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edapparently · 6 months

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James Somerton Sucks For Many Reasons. But Also His Opinion On Heartstopper...

Ok so I was watching Todd in the Shadows' video on fact-checking James Somerton's vids (of course after having watched Hbomberguy's video). And a clip played of James lying (again) about straight white women complaining about a gay show. Except he mentions at the end of the sentence that these supposed people were "exposed to gay content for the first time in their lives via Heartstopper".

19:18 - https://youtu.be/A6_LW1PkmnY?t=1158

Now idk if that was supposed to be a joke or if that reflects any of his actual opinions on it (it's not like he's known for telling the truth anyway now tho)

But I'd just like to say anyway [this ties back into James I swear just bear with me]

I'm 18 years old now and I'm still dealing with issues cause by the homophobia I experienced in high school. And one of the few things that got me through it was when I got the first volume of Hearstopper when I was 16. And that actually was MY first real exposer to properly gay content. ME. Another gay boy. Not a straight woman.

And not only that, but it was the first time that I took in a piece of media and could honestly say "I see myself in this"

It was the first time I felt really seen and felt like I had my issues understood. And even as I've gotten slightly older through the two years, they've still been able to help me.

My friends will know that I've been struggling a lot with certain mental health issues that affect my physical health too. And I only realised how bad my problem really is and how much its been affecting me when I read volumes 3 and 4 and saw Charlie dealing with almost the exact same problem. I had been in such denial about it and worrying that it wasn't even real that I hadn't even considered it. But reading about him suffering from and eventually admitting to his problem and trying to get help made me think about what I had been experiencing. And gave me some perspective as to what exactly was happening in head and to my body.

The reason I'm saying all this is because I'm trying to show that these books about gay teenagers are REALLY good at portraying the experiences of gay teenagers. (At least based on my own personal life, Ik it could be very different for others and that's still valid) and they made me understand that what I had been through and am still dealing with because of that; are not isolated incidents and that I am not alone.

And James... someone who tried to give off the impression that he knows a lot about queer culture. Used it as an example of mindless romance fluff...

Which I think shows:

His lack of understanding of what it is actually like growing up as a gay boy in our current time. (Again, not trying to speak for everyone but it's very accurate to my own life)

And

2. His unwillingness/disinterest to look into what the books actually contain and how readers may respond to it.

[Also I just realised after typing all this that he could have meant the Netflix show, which imo wasn't as good but I think my point still stands?]

#hbomberguy #james somerton #heartstopper

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thetypedwriter · 11 days

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Solitaire Book Review

Solitaire Book Review by Alice Oseman

I’ve loved every book I’ve ever read by Alice Oseman. Granted, that’s only been Loveless and Radio Silence, but both of those books were fantastic. I never read Oseman’s infinitely popular graphic novel series Hearstopper, but I did watch the first season on Netflix and really enjoyed that too.

So going into Oseman’s book Solitaire, had me filled with high expectations and eager anticipation. Unfortunately those expectations and excitement dwindled to something I’ve never experienced with Oseman before: disappointment.

Apparently, Alice Oseman wrote Solitaire when she was seventeen-years-old. I’m a little confused on the history, but I’m assuming she wrote Heartstopper first and then Solitaire as a follow-up side novel.

Again, I didn’t look into the details. All I know is that she wrote this book twelve years ago, that it was her debut novel, and that it shows.

Instead of focusing on Nick and Charlie, Solitaire focuses on Charlie’s sister, Victoria Spring. The best way I can describe Tori is that she is Wednesday Addams embodied, which is ironic seeing as Tori dresses up like Wednesday for Halloween in the novel (very on the nose, Alice).

However, people seem to like Wednesday Addams’ despondent and cynical attitude (I don’t get it, for the record). I abhor Tori Spring. Maybe abhor is too strong of a word, but she was not a likable narrator. She’s pessimistic, apathetic, rude, judgmental, callous, and mean.

Her whole schtick is that she thinks other people are “fake” and dislikes that people don’t act in the world, allowing the world to happen to them and only being bystanders to violence, hate, and toxicity.

And yet…Tori does nothing? The entire novel? The person she supposedly hates the most describes the person Tori is herself.

Which I guess is fitting because Tori seems to despise herself more than anyone. You think as a reader that Tori will grow out of her depression by the end of the novel and come to some sort of understanding or epiphany.

Spoiler alert: she doesn't.

If anything, she spirals worse and worse, becoming increasingly sleep-deprived, paranoid, despondent, and obsessive. I get that Oseman wanted a more realistic portrayal of mental health perhaps, or maybe she didn’t think it was realistic for Tori to have a happy ending.

However, she didn't really get any ending at all.

Before I get to the conclusion of the story, I guess I should actually explain what the novel is about.

Tori’s childhood best friend, Lucas, suddenly reappears in her life years later. Around the same time, mysterious pranks start occurring around Higgs, Tori’s school.

Harmless at first, the pranks pulled by the anonymous group Solitaire continuously grow in popularity and in danger, eventually leading to a boy getting beat up, Tori getting hurt by a firework exploding near her, and then, at the end of the novel, Higgs burning down.

You might ask: why did the school burn down?

I wish I could tell you, but I have no idea.

Apparently, Lucas was in charge of Solitaire and was doing it all to impress Tori and to bring some “joy” back into her life before the jokes spiraled out of control.

However, Lucas comes to understand that Tori is no longer the girl he knew back in primary school and that she’s drastically changed. He did it because he was in “love” with her, but then admits at the end that he was more in love with the idea of her.

Okayyyyyy.

Then, for some inexplicable reason, other people are at Higgs at 5am, including one Michael Holden, Tori’s new fiend and resident “weirdo.”

The ending of the novel then churns out nonsense after nonsense. Tori and her ex-best friend Becky confront Solitaire and persuade them to not burn down the school.

But then, inexplicably, Tori walks out of the room and a classroom is on fire. How? Why? I don’t know.

I’m unsure if the insinuation is that Michael did it or if Lucas or Solitaire still managed to do it, but all I know is that I was confused.

Instead of getting better it gets decidedly worse.

Somehow, Tori thinks she’s going to put out a raging inferno with a single fire extinguisher and chooses now to act instead of evacating a burning building, is lead to believe that Michael is dead from the fire, and then decides to go up to the roof to contemplate suicide.

Somehow, though, her brother Charlie, Nick, and some other people are outside telling her not to jump. Why are they out there? Some kind of reason.

