#I recommend as a genderfluid aro ace person :>

[sageourplanetmeow]

*Inhale* 

I do kinda headcannon Alastor as being trans or agender or genderqueer… and this fanfic sells me on it. THE WRITING! THE ANGST! THE RELATABILITY! THE PARTS THAT MAKE ME LAUGH IT’S SUCH A MASTERPIECE! 

Go ahead and read it if you want to, or at least check out its description.

Also I like the title’s pun. :]

[slyther-ink]

in response to @al-longbottom's post about what i would change if i wrote hp. here is the full explanation... (i might edit it a bit more later because this is a bit of a ramble oops)

1. more racial diversity and actually having that embedded into the story (having token characters with stereotypical names was very frustrating) i would definitely try and add more culture into backstories that influence even casual conversations etc.

2. more gender diversity especially with complex characters. more trans binary and nonbinary and honestly just well developed women characters too. we only had hermione as the main recurring character and i would love to explore her friendships with the folks in her dorm etc. as well as having some binary and nonbinary trans characters !!!! especially with the women and women adjacent side characters, they were portrayed quite shallowly sometimes. like the dislike of fleur, even though she was literally chosen from all of beaubaxtons, demonstrating her magical capability. it is possible to be feminine and powerful thank you. it was irrational of molly, ginny and hermione to all dislike her (for what seemed like her beauty?!?!) and i feel like it came back to the whole performative thing and that beautiful girls are always mean and the women jealousy thing or whatever and that was just ugh.

3. queer diversity of all kinds – deffo impossible that all the characters are straight and cis. sorry can’t accept that. i would write in my queers, lesbians, bis, pans, omnis, gays, aces, aros, demis, trans-mascs, trans-fems, nonbinary folk, genderfluid folk, sapphics, achilleans etc. etc. we exist sorry not sorry.

4. well developed character relationships. the golden trio independently making friends with other people. would love to see hermione and some study buds and ron playing chess with other folks.

5. give the full redemption arc to draco malfoy and not snape. it would have been so much more powerful to have draco redeemed (***not without him having to go through a gruelling self-discovery/self-reflection/my behaviours are wrong and i need to correct them and face the consequences of my bigotry***) because like harry, he was a child but on the other side of the war. i would write it in a way that away from his father’s shadow he gets to break out and unlearn the toxic stuff, even if that was ignited by voldemort's return (because the idea that you can unlearn your bigotry and become a better person is so so important). snape only did it because of lily and the whole toxic obsession thing, it doesn’t really count as unlearning bigotry imo

6. made it more explicit that dumbledore was a bad guy and the teachers very much enabled his behaviour. harry deserves some closure and its important not to romanticise asking a child to save the world. and also what happened with tom riddle and leaving kids abandoned until they reach hogwarts age is not ok. (i read a fic about it which i will recommend when i found it!)

7. showing mental health issues. even just school itself can be a struggle without all of the save the world pressure and only including mental health in ootp onwards where voldemort was invading harry's mind and then stuff happened. and also harry couldnt possibly be the only one.

8. having trans characters. sorry did i say that already? doesn’t matter. more trans characters please.

9. Maybe would’ve not had remus and tonks together *as it happened in the plot* because I feel like it was a little bit rushed so *if* I did keep them together then it would’ve been way more developed. however, I am slightly more partial to wolfstar so who knows….

10. show more explicitly that the houses aren't inherently good and bad!!!! that was honestly just so stupid.

[theprideful]

Hello! Ever since I sent you an ask about my One Topic Pride headers, said headers post blew up like crazy. Like, it went from 5 notes, to 95 (as of typing this out) two days after I sent the ask, which is just absolutely nuts!

Anyway, I'm currently working on header set #2. Well, I say "working" but I've only got one header done so far. Yay, procrastination! /s

Here's the header. It's one of the sapphic flags iirc. Kinda stumped on the next nine, so I'm taking suggestions

Okay, ramble over. Have a good one. Much love! 💙

that's great! as for which flags to use, (personally) after i do lesbian, gay, bi, trans, rainbow, pan, ace, aro, and enby, i usually do gender flags like genderfluid, genderqueer, agender, demigirl, demiboy, and then sub-labels like demisexual, demiromantic, and the orange/blue aroace flag. i noticed you haven't done the purple/blue/green gay male flag, so i recommend doing that one as well (pictured below). you could also do queer or the baker pride flag (like the one in my pfp).

thanks for the update! hope you have a nice day :)

[sourwormsaresour]

what are your thoughts on La Squadra's sexualities?

