
At this point, Nora's mother comes in with Scott's mother, Lynn Parnell. We are told that Mrs. Parnell is "A round woman with a bad pixiestyle haircut and heavy pink makeup followed her in", and I can already tell that Fitzpatrick is fixing to make her as obnoxious as possible. Mrs. Parnell takes one look at Nora, declares how much she looks like Mrs. Grey, and adds "And look at those legs! Longer than the Vegas strip".
... Do many people make bizarre comments to their friend about the legs of said friend's sixteen-year-old daughter?
Nora makes a lame attempt to excuse herself and Mrs. Grey glares at her. Nora is pissy in response, and I'm wondering what sort of reaction she was expecting. Her mother doesn't know what's going on! What, did Nora think her mother would be all "That's fine dear, just wander off and ignore our company, who are going to be here a few hours at most!"?
Nora's mother starts trying to talk Scott up, and for some unfathomable reason thinks that bringing up Nora's story about him making her eat roly-polies is a good idea. No, I don't know why she does this. All it does is bring up memories which make Nora angry and Scott uncomfortable. What sense does that make?
Oh, right, sense has no place in here. And because that is the case, instead of sweeping that incident under the rug, as any sane person would do, Nora, Mrs. Grey, and Mrs. Parnell keep dragging it around in front of Scott. Nora complains about it, and Mrs. Parnell tries to pass it off as some great accomplishment.
Scott tries to move the conversation to a different topic, and while I'm sure I'll be hating him later on, I feel sorry for the poor bastard right now. He scratches his chest as he talks, andFitzpatrick Nora first wanks about how his bicep flexes while he does so, and then bashes him for it because "he probably knew that".
YOU FUCKING WHORE: 19
ZeldaQueen: This is ridiculous.
There's some komedy about whether or not Nora made the Jell-O salad, and then we start dinner. There's some banal conversation about the cost of housing in Maine, and then it swings to the topic of the death of Nora's father. Scott, in a show of sensitivity rare for this series, gives Nora his condolences and adds that he was working at a convenience store just a few blocks away, on the very night Mr. Grey died. Oh gee, what are the odds of that happening? Fitzpatrick should just hang a sign saying "THIS IS A CLUE" over that.
Nora, who is supposed to be a great detective, misses that big, honking suspicious statement. She does feel something vaguely akin to gratitude, but quickly forgets about it in favor of spending a paragraph wangsing over her broken heart and whether or not Patch has texted her back yet. Isn't it just so believable that Nora is suffering from the death of her father? She falls to pieces from Marcie's lame insults, but Scott bringing it up doesn't do a thing to her.
Mrs. Parnell tries to bring Nora back to reality by asking about the Coldwater wrestling team. Apparently Scott is into wrestling. We then get...I honestly don't know what the point of this next bit is. Nora honestly can't remember if her high school has a wrestling team, but offers up that there's a basketball team that made State once, sixty years ago. Mrs. Parnell done near has a heart attack at that, and asks if there's something wrong with the school's athletic department.
*rubs forehead* Like I said, I don't know what we're supposed to get from this.
First of all, what is up with the bashing of the Coldwater sports department? It's hardly come up before, and there never really was the impression that the school had a small one. I swear though, reading this section, it feels like Nora is going out of her way to make it sound unappealing.
Second of all, Nora honestly doesn't know if there's a wrestling team? Either that's one small-ass wrestling team, or Nora is completely clueless. High schools tend to make announcements about when the teams have games, to encourage students to attend! They have sections devoted to them in the yearbooks! Hell, Nora works for the school paper, which ought to run something on school sports! I could understand her not knowing much about it, but to be entirely unaware of an entire team? Yeah, I'm going to say that Nora is clueless.
Third of all, yes there is a problem with the athletic department. Their coach is a misogynistic asshat who humiliates his female students. It's obvious, isn't it?
Anyway, Scott announces that it doesn't matter, because he intends to take the year off of wrestling. Mrs. Parnell gets pissy at that, and makes it clear that his grades are shit and it's his senior year, so wrestling is about his best hope for getting into college. When Scott says that he has plans, Mrs. Parnell asks him "Oh? Like repeat last year?" and it's beaten over our heads how this is SUBTLE FORESHADOWING.
This is all so obvious that not even Mrs. Grey overlooks it, and she asks what happened last year. Mrs. Parnell tries to laugh it off with the "boys will be boys" schtick, and it's made very obvious that she and Scott are both very uncomfortable discussing it. Mrs. Grey apologizes for bringing it up.
And on the part of Nora... um, she decides to slip into Nancy Drew Mode. Yes, because that worked so well for her in the past! This is not going to be fun, is it? No, it is not, because Nora is about as aware as Bella Swan
"I’d paused eating, dividing glances between Scott and Mrs. Parnell, trying to figure out what was going on. Boys will be boys, that much I could buy. What I wasn’t buying was Mrs. Parnell’s anxious insistence that her son’s trouble fell into the category of typical. And Scott’s close supervision of every word that fell from her mouth wasn’t helping to change my mind"
ZeldaQueen: Yes, thank you, Holmes. How about you deal with the shit directly applying to you before you start playing detective to other people's issues?
Also, this marks something else incredibly annoying about Nora's deductions - Fitzpatrick wants Nora to move from Point A to Conclusion B, so she often has Nora make the most bizarre inferences. Take the bit about Scott, for example. Yes, the fact that he doesn't want his mother to talk about something he's not proud of clearly means he's hiding something. It couldn't be that he genuinely did something stupid, like broke his legs doing a motorcycle stunt, or got drunk and peed on the neighbor's doorstep, and is now embarassed about it. Nope, clearly Suspicious Things are Afoot.
"Thinking there was more to the story than they were saying, I pressed a hand to my heart and said, 'Why, Scott, you didn’t go around at night stealing road signs to hang in your bedroom, did you? did you?'
Mrs. Parnell erupted into genuine, almost relieved, laughter. Bingo. Whatever trouble Scott had wormed his way into, it wasn’t something as harmless as stealing road signs. I didn’t have fifty dollars, but if I did, I would have bet it all on the hunch that Scott’s trouble was anything but the usual stuff"
ZeldaQueen: HOW THE HELL DO YOU COME TO THAT CONCLUSION? Yes, I realize that nothing in that reaction ruled out unusual behavior, but it also in no way ruled out usual things! For all Nora knows, Mrs. Parnell is laughing because Nora's willing to make light of the situation!
Nora's mother decides to show some tact and tries to steer the conversation away from a topic that the guests don't want to discuss. Nora, being the twit she is, ignores this and outright asks Scott what happened. Scott responds by excusing himself to use the bathroom, and Mrs. Grey is apologetic. Nora then proceeds to piss me off immensely
"Her voice was apologetic. She was actually apologizing for my behavior, when she was the one who’d set the whole ridiculous evening up. Anyone with a shred of perceptiveness could see that the point of this dinner wasn’t to share a meal with old family friends. Vee was right—this was a meet cute. Well, I had news for my mom. Scott and me? Not happening"
ZeldaQueen: OH MY GOD DIE IN A FIRE YOU BRAT!!!
I mean, my God! What is with this bitch? She just said her behavior shouldn't be apologized for, because it's her mother's fault! She just blamed all of her selfish and bratty behavior on her mother, for something which there's no evidence is even happening! Seriously, if we're supposed to believe that Nora and Scott are being set up, this has got to be the most half-assed attempt at it that I've ever seen! I... I just don't get this! Why are we supposed to like her? WHY?
*beats head against wall*
Okay, I'm good. Kind of.
And just in time, because after Scott leaves, Mrs. Parnell brings up the topic of if Nora has a boyfriend or not. Oh joy, this looks like it'll be fun! Folks, get ready. This next bit is all about Fitzpatrick trying to show off how bad-boy Patch is and given how stereotypical and stupid her image of a bad-boy is... um, it's rather hilarious, actually. Let's get started.
