#heartstopper is Charlie's story not Bens

[randomjreader]

I'm a day late, but yesterday was the anniversary of Nick and Charlie's first meeting <3

[sapphosclown]

let say that, in theory, i am crying a lynthia heartstopper au. who would we like to see as nick/charlie

[lem0nademouth]

what did ben do to imogen that we didn’t see

[burningthetree]

My heart I’m crying Charlie Spring I love you

[bisexualafbuck]

A moment I really loved in Heartstopper was during the scene where Ben confronts Charlie to "apologise", Nick clearly doesn't agree with Charlies decision to listen, but he never says anything, and he just stands behind silently, letting Charlie do what he needs. And then the second Charlie is done, he instantly walks forwards to grab his hand so they can walk away.

So many stories have the love interest intervene on the others part, and take the choice out of their hands to "protect them", so I loved that they showed that Nick trusts Charlie to make the right choice for him, and just silently supported him, even when listening to what Charlie was saying must have made him furious and upset.

[bairdthereader]

Charlie Spring, An Appreciation: Part 1, Courage

Nick Nelson gets a lot of love, and justifiably so; I'll be the first to admit that he's amazing (see my many Nick-related posts as evidence). But I hear all too often that Charlie is leveling up by being with Nick, or that Nick is too good for Charlie. I beg to differ—vehemently—and here's why, part 1 (of 3, maybe?).

I often find myself in awe of Charlie during some of the quietest and least dramatic parts of the Heartstopper show and comics, because his bravery, resilience, and tenacity are displayed in ways that seem inconsequential, but are actually incredibly meaningful and telling. This boy has a thread of steel running through him, whether it's obvious at first glance or not.

We see this almost from the very beginning, when Charlie is assigned to a new form and told that he'll be sitting next to Nick, "one of the rugby boys," and, "I'm sure you'll get along swimmingly." Here is not only Charlie's worst personal nightmare, but also a teacher who is blithely unaware of the terrible position he's just put Charlie in--being placed in close, daily proximity to the type of person Charlie associates with the darkest time of his life. But we don't see fear on his face, or even that much dread—this tells us so much about him in just a nanosecond. There's resignation and bitterness, yes, but Charlie knows he can withstand this, because he's been there before and survived. This is borne out in later conversations with Nick where Charlie assures him that "I'm used to it." This is a horrifying injustice, one Nick rightly calls out, and it shows Charlie's resilience in the face of a degree of cruelty that many people never experience.

This little moment outside of the changing room is another revealing scene. Charlie knows exactly what he's walking into, exactly the kinds of comments and sly bullying he's going to experience in that room. He knows he will have to have his guard up every second, that he will have to prove himself to this group, even though he shouldn't have to. He also knows he'll be fighting his own self-doubt, and so this experience will be a battle on two fronts. (Three fronts, if you include trying to hide his feelings for Nick.) But he does it anyway. Sure, you could argue he's doing it solely to be near Nick, but I think this is also his way of making sure that those boys don't dictate his actions or his life. This is Charlie taking a stand. And this is just one example—he does this over and over and over again, in many different settings and situations.

Case in point, calling it off with Ben. Charlie has been the victim of what is essentially brainwashing and abuse from Ben for months. Ben has told Charlie verbally and shown him physically that Charlie means less than nothing to Ben, and that Charlie can never expect anyone to ever want him or care for him. And Charlie often, tragically, believes him. That Charlie is able to break free of this vicious cycle and take the steps to distance himself from Ben shows his immense inner strength. You can see on Charlie's face (thanks to Joe Locke's inimitable talent) that he can't even believe he's done it. And we have to keep in mind that this happens long before Nick is a real possibility, so we can't say Charlie does this for Nick. He does it for himself.

