#and tao and elle 4 ever!!!!

[i-cast-zone-of-truth]

SO. After conferring with my partner, we have decided. Our Problem With Heartstopper (a show we both like to be clear). Is NOT that it is "too fluffy." It is 2 other things:

1. The tendency towards a rather PSA tone at times rises to extreme levels re: isaac. It's ok if the aroace character is tertiary!! But if hes gonna have not a lot going on, can he please have one (1) conversation that isnt about amatonormativity?? Or one single flaw pls??

2. The white gays have the worst problems? Elle and Tara are just chillin? Charlie, who while not a gym bro is not femme either, got bullied and James didnt? ....are we saying the light tone can't handle the kinds of problems Tara and Elle and femme gays would have?

And u know what would be great? If Tao was ace! He has a whole personality, and is very friendship-centric. Think about his conflict with Charlie in that context!! And his relationship with Elle too!!

...we concluded that this would make Tao too powerful and it would be too clear that he and Elle should actually be the mains

[fxlling-slxwly]

There’s so much about Heartstopper Season 3 that I LOVE. Obviously Nick and Charlie’s relationship growth is beautiful, and Charlie’s mental health stuff is SO IMPORTANT, and I was SOBBING at Episode 4. HOWEVER. Breakdown of my favourite parts / storylines:

1. Darcy’s exploration of pronouns and gender identity. Seeing them start leaning more masc, cutting their hair, using they/them pronouns, and then coming out to Tara as non-binary?? WONDERFUL. As someone who recently came out as genderqueer (with a fairly similar path as Darcy actually) this made me so emotional and so happy for them and the representation.

2. Isaac. My baby. Everything about him is so wonderful and I just want to wrap him in the biggest hug ever. His coming out scenes (both his one to Charlie and to the Paris Gang) were beautiful. His boundaries in refusing to fill in the gaps for his friends is so admirable, as when you’re outside the ‘mainstream’ queer labels it can become such a tiresome ordeal having to explain your identity to others when they aren’t putting in the work to look it up. I’m SO GLAD he got these moments and he’s such a ray of sunshine. Him being the only one to see that something was wrong with Charlie hurt me deeply but it made me love him even more. Also seeing his cheeky side when it comes to Charlie’s sex life is peak aro/ace romance obsessed behavior.

3. Michael Holden my beloved. Darragh’s portrayal of him is everything - he’s so funny, awkward, and optimistic in every single scene and I just adore him. All of his interactions with Charlie made me fall in love with him even more, and they all just felt so RIGHT. His and Tori’s relationship is wonderful.

4. Tori being the best most beautiful big sister. She has so much love in her but she’s so afraid of letting people in and see her being vulnerable. Her love and anxiety for Charlie is so immense, but she does what she can even when her heart is breaking. I adore her and I’m so looking forward to seeing even more of her in the next season.

5. Nick interacting with Elle, Tara and Imogen on the road trip!!! I love seeing Nick integrate more with that friend group, but allowing him to have those moments of gossip and banter with the girls is beautiful, especially as he’d said previously how he didn’t talk about the deeper stuff with his other friends. Having the girls encourage him to talk - especially Elle causing chaos - was *chefs kiss*.

6. Tao and Nick hugging!!!

7. Charlie, Tao and Isaac’s friendship! I adore seeing them be super huggy and telling each other how much they love each other. Healthy friendships for the win!! No toxic masculinity here!!

8. Tao and Elle’s relationship & his utter adoration of her. The scene where he showed her the video he made of her was so emotionally raw and beautiful and UGH IM OBSESSED

9. Mr Farouk and Mr Ajayi’s soft moments UGH I LOVE THEM. Mr F is one of my fave TV teachers - the way he tells Charlie that he could help so many younger students and you can just tell how much he needed queer rep when was younger!! Ugh I adore these two so much.

[romainlettusdinnerparty]

hi i just finished heartstopper and am having 5 million thoughts and am determined to get them all off of my chest 🫡

1. genuinely hilarious to me how all the promo for this season was about it being “raunchy” and “horny” while this is like some of the least horny sex ive ever seen on tv (not necessarily bad and also pretty expected,, just the juxtaposition of how the actors spoke about vs the reality of the show makes me giggle a little like why are these 20 something’s so adorably amused by this lmao)

2. im obsessed with tao. i think will gao might be the best actor on this show. this is a cringy little show and if youre gonna watch it you have to acknowledge that and embrace it and sometime you Will Cringe but!! will gao somehow is so authentic with tao’s cringyness its never actually cringe worthy?? i have absolutely no way to put this into words i simply Adore him. he kinda feels reminiscent of donald glover as troy barns in this way somehow idk if that makes sense

3. i am also obsessed with imogen. riah noorwood’s physicality is actually fucking brilliant to me. like this girl was raised in the theatre it is so obvious and i love her for it so so much. her face is so expressive and BODY just like is twice as expressive?? like wtf are you drinking girl?? im in love with her and her giant giant eyes.

4. where heartstopper kinda loses me sometimes is the language? and not just cuz they say weird little british things cuz their weird and british but more in the way of how they verbalize their experiences with queerness. like it is always very clear, very straight to the point, very labeled. i feel like this most often comes up with isac and asexuality, darcy and being non-binary, and elle talking about dysphoria. it just feels unrealistic in a way that takes me out of it. like we are taking a moment to pause, turn to the audience, define this experience in exact terms, and then come back to the actual emotion of it. and i dont really know how i feel about it tbh? like in someways it is important and necessary and a part of good representation is the audience being aware of what you are representing. but i often do feel like this need for very specific, completely defined, clearly stated representation takes away from the humanity of it? gonna bring this back to stranger things for a moment: take will and jonathan in the pizza freezer. this is essentially a coming out scene but it is beautifully subtle and true to the character’s and the way they would react and express themselves in this moment. i do not think the scene would have been made better if will had to explicitly state he was gay for jonathan to understand him. and maybe thats really the crux of this: i feel like the goal of using this specific terminology is all in favor of the Audience Understanding not the character who they are speaking to. i think a lot of queer people, even intermingling identities like sexuality and gender, will kinda be able to just pick up on things? without having to spell them out? and at least in my experience, most people find the spelling out to be the worst part - wishing someone would get it without having to volunteer the actual language. so when a character immediately starts using the agreed upon label, not coaxed out of them, not reluctantly, not as a Thing, just as a “this is how i view this and want to say it” feels kinda unauthentic - at least to my experience. and weirdly enough, in my experience, those labels are super helpful! i love a box! huge fan! but in casual conversation? not so much. in conclusion, i would much rather have elle talk about what her dysphoria being triggered felt like, have tao understand what that means for her and her identity of being trans and her relationship with that identity, rather than just knowing that tao and elle both know what gender dysphoria is.