Apparently at some point Nora told her mother about how Patch got his nickname (and she wonders why her mother doesn't like them dating), so Mrs. Grey explains to Mrs. Parnell about how "Patch" is not the lad's real name. Mrs. Parnell tutts at this, and says "I think it’s a gang name. All the gangs use nicknames. Slasher, Slayer, Maimer, Mauler, Reaper. Patch"
ZeldaQueen: ... Okay then.
Nora insists that Patch is not in a gang. I agree. He's more of the free lance sort, like Mark Essex. In any case, Mrs. Parnell doesn't buy this, and insists that "Gangs are for inner-city criminals, right? They’re roaches that only come out at night" and that she was watching the highly factual Law & Order, where she learned about "a new breed of wealthy suburban gangs. They called them secret societies, or blood societies, or some such nonsense, but it all boils down to the same thing". Secret societies or blood societies, eh? Those are mighty unoriginal names for gangs. Also, we know that Patch is psychotic, but Mrs. Parnell doesn't, yet she's sitting there, basically telling Nora "Your boyfriend is a gangster, based on his nickname". What the heck?
Mrs. Parnell starts talking very unfavorably about her ex-husband, who was a cop. Not long after she begins though, there is a minor interruption, as Nora somehow overhears Scott telepathically tell his mother to shut up.
Oh wait, you guys are going to say that a seemingly normal teenager who displays fucking telepathy would be more than a minor interruption, aren't you? I totally agree. Nora, however, spares a brief bit of time to muse about how odd that is, overhearing someone's voice in her head, before forgetting about it for the rest of the chapter. And yes, I know that Nora has already come across people who can speak to her telepathically. That still should be cause for concern though, because Scott was pretty obviously born to a human mother, meaning that he's a Nephilim, meaning he's in danger of being attacked, mind raped, and enslaved by a fallen angel!
Eh, who cares about that? Not Nora, who goes back to angsting about whether or not Patch texted her. Mrs. Parnell asks what some of Patch's hobbies are, and Nora replies that he plays pool and sweet Jimminy Cricket, please tell me we aren't doing this routine again! Yes, we are. *sigh* Mrs. Parnell thinks that Patch plays water polo, and congratulates him on playing "a true Maine sport". Mrs. Grey specifies that it's pool with the cue and balls, and we get this
"Hotbeds of gang activity [...] The Law & Order I saw? Wealthy, upper-class young men were running their neighborhood pool halls like Las Vegas casinos. Best keep a close eye on that Patch of yours, Nora. Could have a side to him he’s keeping from you. A side he’s keeping in the dark"
ZeldaQueen: Seriously, what the fuck is up with these people? Did Professor Harold Hill pass through, before this book started? Are they planning to start a marching band to save the Coldwater youth? Better hurry it up, those evil, mafia-run pool halls are sure to lure them into wickedness and temptation! BWAH HA HA!
Christ, this book is stupid.
There's a bit where Nora realizes that she knows didley-squat about Patch's past, and he could have been in a gang, for all she knows. Normally I would congratulate her on firing up her one brain cell for a change of pace, but we all know that nothing will come of this. After all, Fitzpatrick would have to put in effort for something like consequences, or Nora questioning Patch's actions.
Anyway, the scene ends with Mrs. Parnell omniously commenting about Patch's character. Okay then.
We jump ahead to after the Parnells have left. Nora is in her room, checking to see if Patch called. He has not, and - I swear this is not exaggeration - Nora's lip begins to quiver and she starts to cry. Because he has not texted or called her.
Hey Nora, here's a novel idea! Why don't you call him? You won't shut up about how you're not angry anymore and how you've forgiven him, after all. Is there any reason why you can't call him, besides the fact that Fitzpatrick is determined to drag this ridiculous subplot out as far as it can go?
Wait, never mind, there isn't. Carry on.
Nora's mother pokes her head into the room, and apparently she's not at all angry with how rude Nora was throughout dinner. Instead, she no longer seems to want to hook Nora up with Scott, given Scott's vaguely criminal past. Of course. However, Scott isn't out of the story just yet. In a fit of stupidity, Nora's mother let it slip to Mrs. Parnell that Nora doesn't have a car anymore, so Mrs. Parnell is insisting that Scott drive Nora places. And, contrivances of contrivances, there's no way Mrs. Grey can convince Mrs. Parnell that this isn't necessary, so Mrs. Grey is asking Nora to appeal to Scott.
Oh, what a fantastic idea, lady! You think your daughter is in danger around Scott, so instead of being the mature one and getting it through Mrs. Parnell's head that you don't want Scott around Nora, you let Nora deal with it! Nora, who you know was attacked in her home and nearly killed by her therapist not two months ago. Nora, who was left to her own devices because you were negligant to the point where social services should have stepped in. Nora, who you fussed over and worried about the safety of. YOU ARE SENDING THAT NORA TO INTERACT WITH A GUY YOU THINK IS UNSAFE, PROBABLY IN A PLACE WHERE THERE IS NO ONE TO TAKE CARE OF OR PROTECT HER IF THINGS GO SOUTH.
And I'm not exaggerating, folks. Mrs. Grey clearly doesn't think Scott's safe. She tells Nora to only accept rides with Vee, and not to let Scott near her while Mrs. Grey is out of town on business (because of course, she's going to be on a business trip).
Why are these people so flippant about Nora being forced into potentially dangerous situations? If Nora wasn't such a dumbass, I'd feel incredibly sorry for her! Clearly no one can be bothered to make the slightest effort to keep her safe, not even her own mother!
Well, Nora promptly forgets about that, and tells her mother that she plans on job hunting over the summer. She explains that she wants to buy a new car, because "I feel like a parasite". What an apt descritpion. Nora's mother mildly asks what is making Nora so pissy, and Nora blames her despicable behavior on being paired with Marcie Miller in chemistry. Yes, yes it's totally her fault. You haven't brought her up for the previous part of this chapter, and I'd almost entirely forgotten her
"I could tell by her expression that she knew just how deeply this cut. After all, it was my mom I’d run home to for most of the past eleven years after Marcie had had her way with me. And it was my mom who’d picked up the pieces, put me back together, and sent me back to school stronger and wiser and armed with a few tricks of my own"
ZeldaQueen: God.
First of all, "after Marcie had had her way with me"? Um... is it just me, or does it sound like Marcie raped Nora, instead of just teasing her?
Second of all, yes, Nora's mother has been such a comforting presence in your life thus far, hasn't she? The way she was out of town for most of Hush, Hush, the way she failed to notice Elliot threatening you on the front fucking porch, the way she reacted to your near murder like it was something mildly shocking, she's certainly mother of the year!
Third of all, if Nora right now is "stronger and wiser" than she was eleven years ago, Christ knows how stupid and useless she was then.
Fourth of all, if Nora's oh-so-wise mother taught her ways of dealing with Marcie, why is there no evidence of that? Nora has only ever acted like a helpless, fragile flower in the presence of Marcie.
So yeah, Nora's mother heads out to pick up some stuff, and Nora wangsts over how Patch may be gone for good, oh teh horror!
I'm so very tired.
YOU FUCKING WHORE: 19
Onward to: Chapter 4
Return to: Chapter 2 (Part 2)
Back to: Table of Contents
Also, a happy belated birthday to
morri_delrae, nix501st, raetekusu, and shaolina! Also, a very belated happy Valentine's Day to you all!Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
Chapter 3
ZeldaQueen: When we catch up to Nora in the next chapter, she is in the depths of despair. Oh yeah, did any of you think she'd actually come to her senses and realize that Patch was a douche and she was far better off without him? Certainly not! No, she's busy going on like this
"The anger was beginning to wear off, but I almost wished I could stay caught up in its fever forever. The emptiness it left behind ached more than the sharp, fiery pain I’d felt when Patch walked out"
ZeldaQueen: Because the loss of her boyfriend of two months is just so horrific. They clearly had such a deep and meaningful relationship, full of good times. My head hurts.