First off, Happy Pride Month! Please have a safe one. Before I start, I just want to let you guys know that I’m a straight cisgender woman so I’m not 100% knowledgeable on sexualities so these are based on my current knowledge of the community. I’m open to all head-canons about La Squadra’s sexualities besides my own :)

Sorbet and Gelato are gay, both using he/him pronouns, and are the most out compared to everyone in the team. Even though La Squadra knew about their relationships, the two themselves aren’t open about it outside of the team and their families. This is especially because relationships can be used against you in the crime world but also because their families rely on them to have a ��good reputation” to live comfortably. I head-canon that they are both breadwinners of their families: Gelato has siblings that go to very conservative, academic institutions and rely on scholarships that look into family history for recommendations, and Sorbet’s mother requires medical attention from reputable doctors that also have homophobic biases that can be used against her. They’ve secretly used some of their money to help a street kid or two that they learned was disowned after being outed or assassinated a few people for hurting kids for being part of the LGBTQ+ community or even preying on them. The two men probably both went through phases where they thought they only liked women, tried to be in heterosexual relationships, and their enemies-to-lovers type of relationship had probably stemmed from their inability to properly process their attraction to each other at the time.

Formaggio is bisexual and prefers using he/him pronouns; he has a stronger attraction to women but is unaware that he’s attracted to men as well. A big part of why he’s so unaware or in denial of it came from his conservative upbringing in a working-class family and lack of representation growing up. Formaggio knew that men can be attracted to other men, but other aspects of the LGBTQ+ community is either unknown to him or seen in a negative perception; he’s learning more about the community and how to be a better ally, especially after meeting Sorbet and Gelato, but he’s still struggling to reverse the anti-LGBTQ+ sentiments he grew up believing. As a result of his past, Formaggio assumed that one can only be attracted to one gender and never crossed his mind that people can be attracted to more than one. He often tries to hide his attraction to men via “straight guy who’s unaware he’s gay occasionally spits homophobic jokes and says ‘no homo’ every time he says "I love you" to his friends but he means full homo” approach.

Illuso is pansexual and gender fluid, preferring he/him/they/them pronouns most of the time but also likes using neo-pronouns and occasionally prefers to use she/her pronouns. As a former intern for a fashion designer before he joined La Squadra, he’s relatively more exposed to meeting different people in the LGBTQ+ community through fashion; those who were higher in status and power would be more out about it than those in lower ranking and the community was a huge source for avant-garde, counter-culture influences. Despite getting more inspiration for his designs from his interactions and developing his identity in the LGBTQ+ space, that also led to him witnessing discrimination, abuse, and powerplay caused by the higher-ups; some became victims simply because of rumors that they may be part of the LGBTQ+ community or being forcibly outed, some are forced into relationships in exchange for opportunities and privileges, etc. He remains closeted and part of his arrogance stems from him hiding his sexuality due to the trauma of enduring the abuse and witnessing it as well. La Squadra doesn’t know his sexuality or know that he’s genderfluid, but they’re fine with adapting to his pronouns whenever they change.  

Pesci is unaware that they’re gay and are non-binary that prefers they/them pronouns. Although they try to stick to he/him pronouns to avoid being out, they like using they/them more and get secretly happy when someone refers to them as such. I head-canon that they’re actually younger than Giorno when they encountered Team Bucciarati, which would explain why he never killed anyone up until this point (they’re a literal kid that’s slowly getting involved in the team when Sorbet and Gelato were killed, albeit they’re on the buffer side despite their age), and with their sheltered childhood and Prosciutto’s strict mentorship, they never got to sit down and think about their sexual and gender identity. They often try to pretend they’re a macho straight man alongside Formaggio but they end up feeling bad about it after trying to say a bad comment or joke to fit in. Pesci themselves feel like they’re alone in terms of the emotions of not being able to put your sexuality into words. It doesn’t help that they’re rather isolated compared to everyone except Risotto; they only knew La Squadra as their family ever since they joined the team and they never talk to anyone outside of the group.

Prosciutto is bisexual and genderfluid, preferring to identify with he/him pronouns, but he’s also the most closeted and probably has the most internalized homophobia as well. Growing up in the entertainment industry, especially in acting, means adhering to heteronormative standards; controversies of any kind would make or break a career and he constantly heard homophobic statements “disguised” as critiques around him from all levels of the entertainment industry. The fact that he was overworked up until his “career retirement” also didn’t give him the time to sit down and realize both his sexuality and how fucked up the film industry is in terms of its treatment towards the LGBTQ+ community. With his upbringing of being presentable and hiding his sexuality, he tries to present himself in the most Italian metrosexual straight machismo man he could and uses his “gentleman charms” towards women to avoid people from questioning further about his sexuality. But at the end of the day, he knows he’s lying to himself about his sexuality. And unfortunately, his anger at being unable to express that is often misdirected.

