#ESPECIALLY when its non-SAM aces

[redysetdare]

It's all "Ppl who don't use the SAM are valid!!!" until those people ID as only Aro or Ace when you feel they are aroace. Then it's suddenly ppl trying to erase one identity or the other and "NO YOU MEAN AROACE NOT JUST ACE!!!" etc etc etc.

[entropy-sea-system]

Aromantic is not just a footnote to put on your evidently only about aces post. Aromantic is an orientation in its own right and we deserve to have our orientation seen as its own thing instead of an extension of asexual(especially when non ace aros/aros who aren't solely or always ace exist - including alloaros, non sam aros, neu aros, aromid, and other identities or experiences)

[neos-schlond-poofa]

An Ode to Angie Beneviento

Okay, so this actually will be a semi-serious post. LIKE I know I don't usually post serious stuff unless its an angst edit HOWEVER it IS Angie's birthday and she actually is a very important character to me. Obviously not the most important character to me though, that's Donna, but that is another post for another birthday.

But... I really love Angie's route. And it's really important to me. And anyone who knows me knows that I'm not really an open person about serious stuff (I THINK?? sam if you read this tell me pleak) or I'm talkative, but I think this is worth putting out there. Especially because of how much it means to me.

I'm ace. Like this really isn't me coming out, like I've always kind of been out as ace?? But I never really said it either on here but like I am ace and I never tried to hide it at least. This is so odd like this is kind of like me coming out. But it isn't. BUT THAT IS NOT THE POINT. I just need to say that so this makes more sense.

Seeing Angie just straight up say she's asexual just made me feel so happy.

I can't tell you a single other ace person in media that (that isn't Todd from Bojack or also aromantic), and just seeing someone really silly like me? That made me feel so nice.

I tried to wish away me being ace before. Like, completely fine with the gay and non-binary stuff for the most part, but being ace? Hated it. Like, I don't like ess e ex (I really don't want this post to be hidden because I used the word), nor did I ever really have an interest in it. And I didn't want to have an interest in it really. Kind of? It's complicated.

I wanted to be like the others really. I've had relationships before where I hate myself for being ace, because I have never had an ace partner, and I just will never be enough for them because of that (minus the one time I did have an ace partner, but they were very disliking of physical touch which I do love). I used to try to convince myself that I can just stop being this way, I can change for them, all so they wouldn't leave me. I was ashamed of being this way, despite being so usually proud of my other parts of my identity. There was even a time when one of my exes tried to convince me that I wasn't ace too, but definitely didn't make this situation worse. I just didn't like being this way.

Although, it wasn't as strong when I started playing Resident Lover + when I got into my current relationship. Like, I am fairly fine now. Yeah, I still kind of do feel bad for being ace but like? Who cares? I mean I do but I know them and I know she would never hate me for that, it's just perfect. I love them so much.

But I still always have those thoughts. And I'm not saying Resident Lover completely eradicated those thoughts... but they did help them.

Seeing Angie just... openly say she's ace and set her boundaries and MC just accepting it? It was like. Amazing. I never really saw something like that (Todd from Bojack does NOT count, he is a guy. And I am not a girl either but I feel closer connected to girls because they're so much sillier and nice plus also like Angie more).

It was just so nice seeing representation that I hadn't really seen before, and one where I could see a character get into a happy relationship with someone they really love, and it all work out. Angie helped me accept being ace, she's helped me being proud of it, unlike any character before (okay sorry Todd). And, it's her birthday. And not that many people in this fandom appreciate her. And I know not that many people in the fandom will read this (you guys hate long posts despite being in a visual novel fandom... what is this don't you guys love reading???), but I still wanted to share it. To share MY personal story and how Angie is important to me, and just one of the many reasons why this game is so important to me too.

I love Angie Beneviento.

[saltbind]

okay i really got carried away and i dont mean to vent in ur asks but ur post about being uncomfortable with the way fandom misgenders sam and leans into the misogyny of the show is so relatable i had to say something on it. feel free to publish this ask or to add ur own opinion, i dont mind!

i think now i am less uncomfortable with girl sam headcanons and i even enjoy transfem sam hcs in the later seasons,, but especially when i was first joining the fandom seeing the amount of misgendering and girlifying of sam made me so bone deep uncomfortable. because i saw the way sam was degraded and feminized in canon and i related to him so much in a transmasc way instead

then to go into the fandom and see people leaning into the misgendering and calling him a woman for being a man who *checks notes* is nice to people? has long hair. likes to be clean?? felt like it was just perpetuating the sexism of the show. it felt incredibly invalidating to say the least,, and to say a lot more, it made me feel uncomfortable being trans in the spn fandom.

even now its incredibly hard to trust anyone in the spn fandom to not be transphobic or hold transphobic values. someone can have 'terfs dni' in their pinned post all they want but are they really challenging sexism, bioessentialism, or transphobia by calling men women for acting slightly feminine? are trans people supposed to be comfortable around them when they see a man with the slightest amount of ass, with a tiny bit of hip and waist visible, and pointing at him laughing and calling him a woman? (also its made worse by the fact that sams not all that feminine? hes a very masculine big buff guy. the way the show misgenders him is almost comical when paired with that fact, but the way fandom perpetuates it and doubles down on it is something else entirely.)

its hard because i understand that people are going to relate to the show differently to me. i relate to sam in a way that ties into my trans male identity. other people might relate to him and the way hes treated as feminine because of their feminine identity. to some people it could be liberating and an expression of their own identity to focus on sams femininity and i dont want to ruin or make people feel bad for enjoying that. but this fandom makes me feel like im fucking crazy for being uncomfortable with sexism and transphobia sometimes.

-hellhoundlair

i completely get all of this and feel the same honestly!

one of the things that makes me relate so much to sam, whether he's written a cis man or a trans man, is that he's masculine in ways that are non-typical in the environment he's in. especially when it comes to headcanoning him as trans - it's important to me that he has these traits that can be read as feminine and has asserted his identity as a man anyway. it's important to me that he's unapologetic for the ways that he defies expectation and i'm always going to prefer headcanons that center his masculinity as a big part of his identity.

sometimes it can feel like people see the 'feminine' traits sam has and make the same jump that i used to see when it came to autistic-coded characters. feminine traits = trans woman, autistic traits = ace or agender. and while it's true for some people, i think that making that jump in every instance you see can be really disillusioning for people in that community who don't fit into those boxes. it can make you feel like there's something wrong with you for being trans in a particular direction when you still have traits that are 'typical' for your assigned gender or vice versa, or make you feel like you have to adhere to an identity that doesn't quite fit because everyone talks like it's a given for your personality. when i was younger i really did think and feel like i was ace when i wasn't because of just how many people were convinced the characters i related to were. turns out autistic people can just have very different relationships with sex and i'm very normal for an autistic person! i was never ace, i was just really disconnected with the allistic way of looking at sex.

it's the same with trans headcanons for me. a lot, and i mean a lot of characters that people think of as trans fem have been characters that for me have been huge comfort characters or kin characters, both in this fandom and in others. often for the same reasons that i personally see myself in them - those atypical traits that make me feel like oh that's a guy who's like me! - and every time i have found myself going the other way, and ending up really firm on my own trans masc headcanons. you don't have to be the dictionary definition of masculine to be a man. you can be masculine in ways that are different to what is expected of you and those ways are still just as important and valuable and manly.

again, this isn't necessarily a rebuke to trans fem sam headcanons. this shit is personal and i fully understand that. the above are my personal reasons for my headcanons and the way i am about them.

[pro-crastinate17]

welcome!

 (a remake of my previous intro post bc Shit Has Changed)  

you can call me maxim and / or refer to me by my kin names. my prns are it / he / they and any neos! mix it up i need enrichment in my enclosure djskfhdsjf 

i am a minor!! also im white!! 

im genderqueer + transmasc and non-sam arospec / demiromantic, and i have two partners! 

im AuDHD and have GAD and HPD and i have psychosis, i suspect a few other things (including NPD) but those are the important ones lol 

i am physically disabled! i am not diagnosed with anything other than a knee condition, but i have chronic pain and suspect i have EDS and potentially POTS. i wear knee braces and am currently trying to get crutches or a wheelchair.

i trigger tag when i remember + have the spoons but i dont tag cursing or caps anymore so be aware of that pls!! 

i use tone tags and appreciate when they are used in interactions with me (but i dont require it) 

i have SO many interests please talk to me about them!!!! including but not limited to: the Muppets, the Librarians tv show (2014), the Descendants movies, musical theatre, Greek / Roman / Norse / Egyptian mythology (trying to expand my tastes in mythology as well so tbh talk to me about any type of it), my own stories, various bands/musicians (Will Wood, Steam Powered Giraffe, the Stupendium, Jonathan Coulton, Fall Out Boy, Everybody's Worried About Owen, Trashbag Ponchos, Pansy Division, Sycamore Smith, Noah Kahan, Jayden Wark, and more), clown taxonomy (especially my own clowns, Glitterbomb, Dismal, and Bludgeon), and more!!! 

also im otherkin + fictionkin! if that bothers you, fuck all the way off! my main kintypes are Gonzo - the Muppets (it / they / he / she), Jacob Stone - the Librarians (they / he), Monty - A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (he / they) , Ludo - Labyrinth (he / it), T'noy Karaxis aka Tinky - Hatchetfield (he / it) and Harley Quinn - DC (she / it + any neos). im also werewolfkin and robotkin!

i am often low on spoons and messaging is difficult for me, please feel free to talk to me but understand i may not respond right away (or potentially at all) 

im working on developing a tagging system but its Very much still in progress!!! 

dnis are kinda stupid but: transmed, aro or ace exclus, anti otherkin or fictkin, any blog focused solely on discourse or politics, pro ed or sh, if you believe in ""narcissistic abuse"" or any related stuff, if you don't think transandrophobia is real, if you drink (t/sw)erf koolaid etc

[entropy-sea-system]

Its celebrating being allosexual and aromantic at once, especially when many ppl assume thats not possible. And other identities like non sam aro, and neu aro, are also not ace and are aro !

