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Best-Friends-to-Lovers, the Bollywood edition!

Best Friends to Lovers, the Bollywood Edition: I have always loved the best-friends-to-lovers trope more than anything else in the world because I find it so precious and beautiful that two people who know each other so well fall in love with each other, except it's so much more special because they're already best friends. I'm here for the will-they-won't-they-ness of it all, the I-liked-you-before-you-liked-me angst, and the healthy sort of jealousy that makes one realize that they have feelings for (if not already in love that is) for the other one--> HECK YEAH.

Anyway, here's a representation of the cycle of how Best Friends turn into Lovers through Bollywood gifs! Enjoy, leave a heart if you liked it! <3

Teasing (from Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na)

Bickering (from Jab We Met)

Goofing about together (from Happy Ending)

Until one of them falls for the other (from Bareilly Ki Barfi)

And the other doesn't realize yet (from 2 States)

And it's all angst and sadness until (from I Hate Love Storys)

Until one day they realize it too (from Hasee Toh Phasee)

After which everything is the same (from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani)

Except that they're best friends (from Ok Jaanu)

And they're in love! (from Dil Dhadakne Do)

educational youtube channels:

for when the burnout is real and all you really wanna do is lie in bed and watch things but you gotta at least try to study. these are mostly channels i’ve watched and subscribed to! (updated 17/12/2015)

sciences

veritasium

it’s okay to be smart

pbs space time

crash course: astronomy

crash course: ecology

crash course: biology

crash course: chemistry

crash course: anatomy and physiology 

crash course: psychology

the school of life: sociology

the school of life: psychotherapy

scishow

scishow space

asapscience

minute physics

minute earth

khan academy

the brain scoop

sexplanations 

healthcare triage

sixty symbols

periodic videos

deep sky videos

literature / art

crash course: literature

the school of life: literature

the school of life: art/architecture

art assignment

thug notes: shakespeare explained

thug notes: classic literature

history / geography / government

crash course: world history (season one)

crash course: world history (season two)

crash course: us history

it’s history: the industrial revolution

it’s history: the history of pirates

it’s history: battlefields (military history)

it’s history: the cold war

the school of life: history

alternate history hub

crash course: intellectual property

crash course: economics

crash course: u.s. government and politics

geography now

the school of life: political theory

it’s history: the history of china

it’s history: weapons of mass destruction

it’s history: the history of sex

extra credits: extra history

khan academy: history

khan academy: american civics

the great war

tom richey: ap euro review

tom richey: ap us history review

cgp grey

math

numberphile

khan academy

vihart

philosophy

the school of life: philosophy

the school of life: eastern philosophy

philosophy tube

8-bit philosophy

misc / no particular subject

crash course: big history

ted-ed

smarter every day

in a nutshell

vsauce

dnews

test tube news

test tube plus

seeker daily

the good stuff

thoughty2

how to adult

mental floss

Misc readings pt. 9

Interpretation of dreams, paromita vohra, mumbai mirror

The original goths: why women write gothic horror, the book habit

My grandfather's cult, nathaniel g. moore, toronto life

Our lives happen in restaurants, new york times

Love’s contradictions: catullus on the agony of infatuation, armand d'angour, psyche

The skeletons at the lake, douglas preston, the new yorker

YouTube's lo-fi music streams are all about the euphoria of less, jason parham, wired

On memorizing poetry, connie pan, bookriot

How the clouds got their names and how goethe popularised them with his science- inspired poems, maria popova, brain pickings

Crush, larissa pham, believer

Century old marathi-hindi kirtans get revived in mumbai, mohua das, the times of india

The crow whisperer, lauren markham, harper's magazine

Mugger much love from a one-armed priest, excerpt from wild and wilful: tales of 15 iconic indian species by neha sinha

stopping the void: ottilie mulzet on how her adoptive heritage lead her to a life of and in translation, the paris review

How facebook got addicted to spreading misinformation, karen hao, technology review

The new gwen stefani is a lot like the old one, anne helen peterson, buzzfeed

How a secret european language ‘made a rabbit’ and survived, martin puchner, psyche

The trouble with charlotte perkins gilman, halle butler, the paris review

The limits of the lunchbox moment, jaya saxena, the eater

How the new yorker fell into the “weird japan” trap, ryu spaeth, the new republic

Camping the canon: matthew lewis, milton & the monk, colin broadmoor, blood knife

Why contemporary women artists are obsessed with the grotesque, tess thackara, artsy (article has graphic images)

Haphephobia, olly nze, the audacity

The anxiety of influencers, barett swanson, harper's magazine

My octopus girlfriend, sophie lewis, n+1 mag

Nigella lawson wants everyone to experience the (thoroughly guilt-free) pleasure of food, nigella lawson, lithub

Salman Toor (Pakistani, b. 1983, Lahore, Pakistan, based Brooklyn, NY, USA) - 1: Ghost Story, 2019  2: The Green Room, 2019  3: Four Friends, 2019  4: After Party II, 2019  5: After Party, 2019, Paintings: Oil on Canvas / Panel

I just recently watched Red shoes and the seven dwarfs and AHHHHHH IT'S AMAZING !!!! Here's a drawing of Merlin I drew because we stan one (1) boi who gets amazing character development!!!!

DAN HENG • IMBIBITOR LUNAE ♢ The Prodigal's Return

The events of my previous life are like unfamiliar shadows — hardly visible yet following me wherever I go. It's hard to describe the feeling, but one thing is for certain — I am nobody's shadow.

Need everyone to lose their minds over how cute and pretty the opening for Witch Watch is

K-Drama Recommendations: Soft/Beta Male Leads

Beta males are my main character trope of choice:  A soft boy who lets the woman take charge or who defers to her. He is dedicated, doesn’t play mind games and doesn’t worry about taking on traditionally masculine roles. He puts the leading lady’s needs first, remains loyal and kind, and allows the woman’s personality to shine. Sounds perfect right?