5. back to imogen: they did a great job with her. that scene with nick and saying she might have never liked a boy? perfection. they did not have to say the word comphet for me to get it. ive been there. we Get it. the labels and ,,, i almost wanna say therapy speak? almost feel like its to hold the hand of the straight audience. those who might Not intrinsically Get It. and thats ok, just as a queer viewer it takes me out of it sometimes :/

6. nick’s friendships with lesbians are my favorite thing in the whole entire world!!! him and TARA??? omfg i love love LOVE tara!! and ofc him and imogen,,, theyre just so precious to me!!!! my absolute favorite arc in general for nick is him finding his community - his queer community. like we see he is so lacking in good friends in season one, (absolute favorite moment of that season, and has been since i first saw it, is after nick comes out to tara and darcy and them and him and charlie are all texting about getting tao and elle together and darcy says something along the lines of “we’re all such meddling gays i love it” and we get a focus shot on nick’s face and he just looks so fucking happy to be apart of it!! a part of the “meddling gays”. like just so readily and without exception accepted into this community in a way that is not just made of tragedy, its a bit goofy!! its a bit silly even!!) people who he has things in common with and actually likes and who like Him not just for being cool and on the rugby team with them, to now him having this absolutely lovely community of friends who love and care about him is so precious to me. and him having the best time at the school he visits because of the community he can see there!! like ill die. this is my favorite part of this show forever.

7. goddd i had so many thoughts about eating disorders while watching this and im in such a different place in my life than when i first read this plot line in the comics but im a little like… idk i was just thinking about how i think almost every single girl or afab person ik has experienced some type of eating disorder or disordered eating or like - i just know no women with a good relationship to food i dont think. and im sitting here going - was this not taken seriously, IS this not taken seriously, Because it has to do with body image? because its not specifically linked to control or symptoms of OCD (not saying that girls/ afab people dont have disordered eating because of those things too but i think you would be hard pressed to find someone where its not at least a little linked to body image and female beauty standards) and instead just viewed as the typical “girlhood” experience? like this is just what growing up as a woman looks like. not a critique of the show, i just wonder if charlie was a girl, and had anorexia because he wanted to be skinny, would this ever be an actual plot point? or would this just be a truth of the female experience? Unextraordinary.

8. still think its so funny how unsexy the sex was. like ill never get over the way nick called charlie hot at the end there it just like?? encouraging?? he was not turned on. idk it was on brand but goooofy to me!!!

the end.

[retrieve-the-kraken]

Okay, preliminary thoughts, after first time watching season 3 of Heartstopper.

SPOILERS!!!

(Some of these are just me screaming and probably lack context, i just wrote this really fast whilst watching, and then forgot what else was happening.)

MY BABIES ARE BACK!

- Not me doing a happy dance and squeeing with joy when Isaac says “I’m not in the mood to give my friends a vocab lesson.” SAME!

- Crying already.

- TORI!

- Nellie, like a good doggo, waiting for her dad outside the bathroom, really got me. That look!!!!!

- I loved Hailey Atwell as aunt Diane, but I still missed Olivia Colman so much… she made too much of an impact as Sarah, and you can really feel her absence.

- Screaming at the fact that they got Annette Badland (from Ted Lasso and Big Boys) to be Darcy’s gran!!! I love her, she’s perfect.

- OMG The Teachers ™

- If episode 3 was already getting to me and then episode 4 was super sad, I was still unprepared for the scene where Nick cries in Tao’s arms. (Something something Nick in his superhero outfit trying to be Charlie’s superhero, but also needing to cry, will delve more into that in my full episode analysis…)

- I weep every time I reread the comic when Charlie goes to talk to his parents, but hearing everything out of Charlie’s mouth made it even worse. I’m a mess…

- I honestly looooooved how they did episode 4, with the quick catch-up flashback structure and two perspectives. I didn’t think it would work, but it was great.

- It took me a whole 5 seconds to realize that when Nick said “vintage camera” he was referring to the HANDYCAM that Will’s dad used, and I honestly never thought I would feel the urge to punch Nick Nelson but I did…

- “I hope that when you get back you don’t feel like you have to lie to us anymore.” LOOOOOOOVED that whole home video they did for Charlie, perfect vibe, it was so nicely done. But that line really got me… Isaac was perfect this season.

- More crying…

- OMG the Charlie painting!!! All of Elle’s paintings! I wonder who made those really? Whose style is it? Have they ever talked about it??? I need to know!

- “I hope I get a soul”, “I hope I get mental health”. I didn’t know I could ask for these things for Christmas…

- Imogen was hilarious and so beautifully developed this season. Much like Nick, she’s going through a whole self-discovery phase, but hers is not as perfect.

- HENRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

- “Is this the boyfriend?” I need to talk soooo hard about the contrast between the two families. Nick has a whole family that loved him, except that he doesn’t get along with his brother and he has an absent dad, whilst Charlie has a difficult relationship with his family, but his sister really seems to get him. You can see the contrasting environment at Christmas, with the disjointed vibes at the Spring household, and the very warm and welcoming vibes at the Nelson household…

- Every time Tori pops us out of nowhere, it’s perfect. Love the spooked look on David’s face.

- Dysphoria talk!

- “Spare us the details”, “No! I want all the details!” I am Isaac and Isaac is me.

- I watched the trailer… I watched the clips… but I NEVER expected that Michael would be so FUCKING PERFECT. I need more of him. “Beautiful chaos.” I was in tears.

- “I don’t want to keep hurting you.” IMOGEEEEEEEN. Love this whole storyline. Can’t wait for more of them.

- Drunk Charlie!!! He’s so horny. Whilst drunk Nick is a little sad. And drunk Imogen is a bit of both. I’m more of a drunk Tara: extra anxious.

- As someone who just experienced a major meltdown at work, over which I’m still embarrassed, I love how Tara also went from “I want to die” to “IDGAF about anything” because that is the right response.

- The radio show scene proves that Yasmin Finney’s voice should be on everything. I could listen to her read scientific papers to me. Does anyone know if I can make her my satnav voice?

- Sincerely disappointed that Elle’s mum did not kick down the door and barge in and slap the interviewer, whilst Mr Argent tried to hold her back and Tao filmed the whole thing.

- But I wrote down everything that Elle said, because that’s going into my arsenal. “Trans people are not a debate”. PERIODT.

- Love how we see Nick hanging out with other people more, especially Tara, and how encouraging Tara is. Their friendship is so lovely.

- I honestly thought that Tao would say “I’m improving, I might even become the next… Elle Argent.”

- I never thought I would identify so hard with a fictional bisexual teen boy, but in the comic, and now here, when Nick talks about how much of his true self he was repressing before he figured out he was bi… I feel that.

- The whole uni road trip was perfect, but it felt too short. Also I wish we would have gotten the scene in which Nick and Charlie facetime and Nick gets a preview of Naked Charlie ™. *Was not prepared

- A little disappointed in Charlie’s rock band outfit, it looked nothing like the one in the comic… also, after seeing Joe Locke as Teen in “Agatha All Along”, I would have killed to see him in all black tight clothes. Nick’s head would have exploded, though…

- Although this season was definitely hornier, it wasn’t quite horny enough. Here’s hoping that season 4 (which will definitely happen) will be the horniest ever.

That’s it for now… I need to rewatch already…

[sapphiccooper]

10 Heartstopper Season 2 Things I Am Excited About

(comic spoilers ahead)

10. Truth or Dare.

The drama, the angst, the drama. The possible major turn of events. My theory is this scene will be very different from the comic, especially with Ben being confirmed on the trip.

9. The teachers.

Need I say more? As someone who didn’t have something like Heartstopper as a teenager, it’s good to see adult characters have similar experiences.

8. Nick and/or Charlie taking naps together.

It’s just so cute, like come on.

7. Tao loosing his mind over Elle.

Tao being all nervous around Elle at the realization he has feelings is so cute. I also love that he completely simps for her HARD. He thinks she’s the most amazing person ever, he’s her biggest fan, and she is his.