Just to be clear, celebrating being aroallo isn’t celebrating being allosexual. It’s celebrating being aromantic and not asexual, something so commonly paired together. I tell people that I’m aroallo instead of just aromantic because people assume I’m aroace. Celebrating being aroallo is recognizing the difference between romantic & sexual attraction.

[cenvyy]

lgbtq+ headcanons for yhs/ts characters, specifically my faves

(also disclaimer but in my mind of this, most of the yhs/ts world is accepting as hell of trans/enby folk)

taurtis:

demiboy and bi (they/he pronouns)

he’s amab so he doesn’t really have to worry about transitioning, which is also why he fuckin froke out about sam/samantha wanting to cut his d!ck off. he does NOT wish to transition at all, but does kinda like dressing feminine.

sam/samanatha (not a favorite character but i figured i should explain this since he was in the taurtis hc):

transfem genderfluid and omni (any pronouns except for it/its)

she acts homophobic as fuck sometimes, but that’s cuz she’s in the closet. she also wanted to try out being a girl (hence the cross dressing arc) and that’s how she found out she did genuinely like being called a girl sometimes. sometimes they hated it and then questioned what the fuck they were for a while, eventually settling on genderfluid.

dom:

trans ftm and gay + t4t (he/it)

alright so he’s not really out about being trans to anyone except his dad, who’s chill w it. but as soon as dom came out as gay, mr dorito kicked him out of the house. he was 100% fine with his son being trans but not gay. he also ended up having a crush on samantha but didn’t know she was genderfluid, once he found out he still knew he was gay. his crush on sam also faded away, but he still found her really pretty.

gareth:

bigender and polyromantic/sexual, attracted to non-men only (she/he/it)

gareth was open about being both, especially with his gender. she also was very aware of grian being trans ftm and tried to support him as much as she could before she died, even going as far as starting him on testosterone with his consent of course. jane was also aware of her wife and son being lgbtq+ and was VERY accepting of it (jane’s the only cis one out of the four).

grian:

trans ftm, genderfaun, and gay (he/they/xe/wing)

grian was adopted into the nightman family a year after he moved into japan, hence how he’s related to them. he’s a stealth trans man but his family is very aware of it, which is why gareth and jane helped him start t when he was in his teens. when he goes swimming he refuses to actually do so, claiming his wings will get fucked if he tries to. he hasn’t had the surgery yet since he’s still a minor but his parents plan on helping with it once he turns old enough to have it. (i am aware the gay thing is canon)

sookie:

genderdoe, lesbian, and asexual (they/she)

sookie is open about her sexuality and gender identity as well and tends to hold parties during pride month (and october since that’s seen as one too). her parents aren’t too accepting of them being a lesbian and ace but they don’t say shit about it, especially since they moved out to live with yuki and soul. (same as grian, i’m aware they’re a lesbian canonically)

bonus!!!

pepe frogman:

boyflux and pan (he/they)

he was the last to come out of the nightman family, he was also adopted by them much like his brother. pepe doesn’t really care who knows about his gender and sexuality, but he does take pride in his identity, one of the few things about himself that he does.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I finally got to play the Ghost Marriage event and all I can think of was: 👏Brides👏maid👏Raven-San👏 throws the bouquet of flowers to distract Eliza!(may or may not hit someone in the face with the bouquet) Catch’s the bouquet at the end of it!

I even made fanart:

I hope you had fun playing Ghost Marriage (or “The Phantom Bride”, as EN calls it! ^^

dbjssbjendnd I do wonder what Miss Raven’s up to while the ghosts are taking over campus and preparing for the wedding… Probably trapped in some office filing incidence reports to document what’s been happening, and praying that no one dies because imagine having to explain that to then parents/guardians.

Maybe when Crowley’s getting desperate he yanks her out and says she should infiltrate as a bridesmaid and change out the regular ring for the ring of severance 😂 “… I’d obviously stick out like a sore thumb, being the only non-ghost in the wedding entourage.” “We won’t know until you try!!” Maybe her vignettes can be about singing to the local birds to convince them to help her make her bridesmaid outfit, since Sam said in the event he was all out of stock for wedding items. Then when she crashes the wedding, everyone’s surprised she’s there at all but Raven just complains that she’s overworked and she has to stop this wedding because otherwise the Shroud family might sue NRC into the dirt and that would just be a legal nightmare for her to help the headmaster deal with…

jdjsvsiwkwhdh Maybe she can team up with Ace and talk some sense into Eliza, since Raven understands both sides: the young and naively optimistic love that Eliza has hope in, and the more realistic kind of love that Ace speaks of; the kind of love where your partner isn’t perfect, but is willing to be a work in progress with you. Raven has experienced both kinds, so I think she’d have a lot to say on the matter. Or maybe she just smacks some ghosts around and tells the boys off for making more trouble for her to clean up 🧼 She throws the bouquet at the end and it smacks [redacted] in the face… Use your imagination to insert any character of your choosing into the redacted part 😂

I sketched my own concept for Bridesmaid Raven @w@ but I was half awake while doing it, so the design’s kinda sloppy and could be more coherent 💦 but I figured I’d share anyway! Since a bridesmaid usually complements what the bride wears, I wanted a blue dress with white and gold accents to contrast Eliza’s mostly white outfit with some greys. The clothing also borrows from part of Eliza’s own sleeves, the flowers in her veil, and how the hem of her gown transitions into something floaty.

I think your version is different, but it has its own charm. It definitely has more of a “Raven” than an “Eliza” inspiration, especially with the short gloves, feathered sleeves, and the shorter skirt. I like the addition of the headband to replace her usual hat; her head looks a little empty without an accessory there, huh? djvsjensksev I’m not sure if I entirely understand why Raven is crying in the second image, but at least she’s being comforted sooo 🤔

I just want to quickly advise! 💦 Please ask in advance if it’s okay to create a piece of media with your OC interacting with someone else’s! Not everyone may be comfortable with a person they don’t know that well making their OC(s) engage with (likely) an OC that they also don’t know that well 😅 It’s just something to keep in mind for the future!

[wellthatschaotic]

hot takes that some people probably won't like:

queer people can be queerphobic. gays can be transphobic, lesbians can be biphobic, trans people can be enbyphobic, and any other combination of identities. just because you're queer doesn't protect you from being queerphobic.

transfemme, transmasc, and transneutral people aren't enemies. the whole point of being a community is to work together. stop pitting trans people against each other, even if (especially if) you're trans too.

queer people, in general, aren't enemies. again- the whole point is that we work together. nitpicking labels is doing nothing.

some people will pick labels that don't make sense to you. some nonbinary people identify with trans labels too, and some don't. some people use SAM (split-attraction model). some people pick a lot of labels. some people pick "contradictory" labels. some people pick very few labels. some people pick no labels at all. when someone says who they are, it is not your place to "correct" them.

ace and aro people are inherently queer. yes, even cishet aces and cishet aros. they belong in the community no matter what.

gender =/= presentation =/= pronouns. a man can use she/her pronouns and wear a dress, and she's still a man. a woman can use he/him pronouns and wear a suit, and he's still a woman. a nonbinary person can use binary pronouns and not present androgynous but that doesn't make them any less nonbinary. this includes cis gnc people, and pronoun non-conforming cis people.

people can have complicated identities. people can use microlabels you've never heard of. they don't have to explain themself to you, or change any part of themself to make it easier for you.

it/its pronouns are a valid pronoun set. if you know someone uses exclusively it/its pronouns and you use any other set, you are actively misgendering it. i don't care if those pronouns "make you uncomfortable", they're not for you.

neopronouns are amazing, and if you know someone uses neopronouns, do your best to learn them. it's even easier online- you can write a sentence, and replace any pronoun with the neos. many people who use neopronouns also have auxiliary pronouns- that doesn't mean you shouldn't try.

if someone uses multiple pronoun sets, use all of them. if you see she/they, don't just use "she". same goes for he/they, he/she, she/it, whatever combinations the person picks- they put multiple there for a reason.

people and their identities can change, and people can be wrong about identities. this doesn't mean they were "faking" or "abandoning a community"- it means they're learning more about themself.

bottom line is: let people exist. you're not allowed to dictate how other people live and describe and dress and talk about themselves.

(feel free to add on! unless you exclude anyone. then get out)

[aro-and-tired]

Aromantic Experiences in Fandom: Survey Results

PART 1 - PART 2 - ANALYSIS: TIME IN FANDOM - ANALYSIS: AROALLOS VS AROACES

This survey was aimed at aromantic people, to share their experiences with fandom spaces, creating fancontent, and shipping. The survey got a total of 916 responses. The questions were split into various sections.

As the survey itself was quite long, the results will be discussed into two posts. This post will outline what the demographics of the respondents were and what their general experiences with fandom aree. The remaining sections, concerning content creators, shipping and additional comments, will be discussed in a separate post. Each post will have a summary at the end.

In addition, I plan on adding a couple posts discussing results split by certain variables, as I’m curious to see if different groups express different feelings regarding a few matters.

Demographic questions

Question 1: How old are you?

15 or younger - 14.7%

16-20 - 47.1% (largest group by age)

21-25 - 25.9%

26-30 - 8.3%

31-35 - 2.7%

36-40 - 1.1%

41-45 - 0.1 % (one person)

51-55 - 0.1% (one person)

Question 2: Which arospec identities to you identify with?

Considering the identities I had given as options, from most to least used:

Aromantic - 80.5%

Arospec - 28.7%

Questioning - 11.7%

Demiromantic - 11.1%

Greyromantic - 10.9%

Quoiromantic or WTFromantic - 7.2%

Aroflux - 4.3%

Cupioromantic - 4%

Aegoromantic - 3.9%

Aroqueer - 3.3%

Lithromantic or Akoiromantic - 2.8%

Nebularomantic - 1.9%

Apothiromantic - 1.2%

Arospike - 0.7% (6 people)

In addition, to these, most commonly added identities were Freyromantic, Belluromantic and Reciproromantic. Various over identities were added by various participants.