K-Dramas that features soft male leads:

Because This Is My First Life

Nam See is an introverted and thoughtful beta male with a fondness for his kitty (bonus!). He’s smart and capable but also honors his contract marriage with Ji Ho, and treats her with an overwhelming amount of respect. He is the first character I’ve seen in a drama that truly understands consent. When this show aired, everyone was smitten with Nam See because he was the “perfect boyfriend material.” As a side note ironically, Lee Min Ki (the actor who played the perfect Nam See) had his own personal scandal which seems the total opposite of his character and I’d feel weird not mentioning it.

Healer Swoon-worthy Park Bong Soo is not only a super capable action superhero behind the scenes, but has total puppy eyes for Chae Young Shin. This couple makes the show one of my favorites even if the plot isn’t 100%.

Ho Goo’s Love / Fool’s Love

Ho Goo is in my opinion the poster child of the soft male lead and Fool’s love is one of my top five favorite dramas (it covers sexual abuse and has a gay storyline - I know, shocking for a k-drama). When people ask me for examples of non-problematic boyfriends, this show comes to mind first. Ho Goo is quiet, really sensitive, caring and puts everyone before himself. He’s a bit naive to the world’s workings, but when he falls for a medal winning athlete with a troubled past and an unwanted pregnancy, he’s willing to drop everything to be with her. It’s one of the best dramas I’ve seen though it does have a small bit of slapstick.

Flower Boy Next Door

Enrique Geum is a creative and kooky character who falls for an introvert. He’s soooo goofy and adorable, it’s almost like watching a cartoon character interact with real live people (plus he cuddles with puppies and look at his panda hat!). He sets his sites on an introvert and works hard to build a friendship (and romance). The show is a bit trying at times due to the annoying SLS and what I like to call “k-drama nonsense” but he’s so soft!

The Happy Loner/ Individualist Ms. Ji Young

This mini drama features a puppy-like boy trying to befriend a “cold” female. He is persistent in winning her over but not overbearing by any means. I had a couple of issues with this show but overall it’s one of the better mini dramas I’ve seen. 

Reunited Worlds

Hae Sung, a senior in high school dies and through k-drama magic, travels twelve years into the future to solve the mystery of his death. He reunites with his high school sweetheart (a now 31 year old woman) and the two fall back in love. He’s really smitten with her regardless of her age, and works hard to make her feel comfortable with their age difference. He’s a lovely friend with a pure heart and is completely adorable. The SLS is also incredibly beta (though not a very charismatic role - people complained about his acting skills). I don’t know a lot of people who liked this show as much as I did, but Yeo Jin Goo melted my heart and I felt all of the feels (plus I love the fated lovers and time travel tropes).

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-Joo 

Joon-Hyung is a sweet and doting beta male who falls for Bok-Joo really hard, like puppy dog hard. He loves her for the tom-boy she is and respects her athletic prowess. These two are adorable together and there are TONS of cute scenes with them on dates and cuddling, though his immaturity/nick names for her annoyed me sometimes (maybe I’m sensitive).

The Package

This show aired without much notice but I happened to really enjoy it. The lead had a sweet and open personality and I just honestly loved that about him. When the couple argued they actually used their communication skills! If you’re looking for a quiet slice-of-life drama that’s a little different, check it out. You can read my review here if you’re curious.

Honorable Mentions (A.K.A Good Solid Boyfriends)

Fight For My Way/ Fight My Way

Fight my way is one of my top three favorites shows. It has an amazing strong female lead (like, really strong but also realistic) and uses the friends to lovers trope really well. It also has a solid group of friends who are regular people struggling to make a living - what can I say, I love it! Dong Man isn’t a truly beta male because he doesn’t become super soft until he realizes he is falling for his best friend. However once that happens, he’s all about Choi Ae Ra and in total support of everything she does (and he should be because she’s amazing). Plus if you look at the flashbacks, he’s really a beta male in training so… As a side note there is one single scene where he says something I don’t like, but I won’t say anything and you probably won’t notice because of the chemistry.

Just Between Lovers

I debated putting this show in my beta males post because both leads are dealing with trauma, PTSD and mental illness, so Kang Doo has some violent tendencies and anger issues which made me hesitate. But make no mistake, he is in love with Moon Soo from the very beginning and lives for her. He cares deeply and gives 100%. He goes out of his way to keep her safe and tell her she’s loved. Plus she’s someone I think of as a strong female character but is strong in a quiet way which I love. So since there is the strong female/mostly soft male it deserves a mention.

Also if you want a few more beta male dramas, @overthinkingkdrama has a great list with more soft leads here.

xoxo, Shana

some of my favourite vídeo essays about art history:

whose migrant mother was this? the story of the native american woman who became the face of the 1930s depression (and got almost nothing for it)

bauhaus design is everywhere, but its roots are political how even a simple choice between what font to use can be a political act

edvard munch: what a cigarette means munch + tobacco = art? (yes we’re still on the topic of art as a political weapon)

art that was never finished how great masters sometimes even didn’t finish stuff. also! the history behind the colour aquamarine

fka twigs on mary magdalene (if you like asmr you’re gonna love this)

having a coke with frank ohara (technically not art history but this video is too good for me not to mention)

video postcard: woman at her toilette a quick dive into my favourite painting of woman impressionist berthe morisot

this documentary about georgia o´keeffe (that ive seen about 10 times)

david hockney on vincent van gogh on love of nature, beauty, attention, and the art of looking (essentially a mary oliver poem in interview format!!!!)