#the heartstopper adaptation was fucking delightful

[tuttle-did-it]

Doctor Who The Star Beast initial thoughts (spoilers)

what are they all reaching for? Can someone explain this to me?

I need to chew on this episode a little more because I don't know how I feel about some of it.

I haven't properly watched Doctor Who since Catherine Tate left. I've seen a bit of things in between, but frankly hated most of what I saw. The only reason I'm watching now is because I LOVE Catherine Tate and David Tennant together. They're my favourite pair, and I couldn't not watch if they were finally going to resolve the horrific ending for Catherine Tate.

The good:

Catherine Tate and David Tennant still have electrifying chemistry. Catherine Tate was an absolute delight, as she always was on this show.

Yasmin Finney, as in Heartstoppers, is adorable and charming and fun to watch.

Shaun was a good character, and I liked the Noble-Temple family (except her mum, still hate her mum)

I loved the trans acceptance and I LOVVVED how much Rose's parents treasured and truly loved her. I LOVE ally-Donna, and I wish every queer child out there had parents who were that amazing.

The conversations regarding queerness- it's okay for cis-hets to be uncomfortable and awkward with how to deal with us, it's good for them to talk about it and learn, as long as they still show us respect. It was fine to show that this was new to the cis-hets and they loved Rose so much, they were learning to adapt. That's nice, and it's okay to show that this is hard for cis-hets at first, sometimes.

The conversations regarding pronouns treated as a normal consideration.

Related to this, in this anti-queer era, where trans children can now be taken away from their parents (in America), and the anti-queer/anti-trans attitudes all over (especially US and Britain), I admire that RTD was like 'I'm going to have a beautiful Black trans girl on Doctor Who and I'm going to give her loving and supportive parents, and fuck you if you disagree.' He knew this would get him a lot of backlash, and still did it anyway. And I appreciate and admire that.

The new Tardis interior is a nice kiss to previous iterations whilst a nice spin on things

Donna's horrific ending with Ten was one of the things I have always disliked about NuWho. I HATED what they did to her. It would have been better to kill her than mind-rape her, I hated that ending. It was so cruel. Although I didn't like the way they did it, I'm so happy that's finally resolved and she can go back to being the absolutely brilliant character she became at the end of her run.

The reference to the Tom Baker era with the barrister's wig in Tennant's jacket. It was silly but fun.

Rose's cute little stuffed toys were fun, but the moment I saw the one that looked like an Adipose, I knew the energy had been passed down to her and that would be enough for Donna to survive. Not so much sign-posting as it was sign-blockading- just announcing the entire plot immediately.

The character of Rose, even if I don't like her name, was still an interesting, intelligent, creative and thoughtful young Black trans woman, and that is always a delight to see. After 60 years, there is finally a queer Black person in the Who universe and I really love that. Regardless of whether I think this is a good episode or not, RTD intentionally and knowingly bringing a Black trans woman into the world was really, really lovely.

I also loved seeing a Black father who was loving, supportive and kind- Black fathers are very often shown in entertainment to be harsh, abusive, distant, etc to their families, so I like that we got to see a great Black father who clearly loved his kid and his wife.

The bad:

The annoying monologue beginning- show, don't tell. That was just silly to watch. Especially with just HOW dramatic they were trying to make it.

The Marvel-looking opening, I'm cool with the big budget, but it did feel disconcerting and took away some of the charm of the shoe-string budget DW.

Why, WHY does every story with a trans youth have to show bullying? No, let's talk about this. Because it feels like every story that does include a trans/non-binary/queer character, there is inevitably the scenes that show us suffering and being mistreated. What if, just once, there was a trans youth who was happy, and all their friends were cool with it, and they weren't mistreated because they were different? What if we didn't have monsters tormenting a queer child? We are more than our suffering. And we are story-worthy despite the many scenes of torment. It's almost 2024. Let's try to have at least one queer character in something that is not mistreated because of their identity. Just for fun, let's try it.

The deadnaming of Rose. That added nothing, it was unnecessary, her name is Rose, and no one needed to acknowledge any name that she was previously known by. Please, writers out there: if you're going to have a non-binary or trans character who has found their new identity, understand that we do NOT need to know what their previous name is. Especially if it is going to be used to hurt that character through abuse.

The plot was very, very basic. I know it's a children's show, I know it's trying to reset some things, I know it's going to be very 1-2-3 but does it have to be SO 1-2-3? Couldn't we throw in a spin? 1-1.75-2.35-3? Just a little less basic? I knew everything that was going to happen within just the few minutes.