Question 3: Which of the following do you identify with?

Aroace - 51%

Aromantic Allosexual - 16.8%

Angled or Oriented Aroace - 12.9%

Questioning - 8.2%

Non-SAM Aro or Just Aro - 6.3%

I don’t identify any of these - 4.8%

General Fandom Questions

The first question in the fandom section was a check to see whether or not the participants were currently involved in fandom spaces. 96.6% (885) respondents said they are involved with fandom. 3.4% (31) respondents said they are not involved with fandom.

Involved in fandom: yes

Question 1: For how many years have you been involved in fandom?

1 or less - 4.1%

2-3 - 20.1%

4-5 - 26.8% (largest group by time spent in fandom)

6-7 - 19.7%

8-10 - 16.3%

11-15 - 8.5%

16 or more - 4.5%

Question 2: In general, would you say fandom spaces are aro-friendly?

Unsure - 45.9%

No - 43.6%

Yes - 10.5%

Question 3: If you answered no on the previous question, can you elaborate on why?

419 people offered a comment to this question. For starters, different people meant different things when they stated that fandom spaces aren’t aro-friendly. Some said that they feel fandom is not actively aro-unfriendly, but not friendly either - aro-tolerant, is how someone put it. Others instead found fandom spaces to be actively arophobic. Some people also specified that it depends on which fandoms one considers, with some fandoms being more friendly than others.

Almost everyone mentioned shipping as the first reason why fandom spaces are not aro-friendly. This ranged from people who enjoy shipping, but still feel that there is too much emphasis on it, from romance repulsed people who feel extremely alienated due to how common shipping is. The prevalence of shipping means that gen fics are rarer and receive less attentions. In general, it feels as if platonic relationships are seen as inferior to romantic ones and not worth of being explored.

It was also commented upon that some popular tropes can have arophobic connotations. Various participants mentioned soulmate AUs and Hanahaki disease as common tropes that some aros are very uncomfortable with, or that often have arophobic themes in the way they are used.

Many people also stated that they feel as if aromantic headcanons are less respected than other kinds of headcanons. They may receive less attention, especially from alloromantic fans, and at times even get rejected from fandom. Some aro people have reported having been accused of homophobia for headcanoning members of popular M/M or F/F ships are aromantic (or even just not shipping said ships), and accused of erasing gay people’s sexuality even when their aro headcanons concern characters with no canon sexuality.

On the flip side, the rare aromantic representation that exists is often not well respected by alloromantic fans. Many aros have said that it makes them uncomfortable to see allo fans ship aro characters, but their concerns are also often dismissed by allo fans as simple drama. Some people have even reported being themselves called arophobic by those same alloromantic shippers for being uncomfortable with shipping aro characters - the logic used being, that since some aromantic people enjoy dating, it is arophobic to be uncomfortable with aro characters being shipped. It is particularly hurtful that the same fans who get up in arms about respecting the sexualities of canon gay or lesbian characters and become very angry if someone ships them with a character of the other binary gender are often the same people who happily ship aro characters and ignore any argument made by aromantic fans.

Overall, many aromantic people feel that fandoms can be fairly amatonormative, if not straight up arophobic, and that their identities are often not respected and seeing as more trivial than shipping characters together.

Question 4: Do you think it's easy to find aromantic specific content in fandom?

No - 86.9%

Unsure - 7.2%

Yes - 5.9%

Question 5: Do you think alloromantic (non-aromantic) fans are in general respectful of aromantic interpretations of characters/media?

No - 56.7%

Unsure - 34.5%

Yes - 8.8%

Question 6: Have you ever received arophobic hate or harassment over something relating to fandom (aromantic headcanons, aromantic fancontent, etc.)?

No - 82.1%

Yes - 17.9%

Involved in fandom: no

Only 31 people stated that they are not currently involved in fandom spaces and answered the following questions. This is a fairly small sample. The answers here are reported, but it’s possible that they may not reflect actual trends.

Question 1: Have you ever been involved with fandom before?

Yes - 83.9%

No - 16.1%

Question 2: Is the fact that you are aromantic part of the reason you don't frequent fandom spaces? 

No - 58.1%

Yes - 41.9%

Question 3: From what you have seen, do you think fandom spaces in general are welcoming to aro people?

No - 48.4%

Unsure - 48.4%

Yes - 3.2% (one person)

Question 4: If you answered no to the previous question, can you elaborate on why? 

17 people answered this question. As a general rule, people here had stronger opinions regarding the prevalence of arophobia in fandom compared to those who are currently involved in fandom. Many of them said that they were either personally harassed for being aro when they were in fandom, or that they have witnessed this harassment from the outside. They also mentioned the prevalence of discourse in fandom spaces, with many exclusionists running fandom blogs.

One again, shipping was the most common reason given for fandom spaces being potentially alienating for aro fans, both its prevalence and the existence of things such as ship wars. A few people also mentioned having seen aro headcanons being called homophobic. Soulmate AU and Hanahaki disease were also mentioned as aro unfriendly tropes, and one person also brought up the matchmaker trope.

Someone also mentioned that in addition to aro unfriendly, fandom can also be ace unfriendly, and that asexual headcanons can receive the same backlash as aromantic headcanons. Another person said that while sexual content is common in fandom spaces, most of it is fundamentally alienating to romance repulsed aros, as sexual content almost always involves a romantic component.

Part 1 Summary

Overall, nearly half of aromantic respondents, both those involved and not involved in fandom, state that they feel fandom spaces are not aro-friendly. There’s also a fair number of people who are unsure, and only a minority feels that fandom spaces are friendly to aromantic fans. The amount of shipping that occurs in fandom spaces is mentioned as primary reason why aro fans feel alienated in fandom, especially romance repulsed aros. Many people also mentioned an attitude towards dismissing aro fans, if not straight up harassing them. Fandom arophobia has been remarked upon by various people, and in some occasions led to aro fans leaving fandom entirely.

The majority of fans agree that it’s hard to find aromantic specific content in fandom. A little more than half also states that alloromantic fans are not respectful of aromantic interpretations, with less than 10% of aro fans definitely stating that they believe alloromantic fans support their interpretations.

Lastly, a little less than one fifth of respondents stated that they received harassment due to aromantic headcanons, fancontent, or the likes.

Find Part 2 here

[cayofdreams]

A Succubus’ Dilemma

Summary: Succubus!Reader is struggling with her identity as she gets closer to Kirishima. She wants to continue being the diligent, strong-willed hero that he praises her for being but the presence of Eijirou Kirishima is making that unbearably difficult. She just can't pretend to be quirkless anymore…

Words: 4.5k

Rating: �� Explicit, Smut 

Warnings: cursing, virginity (but there’s no explicit mention of it), oral (receiving), aphrodisiac, heavy overstimulation, a bit of corruption, kinda dark ending? 

Notes: ~Welcome to another steamy piece from your favorite island resort~ 

This one is pretty straight-forward. I feel like I kicked up the smut on this one. Also, I based the ending off one of the endings of one of my favorite yaoi visual novels :-)              

You were lying down on Kirishima’s bed, deeply engrossed in the romantic scene transpiring on your phone’s screen. You had decided to entertain yourself with an episode from your favorite show while your best friend was in the shower.

‘I love you, Jake. But…I just want to wait before we get intimate. I’m just not ready, right now’

‘Of course, Kathrine! I’ll wait however long it takes! You’re so much more to me than a warm body!’

‘You say that…but what if I choose to stay celibate forever?’

‘Then you can live with the confidence that I, Jake Petersmith, have wholeheartedly loved you for the wonderful human that you are!  

‘Oh, Jake! 

‘Kathrine!’

You were tearing up at the cheesy displays of affection since you were a sucker for all things romantic. You loved how characters seemed to have an undying love for one another. Often, you fantasized about sharing that kind of ethereal love with someone yourself. How it would be to run together through a field of sunflowers, or skip hand-in-hand on the sandy surfaces of the beach, or even make couple pranksters YouTube videos that were so obviously not faked.

But that kind of future won’t happen for you. It can’t. Not in the gross body you were in. Surely you were easy on the eyes, but what lurked inside was a demon that constantly bewitched your thoughts. Making you see people around you as simply meat sticks and sticky caverns to be engorged in.

Simply put, you were a succubus. Or at least had a succubus-like quirk. You never told anyone though, only being known to your parents. You tried so hard to reign in these feelings on a daily basis while pretending to be quirkless. But it was becoming increasingly difficult as you got older and as you hung around the likes of…Kirishima.

Oh Kirishima. He was such a beautiful human on the inside and out. Always praising and encouraging you. Being there for you when it seemed you were at your worst low points, and then being there to pick you up and trophy you around when you succeeded at doing even just the bare minimum. You wished you could return even half the happiness to him that he gave you throughout your days at U.A. You wanted to do all the romantic things you saw in movies and books with him. Kirishima was just such a sunshine in your life and you wanted him to continue warming you for the rest of it.

There was a time where 90% of your thoughts toward him were like this…and then as time went on, they became more savagely. Where all you wanted was for him to sink those sharp teeth in your flesh, ravaging your body with a cock that could probably barely even fit inside you, holding you within those arms- those beautifully muscular arms that glistened provocatively with sweat when he trained. You wanted him. Needed him. Please desire me, Eijirou.

You were about to slip your hands down your underwear when you heard the creak of the door open.

“L/N!! Did you miss me?! I’m back!” Kirishima bursted through the door with that wide grin you loved so much.

Of course, I freaking missed you, Eijirou. You were only gone for 11 minutes, 35 seconds, and 23 milliseconds. But I missed every moment.

