Never Have I Ever – Life and Other Disasters

I thought it would be nice to do one more of these posts before the end of the month. I thought I haven’t been watching very much, but in reality, I’ve just not been able to binge a lot. So, at the end of this post, you’ll find shows that I’m currently watching as they release weekly, in case you want to talk about any of those. I’ll keep my thoughts in the post to a brief sentence, but feel free to go more in depth in a discussion! I’m always down for TV talk!

Outer Banks (Season 2)

I was so very pumped to get this show back, because it was my absolute obsession last summer. I like the way it mixes The OC with what feels like the Goonies and has some really well rounded characters in it. Returning to that world now, I didn’t vibe as much with the show as I did last time.

Kiara used to be my favorite character alongside JJ, but they made some very odd choices for her storyline. While there were some unrealistic scenarios before, I couldn’t help but get annoyed or frustrated with certain character changes and choices this time around. Some problems literally would have been non-existent if people could just control their temper (and I’m not talking about the bad guys here), but most of all, I’m surprised that these kids aren’t dead. As much as I want them all safe and sound, I can’t wrap my head around some of them still being alive. It just … didn’t make sense.

But now on to the things I liked. I’m so glad that Pope got a bigger spotlight this season, because I felt like he was a bit forgotten in Season 1. We start to dive into his family more and ultimately manage to continue the treasure hunt element in a way that ties it neatly to previous events and gives us plenty of material for the future. JJ remains a favorite, just because he is super messy and funny and I want to give him a hug. Also, we get a new character that I adore – Cleo! They really did us all a favor by introducing her.

The last thing I want to say is, it very much feels like they are trying to set everyone up as a couple now, all the pairs ready to go. As much as I shipped Kiara and JJ last time and can see them wanting to put Cleo and Pope together, I kind of understand all the people shipping JJ and Pope, Kiara with John B or Sarah and Cleo. Not gonna lie, in that group, almost any pairing makes sense. I hope they won’t shy away from including something a little less … heteronormative.

Never Have I Ever (Season 2)

I had fun with the season, although I have to say that the secondhand embarrassment and cringe sometimes becomes a bit much for me. Where Season 1 had a tendency to go deeper on Ben rather than Paxton, this season switched things around and focused on Paxton instead. It’s really hard to choose a team (although I still think I might favor Ben?), but in the end, I like seeing Devi develop outside of the boys as well. Her family dynamic is always so interesting to me and I like that she doesn’t always have her emotions in check. I hope they can elaborate on these aspects without having to introduce new characters each season.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Season 2)

Again, I wasn’t vibing with this season as much as the last, but I enjoyed some different characters getting their due spotlight and especially for Courtney and Carlos getting to sing. My favorite in all of this, however, remains Gina. I love her character and I just want happiness for her. I’m so over the whole Rini drama, it’s the least fun part of the entire show. Ashley and Big Red are a way superior couple, if we have to focus on those …

The Last Letter From Your Lover

When I starte the movie, the aesthetic and split timeline gave me huge W./E. vibes (a film directed by Madonna), which is a plus in my eyes. In the end, it was a lovely movie with very few surprises. I think you pretty much get what you expect and that’s not a bad thing. I would say that it didn’t need a run time of almost two hours, but the visuals were very nice. I was definitely drawn to it by the cast and they all delivered what I wanted from them. I don’t think it will be a story that necessarily lingers in your mind very long, but it’s sweet and hopeful and romantic (if you can tune out all the cheating).

Shows I Watch Weekly

Gossip Girl (Reboot) – I’m really enjoying myself with this one, even though I cannot stand the teachers at all. As for actual teen characters, I need a little bit more development from a lot of them, but it all feels very promising.

Roswell, New Mexico (Season 3) – Last year, I declared Maria and Gregory as my crackship AND THEY ARE MAKING IT INTO A REAL SHIP. (I’d like to think that me campaigning for them as a couple was partially responsible for that new storyline.)

Schmigadoon – It’s a musical. It’s a relationship drama. It’s hilarious and unexpected.

Ted Lasso (Season 2) – Did not expect Ted to have such a hard time with the idea of therapy, but just happy to have my comfort show back!

Superman & Lois – I haven’t talked about the show much, but I kind of love it? The fact that this is so much about family and less about the superhero business makes it really endearing to me. Also, the twins (especially Jonathan) are great.

Animal Kingdom (Season 5) – Eh, I always enjoy this one more when I binge it rather than watching it weekly, but we’ll see how long I stick with it this time around.

Good Trouble (Season 3) – I’m so sorry to say that I mostly watch for Davia, because there’s so many great and important storylines, but … I do.

A bunch of reality TV – I need something that doesn’t require my brain to actively work, so I frequently tune in to Love Island (UK), The Hills: New Beginnings, Siesta Key …

What are your thoughts? Do we watch some of the same stuff? Let’s talk!