RTD has an obsession with linking everything back to everything. I never really cared for Billy Piper's Rose, and never really cared for the obsession Ten in particular had for Rose. So I don't see the need for the name, it just feels unnecessary and an attempt to link things back to previous people and events. It's not necessary. We can love Donna's daughter without her being called Rose. I know that's RTD's thing, but I don't really love it.

Donna's mum. She's exhausting. I know that's the point, but I just don't really care for her. The story would have moved faster and been more enjoyable without her, for me.

The pacing of the entire episode was a mess. Everything was drawn out and over-explained until the third act, which was put into hyperspeed with nonsense explanations.

The weird creation of bullet-proof shields from the sonic screwdriver? I know it's a trope that is just used to get out of every scenario, but it just felt a bit silly. I preferred when the sonic screwdriver is used for practical things like 'resonating concrete,' but not absurd things like creating a shield. If he can create bullet-proof shields with that sonic screwdriver, then there's never any danger for him if he has enemies near- just draw a shield. It's stupid, and immediately takes away all drama and energy.

The Doctor just randomly telling this UNIT stranger all of his woes and secrets and thoughts and worries- again, show, don't tell. None of this needs to be said. And it certainly doesn't need to be said in a hyper-dramatised way. To a random stranger he doesn't know. Even someone like me, who hasn't seen the show in many, many years, will catch up without the monologues.

Because the pacing was a mess, the third act was a mess-- they had to fly through the whole 'Donna will die' stuff, and the 'but she and Rose still have the energy inside them and need to get rid of it' and that was definitely a weak part of the story.

Just 'let it go.' What? 'It's a shame you're not a woman anymore, 'cos she would have understood.' What? What does this even mean? This whole resolution made absolutely no sense.

I'm struggling to understand why the meta-crisis energy was never activated in Rose previously? Why she didn't get a letter home from school when she was glowing? Why when the kids were tormenting her on a playground she didn't accidentally nuke them all with all that power? Why did Donna have to be activated before it activated Rose? That didn't make any sense. Again, not integral, but just another little annoyance.

Rose's cute little stuffed toys were fun, but the moment I saw the one that looked like an Adipose, I knew the energy had been passed down to Rose and that would be enough for Donna to survive.

Also, how did Donna know that he'd regenerated back into Tennant? He never tells her. He also doesn't tell her he was a woman before. Arguably, it could be the energy telling her, but that energy hasn't come in contact with him for 15 years so why would it read him and his past and instantly tell Donna everything? And if that had been the case, Rose should have known who The Doctor was when she met him. Again, not crucial, just another annoyance that wasn't cleared up.

the second we see the cup of coffee, we all know exactly what's going to happen. Couldn't they have thought of a better way to keep Donna in the Tardis?

Donna finally gets to re-evolve, and the first thing you have her do, the first thing? Is to destroy his new console. Seriously?

Tennant's energy was a bit off. Not sure why, yet- I felt he was playing it just a little too much. It felt performative. The first moment it didn't feel that way was when he and Donna were in the Tardis for the first time.

RIP Bernard Cribbins. 🥺 You would have made this episode much better.

Things I'm chewing on

I appreciate that RTD tried to show a beautiful, strong, intelligent Black trans woman with a supportive and loving Black father (Black fathers are very often shown as abusive or absent, so that's really lovely, thanks RTD). So I'm thinking a lot about that, how Rose was represented both on her own and with her family, etc. That's beautiful, and lovely. And all too rare.

I might be struggling with how Rose's gender identity was part of the plot. Particularly, Rose's comment, 'I'm finally me.' I'm trying to work out what that meant. If she wasn't aware that the meta-crisis energy was in her, what, exactly, was stopping her from being her? She was already recognised by her friends and her family as Rose, as 'she.' So... what was that energy doing to her inside to make her say that? Is that why she was feeling lonely and different? Because that's not really made clear.

It also felt a bit like they were saying that Rose was nonbinary and trans because of the meta-crisis energy that had been passed down from Donna. That the energy had changed her somehow, and made her different. So, are they saying she was only trans and non-binary because of the energy inside her? If that's the case, are they inadvertently saying that Rose is not actually trans, and that now that the energy is gone, she knows her true identity? Are they saying trans and non-binary isn't something she was born with? That it's something that can be done to someone, without their knowledge or consent? And that she suffered unnecessarily because this energy made her believe she's trans and non-binary? Would she have been trans and non-binary had the energy never been passed down to her? I'm not really clear on what their message here with all of that was. I think it was poorly written, and thus not very clear. I need time to think on it to try to understand what they were trying to say with all of this.