Melone is demi-sexual, though he presents himself as asexual and panromantic, and prefers using any pronouns. Like his teammates, he prefers using he/him for his safety. As a former scientist, he learned and got to know about the LGBTQ+ community through a more scientific perspective, but also knew there are hidden homophobic biases in the science community as well. Still, he does his best to be an ally for his peers before realizing he is demisexual and panromantic. His sexuality allows him to view the incubation and child-rearing aspect of his Stand without emotions or feelings involved and further explains how he views fornication and training his Juniors in a very scientific and analytical way without guilt taking over. Despite presenting himself as ace/straight (mostly for safety and because it’s easier to explain that he has no attraction to people than being a demisexual), I also see someone who yearns to have a strong emotional connection to someone and would give his all to the person he loves most. His overtly sexual nature is more of an act (I've heard that some aces tend to act overtly sexual, either to avoid being outed or as a result of growing up thinking that need to feel an attraction is necessary) and Melone secretly desires being attracted to someone he learns to trust, admire, and love over time. I have a backstory that plays into that but I might disclose it another time. ;)

Ghiaccio is on the same boat with Prosciutto in terms of having internalized homophobia due to his childhood career as a child athlete. At the time he was training to be an Olympic hopeful as a solo figure skater, Ghiaccio was born female and had to remain in the closet due to the conservative nature of the ice skating world and his step-father being notorious for his opinions favoring homophobia and sexism. Once he joined La Squadra, Ghiaccio began experimenting with himself and ultimately came out as transgender, presenting himself with he/him pronouns, and had been using testosterone ever since. Most members that joined after him only knew Ghiaccio as male while the other members are either indifferent about his gender or are involved in helping Ghiaccio transition to be male. Transitioning also helped him realized he was aromantic and gay, which provided him closure from the years of struggle he had trying to fit into the heteronormative expectations he thought he had to conform to when he was female. The effect of testosterone also explains his brash and short-tempered nature, although that stems more from him finally being able to express himself after years of repressing his emotions as a child.

Risotto is also aromantic and asexual, preferring he/him/they/them pronouns, although he doesn’t know that he is aro/ace, to begin with. Growing up, he never really cared when he heard his older relatives or adults making comments about how “he’d make a good husband” or “have the girls chase him”, because all he cared about was his family and friends. He just assumes that once he becomes a “big boy”, then he’ll have thoughts of wanting to get married like the fairytales say. Just let his future spouse have children with him in any way and he'll play the role of husband regardless. Since his cousin’s death, he gave up the idea of having any sexual or romantic interest in anyone. Why to go out of your way to find any relationship when they’ll be dead soon enough- that was Risotto’s logic. He’s not aware that he can define himself as aro/ace, he just assumes that the trauma he went through with his cousin’s death stops him from feeling any attraction and doesn’t make an effort to figure out why.  

[nonbinarypoststhings]

Your profile pic was made by an aro/ace exclusionist

Hello! 

Thanks for informing me, however, I already knew the maker used to be an ace/aro exclusionist from when it came past my dash a while ago (and tried finding a new piccrew to make the profile from, so if anyone has one of them which includes the genderfluid flag as background pls share, I do want a new profile pic). 

In the post I saw I also saw that the creator of the piccrew has apologized for her past behaviour, and has changed the exclusionist views she had before. 

So yes, you are very right, this person used to be an exclusionist, and I do highly encourage you all to tell me if I ever share something from an exclusionist, so thank you for doing so.

I know I can’t exactly take the apology for everyone in the aro and ace community, but as someone who is personally on the aro and ace spectrum, I have forgiven her for her past views since she seems to have genuinely changed them, and seems to genuinely regret them. 

But like I said, if anyone have any piccrew recommendations that I can use for my profile pic and that has the genderfluid flag in the background, pls share them so I can make a new one.

All the love

[montilyets]

can you give me some lgbt+ book recs?

of course! i’ll rec you some of my more underrated faves:

the lost coast by amy rose capetta (pitched to me as a sapphic the raven cycle, which i can kind of see. a group of queer witches look for their lost friend in the californian red woods and are messy and gay. a very diverse and varied cast of main characters that i all loved)

autoboyography by christina lauren (a bisexual teen signs up for a novel writing contest and is mentored by the previous year’s winner. he falls in love with sebastian, the mentor, but sebastian has grown up in a strict mormon household and is still coming to terms with being gay)

radio silence by alice oseman (bisexual teen befriends the maker of her favorite podcast while struggling with educational pressure. lots of amazing discussions about education, friendship, being an artist and depression)

crier’s war by nina varela (f/f enemies to lovers ya fantasy set in a world with automa (artificially created beings) and humans, where humans are the oppressed group. the human mc becomes the automa’s personal servant (the automa is the sovereign’s daughter) and is planning to kill her and help the resistance, while the automa mc is slowly discovering there is more to her kind and her country than she might have realized. it’s mostly about the romance though)

beyond the black door by a.m. strickland (a girl gets tangled up in political intrigue while trying to figure out what happened to her mother, who has mysteriously disappeared. she is also able to visit a physical manifestation of other people’s souls and falls in love with a villainous boy that appears in her dreams along the way. lots of cool original mythology and a really cool magic system, and the mc is demi-biromantic and asexual + has multiple amazing lgbt+ side characters)

