#also it’s important to note that in heartstopper the friendships are just as important as the romances | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

victoriaspriing · 4 months

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2023 writing gif-making round up

Rules (adapted for fic, gifs, art, etc.): Share what you made this year! It can be works you posted to Ao3, Wattpad, Tumblr, or anywhere else! You can share everything you made or just the projects you're most excited about.

I was tagged by @swearphil! thank you sm renee <33

Hii!! so 2024 is right around the corner, happy new year yayay. Actually, if I think too much about it I think I'll start crying cause like what do you mean we're less than 42 hours from staring a new year?!! 2023 doesn't feel real tbh time in general doesn't feel real but yeah anyways I'll save that convo for another time. I'm here today to reflect on all the gifsets I've made throughout this year, which let me add, has been A LOT. I'm going to start by sharing some fun stats (yes renee I'm copying you <33), and then I'll do a fun top 5 of my fave gifsets, and to finish it off I'd also like to use this to shout out some of my fave people and creators on this hellsite cause you all made my 2023 so much better and I love you all for that <333

fun statistics:

In total I made 61 gifsets in 2023

57 are heartstopper (not surprised)

3 are 911 lone star (mostly tarlos)

1 are dan and phil

In august I made 20 gifsets, which are the most gifsets I've made in a month this year

In may I made 1 gifset, which is the month I made less gifsets this year

6 of the gifsets are song lyrics edits

3 of the gifsets are heartstopper comic edits

31 of the gifsets are scenes from heartstopper

6 of the gifsets are heartstopper compilations from s1 and s2

top 5 gifsets from 2023 (in no particular order)

that one dnp gifset: I think most people know that I was and still am a big dan and phil fan, and that I spent most of my teenage years obsessing over them and giffing them and only them. Well, they went on hiatus and they stopped having a big impact on my life util they decided to come back and ruin my life again (in a good way). This gifset was the first time I giffed them since like idk 2019/2020, and it does mean a lot to me :') it's not really about the concept and the coloring, I chose this one to be apart of my top 5 for sentimental reasons, and I think that's valid.

give your friendships the magic you would give a romance: once again, sentimental reasons. when I read this quote on loveless it just spoke to me in so many levels. One of the things I love the most about heartstopper is the importance they give to friendship and I just had to make something that highlighted that and I think it turned out super good.

I think nellie loves him: well, now I think I snapped with this one akdhjahak I just love it so much. the coloring.. the heartstopper tv scenes with the heartstopper comic scenes, like chef's kiss, just perfect. of course this is not an original idea so I'd love to thank @rose-nobles for inspiring this gifset <33

mr. ajayi loves museum dates with his grumpy bf: and just like that we are back to sentimental reasons ahdhkas. well, this was one of the first gifsets I made when season two came out and it blew up. I've never had that many notes on a gifset, and honestly I think it's well deserved cause the coloring is good and I had finally just figured out how to sharpen gifs, so yeah love that for me.

I'm bi actually: I had so much fun making this one. the amount of bi coded elements and colors I included on this, I WAS ON A MISSION. the fact I made the font wobbly hsjgdjaka, I love love this gifset.

a little shout out to my faves (I hope you all have an amazing 2024)

@swearphil ☆ @barrowsteeth ☆ @narliee ☆ @cafecdramin ☆ @heroeddiemunson ☆ @nelsonnicholas ☆ @curlyhairedprince ☆ @wylanvannecks ☆ @aimeegbbs ☆ @indimlights ☆ @jelloandsugar ☆ @perrieedwards ☆ @imogen-heaney ☆ @thatwasthenightthingschanged ☆ @klinejack ☆ @birthdaysentiment ☆ @seeleybooth ☆ @sonseulsoleil ☆ @taraolssons ☆ @immortals-malec ☆ @parissquads ☆ @rose-nobles ☆ @itwasmagic ☆ @perccyjackson ☆ @naomismcpherson ☆ @neverfindmegone ☆ @charlieisverybored

Okay I think that's it, I'm so sorry if I missed someone. I'm also tagging everyone that wants to do this, just say I tagged you in it <33

#tag games #this was fun

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inventedfangirling · 7 months

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finished the gem that was 55:15 never too late :')

just finished 55:15 never too late and oh my god what a gem of a show!!! im so so so so glad i watched it.

