#lorikki

Rating: T

Genre: Romance/(slight) Angst

Character(s)/Pairing(s): Nikki Boston, Lorraine Donnegan, cameo by Sonya Donnegan; Lorikki.

Summary: She'd said the words aloud, determined not to dwell on the past. But merely an hour has passed since Lorraine's announcement about leaving for London, and with a pleading Sonya at her office door, Nikki can't quite shake off the feeling that perhaps her idea of ancient history isn't so ancient after all.

Notes: This has been in progress ever since Lorraine left, and I am still in denial. Finally got around to finishing it.

I literally looked everywhere online and nobody ever really gave her much attention. I mean sure there a group of us that really liked her on twitter and obviously a few people on tumblr too who read this blog but barely anybody blogged about her and no television reviewers ever mentioned her. Even lesbian media websites like AfterEllen pretty much completely ignored her as a character and it frustrated me. I don't get how couples like Sophie and Sian from Corrie got so much attention yet Lorraine was ignored. I know her and Nikki's relationship was quite short lived but even so. 

She was so interesting and faceted and was deserving of attention. One of the most complex characters on Waterloo Road. She a successful business woman who carried herself with such confidence and who you thought had no insecurities yet it became apparent that she had lots of underlying ones. I like the fact that she was so glamorous and dressed to the nines, that nobody would have expected her to be a lesbian and it wasn't revealed for a while. You also had a feeling that was part of her that she kept hidden and it revealed a whole other side to her personality that she wan't as comfortable with herself as she let off. The scene where she literally looked like she was going to cry when Nikki asked her out for a drink because she was so scared and didn't say yes was so powerful. The fact that she was so uncomfortable with emotions that she tried to use money / power to try win Nikki back after she broke up with her because she was scared because she wasn't sure how else to deal with it all. She could be so rude and obnoxious at times but she was kind at the bottom of it all.

Ugh I love her and I'll never be over her. Never have I loved a character so much. Especially one who didn't get nearly enough air time / character development as she should have. It pains me that she never got a happy ending and that we'll never get her back especially as they're stopping Waterloo Road.

I know that everyone is pretty much over Lorraine and she's been gone for a while now but I was watching back her scenes and noticed something. To a lot of viewers, she came across as a hard-working, no emotions, heartless business woman who mainly cared about money.

I want to take a moment to show that she was probably one of the most broken characters on Waterloo Road but we never saw/knew it because the writers failed to go into her background/past.

GIF 1 - This is the moment after an argument between Michael, a pupil, Morag and her Dad. Lorraine had organised an event and it went pear shaped. Michael asked her if she was happy now and this was her expression once he left. Look at her. Earlier in the episode, Tom asked her if she would "donate" some of her own money help Morag out as her project was ruined but Lorraine refused yet the next scene shows her going into Michael office where he, Morag and the Dad are and she hands the girl an envelope. She gave her the money. Now tell me she's cold-hearted.

GIF 2 - "I won't buy into emotional blackmail." "You're making this personal!" Are a few things she said at the start of this episode. The GIF comes from after she tells Phoenix Taylor he should leave the school and his brother. Look at her. After that she goes to Michael to say it wasn't easy yet before that she said she'd be more than happy to tell the boy his English isn't good enough to be at her school. Michael suggests a PRU to help him out but she disagrees, it's only after hearing Tariq talk about what WR has done for him, that she says yes to the classes and Pheonix gets to stay. Now tell me she's heartless. 

GIF 3 - Okay, away from what I previously explained. This one isn't about her caring side but more about her as a person. Lorikki fans know this look. Nikki asked her out and ran because she realised Lorraine was probably straight. What she didn't see was Lorraine face once the door closed. Look how her upper body drops, her eyes don't look filled with fear now but more like regret, like she'd let something good go and doesn't know what to do. Emotion. Is there something Lorraine is hiding or denying from herself? 

GIF 4 - I think this was the first scene we had were Lorraine wasn't dressed up or at work. Lorikki are together by this point, we had no knowledge about how they got together or on their sexuality's. Up until this point, Lorraine seemed very confident to be with Nikki - the kiss in 8x20 and the way they spoke to each other - yet this moment is after Nikki tried to kiss Lorraine after they sort-of discuss the night before's events. Lorraine says she's not "some slapper who stays up all night" and Nikki brushes it off, collects her stuff and leaves. I'm not sure if what we see in this GIF is her reaction to Nikki's "I should start leaving some things here" comment or if it's more an "oh, shit, I ruined that now," but you can tell she's hurt.

GIFS 5 & 6 - There's no doubt 8x24 was Lorraine's biggest episode and the only one in which we learned more about her background. This is also the last episode we see Nikki and Lorraine as a couple. Lorraine had already broken it off between the two before GIF 5 happened. It shows how Lorraine feels. She told Nikki it was a bit of fun but this tells me different. She's hurt that Nikki said "she needs some practice at being a human being". Lorraine isn't one to deal with emotions, she panics - she said it herself and in the one moment we see her try to open up (more) to her, now, ex-girlfriend, she gets blown off. Look at how her face drops. Breaking up with Nikki in the classroom, she was stern and had no problem with the idea of leaving someone who she clearly opened up to and now she's lost for words. She also dealt with her sister, Sonya, in the episode. We learn more about them two as a family, it seems everyone was more interested in Lorraine and Sonya had never been able to do her own thing because of the shadow Lorraine had left and GIF 6 is where Sonya admits that, after so much time in envy of her older sibling, she actually doesn't want to be her. I think Lorraine's mind in this moment goes back to what Nikki said and she realises she's not as human as she thought she was and business has always been her number one when really family and friends should have been her number one priority. Again, this is away from the strong woman that most viewers know. 