I do have to include one of the more iconic scenes, because this ⬇️is Charlie's clarion call, his hope, his banner, for the rest of this story. He knows he has a lot of problems to work through, that he's complicated and sometimes hard to interpret, so it's easy to see this scene and think Charlie's words come from a place of insecurity (and of course that is some of what's happening here). But he's strong enough to both acknowledge it and ask honestly that Nick not let those parts of Charlie become the focus of their relationship. He requests, even during this moment of almost brutal honesty and vulnerability, that Nick see him completely, as the whole person he can be, because Charlie knows that person is there inside himself. The self awareness and bravery this takes is enormous.

There are a million other moments like this that I could write about, both big and small:

But I'll end this already lengthy post with this: When one considers the amount of sheer courage Charlie has to exert just to live his daily life, it almost defies understanding. Charlie Spring is a gladiator of the mind and heart, completely worthy of any good thing.

[aurum-rays]

Heartstopper season 3 will be here soon so I watched season 2, again and I'm glad I did. There's this one scene in season 2 that I will never forget.

When Charlie confronts Ben in Episode 7 Sorry

This scene hits home hard and is relatable on so many levels to me.

I'm in my late 20s and I still carry a lot of trauma that comes from my school days.

What I like about this scene is that Charlie is not expected to "forgive and forget". He states every single thing that pained him and how Ben's behavior affected him.

"I'm glad you realize what you did was wrong, but you don't get to ambush me into forgiving you."

In so many cases of school bullying stories or just any victim abuser storyline, in the end, the abuser always apologizes and the victim forgives them, and in some cases, (which are the worst) they even become best friends. I cannot imagine staying in the same room as my bully let alone becoming BFFs with them. None of us should have to deal with bullying and harassment in the first place and then be expected to shake hands with the person who made us feel so unsafe.

So when Charlie said

"I really hope you become a better person so you don't hurt anyone else, but I don't want to be there to see that happen" I was furiously nodding my head while bawling my eyes out.

Me and my friend were having a conversation over text once, I don't remember about what exactly but there was an instance when my friend said

"We don't know what they(bullies) went through, they have their own share of ups and downs".

I felt this was similar to how some part of the audience reacted to this scene. Sympathy to the abuser. Ben had his fair share of struggles, yes, but that doesn't mean he gets a free pass to be mean to Charlie. I don't sympathize with Ben or my bullies.

"We were all kids, they didn't know any better"

I don't care what they went through in their life. I don't even "wish them a good life" or a bad life. I don't even want to think about them, witness their "growth" journey, or whatever... They are the reason I need therapy. Why would I even "wish" them a prosperous life?! That's just foolish and unnecessary. Whatever they "went through" is none of my business.

In Mr.Farouk's own words "I don't give a rat's arse" and I'm glad Charlie didn't too.

Some of us don't even get that apology we need because people in real life don't even realize what they did was wrong.

I'm so glad Charlie called him out. I was living vicariously through Charlie in this scene. This scene gave me a sense of relief that I never found all these years. Thank you to the makers and writers of this scene. It's therapeutic to me.

[baileybagel24]

So do we think Buck watches Heartstopper and aggressively screams every time Ben Hope is on screen? Like he started watching for the Bi coming of age and the fluffy gay love story but is now Invested in the gay nerd and his bisexual rugby lad boyfriend.

It’s a hyperfixation and he binges it all in one night and comes into work the next day crying because “No Charlie you matter so much stop” and then reads all the comics between calls.

Buck won’t stop talking about it so everyone comes over to see what all the fuss is about and Buck screams at the screen while wildly gesturing to Hen, Athena, and Karen about how awful Ben is.

Tommy just stands in the back smiling fondly as Eddie stares in bemusement and horror as Buck’s arms fling around the room and his yells ratchet up when Charlie and Ben are in the music block

Tommy laughs at Eddie’s wide eyed look and just goes “yeah Evan’s invested, he’s turned this into a blood sport”

After which Tommy and Eddie always show up to Buck, Hen, and Karen’s weekly watch party-wine night, equally entertained watching the show and their boyfriend/friends lose their minds.

