#hilariously did remember while typing this that there's a coda to chapter 22 of the tiefling fic that's sort of the antithesis of this lmfa

[essektheylyss]

I sometimes think that there is too much value put on greyace or demi characters learning how to recognize feelings of attraction in general, and it does feel a bit like a veil for the idea that those characters need to learn to experience attraction "normally" as part of their character growth.

Recognizing that a feeling they'd like to act upon is attraction is all well and good—and makes both for fun plot and also is interesting to see, as a demi person!—but it does often feel like an emphasis is placed upon recognizing any attraction for what it is as the next progression. In my experience, that's a genuinely futile exercise—attraction is nebulous and also often different person to person, so it doesn't feel like a useful tool for a reader to figure out if they experience attraction, and is it necessary to identify that?

But on top of that, it feels even more insidious because consistently propping it up as the next step suggests that it is necessary to quantify all attraction in order to be able to properly experience any of it.