One of my favourite blogger buddies, The Orang-utan Librarian, has tagged me for the Never Have I Ever Writing Tag. I read their answers and it was great to read and I implore you to check out the post yourself, that is, after you read mine, because this is going to be fun!

The original was created by the Long Voyage – so definitely check out that here!

NEVER HAVE I EVER …

. . . started a novel that I did not finish.

Ha! That’s a good one!! I started about 15 different stories and finished one of them. My track record in that department is abysmal.

. . . written a story completely by hand.

I … don’t think so? I think I started stories and maybe I’ve written a short story here or there by hand, but definitely not a full one. I already get annoyed with regular editing, I can’t imagine having to transfer everything to my laptop first.

. . . changed tenses midway through a story.

Not on purpose. I think, sometimes, when I return to a story after a long time, I have to get back into the tense maybe and mess it up a bit. But never on purpose.

. . . not researched anything before starting a story.

What is research? No, in all honesty, I probably should do research sometimes, but I love winging it and then despairing in the middle of the story because I have no clue what I am doing. I really do the bare minimum sometimes …

. . . changed my protagonist’s name halfway through a draft.

Nope, not the protagonist’s name, but definitely some side characters.

. . . written a story in a month or less.

YES! The one and only story I ever finished writing – Break Up Buddy – was one I did during NaNoWriMo. I was so proud to have finished it in a month and I still am. I admire people that just throw out stories in days or weeks (and there are more than you might think).

. . . fallen asleep while writing.

I don’t think so?

. . . corrected someone’s grammar irl / online.

Guilty as charged. I’m not running around correcting everyone all the time, but sometimes I just couldn’t not say anything? Most of the time I just keep it to myself, especially since I make plenty of mistakes myself.

. . . yelled in all caps at myself in the middle of a novel.

Like … “started writing in all caps unrelated to the story, because I was frustrated with myself”-all caps? That’s not really something I do?

. . . used “I’m writing” as an excuse.

I just don’t think that people leave me alone or listen to me when I say that I am writing. At least I know a certain someone who will interrupt me like a thousand times, even if I have made it clear that I was trying to focus on writing. Guess that excuse doesn’t fly with people in my life?

. . . killed a character who was based on someone I know in real life.

I’m not even sure I’ve killed a character on page yet, so that’s a no? But also, no one is based on someone I personally know. On actors? That’s a whole different story … but not actual real life friends and/or enemies.

. . . used pop culture references in a story.

These questions should be so easy to answer, but I really have to think hard about them. I am pretty sure there must have been some kind of reference, right? Something to indicate a time period? I just literally can’t think of a single example …

. . . written between the hours of 1am and 6am.

100% YES!

. . . drank an entire pot of coffee while writing.

I don’t drink coffee ever, so that’s a clear no from my side. (Tea all the way!)

. . . written down dreams to use in potential novels.

I actually have a designated journal for my dreams. They are wild sometimes, people! I still like the timey-wimey one where Adam Driver turns out to be my son, but I am technically younger than him? We shall, however, never mention the dolphin story again. That was borderline body horror and that’s not my genre …

. . . published an unedited story on the internet / Wattpad / blog.

Yes, yes and yes? There used to be this website called figment, where I posted a lot of my really, really old stuff. But also recently, totally!

Arcadia is on wattpad. Click here to read it!

Dreamer was on wattpad, but is not published there anymore …

The witchy WIP is published on a private blog that’s password protected. However, friends can request the password and I’m pretty easygoing in sharing it.

. . . procrastinated homework because I wanted to write.

Absolutely! I have to agree with the Orang-utan Librarian here, I sometimes even spaced out in class to write my story. And honestly, even at work from time to time (imagine me doing retail work and there being zero customers for over an hour).

. . . typed so long that my wrists hurt.

That happens so easily, but also, I just don’t have the best set up for writing.

. . . spilled a drink on my laptop while writing.

Thank the heavens that never happened!!! THE HORROR!

. . . forgotten to save my work / draft.

No? I think I forgot to save something for school a couple times, but never the really important stuff aka my stuff.

. . . finished a novel.

As in, written a beginning, middle and end to a story? Yes. As in, edited the story to make it presentable and potentially marketable? No. no no no.

. . . laughed like an evil villain while writing a scene.

I WISH!

. . . cried while writing a scene.

I was close, but I don’t think so?

. . . created maps of my fictional worlds.

YES! But funny enough, not for a fantasy world, but rather a contemporary novel instead. I just printed out maps from Google maps from places that I’ve been to and liked/lived at. It was hilarious in hindsight.

. . . researched something shady for a novel.

I think I researched some illnesses and symptoms. Or “what to do when someone has a seizure”, but that’s not really all that shady, is it?

I TAG THEE

I would love for the sister-writer-duo Nyx and Marie to do this tag and also Caro!

I hope you enjoyed this tag and if you feel like doing it yourself, GO FOR IT! I’d love to chat some more in the comments and also feel free to ask me anything, if you want to know more!