#just please let us aces be happy for a moment about representation

[mysterygrl20]

from a fellow ace, yes I’ve had people tell me this. You haven’t tried it so how will you know?

Would I in the future? Perhaps as there are sex-positive aces and that still doesn’t diminish that they are ace.

It’s a big leap for kawi with pisaeng. It’s understandable that he has these thoughts.

And Pisaeng will be there to hold his hand through it.

[mt-oe]

𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙—𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙯𝙪 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙨

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

Hey dears!

I've been getting addicted with playing Valorant recently and thought it would be fun to try and make some hcs for Mizu <3

Clove's release is so exciting and I'm so happy non-binary people are given some representation in games. They're so much fun and their ult mechanic is such a game-changer.

Please tell me if you'd like me to make more of these or if I should make some for other games too (as long as I know them well enough).

Anywho, let's go!

Enjoy! Mwa mwa :*

warnings: not proofread, the use of "clutch or gay", she/her for mizu

mizu has a crush on you :3

✦ Her fave maps are Icebox and Bind. Whenever you play comp with her and these maps roll up, you're internally fucking hollering. You're thanking every possible deity there is, dancing in your seat, kissing your monitor.

She's such a god in these maps. Every good agent for every role, every lineup, and even some pro play shit strats, she memorized it.

She loves Icebox for how easy it was to clear angles and how easy it was to formulate AND predict strategies. The map was pretty straightforward and no bullshit. Perfect for her.

Bind for the outplay potentials. Teleporters + Yoru TP/Omen TP and Ult? There's no telling where she may be. Will she plant in A? Will she plant in B? Maybe she's already flanking? Who knows?

✦ Mizu doesn't buy skins but she DOES have some. They're gifts from you and her friends! An oni phantom, neptune spectre, and sovereign marshal from Akemi; An arcane sheriff from Taigen because they're probably taking their shit-talking to League too; and a reaver vandal, reaver karambit, and the oni katana from you.

She doesn't really give a shit about skins, but ever since she was gifted one, she started appreciating them. You'll see her using the inspect animation once in a while if she picks up a skin she's never seen before.

If it's just a chill comp game or she's playing solo queue, she'll use the oni katana. If she's playing with you and/or wants to show off, she'll use the reaver karambit. Of course you have to go with the sexy one when trying to impress.

✦ Doesn't shit talk heavily, but shit talks in a way that'll piss you off.

"Ooooh shit someone's mad," you laughed over the voice-comms, watching as the enemy Reyna started spewing all sorts of insults at your team. It was mostly targeted at Mizu, who was also playing Reyna, and was top-fragging. Soon after that fiasco, you'd see Mizu type "." in all chat every time she killed the enemy Reyna, got a clutch, and even an ace. Everyone was snickering at her antics, finding it funny how Mizu was shitting on them while the enemy was clearly progressively getting even more tilted.

On the other hand, if Taigen was there and Mizu failed to clutch the round, he'd be laughing loudly over the voice chat, making fun of her over and over. He'd even type "GG [insert Mizu's current agent]. Aimlabs is free" in team chat, which was so fucking embarrassing. The moment Mizu catches Taigen lacking, she'll be having a hayday in the team chat, spamming "GG [insert Taigen's current agent], Aimlabs is free" over and over which effectively pisses Taigen off.

✦ Along with the previous one, if someone ever decided to trashtalk you, she's going absolutely feral. She still wouldn't be spewing nonsense, but you'll notice her becoming more aggressive.

"Didn't you just use your ult?" You asked her, spectating as she used another Reyna ult which you swore she just used two rounds ago. "I just feel like playing a little better today," she replies. But then goes to strafe like a fucking bitch, doing a poppin' swing once or thrice, making the enemy struggle before killing the enemy and t-bagging them aggressively.

You raised an eyebrow at her antics but still laughed at it. "You sure you're not here for blood?" you joked. "Yeah.." she said while spamming your trashtalker's KD status in all-chat.

✦ There's no doubt about how well she plays with different agents, but her worst agent to use would be Gekko. Something about Dizzy's trajectory and letting Wingman plant and defuse felt off to her. Maybe it was because she was used to having control over the speed of her flashes and being able to fake defuse.

✦ Actually responds to "clutch or gay" jokes.

If a random teammate or anyone in your friend group (mainly Taigen) decides to use that joke on her during a clutch situation, it doesn't matter if it's a 1v1, a 1v5, a 1v5 + Sage res + Clove ult. She's winning. She's fucking winning.

