I know it’s generally in good fun when making jokes about how young fujoshi in the early 2000s-2010s talked about queer couples (i.e. “yuri couple, yaoi couple, i see no difference love is love” or “if you police people’s identities you are not yaoiful at all”) but if you look at it from the lens of acknowledging that this, for many of them, is their first time even realising being queer was an option, it’s a very interesting study in realising that this is an attempt at inclusion from the perspective of someone who may not have ever heard of things like gender identity or sexuality beyond “boy” and “girl”.
I know there are other posts around this hellsite of how to do this, but because @khaotunq made this amazing post, I wanted to remind some of you of how to include a GIF that credits the original post/creator even if the GIF does not appear in the GIF options.
Option #1:
Step #1 - If you know which GIF you want to use, find the post its from, and click the three little dots to bring up the menu. Click "Copy Link"
Now, in your own post, click the "GIF" button
Step #2 - When the next box appears, paste the link you just copied in it.
Step #3 - The GIF should appear, so click it, and it will insert the GIF with credit to the original post and creator.
HOWEVER, it will only insert the first GIF in the post, so if you want a different GIF in the post, you have to make a small change.
Option #2:
Step #1 - Do everything in Option #1. EVERYTHING! Now, once you have inserted the GIF into your post, it will be the first GIF in the original post as stated in Option #1.
Step #2 - Click the wheel at the top of your post
Step #3 - Once you do that a menu box will appear, and where it says "Text Editor," switch from "Rich text" to "HTML"
Step #4 - It might look scary now, but have no fear! Hit "Ctrl +F" to find what you need! Type "attribution" and it will locate the GIF for you.
Step #5 - After "attribution" is the GIF's link that you copied earlier in quotes. Look for it!
Step #6 - Now, in another window, go back to the original post with all the GIFs and find the GIF you want. Once you see it, right-click on the GIF, and when the menu pops up, select "Copy Image Link"
Step #7 - You will paste that new link into your post in the same spot the other link was within the quotes. In other words, replace the highlighted yellow part with the new link.
Step #8 - Click the little wheel at the top again and select "Rich text" to switch back to your normal viewing mode.
The new GIF will appear!
It seems overwhelming, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy peasy. And if you think this process is too time-consuming, remember that this is nothing compared to how much work GIF makers put into creating these GIFs for us.
Tumblr is actually very user-friendly with some practice, so do our community a favor and be friendly to the people who put in the effort.
I think something I love about Moonlight Chicken is that you get three different generations of LGBTQ characters sharing the same space and you can see, through the subtleties of their interactions and their outlooks, the events and perspectives that have shaped them and how much (and how little) the world has changed.
You have Jim, nearing 40 and clearly shaped by countless people (including his loved ones) not welcoming who he is and who he loves and who believed, to a certain extent, that it was "normal" for people to think that way, who accepts himself but still has difficulty with what it means to be gay in the wider world.
Then you have Wen, 10 years younger and proud and open and comfortable with who he is and his place in the world. He knows all the lingo, he seems like a little bit of an activist (if his taste in decor is to be believed) and he's used to having discussions around sexuality and social norms.
Finally, Li Ming, even younger still and so comfortable in himself that he doesn't particularly feel the need to explore or explain his sexuality and his attraction to Heart, he just embraces it as another part of what makes him him and leaves the nail biting and the questions to other people.
They literally show us the transition from "being LGBTQ is something I must live with" to "being LGBTQ is something I must fight for" to, finally "being LGBTQ is one of the many bits that is me" without ever saying it out loud.
It's genuinely such a beautiful piece of commentary and, in my eyes, it makes the show even more meaningful and beautiful.
Top 10 Things I Love About the QL Tumblr Community 2023
I'm loving everyone's end of year lists, and decided to make up one of my own.
I haven't been on Tumblr for very long and was originally just lurking. 2023 marks the year where I finally started posting, after I read a take that made me feel compelled to come to a fictional character's defense. (Saengtai, my poor little blorbo).
So in commemoration of my first proper year of active tumblring, I present what I love about this community (in no particular order).
(Side note - Technically I know this is still primarily a BL community, but I like to say QL because I am trying to manifest more lesbians for us.)
1) The Gifmakers
Y'all are a good 70% of the reason I joined Tumblr in the first place. There are so many show moments that I want to relive, but without having to search through videos. Sometimes I want to appreciate the aesthetics. Sometimes I want to remember adorable or goofy moments. Sometimes I just want to see cute boys eating each other's faces. Our gifmakers give all of that to us, with the addition of so much creativity and style.
There's too many amazing ones to mention everyone, but I have to shout out @sparklyeyedhimbo, because the way your brain works makes me so happy.
2) The expertise
The other part of why I joined Tumblr was to learn more about what BLs were out there and what I might be missing. And holy hell. Y'all are putting in the work. Not only lists and resources for finding all kinds of QLs, like these fabulous monthly breakdowns by @gunsatthaphan, but also amazing posts that add additional context, like @absolutebl's incredibly helpful breakdown of Asian honorifics. There is so much research people do, for fun! And then they share it!
3) The meta analysis
I frickin love reading people's takes and analyses on series. I love learning, I love seeing perspectives from people with different cultural backgrounds to my own, it's all so fascinating! There's so much context we can miss due to our own privileges, or lack of knowing about various cultures, or due to whatever bubbles we've been living in. People here are just so smart, and nuanced, and willing to reflect and think about things, and also push back at each other, but generally with respect (except when you call out the dumb shit you see, usually on Twitter or TikTok, where people are being reductive and dumb about gender and sexuality).
And I've seen a few takes where people complain about analyses, and say that the director/production doesn't do everything deliberately, and we're all reading too much into it. To which I say, eh, lighten up. How people connect to and relate to media has relevance beyond what was intended. The point is we get to think and discuss and learn and grow. That doesn't happen if we don't analyze.