i decided to give it a go just for nanon and khao but the show gave me so much more than them. idk why it took me till the last two episodes to get just how much emphasis the show was putting on the importance of friendships/ the platonic bonds in one's life, truly i can't think of the last time (probably heartstopper s2) where there was just so much beautiful expressions and forms of platonic bonds- the bonds between the 5 main leads (especially jaya and songphon, but also san and thep), songphon and mathee (from mathee's side it was platonic :3), songphon and his niece, jaruni and her father, jaruni's father and bomb, thep and his son, thep's son and san, thep and san, jaya and her manager -that you are my everything moment was really EVERYTHING to me.

as my usual practice of sharing my umpteen screenshots here's my most fav platonic moments from the last two episodes :')

who let him out of my pocket ughhhh songphon/paul one of my fav characters of all time now

one thing i've found it hard to come by in the shows i've been watching recently (bl dramas, mostly thai) is how there is next to no male interaction with women, and if there is, the bonds are very superficial or they stick to certain "acceptable" rules. so you could imagine my shock when i saw this scene of jaya sleeping soundly next to paul on the same bed. it is objectively a very normal/inane thing. but we just NEVER get representation of men and women simply being and existing as friends and doing friend things like sometimes sleeping in the same bed with the friend's pic on a frame that you're hugging (WHAT! ITS NORMAL), and so it really shook me. i love their bond so much :')

CUTIEEES.

also this moment...

as a person who genuinely believes that friendship >>>>>>>>>> every other relationship, seeing these words uttered between two lifelong friends made me tear up and HOW!! one of the most special things ive seen on media.

also not lost on me how my two most favourite platonic moments featured jaya who is the only character who isnt given a romantic storyline/sideplot/spouse. also point to note that jaya and paul are the only two characters who didn't get a traditional "romantic ending/closure" and they ended up getting such beautiful expressions of platonic love. LOVE that for them :')

that being said i cried at the part where phiphu read paul's letter and they put that montage of them laughing over it like HOW DARE THEY

i'm sorry but the mirroring in expressions drove me insane on first sight itself

eventho i found their love difficult to fully enjoy cos of the nature of it, this scene was just too beautiful not to love and im so glad paul got to express it

also khao looked so ADORABLE here i almost burst into tears not kidding!!!!

not to end the post without a nanon face appreciation pic- he was excellent throughout the show as expected and particularly in a fantastic scene in the finale episode that very few people could have pulled off like he did, what a frickin treasure he is.

bless his puppy eyes nose dimples cheek smile <3

to conclude what i wanna say, i wanna reiterate once again how i really REAAAAALLY enjoyed the show through and through

and while this mostly typo free post wont probably be making it obvious but im writing through tears, it was such a wonderful thing to experience. idk if and how much i would rewatch it but i think it's right up there with some of the best shows ive watched ever.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

#55 :15 never too late #khaotung thanawat #nanon korapat #thai drama

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cowboy-garfield · 1 year

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wait, have you ever seen the larry evidence? these men are still writing songs about each other and fake dating women?? even if they’re not together now, they’re closeted. many ex-boy band members have come forward with their own experiences of being forced to hide their sexuality (i.e., lance bass, ricky martin)

LMAO IS THIS A TROLL ARE Y'ALL FUCKING WITH ME... this is one of my friends isn't it hsjdkghsk /j

Dude I hate to break it to you, but you've picked the wrong Rango to tango with. My irl friend has been studying the larrie conspiracy DEEPLY for more a year now out of morbid fascination, and I've been along for the entire ride. We're losing our shit on the phone as I type this. I made that brba post referencing the black mold thing before it even broke 200 notes. I know about your rainbow bears and tattoos and babygates and 28.

If you've got something to throw at me, give me your best shot. I'm already in the belly of the beast with your so-called "evidence." And I've never seen a bigger crock of parasocial copium and sunk cost fallacy in my LIFE.

Genuinely idk if this is someone fucking with me, but if you seriously obsess over and speculate and state personal details about real people as if they're factual... then you seriously need to reevaluate your life. Not only is it unhealthy, but it's just weird as hell.

You don't know these people, and they don't know you. They're grown ass multimillionaires who can do whatever the fuck they want.

Hell—they've been involved in WORSE scandals than if they were merely to come out, but y'all probably wouldn't acknowledge any of that to save your life—because then they wouldn't be your little victimized uwu boys. The victimization angle is very important to the agenda I've noticed, because if you tell yourself you're always on the defense (or that someone else is attacking you/whoever you're shipping), you're free from having to self reflect. You're the victims, so why would you need to?