Apparently Lucas tweeted about it or blogged about the fire so the whole student body is there at 5am to witness the school burning down and see Tori standing on the roof.

But no fire trucks, police, or authority were there originally, because that would be too logical.

Alas, Michael is not dead and shows up on the roof to tell Tori that she’s his best friend, they kiss out of left-field, and Tori is convinced not to kill herself.

The novel ends with them driving to the hospital and with Tori realizing she’s not alone.

….what?

The ending was such a jumbled catastrophe that I don’t understand what really happened. It was too climactic and intense in a way that was completely at odds with the tone and plot of the story.

You don’t get any kind of meaningful resolution with Tori other than realizing that she needs a lot of help and care.

This book was a mess.

Tori was unlikeable, has no discernible growth as a character, and other people weren incomprehensibly drawn to her and wanted to be friends with her, despite her flat out ignoring them, blowing them off, or being uncommunicative.

The plot involving Solitaire was ridiculous and uninteresting, culminating in an ending that made no discernible sense and lacked purpose and logic.

I know people love Heartstopper and Alice Oseman (myself included), but this book is not it. If they decided to publish this novel written twelve years ago simply because the show is popular and they said, “Hey, why not?” they chose wrong.

I know publishers these days have the mentality of milking a series for all its worth, but this book didn’t add anything of substance, purpose, or heart.

If anything, it detracts from the Heartstopper universe and makes me appreciate how much Oseman has grown as a writer. The Heartstopper universe is doing just fine on its own. It doesn't need side novels about Tori or about any other character.

Leave it alone, please, I beg of you.

Recommendation: Solitaire is a poor man’s crappy version of Catcher in the Rye—a book Alice Oseman herself mentions at the end of the novel, stating that none of her characters have read it. Well, they probably should have. It’s a much better story than Solitaire.

Score: 4/10

#book blog #book review #book recommendations #book rec #ya fiction #popular fiction #books #popular books #top books #favorite books #4/10 #alice oseman #osemanverse #solitaire #solitaire alice oseman #heartstopper

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ohjustcomealong · 27 days

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Now that I think about it, I feel that I always both loved and hated how Young Royals couldn't decide what genre it was exactly.

I loved it because even if it's generally categorized as 'teen drama' it showed some very mature level of storytelling. I like it when a piece of media can go beyond the Hollywood standard, can expand the definition. I like it when art can be something more than a beaten path.

(I also believe that every single genre can be done well or can be done poorly... )

I liked how people felt defensive when someone tried to compare 'Young Royals' to 'Hearstopper' because it simply wasn't that. But at the same time, every time people questioned what exactly adults were doing in this story people screamed 'it's a teen drama, of course, teenagers have to have more agency, that's normal!' (Not to mention that now people celebrate it had a 'Hearstopper' level of ending...)

I felt like the show itself never wanted to commit to anything. It introduced a million tropes, details, and characters, then asked the audience to forget about all. It kinda felt very realistic, but also completely abandoned the realism when convenient. It wanted to discuss heavy topics but also wanted to be sweet fanfiction...

It's kinda cool because I feel like YR attracted a more diverse crowd, and it could get me personally interested in things I was never interested in before, but I don't feel the need to celebrate the messiness of it when it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

I like it when writers write what they know and they write it well. I don't think I got that from 'Young Royals.'

#young royals

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swimmingwithfish · 1 year

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XO, Kitty and the start of the queer character evolution.

(Spoilers for XO Kitty Below!)

I’m always one for teen dramas. It’s a guilty pleasure that I take much delight in. Classic rom-coms like 10 Things I Hate About You and Clueless have always been my favourites. But to me, they always felt too straight. Too much heteronormative things and none of the queer rep I always wanted, even in more modern films and TV Shows in the genre.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before has always been one of my favourtie movies, so, when I found out about the spin off series XO, Kitty, I was ecstatic. Kitty had always been a character I resonated with and I loved all of Jenny Han’s other work.

Going into it, I expected the classic two boys fighting over one girl love triangle, a gay best friend and the girl best friend that I always seem to ship the main character with. I had predicted most of the story from the start. Until.

XO, Kitty is far from the ‘girl meets boy’ I was familiar with. It’s a queer love story and a coming out story and a self-discovery story. Definitely not the black and white romance i thought it would follow.

We have Q, the GBF, who is far from the feminine male sterotype you see in teen TV. He doesn’t give Kitty fashion advice and makeovers (which isn’t a bad thing btw), but a jock, the atheltic scholarship kid, who sure, does know a good dress when he sees one, but takes on a character that’s still such a worthy queer person without having to fall into the feminine sterotype.

Then we have Yuri, the Korean ‘it’ girl, also the girl best friend. She’s not the bimbo pick me girl you think she might me. She’s complex and interesting and she’s gay. Her storyline is something you don’t see often, and they really delve into the struggles of what it’s like being queer in a place and family where you’re not allowed to. Her journey is beautiful and powerful and reflects the coming out struggle in such an honest way, without making her story as a queer person just about coming out. She says the line ‘I have to live a fake life just so you’ll keep loving me’, when coming out to her mum and that encompassed so much of my current queer experience, especially as a person of colour. I think that it was for me, a sort of ‘Hey! we’re in the same boat’ thing and really made me feel so much more seen. She’s a well developed queer character that isn’t reduced to a ‘placed there just for representation’ character.

And we have Kitty herself. The main character. I honestly did not expect Netflix and the producers to go in this direction, but Kitty is queer. At first, I didn’t know if they were just sorta doing it for the sake of it. It didn’t feel like a deliberate decision. Maybe more of a thought that crosses her mind during the show. But Kitty has a crush on Yuri, and the way they address it is so different. They don’t exactly show that coming out to yourself thought process (which I kind of wish they did), rather, Kitty likes Yuri and she just accepts that, which I think is cool. I like now we don’t always need this big revelation moments (although, they’re still cool), but I think it shows the progression of how we treat queer characters as not spectacles for the audience, but just, people. Kitty’s crush on Yuri also felt very resemblant to my own crush on my friend which was probably why I related to her so much but just in general, it felt so natural to just have a queer main character in a non-queer focused show. Like, this wasn’t Hearstopper. No one expected it to be, yet, here we are, and I’m so happy about that.

This evolution into organically created queer characters is something we defnintely need more of and I’m so glad that Netflix is taking the step to do so. ALTHOUGH I REALLY HOPE THIS IS NOT BECAUSE THEY’RE TRYING TO GET REDEMPTION FOR CANCELLING ALL THE OTHER SAPPHIC SHOWS.

