not to be rude but some of u expect me to tag like… anything that mentions/shows ‘the date april 26th’ and like i get that it affects u in a bad way and i don’t want to make u upset on purpose but pls don’t be Mean to me about forgetting. i follo a quite a bit of people and it can be hard to rembemer Every little specific thing. some of these things can be rlly obscure or things i nvr think about… ..just remind me or if it’s bad enough then unfoollow if you need to.

Let's talk about Eric Effiong

Let's be honest Eric's storyline and characterization is one of the most appealing out of all the characters in Sex Education periodt. A true gay, fierce, Drag QUEEN and I feel like ranting about this amazing force of nature. (Spoilers. Duh.)

When I saw the trailer for Sex Education it didnt even hit me that Eric was gay until I read the synopsis. Was just like "Oh I wonder which one of these three mains are the gay one people keep talking about" even after I saw him in drag like a dumbass 😣😂. Personally im glad we've reached a point where gay guys aren't overly feminine and even the brightest colours won't differ a character from the rest (unless I'm just a blind bish and he was obviously gay from the trailer) ei 👏🏾 ther 👏🏾 way; his character was refreshing when I started watching the show. I immediately clicked with him and knew what every look he gave or hand gesture he did meant. Felt nice. When Adam pushed him into the locker for the first time and started with the heterohomoerotic bs I knew that Adam had a raging boner for Eric and was another internalized homophobic bully™ and wasn't really excited for what was to come but I knew it was coming and tbh I liked it in the end.

Eric and Otis' friendship is so pure. Like?!? Get me a straight supportive bestie lilke Otis? Ik they fought but even then Otis was respectful and kept his boundaries and let Eric go through the motions before immediately belting into an apology at the first chance he got. Their dancing scene?!? Iconic. The fact that Eric sees Otis' house as safe and another home?!? Iconic. Otis going drag with Eric to watch an LGBT+ movie as a TRADITION (meaning they've done it numerous times)?!?! Iconic. The fact that Otis was straight up ditching Eric and Eric STILL tolerated him and let him do his thing without too much pressure!?! The most iconic of them all. Just pure love and respect all around.

I am so proud of Erics growth over the course of the season starting from a naive and scared gay doormat to facing homophia and getting beat up by those assholes on his birthday no less to losing his best friend and becoming depressed to channeling that anger into defending himself when people tried him to getting his sparkle back and coming back more fierce that ever before.

Speaking of him getting his sparkle back lets talk about that and why that scene is so important. A random guy asked Eric for directions and Eric noticed his nails were polished and the guy was wearing earrings and he was a big ole black dude. He was like Eric. When Eric noticed that the guy was out, loud, glamorous and proud he immediately switched back into the bright colourful and wonderfully gay Eric we all know and love.

THIS IS WHY REPRESENTATION MATTERS!!!!

It shows people that its okay to be who they actually are and inspires those who are lost to find or return to their true selves. Representation isn't just some offhand thing to throw on a character last minute. And even if you can relate to other characters who arent like you, it is always an amazing feeling to have a character that IS like you. It turned Eric from a popularity seeking doormat into a hurricane with 6 inch heels who was ready to straight up beat down a bully he's had for 4 years. It even inspired him to go back to church and rejoin a community that he closed off. That's exactly how it feels to have someone successful in the media and your life to look up to. Eric only interacted with that man for a few minutes but those few minutes changed his life for the better. So that's a lovely reminder for all who love to bash representation.

Back tracking to Eric's dull colourless period after the attack and his fight with Otis. It was saddening to see one of the brightest characters go dull and even the school felt it. He turned from a guy who rarely stood up for himself and what he wanted into the sass master he reserved only for his friends. All of his built up anger was released causing him to explode on Mr Hendricks (who is adorable tbh and just trying to do his best) and Anwar (I was proud of that punch you go glenn co co) and he even sounded off on his dad who he's usually passive aggressive to at worst. Just goes to show that the happiest faces can harbor the biggest pains and can snap. Moral of the story? Protect the happy few.

Eric also has a great family. Like that obviously know Erics gay and wears dresses because its all right there in his room which his parents enter at their leisure and while it seems that they're a bit homophobic its revealed that they (Erics dad at least) just wants Eric to be safe as he's already a target for being black and apart of an immigant family. He accepts Eric for who he is and what he does he just doesnt want anyone else to give him shit for it and if that's not one of the sweetest things in this world idek what is. Eric and his dad was probably one of my favorite dynamics in the show and watching his dad slowly fully accept that his son was strong and able to stand for himself he was able to become stronger too. This dynamic is important because I never see any gay black characters have a close relationship with their fathers and it was very heartwarming to watch.

Now onto Erics love life. He has a crush on the highschools other only gay guy Anwar who's the typical mean sassy gay we've all come to expect in highschool dramas. Otis saying that Eric doesnt have to have a crush on the only other openly gay guy at school was such a mood as its commonly shown that any gays in close proximity should get together. When Eric punched him I internally went "Finally!" Because all those jeers were becoming annoying. I'm glad Anwar got to come out to his mum over it though. And straight up told the audience that Eric didn't like feminine guys (alluding to him and Adams eventual clean up scene as of we didn't see it coming already).