Here is the real kicker though. The real nitty gritty. Even if it came out that these guys WERE closeted, it would still be weird and unhealthy!!

It's genuinely difficult for me to even say any of this, because I've seen the decade-long trips these people go on, and i know how insanely detached from reality they get. But in the simplest terms, it's not your fucking business.

Loving someone's songs, being a fan, buying their merch, streaming their music, or hell—even just liking them as people (which is fine within reason, just like anything)—none of these are qualifiers that give you permission to speculate the details of someone's personal life. There are no qualifiers. At all.

Everyone is entitled to privacy, and no amount of fan devotion gives you a magic coupon owing you those private matters. It doesn't even give you the right to speculate on them. Re: the Heartstoppers actor outing incident. You are not a special fan, and you are not owed anything. Especially when there are thousands and thousands of people who also think they're special fans who just "really get the guy."

Even if that's not what this original ask was specifically saying, that's what the whole culture around this bullshit claims. It's implied. "I'm in the special secret circle of people who know what's Really going on! God our boys need us to support them through this separation so bad :'( It must be so hard for them, I can't imagine. Thank god I'm the one seeing their Obvious signals. Thank god they have me. Those non-believers are just homophobic sheep; I'm the only one who really cares."

The only thing you people have done for them (other than adding half a decimal point to their mountainous bottom lines) is ruin their friendships and lives.

Try to imagine having every minute detail of your life documented and analyzed by people you don't know. Imagine all this invasion is being used to prove a lie about your intimate personal life, which you cannot make them stop believing because of the narrative they've already committed to. Imagine your every denial being 'just more proof.' Imagine your child, girlfriend, wife, being sent death threats daily for years. Imagine having everything from your body language to your cousins' instagram likes to your fucking shopping clothes be scanned for "clues." Everything.

Now imagine that same ferocious invasion extends to every friend, partner, family member, and random ass person you stand next to for five minutes--everyone you will ever meaningfully interact with. That's the fucking pain of theirs I can't imagine; not some made up fucking ship fic about how "the big mean suits are keeping the gay babies down ;("

I can't imagine it. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. And I honestly admire their decorum about it. Because if I was in that position long enough to not lose my fucking mind, you bet your ass I would go harder than this:

But who am I kidding. All these sources are just more false flags from HQ, aren't they? When you invent a boogeyman who doesn't exist—when you craft an entire fanfic ARG out of normal, meaningless occurrences—anything can just be waved offg. Anything can be proof, and anything can be lies from management. You're forever liberated from the shackles of critical thinking! How convenient.

I understand that this is a novel and a half for one ask, but don't mistake that as investment in convincing you. I fully realize I sound just like a redditor, but after more than a year of seeing this batshit, that brain fungus meme blowing up out of nowhere and bringing larries right to me? Oh god, that's ambrosia.

I have been confused, fascinated, and disgusted by this fandom for ages; it's like watching a car crash. Despite the length of this, it's never been worth my time enough to start fights with random blogs though. Most are so removed from reality that arguing would be pointless anyway; can't fight delusion with logic. If that worked, none of this would be happening in the first place. So having the opportunity to rip into this shit when it's been doordashed right to me is like crack. With a laughably confident ask to boot.

This isn't me being a tryhard; I know that so many Larries—especially the oddly large demographic of 30+y/o women—are beyond hope. They've put years up to the double digits into this narrative and likely had it impact their life negatively, which tends to happen when you obsess over a conspiracy. To admit defeat now—to accept reality; boring, thankless reality where they aren't the victims with a promised happy ending—would probably break their brains in half. (Not to mention the toxic hazing, doxxing, elitism, and witch hunts that occur in their own fandom. Don't think I don't know about that shit either.)

I say this with hedonistic glee: I wrote this shit for fun. I could have been working on final projects right now, but I wanted to do this instead. It's not so much wanting to be rude to you in particular as it is me ripping into HL fandom and celeb conspiracists in general. Sorry that your ask was the sacrificial lamb, anon, but I would also like to thank you for being on anon so I could go off without fear of people coming to harass you. If you're a naive fan who got indocrinated by other fans, sorry for the rude wake up call I guess, but tbh I'm not really holding my breath.