I am looking forward to Ncuti Gatwa joining-- having two queer Black actors in the tardis would be really lovely (if Rose ends up on the Tardis), and I hope they do that just to piss off the cis-het anti-'woke' crowd.

That said, I wonder if it was fair to Gatwa to bring arguably the most popular NuWho Doctor back just before him. The racist 'fans' are already complaining because you dared to have a transgender and non-binary Black woman on the show. They're probably not too happy about having a queer Black actor stepping into the Tardis, either. By bringing the fan-favourite Tennant back for the 60th anniversary and then taking him away again, I wonder if those 'anti-woke' fans might rally even more against Gatwa, complaining that 'we could have had Tennant again.' Obviously those idiots will find anything to complain about, so fuck them. I hope that people embrace Gatwa with open arms. I haven't enjoyed DW for a very long time, but I'm certainly willing to give him a shot, as I do like him. I'm looking forward to seeing at least the first few episodes with him before deciding whether to continue with it or not.

[justasmallbloginabigklainefandom]

@sohereswhatyoumissedlastweek replied to your post “@sohereswhatyoumissedlastweek replied to your post...”:

Not gonna spoil but I enjoyed the movie except for the bi storyline completely changing

​AYE OKAY I AM HERE WITH MY REVIEW OF THE MOVIE

I watched it twice. I watched it on Sunday and then on Monday I got invited for an unexpected watch party. I'm glad I watched it twice.

First thing first, and that's also what I said to my fellow watchers, if you're a fan of the book, the movie is trash, but if you're a fan of a cute rom com, it's an absolute delight and I still stand by that.

You might remember that I wasn't excited for this movie at all because of the changes they made. My dash has been filled with posts going "OMG HEARTSTOPPER S2 AND RWRB IN ONE WEEK GAYS WE KEEP WINNING"-esque posts and I was like.... "I don't share that excitement, luvs, but you do you.", but then I heard from the reviews that it is a fun movie if you let go of the idea of a great adaptation, so that's what I did and I had a hoot watching it. It is a bad movie, it is wonderful. It is an amazing movie, it is terrible. There is this post going around that starts with "This is the worst movie I've ever seen. This is a perfect movie" etc. etc. and that is kind of how I feel. Like, it is so bad at times, and so good at times, and I like the actors the most. They did a great job and they are not Henry and Alex from the book, but they FUCKING WORK.

I did like watching it, but I did not love it, though, even when I see it as a standalone from the book, but that is because rom com isn't my genre. I was watching it with a rom com lover who hasn't read the book and she adored it. (I also watched it with a fan of the book, who despised it, even though I warned him and told him to turn off his fan brain).

That being said, I do miss parts of the book. I know people say I shouldn't, but I do. Mostly, I miss the depth of the book. As the fan said: "The premise of the book is as weird and rom com-y as the movie, but the book actually pulls it off", because of the depth. I missed the complexity of the characters (ALEX'S BI JOURNEY and his doubts about the future, Henry's grief and mental health, the problems in the Royal Family, the way they were outed, the friendship of the Super Six, seeing their love in their e-mails etc.). Like, I don't give a rat's ass about "Cornbread knows my sins" not being there, although it would funny to have it included. I miss the depth more.

But again, that is not what this movie is for and it would drive you mad if you keep being angry about those things, I guess. If you miss those things, you're better of rereading the book, which is fine. I told the people of the watch party that the book is Casey's RWRB and the movie is Matthew's RWRB and that is alright.

Although, I must give some credit to my rom com lover's reaction towards there not being a bi journey. Remember, she didn't read the book, so she didn't know there was a bi journey (rip), and she was amazed by the fact that it was so casually stated that they're queer. She expected a big journey and a huge coming out scene, because that is what queer media is often about, and she found it refreshing to have them be queer. I still wish they had included it, because it also means a lot to see an older person's journey, but I see what she means. She was really in awe.

