#also i know it’s problematic that so much of the available aro representation is aliens and robots

[yeah-thats-probably-it]

thinking about what if data were aromantic. even after he gets the emotion chip put in, he still just doesn’t feel romantic love, and doesn’t understand what other people are feeling when they talk about it. and he’s really upset at first because he feels like after everything he’s been through to get here he still isn’t fully human. there’s still a piece missing. he’s tapped into every work of art humans have ever created and romance seems so ubiquitous that he thinks you can’t be human without it

i’m imagining this as like a b or c plot of an episode. maybe he’s been working with a crew member who turns out to be aromantic and they commiserate about how alienating it can be to hear everyone talk about romance all the time. everyone comes together at the end to help him realize that he feels so many different kinds of love, and no human’s experience with emotions is exactly the same and your humanity doesn’t depend on what emotions you do or don’t feel anyway

i think this would be a good episode. i would enjoy it