And let's knock out some allegations before they even start, shall we? I am not a homophobe. I am not saying celebrities aren't pushed to act a certain way or that abuse doesn't happen in the entertainment industry. I don't care about 1D (hell, half the time i can't tell them apart). RPF is at best, fucking weird and at worst, actively harmful. I think 1D's music is mid. I don't think their relationships are fake, nor do I think that WHOLE ASS CHILD is some random hired actor. As a lesbian, that guy couldn't be the janitor of the lesbians let alone the king. Fucking nobody irl talks about these guys. If they came out, it would be old news within a week. There is no Qanon-esque day of reckoning where they're going to come out and shut up all the #haters. There is no storyline; real life doesn't have those. Homophobia is bad, obviously. Regardless of my opinions on their music or crummy things they've done (which I don't even know much about since I don't care abt them aside from the Larrie craziness), I hate that this toxic fan bullshit has affected them negatively and that goes for any celebrity. This is a wider problem than just the 1D crowd; not even gonna touch beatles, tswift, or kpop. Reality has no clues like a fucking Columbo episode. Lastly, y'all aren't even special--said friend has unearthed at least five near-IDENTICAL rpf shipping conspiracies in everything from fifty shades of grey to olympic ice skating. And those aren't even gay, but they still give their fans secret symbols that they're being kept apart for Some Reason through clothing and special numbers.

Anyway. It's finals week and I have life shit to do. Larries, feel free to file this away in your 'Naysayers Who Will Be Proven Wrong Someday!' hoard. Briefly entertaining a reality where they do come out, guess what: I still don't give a shit. They're just two rich white dudes who make top 40 pop songs. Toxic parasocial fan behavior like this would still be just as weird and shitty as it is in our actual reality, where these guys have never openly declared dating anyone but women and verbally detest this shipping behavior.

I swear to God, it seems like most Larrie shippers don't even like the men that actually exist. That's the rub, isn't it? Reality sucks, but fantasy can be whatever you want it to be. All the things you like about these guys are authentic, and all the things you don't are just manipulation tactics by the puppetmaster marketing team. Forget the fact that they're fucking human beings and not dolls for your amusement or comfort.

You have no idea if they're fake dating women. You have no idea if they're closeted. You have no idea if the generic ass love songs they write are about each other. The truth none of you people realize is that you're probably never going to know, and if that just eats you up inside—good. That's your common sense trying to chew its way out of the cage of confirmation bias you locked it in.

#co-written and produced by my friend who is sadly only on twitter #shoutout sam #ask #larrie #larry #one direction #larry is real #harry styles #louis tomlinson #1D #larry stylinson #larry shippers #skit yells

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theoreticallysensible · 6 months

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I didn’t think this would bother me much but I was really disappointed by the ending of Solitaire, which I otherwise loved.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Tori and Michael’s relationship was something I related to a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever been in quite as dark a place as either of them are throughout the book, but my senior school experience was similar to Tori’s, and I’ve recently become more like Michael, and found friendships similar to what they build together. These meant a lot to me because I’ve struggled with emotional intimacy, and I think I’m somewhere on the graysexual spectrum, so to see characters like Tori and Michael, who are demi-and pansexual respectively, have friendships just as deep as romance but not coded that way, despite both being interested in romance in theory - it meant a lot both in terms of representation and validation. Relationship anarchy and all that - it speaks to the graysexual and the anarchist in me 😂 (the anarchist coding pf Solitaire was also fun).

But then at the end… they kiss. And everything previous to that becomes so easy to recontextualise. All that friendship becomes unrecognised romantic tension. Tori was sadly in denial about her romantic feelings for Michael, not just unsure about an unusually close friendship. Of course, it may be that the romantic feelings arose suddenly at the end and all that truly was friendship. And of course the boundaries between the two are hazy at best at that level of intensity anyway. And of course, I can just ignore the kiss and read the story without it - those earlier pages still exist and can be separated from the later ones in my mind, and I’m mature enough to be able to self-consciously read stories how I want to - l’auteur est mort. But it still smarts.