Nora continues to wibble about the breakup, wondering if it's permanent and whether nor not there is "no way around fate or, more immediately, the archangels’ threats".
ZeldaQueen: Pardon me. That was a knee-jerk reaction to that twit blaming all of her relationship woes on fate. God forbid there be problems that stem from issues like their personalities or choices or refusal to recognize and correct their flaws. No, clearly Nora and Patch are such perfect people that their relationship can only be hindered by fate itself. Fucking-a.
So yeah, this leads to Nora getting all pissy about the archangels, bitching about how unfair they are. Yes, you read that right. Nora is complaining that heavenly beings are being unfair because they won't let her do whatever she wants. REALLY
"I felt my anger reignite. Why couldn’t they leave us alone? Why were they so bent on destroying Patch? Patch had told me he was the first fallen angel to get his wings back and become a guardian angel. Were the archangels angry over that? Did they feel Patch had somehow tricked them? Or that he’d cheated his way back up from the bottom? Did they want to put him in his place? Or did they merely not trust him?"
ZeldaQueen: Gee Nora, why in the world would those mean old archangels ever want to send Patch to Hell? He's such a wonderful, fantastic person, only someone really evil would wish harm on him! I mean, it's not like he completely turned his back on his many responsibilities and duties in Heaven because he wanted to hook up with a human chick, basically giving God the finger in the process (which I think the monotheistic religions would agree would go over with God and the other angels about as well as a lead balloon). It's certainly not like he spent his days on Earth, as a fallen angel, doing nothing but gambling, coveting a human body, lusting after women, and generally acting in a way that is considered disgusting by human standards, let alone what angels would judge by. It's really not like he freaked them all out by trying to go through with a forbidden practice, which involved his attempting to ritualistically murder Nora. It definitely is not like he responded to their attempts to go back to actually being useful and helpful by laughing at the offer, seducing the angel delivering the message just to get her to tell him what he was after, and paved the way for said angel going crazy and ultimately having her wings ripped out. And it isn't as if he made it extremely clear that he viewed his job as Nora's guardian angel as little more than a way to sleazily hit on her and make out with her and not actually do his job of protecting humanity.
As for the rest of Nora's rant, why would she think that the archangels are angry he became a guardian? It was outright stated in the last book that they wanted him to become a guardian, presumably because keeping him in Heaven was an easier way of keeping an eye on him! They sent Dabria to tell him how to be a guardian! Why would Nora think that they are jealous of him becoming a guardian angel? I'd personally go with the idea that his pre-guardian behavior was so disgusting that of course they've got him on a tight leash! Fuck, I'd say it's a miracle they kept him out of Hell for this long!
Also, I find it fucking rich that we're supposed to think that knocking Patch down a few pegs is a bad thing.
So yeah, Nora goes back to being all dramatically sad, complete with a single tear running down her face. No, I'm not exaggerating with that. She contemplates calling Patch, but worries that the archangels will spy on that and somehow...do something. I'm not sure what. Seriously, she never gives any thought to how there are many ways to call Patch and say "We need to talk" that don't involve romantic vibes.
Oh, but there's another reason for Nora to not just get off of her ass and call Patch and sort things out (aside from the usual contrivances and it being laughable that a girl have a spine and take initiative). She has her pride, you see. Yes, really, she pulls that card
"I also couldn’t let go of my pride that quickly. Didn’t he realize he was just as much in the wrong? The whole reason we’d fought in the first place was because he’d refused to tell me what he was doing at Marcie’s house last night. I wasn’t the jealous type, but he knew my history with Marcie. He knew this was the one time when I had to know"
Sweet jumped-up Jesus, where to begin?
First of all, Nora, if you had an ounce of pride, you would not let Marcie's lame jibes and insults reduce you to a puddle of tears every time you two cross paths. And you wouldn't have let that waitress jerk you around and extort all of your money. And you wouldn't have let that bag lady extort half of the clothes off of your back, plus your cell phone. And you wouldn't have let that sleazy guy running the check-out desk at that motel enable Patch's disgusting behavior and make lewd comments to you. And you wouldn't have let your Biology teacher humiliate you like he did, or put up with him forcing you to work with Patch. And you WOULDN'T HAVE LET PATCH STALK AND HARASS AND BE A DICK TO YOU FOR SO MANY CHAPTERS! That's not even getting into how much people are going to walk over you over the rest of this book and the rest! For fuck's sake, you haven't had your pride since the first chapter of Hush, Hush!
Second of all, you're an insane yandere who is more concerned that your boyfriend is cheating on you than the fact that he's stalking and spying on unsuspecting girls. Go get more therapy, or possibly a padded room.
Third of all, you're not the jealous type?
ZeldaQueen: Ah, that's the funniest shit I've heard all day, I swear. *wipes tears from eyes*
Fourth of all, well it's a good thing someone knows about your history with Marcie, because we sure as heck don't! Seriously, she has done nothing to warrant us thinking that Nora is justified in reacting like this.
Fifth of all, Nora's little "This is the one time I must know!" schtick really loses ground when it was not two chapters ago that she also expressed a desire to know what material Patch's bedsheets were made out of and probably where his dirty underpants were so she could sniff them.
And then, for no reason at all, Nora jumps from there to being all suspicious as to why Marcie was in Bo's Arcade. She wonders for what Earthly reason Marcie could possibly have gone there. How about to get drunk, you nitwit? We've already established that she likes to hang out on beaches populated by drug dealers. How is a bar that much of a jump. Nora provides "evidence" that this is weird by telling us that no other students from her high school have ever been to Bo's that she has heard of, and that she herself had never heard of it before meeting Patch. Considering that we're to believe that Nora was totally average and boring before meeting Patch, that really doesn't say a lot.
I'd also like to point out that this sounds like more of Fitzpatrick having no idea what high schoolers can get up to. My lovely hometown of Pittsburgh is where there's an under-21 nightclub called Club Zoo, where the kids from my high school would get into all kinds of shenanigans. Granted Bo's is supposed to be an actual bar, but clearly they don't care about enforcing age limits, since Patch and Nora can get in all the time. Given that Marcie was drunk, they also clearly don't care about checking IDs or being caught by the police selling alcohol to minors, but since when has Fitzpatrick let reality get in the way of her bad boy fantasies? Point is, if a high school girl who already has proven herself to frequent less-than-fashionable places shows up in a bar, why would anyone think there was some ulterior motives besides getting hammered?
But no, Nora immediately jumps to the conclusion that it's too much of a coincidence that Patch was staring in Marcie's window one evening and then just happens to be at the same bar where she was shanked the next day. Granted that is a bit odd to buy as a coincidence. Nora, however, does not come to the obvious conclusion that Patch is stalking Marcie. Instead, Nora decides that it's all Marcie's doing, because Marcie is an evil, evil tramp who surely has decided that she wants Patch's heavenly, bad-boy wiener, and will stop at nothing to get it
"And Marcie was many things, among them seductive and persuasive. Not only did she not take no for an answer, she didn’t accept any answer that wasn’t exactly what she wanted.
What if, this time, she wanted … Patch?"
YOU FUCKING WHORE: 18
ZeldaQueen: All I will say is this - thus far, Marcie has been as seductive and persuasive as a dump truck. Fitzpatrick, it doesn't work if you want to make a femme fatale and then do nothing but make her hammy with a generous side of cheese.