You covered up your lust with a chuckle. “You weren’t even gone that long.”

“Aww don’t say that!! I missed you, you know.” He teased at you.

Don’t tempt me, baby

“Haha, whatever, Kiri…” You sat up as Kirishima slumped down on the floor next to his coffee table and pulled out his laptop. “So what are we watching, tonight?”

“Hmm…not sure! What do you wanna watch, L/N?” He turned his head to smile back at you. He was so cute. So gorgeous. And your erotic thoughts seemed to be running rampant right now. Especially at the fact that the two of you would be huddled up alone together for who knows however long a movie marathon is. You had to find a way to quickly rid yourself of these thoughts.

“Mmm, let me look up some! Hold on.” A blatant lie. You were going to google get-dry-quick schemes so you could enjoy the rest of the night safely with Kirishima. It was the least he deserved after training so hard today.

HOW TO NOT BE HORNY??!!1!

You analyzed your search results before clicking on a forum where someone seemed to be going through the same dilemma as you.

‘Hello, my name is [redacted] and I’m horny all the time ☹. I’ve lost so many boyfriends because of it and I truly want to find a husband, but it would be silly of me to expect them to drop everything to please me. How can I stop these feelings?’

Someone just like you! You weren’t alone in this cruel abyss. Perhaps she also had a succubus quirk!

Looking through the answers wasn’t much help for the most part. Most of the replies being trolls who asked where she was so they could “help” her. Even worse were the ones that chastised her for her feelings. Saying she was impure and needed to change her ways.

But your eyes were intrigued at the first comment that seemed to provide some kind of helpful information.

‘You might be a nymphomaniac. Have you tried talking with a professional?’

A nym- what? What was that? You opened another tab.

What is a nympomiac?

Too concerned with research to get the correct spelling, you saw articles for definitions of the auto-corrected word.

Nym∙pho∙ma∙ni∙ac

               Noun: a woman with uncontrollable or excessive sexual desire

Gasping at the accuracy you divulged further.

How to not be a nymphomiakc?

A lot of the results for this returned with solutions that were too time-consuming. Prescribed medication, cognitive therapy, and even some evil medieval treatments that involved leeches.

But you needed something now. Why were all these long-winded answers so abundant?! Couldn’t they just give you something to do now? What the fuck would you have to do?? Shove an iceblock your pussy?? Should you go ask Todoroki for a favor??

You were in the middle of texting Todoroki when Kirishima pulled you out of your frenzy.

“You find anything, L/N?”

“Gyahh! What?!” You dropped your phone and looked at Kirishima like you were a deer caught in his headlights.

“Woah, you okay there?! Did I scare you? Maybe horror isn’t a good idea, then.” His worried face could send you to the grave. How could you let him worry about you like this?

“Ohh..no Kiri. I’m fine. We can just watch whatever you want.” You eased your breaths, desperately trying to sound normal.

“You sure?! Awesome! There’s this zombie flick I’ve been meaning to watch but I get kinda scared watching stuff like that alone.” He clicked around happily through some tabs on his browser. “I think if its with someone as courageous as you, I’ll be less scared.”

Was he trying to make you cry? Saying something so beautiful like that with a face like his. Shame on him, honestly.

“I’m gonna play it now, you ready?”

“Mmhm”

--------------------------------------------------

The movie so far was just as you hoped: grotesque, gory, horrifying, and most importantly, non-arousing. It helped that you stayed on the bed while Kirishima sat on the floor, so I guess that was cheating, but nonetheless necessary.  

“You doin’ okay up there, L/N?” Kirishima checked up on you. You had probably been suspiciously quiet due to concentrating on waving away any little lewd thoughts.

“Oh yeah, what about you, Kiri?”

“W-Well! I was kinda thinking! That maybe uhh…I could possibly join you up there?” He scratched his head in nervousness at his slighty flirty suggestion.

Oh no

“Up where?”

“On the bed. Y-you know…with you?”

At this point you didn’t really know whether to praise or curse the gods above you. If there was one thing you could be sure to thank them for, it was the dark room that hid the flustering of your facial expression.

“I-Its your bed after all…”

“I know! I guess its just- heheh..nevermind! I’m hopping up!” Kirishima rugged his massive body on the bed next to you. Even taking some of the blanket you had so you’d be forced to share with him, he just softly smiled as he did so.

This was way too much for the hellion within you to handle. You could smell his strong scent from beside you. His breathing more pronounced in your ear drums. And its like you could feel his heartbeat within you. Pulsating inside you…

Things would take a turn for the worse when it seemed like a sweet romantic scene was about to show up. The two main leads were alone in a bunker and one of them had just revealed they were bitten.

“Samuel, Nooo!”

“Lilia! Listen to me! I need you to hear what I have to say.”

“We don’t have time, Samuel! We- We need to get you medicine. We have to! We have-“

“Stop, Lilia! There’s nothing that can save me now! You and I both know what happens from here.”

“Samuel…”

“Lilia… I want you to be the one who does it.”

“I can’t…Samuel..I can’t”

“You have to, Lilia. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved.”

“Don’t do this, Sam…”

“I love you, Lilia.”

“Oh Samuel! I’ll never be with anyone else! Ever!”

“Lilia…”

The words lingered in your head as the movie continued on.

‘I’ll never be with anyone else’

Was such an option available to you? Even if you did take away the innocence of your love, Kirishima Eijirou, who’s to know how your body would react? The best result would be that your body would finally be satisfied and you’d no longer have these perverse thoughts.

On the other hand, maybe you’d just sink further and further down. Drowning in the suffocating waters of lust. And then what? Kirishima can’t just drop everything to cater to your needs. No. He was going to be hero. An amazing one at that.

But Kirishima wasn’t just a hero, he was your best friend. You felt awful every time he would praise your strong-willed persona. Saying how amazing you were despite being quirkless. He’d even say you were more manly than him at times. It was like you were betraying him. You were betraying that innocent smile he wore for you everyday…you couldn’t hold it anymore.

“Kirishima.”

He looked back at you, surprised at your rare use of his name. Sensing something was wrong he paused the movie and turned his entire body to face yours.

“L/N, what’s wrong”

You were doing it again. Making him worry over you. But you couldn’t keep holding in this secret. You needed to tell him.

“I have to ask you something…”

“Please ask! I’m listening with all ears, L/N” He perked up at you. He looked just like a puppy, waiting for your every move like that.

“What do you think about…impulsive people?”

“Huh? Impulsive people?” He scratched his head at the question. “Well…I guess they’re entertaining to watch? Kind of like Bakugou. But I suppose being too impulsive is bad. You could get yourself or others in danger.”

Your head lowered at his statement, eyes closing shut. Of course he would say something like that. It’s only natural for humans to be mindful of their indulgences. They had to. It’s a part of social conformity after all.

Yet still, it hurt.

He noticed your displeasure in his answer.

“What’s wrong, L/N? Why did you ask that? You’re not impulsive at all!” He was trying to cheer you up, but it only dug the knife further into your chest. “You’re one of the most dignified, tough, and resilient people I know!”

Tears were starting to form in your eyes and before you could object him he continued.

“A-and that’s why…That’s why I love you, F/N. I want you to be my girlfriend.”

As much as you wanted to pull him close to you and pamper him with kisses, you needed to come clean. You shot up from the bed, your back faced towards him and your handing closing into a clenched fist.

“That can’t happen, Kirishima! It won’t work!”

Kirishima followed you by jumping up from the bed, grabbing you by the arms to get you to face him. “Why, F/N?! Why can’t it happen? Is there something wrong with me?! Please just tell me!”

“Nooo…nooo there’s nothing wrong with you, Kiri..” The waterworks flowed from your eyes and violent sobs escaped from you. You slumped down on your knees in sorrow. Kirishima joined you on the floor and tried to pull you into him, but you’d jerk your body away. “You know nothing about me, Kirishima…I’ve- I’ve lied to you.”

“What do you mean, F/N? What did you lie about? I’m sure its not that bad!”

“I’m not quirkless, Kiri…” A couple more sobs came out of you. “I-I’m a demon…a succubus. A filthy succubus! Just a filthy disgusting succubus!!”

Not being able to stand your self-hatred, he grabbed you by the jaw to force you to look at him. His blazingly crimson eyes met your beautifully wet e/c ones. “Stop that, F/N! You’re not disgusting! Or filthy! You could never be those things!”.

You gripped his wrist and pulled it harshly away from you. “What would you know?! You don’t know the things I deal with inside this wicked head of mine! I encompass the most obscene thoughts about people! About you! Every morning I think about how I’m going to seduce you and get you to desire me just as much as I do! Every training session I look at that beautifully sculpted body of yours and I mentally defile it! Thinking of you as nothing more than a walking, breathing dildo! I see you when you’re smiling with your friends and all I want to do is just steal you away make you mine forever! And every night, I cry at the lack of pleasure I’m getting. The lack of warmth that I only want YOU to give to me. The lack of feeling your hot, meaty cock inside me! It drives me insane, Eijirou! I hate having these thoughts! I hate them! I hate them! I ha-hmmph!”

Kirishima had suddenly kissed you, and you had returned it by ravaging your tongue around his. You didn’t care about the cuts you might receive from his teeth grazing against your delicate flesh. You could only be swallowed by the pleasures overtaking your mouth. You drowned in each other, but only briefly before you had placed your hands on his chest and pushed him away from you.

“What are you doing?! Didn’t you just hear what I said?” You struggled to catch your breath as you wiped away the remnants of his saliva from your face.

“Why didn’t you tell me this, F/N? Did you…did you not trust me? Did you not think of me as manly enough to handle this?” His hands gripped tightly at your shoulders, craving a reply from you.

“You know that’s not true, Kiri. You’re the best person to ever come into my life, and that’s why I had to withhold this secret from you. I didn’t want you to abandon me.”