I also feel like though, that Jenny Han is just like a great person because whenever it’s her books being adapted, there’s always this like ‘organic queerness’. Like, in The Summer I Turned Pretty, there’s this guy Jeremiah, who in her book is presented as this straight guy, but in the show he just like kisses some guy and it was a dileberate from of causal representation (if that’s even a thing). Like kissing that guy didn’t add to the plot, but it wasn’t queerbaiting either because (well for me personally) I felt like the directors were like ‘This is Jeremiah. He’s queer, and he’s a main love interest’ and being queer didn’t like shatter the earth around him, it was just a part of him, as it is for all queer people.

But XO, Kitty itself aside from Kitty and Yuri is so good (maybe because I’m a sucker for these things), but everything about it just makes me squeal. I feel like teen TV is taking a turn in terms of creating realistic characters. And while we still have a long way to go (GENDER DIVERSE AND CULTURALLY DIVERSE PEOPLE!!!! CMON NETFLIX), XO, Kitty feels like a really big win for queer (and especially QPOC) people.

#xo kitty #kitty song covey #queer #lgbtq #representation #@netflix #watch xo kitty #its so good #im obsessed #rant

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weirdplutoprince · 7 months

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(My English might be bad but I chose to use it because I know zero Portuguese, so please forgive terrible word choices and correct me) I'm new on Tumblr and, currently, you're the only one I follow who I know is not straight and is into animations so I wanted to ask you: Is it normal that, even as a gay man, I always feel indifferent to LGBTQIA+ representation on media? Even when most of the community and my friends are super excited about things like Bubbline or Hearstopper always felt like they were not a big deal at all. I feel like it is important to have representation but when it happens it doesn't make me any interested. Is it normal?

Yeah, man, absolutely. Like, representation is nice and all but being lgbt isnt constrained to how well represented you feel by the big media. Literally you are under no obligation to care about it at all. Don't worry about it 👍

#asks #Anonymous #Also you dont need my opinion like its your life you do what you want with it etc

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chemtrail-notes · 3 months

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I’m not sorry, where was the “big asexual news” that was promised? Because I didn’t see it at all. Yea this is about Heartstopper s2. *Originally posted 08/05/23*

This rant and or essay or essay rant will be through the lens of an asexual, aka my asexual lens. If you are asexual and you disagree with me, valid. Regardless I got things to say. And it is a rant so don't be surprised when I get blunt and sharp and harsh with what's down below.

First, what I liked about the show in short, good. It gave exactly what I expected it to give especially going off the vibes of s1. A whole lot of kissing vs actually talking to show their intimacy but hey, thats that.

Again first, what I liked about the asexuality aspect in the show.

1. There's an asexual/aromantic character.

2. Shout out to 'Summer Bird Blue' (aroace main character) and 'Ace: What Asexuality Reveals about Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex' as I have read them both and love them. (Wouldn't recommend 'Ace' to someone who is just realizing they are asexual without reading a less theorized/asexuality book prior to but it was wonderful to see it.)

That's it.

Like if you have never seen asexual rep in any form of media until now, I'm glad you got to see it here but when I hear "BIG ASEXUAL NEWS" I expect it to be big. This wasn't big. It was small, medium at best and I wasn't satisfied.

My first impression of Heartstopper was just basic curiosity back in 2022. I only heard of the name from seeing the graphic novel in my library years prior. And when the trailer came out, I had already read 'Loveless' by Alice Oseman (I was reading any book with ace characters and waited patiently to finally get my hands on this book that was wonderful for me) so I recognized the name. And watched it. I had no expectations then. The expectations came when I discovered after watching s1 that Oseman tweeted this:

That is when I had expectations for s2 and held her to that. And I had full faith. Oseman is literally aroace! Oseman has said openly that having aro/ace characters in their stories is extremely important to them! Oseman is basically an aroace activist and their name is one of the known names in the community! So of course, I was happy to not only watch s2 of Heartstopper but also support her as she is a voice I believe that can more people recognize asexuality. And I still do believe that; this rant isn't about her personhood, ethics or vibe. We have seen how many famous people show us that we do not know them at all so I'm not making any statements about who they are as an individual - nah I'm over doing that. I'm criticizing them as an AroAce author/activist plus Executive Producer of Hearstopper that has openly stated they want to show more ace and aro rep in media. My question is, the minute you saw your rise in fame and rise in popularity of Heartstopper the tv show why didn't you run to add that purple, black, gray, and white in the show? Because of all the shows to showcase asexuality on a main stage, Heartstopper can and dammit should be that.

Hi to the non-asexuals reading this -

homoromantic (gay/lesbian) asexuals exist - biromantic asexuals exist - panromantic asexuals exist - trans asexuals exist - heteromantic asexuals exist - nonbinary asexuals exist - it's just little to no sex involved

the same goes for aromantics just in reverse - aromantic bisexuals and so on

I don't want to hear anything about taking away from the other queer identities present in the show. I'm aware of how little gay or bi or trans or otherwise queer character shows the community gets. But do you want to know how many asexual characters shows the community has? Dare I add "main asexual characters that are explicitly mentioned by name or by how they are in relation to society"? ............. Exactly. Not many. Because from 2010 till now there has been a nice chunk now and growing gay, bi, or even trans mainstream media or characters in said media (even when they are cancelled, they still existed and do exist). Having the main characters of Heartstopper have some asexuals in the show wouldn't take away anything. And it should have happened. No, no, no, no not minor characters. Main. Cast. Asexuality is insanely diverse and has so much intersectionality within it, it CAN work! Would it change the canon from the graphic novel? Yeah, but who cares, the canon was already changed!

As I was watching s2 and realize that this big asexual news was making an insanely late debut, I was already ready to write this post. By episode 6 we had gotten a little attention to asexuality being mentioned with Issac getting more screen time (oh my gosh he actually gets more time on screen and lines??! Because he was literally a background character despite being in the main friend group) and that was it. But I was like "let me not run my mouth, maybe in the graphic novel Issac had way more time to shine and then it led into him being asexual seamlessly." So I go to the wiki and learn all about the Osemanverse - all Oseman's books are in the same universe - and all the characters of Heartstopper and to my surprise Issac didn't even exist in the novel! Lol! So now knowing that, I know all about Issac and can now run my mouth.