Speaking of food, guess who happens to show up at this point? Yes, Scott and his mother are here! And batten down the hatches folks, because this is not going to be a pleasant rest of chapter. It's just an endless procession of Nora whining and trying and failing to be clever. I'm also fairly certain that we're supposed to find this scene, funny, but I can't say for certain. Like with Meyer, I honestly have a hard time knowing if Fitzpatrick is trying to be funny or not.
So. Onward!
Nora hears knocking at the door and calls her mother, because apparently her telephone is connected to a wormhole and causes time to stop while she talks on it. Yes, I'm still pissed about the last chapter of Hush, Hush. What of it?
Nora's mother tells her to let them in. Nora proceeds to be a whiny little bitch and says that she'll let them in, but she doesn't know them so she'll just let them sit by themselves in the living room while she mopes in her bedroom. Yes, she pretty much says just that. Nora also is a passive aggressive bitch, trying to sound as wounded and unhappy as possible. You see, she feels that because her pour, tender soul was ripped in twain by Patch's departure, it's unreasonable to expect her to entertain company. She doesn't just tell her mother this though, for contrivances. Also, because "it wasn’t like I could confide in my mom. She hated Patch. She wouldn’t sympathize. I couldn’t take hearing the happiness and relief in her voice. Not now".
Putting aside the fact that Nora's mother disliking Patch is as understandable as Charlie hating Edward, when has Mrs. Grey ever given the impression that she'd show pleasure in the face of her daughter's grief? I mean, okay I'm sure she'd be happy. I'd be happy if my daughter had a boyfriend like Patch and then dumped him. But we're supposed to believe that Nora's mother is such a comforting presence, that she's been so kind and so loving to her daughter, and yet this one time, Nora simply can't confide in her? Bullshit!
But, like I said, it's all contrivances. Nora uses her being upset at dumping Patch as a convenient excuse to be a rude fuckwit during dinner, and we're supposed to think it's legitimate. We do not. We are not stupid.
Nora's mother predictably does not take well to Nora's declaration, which we're apparently supposed to think is oh-so-insensitive of her. Nora is bitchy and acts like a bratty child, complete with an exasperated "Fine, I guess I'll do it!" and throwing her phone across the room. She marches downstairs and answers the door and we get... um, this...
"The guy standing on the doormat was tall and well built— I could tell, since his T-shirt fit on the snug side and blatantly advertised PLATINUM GYM, PORTLAND. A silver hoop ran through his right earlobe, and his Levi’s hung dangerously low on the hips. He wore a pink Hawaiian-print ball cap that looked fresh off a thrift store shelf and had to be an inside joke, and his sunglasses reminded me of Hulk Hogan. Despite all this, he had a certain boyish charm"
ZeldaQueen: Erm... Fitzpatrick, I think your fetishes are showing. I mean, seriously? Oh no, he has a hoop earring and low-rise pants! What a bad boy! And a... um, pink baseball cap! Really! And a tight-fitting shirt! All of which, except for the earring, Patch has! Christmas, Fitzpatrick, expand your repotoire!
Anyway, this fellow is Scott Parnell, and he will be our Jacob expy for this series. He steps inside and takes off of his sunglasses - are you shitting me? Fitzpatrick's hitting all of the checklist points here, isn't she? - and asks where Nora's mother is and what they're having for dinner. Nora's response is to turn to the audience and be a rude little shit
"I didn’t like his use of the word 'we.' There was no 'we.' There was the Grey family, and the Parnell family. Two separate entities that happened to be sharing the same dinner table for one night"
ZeldaQueen: Jesus Christ, why is she so angry at the Parnells? Okay, I could almost buy her being angry that her mother is trying to set her up with someone else. Yes, her mom wouldn't know she and Patch broke up, but I could still buy her being irrationally upset. But the Parnells have nothing to do with this, and she's nothing but cold and bitter towards them! What happened to her saying before how she'd be a good hostess?
Scott tries to make small talk with Nora, and Nora shoots him down. He apparently decides that talking to her is a waste of time (smart fellow) and asks if there's any beer in the house. Because he's a bad boy (the only type of guy Fitzpatrick seems capable of writing) and bad boys all drink beer.
At this point, Nora's mother comes in with Scott's mother, Lynn Parnell. We are told that Mrs. Parnell is "A round woman with a bad pixiestyle haircut and heavy pink makeup followed her in", and I can already tell that Fitzpatrick is fixing to make her as obnoxious as possible. Mrs. Parnell takes one look at Nora, declares how much she looks like Mrs. Grey, and adds "And look at those legs! Longer than the Vegas strip".
... Do many people make bizarre comments to their friend about the legs of said friend's sixteen-year-old daughter?
Nora makes a lame attempt to excuse herself and Mrs. Grey glares at her. Nora is pissy in response, and I'm wondering what sort of reaction she was expecting. Her mother doesn't know what's going on! What, did Nora think her mother would be all "That's fine dear, just wander off and ignore our company, who are going to be here a few hours at most!"?
Nora's mother starts trying to talk Scott up, and for some unfathomable reason thinks that bringing up Nora's story about him making her eat roly-polies is a good idea. No, I don't know why she does this. All it does is bring up memories which make Nora angry and Scott uncomfortable. What sense does that make?
Oh, right, sense has no place in here. And because that is the case, instead of sweeping that incident under the rug, as any sane person would do, Nora, Mrs. Grey, and Mrs. Parnell keep dragging it around in front of Scott. Nora complains about it, and Mrs. Parnell tries to pass it off as some great accomplishment.
Scott tries to move the conversation to a different topic, and while I'm sure I'll be hating him later on, I feel sorry for the poor bastard right now. He scratches his chest as he talks, and
YOU FUCKING WHORE: 19
ZeldaQueen: This is ridiculous.
There's some komedy about whether or not Nora made the Jell-O salad, and then we start dinner. There's some banal conversation about the cost of housing in Maine, and then it swings to the topic of the death of Nora's father. Scott, in a show of sensitivity rare for this series, gives Nora his condolences and adds that he was working at a convenience store just a few blocks away, on the very night Mr. Grey died. Oh gee, what are the odds of that happening? Fitzpatrick should just hang a sign saying "THIS IS A CLUE" over that.
Nora, who is supposed to be a great detective, misses that big, honking suspicious statement. She does feel something vaguely akin to gratitude, but quickly forgets about it in favor of spending a paragraph wangsing over her broken heart and whether or not Patch has texted her back yet. Isn't it just so believable that Nora is suffering from the death of her father? She falls to pieces from Marcie's lame insults, but Scott bringing it up doesn't do a thing to her.
Mrs. Parnell tries to bring Nora back to reality by asking about the Coldwater wrestling team. Apparently Scott is into wrestling. We then get...I honestly don't know what the point of this next bit is. Nora honestly can't remember if her high school has a wrestling team, but offers up that there's a basketball team that made State once, sixty years ago. Mrs. Parnell done near has a heart attack at that, and asks if there's something wrong with the school's athletic department.
*rubs forehead* Like I said, I don't know what we're supposed to get from this.
First of all, what is up with the bashing of the Coldwater sports department? It's hardly come up before, and there never really was the impression that the school had a small one. I swear though, reading this section, it feels like Nora is going out of her way to make it sound unappealing.
Second of all, Nora honestly doesn't know if there's a wrestling team? Either that's one small-ass wrestling team, or Nora is completely clueless. High schools tend to make announcements about when the teams have games, to encourage students to attend! They have sections devoted to them in the yearbooks! Hell, Nora works for the school paper, which ought to run something on school sports! I could understand her not knowing much about it, but to be entirely unaware of an entire team? Yeah, I'm going to say that Nora is clueless.
Third of all, yes there is a problem with the athletic department. Their coach is a misogynistic asshat who humiliates his female students. It's obvious, isn't it?