the brilliant death by amy rose capetta (italian inspired ya fantasy about a strega who is trying to save the fate of her family by going to the capital to represent her family, disguised (via shapeshifting) as her brother. along the way she meets and falls in love with a genderfluid shapeshifter named cielo who teaches her more about her nature as a strega. i haven’t read the sequel yet but i would highly recommend this first book bc genderfluid streghe falling in love while a whole plot of magic and politics unfolds)

girls of paper and fire by natasha ngan (slightly more popular on tumblr than the rest of these, but still one that deserves more love. asian-inspired ya fantasy about a girl who is chosen as one of the concubines (paper girls) of a demon king. it follows her in the palace while she and her fellow girls deal with the horrible things they suffer in the palace, but falls in love with a fellow paper girl. together they find their strength and start plotting against the demon king. this book deals with heavy topics of sexual assault, but handles them so well and is very much focused on hope and empowerment)

summer bird blue by akemi dawn bowman (a girl who recently lost her sister in a car accident is sent to stay with her aunt in hawaii by her mom. we see her dealing with grief and finding herself again after her sister died, and she also goes through the process of questioning her sexuality (and ends up concluding that she is probably on the aro spectrum as well as ace). i adored the beautiful exploration of grief in this book and the role that music plays in it for the mc because that is what she and her sister loved most)

queens of geek by jen wilde (a story told in 2 povs about 3 friends who go to a fandom conference together. 1 of the povs follows a bisexual actress and vlogger who meets a fellow actress she’s been crushing on for ages and well… guess what happens. the other pov follows the other two friends as they go around the con and also finally confess their feelings for one another. this book is just really cute and definitely good for when you need to be cheered up, while also having good discussions about fandom and the struggles that come with certain marginalizations)

[spoekelse]

About

- Kaj

-21 years old

- you may know me by my wizard name, “laevateinn”

- architect of cancred guile, contriver of plots, stager of shows

- he/him, han eller hen på norsk

- I take commissions! DM me to negotiate. I go based on how much time something is likely to take. I have an anime style, and a more realistic style. I also do animated pixel art, and can do landscapes and other elaborate backgrounds. If you want to donate to a good cause, provide me evidence of a donation, and I will make art for you that matches the amount donated.

-uses firealpaca for art

-my name (Kaj) is pronounced “Kai”, (rhymes with pie 🥧) as j makes a y sound in most languages

- I’m interested in the fantasy genre, politics, physics and cosmology, animation and art generally, violin and music generally, and languages

-main blog was [REDACTED] but I had to ditch it, as my paedophile stalker knows it and I don’t want her to know I’m alive. I also no longer support a lot of the stuff posted there. my new main is @spoekelser

-fablehaven blog is @certain-death-awaits

- I’m trying to stop being so self-loathing, so if you see me acting like I’m hot shit, it’s because I am

- I don’t actually think I’m undead, immortal, or anything else odd you see me talking about. I don’t have a pyromaniac archenemy called Emil. It’s a bit, I just like joking around.

- mbti: INTP-A/INTJ, house: slytherclaw, enneagram:8w7, Pisces, year of the Goat. I think all of of these “personality tests” are wrong and unhelpful. This is here so you can stop sending asks

Identity Politics Section

-bisexual, prefers women

-chronically ill and physically disabled; I use a cane and, on really bad days, a chair. I’m allergic to strong UV light, so I can’t really go outside much during the day. this all has affected my social life profoundly, so I’m a bit out-of-touch.

- I have severe mental health issues. This should go without saying, but I don’t recommend everything I do/say. I’m just commenting about my own life. You have to make your own judgements. I’m autistic, but I like that about myself, the mental illness aspects are what they are, but I like who I am.

-I suppose you could call me genderfluid. in the sense that I’m actually a guy most of the time, and am agender 10% of the time.

-northern European/southeast asian (culturally hoa vietnamese but genetically chinese/japanese it’s a long story) and white passing

- I was subject to some sexual trauma as a younger teen. I don’t owe you the story, but it was some paedo shit. Keep this in mind, as it colours my experiences. Don’t try to throw that “but what about the REAL survivors” shit at me, because I am a real survivor.

My Opinions

AKA the discourse section. This is here so you can leave if you’re uncomfortable with any of these, and so you know what to expect

-I’m an ace/aro inclusionist, if an intersex person says they’re a part of the queer community I think they deserve a place. I respect and’ll do my best to use neopronouns.

-I don’t see queer as inherently a slur- gay, homosexual, transsexual, etc are also used as a slurs, but they’re not inherently dirty words.

- I don’t like comparing types of oppression, especially within the trans community. It’s not productive. We all know transfems are hated by society, and we should know transmascs are too. Please go outside if you think either group doesn’t experience significant oppression, or either group is able to meaningfully benefit from oppression against the other group. This all said, it’s perfectly fine to express angst about feeling like others have it better than you, that they don’t “get it”, understand you or your struggle, that they’re overreacting to their issues. But it’s not always appropriate, and there’s a difference between feeling this and actually basing how you treat others on this.