Special shout out here to @respectthepetty because colors mean things!
4) The wild theories
The other side of the analysis coin, the clown cars y'all drive around in with the wildest of theories. I have happily climbed into an occasional clown car, and usually I am utterly wrong (*cough* Saifah *cough*). But it's a super fun ride. I love seeing how people's brains work. I love it when y'all are wrong. I love it when y'all are right. It's beautiful.
5) Immediate acceptance
I am one of those people who knows that I have a lot of good qualities, and also, always kind of expect rejection. Blame the childhood bullies, I guess. Anyway, whenever I delve into a new space, I still feel like a total dork that no one will want to talk to. It's kind of a fraught way to move through the world, but I manage.
Anyway, I started posting my thoughts as they came up, and people are just totally cool with it. People even follow me sometimes. Even my silliest thoughts and dumbest jokes get at least a couple likes. It's so validating.
And my very silly joke about gay mafia in Kiseki has over 800 likes. I feel very seen.
6) Mutuals
I still kind of can't believe I have any. This ties in to the dork feeling above, but seriously - they are soooo cooooool. They're smart and awesome and funny, and they somehow find me worth following back, which is baffling yet wonderful. I want to squish their faces and give them many kisses (if they're into that kind of thing).
7) The self-exploration
I really appreciate how it's become more talked about how a lot of people are discovering queerness through BL, because that is so the case for me. I think it's both that I was in a bit of a hetero bubble before, and also that I'm evolving a bit as I age. I had figured out I was demi, and maybe a little bit gay, before getting in to BL, but being in this community, and seeing so many of you share so openly and freely, has made me realize it might be more than a little bit.
Either it was a new realization, or being around y'all has made me more gay. Win win, either way.
8) The weirdness
I'm weird. Y'all are weird. I love it.
9) The thirst
So many in this community are thirsty as fuck, and as someone who is in that same condition, I love that it's not just me. There are not many places where I can freely admit how horny I am as a part of my general existence.
Here? I could post about wanting to lick some random BL actor's face, and it would get a bunch of likes and some tags like #lickable, and it's just not remotely a big deal.
Also the gifmakers understand this, and give us beautiful cuts of our spicy scenes. They are genuinely too good for us.
10) The communal watching experience
There is absolutely nothing like watching along with people in the community. It is so worth the torture of having to wait week to week for new episodes. Seeing the show trend, watching the theories fly fast and furious, or the way everyone collectively loses their minds over particular moments. In a world that can feel very isolating, it's a very warm experience.
So there you go. Thank you all for being you. Here's to another year of QL shenanigans and losing our collective minds!
Thank you to the lovely Mawce aka @justabigoldnerd for this Seven Sentence Sunday tag! Always a pleasure! ✨
Editing back through my work and I stumbled into this asshole. 🙃
Mal staggered with a half-empty bottle of airplane wine in hand, that daddy’s money paid for. Unlike his cohort, Noah had to work hard to get into his graduate program; Without his scholarships, unpaid internships, and paid TA and tutor jobs on top of being a full-time student, there was no way that Noah would have been able to afford his tuition. His parents kicked him out early on, so he didn’t have the luxury of wasting time nor money. He was there to get his degree, land a decent-paying job in his field of interest, and get the fuck out.
The well-libated colleague “accidentally” spilled some of the alcohol all over Noah’s front, and he appeared to have been aiming for the laptop. “—!!” Noah reacted just in time, pulling his equipment away from the splash zone as Mal laughed cruelly.
Definitely some contention here on all sides. 🤔✨
As always, I will leave this as an +open tag and gently alert the tag list. Happy Sunday! 💫✨
✨👇Tag list for writing snippets below. DM me if you’d like to be added 👇✨
Tag List for writing tidbits (lmk if you want + or -)
Jane is the single most pro-communication BL lead. He's clear and he's direct and he encourages Ryan to tell him what's wrong and to speak before deciding he knows what's happening. It's all about communication. As @respectthepetty would say, Jane is such a blue boy.
Ten: I found a note that said "I'm scamming the doctor for money"
Prem: That was my sister, but I'm sorry, and it's not true.
Ten: You're my Linda Evangelista, so I believe you.
Karan: You're perfect and you always know exactly what I'm thinking which is why I feel like I suck compared to you.
Achi: I can read your mind, and I have been doing that this entire time.
Karan: OH MY GOD! So you know how much I love you because you hear me thinking about you 24/7 even when I'm sleeping?! Let's move into together!
Hiro: I didn't show up for the date I scheduled. I'm awful! I'm horrible!
Kai: Nah. You just have a demanding job. I understand. Here's some food.
Hiro: I still suck, but this food is good, and I will make this up to you because you deserve to be treated well and not have low expectations of people.
Soga: I saw you with your ex, and it made me jealous!
Sakae: I'm glad you were jealous, but I only have eyes for you, which means my eyes saw that your ex called you.
Soga: We are only friends, and I didn't want to speak to her because I was with you.
*kiss*
Charlie: I faked my death, so you were crying over an empty grave.
Babe: God, I love you.
Prom: I helped your brother fake his death.
Nont: I fucking hate you.
Prom: Can we still hang out?
Nont: *eye roll* I guess. But I'm still pissed off at you.
Prom: I wouldn't love you if you weren't.
These BLs really said, "Problems. What problems?" and kept it moving.
AND I LOVE IT!
The plots keeps moving along, and I get to focus all my brain cells on the one show where the lack of communication is pivotal.
Good for all these BLs for finally understanding that talking to one another really matters, mostly when faking death. Do you see where I'm going with this Dead Friend Forever?