6. The angst of them trying to tell each other they love each other.

5. Charlie and Nellie moments.

Someone get this man a photo album.

4. Nick’s rugby coach coming out to him.

She slay.

3. Nick reuniting with his friends.

One of my favorite aspects of Heartstopper, is it’s emphasis on the importance of having a diverse range of relationships. Romantic and platonic relationships are so important. Expecting everything you need emotionally, physically, and mentally to come from one person isn’t possible or fair. Strengthening different relationships not only strengthens individuals, but also other relationships.

I would have put this one higher, but it may be more focused on in later season(s).

2. Nick and Tao’s growing friendship.

I love the relationship between Tao and Nick, and am excited for it to grow in season 2. Tao cares so much about his friends, and I know will start to realize how kind and genuine Nick is, while still holding his pride about being wrong.

1. Tara and Darcy’s story being more prominent.

Even though Tara and Darcy are side characters, their relationship is still one of the most known sapphic relationships on tv. To see them get more of a story this season is extremely exciting. I think their relationship struggles this season will be one extremely relatable to a lot of queer people, and I’m glad to be able to see them overcome it, and remain happy as queer couples deserve to be.

[theodoraflowerday]

heartstopper s3e6 live episode reaction

okay, holy shit

this episode's gonna have to do a LOT bc last episode was everything good in the world

man, Geoff is so sweet I love him

MR FAROOOUUUKKKKKK MR FAROUK AND HIS LIL FIST BUMPS

not the rugby lads 😭

"I still relapsed two weeks after" oh no

oh no please don't show it

OH THEYRE SJPWING IT DONT FIGHT PLEASE

did he just tell nick to fuck off? oh my god

NOOOOOO

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOT TORI AND NICK

9h my god

ohmtmgkd

bro this isn't good

oh my god

"he's seen me at my absolute rock bottom and hasn't run away screaming" AND HE'S NOT GONNA! #FutureHusbands #FutureDads

TEN YEARS IN AND HAVING MARITAL PROVLEMS OH MY GO D

BRO I WAS *KIDDING* WITH THE HASHTAG

geoff is so funny though I love him

OH. OKAY.

"more energy" yeah that's what we're calling it now huh

geoff's knowing look lmfao

bro I love geoff

ELLE IS IG FAMOUS OMG

not a radio interview? oh god

seeing charlie play the drums again has me emo (prob also nick's thought process)

THEYRE SEEING SEXY JACK MADDOX

oh they're kissing

oh they're Kissing™

they're like fr kissing oh my god they're GOING AT IT STOP IT SLUTS

WHAT

"and it's obvious we both want to" okay I am LIVING for this change from the book

WHAT WHAT

WHAT

NO YOU HAVEN'T?

YOU'VE DONE NOTHING

WDYM OVER THE CLOTHES CHARLIE YOU HAVE NOT DONE ANYTHING AT THIS POINT

WH A T

it is Incredibly Extremely Hilariously accurate that the one aroace in the group actually wants to hear all the details nskfjsofjdofk most ace people I know are *so* nasty so this tracks so much

TAO I SWEAR

FIERY PASSION STOP ITJFKGJDLGKLDKG

"we've all heard the story" god I know this man called them up the next morning like I'M NO LONGER A VIRGIN

WHY ARE YOU INTERESTED IN CHARLIE'S SEX LIFE AND NOT MINE SKFISIFUSOFUDIGUDOGUFOGIFOGIFIGIDKG

WE KNOW YOU LOVE SEXY TIME

oh my god they're so annoying

but I gotta pause because I need like

a moment

wdym nick and charlie have "not done nothing" like this is a huge deviation from the books. not an unwelcome one but I've been psyching myself up for this because I love them but they're my babies

so hearing this is so..........

like over the clothes is still sex isn't it

like "IT'S NOT LIKE WE'VE DONE NOTHING" CHARLES?

oh..... I wasn't prepared to see the scars

haha ha haha hah ha

PLEASE DON'T BREAK ANYTHING OR BE SICK ANYWHERE KSJFKDFJDKFJDLFJ

"that sounds like a note for imogen" "HOW DID I GET THIS REPUTATION" oh I don't know baby how did you

okay

nick and imogen vs charlie and sahar......... loving this actually

bro nick and imogen being groupies together tho :(

oh mh god babies

O

OH

MICHAEL

MICHAEL HOLDEN

MICHAEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

oh my god

how is that literally michael im in tears

MEOW - MEOW - MEOW

okay elleargentupdates we get it you love your girlfriend

LETS GO ZAHEANEY

"what I do know is I don't wanna keep hurting you" oh baby girl

"you made me realize something pretty big about myself" "I guess I could say the same about you" oh my darlings :(

also is that immy admitting that she's also into girls bc, love that

"we'd be awful together" NO YOU WOULDN'T GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER

"I like us better as friends" oh babies

NOT BABY IMOGEN AND SAHAR I'M GONNA CRY BABIES

"is it sustainable? I'm trying to do my bit" JSKFJSKFJSKGJDKGK IMOGEN I LOVE YOU

god I love them I still want them to get together

CHARLIE ISAAC AND TAO ALL DRUNK TOGETHER SKFJDKFUDKFJF

NOT CHARLIE ON NICK'S LAP AAAAAAAA

GOOD 4 U I'M DUIGJFKDJGLDKGLD

joe personally texted olivia for the rights to this song I know it

TORI AND MICHAEL AND THEIR DRINKS IM GONNA LITERALLY RIP MY ARMS OFF

[rips clothes off and runs down the street] SPROOOOOLLLLDDDEEEENNNNNN

oh

'business or politics' yea sounds like imogen

oh Tara baby no

TARA NOOOO Bby

oh my god???

CHARLIE?????????

oh my god charlie is so good

bro nick looking at them with that face..... bro's thinking "yeah that's my future baby daddy"

"that was amazing" "I'm so drunk right now" kskfldjfkdjfkdjgld

"don't ever leave me" "wasn't planning on it" oh man they're gonna wreck me next season

charlie seems so cuddly like this :(

"I've been thinking about something" "what" "you and me" OH DONT SAY IT WHILE YOU'RE DRUNK

WE COULD DO THINGS???

NO HES NOT SAYING IT WHILE DRUNK

"WE COULD HAVE SEX" NOT WHILE YOU'RE DRUNK CHARLES

"I think about it all the time" "yeah, so do I" oh you horny little miscreants

"that was a long time ago" fr it's been almost a year like let's be so serious

NOT WHILE YOU'RE DRUNK CHARLES

yeah nick exactly

oh he's trying to use liquid courage :( charlie no

"OH SHIT" lmao honestly

"and then we were in the kitchen and..." CHARLIE'S PANIC FACE LMAO

TORI AND MICHAEL WAKING NICK AND CHARLIE UP

bro all I want from life is nick/charlie/tori/michael like please give them a sitcom I want all 4 of them and nobody else

"I can make egg on toast. you look like you need egg on toast" responsible parent michael holden

NICK AND CHARLIE LOOKING AT TORI LIKE THAT SKFKDKFJFKF

nick gets to tease her too they've bonded for life! favorite in laws ever!

the way nick looks at them kills me, that man has his eye on them the way he had his eye on tao and elle. he's manifesting