- I am staunchly opposed to the modern state of Israel in its current form. I have person ties to the struggle of the Palestinian people, and have long held this belief. I do not think it is right to bother regular Jews about this. Same as it is not right to bother regular Muslims about atrocities committed by Saudi Arabia. If you can’t see the problem with doing either of those things, I can’t reason with you.

- My hot take on death and modern burial and embalming of bodies

- I’m neither an “anti” or a “pro-shipper”, but I don’t tolerate graphic depictions paedophilia or rape intended to be used by real-life perverts. It’s case-by-case. To me, there’s a clear difference between telling a story about abuse, and “shipping” an abusive relationship. That distinction doesn’t exist for everyone, so as a rule, I don’t really give a shit about “toxic” ships. No opinion. Just don’t make that shit glamorous to kids, like they did in Twilight. If the source material is children’s media, I don’t think that fan content normalising or glamourising abuse should be shared on the internet. Children theoretically can avoid seeing it, but they will see it, because of their own ignorance. I find RPF wrong because though a person can theoretically simply avoid reading it, they most likely will not.

- I have no opinion on kink. I don’t think I’m educated enough on the subject to have one. Obviously, consent is most important. But I don’t know what to make of more controversial kinks such as raceplay and ageplay. I support sex workers wholeheartedly. I believe the issue with sex work is present in any job under capitalism- which is to say, that capitalism is coercive in nature.

- I hate capitalism passionately, I’m a communist. I’m authoritarian leaning, but while I like Lenin’s writing, I don’t think Marxism-Leninism is the only answer, and I don’t support the CCP/PRC, the DPRK, or the former USSR. I don’t support the US government either, or (historically at the very least) NATO. While it’s true that I don’t support any of these governments, I think asking civilians if they do is reductive and pointless, as we lack the power to meaningfully “support” such a structure.

- I’m ok with being a fan of any media, as long as you’re not actively fueling the spread of negative influences. I’m going to judge you based on your actual opinions, not the opinions that exist in media you consume. (Basically don’t give money to J.K. Rowling) If a Twilight renaissance or Destiel are woke, we can have another season of Hetalia. Just don’t actively give the fuckers money, if you can avoid it. There are genuinely much worse things- if you’re paying for a tv licence in the UK, you’re paying for the transphobic BBC. If you’re buying Nestlé products, you’re supporting Nestlé. Those are near unavoidable. My take is that you should try your best to avoid it when you can.

Interests/Former Interests

Note: Obviously, just because I enjoy something doesn’t mean I approve of it or think it’s objectively good. A lot of these things are objectively bad, and I go so far as to refuse to pay royalties to their creator. A lot of these are interests from when I was like 12.

- Fablehaven, Dragonwatch, and Beyonders

- Genshin Impact

- Sword Art Online

- Jibaku Shōnen Hanako-kun

- Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

- Hetalia

- Death Note

- Saiki Kusuo No Psi Nan

- 2000s Barbie movies

- Kpop: Kingdom, LOONA, Tomorrow X Together, ENHYPEN, Dreamcatcher, The Boyz, Red Velvet, Victon, OnlyOneOf

- Myth &roid

-Hatari

-Kalafina

-ReoNa

-LiSA

-ASCA

-Malice Mizer

- Nightmare (the visual kei band)

- Miracle Nikki

- Hataraku Maou-Sama

- Erased/Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi

- Violet Evergarden

- Harry Potter

- Hyouka

- Kyoukai no Kanata

- The Talented Mr. Ripley

- Interview With The Vampire

- The Owl House

[chvrliespring]

LGBT+ book recs

because why not!!

anything by david levithan, but most notably:

two boys kissing. follows several gay teens as surrounded by the event of two boys trying to break the world record for the longest kiss. told from the perspective of gay men who died from aids. mlm characters & relationships, trans character.

every day. character who wakes up in a different body everyday. pan character, non-binary (?) character, trans male character, bg mlm relationship

& boy meets boy. title is pretty self explanatory. mlm characters and relationships.

sidekick squad series by c.b. lee. futuristic world where super-heroes and super-villains exist and are a normal thing. super comic book-ish. literally not a single main character is straight. 2 wlw couples (one is background, the other is a main couple). <- bi girl & undefined. trans male character, implied to be bi or pan. (slight spoiler: female character questioning, possibly aro/ace or gray-ace)

i was born for this by alice oseman. follows a boy band & one of its fans. it’s pretty much the best exploration of both growing up surrounded by fame and fandom i’ve ever read. trans gay male character, bi male character, bi female character, implied questioning female character.

magnus chase and the gods of asgard by rick riordan. follows dead teens navigating through norse mythology. pan male character and genderfluid character in a relationship.

six of crows duology by leigh bardugo. criminal teenagers trying to break genius with the potential to change the world for worse out of prison. mlm relationship, gay and bi male characters, bi female character.

all for the game series by nora skavic. mafia involved sports teams. 2 mlm relationships (one is bg, the other main), implied demisexual character.

leah on the offbeat by becky albertalli. the less well-known sequel to simon vs the homo sapiens agenda*. wlw relationship, both bi girls. background mlm relationship.

the way you make me feel by maurene goo. i haven’t personally read this one but i’ve heard it’s good! wlw relationship.