[everythingsbetterunderthestars]

HEARTSTOPPER S2 SPOILERS BELOW

None of my friends were able to watch season 2 yet and I need to externalise my feelings somewhere so hello osemanverse tumblr

(There will be no specific order to these thoughts and I will probably forget a thousand things I wanted to say but oh well)

THE PARENTS THIS SEASON I AM LOVING THAT WE GET TO SEE MORE OF THEM ESPECIALLY OLIVIA COLMAN AAAAHH and tao’s mom omg their scenes were everything this season

Also Taoelle <333333 finally

TORI TORI TORI TORI TORI TORI TORI

Naomi and felixxxx I love them so much

JAMES !!!!!!! AND ISAAC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Also did anyone else notice loveless in the background when they talk things through in the library??)

Ive recently become obsessed with Radiohead because of one of my friends so I really loved the moment with little Charlie and Tao

Just so much queer joy it was beautiful

TARA AND DARCY AND STRUGGLING BUT MANAGING TO COMMUNICATE IN THE END ALSO THE BALANCE BETWEEN CRAZY FUNNY WHIMZY AND DARCY’S FAMILY PROBLEMS I AM UNWELL ANDDDD THE I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU SCENE

Prom was so adorable aaaaaahhh

The outfits ??????!! 🤌🤌🤌🤌

Also I am absolutely gonna listen to this season’s songs on repeat they were AMAZING and it was so satisfying to hear some that I already knew (plus seven is the only Taylor song I like so it felt extra special and I remember Alice saying in an Instagram story that that song was very Tara/Darcy bf’zodjdkksjf) AND BABY QUEEN I ALMOST FAINTED WHEN I SAW HER AT THE PROM

Also I need you all to know how much like Isaac I am about books. (Also I’m so proud of him aaaaahhh my baby)

The teachers. You agree.

The diner scene was so iconic

Obsessed with the Ben apology scene and Charlie’s reaction

Also is that an Imogen/Sahar thing i sense coming?? Or maybe cool female friendship development im not picky that would be awesome too (ngl though im kinda starting to ship them now)

Oh yes Imogen this season aaahh that was a rollercoaster but I’m so proud of her slay queen

Well that’s all I can think of for now :) all in all I loved this season even more than the first one even though I have no idea how that’s possible but yes I will definitely rewatch it and soon

[emycantconsentrate]

solitaire Ranttttt

I love this book and I've read it at least 30 times. i just want to say before I start that these are my personal opinions about the book.

I know i said I've read it a lot but i still don't know everything so please don't get mad if i get any facts incorrect.

Solitaire starts as Victoria (tori) Spring is starting school after x-mas or winter break. Tori lives with her mom, dad, and two brothers, Charlie and Oliver. Charlie, who is also in the heartstopper comics, struggles with an ED. I truly think that this effects Tori's life a lot. I know its not Charlies fault but I'm sure tori is almost constantly worrying about him. Tori and her mother don't get along very well. I'm not entirely sure why they don't but i think they touch more on that fact in This Winter. I've read it but it was a long time ago and i really need a reread.

on a different note. I've been needed to talk about this but none of my friends care enough. This is a controversial opinion but i hate Becky. she is such a bitch to tori and i just can't stand her. i know most of the time when tori and her would fight it would be when Becky is drunk but that doesn't make anything she has done right. she dated Ben Hope, one of the worst people in the universe of solitaire. i guess i don't really have a true reason to hate her accept for the fact that i have had friends like Becky. its all fine and its a beautiful friendship, then out of nowhere they go behind you and become friends or start dating someone that isn't a good person. they don't know they are a bad person and you do. and if you try to tell them that they are a bad person they either don't care or they don't believe you. I truly don't get why people like Becky. this is way too much but I'm going to do it any way. I'm going to analyze one of their fights.

pages 226-228 Solitaire

Becky was kissing Ben Hope after 100% knowing how awful of a person he was and still is to her best friends little brother. Tori sees this happening at the Solitaire party and is furious. which is completely reasonable because of how actually nasty he is.

after ben walks off Becky asks tori what she's looking at. in the next bit tori just goes off on her saying stuff like "you are a nasty bitch," and "you just don't care, do you?"