"ready to meet the love of your life?" "you're so jealous right now" kskfksofkdof oh nick baby

oh elle baby

oh

oh wait no

BRO WTF IS WRONG WITH THIS BITCH

"well, your speaker last week was transphobic, then" GO OFF ELLE

what the fuck that was so fuckin nasty

oh elle baby

oh my god elle's parents are the best im gonna cry

oh elle baby

NOT THE COPPER JOKE SKFJDLFKDLFKDLGKD

oh my god that was the single most embarrassing scene I've ever watched

what the fuck that was AWFUL IM DHINGKDKFKDKFLDKFDL

Jskdjslfjsldk NICK

yeah I love you Jonny boy but I'm not gonna be watching that scene again

oh

OH OKAY

OKAYYYY LETS KEEP THIS ENERGY GOING

oh charlie no

oh

HANDS ABOVE WAISTS MISTERS

ohhhh

OH FUCK

oh right. charlie's house. open door policy. horrifying.

but thank god bc charlie was making me so nervous

"you know I really fancy you. infinitely more than jack maddox" broooo

I really love the way they included jack maddox in this episode tho like. as a way to bring up unrealistic body standards and all that shit

"I want you" if that man looked at me like that and said that to me i would literally faint

but yeah, please god not at charlie's house lmao

oh the therapy session :( I love geoff so much he's so sweet

"there's free condoms at reception" lmao oh my god

aw the birbs

god what a fun episode. AND I HAVE MICHAEL NOOOOOWWWWWWWW. I love this show *so* deeply*

[tyfinn]

Alright I did it.

Watched all of Heartstopper Season 3, and I am not okay.

But in a good way of being not okay.

I need to get a few thoughts off my chest, so spoilers below the cut.

First, Absofuckinglutely beautiful season. Heartbreaking? Yes

Joyful resolution? Yes- but they were realistic in the fact Charlie is not magically cured, and I loved that.

Now- random thoughts as I type this.

1. I cannot tell you enough of Charlie and Isaac talking about Isaac's asexuality. I loved that Charlie admitted he did not know what aromatic was. And Isaac not wanting to explain it yet. So true to life I can't stand it.

2. The I Love You scene was PERFECT. Kit killed it.

3. Guess what? Nick is flawed too. Him admitting he does not know who he is without Charlie is also so true to life when caring for someone you love with a mental illness.

4. They did not shy away from actually saying MENTAL ILLNESS.

5. The moment Charlie asks for help killed me. The moment Nick said he would go with him to tell his parents showed the depths of their love. They deserve fucking Emmys for those performances.

6. Tori Spring. Tori Spring. Tori Spring. As if I did not love her enough before. Jenny's performance was simply amazing and heartbreaking. The best sibling. Ever.

7. Charlie's stay was, I believe, very believable. And I say that because I have some experience with that.

8. Holidays with the family can suck, and everyone walking on eggshells, was again, so true to life.

9. Nick talking to his Aunt (I know we all wish it was Olivia Coleman). But Hayley Atwell filled her shoes very well.

10. Elle's radio interview hurt my heart. Tao's unwavering support for his friends displayed his growth from season to season.

11. Speaking of Tao- his holding Nick at the Halloween party. OMFG.

12. This season was all Nick and Charlie, and it was everything I had hoped it would be and more.

I'm sure I have more thoughts, but I am emotionally drained, so this is what I have for now.

[cloudywithachanceofgay]

heartstopper headcanons bc big sad

right let's start with charlie

this one is a little nsfw but ever since the love bite, he has had to learn how to cover them up. the girls had to teach him how to use the foundation and all that stuff. so occasionally he has to go buy some foundation from the store. tw: sh; sometimes when he's feeling super insecure about his scars, he tends to use the foundation to cover them up. it doesn't happen too often but on some days when he feels like shit, he decides to cover them up. (hc for nick: nick knows when he does and doesn't, he also checks up on him)

charlie is not a big fan of dressing up for halloween (especially cringy couple costumes.) but nick on the other hand LOVES it. he begs charlie each year and charlie always gives in. mostly because nick convinces him but also he cannot refuse nicks golden retriever eyes.

charlie uses some makeup. like.. for his eyebrows and maybe from time to time some blush or mascara.

obviously charlie is a HUGE listener. he listens to tao when he needs to but always zones out in the middle of it or it just goes in one ear and out the other. but he is much different from when nick ranting to him. he deeply looks into nicks eyes while he talks. charlie could hear him talk for hours on and on. he also thinks it is a cute trait that nick has.

charlie wanted to surprise nick for some holiday (whichever idc) and he almost burned the house down while simply baking a pastry.

nick:

nick loves dogs but he was never very fond of golden retrievers. he always loved nellie's breed (idk her breed ;-;) but he doesn't care for them. i feel like some of his favorite breeds would be golden doodles, blue lacy etc.

nick gets really flustered when charlie slips in a pet name (sweetie, dear, darling, love, etc.) when talking to him.

nick is a lot like a stereotypical dad and loves to take pictures of everything no matter what time it is or wherever he is.

nick always kisses nellie AND charlie goodnight. though one time he forget to kiss char and lets just say.. he didn't notice until 3 days later.

nick is super scared of little creepy crawlies, literally anything with more than 4 limbs. so one day charlie was at the grocery store and nick called him and yelled "EMERGENCY HELP ME" and charlie literally zoomed to their place and he found nick in the kitchen with mittens on, a mask, and standing on the table with oil spray in his hand. charlie was too stunned to speak and found the spider and took it outside.

hc for the both of them:

they both wanted to propose to each other on the same day and when they did, they both began to go on one knee at the same time. nick fumbled his speech and was stuttering a lot, while charlie was turning very red and he shouted "DO YOU WANT TO ME MARRY ME NICK NELSON" and nick was too stunned to speak... obviously he said yes once he collected himself.

alr thats all cuz im tired, ill probably work on tao and elle next or tori and micheal. peace out.

-O

idk who the credits are for this picture but it is definitely not mine.

[its-all-ineffable]

Fandom Focus #34

I mean... you know what's still the top obsession...

Good Omens - What do I even need to say? Look at my url. Look at my icon. This blog was started because of Good Omens. They are coming back to me in my birthday month, 4 days after my birthday...I am SO FUCKING HAPPY!!!!!!

The Witcher - ...This show dragged me back. Vol 1 of Season 3 was AMAZING, I LOVED IT SO MUCH and I am just so happy with it. Only complaint was not enough Jaskier & Yennefer (together) content. I will miss it. But for now... CANON BISEXUAL BARD!!

Heartstopper - Season 2 is coming, I AM STOKED!! The cutest show ever is going to abck on our screens, I am going to get to watch more of it, more Nick, and Charlie, and Tara, and Darcy, and Elle, and Isaac, and Nellie, and Tao, and Imogen! And the new characters (for the show) like Sahar and Mr Farouk!

Shadowhunters TV/The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Well, I started re-watching Shadowhunters and omg...Malec. I missed them. And Simon too. And Izzy, even though show Izzy does annoy me occasionally tbh. And of course my queen Maia! And I've started re-reading the books (starting with The Mortal Instruments) and god I missed those too. The proper Clary and Jace...anyway. I love revisiting old fandoms.

Still back in my Jurassic Park/World phase and re-watching them religiously (so many fic ideas) and still in my IT/Reddie phase a bit too, slowly working on that big fic!