I know Loveless exists, and I’m excited to read it, but I saw Solitaire up until The Kiss as a triumph of friendship through ambiguity - a subversion of romance tropes. It still is that, in a way - a triumph of authentic love based in friendship over Lukas’s inauthentic love based in delusional jealousy and devotion. Ellie Anderson’s essay on phenomenology and the ethics of love has a great bit on this, and it is very important… but it just got so close to what I wanted before falling back into something more familiar. Loveless, being about an aro ace character, seems like it’ll be less in that space of ambiguity, and more about the confusion of being so radically outside of it - which is valuable in its own way, but less so for me. Radio Silence looks like it’ll hit the kind of spot I’m looking for better, so fingers crossed.🤞 I’m still sad though because the character of Tori meant a lot to me and I wanted hers to be the story I connected to with this. Ah well.

(As a side note, I listened to the audiobook and then read the physical copy afterwards, and though some of the updated cultural references were nice and Charlie and Nick being more consistent with Heartstopper was cool, the increased sensitivity in those two characters made Tori’s despair feel less tragically inescapable and her new moments of sensitivity felt very jarringly censorial and out of character - it didn’t sound like her voice; maybe it was beneficial for some readers, but I feel like it was done a bit clumsily).

#solitaire #solitaire spoilers #heartstopper #romance #friendship #graysexual #alice oseman #osemanverse #relationship anarchy #asexual #tori spring #tori and michael #michael holden

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bluedalahorse · 9 months

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I’m going to mention something I really liked about Heartstopper season 2. It’s partially about Isaac’s arc, and partially also about how they handled the ensemble as a whole and what I think worked about that.

So let’s talk about… the power of Friendship!

Isaac’s on an aroace self-discovery arc in Heartstopper S2 and I’m here for it. His aroace journey doesn’t look exactly like mine—I didn’t really start to adopt the label until my late 20s—but aspects of it absolutely ring true. “I don’t have any celebrity crushes.” YEAH EXACTLY ISAAC.

Naturally, friendship is important to Isaac, and I was pleased to see that Isaac’s friends were making sure to include him in the squad dynamic even when he wasn’t coupled off. This didn’t always run smoothly, and there are the parts where people assume he might have something going on with James, or when he’s frustrated to be surrounded by couples. But we’re also seeing moments where they pull him into prom photos, invite him to dance, include him in the group hugs, etc.

One of the most important things that makes this all work, however, is that the friend group is having all of these little moments of friendship independent of Isaac as well. We have Tao and Charlie and their flashback to friendship meet-cute and their lock at the bridge. There’s Elle making new friends at art school and how that’s shown to be important. There’s Tara and Nick going off to the side and having their own chats with one another, and Nick considering Imogen an important friend and working to integrate her into the group and deeming her as important to come out to. All of these moments mattered to me as a viewer, because it means that when Isaac’s friends pull him in and include him in things, it doesn’t just feel like the lip service version of supporting aroace folks. This squad is able to value Isaac’s friendship because they value friendship period. It’s subtle but it makes a world of difference in how I enjoy the story.

Queer representation is often talked about in terms of visible queer romance and sexuality, which does make sense and does need to be represented. That then gets reflected in how we go about fandom things, and how we often focus on romantic and/or sexual pairings in shipfic. I enjoy these fics and getting to marinate in these pairings that I ship, but I always find myself missing something. I always want more. I think it’s because I want to marinate in the friendships of a work as well.

I want to take moment to talk about queer friendship, and how queer friendship is so central to the queer community and how we’ve organized ourselves for survival. It can sound a little bit taboo to say that queer friendship is qualitatively different than a more cishet-normative idea of friendship. Still, I’m gonna say it. Queer friendship is absolutely important and its own beautiful thing, and we need it depicted alongside the relationships that involve kissing and wedding rings and bouquets whatever else.

Heartstopper season 2 has done something really special in showing how vital friendship is, how friendship exists and lives and breathes in these queer spaces. They do it in a way that feels 100% organic and real. I hope other creatives—whether that’s people making the art for our books and television and movie screens, or whether that’s us in fandom writing our fanfics and drawing our fan art—take note of how this can be done.

Friendship forever. And ever, and ever, and ever.

#heartstopper #heartstopper season 2 #heartstopper spoilers #isaac henderson #the paris squad #aromantic #asexual #aroace #the importance of friendship #queer friendship

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anna-jo · 9 months

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look im all for Imogen queer icon etc etc, however a big part of heartstopper is also how platonic love is just as important and romantic love, so i really just want to see her integrated in her new friendgroup and going back to her friendship with Sahar.

