#and my preference is *being aro*

[chaotic-carnifex]

No hold on I'm gonna make an extra post about this:

I wouldn't choose to be alloromantic

If I were given the choice to either remain aro or become alloro again, I would choose aromanticism.

And I think a lot of people need to hear that.

[mossy-aro]

basically. tldr i like posts abt love saving and slaying <3 etc. i just don’t like it when it’s being done in a way that implies a lesser humanity for those who do not experience it conventionally or at all. romantic or not.

[honestlyvan]

And, listen, I don't really talk about it because personally it didn't read as romantic to me but I am a believer in the beliefs of SagaCasey shippers. Like, they're just fucking right about this one, and I love nothing so much as Saga ripping Casey out of Alan's hands, in no uncertain terms telling him fuck you, he's mine, you can't have him. That is, in fact, the only way for me to read the text. Casey is Saga's partner. It doesn't matter what the story thinks, his belonging to her is unconditional.

[cosmocove]

some bobbles (+ two unfinished things)

[waitineedaname]

I'm so used to the bi greed headcanon being so popular that I'm genuinely startled when I see other headcanons for him

[spocks-kaathyra]

"ur repressed" okay well have u even considered that emotions r purposeless and only serve to cause harm to those around u and I have achieved a unique transcendent state beyond them. have u considered that

[ratinthevoid]

why did i believe i can ever come out to her

[sparky-is-spiders]

Something sooooo good and Vital about aromantic Jonelias. They are obsessed with each other. They are the center of each other’s world. Their feelings for each other don’t really fall into any traditional category.

[callixton]

i genuinely don't know what changed where i experience active romance repulsion so much now but like. goddamn that shit is not for me. good to know! important to know these things about yourself!

[ashtonisvibing]

pspsps stacy fans come get some normalcy!stacy lore and her journey to realizing she's aromantic pspsps (half joking)

stacy's confusing relationship with romance is unfortunately a product of society and amatonormativity (can we choose a shorter word please-), starting ever since she was a child. but hey, i'm sure most aros reading this relate-

most people would look at stacy's dismissal towards romance and "cute boys" and having crushes and just chalk it up to her trying to be different or "quirky". and the more the people around her kept telling her how happy she'll be when she has a boyfriend, the more she started to believe that maybe she was just trying to be different, not like the other girls. even as a kid, any time she brought a boy friend over to play, her parents would ask if he was her boyfriend, and laugh it off when she said no.

"he's just a friend." she'd reply.

"oh, you'll change your mind soon enough!" her parents would laugh.

she never spoke to the boys after that.

come high school she was convinced that she had to have a boyfriend. it was the only way to be happy after all, that's what everyone always told her. so, she settled on the first guy that caught her eye: chase. although it was mostly because she had heard that he genuinely did have a crush on her, so this would be an easy boyfriend to have. and once they started dating, it wouldn't be too long until until those romantic feelings started to form!

... right?

years passed and they continued to date. they graduated, got their first jobs. eventually chase proposed. this was it, the big moment everyone told her about! she'd be getting married and would live a happy life! but... why did getting married feel wrong to her? shouldn't she want to marry the man she was so in love with? she... was in love with him, that's what she's supposed to feel towards her boyfriend. maybe it was just nervousness at such a big change.

so she said yes. a year later, they were married. nine months after that, their twins zach and amanda were born. and for once in her relationship with chase, she felt genuine happiness over such a milestone. but why did this happiness only show up now? why wasn't she happy when they got married? when chase proposed, when they started dating?

did she actually love the man she was supposed to love?

stacy was never the most expressive with her affection, but chase never minded. maybe he was too caught up in his own love, maybe he understood that some people just have different love languages. but a few years into their marriage she started to become more and more distant towards him. she was still present, but she would shy away from his hugs and kisses far more often than she had before, to the point that such affection was pretty much nonexistent. "date nights", where they just cuddled and watched movies while the kids slept, started disappearing as well. stacy's only focus was on the kids and friends. she seemed to want very little to do with chase now.