[happymeishappylife]

TV Shows I Watched in 2023

1. Atelier

To prove how long and old my watchlist is, this was one of the first jdramas I ever found on Netflix and I finally got around to watching it. But I loved this show. Yes it had its slightly annoying characters and scenes but ultimately the message of the show is that you need to learn to grow and to do that you need to be passionate about what you do. But you also need to take yourself seriously in that journey. So when fresh out of college Mayuko Tokito joins a small company of luxury lingerie, she has a lot of growing to do. But I loved the whole cast and they all go through their own journeys. Plus one of the underlying messages about the lingerie shop was that this wasn't just to sell underwear, it was to make women feel great and special in their own life.

2. Heartstopper (Season 2)

Another great season of this show and I find this such a good adaptation from Alice's comics. Plus the things she has changed from comics to the screen still fit in perfectly to the overall theme and I love the extra side stories we get to explore outside of Nick and Charlie this season. I think Tao and Elle's relationship continues to evolve and grow closer, plus their date at the museum was super cute. Tara's hearbreaking scene with her mom and how that plays out with Darcy is so important to show and handled so well. Plus thank you Alice for creating more awesome and heartwarming Ace representation! I loved Isaac's exploration and discovery of asexuality and love that more and more young people are able to see themselves and identify so much earlier than I did.

3. Old Enough! (Season 2)

I wasn't expecting to get more seasons of this, but I absolutely adore this show. Sure its still the same premise of watching Japanese toddlers run their first errand, but a cool thing they did with these new episodes is they showed videos from 20 years ago (because the show has been running that long in Japan) and then they would flash forward to today to see where that kid was now and see how they react to sending their own kids out to run their errand. It's so cute and heartwarming.

4. Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj (Seasons 1-6)

Hasan Minhaj is smart, charismatic, and hilarious. And I've always appreciated him as a comedian and correspondent on The Daily Show, but he really shined in his own series. What was cool to me too, was while I wasn't watching these at the time they came out, most of the stories and subjects he talked about are still highly relevant and still as impactful as I'm sure they were when they released. And a lot of that has to do with how well presented they were, including the jokes that he had with his audience. Would love to seem him do another show like this, but until then, I'm excited to see his new standup show live.

5. The Dragon Prince (Seasons 1-5)

I knew I was going to love this show when I finally got around to it since it was co-created but Aaron Ehasz, but I didn't know how much until I really dived into this show. I love the story and am actually impressed how much they have been able to tell in just 45 episodes with such a rich premise and cast of characters. The diversity is also fantastic. I absolutely love General Amaya and love that while she is deaf, she is a badass but someone who also adores Queen Jinai. I think the growth with the 3-year story gap was also great because we really got to see the kid trio grow into their roles, especially Ezren who I adore. And honestly after season 1, I thought I would hate Soren forever, but I love this man because is a good hearted weirdo and he's had a lot growth from his family's trauma which is great to see.

6. Jane the Virgin (Seasons 1-3)

I added this show to my watchlist a long time ago and by the time I got to it, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it, but its just fun telenovella goodness. I think the over drama of every situation is hilarious, but it also has its tender moments. I think the cast is great and I love how each character goes through these periods of likability to hateable to redeemable and its what is keeping the show pretty fresh now that Mateo has born. My only gripe, I never was a fan of Michael and was sad to see them get married, but definitely didn't expect him to go out like that (if he really is dead, because who knows with a Telenovella). But I've been on team Rafael since the beginning because I honestly think, even when he's made mistakes, it's because the man is trying his best in the shittiest of situations he finds himself in. But honestly, Jane doesn't deserve him now.

7. Doctor Who Christmas Special (2023)

This was a fun return to Christmas specials and I really enjoyed seeing Ncuti in command finally. He's a joy to watch especially because he is already showing the perfect switches of being happily enthusiastic with the love of learning a new alien language, the in command way he handles the police officer and the goblins, but also the same woeful timelord who is still carrying on despite learning his past. I also love Ruby and I'm curious how RTD is going to do a mysterious girl story, though I am a little wary still since I haven't been his biggest fans. But overall its a very solid story.

8. Good Omens (Season 2)

I was curious to see where this show was going to go since their isn't a second book (or a third for that matter!), but I trust Neil at the helm. And the premise was enjoyable and entertaining with great appearances by our favorite characters as they tried to deal with this new issue of Gabriel appearing in Aziriphale's bookshop with no memories. The only thing I didn't like, was even in six short episodes, I felt like it took a while to really get down to the heart of the story and while it was fun to see how hell was responding to the issue, the rest of it dragged a little to me. Still I love the past scenes with Crowley and Aziriphale and understand why the ending happened. Now that its been renewed for a third and final season, it will be interesting to see where it goes.

9. Call the Midwife (Season 12 + 2023 Christmas Special)

Another great season of this beautiful show. I'm still impressed that they can continue to tell heartbreaking and heartwarming stories all these seasons later, but its also great to see the growth of all our favorite characters. Though I am a bit peeved at how they wrote out Lucille and I feel so bad for Cyril because he cares so much for her and I wonder what will happen to him now. Still, I'm so glad to see Trixie so happy and now married to Matthew who is honestly such a great guy. Can't wait to continue seeing what takes place in Nonnatus House as this show always makes me feel things.

10. Miraculous World: Shanghai

Finally getting back into this show now that I have Disney+. So far out of the two specials, this one was more enjoyable because it had way more story and didn't suffer from Marinette's constant cringe. And though it was a shit reason for her to visit her uncle, I know she got a lot more out of Shanghai than she was expecting and not just because Adrien happened to be there. Plus it really highlighted how much heart and how much of a hero she could be and introduced a great character in Fei. And who can go wrong with a superhero trained in kungfu?

Other shows I watched: 11. The David Tennant Specials Part 2 (AKA the Doctor Who "60th Anniversary" Specials) 12. The Flash (Season 10) 13. Hibana Spark 14. Miraculous World: New York 15. Stargirl (Season 3) 16. Explained (Seasons 1-3)

Shows I rewatched in 2023: 1. Doctor Who (Season 19-The Power of the Doctor)

[raincitygirl76]

One thing I really enjoyed about Heartstopper Season 2 is it started to show the cracks in young love. That romantic love is wonderful, and supportive friendships are also wonderful. But neither of them are necessarily all-conquering.

Please note I haven’t read the books yet, so maybe this gets addressed later on.

Charlie seems to have some mental health issues which Nick’s love and support are unlikely to magically fix. Neither will the love and support of their friends group. And Darcy’s family being unsupportive is an ongoing issue that is causing her significant stress, to say the very least.

Even though Tara is a loving and supportive girlfriend, and even though their friend group band together to provide support to Darcy when her family are being difficult. Matters are exacerbated by Darcy being legally a child still. She’s basically stuck until she’s both a legal adult and has finished her secondary education.

Now, I’m not saying either Charlie or Darcy are doomed just because of shitty life circumstances. I’m quite sure that Nick the compulsive googler is worried about his boyfriend, and Nick may play a decisive role in Charlie getting psychological help. Charlie (quite rightly) trusts Nick’s good intentions. If Nick is worried about him, Charlie might be more inclined to talk honestly with a professional.

Just as Tara being Darcy’s girlfriend and offering loving support may enhance Darcy’s resilience, and help her cope better with family bullshit. Tara could also be the canary in the coal mine, if in the future things ever escalate to the point where Darcy can no longer live in her family home, for either her emotional or physical safety. Obviously this is all highly speculative.