* which i also recommend but given that it’s siginificantly more well known due to love, simon, i thought it’d be best to give a specific place to leah.

the fact that books with wlw rep are harder to find/less popular is super upsetting but whatever.

EDIT: apparently i was lied to and the way you make me feel only has a side-character who’s gay!! the book is good but it’s not really strong on the lgbt rep side

[studies-by-moonlight]

Welcome!

Hi there! You can call me Emrys. Here’s some tidbits about me. I consider myself a bit of a beginner witch since there’s still a lot I’m learning about and I’ve been taking my time with working on what things I’m focusing on (in my ‘current focuses’). My ‘interests’ section is what I’m wanting to learn about (whether it’s simply to educate myself or to actively practice at a later time when I’m comfortable). Speaking of, I love reading! If you have any books you’d like to recommend for me to read about witchy thing, you’re more than welcome to share! :oD

When it comes to beliefs, I consider myself a very spiritual person. Religious? Ehh…Kiiind of? I got the Religious Trauma™ so I’m still kind of going back and forth with myself on that. But I do currently revere the Goetic demonic divine, and the Hellenic gods.

**As a note, please do not approach me with any sort of angel work aimed in my direction. Talking about them and sharing your beliefs and work with them in a respectful manner should be fine? But I am extremely uncomfortable with the idea of them being directed at/anywhere near me. I hope that makes sense.**

Basics:  • Genderfluid (pronouns are he/him or they/them) • Gay Aro Ace Polyam (and taken!) • Mixed (Irish/Ashkenazi Jewish/Puerto Rican) • Mentally Ill • Disabled • Anti-racism • Anti-cultural appropriation

Star Signs:  • Sun: Virgo • Moon: Libra • Rising: Leo

Current Focuses:  • Crystal magick (a little) • Divination. Primarily tarot, oracle (recently started), and pendulum work.  • Energy work (a little; I primarily use it for shielding) • Sigils • Spell bottles

Interests: • Ancestor magick/work (a little on the fence about this one, but it sounds neat!) • Astrology • Candle magick • Curses and hexes • Deity work • Fae and the Fair Folk • Folklore. Pretty much any and all of it. I love reading.  • There’s probably more. I’ll edit stuff here as needed.

If you’re interested in a tarot reading, I’m still getting used to doing readings for people other than myself, but I’m willing to give simple spreads a shot! That being said, I am not comfortable doing readings regarding relationships. Please do not ask for a reading of that nature. Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything else I need to mention here? If that changes, I’ll just edit this bit. But! That being said, my ask box is always open. ♥

[violetemerald]

I've read a queer polyamorous allosexual aro woman around age 50 in "An Accident of Stars" by Foz Meadows, Gwen, and it's a good book and she's a great character but her aromanticism isn't super relevant. But it is good representation.

And then I'd highly recommend for the allosexual (pansexual guy in his late 20s) aro representation reasons "Syncopation" by Anna Zabo. The aromanticism is REALLY explored in a m/m central BDSM sexual relationship between close friends. It's maybe tied as the best fiction I've found so far in this vein. This book has explicit sex in it.

The other allosexual aromantic representation I super highly recommend and is tied as "the best" out of what I've read is "Baker Thief" by Claudie Arseneault. One of the main point of view characters is genderfluid or bigender and is Claire, a woman, half the time and is Claude, a guy, the other half of the time. Claire/Claude is an allosexual but aromantic person and the aromanticism specifically is explored in depth in a wonderful way throughout the fantasy novel. It's not sexually explicit in the scenes on the page.

I'd love to read more books with allosexual aro rep even though I'm very much ace myself, because they help me to understand the aromanticism part of myself! And because it's really refreshing representation, etc.

I've read "We Awaken" and was disappointed personally, I wanted to like it more than I did. The book's world building didn't quite make sense and it was just so close to really good f/f ace romance representation but it wasn't my thing.

I am interested in reading the other two in the choice picks though. I'm interested in reading so much more!

"Before I Let Go" was better than I expected based on reviews, for instance. And it was specifically much more in depth representation of wanting to stay just friends in a very aroace way with a pansexual female friend who had strong romantic feelings for her. The asexual protagonist didn't know romantic orientation terminology in a very understandable and relatableway for me as a reader at that snapshot in time. She barely had a chance to learn of asexuality as a term to describe herself in the book.