“I could never aban-“

“But I also didn’t want you to get wrapped up in me. I want you to continue your goals of becoming a hero, Eijirou. Who knows what sanity you’ll be sacrificing by being with me. It’s not a chance I’m willing to take.”

“That isn’t your call to make.” Kirishima’s uncharacteristically cold reply created an atmosphere that overwhelmed you.

“What do you mean? Hiding my quirk was the best decision.”

“Did you really think about me?” Kirishima’s hands glided from your shoulders to your upper arms, still holding a tight grip. “Did you think about how I’d feel if I knew you were holding yourself back like that? What if you’re killing yourself and you don’t know it? I’m supposed to be a hero, F/N. Your hero.”

Before you could reply he had stood up and lifted you back on the bed. He layed you down and positioned himself between your legs, squeezing at your thighs. They were so soft, so delicate. All of you was soft and delicate. And nothing you had told him tonight would change the way he felt about you. There was nothing you could say or do to change his feelings for you. Nothing.

You tried to pry his hands away from the meat of your thighs, but you were admittedly weak from his confession and the thick, encompassing atmosphere that was Kirishima’s presence around you. “Kiri-“

“Eijirou. Call me Eijiirou.”

“…Eijirou. We can’t do this. It’s dangerous…”

“It’s dangerous if I do, its dangerous if you don’t. But I’m telling you right now, F/N, I’m not letting you continue to do this to yourself. Knowing that you’re hurting like this and not being able to do anything? Not doing anything to help the one I love? What kind of hero would I be?...What kind of man would I be?”

Kirishima then leaned down to capture your lips in another kiss. You tried to move your head away but he took one of his hands against your jaw to hold you in place. It felt so good. So fucking good. His lips, his tongue, his rough hands. You teared up just at the pleasure of it all.

He then took his other hand to lift up your shirt, revealing your bra that contained the softest bust that any man could ever lay his hand upon. And right now that man was him. And he’d make sure it’d always be him.

Letting go of your lips, he roughly caressed your breasts before completely pulling your shirt over your head. Faint thoughts of resistance would slip away as you lost yourself in the pleasure you’d been craving for so long.

Struggling to get your bra off, Kirishima impatiently ripped it himself, using a bit of his quirk in the process.

“Eiji…”

“Sshh, baby. I’m gonna take care of you so well.” He slipped off your shorts along with your underwear and threw them unmindfully on the floor. Gripping the flesh below your inner knee, he spread your legs wide enough to slightly sting.

Your pussy was overflowing with juices for him and he barely even touched you yet. He took a moment to relish in the view, taking in deep breaths to smell your intoxicating aroma. He was inexperienced at sex but he knew this erotic perfume you were exuding could only have been the work of your succubus traits.  He leaned down to give an experimental lick, his tongue curling to make sure he could gather as much of your juices as he could. He let your flavor sit in his mouth as if trying to enjoy the last sip of water on a mission in the desert.

His lewd behaviors made an unbearable heat rise to your face and you cowered behind your hands. Irritated, Kirishima jerked your hands away and looked at you as if you just insulted his entire lineage.

“Don’t you dare cover up that beautiful face of yours.” He leaned his head back down, this time capturing all the folds of your pussy in his mouth. “I want to see every expression you make. Hear every seductive sound that leaves that your throat.” The vibrations of his voice on your pussy drove you crazy. The rapid moving of his tongue against your clit was immediately sending you to a heavenly dimension.

“Ohh Eiji…Eiji I’m gonna cum…”

“Cum for me, baby. I want it.”

Your orgasm was so intense you could’ve passed out, but you couldn’t. Not with Eijirou still licking all over your clit like that.

“Oh my god, Eiji! Eijiii” Your hands gripped at his spiky hair, tugging tightly trying to get him to have mercy on your sensitive bud. “F-ffuckk! I can’t, Eiji, I can’t!”

Still not letting up, he continued to overstimulate you with his relentless tongue. “I’m sorry, F/N.” He slurped up your juices before working his tongue again. “You taste so fucking good. Like the freshest fruit from a garden.” He rotated between drinking up your fluids and licking vigorously at your clit. “I can’t stop, baby. I need more. Just cum again, okay?”

And cum, you would. A second orgasm was on the horizon and the overstimulation of it was making you shed tears. “Eiji…I’m gonna cum again. Oh my fucking god, I’m gonna cum againnn- Hnngh!!“. Intense waves of pleasure rode over you. However, Kirishima was still lapping up at your folds. “Eijirouuuu!!!”. Your moans became more high-pitched and erratic as you were overstimulated now for the second time.

“Just one more time, baby. I promise”. “I swear I just-“ Slurp. “Never tasted-“ Slurrp. “Anything so fucking good before.”

You were left with no choice but to cave into your third orgasm and Kirishima seemed to show no mercy for you. “Fucckkk.” You sniffled through your sobs as your next high came quicker than the previous ones. Finally Kirishima had lifted his head from between your lips. He had the most animalistic and erotic face you could have ever dreamed of seeing.

“Damn, that was so good. You did so well for me, baby.” Kirishima gleamed with the shine that was your juices. He leaned down to entwine his tongue with yours. You could taste yourself on him and it made you delirious. You had just cum three times, but you wanted more. You needed more.

Kirishima felt the same way as you as he backed up to give himself space to take his shorts off. Cock now springing free, you could see the beast of a rod he had and it made your mouth water. You whined at just the thought of the pleasure you were about to become entranced by. He lined himself up at your sopping entrance, but before he could slip in, you lightly pressed on his chest to get his attention.

“Are you sure, Eijirou? You can stop right now if want. I won’t be mad at you at all. You’ve already done so much for me, tonight.”

His cheeks faded into a deep pink as he moved your hands to be at his shoulders.

“I want you, F/N”. He stuck the tip of his cock in you, grunting at the tightness of your entrance. “I fucking want you.”

You let out a guttural moan as he slowly stretched your pussy to fit his cock. You finally felt it. The warmth you’d been craving deep inside. The stingingly sweet pain of his cock stretching out your drenched pussy. You could die right now. Right here in the arms of the man you loved. And your ghost would be perfectly okay with it. But your flesh craved even more. You needed him to reach the deepest parts of you. You needed him to destroy your greedy pussy.

“Fuck me, Eijirou. I want you to fuck me like the greedy slut that I am!” You looked directly into his dazed eyes, whining at him to give you what you wanted. “Please, I want you so bad. Mark this pussy with that cock of yours. Make me unable to think about anyone else like this. C’mon, give it to me! ”

Too aroused by your begging, he silently obliged. Sinking the entirety of his cock inside you, he twitched at your pulsating walls. It was like your pussy was a  breathing organ, sucking him in and tightening around him so he could never leave. And he wasn’t going to. He’d stay like this forever with you.

Not giving you time to get used to his size, Kirishima started thrusting brutally against your hips. You let out the sweetest moans as you littered his back with scratches. His thrusts becoming smoother and smoother as your pussy got used to him. His cock ferociously grazed against your g-spot as the tip teasingly nibbed at your cervix. The perfect mix of pleasure and pain, you felt your now fourth orgasm approaching. You let go of his shoulders to lay your head back deep in the cushions of his pillows.

“Eijirou, you’re gonna make me cum again! You’re gonna make me cum all over your cock-!”

“Oh fuck- me too, F/N”. The rhythm of his thrusts became more faltered as your walls inhumanely squeezed the life out of him. He looked at your cock-drunk face, pleased with his performance. “Where do you want it, baby?”

You raised your head to reestablish eye contact with him. “I want it inside! Cum inside me! I need your cum so bad, need to feel it in my-Hmmnghh!!” Your orgasm overtook your speaking as you groaned hysterically.

Kirishima not far behind you, quickened his pace to chase his own high. “Shit, F/N! I’m gonna cum inside you! Fucking take all of it, baby! Don’t let any seep out, okay?”

You moaned at the hotness of his seed spurting inside. It was so deep inside you and you wondered if it was either easier or more difficult to get pregnant as a succubus. Either way you wanted more and your walls clenched once again against Kirishima’s cock.

He grunted before leaning down to bury his face in your neck, once again starting to thrust inside you. He was overstimulated but your pussy was driving him crazy. Perhaps your juices were an aphrodisiac, making anyone a slave to the area between your thighs. He kissed along your jaw and brought his hand up against your throat. He didn’t squeeze tight, just enough to get your attention.

He rose his head up to get a good look at your face. You looked liked a corrupted angel beneath him. He couldn’t believe you withholded him from these pleasures for so long. Were you just gonna go fuck other guys? You were going to let other men taste what has been his all along? He needed to hear you say you belonged to him. He’d give up anything to hear your sweet voice tell him everything from your insides and out belonged to him.

“Tell me who you belong to, baby?”

You replied with no hesitation, willing to say and do anything to milk more of his cum inside you.

“You, Eijirou! I belong to you! My flesh, my womb, my guts! Everything belongs to you Eijirou!” You felt another orgasm filling up in your stomach. “Please don’t ever leave me, Eiji. I want you with me forever. “

Of course, this was something he had no qualms about doing. He was ready. He’d give up school, his goals, his life to please you at every waking moment. He’d keep you pumped full of his cum so you’d never think about anyone else. You wouldn’t even remember what it was like to live like you weren’t a succubus. You’d be happy like this. With him.

Because he was your hero.

[feetoffire]

Captain Christopher Pike, the rec list

I had this almost finished and ready to post, and then the kitten wiped everything, so here it is, a gazillion years later than I wanted. Yay. 

Ongoing - the fic is complete, but not all chapters are posted

WIP - fic isn’t finished

Incomplete - last-updated-more-than-a-year-ago WIPs

recs under the cut; spoilers abound

AOS

Gen

Pike’s Office by AnxiouslyGoing. Poor Jim has a Tarsus related panic attack, and ends up sleeping in Pike’s office/on Pike’s lap. Academy Era, bonus appearance by Spock, dad!Pike. 2k oneshot.