Moving on to Adam tho, like I said we all been knew that this

was indeed coming and even though I hate the bully x bullied trope I still ended up liking it and hoping that Adam would change. The building up to that kiss was long awaited from episode 1 straight through to 8 with all the longing looks that Adam kept side glancing Eric with and the face cupping and the growls and the lingering touches. I just kept going sthdjksksbslaldbd when one of those moments happened followed shortly after with disgust because gays falling for their abuser is washed up but then immediately going back to jajaklamabsldkd because im shipping trash so 🤷🏿. Eric stepping to Adam in at the ball was one of the most iconic scenes of the show (along with the "Its My Vagina" scene) and the exchange between him and Adam gave be actual chills. The tension was THICCCC. Erics OUTFIT to the ball gave me chills 😭😭 dude came to slay and had everyone at that school proper shook and I honestly could NOT be more proud. I was hoping Adam would become a better person over the course of the season but nope so hopefully they cover all the issues that Adam has in season 2 and properly give him a redeption arc cuz he's still a trashy pos he's just a disaster bi on top of it. (Adam immediately going to suck Eric off is confidence I can only dream of achieving 💀💀) The lab scene was also cute but made me mad because how could Adam look scared, confident and still be a douchebag all in the span of a few seconds was beyond me. A+ acting on Connor Swindells part. I can see why Adam would have to stay in the closet and keep their... relationship?? a secret because it seems like Headmaster Groff would be a homophobic piece of shit and would add to the ever growing list of things Adam did wrong. Even so it doesn't excuse the fact that Adam is in fact a bully and Eric deserves much better. Was sad seeing Adam being driven off from Eric in the end tho. Eric thought that Adam didn't want to see him at all and was probably heartbroken and probably thinks Adam left because of him (my poor baby 😭😭). I feel bad for Adam too because he was just starting to express himself and was at the beginning of a redemption arc when he was just wisked away from the boy he's loved for what seems to be a very long time. I just want my boys to be happy and non toxic and I wish their relationship and them all the best in Season 2.

Eric Effiong is my favorite character in the show and I really want to thank Ncuti Gatwa for portraying him so well and for the shows writers who gave him a very fleshed out character with an amazing storyline and conclusion. His growth was incredible and his strength is immeasurable. I'm 100% certain that he will be a character the community remembers for years to come. Patiently now waiting on what's to come in Season 2 💙🙌🏾.

Hi! I want to ask for your opinion on something that happened to me. I'm uploading a HxH fanfic I'm writing. The ship is not relevant right now but someone commented on it saying they liked my way to portray the characters, BUT right after that they said they were glad that a /certain/ character wasn't involved in the fic as in "im glad its this ship and not that ship" and they said "they couldn't stomach it", I thought it was pretty uncalled for, what is your opinion on their attitude?

sounds like a case of unnecessary opinions on your fic. ive had people leave passive aggressive sorts of things like that before, and honestly how i respond to it depends on how im feeling in the moment im reading it. if i get it first thing in the morning, im more likely to brush it off and ignore it when i reply. if i read it after a long day at work and before ive eaten, im a lot more likely to call it out or flat out ignore the comment altogether and just not reply.

i dislike comments like that. thats my opinion on that attitude. a lot of people dont know proper comment etiquette and think its okay to pair a compliment with something negative (even if that negative thing isnt entirely directed at the fic), and what it comes down to is simple entitlement on the part of the commenter. them saying how theyre happy its this and not that just says that your choice of characters/pairings was the only thing keeping them from not liking the fic. that they feel its proper you wrote what you did instead of writing something else that might have made you happy writing.

its unnecessary. it doesnt need to be said. you wrote that fic how you wanted to write it. what you decided to include or exclude is no business of theirs, and them /making/ it their business isnt appreciated. i doubt they meant for it to be read like that, but thats how it comes off to a writer.

if you want my advice on how to proceed or respond, all i can tell you is to do what feels right to you. if you can easily brush it off and ignore it, then do that. if you want to delete the comment, go for it. if you want to calmly explain that you appreciate their praise but dislike the unnecessary addition to the comment, feel free to do that as well. all i can recommend is to sleep on it first. the majority of rude things ive been sent pissed me off less once i let a day pass before reading it again.

at the end of the day theyre just some stranger on the internet whose opinion really doesnt matter in the slightest. we’re all here to have fun and share our hard work with each other. focus on the people who dont take your work for granted and ignore the ones who do. its the best way to keep happy doing what youre doing. i hope this helps.

(Drarry sequel write anon): my guy no i didnt mean lala land as in the shitty film lol nah i mean like my head spaced out instead of focusing on my fic 😂😂 (tbh i forgot 'lala land' was even a movie til i read ur tags, its usually just a term i use to describe spacing out) (i hope this doesnt sound rude or passive aggressive i stg thats not how i want this to come off)

Oh, i actually wasn’t sure if you meant the movie or not, it was an unlucky guess then. In that case, i do relate to the inability to focus and mind wondering that happens when you’re working on your own stuff and my advice remains to read Hogwarts Crammer. Which doesn’t sound very productive, but then again i’m also reading/thinking about Crammer instead of working on the fic i was oh so excited about the other day, so i’m not really a good source for motivation i guess?