I think books like "Before I Let Go" are good, especially since that one has an audiobook. We just need so much variety in representation. We need way more books with explicit aromanticism for sure.

Okay, kicking off the Pride month rec-party by starting at the beginning of the alphabet and getting some (much needed) Asexual and Aromantic Umbrella Recs up!

Top 3 Picks:

The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee (Book #2 in the Montague Siblings duology) Sassy Summary: Local AroAce who is much more interested in medical procedures than romance finds herself caught up in an adventure with a bisexual Muslim pirate and an aspiring naturalist running from an arranged marriage with her large dog. Sequel to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, which does feature the AroAce character Felicity in a major role as well.

Rep: Main character is asexual and aromantic and expresses this as explicitly as she can with her historical setting. Secondary lead is a bisexual Muslim lady. And there’s a background pairing (from the first novel) of a bisexual guy and his biracial boyfriend.

The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt (Book #1 of the Axiom trilogy)

Sassy Summary: Mass Effect Queer Edition. This space opera balances wise-cracking characters with fast-paced action scenes and never gets too heavy or super serious on you.

Rep: Amongst the cast representation you have Janice who is asexual (in the text, not just hinted), a non-binary crew member with they/them pronouns, two bisexuals (one who later self-identifies as demisexual), and near the end you find out another character is a transwoman just casually. The author himself has also identified as being on the asexual spectrum, making this #ownvoices

We Awaken by Calista Lynn

Sassy Summary: Asexuality: The Novel. This story explores asexuality, what it means to be asexual and romance with asexuality all with a nice paranormal fantasy flavoring to push the plot along.

Rep: Not one, but TWO asexual main characters! Asexual Homoromantic with F/F romance that is also interracial. And this is an #ownvoices title.

The rest of the list:

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee (Asexual Heteroromantic)

Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria (Asexual Aromantic)

This Song is (Not) For You by Laura Nowlin (Asexual, Polyromantic)

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (Demisexual)

Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp (Asexual Aromantic)

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand (Asexual)

Vicious and Vengeful by V.E. Schwab (Asexual)

That’s Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger (Asexual Heteroromantic) 

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann (Asexual Biromantic, Demisexual 

The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta (Gray-Asexual Gray-Aromantic)

Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie (Asexual Aromantic)

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan Maguire (Asexual  Heteroromantic)

Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland (Asexual Demiromantic)

[cavesalamander]

Do you have any queer book recs? Preferably not the kind where it's like a coming out book or a Queer Struggle™?

Thanks for the ask!

Honestly I don’t go seeking out a lot of queer books for just that reason - also because being ace and mostly aro, I tend to go for heavy world building and action/adventure, with romance being mostly incidental, if there at all. Also series that last a while and let me know the characters really well.

I also don’t tend to read books that aren’t already at least somewhat popular, so if you want more indie queer book recs, please go check out https://twitter.com/tatehallaway this badass lady on the twitters. I haven’t read any of her books (yet, entirely because I haven’t read anything longer than a couple thousand words in way too long) but I met her at World Con where she hosted a panel on diversity in fiction. She’s a queer writer and is super approachable and friendly. I’m sure she’d be able to point you in the right direction, if not rec some of her own books!

I also would totally recommend checking out Mark Oshiro who recently wrote and got his own book published!! I’m super excited for him, and I’m gonna buy it at some point. His reviews of books are really entertaining too, and he gets pretty autobiographical during them. His fans often recommend queer books and TV shows to him too - so then you get to watch him cry when he realizes that this character that he fell in love with is SURPRISE GAY and he’s so happy he can’t with the emotions. (He’s also a total sweetheart in person holy crap. I got to talk to him at World Con too.)

There’s also TritonYA, which is a publishing house that is working on publishing queer YA genre fiction. I haven’t read any of the 3 books they posted so far because I don’t have the f o c u s these days, and none of them really caught my interest from the summary.

As for books I’VE read... (Apologies that these are like all from cis straight authors afaik, they’re just the ones who I read/ started reading 10+ years ago when I used to read all the time... and back then there just wasn’t the visibility of queer authors, and I didn’t go searching for particular books. I just don’t read very much anymore aaahhh!)

The Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce is FANTASTIC. It’s very much romance light - very heavy on the friendship and bonds between the four main characters. But one of the four MCs is lesbian, and there are other queer secondary characters. One of the other girls reads to me as ace/aro too, but that hasn’t been confirmed. (And like 99% of the time my hopes are dashed, but I can see Pierce actually writing an ace character who stays ace.)

Keep in mind that when the series starts they’re like 10, so romance doesn’t come into play until the later books when they’re 16, which is when one of the characters realizes she’s into girls and not boys.