Anyway, Scott announces that it doesn't matter, because he intends to take the year off of wrestling. Mrs. Parnell gets pissy at that, and makes it clear that his grades are shit and it's his senior year, so wrestling is about his best hope for getting into college. When Scott says that he has plans, Mrs. Parnell asks him "Oh? Like repeat last year?" and it's beaten over our heads how this is SUBTLE FORESHADOWING.
This is all so obvious that not even Mrs. Grey overlooks it, and she asks what happened last year. Mrs. Parnell tries to laugh it off with the "boys will be boys" schtick, and it's made very obvious that she and Scott are both very uncomfortable discussing it. Mrs. Grey apologizes for bringing it up.
And on the part of Nora... um, she decides to slip into Nancy Drew Mode. Yes, because that worked so well for her in the past! This is not going to be fun, is it? No, it is not, because Nora is about as aware as Bella Swan
"I’d paused eating, dividing glances between Scott and Mrs. Parnell, trying to figure out what was going on. Boys will be boys, that much I could buy. What I wasn’t buying was Mrs. Parnell’s anxious insistence that her son’s trouble fell into the category of typical. And Scott’s close supervision of every word that fell from her mouth wasn’t helping to change my mind"
ZeldaQueen: Yes, thank you, Holmes. How about you deal with the shit directly applying to you before you start playing detective to other people's issues?
Also, this marks something else incredibly annoying about Nora's deductions - Fitzpatrick wants Nora to move from Point A to Conclusion B, so she often has Nora make the most bizarre inferences. Take the bit about Scott, for example. Yes, the fact that he doesn't want his mother to talk about something he's not proud of clearly means he's hiding something. It couldn't be that he genuinely did something stupid, like broke his legs doing a motorcycle stunt, or got drunk and peed on the neighbor's doorstep, and is now embarassed about it. Nope, clearly Suspicious Things are Afoot.
"Thinking there was more to the story than they were saying, I pressed a hand to my heart and said, 'Why, Scott, you didn’t go around at night stealing road signs to hang in your bedroom, did you? did you?'
Mrs. Parnell erupted into genuine, almost relieved, laughter. Bingo. Whatever trouble Scott had wormed his way into, it wasn’t something as harmless as stealing road signs. I didn’t have fifty dollars, but if I did, I would have bet it all on the hunch that Scott’s trouble was anything but the usual stuff"
ZeldaQueen: HOW THE HELL DO YOU COME TO THAT CONCLUSION? Yes, I realize that nothing in that reaction ruled out unusual behavior, but it also in no way ruled out usual things! For all Nora knows, Mrs. Parnell is laughing because Nora's willing to make light of the situation!
Nora's mother decides to show some tact and tries to steer the conversation away from a topic that the guests don't want to discuss. Nora, being the twit she is, ignores this and outright asks Scott what happened. Scott responds by excusing himself to use the bathroom, and Mrs. Grey is apologetic. Nora then proceeds to piss me off immensely
"Her voice was apologetic. She was actually apologizing for my behavior, when she was the one who’d set the whole ridiculous evening up. Anyone with a shred of perceptiveness could see that the point of this dinner wasn’t to share a meal with old family friends. Vee was right—this was a meet cute. Well, I had news for my mom. Scott and me? Not happening"
ZeldaQueen: OH MY GOD DIE IN A FIRE YOU BRAT!!!
I mean, my God! What is with this bitch? She just said her behavior shouldn't be apologized for, because it's her mother's fault! She just blamed all of her selfish and bratty behavior on her mother, for something which there's no evidence is even happening! Seriously, if we're supposed to believe that Nora and Scott are being set up, this has got to be the most half-assed attempt at it that I've ever seen! I... I just don't get this! Why are we supposed to like her? WHY?
*beats head against wall*
Okay, I'm good. Kind of.
And just in time, because after Scott leaves, Mrs. Parnell brings up the topic of if Nora has a boyfriend or not. Oh joy, this looks like it'll be fun! Folks, get ready. This next bit is all about Fitzpatrick trying to show off how bad-boy Patch is and given how stereotypical and stupid her image of a bad-boy is... um, it's rather hilarious, actually. Let's get started.
Apparently at some point Nora told her mother about how Patch got his nickname (and she wonders why her mother doesn't like them dating), so Mrs. Grey explains to Mrs. Parnell about how "Patch" is not the lad's real name. Mrs. Parnell tutts at this, and says "I think it’s a gang name. All the gangs use nicknames. Slasher, Slayer, Maimer, Mauler, Reaper. Patch"
ZeldaQueen: ... Okay then.
Nora insists that Patch is not in a gang. I agree. He's more of the free lance sort, like Mark Essex. In any case, Mrs. Parnell doesn't buy this, and insists that "Gangs are for inner-city criminals, right? They’re roaches that only come out at night" and that she was watching the highly factual Law & Order, where she learned about "a new breed of wealthy suburban gangs. They called them secret societies, or blood societies, or some such nonsense, but it all boils down to the same thing". Secret societies or blood societies, eh? Those are mighty unoriginal names for gangs. Also, we know that Patch is psychotic, but Mrs. Parnell doesn't, yet she's sitting there, basically telling Nora "Your boyfriend is a gangster, based on his nickname". What the heck?
Mrs. Parnell starts talking very unfavorably about her ex-husband, who was a cop. Not long after she begins though, there is a minor interruption, as Nora somehow overhears Scott telepathically tell his mother to shut up.
Oh wait, you guys are going to say that a seemingly normal teenager who displays fucking telepathy would be more than a minor interruption, aren't you? I totally agree. Nora, however, spares a brief bit of time to muse about how odd that is, overhearing someone's voice in her head, before forgetting about it for the rest of the chapter. And yes, I know that Nora has already come across people who can speak to her telepathically. That still should be cause for concern though, because Scott was pretty obviously born to a human mother, meaning that he's a Nephilim, meaning he's in danger of being attacked, mind raped, and enslaved by a fallen angel!
Eh, who cares about that? Not Nora, who goes back to angsting about whether or not Patch texted her. Mrs. Parnell asks what some of Patch's hobbies are, and Nora replies that he plays pool and sweet Jimminy Cricket, please tell me we aren't doing this routine again! Yes, we are. *sigh* Mrs. Parnell thinks that Patch plays water polo, and congratulates him on playing "a true Maine sport". Mrs. Grey specifies that it's pool with the cue and balls, and we get this
"Hotbeds of gang activity [...] The Law & Order I saw? Wealthy, upper-class young men were running their neighborhood pool halls like Las Vegas casinos. Best keep a close eye on that Patch of yours, Nora. Could have a side to him he’s keeping from you. A side he’s keeping in the dark"
ZeldaQueen: Seriously, what the fuck is up with these people? Did Professor Harold Hill pass through, before this book started? Are they planning to start a marching band to save the Coldwater youth? Better hurry it up, those evil, mafia-run pool halls are sure to lure them into wickedness and temptation! BWAH HA HA!
Christ, this book is stupid.
There's a bit where Nora realizes that she knows didley-squat about Patch's past, and he could have been in a gang, for all she knows. Normally I would congratulate her on firing up her one brain cell for a change of pace, but we all know that nothing will come of this. After all, Fitzpatrick would have to put in effort for something like consequences, or Nora questioning Patch's actions.
Anyway, the scene ends with Mrs. Parnell omniously commenting about Patch's character. Okay then.
We jump ahead to after the Parnells have left. Nora is in her room, checking to see if Patch called. He has not, and - I swear this is not exaggeration - Nora's lip begins to quiver and she starts to cry. Because he has not texted or called her.
Hey Nora, here's a novel idea! Why don't you call him? You won't shut up about how you're not angry anymore and how you've forgiven him, after all. Is there any reason why you can't call him, besides the fact that Fitzpatrick is determined to drag this ridiculous subplot out as far as it can go?
