#queer your valentines

[darlingillustrations]

Will You Be My (Platonic) Valentine?

Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. I’m as shocked as anyone to realize this, especially since I haven’t had a serious romantic relationship in years. But February 14th isn’t just a day for traditional lovers. It is also the day I came out of the closet as queer. It is the day I chose to stand up and show the world who I am. It is a day about self acceptance.

It is a day on which I commemorate loving myself.

After my divorce I started a tradition. Each year for Valentines day, I ask a single friend of mine to be my Platonic Valentine. Every time I do, it creates so much joy and surprise that I can’t help but wonder why more people don’t do this.

There are so many ways to love and be loved. That’s part of what inspires my Affectionate Animal series, in which I strive to paint as many different expressions of loving connection as I can. To me, deconstructing what our ideas of “love” are and reconstructing something that works for us is what lies at the heart of being queer.

I don’t have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. I haven’t even had a date in longer than I can remember. But I remain open and curious to what the universe has in store, and I believe in the power of connection.

Love saves us, in the end, from a world of isolation, both in the giving and the receiving.

If you would like to send someone a little love this Valentine’s Day, consider one of these ideas:

1. Mark the Calendar

Schedule a time to meet for drinks or take a walk and catch up. The anticipation of plans warms the heart as much as the actual plans themself. Quality time is one of the most cherished things we can share.

2. Write a Letter

Artifacts of our connections, like letters and notecards that we send through snail mail, have a way of anchoring our relationships with a weight that online “likes” and “reblogs” do not carry.

3. Potluck

Breaking bread together is one of the oldest forms of intimacy, and it doesn’t even have to be fancy to hold meaning. Invite a loved one over for spaghetti or pbjs. Light a couple candles to make it feel special. Or make time to play a board game afterwards.

4. Book Club

Read your best friend’s favorite book, then talk with them about it. This has been my favorite way to show my kid I love them lately, by reading the Percy Jackson books they are obsessed with, then watching The Lightning Thief TV shows on Netflix with them.

5. Early Spring Cleaning

Make a pact with your friend to each fill up a box with things you don’t need anymore and drop it off at a second-hand store together. Maybe even stay for awhile and thift something new to cherish once you get home.

We’ve all heard Marie Kondo’s mantra “Does this spark joy?” It’s time to apply that to your relationships, as well, and make time for the people who spark joy in your life by letting go of those who don’t.

6. Lend a helping hand

When you feel isolated or lonely, one of the most effective ways to dig your way out of that is to uplift others. Talk about your friend’s hard work or business online, raving about them. If your friend has an event or a project, spread the word about it. Use your voice to spread awareness of others’ dreams, and that will strengthen your connections.

7. Say “I love you.”

It’s so simple, but many of us go so long without hearing simple words of affirmation. It’s never too late to say it, and it’s never too much.

My Affectionate Animal series is available as art prints, notecards and stickers. You can buy them in my online shop.

[waterme-stories]

I just wanted to have these Valenpool panels somewhere that I could look upon them always.

KLONK. Right in the titty window.

(Deadpool (2022) #9, Wong/Zagaria)

[ozymandiaskingoftrash]

I love you ao3 writers, but ya'll who write fix it smut that gives Nick Valentine some sort of genital modification so he can "finally have sex," are cowards. Nick's story is a queer story. Nick's arc is finding joy and empowerment in the bodymind he has, coming to terms with his humanity, and that he's not inferior to the original Nick. And you’re missing the opportunity to showcase the eroticism of non penetrative sex. Or kink? Toys? So many options.

[birdgravezzz]

dangles them over ur head

[deancasforcutie]

the way Dean wordlessly blasts this type of dad rock whenever Cas returns during their fights to shade him for leaving: a web weave

[fionacreates]

Happy Romance Day.

Hope you have a good one, even if you’re just treating yourself.

[garlicbreadfanatic]

Sirius: Babe? I've got something to ask you...

Remus: Don't come in Sirius!

Sirius: oh, uh I'll ask later... I guess.

*later*

Sirius: have you seen Remus? At all?

James: He's been in our dorm all day. Maybe he's tired. Maybe he's hooking up with one of those Hufflepuffs who have a crush on him... wait no that was a joke! Padfoot I'm joking-

Sirius: I was gonna ask him to be my valentine. But I guess he'd think that's stupid. *walks away*

Remus: Sirius!

Sirius: Remus? I thought you were-

Remus: I um... made this sign for you

*holds up a big hand-painted sign with 'Sirius' on it, with stars and twinkle lights attached*

I always wanted to see your name in lights.

Sirius: :) I love you.

Regulus: *to James* I helped Remus, I thought I should do something nice for Sirius for once.

[queerliblib]

I love this library 💕

we love our patrons 💖

[that-purple-touch]

i want someone to push me to my knees when i get bratty. i want them to pull my hair and shove my face in their lap to put me in my place. i want them to grind and rut and hump my face—not letting me lick or suck, just making me kneel there and take it as they use my face to rub their slick, their folds, their hardness however harshly they think i deserve to be reminded that i am theirs to use however they please.

[vulpinesaint]

i need everybody ever to watch this video actually. the issue is not difficult but if you’re somehow still feeling uncertain in any way about hogwarts legacy watch the video. they say it well and they say it with confidence and i love them actually

[petit-monsieur-pain]

Merry christmas everyone,

Anyways uh, happy valentines holiday

runs (This is MY comfort QPR and I get to choose the drawing, in that case, wasn't feeling too well so they chill)

Anyways uh, they're both nonbinary because I said so.

[padawan-historian]

(1) Queer domestic worker and jazz lover Mabel Hampton (1919)

(3) Annie Bell and Sammie Pratt (1905)

(4) Mr. and Mrs. Joe Spears (1914)

(5) Bride and Groom (1926)

(6) William Biggers and his family (1916)

(7) A well-dressed couple strolling together (1925)

(8) A stylish New York couple in Harlem (1932)

(9) Lorraine Hurdle, a Black lesbian, posed in her United States Women’s Army Corps (WAC) uniform alongside a bespeckled lady friend during World War II

(10) A Family Portrait in Fort Scott, Kansas (1950)

(11) The wedding of transgender essayist Dawn Pepita Hall and her husband, auto-mechanic John Paul Simmons (1969)

(12) A couple shares a kiss inside a photo booth (1930s-40s)

(13) Two men share a kiss under a tree (1977-78)

Special Love to the Holsinger Collection, KyKy Archives, James Van Der Zee Studio, Mabel Hampton Collection, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture

[thornheated]

THERAPY ISN'T ENOUGH, I NEED TO *METAL PIPE FALLING SFX PLAYED 1000 TIMES*

[chaosisdying]

I want to kiss on the forehead all my firends and especially my blorbos

tumblr friends I'm kissing you on your forehead. if you don't like forehead kisses then I'll just send you any kind of affection you want.

I love you!!!

[yourfavisneurodivergentandqueer]

Chloe Valentine from Be More Chill is Bisexual (headcanon), has Autism (headcanon) and BPD (headcanon)

sorry for the issue with the clip art looking weird

[billionsofrats]

2500 likes!

it’s my aro ally milestone now

🐦‍⬛🐺🐁🍀🌲