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So what do you think about the announcement!!!! Tell me your THOUGHTS

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Does anyone know of any adult literary fiction that features an aro and/or ace main character (even if it's just heavily subtextual)?

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The new UK editions of my books are out now!!!!!

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rogerina can have me in her bed any day

The Great Pretender. Making Of

The fiercest queen of them all 🔥

Roger in drag for Freddie’s video to “The Great Pretender” (1987)

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Do you think we will get to see the deleted scene/s at some point or are netflix likely to keep in hidden in their archives?

I don't think there are any plans to release it as a deleted scene, I'm sorry! D'you know what, here's the script, for those interested:

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As the French say, "la rançon du succès" ❤️ this reply means the absolute world to me and that you liked the book means even more!!

Hi Alice!

It's so good to be able to write to you! I wanted to ask, how did the book tour go? I was able to go to the book signing at Gay's The Word and it was really wonderful to see you, although I was pretty... shocked(?) at seeing the pace at which you had to sign books and talk to people 🥲 Wasn't it uncomfortable for you? A friend of mine went to the last book signing and it seems it was a little less "rushed" (both for you and your readers who came), so I'm assuming that's just a "nicer" experience? I don't know, I'd love to know how you feel!

Personally I was a little sad to not have more time to talk to you (not blaming *you* at all obviously, I know you don't organize these events yourself and that the point is to allow as many of your readers to meet you), especially because I would have loved to have more time to explain what the book I gave you was about, and I'm pretty sure I was so nervous I barely got a full sentence out (lol), but if you ever happen to read this, here's what I would have loved to say about it: it's a book I made with Fran, a Mexican friend I met thanks to Heartstopper. We collected over 200 pictures from more than 40 countries on all continents to show you how loved you are all around the world! We hope that someday you find some time to take a look at it and that you feel all the love everyone is sending you through their pictures 💖

I won't bother you any further, I am so sorry! I hope you enjoyed the book tour and I hope to get another opportunity to meet you one day. In the meantime, take care! I'm sending you lots of good vibes to help you achieve whatever work you need to achieve, and put 200% of my trust in you, always!

Ahhh I'm so sorry we didn't get a lot of time to chat! Unfortunately so many people come to my book signings that I'm not able to have a long conversation with everyone, otherwise I would either have to stay there for hours and hours, or we'd have to cut off the queue (meaning people who've queued for hours wouldn't even get anything signed!) The only other option for the future would be to just organise smaller signings, with extremely limited tickets... which would of course present a different problem, that being that not many people would be able to come to them! It's frustrating and it's something I've been talking to my publishing team about a lot because I really want everyone to have a good time at the signing and not leave feeling disappointed!

Thank you so much for the book! I've looked through it and it's really really special. I will treasure it!!

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(re)watched in 2024: Queen Rock Montreal

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Picture this: you're aroace and the first time in your life some random guy tries to flirt with you and invites you for drinks, you're literally holding Loveless by Alice Oseman in your hands... just IMAGINE...

#i swear to god this happened #im not even joking #like whaaaat #he was very polite and respectful tho #and he left as soon as i said i wasnt interesered #more men like this please #but not for me #for the others who are interested in dating lol #loveless #alice oseman #osemanverse

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Hello Alice! I've always wondered if Charlie's cat-shaped plushie had a name? I've slept with a similar plush since I was 3 and I've always called him Oliver! (Little bonus picture of me and Oliver when I was 3 and a half!)

CUUUTE 🥹

Charlie's cat plush is called Kitty! (I also had a cat plush as a kid called Kitty)

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It's been, like, 8 years, and I still think about this post on a regular basis, and can quote it word for word. I even have the text saved in my notes app... a true masterpiece. This post has shaped me into the person I am today.

so pensive. so mysterious. i wish i knew what was going through that eternally ticking mind of his, always thinking, always working, always hiding his true self from the world

mlem

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Crossing my fingers super hard hoping @aliceoseman @chronicintrovert sees this adorable drawing of them 🥺🥺

@chronicintrovert @aliceoseman heyyy I've made this little draw of you 🥹 I'm still learning how to use procreate and colour and everything 😅 but I really hope you like it and see it one day 🥹💞

Love you and thank you for your hard work and your beautiful stories

#osemanverse #alice oseman #heartstopper #nick and charlie #solitaire #radio silence #i was born for this #loveless