"that's it isn't it? I'm you naive little friend whose sad little life makes you feel better about yourself. well, you're absolutely spot-on there. I haven't got a single clue about anything. But you know what i do know? I know when someone is being a nasty bitch. Go ahead and cry your little crocodile tears if you want to. You don't fucking care at all do you?" this is a rant Tori goes on while arguing. This leaves Becky absolutely speechless.

"well- you- you're the one being a nasty bitch! Jesus Christ just calm down." After Becky says this Tori tells the reader that, i quote, "this is bad. I need to stop. I can't" Tori is now aware that she can't help was she says anymore. She no longer trust Becky. She no longer has a "BFF". Becky has betrayed her.

Tori continues to yell at Becky. "I'm sorry - do you have any comprehension of the level of betrayal you have just reached? Do you have any concept of friendship? I didn't think it was possible for someone to be that selfish, but clearly i've been wrong all this time" Tori is very very upset now and then says " You've killed me. You've literally killed me."

Becky has single handedly DESTORYED Tori. Becky is awful, and of course she just tells her to calm down. she literally was just making out with a boy that SA'd HER BEST FRIENDS BROTHER! and she knew he did it. which is ACTUALLY INSANE!!!!!

just the amount of betrayal and shit she caused makes be fucking sick to my stomach. yeah i do know that its a fake story and they aren't real people. it's just the fact that people like Becky do really do shit like this. I can't believe people are actually capable of stuff like this.

i really need to shut up but i have two more quotes from Tori then I'll stop.

"You have solidly proven that everyone and everything is shit. well done. Gold star. please delete yourself from my life."

" i am gone. I am gone. I guess everyone is like this. Smiles, hugs, years together, holidays, late night confessions, tears, phone calls, one million words - they don't mean anything. Becky doesn't care. No one really cares."

thank you for listening/reading

[remusfinglupin]

Things in the Heartstopper Show that Just Don’t Make Sense (from someone who loves Heartstopper)

1. Charlie being portrayed as an outcast when he was actually fairly popular and well-liked

2. Issac in general. Alice has said that they have Issac instead of Aled so he can have his own story, but I don’t think putting Aled in the show would detract from that at all, especially since he doesn’t have a huge roll in the comics. Also, Issac reading at the most inappropriate times!! I’m a huge reader, but reading during class, parties, and other social events is definitely rude. And I’m saying this as an introvert. Go on your phone.

3. Tao being straight up antagonistic towards Nick and ride to Charlie. In the comics he was rude at most, but in the show he just seems like a dick. Also the whole thing with him having abandonment issues because of his dad is kind of strange. He didn’t abandon Tao, he died. That’s completely different from friends falling out of touch or having arguments. I’m saying this as someone whose dad has also died.

4. Olivia Colman. Why would she agree to do the show if she didn’t know if she could stay for more seasons or fit it in her schedule? It just looks like Sarah disappeared off the face of the earth now.

5. Imogen in season 1 + 2. The fact that they made her date Ben just for drama and have a crush on Nick. I get that it’s part of her comp het, but I really think she just dated Ben so the show would have more drama.

6. I don’t know why, but I think Elle just seems meaner in the show? Also, why would she transfer to Higgs one year just to go to Lambert the next?

