Arlo Woolbound

Multimedia Artist (DO NOT REPOST ART) ∙ co-host of No Longer Subtext

[artbyarlo]

Hi, I'm Arlo!

I'm a multimedia artist who creates digital illustrations, sculptural work, and podcasts. My work often centers around themes of queer expression, identity, and any of my special interests.

Fanart

I love Danmei, and my passion for these stories carries through in a few areas of my work. Fan art is a big one. I post some of that work here on Tumblr using the "#my fanart" tag. I've also made some of my work available to order as bookmarks and keychains here.

No Longer Subtext

Together with my friend Pa Ying, I host a podcast series dedicated to exploring queer East Asian literature. We launched this series in October 2024. Since then, we've been working through our reading list. New episodes drop on the last Thursday of each month. Listen on Spotify >> Listen on Apple Podcasts >> Sign up for the newsletter >>

Original Art

In addition to fan art, I make original art using several mediums, including clay, needle felting, and sewing. When I post about that work here, it is tagged "#my original art."

I'm so excited to share this work! In addition to the posts I make here, I send a monthly e-newsletter that shares my process, what I'm currently working on, some insight and thoughts about my work, and anything relevant to share. You can sign up for those updates here.

[lunnitavaldez]

Wake up fishbook lovers, I brought food 🐟🐟🐟

[and-fishing-equipment]

in 2026 DO NOT ask yourself whether your art is GOOD

instead ask:

is it SINCERE

was it CATHARTIC

was it FUN TO MAKE

is it MADE BY ME

and don't forget to stay silly

[jvgsjeff]

[yahenni]

[doctor-wormm]

please reblog this i spent way too long on what was supposed to be a quick edit

[drulalovescas]

kinky

[meltesh28]

kiss

[kaibacorpintern]

Not OTP nor NOTP but a magical third thing: I’m indifferent to your ship but your fanart fucking slaps

[absurdlyinaccurate]

me, the motherfucker with over 50 abandoned works in progress: i have an idea

[mossymage]

Have a happy Hualian Valentine’s Day!!

[nolongersubtext]

Happy Valentine's Day!

Celebrating this day of romance, we've dropped a special bonus episode. In this episode, we talk about Surge Towards You, a sports-themed omegaverse Manhwa.

We are planning to do more of these holiday bonus episodes throughout the year and already have some planned. You can see all of those planned books on our new Bonus Reading List. All of these bonus episodes are dedicated to reading Manga and Manhwa, and will be a really fun addition to our regularly planned, monthly Danmei novel reading.

In just about a month, we're doing another one! For the first day of spring, March 20, we are dropping a discussion of Sating the Wolf, an omegaverse story about an alpha rabbit and an omega wolf.

Our regularly scheduled novel episode is still dropping on the last Thursday of this month. Join us as we discuss the next installment of Peerless.

[sayitasyoucan]

My Valentine Cards

[merniumdraws]

enjoy a cute hualian doodle for Valentine's Day!

[sarahmackattack]

You ready for our 2026 Valentines?? The art is ready for ya 😍

This year's cards were designed by Philly artist April Finfrock. I'm completely obsessed with how these turned out.

As with everything on our shop, sales of these valentines support Skype a Scientist 😘

Order at SquidFacts.net! They'll ship the week of January 19th!

[raiain]

hoho

[bishy437]

i love this book

[ydotome]

Like always… You fix me, we talk… just that. - MIGNON 민용 - Episode 5

[crowned-crimson-flower]

Danmei is a very unique genre of queer literature which both centers and de-centers queerness. None of the Danmei I’ve read have been essentially “about” being gay. They’re just stories of life, of magic, of fantasy, of love, in which the main characters happen to be gay. Which is a kind of representation I have often seeked from western media and related intermediaries because why is every gay story, a coming out story? Is there not more to queer people than that?

However, while capturing the personhood of queer people; Danmei also captures the queerness of people because none of these stories would work if the characters weren’t gay/queer

Wei Wuxian’s absolute buffoonery of misunderstanding Lan Zhan’s feelings in a decade long telephone game in which neither of them open their damn mouth would never work in a non-queer story because between a man and a woman romance would be the natural assumption of everyone around them and therefore wouldn’t leave space for confusion. The misunderstanding of their romance is so closely tied to the plot succession that the plot would be… non existent without it

In TGCF Xie Lian and Hua Cheng’s absolute aspirational love is literally in the backseat and front seat of the story. Not too different from a classic hero’s journey but instead of the hero being one person, it’s two people. They are so intertwined with eo that they become one character and witness a lot of the story together. Witness being a very interesting word choice. Their queerness doesn’t drive the story but replacing one of them with a woman would dampen the effect— it’d remove the uncertainty, the confusion from everyone around them, the genuine slow burn of the romance. There’s also this idea of Hua Cheng falling in love with Xie Lian so far separated from concepts such as gender or whatever which wouldn’t have been hammered home in a straight romance where those conversations aren’t always had between the audience and the story

And Erha.. well obviously. Half of Chu Wanning’s “this is so inappropriate” spiral wouldn’t exist if he was a woman. And, the idea of Mo Ran being a “cut sleeve” builds up the under current of his character being so far dismissed by society because he’s seen as immoral. Which just wouldn’t serve to the same effect if he was into exclusively women because so was every other character.

Not in a single one of these stories is queerness and homosexuality the central theme of the story yet without them, the romance wouldn’t be the same. Liking the same gender as you comes with baggage in our society which is so heteronormative and that effect has to exist in the person characters become for them to be authentic but at the same time, limiting that effect only to produce coming out stories/falling in love stories is unfair. Danmei mends this through a middle ground where the plot is the focus but it doesn’t exist in a vaccum, it exists in queerness itself