Another Life by LullabyKnell. Time travel fix it for ST2009. As ever, LullabyKnell gave us a spectacular, delightfully well-written fic. Dadmiral Pike, even if he’s technically a captain at this point. No pairings, everything is platonic. 12 chapters, 61k, T. Complete. 

Watching the Cloud of Dust by AngelQueen. Pike runs into Spock Prime while seeing the Enterprise off. Cue melancholy fluff (it follows Spock Prime around like a dog). 1.7k oneshot, G.

Phil Boyce/Chris Pike

horizons universe by gracieminabox. Massive, massive series spanning the whole of Chris’ life. Not canon compliant, i.e. Pike Lives. “Christopher Pike, in word and in deed.” Series, 263k in seventeen parts, G-E. 

Altered Horizons by InsaneSociopath. The bar fight goes very differently because Chris gets elbowed in the face. Featuring depressed!bipolar!Chris, who is Not Having A Good Time, Emergency Department (ED) doc Bones, and mother-hen!Jim. Phil is essentially Sir Not Appearing In This Fic, but he and Chris are married. Seven chapters, 14k, G. Incomplete. I adore this one. 

When Darkness Drifts by InsaneSociopath. Tarsus fic. Jim gets adopted by Starfleet but still ends up on Tarsus, except Chris is there. All Tarsus-related warnings apply. Jim and Chris centric; Phil is most present in the last few chapters. Six chapters, 44k, M. Complete. 

Kinktober 2017 by nerdqueenenterprise. What it says on the tin. Series, 13k in eight parts, T-E. Complete. 

A Vacation Long Overdue by nerdqueenenterprise. Reunion sex, mostly. They haven’t seen each other in six months, so they take leave on a remote beach. ~9k oneshot, E. 

The Weight of a Man by imachar. Another huge series charting the evolution of Chris and Phil’s relationship. Both canon compliant and canon non-compliant, so there’s a choice if you want it. Series, 174k in sixteen parts, M-E. Complete. 

shatterproof by gracieminabox. Will Make You Cry. Phil’s POV, STID compliant, featuring a picture from their early days. 4.3k oneshot, M.

Winged Desires and Veiled Persuasions by imachar. Post-Narada, ignores/was written before STID. Bones ends up hanging out with Phil and Chris at Spuhura’s wedding reception, and then the three of them have sex in Phil and Chris’ hotel suite. Pretty much pure smut. 12k oneshot, E. 

McPike

The Wind and Its Satellite by severinne. Long series, some BDSM, eventual Bones/Jim/Pike. Something of a McPike classic. Series, 186k in twenty parts, M-E.

Partridge Fallen From the Pear Tree by severinne. Post-divorce Bones works as a prostitute to make ends meet. Pike comes to town to recruit him, ends up paying for a night without knowing Bones is Bones, and then they both freak the fuck out when Pike realizes who he is. More-or-less just smut and angst. Pre-canon. Three chapters, 12k, E. Complete.

Singularities Verse by FrancescaMonterone. Bones and Pike fall in love, Pike adopts Chekov, Jim is Jim. Bonus Admirals Archer and Reed, and Archer/Reed. Mostly pre-canon, ace Pike. Series, 81k in six parts, T. WIP. 

Need by Noranem. Post STID, Pike and Bones invite Jim into their relationship and their bed. Established McPike, early days Bones/Jim/Pike. Four chapters, 12k, E. Complete. 

Pirk

See All The Stars by HoneyBeeBritt. Chris and Jim fell in love some time before Daystrom. Fluff and angst, with a happy ending promised in part four. I come back to this one regularly, especially part one. Series, 6.2k in three parts, T-M. Ongoing.

Shining On The Quay by topaz. Post-Narada through Beyond, ignores STID. Chris and Jim fall in love, get together, and figure out how to keep a relationship going when one of them is in space and the other is an admiral. Series, 32k in three parts, E. Complete. 

You Still Got Wheels, Kid by withthepilot. Yes, this is partially on here because it’s one of the few (good) fem!Pike fics. Pre-canon, Pike finds out Jim’s alive because she (not Winona or Sam) is listed as his emergency contact. Prostitute Jim. Takes place two years before canon, I think. 12k oneshot, E. 

Moments along the path by InsaneSociopath. Jim, through no fault of his own, is assigned to Pike as an aide bc Command thinks he’s a loose cannon. Pike is delighted /s. (he warms up eventually.) Some Tarsus PTSD; also a fair amount of fluff. Academy Era slow burn that goes right through to (immediately) post-Narada. 46k oneshot, M. Second chapter is artwork. Long but 100% worth it. 

How Do You Want Me, How Do You Want Me? by babykid528. Get together via smut. Feelings abound but talking about them does not. 3k oneshot, E. 

The Ocean Between Us by severinne. They get a drink in a bar. They’re both dead. Something of a get-together fic. Can and Will sucker punch you with feels. STID compliant. 1k oneshot, T.

Mutual Profusion of Good Feeling (aka Wherein the Aliens have a Flair for Mood Lighting) by kayliemalinza. This doesn’t really count as Pirk, but it’s not platonic enough for the gen category. Away mission, the premise is ‘aliens made them do it’ but there’s no sex or fade to black. Romantic, I guess? I really don’t know, but the prose is gorgeous. Also a Pike Lives/returns to the Enterprise AU. 5k oneshot, T.

Timeline Shenanigans

In plain view by IceCream_Junkie, Killermanatee. Pike/Pike. What can I say? The image of Greenwood’s Pike and Mount’s Pike together is very pretty. 2k oneshot, E.

Out of This World by TheAsexualofSpades. Space Puns. That is all. 1.1k oneshot, G. 

Discovery/quasi-SNW

Gen

A Small Storm by EKthered. Spock goes to visit his captain and ends up comforting him instead. Post Boreth. 2.3k oneshot. 

you were never broken by ordinary things by SiderumInCaelo. Michael Burnham & Chris Pike. Michael has only an inkling of what’s going on, but she manages to comfort Chris anyway. Post Boreth. 1.2k oneshot. 

Piler | Chris Pike/Ash Tyler

the chair and the badge by ninjamcgarrett. The boys are soft and in love. Lots of smut, but a fair amount of plot. Their respective traumas are addressed too, so there’s plenty of h/c. Honestly? My favorite from this pairing. Series, 59k in five parts, M-E. Ongoing. 

Reality by aishahiwatari. Initially a take on how these two idiots settled their differences, and evolution from there. Part two is post-season two of Disco. Series, 5k in two parts, E. Complete.

survival is insufficient by topaz. Post-Disco; they get together to remember Discovery’s crew, and then they get together. Traumas are addressed. Part two is a sort-of case fic, TW starvation. Series, 33k in two parts, E. WIP.

Feeling Too Deeply by NightOfTheLand. Established Piler, post-Disco season two couch sex. 6k oneshot, E. 

dancing to a beat of our own, flying with the speakers blown by wolfhalls. Neither of them want to talk about anything, aka Horrible Coping Mechanisms TM. Bottom Pike, quasi-hurt/comfort. 2.7k oneshot, E. 

Christmas in Sickbay by lah_mrh. Chris is accident- and injury-prone and has a new reason to hate spiders. Ash just wants to spend time with his boyfriend. 1k oneshot, G. 

The Pillow Will Disappear When I Forget I Put a Pillow There, Worry Not by prototype_malice. Sleepy fluff and cuddles. (they deserve it.) 665 words, oneshot, G. 

Chris Pike/Una | Number One 

it will take place without witnesses by love_in_the_time_of_kohlinahr. Post Disco, Pike is struggling with the knowledge of his future, so he and Una play chess until stupid o’clock in the morning (as one does), and then he lowkey has a panic attack. Una POV. Also features sleepy sex, but it isn’t plot-important and can be skipped over, if you wish. 2k oneshot, E. 

Overtime by Astronoddingoff. Una has Thoughts about Chris working doubles for the better part of a week. Also men get pegged. Definite sub!Chris. 7k oneshot, E. 

Terminal Velocity by Astronoddingoff. Una pegs Chris and drags his favorite fantasy out of him. Chris is On Board with all of this. Implied poly!Chris (i.e. Boyce/Pike) and hardcore switch/sub vibes from Chris. 6.8k oneshot, E. 

All for One by knightinmourning. D/s universe, where Pike had/has to hide the fact that he’s a sub to make (and stay) captain. Mostly reccing for part two, which has a fair amount of hurt/comfort (and also hints at threatened sexual assault and definite torture; be forewarned). Technically also Chris/Phil and Chris/Spock, but there’s no pairing sex, and part two is entirely Una’s POV. Series, 4.2k in two parts, M-E. Probably incomplete. 

A Gentle Touch by jedi_harkness. Chris and Una shower together. Body worship, no sex. So Much Fluff (and also happy tears). It’s super sweet. 1.7k oneshot, T.

Phil Boyce/Chris Pike

Decompression by Astronoddingoff. Chris is elated by a recent treaty success and the time spent dirtside. Phil does his best to make him even happier. Lowkey sub Pike. Implied poly!Chris (i.e. Pike/One). 3.5k oneshot, E. 

Most Pike/Boyce fics fall under the AOS tags

Una/Phil/Chris

Triangulate by Astronoddingoff. Sex pollen, but they’re already-kind-of-mostly in an established relationship. Recent miscommunications lead to angst. They all love each other and they’re all idiots. Lowkey sub Pike. Two chapters, 20k, E. 

Holy by Astronoddingoff. Self-actualizing featuring religious guilt/conflict, i.e. Pike is a sub and religion is weird about enjoying yourself. 2.7k oneshot, E. 

Happy Birthday by MeganMoonlight. It’s Phil’s birthday. Cue breakfast in bed. 530 word oneshot, G. 