The series is so good too. Pierce’s world building is so good always. She’s like my fuckin idol when it comes to how she does it. The lesbian chara’s character arc about realizing she’s into girls is handled pretty well IMO - the world as a whole isn’t homophobic, so the struggle is mild and mostly self discovery. And the romance is centered around the political struggles happening at the time - is the girl she likes flirting back bc REAL FEELINGS or bc SNEAKY POLITICS!? And SHOULD SHE STAY OR SHOULD SHE GO. Which, given the story as a whole, (and her other writings) this is pretty much in line with how a het romance would be treated.

Trials of Apollo and the Magnus Chase series by Rick Riordan are pretty good too. I don’t like Riordan’s worldbuilding like I love Pierce’s, and he’s writing as a cis straight man but his books are still a lot of fun. There’s a gay kid who gets a couple of POV chapters in an earlier series, (Percy Jackson) but he’s got a lot more of The Struggle going on in his story. (Kinda understandable considering he was born in the 30s, but still.)

Trials follows, well, Apollo who is unapollogetically bi because that’s canon greek myth. (Incidentally, one of his kids is dating the Struggle boy from before and they are very cute together, if a fairly background relationship). Apollo is also totally full of himself and hilarious, and his trials are of course gonna be about how he has to eat a big fuckin slice of humble pie because that’s how grecian trials work. Only like one or two books are out so far, but it looks like it’s gonna be a lot of fun!

Magnus Chase is about a guy who dies and gets sent to Valhalla and becomes a demigod basically. In the second book, a third MC is introduced who is genderfluid/bigender, and by the end of it, Magnus is kinda crushing on her so, that’s cool! I’m not sure yet how it’s gonna be played, since Magnus so far seems to be striaght, and sometimes his love interest is a boy... but I have a pretty good feeling it’s going to be addressed.

Riordan’s a cis straight white dude but he’s definitely done his research. Some of the bits come off kinda “here’s my research laid out” but he started his first series with the goal of, “I want my son to see heroes who are like him. Heroes with ADHD and dyslexia.” And now he’s like “I have fans who are poc, and fans who are queer, and I want them to see themselves too.” And his stories are fun. Which is the important part, in my opinion!

Gunnerkrigg Court by Tom Siddell is actually a webcomic, not a novel, but the MC is most likely aro/ace, and her best friend is bi, who currently is in a relationship with another girl - and there’s at least two other queer couples in the story... and strong hints that one of the characters is a trans girl, and another that used to be a female rabbit but is now a male human, gender unknown as of yet. They didn’t seem particularly bothered by the change though.

It’s also a book about robots and magic and birds and ROBOTS and family legacy and friendship and love and R O B O T S!!! Listen it’s just REALLY GOOD OKAY? Please read it. Please please please!!

The Bartimaeus Trilogy by Johnathan Stroud is one of my all time favorite book series, though it’s the least explicitly queer. There’s no romance in it whatsoever, and the human MC reads to me as aro/ace. (The one time he feels something resembling sexual attraction, he realizes almost instantly that something is Wrong and that he was put under a spell. Lmao...) Human MC is also a ginormous fucking shitlord but I love him a lot, and compared to all the other shitlords in the series, he’s actually pretty moral.

Demon MC is also a shitlord, and somehow works as human MC’s moral compass. Also he’s hilarious. And okay, so... when I was younger, I never really read into anything. But demon MC has this boy from his past who he absolutely loves a lot. You can choose to read it whichever way you want, but it’s a very deep and strong love. QP is likely though unintentional hahaa! Very important... I really need to read the prequel book to see more into how the relationship developed...

A girl is introduced as an MC in the second? and third book. She’s Very Good and also not a love interest. Like it’s way easier to read into a romance between the demon and the boy from his past than it is to read into girl MC and boy MC.

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner This one I actually got on rec from the librarian I asked for queer books. It’s an older book, like from the 80s and this one I’m pretty sure the author IDs as bi, so hey that’s at least one rec from a queer author. The book is just set in a fantasy world where sexuality is like WHATEVER! and everyone fights with swords and honor and the MC and everyone else are all total fucking pricks but also bisexual.

It’s the most adult and romancy book out of all of them, but the love scenes aren’t explicit or anything. Definitely a recommended read if you wanna see some earlier rep. The copy of the book I got from the library had a recommendation by GRRM on the cover - one that I think predated his rise to fame. You can definitely see why he’d like it. There’s lots of political drama, affairs, murder, swords, etc.

People die, and I don’t necessarily want to spoil you on if the MC or the MC’s love interest dies unless you want me to (You’re welcome to ask!), but it IS a romance, and it’s not centered around The Struggle at all, and I don’t think it counts as Bury Your Gays if EVERYONE is queer!

So that’s what I have off the top of my head. I only counted MAIN characters in this, none of that “someone was gay once in the background see? representation!!!” crap. And like I said, it’s been a while since I’ve really sat down and read anything in earnest. The Swordspoint book was the only one I found while I was actively looking for queer books, the rest is just happy happenstance!

Let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to reblog!