You watched in anticipation as Mizu, using Omen, went through attacker spawn in Breeze. It was a 1v4, having picked one off when she picked up the spike. For a moment, you thought of something before typing "clutch or gay" in team chat. It worked for your other friends and randos, why not try it?

The moment she read that chat from you, you could immediately see Omen throwing his weapons off of the map. The noise of the agent's footsteps prompting the enemy to shoot him. "Bro what the fuck are you doing?" Taigen groans, annoyance heavy in his voice. Mizu doesn't respond in voice chat, but you hear her typing. After a while, a chat pops up.

(Whisper) From mizu: did you see that?

(Whisper) To mizu: mhm. why'd u do that :c

(Whisper) From mizu: you said clutch or gay

(Whisper) From mizu: i didn't clutch.

But she only ever does this to you.

✦ Actually plays fill but everyone in your friend group decided to place her as a duelist. She's going to treat every agent like a damn duelist anyway. Why place her somewhere else? You get site early and fast + She gets higher RR from combat score. It's a win-win. Plus, she loves secretly showing off to you. She relishes the "woah where'd you learn to satchel like that?", the "nice kill!" when she wins in an Iso 1v1, and the way you bought her an op upon her request when she used Jett as if you automatically trusted her.

[09kags]

Happy Haikyuu Day! 

Sorry for the bad quality first off T^T I keep having to resize these so that they’re smaller for Tumblr and it ruins the quality. But more importantly, happy Haikyuu day! (at least it is Japan already!) This edit embodies some of my favorite moments within the series and below, I’ve written some of the thoughts that went into this piece/my feelings on these moments! Manga spoilers ahead (I'm pretty sure I’ve kept them to a minimum but just to be sure, please proceed with caution!), and I hope you enjoy this edit! (Overlays: accio-glow, aulia-chan on dA; PSDs: hurtears, hallyumi, yangyanggg on dA) 1. “Today might finally be the day we get the chance to let our talents bloom… it could be tomorrow. Or maybe next year. Or maybe it’ll finally come when we’re 30. I’m not sure if physique has anything to do with it but I do know for sure that if you don’t believe that day will come, it never will.” This quote is a testament to Oikawa’s growth and is a symbolic representation of Oikawa freeing himself from the shackles of “geniuses” and “prodigies.” So what if your opponent is a genius? So what if they possess more innate talent? As his mentor and inspiration Jose Blanco states, “Are you saying you know what the limits of your abilities are already? Even though you aren’t yet finished growing physically or mentally? Even though you haven’t mastered all the skills you can master? If you’re going to complain that someone with more talent than you will always be better than you… no matter how hard you work, how many tricks you learn and how many great teammates you have… do that only after you’ve given everything the very best effort you have.” There will always be someone better in the world. But to claim that you cannot hope to compare to the likes of them is to resign yourself to a predetermined defeat as well as dismiss both your own efforts and theirs.    There’s no guarantee when your efforts will pay off. As Oikawa declares, it may be today, tomorrow, or even when we’re 30.  But if you don’t believe in yourself first, if you don’t believe that you will bloom in your own time, “that day will never come.”  The flower in the background is the iris. It is known to represent trust, faith, and hope amongst many other ideals. I chose this particular flower because of the manga cap used in this panel. I cannot emphasize how much I love the bond between Oikawa and Iwaizumi, especially this particular moment when Oikawa points at Iwaizumi with such authority and determination as if saying, “This ball, this moment, is meant for you.” Not to mention the pairing with the iconic “Talent is something you make bloom, instinct is something you hone” quote. An absolutely masterful sequence of scenes that always gets my blood rushing. 