[notebookmusical]

Hi! I’ve been on a social media break for a while and I think I missed some new book releases, do you know where I can find a recommendation list for 2021-2022? Or if you have any recommendations (preferably by authors of color). Thank you so much 💜 No worries if not

hello hello!! 🤍 here is my recommendations list tag, where i think you'll be able to find some 2021-2022 recs there!

i also looked back at my 2021 reading tracker, and some of my favorites of 2021 are:

young adult

ace of spades by faridah àbíké-íyímídé: an incendiary and utterly compelling thriller with a shocking twist that delves deep into the heart of institutionalized racism, from an exceptional new YA voice. 🌈

fat chance, charlie vega by crystal maldonado: a sensitive, funny, and painful coming-of-age story with a wry voice and tons of chisme, that tackles our relationships to our parents, our bodies, our cultures, and ourselves

hani and ishu's guide to fake dating by adiba jaigirdar: their mutually beneficial pact to fake date, hani and ishu start developing real feelings for each other. but relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two bengali girls from achieving happily ever after🌈

indivisible by daniel aleman: a remarkable and timely story-both powerful in its explorations of immigration in American and deeply intimate in its portrait of a teen boy driven by his fierce, protective love for his parents and his sister. 🌈

last night at the telegraph club by malinda lo: a story of love and duty set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the Red Scare. 🌈

luck of the titanic by stacey lee: the richly imagined story of Valora and Jamie Luck, twin British-Chinese acrobats traveling aboard the Titanic on its ill-fated maiden voyage.

not here to be liked by michelle quach: a cheeky, feminist and searing novel that unpacks just how complicated new love can get…when you fall for your enemy.

these violent delights & our violent ends by chloe gong: an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River

this poison heart by kalynn bayron: an inspiring and deeply compelling the secret garden retelling about a young woman with the power to conquer the dark forces descending around her. 🌈

you've reached sam by dustin thao: a heartfelt novel about love and loss and what it means to say goodbye

new adult/adult

arsenic and adobo by mia p. manansala: the first book in a new culinary cozy series full of sharp humor and delectable dishes—one that might just be killer...

crying in h mart by michelle zauner: from the indie rockstar of japanese breakfast fame, and author of the viral 2018 new yorker essay that shares the title of this book, an unflinching, powerful memoir about growing up korean american, losing her mother, and forging her own identity. *non-fiction

honey girl by morgan rogers: a coming of age story that grapples with fears that make us human, the family scars that need to heal and the longing for connection, especially when navigating the messiness of adulthood. 🌈

dial a for aunties by jesse q. sutanto: what happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant chinese-indonesian family? you get 4 meddling asian aunties coming to the rescue!

trigger warnings under the cut as always! you can also always add me on goodreads here! if you (or anyone else) is interested in my 2022 anticipated releases so far/favorite 2022 reads (or anything at all! happy reading 🤍

trigger warnings for:

ace of spades: racism, homophobia, bullying, blood, alcohol consumption, car accident, racist slurs, stalking, emotional abuse, panic attacks/disorders, outing of queer characters, suicide ideation , suicide attempt, death of parent, gun violence, murder, toxic relationship, sexism, forced institutionalisation, drug use, police encounter/involvement, incarceration, mentions of death penalty, revenge porn

arsenic and adobo: fatphobia, drug abuse, evidence planting, police intimidation, (implied) domestic violence, racism, fatphobia/ableism/misinformation about diabetes*

crying in h mart: death of a parent, death of a family member, trauma, addiction, cancer

dial a for aunties: death, murder, description of dead bodies (no gore), casual racism, attempted sexual assault, drug use, alcohol use

fat chance, charlie vega: fataphobia, mentioned death of a parent, mentions of sex, underage drinking (chapter 13), racism, a strained relationship with a parent, diet culture, emotional abuse + manipulation

hani and ishu's guide to fake dating: racism, homophobia (specifically biphobia and lesbophobia), Islamophobia, toxic friendship, gaslighting, and parental abandonment

honey girl: discussion and depictions of mental illness, self-harm (scratching skin, nails digging into skin as an anxiety coping mechanism, cutting), past suicide attempt by a side character, anti-Blackness, racism, homophobia, casual alcohol consumption, minor drug use (marijuana), mentions of war, PTSD, past parent death (side character), grief, medical talk, self-destructive behavior, police, amputation (chapter 4)

indivisible: deportation, anxiety/panic attacks, homophobia, racism

last night at the telegraph club: abandonment, parental abuse, family trauma, sexism, misogyny, racism, racial slurs, deportation, death of a loved one, homophobia, internalized homophobia, miscarriage, police brutality

luck of the titanic: racism, use of slurs, death of a parent, death of a loved one

not here to be liked: sexism (challenged), racism (challenged)

these violent delights / our violent ends: mentions and descriptions of blood, violence, gore, character deaths, transphobia, explicit description of gouging self (not of their own volition), murder, weapon use, insects, alcohol consumption, parental abuse / blood, violence, gore, character deaths, murder, weapon use, insects (chapter 3 & 14 particularly are quite descriptive), alcohol consumption, parental abuse, transphobia

this poison heart: brief depictions of grief, mentions of adoption, murder, death of a parent, blood and gore, decapitation, dismemberment, strong language

you've reached sam: grief, death, divorce/separated parents, racism, car crash

[sevendeadlyvices]

Poker Buddies AU: Max and Memories Notes

Something I compiled for @i-cant-thinkof-anything-new Poker Buddies AU they have going. Now I used the Poker Night wiki to get this and I thought this would be helpful for any Sam and Max or Poker Night at the Inventory Fans in general. That and I have my own Poker Night At The Inventory AU and headcannons that I need to work on too. The first information is generally Max’s poker strategy in Poker Night At The Inventory:

When it comes to reading the opponent's strategies, Max's will prove to be a big problem. Due to his lack of knowledge on the subject, his poker strategy seems non-existent. His choice of whether to call, raise, or fold tends to come out of nowhere. Sometimes, Max will or will not have a good hand, so he will be very hard to read. His strategies are completely random; he might bluff, be cautious, or be aggressive. Sometimes he will just keep on betting or keep on folding.

I would call Max an unpredictable poker player at times. There’s this tell he has that if his left hand quivers, he’s bluffing, but other than that, you’re on your own with him. 

Next is his relationships with the characters of both Poker Nights:

Heavy: Max seems to have a good strong friendship with the Heavy, asking him about how his career is going and what kind of weapon he could recommend.

Strong Bad: Mostly casual, having the odd talk with Strong Bad when Max is compelled to tell some sort of story.

Tycho: His relationship with Tycho seems to be, again, a casual friendship. They share many of the same interests, although from time to time Max will be slightly put off by Tycho's odd behavior.

The Player: Max often thinks The Player plays too conservatively, especially when not calling a huge bet of Max's.

Sam: Max very much loves the big guy. Max is Sam's long-time partner, best friend, husband, and sidekick.

Brock Samson: Brock finds Max annoying like Claptrap, but also finds it much easier to ignore him, even when Max is physically attacking him. He also has some level of respect for the lagomorph for everything he and Sam overcame as members of the Freelance Police.

Claptrap: Much like Sam, Claptrap is a fan of Max for their games and comics. He seems closer to Max than Sam due to the fact that Max isn't as annoyed by him as Sam is. Max's love for violence makes the robot think he would fit in very well on Pandora. If Claptrap is knocked out before Sam, he will often sit next to Max for a while. Also, during a Showdown, Max will stand right next to Claptrap, wondering what the next card will be.

Ash Williams: Ash has considerable respect for Max and Sam's career and is otherwise "okay" with the lagomorph. However, Ash also displays a few moments of apprehension and even downright concern when Max' insanity acts up, usually in his theme eliminations.

GLaDOS: Max doesn't seem to mind the murderous AI as much as the other characters and occasionally joins in when she insults or annoys the other characters (primarily Sam).

This is from the wiki, so take this with a grain of salt.

And finally, with spoilers in the cut:

The Memories I would focus on for the Epic Texas Hold Em Matches! Note that it’s not all the conversations from both games, but here’s the ones I found so far that might be interesting to incorporate for the AU. I’ll bold the ones that would seem more angsty for the AU:

Max: I don't know a lot about card games, truth be told. But, I take it you're a little bit of a beginner, yes? Strong Bad: Are you talking to (pronounces it as moy) moi? Max: You betcha. You're as green as the bologna in Sam's mini-fridge. Strong Bad: (angrily) Shut up, Stitch. Max: (cheerily) It's OK. It just means you have to adopt a wanton strategy of wild deception. Strong Bad: Hmm... Not the woist idea I ever hoid. Max: (furrows brow) Get into their heads.

Max: You know what I love? Tycho: What's that? Max: Destroying wave after wave of the undead. Tycho: WORD UP! How do you roll? Max: With my trusty side arm of course. Tycho: I'm more of an auto-shotgun guy. Max: Oooh! Heavy: This is good weapon no? Max: Sam and I had to resign ourselves to pistols when our cleaning bill started going through the roof. Tycho: Yeah, its like ichor? Oxyclean ain't cuttin' it. Max: This pelt is dry clean only.

Tycho: Max, how'd you learn to play cards? Max: Funny you should ask! This one time, Sam and I were busting up a crime syndicate down in Atlantic City. A road job. Tycho: Indeed. Max: Yeah! So we're tailing this low level mafia bum for an hour and he pulls up outside a casino and before he can go in Sam says, "Well little buddy, we better nab this guy quicker than a Pittsburgh driver taking a left on a green in rush hour." I couldn't have agreed more. So I grab a tire iron out of the back seat, right, hop out of the Desoto, and pummel this guy like a piñata. Tycho: Yow! Max: Blindfold and all! Tycho: ...That doesn't really answer my question. Max: You asked me a question?