Wait, never mind, there isn't. Carry on.
Nora's mother pokes her head into the room, and apparently she's not at all angry with how rude Nora was throughout dinner. Instead, she no longer seems to want to hook Nora up with Scott, given Scott's vaguely criminal past. Of course. However, Scott isn't out of the story just yet. In a fit of stupidity, Nora's mother let it slip to Mrs. Parnell that Nora doesn't have a car anymore, so Mrs. Parnell is insisting that Scott drive Nora places. And, contrivances of contrivances, there's no way Mrs. Grey can convince Mrs. Parnell that this isn't necessary, so Mrs. Grey is asking Nora to appeal to Scott.
Oh, what a fantastic idea, lady! You think your daughter is in danger around Scott, so instead of being the mature one and getting it through Mrs. Parnell's head that you don't want Scott around Nora, you let Nora deal with it! Nora, who you know was attacked in her home and nearly killed by her therapist not two months ago. Nora, who was left to her own devices because you were negligant to the point where social services should have stepped in. Nora, who you fussed over and worried about the safety of. YOU ARE SENDING THAT NORA TO INTERACT WITH A GUY YOU THINK IS UNSAFE, PROBABLY IN A PLACE WHERE THERE IS NO ONE TO TAKE CARE OF OR PROTECT HER IF THINGS GO SOUTH.
And I'm not exaggerating, folks. Mrs. Grey clearly doesn't think Scott's safe. She tells Nora to only accept rides with Vee, and not to let Scott near her while Mrs. Grey is out of town on business (because of course, she's going to be on a business trip).
Why are these people so flippant about Nora being forced into potentially dangerous situations? If Nora wasn't such a dumbass, I'd feel incredibly sorry for her! Clearly no one can be bothered to make the slightest effort to keep her safe, not even her own mother!
Well, Nora promptly forgets about that, and tells her mother that she plans on job hunting over the summer. She explains that she wants to buy a new car, because "I feel like a parasite". What an apt descritpion. Nora's mother mildly asks what is making Nora so pissy, and Nora blames her despicable behavior on being paired with Marcie Miller in chemistry. Yes, yes it's totally her fault. You haven't brought her up for the previous part of this chapter, and I'd almost entirely forgotten her
"I could tell by her expression that she knew just how deeply this cut. After all, it was my mom I’d run home to for most of the past eleven years after Marcie had had her way with me. And it was my mom who’d picked up the pieces, put me back together, and sent me back to school stronger and wiser and armed with a few tricks of my own"
ZeldaQueen: God.
First of all, "after Marcie had had her way with me"? Um... is it just me, or does it sound like Marcie raped Nora, instead of just teasing her?
Second of all, yes, Nora's mother has been such a comforting presence in your life thus far, hasn't she? The way she was out of town for most of Hush, Hush, the way she failed to notice Elliot threatening you on the front fucking porch, the way she reacted to your near murder like it was something mildly shocking, she's certainly mother of the year!
Third of all, if Nora right now is "stronger and wiser" than she was eleven years ago, Christ knows how stupid and useless she was then.
Fourth of all, if Nora's oh-so-wise mother taught her ways of dealing with Marcie, why is there no evidence of that? Nora has only ever acted like a helpless, fragile flower in the presence of Marcie.
So yeah, Nora's mother heads out to pick up some stuff, and Nora wangsts over how Patch may be gone for good, oh teh horror!
I'm so very tired.
YOU FUCKING WHORE: 19
Onward to: Chapter 4
Return to: Chapter 2 (Part 2)
Back to: Table of Contents
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-02 02:30 pm (UTC)Um... is it just me, or does it sound like Marcie raped Nora, instead of just teasing her?
Well, I'd say "seduced"--but it does sound like there's been a sexual component to their relationship for some time. (And I like the idea of the sex being something that Nora loves but feels guilty about, rather than being rape. Marcie has not seemed all that horrible so far, and I would rather not hate her.)
And I have a quote from MST3K that seems to fit the Nora/Marcie relationship perfectly:
Michael J. Nelson: You know, they fight a lot, but they stay together because the sex is fan-TAS-tic.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-02 03:10 pm (UTC)Yeah, I like that much better as canon. The idea that she and Marcie had some sexual attraction going on and Nora freaked out over it would explain quite a lot (why she vilifies Marcie so much, why she's so determined to throw herself at a guy she sees as the paragon of masculinity, etc), not to mention be a far better story than the attempts we get at romance here.
(And yeah, "seduction" would be a better word. I just... erm, had flashbacks to the last book, when Nora described Patch keeping her in the motel room as putting her "vow of prudence" at risk, or some such nonsense. Fitzpatrick's wordchoice is REALLY bad.)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-02 02:57 pm (UTC)He telepathically told his mother to shut up. That should have serious significance with Nora--it doesn't matter that she's in the know about that kind of communication. That isn't normal. And she basically went, "Whatever--his telepathic communication isn't Patch." And DOESN'T connect that with whatever held him back a year.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-04 03:36 am (UTC)Icon for the book, not you. :)
Date: 2012-03-02 04:16 pm (UTC)As for Nora herself... *sighs* You know, I guess I can still be a bit sympathetic towards her considering what happened in the previous book, but dear God... I think you said it best yourself when you said, "Why are we supposed to like her?"
Hell, I think we could apply it to (almost) the whole cast -- is there anyone in this series who isn't a loathsome cad? (Except maybe Marcie, who's more of a Designated Antagonist/Villain than anything else. And maybe Scott -- why are we supposed to dislike Scott again?)
Again, great sporking, and sorry if I don't really make sense -- caught a bit of a cold. :/
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-02 06:59 pm (UTC)The sad thing is, even assuming that, Scott's STILL better for her than Patch. Sure, I wouldn't get within a mile of them if I valued my life, but since Nora clearly doesn't care about dating a stalking, murderous psychopath, at least Scott doesn't seem like a rapist! And I have more sympathy towards the Nephilim, anyway. They can't help getting caught in this shitfest.
Poor Nora. Seriously, I'm still assuming that she came back wrong somehow after the whole "dying" bit in the last book. The changes between Chapter Three Hush, Hush Nora and this are ridiculous.
Marcie/Nora. It makes more sense than any other pairing in this book BY FAR.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-02 07:05 pm (UTC)Definitely not just you. Although, knowing this book, if that had actually happened, they'd probably be dating now. Sigh.
I don't get why Fitzpartick thinks Patch is such a badass name. Honestly, it always struck me as more of a dog name than anything. Not to mention, who goes to a dinner party and then does nothing but talk about potentially upsetting subjects like the hostess's husband's murder, your son's academic issues, and how the hostess's daughter's boyfriend is probably in a gang. Does this woman have no tact?
Scott doesn't seem too bad as of now, but if he's this series' Jacob, I can only assume he's going to turn into a douchebag sooner or later. Probably sooner, because Fitzpatrick really doesn't seem to have a good grasp on writing likable characters.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-02 10:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 12:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-04 03:39 am (UTC)He does. He more or less goes the way of Elliot, except that Scott's supposed to remain a potential love interest and stops short of actually wanting Nora dead. Really.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-02 08:04 pm (UTC)And all without really feeling remorse, might I add.
In a book written by a better author, I could see a character who spent his days like Patch did being forgiven and regaining wings or heavenly powers or something, but only after s/he truly repented and felt truly sorry for what they'd done/how they'd acted. Patch, on the other hand, shows none of that, so I can't blame the other archangels for being at the very least suspicious of him.
ZeldaQueen: All I will say is this - thus far, Marcie has been as seductive and persuasive as a dump truck.
Second of all, let's just pretend for a second that Marcie has been flirting with Patch. In what universe would that make his standing in her driveway and watching her through her window okay?! GOD DAMN IT, NORA. GOD DAMN IT, FITZPATRICK.