Issac was created for the show most likely to replace a character named Aled who was gay demisexual and also the main character for 'Radio Silence' another book of Oseman's but was part of the friend group in Heartstopper graphic novel. I find it really weird that the ace character got cut because it "wouldn't fit with the timeline" as he was a main character in another story but whatever (Oseman on tumblr says here). They bring us Issac. And in s1 he is the quiet one (literally he barely has lines) who holds a book all the time listening to his besties romance antics and sometimes being a voice of reason (within a minute to 3 minutes cause thats all he gets). And in s2 he is STILL the quiet one who has little screen time but a little bit more lines holding a book all the time listening to his besties romance antics BUT NOW has an intro to a guy who he likes but is questioning how far that "like" extends to then realizing the term aromantic asexual resonates with him....in the quickest, exposition-based way I have seem.

'Heartstopper' Season 2 Will Explore Isaac's Asexuality, Says Alice Oseman (collider.com)

WHEN?! Because it seems like any time to Issac was rushed. Am I supposed to appreciate the literal 1-to-2-minute discussion with the AroAce artist while we barely saw the actual art piece and then the exposition-like description of living in a world heavily toward romance or sex? Were the little purple graphics supposed to make my heart leap? Nope that is reserved for another character of a different show (more on that later). It wasn't explored - not like the relationship between Tara and Darcy or the connection between Elle and Tao, who are also not the main-main characters! Secondary characters if you will. I didn't add Charlie and Nick because of course most screen time would be dedicated to them, they are the primary characters. But shit! Even the two gay teachers had a more intimate and kind handling of their gay experiences and then falling for each other! And they are tertiary characters we just met! I---. I can't get it. Why didn't Issac get the same level of focus in this show? Explored? It was barely shown sans Issac telling James he didn't feel what he thinks is romance toward him. And then at the end where Issac grabs the 'Ace' book. I mean okay then...

Now for Oseman. Listen, I do not know her entire ace life story. However, I did read interviews about them and their quest for asexual representation and also aromantic representation. In a Guardian interview states - "'The world is obsessed with sex and romance. And if you don’t have that, you feel like you haven’t achieved something that’s really important,' she says. Oseman tries to highlight the importance of platonic relationships in her own work – even in Heartstopper, an out-and-out love story, friendship is hugely important – and to include asexual representation in her books."

I will say, friendships are shown to be highly important in the show so I have no qualms with that. I do have qualms with what she states next: "As much as Oseman and others like her are trying to start conversations about asexuality, she doesn’t think it’s going to be a widely talked about subject any time soon. 'We’re never really going to see much cultural change in terms of awareness until a big celebrity comes out as being asexual,' she says. 'And there’s nothing I can do about that.'"

You as an individual human on this Earth can't change that yes but lets stop pretending you don't have strong influence now, from your Webtoon days and now to Heartstopper TV days. Oseman even recognizes the attention and new fame that has come to them since the show premiered and became so popular that even Netflix (Mr. Let me cancel a show that people actually liked) renewed it for s2 and s3 practically a month after its premiere. So, I don't get it? Why not add in more asexual rep in the show? Why not run to do so especially because you didn't back when you first starting your author journey? Again, I've read up on them; I know Oseman may have discovered the term asexual at 18 but didn't claim it then and had many years of questioning themselves (not looking into asexuality, believing they may be demisexual, trying to like boys etc) until 2020 when they came out publicly when 'Loveless' debuted. So their old stories wouldn't have asexuality in them. Heartstopper may have been wrapped for s1 production by that point, but Heartstopper said officially on Sept 22, 2022 that production had started. Which really means from the end of spring into the summer s2 had started being produced and written. AGAIN, as the executive producer seeing the massive popularity for this teen show, why didn't you say "hey this is different from the graphic novels but thats okay because we can have two different forms of canon in these two different forms of media (novel, tv) - but lets make a main character(s) be on the ace/aro spectrum! The audience will be open to it!" And who would I make asexual as a main character? Easy peasy - Nick.

I refer you to the italicized words above with all the labels I listed. Anyway. The bisexual to asexual pipeline is real and many aces say that before figuring out they were ace they assumed they were bi because they didn't have a preference toward a gender and assumed either was good. I literally thought it for a long time myself. And it can work perfectly because Nick in s1 and s2 was thinking about his sexuality. The scene in episode 6 where things get intimate, and Nick stops Charlie as he isn't ready to do anything more than kissing though he says he wants to just not at that moment. Charlie literally states, "And I'd only wanna do it if you did, and...if you didn't ever want to do it, then I wouldn't either." THE STAGE IS SET. And what could have happened next is Nick goes on his phone (they on them phones all the time anyway) to look up why he's nervous about having sex despite liking his boyfriend, scrolls down page after page, sees posts about the pressure to have sex, in the article it mentions asexual people. Boom! Seed is planted. Obligatory: Aces can have sex as asexuals can fall under sex-favorable, sex indifferent (the two that would or could engage in sexual activity), sex-averse, and sex-replused. Then we would have Issac and Nick, both aces showing the beautiful spectrum that is asexuality and a dab into aromanticism. And yeah, I read that Tori will be officially stated as asexual and aromantic in Volume 5 of the graphic novel but as of now thats only for the graphic novels.

I don't write fanfic nor will I so no I won't just make up a fannon to satisfy me but when I hear Big Asexual News I expect it to be big. Because while Issac's realization of asexuality may have been nice I've seen better. Remember that character I mentioned before? Yea well its no surprise, its Todd Chavez from BoJack Horseman and not only was it actually built up longer with more focus on Todd, it was also the main queer sexuality in the show. Besides the former producer man who was gay (and Bojack ruined his tv career), then got cancer and died - Todd's asexuality was the main focus - main character - for diversity and I loved every second of it. You saw him not only realize something was amiss with him, go to an ace meeting and see differences in the ace spectrum, get a gf, realize the gf and him didn't have to date just bc they were ace, not back down when others would question if he could have romance, and eventually find a nice girl and move in together. Not to mention how the show pokes fun at allosexuality in a satire way. And you would think a show like Heartstopper with the influence of a literal AroAce person could match this or surpass this for the 13 to 17 teen audience (BoJack is good but heavy so kids shouldn't just watch it lightly) but it just fell flat.