But neither Nick and Tara’s romantic love nor a fabulous network of mutually supportive friends can FIX Charlie and Darcy’s problems. They can help, they can make a big difference, but there’s no magic wand.

Season 1 was more focused on the joy, butterflies, and heartbreak of falling in love for the first time. Also on the way friendship groups change and coalesce as life circumstances change. Ex: Charlie, Tao, and Isaac coming to terms with changes in their long-standing quartet once Elle switched to an girls school. Elle making friends with Tara and Darcy at her new school, and introducing them to her friends from Truham. And of course, Charlie trying to integrate Nick into the gang, with vigorous opposition from Tao. Not to mention the conflicts between Nick and his rugby friends as they saw Nick drifting away from them in favour of a bunch of uncool weirdos.

Season 1 was delightful, but Season 2 felt more…grown-up. It was still a blast to watch, but it felt like these young people are maturing.

Honourable mentions to the following S2 awesome bits which I didn’t mention yet:

1. Elle and Tao’s romance, Elle’s painting, and Tao’s mother’s absolute heartwarming delight that her son is now dating Elle.

2. Isaac’s romantic and sexual crisis, a journey so memorably leading him to the realization that there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s perfect and whole just as he is. He’s asexual and aromantic, and there’s a whole community of other people like him out there. There are even BOOKS about people like him.

3. Imogen breaking up so memorably with that goddamn attempted rapist Ben Hope, and getting drawn into Nick’s new friendship group as her S1 crush on Nick deepens into friendship. And maybe discovering she might be more than an ally. Very intrigued to see what, if anything, happens with Imogen and Samar in S3.

4. Nick calling out Ben with, “No, I hate you because you literally assaulted him.” I understand why the show didn’t really give a name to Charlie’s trauma at Ben’s hands in S1. They didn’t soft-pedal it emotionally, even though they never really label it as attempted rape. S1 Charlie was obviously traumatized, Nick was obviously repelled by Ben’s actions and desperately worried about Charlie. But the vocabulary wasn’t there, for whatever reason. It took until S2 for Nick to say to Ben, “you literally assaulted him,” with all the rage that reminder deserved. And I cheered!

5. My darling Mr Ajayi (my favourite S1 side character!) got a love interest in Mr Farouk. Who is such a polar opposite in personality to Mr Ajayi, but somehow, they click. And if they get married someday, they DAMN well better invite Coach Singh and her wife to the wedding. After all her yenta-ing to encourage them.

[fixated-frenzy]

Heartstopper Season 2

Season 2 of Heartstopper just came out a few weeks ago and it's been all I can think about. I've watched it twice now and I've been listening to the music from this season repeatedly. I just can't get over how good it is, which is why I am now writing about this post.

So to recap, the season starts off with Charlie and Nick being all happy and in love. Nick is worried about coming out to his friends and Charlie is doing his best to stay patient and supportive. Elle and Tao like each other but are afraid of affecting their friendship. Imogen is into Ben and Tara and Darcy are as strong as ever. Everyone seems happy and everyone is excited about the upcoming class trip to Paris.

Quickly into the first episode Nick is put into a different class to prepare for the upcoming GCSEs, which cuts down time to spend with Charlie. Then we find out that Charlie's not doing well in school and gets grounded because of it, cutting their time down even more. However, the couple starts finding more creative ways to see each other until they finally take off for Paris.

Episodes 4-6 all take place in Paris and are by far some of the best episodes in the show. Since the beginning, the creators drop hints at Charlie's complicated relationship with food, but this doesn't really start to get further explored until episodes 4 and 5. Charlie refuses to eat multiple times in episode 4 to the point that Nick calls him out on it. Then in episode 5, he passes out from lack of energy due to not eating enough. When this happens Nick really gets concerned and starts to keep a closer eye on Charlie's eating habits.

While all of this is going on, Imogen and Ben get together and break up, Elle and Tao kiss, and Tara tells Darcy she loves her, but Darcy doesn't say it back. It's an eventful couple of episodes that bleed into an even more dramatic episode 6 where Nick and Charlie briefly visit Nick's dad and the gang celebrates Tara's birthday with a surprise party and a game of truth or dare that ends up going south.

As everyone travels back to England, tension rests in the characters as they have time to themselves. Upon returning, Elle finds out she made it into the Lambert Art School she applied to. The gang prepares for prom and Charlie and Nick prepare to have dinner with their families. After Nick's brother makes a fuss over Nick's relationship with Charlie at dinner, Nick comes out to his dad and proceeds to call his dad and brother out for being crappy to him. The episode ends with Nick being reminded of Charlie's problems with food once again after noticing that he didn't eat much at the family dinner. Then we see Darcy storm out of her abusive home after getting a first taste of what her home life is really like.

The season finale follows up on all the issues in the characters lives, but starts with Nick coming out on Instagram. The whole episode is the day of prom following Nick coming out with Elle and Tao happily together before shifting to show Tara struggling to put prom together. Darcy is MIA, which leads Tara to call on her friends for help. The group spends the day getting ready for prom and the episode finishes off with them all going to Nick's house afterwards, Darcy reuniting with them and opening up to Tara, and Charlie opening up to Nick about what it was really like for him facing the bullies.

After finishing season 2 again, I see so many ways the next season could go and I'm so excited. From the beginning, this series has done a great job of showing representation and the longer the series continues, the more aspects of various problems are shown. From LGBTQ+ to abuse to eating disorders, Heartstopper does an excellent job of making anyone who watches this show feel seen. Every emotion, every conversation, every relationship, and every character is unique in some way and yet they blend together perfectly. I watch Heartstopper and I instantly feel happier, but at the same time, they cover such hard topics just in a lighter way.

I personally love watching shows with more drama to them, but I have a limit and shows like Grey's Anatomy or even The Vampire Diaries at times get a little too much for me to handle so a show like Heartstopper is perfect. I get drawn in and sometimes I will be on the edge of my seat, but I'm not balling my eyes out. I like a lighter drama or as a friend of mine once said "upbeat depression."

I will give Heartstopper season 2 a 10/10 mostly because I never immediately rewatch something after I just finished it, but this season really was just that good. I know I will be thinking about this season for a long time and already cannot wait for season 3 to come out.

[ao3feed-narlie]

The light at the end of this

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/d0FsE5J by writing_universe_of_an_unlabelled cfspring 9,829 posts 785,9mio followers 594 followed Charlie Spring, world famous influencer, publicly comes out as gay and immediately gets a lot of hate. Two men even catch him on the street and want to kill him. But luckily, Charlie’s like the fastest person you’ve ever seen. In his run, he runs into a hidden bar ‘T & E bar’. There he makes a couple of good friends but also meets a certain someone. Words: 2305, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English Fandoms: Heartstopper (TV), Heartstopper (Webcomic) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: M/M Characters: Charles "Charlie" Spring (Heartstopper), Original Characters, Isaac Henderson (Heartstopper), Tao Xu, Elle Argent, Nicholas "Nick" Nelson Relationships: Nicholas "Nick" Nelson/Charles "Charlie" Spring Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Music, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/d0FsE5J

[iwritestuffzs]

Whumptober Day 2: Delirium//Thermometer// "They don't care about you"

Fandom: Heartstopper

"Shit this is bad."

Charlie looked over the thermometer again and winced. 105. Definitely bad.