Tycho: Hey Max, how do you like being a freelance police officer? Max: It's the best. Tycho: I bet it is. Max: Oh, but that's not all I do. I'm also available for babysitting, bat mitzvahs and general shakedowns. You know anybody who needs work? Tycho: See, this why I think we get along. You're a Renaissance man. Max: You need anybody roughed up? Tycho: There's a bird at the pet store that's been giving me a little beak, yeah. Max: Oh ho, putting a wise acre in his place is my specialty!

Heavy: I will make hat from you, little bunny. Max: How 'bout I just sit on your head and shoot people? Heavy: (thinks about this) ...This is good idea.

Heavy: Tiny Heavy, who is your favorite to kill in war? Strong Bad: Hmm, in WAR? Probably those Green Helmets. You know, the guys who don't have any cool weapons or gimmicks, and come in a discount three-pack. Heavy: To kill spy is glorious thing! How about you, Max? You are killing type. Max: My favorite enemy? {gasps} That's like asking me to choose between my children! Heavy: {laughs heartily} You crack me up, little bunny!

Heavy: You look very familiar, bunny. Max: How closely do you follow the Manhattan crime blotter? Wait, you didn't go the Spiro Agnew School of the Arts, did you? Tycho: You attended? Didn't take you for the book learnin' type. Max: No, but Sam and I pinched their gym teacher in a black market jock strap ring in the 80's. I'd be surprised if any student didn't remember a dog choking out a large man with a unibrow.

Strong Bad: I don't trust you one bit, ra-bbit. Max: It's ok, I don't trust myself. Strong Bad: How do we know that you don't have a never ending stack of aces wherever you put your gun? Max: Well, you don't, but you're welcome to look!

Strong Bad: So... Max. You're like one of those (pronounces as poke mons) poke-mons, right? Max: (narrows eyes) My genus and phylum is a mystery to all mankind. Strong Bad: Because I'd love to see some prepubescent pointy-haired kid run in here and stick you inside of a baseball (laughs). (in a high pitched voice, with a smile) That would be hilarious. Max: Are you talking about the red-capped kidnapper who terrorized the fauna on the Upper West Side for months? Strong Bad: Maybe. Max: Because Sam, Flint, and I caught him trying to stuff a chimpanzee into his knapsack, and made him cry for his mommy.

Strong Bad: I wonder if this dump is haunted? Max: (cheerily) Ooh, I hope so. There's something about being able to terrorize a spectral being without it up and dying on you that (furrows eyebrows) I just love. Heavy: (sadly, lowers his head) I do not like ghost. Max: It's OK Mr. Weapons. I've got extensive experience with zombies and vampires. (points toward himself) I can handle a little ghost. Heavy: (with large eyes) You will take care of ghost for me? Max: (cheerily) You betcha. Heavy: (cheerily, nods his head) I like you, tiny rabbit.

(Brock) GLaDOS: Brock Samson is eliminated. Max: GERONIMO! (lands on Brock's head and starts to gnaw on it, to no effect) Die, die, die! Brock: (gets up) I'll be at the bar.

(Claptrap) GLaDOS: Claptrap is eliminated due to lack of funds. Max: Wet willy, wet willy! (sticks a finger in his mouth and inserts it into a hole in Claptrap's side) Claptrap: Hey! That's not my ear, it's my... (both are electrified and fall from chair)

(Ash) GLaDOS: Ashley Williams is eliminated. Ash gets up and reaches for his chainsaw, only to realize it's not there. Max is holding it, standing a foot or so behind him. Max: (grinning maliciously) Looking for something? (looks at Sam normally) Hey, check it out, Sam! I'm a tree surgeon! Sam: (whispering to Ash) He's not really a tree surgeon...! Ash looks worried. Max: (revs up chainsaw) Open wide and say "ah!" (chases Ash away)

[dotthings]

The discourse (I am using that term generously, since the posts on the subect I have seen all seem to be transparent in a self serving clumsy wank agenda) from the bibro/brosonly lanes that virtue signals over Sam and Dean’s sibling bond being “progressive” is one of the more insidious and toxic things that lane has done in 15 years.

First of all: yes, it’s true romances on tv are dime-a-dozen—m/f romances. What are not dime-a-dozen is a queer slow burn love story like Dean and Cas getting its consummation after 12 seasons of immense emotional story arcing. Fans are rightfully criticizing the way 15.20 dropped that relationship off a cliff leaving it with nothing but an infodump to leave the lantern on in the window after the actually progressive 15.18.

The anti-romance rhetoric that cloaks hatred aimed at an actually progressive queer ship isn’t nearly the clever serve the bibro/brosonly lane seems to think it is. You don’t dig romance? Good for you. Quit acting like Destiel is the same as heteronormative defaults.

Secondly: PLATONIC MALE BONDING IS NOT RARE AND UNDER-REPRESENTED IN THE MEDIA. PERIOD. AT NO TIME IN MEDIA HISTORY HAS THIS BEEN NEGLECTED.

What is neglected is m/m romance, especially one as intricate and emotionally intimate and complicated as Dean and Cas’s love story, which went through not only different phases of their relationship, but different stages of how it was handled on the production end of things, with shifting attitudes by the creative team and in the real world. I’ve never seen anything like this. And in-story, few relationships, period, either romantic or platonic, have gotten to me the way Dean and Cas have, and I have shipped some delightful openly canon ships and I adore platonic bonding and team building and guess what I don’t watch ANYTHING for ships. I just don’t. They happen to me, but at no point do I ever see any piece of media I consume as all about just one relationship or just about my favorite ship. Just FYI. Destiel happened to me, and it’s not just the romantic aspect, it’s the emotional one.

As things are, as screwed up as things are, Destiel is a unique depiction in media and I’m sick and tired of seeing that being erased. Theres been so much bullshit falsely depicting what exactly Destiel fandom predominantly was responding to I am ready to scream. Watch the damn canon and actuallly pay attention to Dean and Cas and maybe this won’t be such a ~mystery.

Thirdly: a lot of the pointless, endless grudgewanking from the bibro/brosonly lane right now can be summed up as “the problem with this fandom is that people dared to care about Dean and Cas’s 12 year long immense emotional story with each other, how dare people not pay enough attention to only the brothers in a way that I dictate, how dare they not pay attention to the canon” when Destiel shippers are responding to CANON. But I guess canon isn’t canon any more, canon is “only that stuff I am obsessed with and that queer ship that I irrationally keep hating on isn’t canon because I said so.” And then they tantrum because Destiel shippers won’t comply and have the “right” priorities.

That is gatekeeping 101 and a pitiful effort at that. Come on.

Fourthly: yes Sam and Dean and their bond overturn quite a few toxic masculinity tropes and that is one of the things I have always appreciated about the characters and the show.

*rings bell* guess what, so do Dean and Cas. The relationship is a challenge to toxic masculinity. Each of them is a challenge to toxic masculiniity.

It is also the very definition of toxic masculinity how and why Destiel was silenced for 15.20.

Male siblings openly showing affection is common and non-threatening in media.

Dean and Cas getting to hold each other beyond a “omg thank goodness you aren’t dead!!” hug or “omg pls don’t die” furtive and frantic touch and finally remove the last barriers of misunderstanding and heaven forbid, idk, get to fully consummate their love story in some kind of fashion after 12 seasons of misunderstandings and yearning and love and losing and finding each other again and again, that must stay hidden out of sight.

People need to stop claiming progressiveness as they gloat about that erasure and while they appropriate “ace rep” and “queerplatonic” for a sibling bond. They’re...siblings.

The creative team on the show did their outright best to get the Destiel story told, to make it so it wasn’t silenced. I appreciate that. And I will always always love Dean and Cas’s story and always love this ship. If you’ve decided that love “ruins” the fandom I think you’re a shitty person and I don’t have any interest in sharing a fandom with you nor do I care about impressing some mythical “s*n f*m*ly” ideal about can’t we all just get along. I no longer care.

[aspecpplarebeautiful]

Saying as this is like my 10th time sending an ask, I just want to start by thanking you for all you've done for the community and such. | Anyways, so I'm currently at an impasse about how to label myself as I currently id as non-sam aro, but like I keep calling myself asexual and making ace jokes?? And as much as I recognize that I don't feel sexual attraction, I also really like being nonsam and don't want to give that up, despite also wanting to fully claim being ace. (1/2🍁)

Even though I know there exclusive labels, my brain apparently wants to be both. Furthermore, I don't really like the idea of being aroace without any sort of separation, so I can't just be nonsam in that way. I also kinda use labels for other attraction types, but thats only in theory so I've somehow never considered that using the Sam even though it technically is? Idk, i just want to be able to have a label I like but everything seems to fit in a not fitting kind of way. (2/2🍁)

Yeah, these things can be complicated. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a non-sam aro making ace jokes or identifying with ace things, or exploring other parts of their attraction. But it is really important that the labels you choose are labels that are meshing with you, and it’s especially important you don’t feel like your labels are boxing you in or restricting you too much.

If you want you can definitely explore alternative terms, generally at this stage of figuring out your identity, and figuring out labels, what feels right and what fits you as a person starts to come into play a lot when figuring out labels. And it may just be a matter of playing around with things and fine tuning things until you figure out what feels right for you. 

There are alternatives you can look into, for example unit aro means someone who primarily identifies as aromantic centering their aro identity as their preferred unit. So that be a good term for being less exclusive of other facets of your identity, but still letting you identify primarily as aro. 

There’s also aro neu, which means someone who is aromantic who chooses not to label their sexuality.

You can also use aro on its own, with no attached labels/descriptors if you want to too. And identifying as aro doesn’t mean you have to identify any other parts of your orientation or describe yourself with any labels for other types of attraction, but still leaves a bit of flexibility if at any point you want to talk about other types of attraction.

So there’s are some ideas, there could be others you come across that work for you too. But yeah I’d definitely recommend exploring a bit, maybe trying one or multiple out, and just looking at it as a fine tuning process until you figure out what meshes with you best and what you like.

All the best, and good luck!