Baopu #99: It’s Never Over

A cartoon drawing of Yao, who has red short hair in a pixie cut, a purple shirt and pointy purple hat, and cream scarf, laying on the grass with their cat. They are thinking in a thought bubble. The thoughts are: "So wen this is all over, what do you want to do? I start to realize that 'this' is never going to be over... and we keep living, doing what we can, to be better. To move on... I shouldn't be... I shouldn't be... waiting, anymore."

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Yao Xiao

Yao Xiao is a China-born illustrator based in New York City. Yao Xiao creates artwork depicting a poetic visual world where complex concepts and human emotions are examined, amplified, and given physical form. Her work has helped people all over the globe connect at unique moments, from the celebration of the 20 Year Anniversary of the SXSW Interactive Festival, to the grand release of pop singer Katy Perry's single 'Dark Horse.' She has created deeply emotional and beautiful graphics for editorial print publications, pop music record covers, concert posters and book covers. Yao Xiao's serialized comic Baopu currently runs monthly on Autostraddle. It is an original comic exploring the nuances in searching for identities, connections and friendships through the fictional life of a young, queer emigrant. Baopu stands for 'holding simplicity,' a Taoist ideal of wishing to return to a simpler state. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Etsy or her website.

Yao has written 135 articles for us.

9 Comments

  3. This is lovely, and hitting on some of the realizations I’ve been having over the past two weeks or so. You’re right, it’s never over and it’s never easy.

  8. I love this so much. And the detail of the cat playing with the speech bubble is so cute!

  9. Yeah. This sunk in for me somewhere in the last six months or so. I’ve somehow adapted to the pattern of making pretty loose plans and holding them loosely too, knowing that one positive test could send the whole thing into a tailspin. I don’t feel like I’m waiting anymore, I feel like I’m living my life as best I can in a new reality. Thanks Yao 💞

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