And okay, maybe she has a crush on Sahar, but obviously that friendship ended on a weird note, so i really just want to see those two being friends again

#imogen heartstopper #sahar heartstopper #heartstopper s2

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olderthannetfic · 2 years

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I know the heartstopper convo is over now so feel free to ignore, but I wanted to chime in as a fan of the webcomic and the tv show (and several other books by the author) to say i feel like the other anons are painting a pretty extreme picture here. Seeing a black trans girl live her life happily and find new friends when she moves to an all girls school, seeing someone discover and explicitly use the word bisexual several times (instead of just being all “no labels”, fluid , “spontaneous” like it often is in tv shows with bi people), a black lesbian character explicitly use the word lesbian and having the room to voice her insecurities about her identity is all really important for many to see. The racial diversity and diversity of different queer identities, not just the teenagers but also some adult side characters, all given room outside of the main couple was really cool.

There are instances of homo-/transphobia, so it isn’t all light and fluffy, but I actually found it refreshing that they weren’t given much room in the narrative since I’ve seen too many queer people be assaulted and beaten up in media and found it really healing to focus on people deepening their friendships and trying to be happy. I get if the “fluffy high school romance” isn’t your genre, but there’s nothing wrong with people enjoying and needing that kind of escapism. And yes there are no explicit sex scenes, but at least in the webcomic sexual attraction and sex is very clearly and often talked about - so I don’t think the author was trying go “sanitize” anything. (Also important to note the author is aroace which may play a role in the way they’re telling the story too)

Yeah, it sounds fine evaluated as a piece of media in the mainstream media landscape.

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thatdamalexevans · 1 year

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I posted 1,121 times in 2022

That's 1,117 more posts than 2021!

20 posts created (2%)

1,101 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@dr-drea

@local-aro-cryptid

@inthetags

@nose-bl

@for-your-modesty-dude

I tagged 325 of my posts in 2022

#druck - 27 posts

#heartstopper - 25 posts

#druck s8 - 22 posts

#stranger things - 19 posts

#druck mailin - 19 posts

#druck season 8 - 17 posts

#goncharov - 9 posts

#nick nelson - 8 posts

#unreality - 8 posts

#mailin richter - 7 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#yesss / i like the taste but i don't necessarily buy it for other reasons / yesss / nooo / brand nutella no but vegan version yes / yesss

My Top Posts in 2022:

"you asked me what i want. and what i want is *continues 5 minute monologue about everything but not about what she wants*"

16 notes - Posted June 30, 2022

"as your token straight friend"

does that mean that neither elle nor isaac are straight? because i think elle's sexuality has not been mentioned before. and isaac is planned to be aroace (at least that's what alice said, but i don't know if you can count that as canon yet)

either way, i love all of them so much

22 notes - Posted May 1, 2022

looking at ava's "you're no boyfriend material" from an aro perspective:

this is the last thing anyone of the group says to ben, this is the final mic drop

that's - at least how it's framed - the worst insult

at the same time, it says a (good) boyfriend is the best thing you can be, that's what's most important about your character

and whereas it's true that ben probably wouldn't be a good boyfriend, seeing how he treated mailin, that's not what makes him a "bad person"

he was an asshole completely unrelated to romantic relationships

and being a boyfriend (or romantic partner in general) is not everyone's goal

that druck frames being a romantic partner as the most important thing in the world, as what everyone longs to be, is definitely disappointing

the only thing that annoyed me about druck since the og generation, is that the main story was always about love interests, but it was okay because, for many people romantic love is important and i can still enjoy it even though i don't feel it, it was written well and friendship was always pictured as important even when it wasn't the main topic

but now, this season isn't written well, there were many hopes that it would bring some aspec rep, and now they follow a highly allonormative and amatonormative trope which just feels like the exact opposite of what we've hoped for

and amatonormativity isn't only harmful to aro people, nobody needs (or should need) a romantic partner to be happy, there's cool things about being single and if you're unhappy or have problems of whatever sort, having a significant other won't solve that

that druck follows potentionally harmful tropes, that also alienate aro spec people, is not what i would have expected them to do

(and i don't feel like it fits ava's character at all, but they already did ava so bad this season, this is not what surprised me about this scene)

23 notes - Posted June 28, 2022

sooo, under the last clip (the mailin getting off after her controller vibrated for some reason one) i wrote a comment which i guess i'll translate now

i don't really like this season, i enjoyed the first 3 episodes and was exited for the further developments.