He looked toward Darcy sleeping on the couch. Her face was clammy and wet from all the sweating she was doing. Tara kept a cold compress on her girlfriend's forehead but it wasn't helping much.

Charlie didn't know where it went so wrong. It was just supposed to be a fun day at Nick's house.Well technically Nick and Darcy's house. Ever since Darcy's parents had kicked her out she'd been staying at Nick's. Sarah had basically taken her in as a daughter but nothing was official.

An hour before they were supposed to meet up, the Paris Squad received a message from Nick saying that Darcy was sick and that they had to cancel. Which lead to everyone showing up at their house with medicine.

When they arrived Darcy and Nick greeted them at the door. Besides her face being a bit flushed, thier friend seemed fine. Darcy wrote off Nick's concerning message and told the gang that she was just a bit tired and hot.

So the group had moved forward with their previous plans and watched a movie.

That's where things went south real quick.

While watching the movie everyone noticed how quiet Darcy was. Usually she would be the one cracking jokes and gawking over how hot Sadie Sink was. But it was unnaturally silent.

Upon looking over they saw that Darcy was barely awake and leaning on Tara's shoulder. She looked even more flushed then when they arrived. And within a couple more minutes the blonde was out cold.

"Guys she burning up," Tara said, touching the back of her hand to Darcy's forehead.

"I've turned the air conditioner on but it doesn't seem to be helping," Nick said.

"What's her temperature?" Elle asked.

"I told her to take a temperature test before you all came, but she refused to," Nick said.

Charlie playfully punched him in the arm, "Some brother you are. You gotta force her to."

"I-i didn't want to overstep," Nick admitted, "I mean I'm technically not her brother."

Tao let out a chuckle, "you two are the most brotherly-sisterly duo I've ever seen."

"Yeah," Charlie agreed, "Even more than me and Tori."

The comments made Nick blush a bit.

He got up and returned with the thermometer. He gave the thermometer to Tara who put it in Darcy's mouth.

An uncomfortable silence went through the group as they awaited the results. After about 4 minutes it was ready. Charlie read the results and the group all winced with him.

"What should we do?" Issac asked, "take her to the doctor?"

"Probably," Elle agreed, "I mean 105 isn't normal. Not even for a fever."

"Yeah if it gets any worse it could be deadly," Tao said.

"Deadly?!" Tara cried.

Elle elbowed him hard in the side," but it won't come to that. Right Tao?" She said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah if course. I was just saying," the boy replied.

The group argued about what to do. While the clock ticked away and Darcy's fever undoubtedly got worse.

"What do you think Nick?" Charlie asked.

Suddenly all eyes were on him.

And he unfortunately didn't have the answers. His sister was on the couch basically dying. His mum was at work. And all his friends were looking at him.

"I don't know," he admitted, "but I'll call mum to see. But in the meantime, try to cool her down." Tara's cold towel wasn't really working.

The rugby lad went upstairs to call his mom, while the rest of the Paris Squad scrambled to get Darcy cool. Darcy squirmed in her sleep. The group thought it was just from the fever's heat.

Oh how they were wrong.

One minute she was watching Fear Street with her friends and the next she was somewhere dark. Nick's living room disappeared and was replaced with an endless black void.

"Hello?" Darcy called, "guys where'd you go?"

She walked around for a bit but there was nothing.

"Darcy."

What the fuck?

Someone was calling her. But who?

"Darcy."

It sounded like a far off echo.

"Darcy."

The voice sounded familiar.

"Darcy."

Wait she new that voice.

"Darcy!"

All of a sudden, someone materialized in front of her. It took her by surprise and he fell back with a yelp.

It was her mother.

"What the fuck," Darcy muttered.

"Darcy Elizabeth Olsson, look at what youve done," her mother yelled.

Suddenly Darcy was transported to her house. When she was six and had broken a vase that her mother had bought to impress some work friends.

She was sitting on the floor playing with some toys when her mother barged in and absentmindedly threw her purse which landed on Darcy's toy. She had to stand up to try and yank it out but when she did she bumped into the table where the vase was.

Crash.

The item fell to he floor and burst into a million pieces.

"I sorry," Darcy said, "I didn't mean to."

"You stupid girl!" her mum yelled.

"I'm not stupid." Darcy said.

Little did Darcy know she was mumbling in her sleep.

"I'm not stupid," Darcy mumbled.

Tara looked towards the rest of the group. Each of them knew about Darcy's troubled life at home. She was living with Nick for god's sake. Everyone hoped she'd never have to go threw it again.

And now she was.

And all they could do was watch.

"I'm not," Darcy muttered,"No please. I'm sorry." There was a kind of pleading in her voice.

"I'm sorry. Please don't. I'm sorry ok! I didn't mean to," she squirmed, trying to get away from some unseen force.

Tara pulled Darcy (no matter how hot she was) into a tight embrace. Trying to protect her girl, she knew it wouldn't work. But she had to try anyway.

Darcy knew she was in deep shit. Her mum had called her dad, right in the middle of his afterwork nap. A time he was not to be disturbed.

"You little brat!" Her father yelled, he towered over her. "You ruined that vase on purpose! So you know what time it is…"

"No please!" She stuck out her hands for protection, but it was no use. Her father grabbed her arms and yanked them down. Then slapped her hard across the face.

"You. Little. Bitch!" He said with every hit.

"Please stop!" She cried, she tried to run but she was backed into a corner.

"No one loves you!" He yelled.

"That's not true I have friends!" Darcy yelled back.

"They don't care about you!"

"Yes they do!"

"No they don't!"

"Yes they do," Darcy muttered," my friends do care about me."

No they don't!! Say it back.

Slap.

They do!

Slap

"They-they-they don't," she cried, "ok, my friends don't care about me. Just please stop."

"No we do," Tara replied, "I promise we do." Darcy couldn't hear her. Her fever dream was too powerful.

"Guys," Nick burst into the room," My mom said that she is on her way. Then we're gonna take her to the hospital."

"We should probably get her up," Tao suggested.

"Yeah," Tara agreed. She turned and gently pushed Darcy,"hey baby get up." In all truth she was happy to get her up. At least she wouldn't have to experience whatever was happening in her dream.

Darcy didn't get up, but was still talking in her sleep. "I'm sorry. I'll take my punishment."

Nick's heart broke. If he could, he would kill Darcy's parents. He helped try to wake her up and gently slapped her cheeks. "Come on sis, you gotta wake up."

Eventually her eyes opened a bit, they were glazed over but open a bit non the less.

"That's it Darc." He smiled.

But she suddenly attacked Tara.

Darcy's parents disappeared and suddenly Nick's living room blurily came into view. And there was a figure standing over her.

It was her mother.

It had to be.

She punched the figure in the face. They fell to the ground with a shout of surprise. This time her mum would pay. She continued to punch the living shit out of her.

There were shouts but they were muffled. All she could see was her mum. There were hands trying to pry her off of the figure. But Darcy wasn't going to give up that easily.

"This is for all those years of pain, you bitch," Darcy said.

Something pricked her shoulder and everything came to a halt. Her vision cleared up and she saw that it wasn't her mother.

It was Tara. Her love. Her best friend. Who as looking at her terrified. Her eye was already swollen and blood matted her face.

Darcy looked down and saw her knuckles stained red with her girlfriend's blood

"Fuck what have I done," she said, before falling unconscious.

Nick stood above her with an empty syringe.

"Why did you..how did you.." Charlie started.