I really feel like asexuality and aromanticism was pushed to the side by allosexuality and alloromanticism yet again, but it irritates me this time because it didn't have to be. And if Oseman didn't say anything, didn't hype the asexuals desperate to see more asexuality on screen in mainstream pop culture, then this post would have never existed. Yea the other producers and writers and blah blah blah may have stopped them, I can see how one executive producer doesn't have all the power but damn that tweet had me convinced that they had a significant amount of influence. And yes again, can 1 person change everything? NO. Oseman cannot be the only AroAce person to change the tides, we need more activists and people demanding to see more ace or aro rep. Yasmin Benoit is a great one who is getting more and more known by the day, more asexual books are being bought and in libraries, asexuality has more of an understanding than it did years ago (still a long way now). But in terms of asexuality in media.....not just the dumb stereotype of a robotic person or the "well you arent conventionally attractive or charismatic so it fits that u are aro or ace or aroace" or soley based on they had a trauma (bc that isnt a prerequisite for asexuality)....there's not many.

I don't care about spoilers for s3 so, in the future, before I decide to watch or not, I am seeing if more aroace identity is directly present before I decide to support the show in streams. Which won't matter in the long run because 1 person not watching won't hurt its popularity and I don't want it to. I don't want to hurt the show or dismiss how it is a showcase of lgbtqia in a happy, comforting, fantastic binge worthy show. I just want more for asexuality in media and this show could have launched it far if they actually made it big.

#heartstopper #issac heartstopper #Issac heartstopper aroace #issac heartstopper asexual #asexual #asexual rant #honestly I could tag the one the only themselves but I've chosen not to #but I am still going to talk #I said what I said #heartstopper netflix #netflix #kit conner #heartstopper alice oseman #heartstopper tv #heartstopper s2

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spaceorphan18 · 8 months

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Okay guys! I have watched all of Hearstopper -- as picked by you!

And here are my thoughts!

I'm going to put it under a cut -- Idk if people are worried about spoilers? Idk.

My overall, quick thoughts are that I liked it! It's a well done show, and I'm glad that there's a celebratory LGBT+ youth show that isn't reliant on trauma porn in the way that Euphoria is. (I haven't seen Euphoria - but based on what I do know, it'd be too much for me.)

I think, though, I have some complicated feelings about the show, though, more so concerning my place in life and less about the show itself. But I guess some reflecting is at hand.

I liked the first season more than the second. Part of it, admittedly, might be because I spent the whole day binging it. And sometimes that's a hard thing in general. I had a nice day -- and as afternoon slipped into the evening, it kind of felt like one of those relaxing days where you curl up with hot cocoa on a snowy, winter day. It's comforting. I enjoyed my day - but it was probably too much by the end of it. I was getting antsy about moving on, so that's on me, and my issues of not being able to parcel things out.

I think the other part of it is the realization as the second season was playing that I've spent the last thirty years watching some kind of variation of the stories being told. And while I think it's great that Gen Z has this, and that the LGBTQ+ community has this, I feel like I've seen it all before. This isn't a criticism of the show -- it's more so that I don't think I'm invested in these kinds of stories anymore. It's kind of interesting, in a way, that it doesn't matter sexuality or gender or what age you're growing up in, there are some themes that are universal.

Alright - so some more specific thoughts:

I do like the Nick and Charlie pairing. They're very sweet together, and I think the show does a good job of exploring it as a growing, awkward teenage relationship.

I also like the way they've handled Charlie's eating disorder. I usually hate eating disorder story lines in media -- and this one was handled in a really nuanced way, and I think that's really cool.

I think one reason I didn't like the second season as much as the first, though, is that the first is a real exploration of Nick and Charlie -- with everyone else as a supporting cast. And the second season kind of falls into the pitfall of being a little too bloated as they try to expand on everyone. As well as -- making it about everyone coupling off and less about the friendship. Don't get me wrong, they make sure to show everyone as a supportive group, and that's great, but friendship dynamics just didn't factor as much, and I hate when shows get so caught up in romantic dynamics that that's all it focuses on. Plus, Nick and Charlie almost got pushed to the background of their own story.

I have never read the graphic novels or the web comic so I have no frame of reference -- but Charlie's sister is straight out of a comic strip. I don't know if that works as much on screen, but man you could tell. (I felt that way about early Tao, too.)

The family dynamic stuff of the second season was... fine. But, I really do love Olivia Coleman as Nick's mom. She does a lot with a little.

I like Tao and Elle as characters (and really like that being bi-racial and trans is part of her identity but not her whole character), and while their romance was telegraphed early on, I can't say that I'm all that interested in it. And I feel like across all media, the cliche of one person wanting to choose their career and their romantic partner has to deal with that just feels... tired.

(Honestly - I think there's a story here about how you think you are in love with someone - and you try to date them only to find out you're better friends, is a more interesting angle, but I knew it wasn't going to go that way.)

I do love Tao's mom though. She is a delight and I love her.

Okay, here comes probably my most controversial opinion. I really wasn't a fan of the f/f story. The problem is, unlike Nick and Charlie who get to be nuanced, real characters. The girls identities and story are completely tied to the fact that they are lesbians. They really aren't developed outside of their lesbianism and I find that really unfortunate. I'm glad there is a lesbian couple on the show - I feel like they're underserved in media as a whole, but I really just don't like this story line or these characters very much.

That said - I'm really glad that there's so much f/f friendship on the show, and that there are a lot of instances of females supporting each other.

And then there's Isaac. I really love him as a character, and I absolutely LOVE that they put asexuality on the show -- seriously, as someone who is borderline asexual, it's so, so refreshing to see a teen going through a lot of what I went through as a teen. My one problem is that as the show erases a lot of the friendship dynamics for romantic ones, Isaac gets a little lost. Isaac is on his own? Oh that's fine -- he has his books. Geez, c'mon show. Let him have one conversation with one of his friends about how he feels -- and less of his melancholy, balcony brooding. (Again - there were definitely group scenes where they made sure he was included - but let's face it, Isaac is still a third tier character.)

Okay, and then there's another big issue I had overall, which, again, is less to do with this show, and more to do how certain things are portrayed in teen media. I really kind of hate the notion that your troubles will be your troubles until you find a magic partner who makes all those troubles go away. The world... just doesn't work like that, and you will have so many people in your life who will love and support you, and I wish these shows didn't zero in on romantic relationships to save or fix you. I know the narrative wasn't trying to do this -- but sometimes I roll my eyes when it feels presented that you aren't worthy of being you until someone romantically interested validates you.

The kind of background love story of the two teachers I found amusing. They're both great minor characters -- I would totally watch a show about them. The rugby coach, too, is a fantastic character. I'm glad the adults in this show aren't complete buffoons.

Overall, the show, on a technical level, looks really good. I did love the little added animations that popped up -- in a way to show the graphic novel origins.