but, there weren't any developments, not really. like, yes, if you enjoy mastturbating, go for it, but it's not like you have to.

that masturbating is portrayed as something that's always positive, feels weird to me

for me, druck has always been a series, that tells new stories and the "masturbating can be nice"-story, we just know that story already.

this season would have been the perfect opportunity to tell something new.

at first i thought, this season would be aroace rep, which i was really exited about. then it was clear that mailin was into finn (romantically). and yes, she could theoretically still be on the aro spectrum, but it was a way to little topic, for it to be relevant.

then i had hopes for mailin being ace, but if she actually turns out being ace, it wouldn't feel like good rep. i know that asexuality is a spectrum and asexual people have different relations to sex or masturbating etc.

but designing asexual representation in a way that best fits allonormative standards? doesn't feel right to me. and if mailin would come to the conclusion that she is, in fact, ace, it would happen in the last episode. asexuality would only be a topic in one out of ten episodes. that's not a lot.

and if she's not ace, this whole season feels like a missed opportunity. then we would have followed a white, cishet, allo, young woman, who is also quite rich, for ten weeks. a woman who doesn't even acknowledge her privilege, who doesn't reflect on her own mistakes (she still thinks you can destroy books because you feel like it), who isn't good at communicating (like not being in contact with finn after small problems, or drunkenly telling him a week later that the sex was not the best idea) even though she said (in previous seasons) that she was taught to be open about feelings etc. when she had a fight with ava. and the problems that she actually has (ben, but that's it) are handled weirdly. it was only said once or twice that ben was the problem, that it was simply wrong of him to send mailin's nude (that he only got in the first place because he coerced her after she said no). instead the whole screentime was devoted to mailin and zoe fighting and finn being angry about mailin for sending the nude (that was before your relationship?! i don't think you have any right to dictate what mailin should or shouldn't do, and i honestly don't think it fits finns character to react that way).

there've been a lot of storylines, but none of them had a real ending (i wanna know who snitched on mailin and zoe, but there's a week left, so i still have hopes), none were told well (at least that's what it feels like to me), it feels like they just ignore old seasons (isi being non-binary and using all pronouns, what ava and fatou talk about in the abi prank, ava who has always promoted interscetional feminism and everything connected to it is now hyping mailin up even after mailin acts against what ava stands for)

what annoys me the most is that we have lots of cool characters in this show, whose stories haven't been told (in the series but also in mainstream media) who just get ignored

35 notes - Posted June 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

looking at the comments under the latest clip rn and there are a lot that are really cool

but some are just... eh

there are people saying that every victim of SA should decide for themselves how to deal with it, whether they want to go to the police etc.

and yes, that's true, but it also misses the point

because most victims are scared of going to the police, of what the police might say to them, of having to go through the traumatising events again, and then not even knowing that the abuser will get any consequences

but that's exactly the reason why we should show characters successfully reporting their abusers to the police, especially characters that are praised for "being strong" by their friends

we need to show young victims that going to the police can work and that it doesn't make the situation more traumatising

if we show a charcater not going to the police, even though they are "strong" and have the help of a big friend group, then victims will feel even less like going to the police, because if this strong character with lots of support can't do it, how could they?

71 notes - Posted June 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #i should really start tagging more often #finding typos after in hind sight is kinda awkward

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thisisasideblogforbooks · 5 years

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bi books for twenty-biteen!

so in honor of pride month in our blessed year of twenty-biteen, i wanted to recommend some books that feature prominent bisexual characters! most of these are already very well-known books and series, but i thought it’d be fun to honor my fellow bisexuals out there with a list! also, there is a shocking lack of bi females included on this list, and i am currently on the hunt for more if anyone wants to rec me some!

with that aside, lets get into the list!

i’m gonna start with series:

1. the six of crows duology by leigh bardugo: this action-packed duology contains two bi main characters, one of which is female and one who is male. they both own my heart, as well as the rest of the characters in this series. highly recommend!

2. the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater: this series revolves around a tight-knit group of friends (that you’ll wish you were a part of) searching for a dead welsh king. one of the main characters is bi, but what i like about this series is that its not a big deal. as important as stories of self-discovery are, it’s refreshing to see a character who is just bi, and no one cares at all.

3. shades of magic trilogy by v.e. schwab: this trilogy contains two bisexual guys, as well as some awesome world-building and a super cool take on magic! this is the most recently read series on my list, and i really enjoyed it!