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (17-23 Apr 2022)

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😍👂 A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) (Becky Chambers, author; Rachel Dulude, narrator)

😊 A Suitable Consort [For the King and His Husband] (R. Cooper) - precisely what it says on the tin; entertaining, I do love an oblivious academic being wooed

😍👂 Record Of A Space Born Few (Wayfarers #3) (Becky Chambers, author; Rachel Dulude, narrator)

😍👂 The Galaxy, and the Ground Within (Wayfarers #4) (Becky Chambers, author; Rachel Dulude, narrator) - I love every single book in this series but this one is probably my fave, if only because of the 'cheese discussion' scene.

💖💖+184K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Cheek to Cheek (liloau) - MCU: shrunkyclunks, 10K - mmm, love the angst in a touch-starved, recently defrosted Steve Rogers

Through The Open Window (74days) - MCU: Stucky, 28K - wartime AU

The Best Revenge (BewareTheIdes15) - OFMD: BlackBonnet, 7K - ffffuuuuccckkkk this was HOT 🔥🔥🔥

Aftershave (samanthahirr) - TMFU: Illya/Gaby/Napoleon, 4K - yes, good, way to show an erotic shaving

Gold Asgardians and Other Poisons (HandsAcrossTheSea) - MCU: Stucky+Thor, 7K - another one that's hot hot hot 🔥🔥🔥 - I wish there was more with this threesome!

lay me down (tell me i've been found) (coffeeinallcaps) - MCU: Stucky, 25K - forever fave, fluffy, utterly indulgent D/s AU

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

Sense8 - s2, e8-12

Abbott Elementary - s1, e1-13

Hot Ones - Elijah Wood

Heartstopper - s1, e1-8

🎧 PODCASTS🎧

This is Good for You - Ep 29: Our One Year Anniversary!!

Overinvested - Ep. 254: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Ends of the World

Desert Island Discs - Alan Cumming, actor

Shedunnit Book Club - The Detective's Best Friend

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Gnomesville

Partners - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - The Louis Armstrong House Museum

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Bloody Island

You're Dead To Me - Young Napoleon

Endless Thread - The Faker

Overinvested - Ep. 255: Our Flag Means Death

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

CREDITS: Diane Warren

'90s Dance Crossover

Sub-Radio

Pop-Punk Party-Starters

Presenting Etta James

Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Biggest Beats

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

huzzah! fresh reads friday be upon ye!

first up we've got a list that I'm literally incapable of excluding, because I was instantly lured in my the phrase funky space sorcerers (my ideal occupation):

the line between sci-fi and fantasy can be delightfully thin in you let it, and I personally love stories that bounce on that line like a truly unhinged tightrope walker. Xiran Jay Zhao's Iron Widow is directly called out as a "genre wreck" (affectionate) on this list, which also contains another one of my faves This Is How You Lose the Time War.

next up: some lesser-known recs based on your favorite BookTok darlings. (for legal purposes I do NOT know what TikTok is, I'm only sharing in case this information is useful to someone else.)

I'm delighted to see Ryka Aoki's Light From Uncommon Stars on this list (incidentally it's another book that I would classify firmly as a space fantasy, bringing together alien refugees and a deal with the devil in contemporary California)! there's also Meet Me in Madrid, a lovely-sounding queer romance I've never heard of, and that one insane queer romance I've absolutely heard of in which two gay campaign staffers are pressured into fake-dating in order to nab votes for their boss??? what a list lmao.

speaking of lists (as if I ever talk about anything else) here's one for all my poetryheads out there:

Shelly Wong has compiled a list of seven other queer women of color poets to check out, including an "intergalactic expanse" from Brenda Shaughnessy, Aricka Foreman's lyrical debut, and Paige Quiñones’ "fable-like haunting."

next up: I think possibly the first recommendation for comics/graphic novels that I've ever done on Fresh Reads Friday? big oops on my part, I'll try to be more attentive to that in the future (especially since I've been diving back into reading comics myself lately!).

I don't know what the fuck happens in Heartstopper and I'm never going to find out, but if you love a fluffy queer comic then there are some real gems on this list to fill that need. you may have already heard of Bingo Love thanks to Tee Franklin's recent work on the ultra-gay Harley Quinn: The Animated Series: Eat. Bang! Kill. Tour, but have you heard of the roommate/rivals in Fence? or the demon-fighting witch and werewolf in Mooncakes? get to it!

and one more rec I don't think I've ever included before: translated fiction from Latin America!

and as long as we're talking about translated Latin American fiction that takes the reader to strange and challenging places, might I also toss out Mariana Enríquez's The Dangers of Smoking in Bed? it's a spooky and exhilarating collection of short stories, one of the most striking books I've read this year.