So yeah. Look. This sounds like I hated the show when I really didn't. It is very sweet, and I am looking forward to a third season. But I'm being nitpicky of things I've seen over and over in teen media for the past thirty years that, honestly, did detract my viewing pleasure. That said -- I do think stand by what I said earlier in that it's something great for people who are of the correct age, and who are experiencing these stories for the first time. There are so many worse alternatives that I enjoy the fairy tale-esqueness of this one.

#heartstopper #as chosen by you guys

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sappho333 · 9 months

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favorite thing about hearstopper is feeling my inner gay teenage self being healed. i absolutely needed a show like hearstopper when i was 14/15. and it gives me hope knowing upcoming queer youth has media like heartstopper to look up to :') alice oseman>

#heartstopper #alice oseman #charlie spring #nick nelson #heartstopper netflix #heartstopper comic #heartstopper s2 #queer

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retrieve-the-kraken · 9 months

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Heartstopper season 2 play-by-play analysis

We’re in Paris! I can’t believe the Paris trip takes up so much of the time of the season. I do love the pacing of the season, and how they distributed events and moments throughout it, making the most of the locations and situations. I know that most interior scenes were filmed back in the UK, but they really squeezed as much as they could from their stay in Paris (and I need all the bts content from that, what we’ve gotten so far is not enough!). Like Trixie Mattel and Katyana said, only two things can shut down the Louvre: Beyonce and Hearstopper, apparently, who would have thought? It felt like such a nice change of scenery, and really gave the show and the characters a whole new dimension.

On with the episode!

EPISODE 4 - CHALLENGE

- The coach is Blue and Yellow™. And of course a lot of green, especially in the form of Charlie’s iconic green Fjällräven backpack and Nick’s hoodie.

- Nick being super sad about not sitting with Charlie, and Charlie trying to be all upbeat about it, and challenging him to not kiss him for two days. I love their banter.

- Tao’s miserable face as he realizes that, not only is Nick sitting with him for the trip, but Elle doesn’t want to sit with him either. And Nick is oblivious to the fact that the date didn’t go well…

- Ben clearly doesn’t realize how indiscreet he is about his fixation with Charlie. Even Isaac notices something strange is up.

- Ugh, I loooove how much we’re slowly inching our way to finding out more about Isaac. I love that he asks Charlie how he knew he liked Nick, and how he’s trying to figure out how this compares to how he feels about James. God, if that hasn’t been my entire life before I realized too…

- If nobody had told me that Kit Connor didn’t speak French before, I would have simply thought “wow, how lucky that they found the perfect Nick Nelson AND he happens to speak French already.” (I really don’t know if it sounds good or not, but it convinced me…) Also Nick’s little excited face when he’s talking to his dad, because he’s still excited about the possibility of seeing his dad, he hasn’t come to the realization that the effort should come from both parts.

- Also Tao’s face when he realizes that Nick is speaking fluent French and he’s not hearing things. And their cute little bonding moment talking about it. Even when Elle looks over at them, they seem to be looking at something (on a phone?) and talking and laughing. Bonding!

- Mr Farouk actually having a little smile on his face when they’re finally in Paris.

- Ugh, seriously, what is up with Ben??? He doesn’t care about even playing it off for Imogen, and she very quickly catches on.

- “I thought you’d find it awkward sharing with Nick. Just standing next to Elle makes me feel like I’m being electrocuted.” I don’t think I’m quite on board with this completely, seeing as in the show Tao already knows about Nick and Charlie… I thought it would have made more sense if he’d been more like “I just want to make sure that there’s no hanky-panky whilst we’re all in the same room,” and then Charlie could get all flustered and go “ugh you sound like my dad, and no, we’re not doing any of that, not yet…”

- But I love that we got the handholding scene across the space between the beds.

- The teachers being so awkward and adorable. Now kyth!

- Tao should have apologized to Elle for what he said, but at least he extended an olive branch in the form of a bottle of apple juice. And she accepted.

- The dynamic between Nick and Charlie has seriously become so perfect and in tune, the way that Joe and Kit riff off each other whilst being perfectly in character is just chef’s kiss.

- Darcy interrupting the kiss made me think of an ideal world in which Darcy gets adopted by Sara, and the Golden Retriever siblings fight about stupid things all the time, like who’s more in love with their respective partner, and who do they think Nellie loves more, and she continuously barges into Nick’s room when Nick and Charlie are making out and goes “sorry for interrupting the gayness, but I can’t find my phone charger, can I borrow yours? Thank you, my twin. You may proceed with the gayness.”

- “I need a drink. An alcoholic drink.” “We probably shouldn’t drink.” “I need a croissant then”. Number one on the quotes that I’m glad made it right off the comic page.

- “Mischief maker. I’ve influenced you.”

- The I heart Paris hoodie, and Darcy touching the bust’s boobs. Peak Darcy.

- James saying that it’s nice to be with other gay people, and Isaac looking a bit uncomfortable… honey, just because doesn’t seem to respond to people of the opposite sex doesn’t automatically make them gay. Unless he’s using gay as an umbrella term…? Instead of queer…? James knows about Darcy and Tara, and about Charlie, but he doesn’t know about Nick, or presumably Sahar. He’s making assumptions about Isaac.

- Nick not getting why people continue to be fascinated by the fact that he speaks French, or the fact that his dad is French. He’s such an oblivious little pumpkin.

- And that heart to heart between Charlie and Tara. “Me and her were all that mattered.” And Tara being jealous about how Charlie and Nick talk about their feelings.

- The Tao and Elle conversation and whole cutesy montage. And Tao making the French tourists crouch for the photo and everything, figuring out how to talk to them without actually speaking French.

- Peak Ben Hope, seeing Nick waving at Imogen and immediately pulling her toward him, in this horribly possessive manner. Glad that Imogen got fed up with him and bolted. Poor thing has been miserable since arriving at Paris because of Ben, and she at least approaches Nick’s group to ask if she can hang out, which could not have been easy (especially to Nick, with whom she had a disagreement).

- By the way, Imogen in her Paris outfit is giving off major Margot Robbie in Barbie vibes.

- Elle asking Imogen if she even likes Ben, which you can tell that Nick so badly wanted to ask (Elle and Nick even exchange knowing glances), but he didn’t because he knew that he had already tried to warn Imogen about Ben, and maybe she won’t listen to him, but she’ll probably listen to another girl.