High schools tend to make announcements about when the teams have games, to encourage students to attend! They have sections devoted to them in the yearbooks! Hell, Nora works for the school paper, which ought to run something on school sports!
Like, four times a year, our school would actually put up posters advertising various clubs and teams to encourage people to join! It's hard not to know there's a wrestling team when you're on your way to Chemistry and there's a big honkin' poster showing a bunch of guys in unitards, grinning and putting each other in headlocks.
Mini-spitefic time:
-----
Nora's mother kept her smile up, though it was a struggle, as she saw the Parnells to their car. Lynn let her son get in first, then turned to her friend, frowning slightly. "Hon," she said, adopting the nickname in hopes it would make the other woman feel better. "Don't feel too bad about what happened tonight. I guess part of it is my own fault; I'm not the best conversationalist, and once we started talking..." She trailed off, shaking her head and covering her eyes with a shaking hand.
Mrs Grey put a hand on her shoulder. "No, no, it's fine...I don't blame you." Well, that was partially true. She didn't blame Lynn for the overall mood of the night, but Lynn had only wanted to show interest in her friend and her daughter's lives. "I'll talk to Nora tonight. You drive safely, okay?"
Lynn nodded, stealthily wiping the beginnings of tears from her eyes. Mrs Grey watched them go, making sure Lynn wasn't swerving on her way back. Then she turned around and stormed back into the house, actually slamming the door shut. Nora didn't react, just sitting there at the table, arms folded as she pouted.
"NORA GREY."
Now Nora reacted, startling and looking at her mother with wide eyes. That expression only lasted a moment, though, before she started putting on the 'woefully-put-upon teenager" face. "What?"
"Don't you 'what' me," Mrs Grey hissed, stalking over to her. Nora made to rise from her chair, but her mother swiftly put a hand on her shoulder, forcing her back down. No. No, Mrs Grey was going to stand over for this. "Listen to me," she said sternly. "I know it's hard to be a teenager these days. I know you're feeling lousy over something or other, but I can't help you with that if you don't tell me what the problem is. Not now!" she snapped as Nora opened her mouth to say something. "But..." Nora could feel a vein bulging in her forehead. "But you are not going to take it out on Lynn and her son, during a nice dinner and in front of me and expect to get away with it."
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-02 08:04 pm (UTC)"Who said anything about dating him?!" Nora's mother snapped, trying her hardest not to yell. "All I had wanted was to reconnect with an old friend and her son, all I wanted was for you to meet that boy again, because God knows you need a better friend than that horrible Vee girl, and you never talk about anyone else at school in a friendly manner. I'd hoped that making another friend would do you some good--the fact that he's a boy has nothing to do with anything, I never intended for him to be your boyfriend, and this was supposed to be a pleasant evening.
"But not only do you whine to me on the phone about spending time with Scott before his mother arrives, but during the entire dinner, you're snippy with them and whining and pouting like a six-year-old! Do you have any idea how Lynn felt about that? Do you have any idea how Scott must have felt--a boy who only wanted to be friendly?" Mrs grey recalled the look on poor Scott's face: embarrassment, discomfort, that special sadness one feels when they know they're not wanted by their company but they can't leave or say anything out of politeness, and they desperately wish they could start the night over. "Tomorrow," Mrs grey continued, trying to calm herself down. "You are going to see Scot, and you are going to apologize. And I'll be calling Lynn tomorrow night to make sure you did, because if you didn't, i'm going to drive you to their house myself, and you will apologize in front of everyone. And no half-assed ones either--you are going to mean it!"
Nora's eyes were wide; her mother saw the beginnings of crocodile-tears.
"And! You are also going to write me a two-page report on why you were wrong to act the way you did, why you shouldn't have treated our guests like that, and show it to me. And if it's not to my satisfaction, you'll do it again." Mrs Grey paused, tilting her head to one side for a moment as she thought. "And come to think of it--I want you to apologize to Lynn too. And make that report three pages."
"B-But Mom--!"
"Go to your room. Now!" Mrs grey snapped, pointing up the stairs. Nora wavered for a second before turning and running up the stairs, no doubt planning to melodramatically throw herself on the bed. "And you better not slam that door when you get up there!" Mrs grey shouted up at her. "Or that report is four pages!"
-----
Phew, I needed that...Mrs Grey needed to act like a parent there. I can assure you, if I or any of my siblings had treated a guest like that, or acted the way Nora did at dinner, then as soon as we were alone, it'd be yelling-and-grounding city.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-02 09:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-02 11:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 03:28 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 07:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-02 08:57 pm (UTC)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9ReaP0YXIM
Totally needed.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 01:14 am (UTC)Look, we all know Nephilim are going to vilified to the tenth degree in this book and the next (and probably the next). Everyone views them as the evil monsters because they won't give fallen angels a body for two weeks. Blah, blah, we all know the story and we havent even gotten there yet.
Nora is human. Patch is--if we play along--an angel.
Wouldn't that mean their...children will be Nephilim?!
I mean, this book is so predictable, it's sad, and she is following Meyer's plot line almost to a tee. In the fourth book, Bella had Demon Spawn, thus, it's all reasonable for someone to expect Nora will have a child too. A child that is a NEPHILIM.
How is Fitzpatrick suppose to get around that?! Look, I am using the assumption that Nora will have a child in the fourth book or it will be alluded that they will have children in the future. This type of book like to play on the idea of finding your perfect little husband and then continuing on to have your perfect little children with him. God forbid a woman not bare a child.
What is Nora going to do? Vilify her own children?? There is no doubt about it, if Nora has children with Patch, they will be Nephilim! Her potential and future children will be part of the group she will eventually vilify!
Im pretty sure Nora will turn into hypocrite extraordinaire but has Fitzpatrick even CONSIDERED this idea?!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 01:22 am (UTC)I'm holding out hope for Patch somehow screwing things up enough that he becomes a human in the last book. As annoying as it would be for him to get what he wants, it would mean he's mortal, and then he can die horribly. And I think we ALL want Patch to die horribly.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 01:45 am (UTC)Bah! Who am I kidding? Patch is such a psycho, he would probably force Nora to have an abortion (well, mind rape her into having one) or kill the kid himself once it's born.
What a disgusting book.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 03:18 am (UTC)Honestly, I could even see him LETTING the poor kid be used as a host, or raising it to get used to it. *Shudders*
And while that comeuppance would be nice, I figure the kid still has a chance now of not being as awful a person as Nora or Patch, and killing him might fix the mind control he has on Nora. Then she grinds a level in badass and goes Sarah Conner on any angels who try to hurt her baby.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 11:08 am (UTC)I sort of expect that if Patch and Nora ever have kids, one of the following will happen:
(1 - most likely): the kid will not be nephilim because of some last minute ass-pull.
(2) the kid will die tragically for the angsting potential.
(3 my preferred option) the kid will be kidnapped by other nephilim and raised to take revenge on the fallen angels, eventually killing Patch.
(4 - least likely) Patch will repent of his nephilim-persecuting ways and help wipe out the fallen angels.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-04 03:45 am (UTC)My bet is that Fitzpatrick will turn Patch human, because he's such a good boy that he deserves it. -__- Either that, or she has a plot twist regarding a...development with Nora. I won't spoil it here, but something happens to Nora in the third book that made me nearly twist my head off with rage. I'm wondering if that will somehow bypass the "children are Nephilim" thing. (And no, this twist isn't Nora getting pregnant or Nora turning into an angel. -_-)
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-04 04:07 am (UTC)Of course, a legit consequence to the angel/human relationship they have that would actually put them in a moral conundrum and the angels can't be blamed, will be swept under the rug in the stupidest way possible.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-04 06:42 pm (UTC)I can dream, can't I?