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@chronicintrovert @aliceoseman heyyy I've made this little draw of you 🥹 I'm still learning how to use procreate and colour and everything 😅 but I really hope you like it and see it one day 🥹💞

Love you and thank you for your hard work and your beautiful stories

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no offence but i think a lot of us me included don’t actually want romantic love as badly as we think and really are just lonely and crave a closeness and intimacy that feels out of reach in friendships because of society’s emphasis on marriage and the nuclear family so we project that into the never ending search for a perfect love and a soulmate when really we all just want to mean something to someone

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Hi Alice! I wanted to ask a little bit about Charlie's self-harm scars, which we get to see in Volume 5. Was it always obvious to you you would eventually draw them? Were you scared they might shock or upset some people, or were you confident they'd make people with similar scars feel seen? (I can confirm they do make me and so many other people feel seen, and I can only say thank you so, so much 💖) I know there's a pretty old mini-comic in which you drew Charlie's scars (on his wrists, forearms, etc.) – has the way of drawing his scars evolved for a specific reason (perhaps making his scars slightly less visible/less "graphic")? I'm just really curious about your process when it comes to illustrating something that can be so sensitive and hard to come to terms with for people bearing similar marks on their skin, because you did it so beautifully!

CW: DISCUSSIONS OF SELF-HARM.

For quite a long time I was resistant to drawing Charlie's scars because I have learnt, through much of the mental health research I've done, that seeing self-harm injuries can be very triggering to some people who have experienced or are experiencing self-harm. Because of that I thought I should avoid drawing them entirely.

But as I approached this storyline and wanted to explore Charlie's feelings about his body, it became clear to me that this would be impossible to do without addressing the existence of his scars. I couldn't just ignore them. In fact, it would be disrespectful to people who have experienced self-harm to do so - it would be disingenuous and unrealistic. I shouldn't just say Charlie has self-harmed but then ignore that fact for the rest of the story.

My opinion about seeing self-harm scars in fiction changed. While I would never, ever show any new self-harm injuries, or depict someone actively self-harming, scars are something that many people have, whether they are self-inflicted or not. They are just a part of people's bodies. While they absolutely can be triggering to see for some people - hence why there are content warnings at the start of the book - to pretend they aren't there and not draw them at all no longer feels right to me. Charlie's scars are not something that he should feel ashamed of, and much of Vol 5 explores him learning to combat that shame and feel more comfortable wearing clothes that don't cover them.

As for the old comic you're referencing - it was drawn long before Heartstopper. By the time I'd changed my mind about depicting scars in the comic, I'd already drawn Charlie in Heartstopper many, many times with his forearms on display. It wouldn't make sense for scars to suddenly appear there with no explanation. It's not ideal, for sure, but it's just an unfortunate side effect of putting my old art out online before I started writing the canon story, and how I didn't have things perfectly planned down to the letter when I started drawing Heartstopper.

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first of all i absolutely love charlies style in vol 5!!!! our fav boyyyyyy

what was the inspiration for charlie's outfits throughout this volume, do you feel like that evolves with him as his confidence does too?

i love noticing the details you place towards fashion too within the characters and how the way they dress reflect a lot on who they are too, that is so facinating and so beautifully done by you - it caught my eye specially in volume 5, i adore it.

how is that for you, do you have like a moodboard of inspirations or a source material/website/etc that you look at while thinking about characters and their outfits in general?

I love choosing the characters' outfits! I didn't have mood boards, but I actually created outfit mood boards for the lead 6 characters when we were in pre-production for season 1 of the TV show. Here's a couple of the slides:

These are definitely the vibes I've stuck to, but I have thought a lot about how I can make their styles grow up a little bit... e.g. I've been trying to not draw Nick in slim jeans/trousers anymore 😂 It's a struggle though because their styles are so distinctive! And I don't just wanna make them look like Pinterest models.

Only 2 questions in and I'm already off topic 😂 I promise I'm going to prioritise questions about Vol 5!!

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that one shot with the umbrellas ⛱️

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being aromantic is like. hey btw you're going to live a life that is the culmination of most of society's worst nightmares. sorry lol ✌️ but then you turn around and take a really good hard look at it and it turns out that living in that nightmare is fucking awesome and you get to wake up every day and take that fear that other people have and laugh and hold it close until it's a great joy for you instead. and being happy is a radical act that you define instead of someone else. and you're sexy as fuck that's just a fact of life i don't make the rules on that one