GIF 7 -  Another reason behind making this was when watching her time back in the show, I remembered what my Mum referred to Lorraine as during the episode this GIF comes from. This is the moment after her and Michael's argument about the school and what she's become. With the way Lorraine shouted at Michael, giving him an ultimatum, my Mum said "oh she is a nasty woman!" but then her emotions turned to this once he left and I told her to look at that. Lorraine regrets what she said, clearly. Michael hit home with what he said about her as a school pupil and that if Waterloo Road was fee-paying, rich kid school she wouldn't be where she is. Tell me she's heartless. I think she speaks before she thinks, she wants to be strong and successful but really she has demons that she doesn't want to accept and it only bites her when she loses people she cares about without realising it. 

GIF 8 - The Lorraine Donnegan Institute of Exellence is officially underway and she has lost the support of every staff member at Waterloo Road. She spent most of this episode being over confident and I even found myself disliking her because of her bluntness. She handed out the P-45's to all the staff because she wanted the best; not what was right for the kids. Then Nikki Boston walked in. The woman Lorraine had wrapped around her little finger throughout 8C. Nikki stood by her, she believed Lorraine was doing the right thing then LDIE went ahead and she knew it was wrong but Lorraine didn't see it that way. She told Nikki "we're going to make one hell of a team." And I was glad that it was Nikki who put Lorraine in her place. I think Lorraine knew that Nikki knew her better than anyone else and so she done the right thing and she quit. She gave everyone their jobs back, apoligised and went that extra mile to say although she will no longer fund Waterloo Road, she will pay for the student house. The GIF is from after Christine leaves saying "don't pretend you have a heart, Lorraine, everyone know you haven't." Now, I've just pointed out various times where she has used said organ for something besides living, tell me she's heartless. 

I don't know if anyone else saw it this way and I know it's a bizarre thing to do when it's been nearly half a year since she left but I do think she was such an underrated character/misunderstood individual and those in the fandom, loved her for a reason, right? I wanted to pinpoint some moments that I feel went unnoticed by those not as super obsessed observant as me.

Nothing in a TV show is done by accident. A character's scenes are written by someone, the moments where the camera stays on them are for a reason, they are directed. Daniela was told to do this. 

You know what, she does in a way but at the same time she doesn’t actually remind me of Lorraine that much.

I think the ways in which she reminds me of Lorraine is that she comes across very confident and outspoken, she obviously has a fair bit of money and is also very attractive and feminine. I think it’s good she’s similar to Lorraine in that sense as I think it’s realistic that Nikki would have a type of woman that she’s attracted to you know.

On the other hand I can see them being reasonably different characters. For a start whilst Lorraine was very confident in a business type situation, she was obviously not very good in terms of personal relationships and her feelings. Nikki was the initial instigator in their relationship, asking Lorraine out on a date whilst L looked really uncomfortable about it all even though she clearly liked her.

Whilst here Vix was obviously flirting with Nikki, leaning in to her throughout the wedding and then making the comment about Sue’s sexy collegues and obviously meaning her, so I think she’s a lot more comfortable with herself and that sort of thing.

I'm so glad that this term didn't go out with some crazy explosion or some other dramatic ending. Just left me with some major feels.

Lisa was a bitch to Stevie. It has to back fire on her, surely. That girl doesn't respect anything WLR has done for her and Lenny. I'm glad he's done with her. 

Nikki has such a big heart. With everything she done for Kacey then she goes that extra mile and gives her the money cause she saw how much it meant to her (despite it was A LOT of cash) and I think her motherly instincts kicked in. What Barry did was low. I'm glad he got caught and I want to know what's going to happen with Carole, Barry and Dynasty now. The hug at the end was adorable. The scene with her and Stevie was so sweet. I'm going to miss Kacey so much. 

Everyone seems to forget Kacey's transgender storyline. What ever happened to that? The last mention of it was with Tom. I was really hoping for a mention of it before she left. 

I'm 50/50 with Nikki x Vix. They look good together and Nikki's smile killed me and I hope the writers have written it better than what they did with Lorraine. But I'm Team Lorikki so it's going to take a while. My mind keeps going back to the episode where Sue thought Audrey had a girlfriend then Nikki heard and awkwardly walked off then Sonya had the Lorikki comment. Does it mean anything? Vix is Sue's sister... I just... Plus Heather said that in 9B, you'll see Nikki isn't happy and doubts and begins to hate herself. This must add up to something. HP leaves the end of that term. 

Also, Sonya is such a underrated character. She cracks me up in every scene and I'm so happy Christine got the job as Head.