4. openly straight and honestly ben by bill konigsberg: these books def have their flaws, but i’m putting them on this list because they were really important to me when i was figuring out my sexuality. the way the bi character in this series talks about his sexuality really spoke to me at a very important time in my life. warning for slight biphobia that i don’t think was handled amazingly, but still fun books! (NOTE: someone has added to this post that ben does not identify as bi. it’s been several years since i read the books, and i forgot that this is the case. i will leave this here, but just be aware that while he is in relationships with girls and a boy, he does not identify as bi and chooses not to use labels!!!)

5. i also want to mention the trials of apollo by rick riordan! it is far from my favorite series by rick, but the main character makes several references to his past relationships with both men and women, which i feel is super important to see in a middle grade series! (if you want a laugh, look at the one-star reviews on amazon. 99% are mad homophobic/biphobic parents)

and now onto stand-alones:

1. the gentleman’s guide to vice and virtue by mackenzi lee: the physical embodiment of disaster bi. the protagonist is a mess and i love him for it. this is also historical fiction with some magic! honestly what more could you ask for? (there’s also a sequel that i am planning to read as soon as i get my hands on it that centers around his ace younger sister!)

2. grasshopper jungle by andrew smith: next on the list is another disaster bi! let me tell you, this book is a TRIP. i couldn’t stop thinking about it for weeks after i read it. the main character is bi and also in love with both his girlfriend and best friend (see what i mean by disaster?). is he an asshole? absolutely. but an undeniably entertaining one.

3. little and lion by brandy colbert: this book is so underrated, i swear. the main character is a black jewish bisexual girl and i related to her on SO many levels. this book focuses on her coming to terms with her sexuality, but also on the importance of family and it’s so good please pick it up!

4. autoboyography by christina lauren: this book centers around a bi teenage boy living in a very conservative mormon community. i’m not gonna lie, it’s definitely got its flaws, but i’m a sucker for romance what can i say? it’s no doubt a fun summer read.

5. running with lions by julian winters: like autoboyography, there were some things that irked me with the plot (one of these being the treatment of the only prominent female character). that being said, the book centers around a super accepting soccer team with kids of all sorts of sexualities, including our bisexual protagonist! there’s a refreshing lack of toxic masculinity that i am so here for. it’s a cute read!

6. leah on the offbeat by becky albertalli: the sequel to simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda, this book centers on the relationship between simon’s two bi female friends. although leah is not the most likable protagonist in my opinion, there were definitely moments i found myself relating to her. becky really said bi rights with this book.

7. carry on by rainbow rowell: this follows the story of the “chosen one” who has no idea wtf he’s doing. it’s got enemies to friends to lovers and magic, which are two of my favorite things. although he never states that he is bi in the book, i included carry on here because he has a relationship with both a girl and a boy and he appears to be attracted to both of them. (p.s. this won’t be a stand-alone for long as a sequel will be released later this year!)

8. radio silence by alice oseman: this novel features a bisexual, half-ethiopian female protagonist and focuses on the pressure of school and the importance of friendship. also, there’s a podcast. the friendship between the two main characters was the sweetest thing and i loved this novel. (also want to give a shout-out to alice oseman’s webcomic heartstopper, which focuses on the relationship between nick and charlie, who are bi and gay respectively. these characters can also be found in her novel solitaire.)

9. ramona blue by julie murphy: this book centers around a girl who is convinced she only likes girls until she starts to fall for a boy. it is a sort of self-discovery that is not often found in literature, but i know several of my friends that went through a very similar path and this book means a lot to them. i loved seeing ramona’s journey, and enjoyed this book a lot!

10. red, white, and royal blue by casey mcquiston: this is the newest book on this list, and let me just tell you, the rep in this book is phenomenal. the main character is the bisexual, half-mexican first son of the first female president of the united states, and it tells this story of his relationship with the prince of england. honestly need i say more? cause i will. his best friend is also bi and i’m in love with her. this book has literally so many of my favorite things: royalty, enemies to friends to lovers, fake relationship (kind of), strong female characters, and so much more. definitely a quick, fun summer read to get in the spirit of pride month!

please add to this list with more books with bisexual rep that i missed! i would love to get more book recs :)

happy pride everyone!

#booklr #book recs #lgbt #specifically the b #twentybiteen #soc #trc #adsom #carry on

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