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 01:22 am (UTC)This bizarre fascination with pool that Mrs. Parnell has makes me think of the Cast sisters and their weird anti-pot fetish.
I suppose I can forgive Ms. Fitzpatrick for wanting to poke fun at and satirize the idea way many that some mothers blow the actions of young girls boyfriends way out of proportion, thinking that playing pool in your parents basement + rap music = drug dealer, if that's what she was doing. If I were her, I would use this as evidence to back up my "I didn't intend for these characters to be role models" statement. I don't think that's what it is, however. There's a... mean-spiritedness to all this that turns it from a deconstructive parody to a Meyer-esque "Take that!", and the way she keeps harping on how dumb and ugly and Clearly Evil Mrs. Parnell is does not make me want to look kindly on her.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-04 03:47 am (UTC)O_o That's actually a rather accurate comparison, especially since it's not just one weird person who has that opinion. Nora and her mother were both cringing and shaking at the idea of admitting that Patch - le gasp - plays pool. Sounds just like Stevie Rae and the Twins joining in on the anti-pot rants.
Yeah, it doesn't come across as parody or satire so much as Meyer soapboxing that people only don't like the Cullens because they don't give them a chance. -_-
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-04 04:30 am (UTC)Back on topic, pool isn't even controversial! Lots of people who aren't in gangs or visit seedy bars play pool. My FIL use to go to tournaments for pool! There are even competitions just for doing trick shots in pool. My MIL and step FIL have a pool table in their basement that my boyfriend and I play on sometimes (I suck). Playing pool really isnt all that bad.
Fitzpatrick, your lack of creativity is showing.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 05:21 am (UTC)Ah, so this is the part that you mentioned during your “Hush, Hush” sporking, where Nora complains that the angels are so mean for not letting her boyfriend get what he wants.
Newsflash, princess, your boyfriend is a barbarian and a brute and if there was divine justice in your universe, he would have had an appointment with Satan a *long* time ago.
/Also, I find it fucking rich that we're supposed to think that knocking Patch down a few pegs is a bad thing./
Oh, no, that’s what Marcie is for. She has ovaries and she is not Nora, therefore she automatically deserves whatever slander and spite is heaped upon her.
/And Marcie was many things, among them seductive and persuasive. Not only did she not take no for an answer, she didn’t accept any answer that wasn’t exactly what she wanted./
AHEM.
“And [Patch] was many things, among them seductive and persuasive. Not only did [he] not take no for an answer, [he] didn’t accept any answer that wasn’t exactly what [he] wanted.”
There, I fixed it for you.
/We are told that Mrs. Parnell is "A round woman with a bad pixiestyle haircut and heavy pink makeup followed her in",/
Hmm, an overweight woman who will prove to be unbearably obnoxious and nosy? Why, hello, Vee! My goodness, you’ve aged. I guess it was inevitable that you’d hook up with a fallen angel, given how you were stupidly swooning over one (Patch) and drooling over nephilim in the last book.
/... Do many people make bizarre comments to their friend about the legs of said friend's sixteen-year-old daughter?/
Dear Lord, Ms. Fitzpatrick, does everyone in your universe have to be a sleazebag? Mrs. Parnell couldn’t have exclaimed how much Nora had grown (as is common for these sorts of reunions) or compliment her hair or her face or say how pretty she was in general? No, she compliments Nora’s legs. *Legs.* A part of the body which has been fetishized for centuries. Don’t believe me? Why don’t you ask the people of the Victorian period how paranoid they were about women showing their legs, to the extent that it was considered scandalous for a woman to show her knees, or any skin above her ankle? Here’s a guide from Harper’s Bazar in 1868 on what the “proper” lengths for girls’ skirts are, depending on their age: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1868-skirt-lengths-girl-ages-Harpers-Bazar.gif.
/Mrs. Parnell tutts at this, and says "I think it’s a gang name. All the gangs use nicknames. Slasher, Slayer, Maimer, Mauler, Reaper. Patch"/
Let’s get one thing, straight, Ms. Fitzpatrick. Patch is not a cool, awe-inspiring name. It’s a stupid name for a stupid character in a stupid book and stupid series.
/Hey Nora, here's a novel idea! Why don't you call him?/
*gasps* Oh, no! Because girls who take the initiative are shameless streetwalkers like Marcie Miler!
Nora is an unspeakably rude and presumptuous brat, Mrs. Grey is a clueless and spineless twit, and Mrs. Parnell is, like I’ve said, a grown-up version of Vee. The only character who walks out of this chapter with any sort of dignity is Scott. But, alas, I see signs that he is eventually doomed to be run over by the rampaging train of Character Derailment. *sighs*
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 05:51 am (UTC)And don't forget! There's NO WAY he can be the villain, regardless of derailing. That would make SENSE.
*Facepalm* I hate this series. I really do.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-04 04:35 am (UTC)AHEM.
“And [Patch] was many things, among them seductive and persuasive. Not only did [he] not take no for an answer, [he] didn’t accept any answer that wasn’t exactly what [he] wanted.”
There, I fixed it for you.
Ahahahahahahaha. I love you! XD That is such a win.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 04:20 pm (UTC)Drive-by "Music Man" appreciation!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-07 03:47 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-07 11:50 pm (UTC)Friends! Either you're closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge or you are not aware of the calibre of disaster indicated by the presence of a pool table in your community!
Ohhhh~ you got trouble...
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 07:10 pm (UTC)Off topic, but in the library yesterday, I saw the third volume of the series, I think? It had Patch with his wings all spread out ~majestically~ and he had an unconscious Nora in his arms. THE COVER WAS SO TACKY. D:
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-03 11:03 pm (UTC)Which, in turn, reminded me of a scene in "Midnight Sun" in which Edward fantasized about slaughtering Bella's classmates so that he could drain Bella of her blood in peace and then dump her body in the woods. So romantic. -_-
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-04 01:55 am (UTC)But the cover of the Hush, Hush third book is just so...blah. Looking at it gave me no emotion besides "this is an awful cover."
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-04 04:50 am (UTC)Oh my God, the incessant whining in this chapter huuuuuuuurt! . God, you'd think Nora believes she should be canonised for her great paaaaaain at being dumped her psychotic boyfriend. Sorry, hun, no arsehole pass for you >.<
I didn't realise Marcie actually had her way with Nora! :O No wonder she's bitter… :P
Editing is supposed to be a writer's best friend, Fitzpatrick!
The description of Scott in this chapter just made me roll my eyes, it sounds like something out of a D-grade teen movie from the early 00's. These so-called YA Lit writers really need to start finding some new inspiration that isn't painfully outdated…
I loved Mrs Parnell! I'm surprised she didn't start screaming 'Will somebody please think of the children!' in the middle of dinner :P She's like the perfect Strawman Moral Guardian and I love those kinds of stories where moral guardians try to repress and censor everything around them and everyone tries to rebel against them. Mrs Parnell is probably the type who still believes rock and roll is the 'devil's' music and all teenagers are nothing but rampantly hormonal sluts.
It only goes to show just how sheltered and repressed Fitzpatrick truly is, which is especially sad being a grown woman and mother and all. That and the fact that she managed to write some truly horrifying scenes that alluded to rape and mental torture and stalking in the last book *shudder* But since she couldn't pick up on any of that then, maybe she really is just too ignorantly stupid to notice.
Oh, and thanks for putting the words 'heavenly, bad-boy wiener' in my head *groans*
(no subject)
Date: 2012-03-05 02:11 am (UTC)My college creative writer put that "single tear" cliche on her list of stuff she doesn't want to see in our assignments.
And it is pretty much unanimous that Nora Gray and by extension, Fitzpatrick, at least deserves to be punched in the face if not more than that.