- Imogen jumping on the TaoElle ship. “Maybe I don’t have the best track record in relationships (looks knowingly at Nick and he laughs), but I think being honest is better than living with regret”. Yes, Imogen. Like when she took a chance and told Nick that she liked him and then asked him out, and even though he didn’t reciprocate, they still ended up as friends, and he’s so protective of her, and he’s probably the best friend she didn’t know she needed.

- Nick internalizing what Imogen just said too.

- Will Gao is so histrionic, I adore him.

- The whole montage of Mr Farouk arguing (is he arguing? Sorry, but to me French men always sound like their arguing) with the waiter without any subtitles, and then going something about no onions and something else and “I’m serious, big man, I get bloated, it’s not funny, cheers”, made me think for a moment that I want to learn French just so that I can know what he was saying. (The moment has passed).

- The whole Nick and Charlie trying not to sit together all the time majorly backfiring when Ben ends up next to Charlie. The horror. Charlie turns his body toward Tao as much as he can without actually sitting sideways, and Nick is about to throw his whole body across the table.

- Detective Imogen is fully on it now, she’s about to blow this whole case wide open.

- I’ve had escargot and I’m never doing that again. It was fun to try, but yeah, I also felt bad for my terrible decision.

- I may never completely understand the magnitude of Charlie’s eating disorders, because I can’t imagine what that’s like (I used to think that I might have an ED because I’m often so particular about food, because of my anxiety, and at times textures and strong flavors can be overwhelming, but I’ve learned to deal with it, the way I managed to overcome it on my own was kind of similar to the way that Noora from SKAM did, but it was never of the magnitude of Charlie or Noora), but I understand the pressure of “oh shit I ordered this and now I have to eat it because people are watching but I really don’t want to” and fearing making myself sick because of the pressure and the shame and the anxiety of feeling trapped in that situation. Made worse, in Charlie’s case, by Ben sitting next to him and actively looking at him.

- “I haven’t spoken to you in ages”. Sir, that is not a coincidence, there’s a reason for it. Don’t pretend like you don’t know it, SIR.

- I love the panicked look on Nick’s face as Ben starts talking to Charlie. He had seen the seating arrangement and panicked, but then he relaxed for a bit, probably thinking “nah, this asshole wouldn’t dare try to say anything to Charlie in front of everyone, he wouldn’t be so bold”, but then Ben is inexplicable… So Nick nearly rushes off his seat to Charlie’s side to do what? Ask Ben to switch seats with him? Just wedge himself in there until the meal is over? He probably has not a clue what he’ll do but by GOD he will stop this interaction before his boyfriend has to endure it any longer.

- Imagine being Ben (just for a painful second), being so self-centered, being so preoccupied with the paranoia of people watching you all the time and watching your every move and trying to figure you out, that you’d go around being an asshole, especially to the boy that you “like”, to the point where those actions and shitty attitude lose you said boy, only for you to lose all self-awareness when in proximity to said boy, and you’re suddenly staring at him openly, trying to strike up a conversation, and not getting the fucking hint that said boy doesn’t want to talk to you, doesn’t even want to look at you. Imagine those walls crumbling down but you’re absolutely convinced they are still up. Imagine that now people can see right through you and call you out, and you get defensive and start calling them names… Imagine being down so bad for someone (or whatever feelings that you might think you have for said boy) that you’re not even making sense anymore, even later boldly telling said boy’s boyfriend that you want said boy back (even though said boy’s boyfriend is basically twice your size and hates your guts and could probably knock you out with a single punch). Imagine…

- But then imagine being Charlie, a curly-haired human embodiment of sunshine and rainbows, and having to sit next to your ex/assaulter. Period.

- Imogen going off on Ben like we all love to see it, but let’s face it, she was kinder than I expected her to be, by telling him he has issues that he needs to resolve. Go to therapy, Ben! Your energy’s off, Ben! She’s basically telling him what Charlie will repeat in other words later, about him working on himself to be better before he hurts somebody else.

- She calls out Ben for being obsessed with Charlie twice very loudly. Ben would rather chew off his own hand before admitting it, but Imogen hit the nail right in the head. ( kinda want to be given a reason why not one of Charlie's friends jumped up at that, like "wait, what is this about Ben Hope being obsessed with you?" unless they're waiting for Charlie to bring it up himself it at all. But seeing Charlie's reaction, and Nick's horrified face, you'd think they'd be a little curious as to what that is about...)

- And Elle smiling when Imogen says that it’s time she focuses on herself. Yes, Imogen, stop thinking about boys for a while, and focus on what you want.

- I have rewatched everyone’s faces so many times: from the guy over Imogen’s shoulder laughing and trying to look over, to James catching all the tea, to all of Ben’s mates sniggering, but my favorite is that boy between Ben and Harry with the super-expressive eyebrows very dramatically questioning Ben’s whole attitude.

- As everyone’s been saying, when even Harry Greene calls you out, you know you’ve hit a low point.

- Nick and Charlie coming to comfort Imogen, and her questioning if she should have done that so publicly (the answer is Yes, because he very publicly treated you very badly too, so… tit for tat). And her wanted to make sure if maybe something happened between Ben and Charlie, but then saying it doesn’t matter as soon as she sees how uncomfortable it makes him.

- And her saying that it would be easier if she liked girls, which… how many times do women in general say that? Relationships aren’t easy, no matter who you love, but there’s a preoccupying trend if the consensus is that ‘if sexuality was really a choice, the number of women who would choose to be lesbians is very very high’. What does that say about straight cis men, in general?

- Tao finally getting his head out of his own ass long enough to realize that Nick is really trying to bond with him.

- Tao about Elle “she’s everything, I’m just Ken”.

- Nick being adorable telling him that he thinks Tao is also all those things, and telling him that he does like him.

- I thought that Tao’s whole plan was giving Nick and Charlie privacy by dragging Isaac to the vending machin (And Charlie and Nick making the most of that little privacy). But it’s so sad when you realize that it was because Nick said the word “loudly” to describe him, and it made him remember that it was his loudness that outed Charlie last year. Poor baby.

- Seriously, the chemistry this season is off the charts, the intimacy between Nick and Charlie is so beautiful and warm and Kit and Joe are magical. And the way that they’re always checking with each other. “Is this okay?” A very enthusiastic "YEAH”, “we should stop”, “okay.” Love them.

- Isaac falling asleep with the book on his face is so relatable. How many times have I woken up because I fell asleep reading and the book just smacked me in the face? Too many to count.

- Charlie’s little “oh f—” cut to music.