That’s all for now, let me know what you think

[bucksboobs]

I mean I think it makes sense for heartstopper to not have anything explicit going on as one of them only Just realised he liked boys and the other one has an ED, they do talk about it pretty directly in the show so its addressed not totally unrealistically. But as for fan response yeah there was a weird thing amongst… a certain subset of fans of making a joke/meme out of a single throwaway line in the books where they mention having sex, maybe the accessibility draws that type of crowd but I don’t think that’s the fault of the show/comic itself 😅 esp as things get fairly explicit in the comics later as they get older

I have complicated feelings about Heartstopper. I actually like it in theory as Baby’s First Gay Show (I would have rather had it then Queer as Folk when I was 14) and in theory it’s a uncomplicated cozy, warm, fuzzy story about two young boys falling in love. It’s the definition of Toothrotting Fluff

However in practice, it feels alienating to me as a gay man when the only two things gay boys are allowed to be in the show are Pure UwU Tumblr Softboy who Speaks in Therapy-ese and Pure Evil Rapist who is brought back into the show after the point the comic counterpart had been written out just to be a punching bag for the Valiant Bisexual Girl to yell at and out in front of their classmates and then Get Dunked On by his ex when he tries to apologize and then have The Symbolism Doodles symbolically reject him from the LGBT community and then get written out of the story.

Combined with the complete stripping away of any mention of sexuality outside of exactly One Scene where they discuss the gay equivalent of Waiting Until Marriage, it does come off as incredibly puritan even if it’s justified in-story by Charlie’s ED and I do actually attribute that in part to the source material. Alice Oseman is by their own admission, pretty uncomfortable with the idea of sex and it shows in the way Nick and Charlie are written. As Trixie and Katya put it: they seem like they just want to hold hands at the post office. The show to this point has been very very uncomfortable with the idea that these two boys might be attracted to each other in a not-purely-romantic way, and when the only other gay character that did show some level of sexual attraction that maybe wasn’t purely romantic is Ben Fucking Hope, the implication seems to be that there’s a Right and Wrong way to be Gay in the eyes of the story.

It also doesn’t escape my notice that Love, Victor petered away into obscurity but Heartstopper is seen as the pinnacle of Gay Representation to a lot of people. Love, Victor was unafraid of teenage boys of all sexualities being sexual beings and in fact reckons with it in ways that were VERY close to my actual experiences, like everything with Victor and his mom coming to terms with him having a romantic and sexual relationship with his boyfriend. Disney shafted LV a lot but Netflix has this Pure Sanitized Risk-free Romance on the front page every time a new season comes out and that also just stings. There’s the feeling that maybe if LV had been more chaste, more palatable, it would have actually been a major success.

I don’t want to sound too dismissive of what HS is for a lot of people but to me there’s just something that makes me feel like it was never for me and that could be because I’m too old for it, but it sometimes feels like it wasn’t for me because it’s not for gay men at all.

[wigglebox]

I think maybe the reason or at least one of the reasons why I like Heartstopper when I don’t usually gravitate at all to YA stuff is because Nick had a queer crisis but didn’t blame Charlie. I’m so used to stories with young kids where the one that is having a sexuality crisis distances themselves from their inevitable love interest and it almost feels like a punishment, or coming out as well also feels like a punishment, but Nick never blamed Charlie for anything and really wanted to figure things out with Charlie instead of … I guess instead of being like Ben? But also instead of just being the mean “figuring out my sexuality is your problem” trope.

[bairdthereader]

A Heartstopper body language moment (nanosecond edition).

This entire scene between Charlie and Ben is rightfully focused on them, their conversation, their faces, their emotions. It's a watershed moment for Charlie and a reckoning for Ben.

But I think the fact that Nick is still the in the frame, blurred or not, is significant. He's lending Charlie strength and support without any actual interference. He's trusting Charlie to do this incredibly hard thing on his own.

If you watch closely, there's this little moment right when Charlie says "But I don't want to be there to see that happen" where you can see Nick let out a deep sigh, a visible release of tension. He's been holding his breath (metaphorically speaking) for this entire painful confrontation.

Nick has had a totally singular perspective on this twisted relationship. He's seen Ben's assault of Charlie firsthand and named it for what it was. He's heard Charlie's side of the story in detail. He's endured multiple torturous interactions with Ben where Ben monologued, blamed, rewrote history, and tried to undermine Nick and Charlie's relationship. All of these interactions were private, giving Nick a uniquely thorough and complete understanding of just how damagingly manipulative Ben can be.