chase's attempts to try and figure out what was wrong turned into tiny spats, which turned into arguments, which turned into fights. around this time they were also having financial troubles due to the extra costs of having two kids and chase refusing to put aside his dream career of making stunt videos, a career that was going absolutely no where. stacy would have been fine with sticking with her husband through this, but her guilt towards not loving him like a wife should made her just want to be as far away from him as she could.

and so, using the financial troubles they had as an excuse, she filed for a divorce. she of course allowed for shared custody, she just needed to get out of that marriage and figure out what was going on with her. everyone told her that she'd feel so much love towards her husband, that she would be happier than ever during marriage. but the fact that those happy lovey dovey feelings never came made her feel like she failed.

skipping forward past chase's depression spiral, now he's getting much better and even got himself a boyfriend. meanwhile stacy's still figuring herself out. she decides to finally stop sitting in her guilt and do some research, maybe what she's feeling- or, lack there of- isn't as out of place as she might think it is.

and then she comes across aromanticism, the entire spectrum of feeling/not feeling romantic feelings. and the pieces come together. that's why she never had crushes like all the other girls. why she never liked being with chase as more than just friends. she really just didn't feel any romantic feelings towards anyone. finally she understands why she was so different.

she asks chase if they can have a talk together, in person. once they meet up she spills out everything. why she became so distant in the end, why the divorce happened, and her discovering her identity. and sure, it hurts chase to find out that the person he loved so much never loved him back in the same way. but it's not her fault, so he can't really be upset at her. he just does the best thing that he can do and accept her, just hoping that they can at least be friends.

and stacy's never been happier to hear someone say that.

[ask-glados]

Are you aware of the Combine?

Yes, I am. Thankfully, it seems that they were taken down years ago by a group of rebels. It was all Black Mesa's fault too. Thanks to them, finding humans to be test subjects is much more difficult, given the stark decline in population. Still, at least the problem has been solved. There's still a few alien stragglers around up there though, which I'm having a new recruit take care of for me.

[carcinized]

the older & more mature i get the more i kind of settle into being percieved as cishet. this isnt at all shade to people who DO care, because its your identity and you get to care, but like for me there is sooo much power in not caring. and its kind of fucking awesome. im an undercover gay. need to know basis. not everyones business. im chillin

[misslisamiray]

A friend of mine messaged me yesterday about how she's found someone she has an instant connection with and telling me how great he is, and I thought she was talking about the guy she was crushing on & saying this kinda stuff about a week ago... Different person entirely. Week Ago Perfect Guy was too avoidant, then she was talking to someone else who wanted to get too sexual too fast, and now there's New Perfect Guy.

I mean, she's an adult and can do whatever she wants with her life and if... THAT makes her happy, I'm happy for her, but fucking hell, it could not sound more terrible and exhausting to me.

no one should be dating anybody this is too ridiculous. everyone please give up the perfect person for you is NOT out there

[blackwaves]

.

[roomba-mangga]

i've experienced romance repulsion during the height of an intense multishipping hopeless romantic phase as a teenager. i plan and structure interactions with other people with consideration for my romance repulsion and how likely it's going to get triggered. romance repulsion is like a whole other set of spoons to take into account when building relationships, engaging in activities, engaging with media.

it's really something that has to be managed and worked around consistently, and what helps is when those you interact with accept it and don't make you feel lesser or broken for it. even better if they validate why someone might feel that way and engage with it without taking it personally! even just receiving a casual heads-up from someone who knows you might be uncomfortable would help.

do people get that romance repulsion is a real thing. like i know that it is not a term that many people have heard but the kind of responses i see from people when i talk ab my feelings on romance sometimes… do people understand that it’s like. sometimes a real feeling of nausea that you can’t control. it seems to click for everyone that someone might be innately repulsed by the idea of sex or that someone might have a negative response to seeing romantic stuff because they want it really bad and it upsets them to see other people have it but the second an aromantic person has a negative response to romance that is not emotionally invested suddenly they are a supervillain only interested in kicking people’s puppies and personally attacking anyone who’s ever been in love

[howcanibesadyetalsoacowboy]

why can't I call it gay when I'm being attracted to men & when I'm being attracted to women? the woke left >:(