Ceci episode é brought pour vous by CROISSANTS™. (Je n'e parlez pas français).

#heartstopper #heartstopper season 2 #heartstopper analysis #hearststopper netflix #heartstopper in paris #heartstopper play-by-play analysis #nick and charlie #tao and elle #tara and darcy

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weareallfuckingfruit · 2 years

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Today's thoughts are on Jess and Jo. It's a love letter of sorts on what they mean to me as a fat butch woman, and it's quite personal, so if you're expecting my usual headcanons this isn't for you.

(PHOTO ID: It's a photo young girl, about for or five years old,dressed in a red mechanics outfit, playing with a toy drill and a red construction table. The girl is me.)

Growing up, I didn't have anyone that was a lesbian in my life, let alone anyone who looked like me on the TV. I didn't even know being a lesbian was an option for anyone until I was thirteen (when I came out.) and I think that a lot of newer media, like Hearstopper, and OITNB has helped with this massively but I still don't see butch characters that don't struggle with their identity. I still dont see plus-size butches that aren't 'the funny fat one'.

Until ALOTO. Jo and Jess genuinely changed my life and gave me a newfound confidence in my own gender and sexuality.

Jess is unapologetically butch, and It's so important that she is. She's never had to play by the rules because nobody particularly cared in Moose Jaw, if you could work, then you were valued. She comes into the league, not caring and not understanding that Charm School is there to weed out the Queers because she's never particularyl been othered. She laughs and she jokes about how stupid it all is, until she is told to get with it or get out. Then she struggles. Jess shows this amazing range of vulnerability as she realises she just can't do it, she cant conceal who she is for their rules. It's almost painful for her to do and that shot where she completely loses it in the middle of a street is so important and so telling. Jess is so loud, and rowdy and weird but she stays true to herself until the end, she pays the fines that she has to, she wears her hovers, she drinks beer and smokes wherever she pleases and for that, she is celebrated. She gets this amazing relationship with Esti, and with Lupe. She makes these connections and is absolutely honoured when the peaches help Jo. I wish I was more like Jess when I was younger, and I hope to be more like her in the future. Her unapolagetic butchness is mine.

(PHOTO ID: It's me again, but older now. I'm climbing out of a white vintage car dressed in a grey three piece suit and a blue shirt, with a pink tie. I've got short blue hair. It's prom night.)

Jo is amazingly well written with so many layers that I can't even begin to understand but she means so much to me as a fat afab. I've never seen anyone in modern media who is gay, plus-size and a good person until Jo. She's the epitome of a gentle giant, who is funny and kind and has the biggest heart. Shw treats everyone she meets with raw, unfiltered kindness whilst also not letting herself be pushed around, which gives her major respect. She's strong and has this funny flurty banter with Maybelle whilst trying so hard to not be the predatory gay, which I really relate to.

In short, ALOTO has helped me (and countless others) feel so much better just for being who they are and if any single show needs to be renewed, it should be ALOTO.

#a league of their own #lupe garcia #jess mccready #a league of their own series #drabble #love letters #character study #jo de luca

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quarter-life-crisis2 · 8 months

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~tag game~

list eight shows for your followers to get to know you

thanks @btscontentenjoyer for the tag, this is coming ages later cause I wanted to properly reply because I love this shit so much, I watch so many media video essays it's borderline unhealthy

I have a hard time maintaining favourites and always get a recency bias but anyway, in no particular order, some of my favourites/ most impactful shows with my thoughts that no one asked for under the cut

No pressure, but if you wanna get involved, gonna tag @moni-logues, @gimmethatagustd, @jjkeverlast, @magicshopaholic & @sailoryooons, @simp47koreancrackheads, @yoongiphoria cause I am curious :)

White lotus - a recent favourite for sureeeeeeeee. I devoured this show and absolutely loved it. When it was finished, I watched about 10 hours of youtube content about it, from set breakdown, additional details missed, interviews, costume design, psychoanalysis of the characters etc

Fleabag - all time classic, should be required viewing for everyone, so so so good, and I love that it didn't get extended past what the story needed. Phoebe Waller-Bridge is an amazing actress and creator

I may destroy you - watched it around the same time as Fleabag. Another great show, with such complex characters and discussion around intense topics, once again Michaela Coel is an amazing actress and creator. Watched a few long talks from her after this show regarding her life, career and this show

Death Note (the final one to steal from @btscontentenjoyer while I am brainstorming for these) - the anime that first got me into anime, and for sure one of the most memorable. So much room for discussion. Would love to sit and drink a glass of wine while philosophising on the nature of good and evil, power and who gets to decide the appropriate level of punishment. I've read some of the manga but need to go back and finish it

Attack on titan - (I am NOT up to date on this, I'm about 1-2 years behind. I know some of the twists towards the end but not the full picture) Another great one for conversation, so so many topics to cover, pretty controversial at times as well, so I would love to debate it with someone equally interested in chatting shit with endless pauses during watching

The good place - it's been a while since I watched this so I hope it stood the test of time, but what I will say is certain aspects of it really stuck with me and I reference it often. I think the premise and some of the conversation were very interesting and thought-provoking once again, and the way they presented the repercussions of our actions or what it means to be/do good was very intriguing

Game of Thrones - I mean, it's problematic and it ended... well it ended... let's leave it at that, BUT I watched it religiously for years, I used to go to my friend's house after high school and we'd all gather to watch it which was lots of fun (also maybe not age appropriate?). I did enjoy most of it for the insane plots and completely unhinged and fucked up characters, it was so meaty and could really get into character motivations and psychology which is my jam

Arcane - I devoured this when it came out. This led me to look into the animation style and watch breakdowns of it because it was so amazing. But even without it, the story is amazing and very well delivered, even for someone not interested in LoL. Another one filled with grey characters, impossible decisions, societal analysis and dystopian settings. I really hope they continue in the same style and quality for the following season.

I have so many shows I love. Love, sex and robots, Hearstopper (haven't seen the recent season), Sex Education, Skins UK - watched as a kid, for sure problematic but fucking loved it at the time, Misfits, The Boys, OMG THE BOYS, Black Mirror, still.... though not all of it, which is to be expected, Thirty Nine OMG Thirty Nine, Hospital Playlist!!!!! these last two are my favourite kdramas for sureeeeee, Tokyo Ghoul, Stranger Things, Scarlet Heart - my gateway drug into Korean entertainment, aaand I'm gonna stop but I very obviously like a lot of shit and have minimal editing and summarising abilities.....

#lia thoughts

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