So I think it's safe to say that Charlie's statements here, especially "I don't want to see you ever again," are intensely meaningful for Nick, too. He recognizes that Charlie is extricating himself from Ben once and for all, that Charlie has done the emotional work of figuring out exactly what Ben did to him, and that he's won the battle against his own mind (maybe not the whole war, but this specific, important battle). Nick is breathing out all his long and deeply held worry.

That sigh speaks volumes.

[lesdeuxxx]

ATTENTION PEOPLE: MISSING FANFIC SEARCH:

So this is going to be very incredibly confusing, but I’m searching for this fic I read a really long time ago. In light of the possibility ao3 gets banned, I’m going to save fics that I think deserve to be preserved like the literature they are. This includes fics that I read previously and really liked. However, I’m having trouble finding this Heartstopper fic I read ages ago back when I was still in the fandom and do not remember the title of. I fear it may have been deleted. But regardless, I will shout into the void and hope and pray someone knows the fic I’m taking about and can maybe send me the link. So here’s a plot recap:

It’s set during the Christmas season. Charlie is homeless. He breaks into nicks shed to steal power tools to pawn them for money but nick catches him, and feels bad. Slowly over time they become friends, and nick does what he can to help Charlie. The early chapters im blanking on but it gets interesting much later. Charlie stays with nick after a lot of convincing and they lie to nicks parents (who in this fic, are still together-nicks father is a cop.) and say he goes to truham. Christmas rolls around and nick (I think) fakes sick to stay home while his parents travel or see relatives or something, and Charlie spends a few days with nick alone in the house. Charlie also plays the violin for some reason, which nick happens to have and gifts to Charlie because he never uses it. Charlie grows insecure about “using” nick and eventually runs off, feeling as though he is a nuisance, and so he goes back to the street. His violin gets stolen by some street rats who beat him up, but nick goes out searching for him and throws the street rats off, leading to him and Charlie having to escape and hide in an abandoned apartment Charlie stays in some times. But when you think everything’s okay, the third act happens and Ben comes into play, who is a much older drug dealer who takes advantage of Charlie being in a bad position to have an abusive relationship with him. Charlie tries to go to Elle and Tao, who he met through Ben, and who try to hide him but ultimately he’s sniffed out and Ben takes him when his goons and him storm elle and Tao’s apartment. There’s some sort of fight in I think a motel and and nick gets him back. Imogen is also there, I don’t really remember when she is or what she does until the end, when we find out she went with Ben who is now technically a kidnapper, and nicks cop father has to swat Ben to take him out, and he goes to jail cause turns out he killed Charlie’s mom because she was (I think) verbally abusive to Charlie and it’s what leads to them being together.

Also, a couple random plot points I remember but don’t know where to place include:

-charlie constantly wears a thin denim jacket that later gets traded with one of nicks old puffer coats

-he runs into Tara and Darcy drawing graffiti under a bridge and joins them. If I remember correctly, Darcy was kicked out by her mom and Tara has a shit home life.

-Charlie goes with nicks mom to one of his rugby games and they talk I think

-nick and Charlie have a date where they go to some sort of Christmas fair and I think go ice skating

-Ben may or may not have been drugging and pimping out Charlie, and I think that’s like the main reason why he freaks out about Imogen is cause he’s worried it’ll happen to her?

-when Ben brings Charlie to the hotel, he shoot’s up heroin

The fic was posted during the holiday season, I do remember that. As for the year, I’m not sure, but I would say it’s likely to be either from December 2021 or 2022.

If ANYONE remembers anything about this fic, the name, the author, anything at all, please comment below. I remember it was an incredible story and I know I would feel incredible guilt if I couldn’t find it again while I’m on the hunt to preserve my favorite fics before the government might take them away from me.