"My mum," Nick answered, "she told me that high fevers can sometimes get dangerous.

And to be prepared."

[lesbicosmos]

heartstopper episode 8 thoughts!!

-god the scene with charlie and tori at the beginning always has me in tears, my fav siblings ever

-tori is so supportive i love her with my entire heart (now give me a solitaire adaptation pls)

-THE WAY NICKS EXPRESSION CHANGES FROM SO HAPPY TO SAY HI TO CHARLIE AND HAVE LUNCH WITH HIM TO COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY HEARTBROKEN THAT HE SAID HE CAN'T

-the tao and nick scene is such an important scene for both characters

-tao's reaction to nick telling him to try rugby is priceless, it's giving "do i LOOK like-"

-our window has me sobbing every time </3

-tara darcy and elle's friendship is everything

-charlie just let nick talk to u please u both need it :(

-"don't let anyone make you disappear, charlie" </3 i love mr ajayi sm

-wondering if they literally couldn't get a shot of joe putting the bib on without him getting tangled in it, we see him holding it, then cut to tao, then when it cuts back to charlie he's already put it on 😭 the blooper was too funny

-YES CHARLIE STANDING UP TO BEN <333

-side note: charlie's the main character, why is he so underrated?? i love him with all my heart

-charlie holding isaacs book while he does his javelin <3

-tao ily but i think u were right, taking art gcse was a mistake

-when i watched this the first time i was so mad tao and elle didn't kiss in this scene, but that was before i read the comic, after reading it im so glad they left it bc their first kiss in the louvre in volume 3 is so <3333

-THE WAY THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER I LOVE ALL THE COUPLES IN THIS SHOW SO MUCH

-nick looking for charlie </3

-charlie looks so goddamn proud watching nick in the match

-genuinely thought nick was just gonna go up to him and kiss him in front of everyone on my first watch, the actual scene is so fucking cute tho

-THE WAY IMOGEN SMILES AT THEM SHES SO HAPPY FOR THEM AND SHE FINALLY UNDERSTANDS WHY NICK SAID HE FELT OUT OF PLACE I LOVE HER

-nick's whole speech is one of my favourite scenes, he loves charlie so much..."it's all worth it to be with you"

-THE WAY THIS PARALLELS THE KISS IN THE BEDROOM IN EPISODE 4

-someone walking past the door rn: 😀

-the rainbow in the background at the train station

-ALICE CAMEO <333 I LOVE THAY SHE WAS DRAWING THEM ASWELL

-the running towards the beach shot being the last one they filmed is so perfect

-THEY'RE JUST SO FUCKING HAPPY I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

-"i love liking you" nick i love you so much

-THIS SCENE WAS PULLED STRAIGHT OUT OF THE COMIC AND ITS PERFECT

-its so sad when you realise the reason charlie's so hesitant to call nick his boyfriend is bc of ben </3 b*n h*pe hate club!

-nick why. why did you go in the ocean with ur vans on. just why.

-THE PAINTING BEHIND NICK IS SO SIMILAR TO THE FLOWERS THAT APPEAR WHEN HE COMES OUT TO HIS MOM IN THE COMICS, I LOVE THE TINY DETAILS LIKE THIS

-but also this scene makes me sob, i'm so proud of nick and his mom is actually the best

-the compilation of them from the very beginning with i belong in your arms in the background gets me every time

-i love this show so fucking much i can't wait for season 2

[illatreal]

Heartstopper, an essay by me that probably no-one will ever read. (Spoiler alert, obviously, if you haven’t read or watched the series)

(PART 7)

TAO & ISAAC - William Gao (he/him) and Tobie Donovan (he/him)

Tao played by William Gao introduces an extra level of tension to the series - he doesn’t like Charlie hanging out with Nick because he feels it is changing his friendship group and he is worried that Nick is using Charlie. I want everyone to fully support Charlie and Nick’s relationship so anytime I watch Tao doubting Nick’s intentions I get really defensive. This being said, I like that they show not just the impact of Charlie’s bullying on Charlie, but also on his closest friend. Tao’s actions are prompted in part by jealousy and a dislike of change, but where most series leave it at the best friend just being jealous of a new friend, ‘Heartstopper’ delves deeper into his motivations. As Charlie’s best friend, he knows the impact that bullying and homophobia had on Charlie when people at school found out he was gay: the way it impacted his mental health, the self-loathing he experienced, the self-harming behaviour he resorted to, and the lunchtimes spent isolated from his friends as he hid in the art room. Yes, his behaviour and apparent dislike of Nick makes it hard for Charlie to tell Tao about his relationship, but you can 100% understand why Tao wants to protect Charlie at all costs - taking on his bullies at every turn. The beautiful scene in episode 8 where Tao talks to Nick and helps to explain the impact that keeping their relationship a secret is having on Charlie shows just how much Tao understands, loves and wants the best for his friend. At the same time he is compassionate to Nick, someone he has shown dislike for, and is sympathetic to his reluctance to come out - he knows how hard it was for Charlie and gets why Nick would be finding it hard. I’m really looking forward to seeing Nick and Tao get to know each other better if we get a season 2 and they get to spend more time together e.g. the Paris trip.

Perhaps the most beautiful part about Tao’s character is his evolving relationship with Elle. I already touched on this in Part 4, but their friendship is so supportive and it’s lovely to see them sharing parts of themselves with each other so intimately. Yes, there is the evolving romantic relationship as well, but you just get the feeling that these are two kindred souls going on the crazy journey of life together. Whenever Tao is freaking out about the state of his friend group and is worried about Charlie, it is Elle that is able to calm him down and provide a more positive, balanced perspective. They are each other’s rocks and just really sweet.

Isaac doesn’t get a lot of screentime but the time he does get is great. Tobie Donovan plays Isaac in a very understated way with occasional moments of bright joy that shine through. I mean a character who casually kicks over monopoly boards to end arguments and keeps reading through all his friend’s dramas is just the energy I think we all need. When Charlie is pulling Isaac over to the sports day rugby match in Episode 8 (pre Nick telling him how much he loves him) and Isaac isn’t even bothered he just taggs along without ever glancing away from his book I just get the biggest smile. This being said, Isaac is the OG shipper for Charlie and Nick and just super chill about their blossoming love. At the same time he is careful not to take sides when Charlie and Tao aren’t seeing eye to eye. And he even stays away from movie night to give Elle and Tao a bit of alone time (we all know he had ulterior motives and wasn’t really sick). 

I’ve read a few things now saying that Isaac is autistic and can definitely see how this fits in with this sweet character. He is a character of few words, but when he is comfortable around someone he comes out of his shell a little bit more. His friends never try to force him into conversation but just naturally still always include him. I like that we see him and Nick getting along so well in episode 5 when they are bowling because it shows that Isaac likes Nick and feels comfortable with him even though they haven’t been friends for a long time. The books he read also seem to be a way for Isaac to better understand the world around him. We see him reading ‘Proud’ by Gareth Thomas, a book written by a famous rugby player, at Charlie’s rugby game in episode 4 when the friends go along to support. He reads ‘Gender Explorers’ by Juno Roche in episode 8, which is a collection of interviews with young trans people and also in episode 8 reads “There Is No Planet B’ which looks into what can be done to challenge the environmental and economic problems we face today. Just because Isaac doesn’t talk a lot doesn’t mean he isn’t observing and wanting to learn more about the world around him.