2. “Don’t look down! Volleyball is a sport where you’re always looking up!” This moment gives me chills every time. It’s something so fundamental and simple and yet, when Ukai yells this,  it instills that feeling of “You can do it.” It makes my heart flutter and I feel so excited because it’s such a beautiful way of saying “Don’t give up, it’s not over yet.” And even if the ball has dropped for the last time or you have lost this match, there’s always tomorrow. There’s always the next match where you’ll have to look up. This quote gives me the same feeling as when Takeda-sensei says, “For the rest of your lives, you can do anything you set your mind to!” You only truly lose when you stop trying or you give up.  3. “It hurts. I’m tired. This is painful. I don’t want this to ever end.” / “The ball hasn’t dropped yet!” Whenever Haikyuu characters say “Just one more!” or “The ball hasn’t dropped yet!”, the tension and desperation is almost palpable. It’s so incredibly moving to see them strive to save that ball just one more time, to focus purely on what is in front of them. Even if they don’t all pursue volleyball as a professional career, the passion they all have for the sport is real. That sort of passion is beautiful to watch and admire, and I wish I could have that kind of passion for something in my life.  4. “The underhand only uses two hands. The overhand uses 10 fingers. That’s all the more to support your spikers with, which is what it means to be a setter.” / “To cut through the wall that looms before your spikers, that is the purpose of a setter.”  This particular panel depicts the two ideologies of Atsumu and Kageyama respectively, two of my favorite setters and characters in general. Atsumu “may be pretty cocky at times, and overwhelm his teammates with his thirst for victory, but he treats his spikers with more sincerity and selflessness than anyone else.” He may be overbearing and an asshole at times, but his love for the sport and the art of being a setter is second to none. On the other hand, there’s Kageyama who’s so damn cool with his one-liners. Kageyama’s passion and drive to win may blind him to his surroundings and teammates but he truly believes that the setter is the one who clears the path for their spikers. When their spikers feel cornered and the walls are closing in, it is the setter who “cuts through the wall that looms” ahead. The old Kageyama who was a prisoner to speed is no longer, and his growth as a player brings me to tears every time.  5. “Someone once asked me, ‘Do you ever feel bitter over the fact that you’re not a regular on the team, and amongst your juniors there’s a genius to boot?’ I never understood the exact definition of what it was to be a genius to begin with, but upon hearing the question, I understood the general gist of what they were getting at.  Every so often there will be someone who thinks that ‘people like Atsumu’ were ‘good’ from the get-go. But the thing is, if I practiced something from 1-10 every day, then people like Atsumu would have done it from 1-20. Or, they would have done the same 10 but in a more efficient or concentrated manner. They might also ask ‘Instead of doing it 1-10, how about I tried it from A-Z, what would happen then? Now doesn’t that sound interesting?’  They’re the kind of people who think about stuff like that. Even if they fail, even if they are hated and get ostracised by others, no matter whether they’re right or they’re wrong, even if they subvert something the rest of us hold in high regard, they’re the kind of people who can’t sit still without giving it a go. Even if they start coughing up blood from their lungs, they’re the kind of people who want to keep on running, no matter what.  There’s going to be a lot of people in this world who make you go ‘Wow, I’ll never be able to defeat them,’ and it’s only natural that you think they’re amazing people. I think that to be able to keep charging ahead is a talent in and of itself. You can call people like them whatever you like, the term ‘genius’ isn’t exactly an insult. That said, to think they were ‘good from the get go’ is to condemn yourself to a predetermined defeat without even playing a match against them, and I also think it’s very rude.”  This quote, hands down, is one of my favorite quotes of all time. It is not genius or natural talent that makes individuals truly great, but it is grit. Without a doubt, people are not born equal. There will always be someone with more innate talent or latent capabilities. We all begin at different starting lines. But those who truly stand out are those who go the extra mile, like those dubbed to be the Monster Generation (Kageyama, Atsumu, Hinata, Bokuto, Ushijima, Oikawa, etc.). To others they may seem like natural prodigies but behind their flawless technique and precise ball control lies countless hours of training. They trained harder than anyone else, sacrificed in order to hone their abilities, and ran farther than the rest of the pack. They’re the type to fixate on what lies before them without much regard to anything else.They eat, sleep, breathe, and live volleyball with every waking second. They’re always trying new things (Atsumu pulling off the freak duo quick in the middle of the Inarizaki match) and continually looking for ways to improve (“But the thing is, if I practiced something from 1-10 every day, then people like Atsumu would have done it from 1-20. Or, they would have done the same 10 but in a more efficient or concentrated manner. They might also ask ‘Instead of doing it 1-10, how about I tried it from A-Z, what would happen then? Now doesn’t that sound interesting?’ They’re the kind of people who think about stuff like that”; Kageyama keeping a volleyball journal). It is not what they were born with that makes them great; it is their overwhelming desire to win.  6. “‘Yesterday’ has already disappeared behind us. Many, many yesterdays have become a part of our muscles. What shall we do, today?” This quote, chills. There’s no point ruminating about the past or what has already passed; you can’t change it. (In retrospect, I wish I included another quote from Inarizaki in this panel: “One time is enough. We rise to the challenges of today.”) You learn from the mistakes of yesterday and use them as stepping stones for tomorrow. I wish I could eloquently phrase how much I love this quote or my interpretation of it but alas, my writing is fancy Garbage.  7. “But if… just if… that moment comes for you, that will be the moment you really get hooked on volleyball.” If you didn’t get chills when Tsukishima blocks Ushijima, I have no words for you. Tsukishima-it’s-just-a-club Kei, Tsukishima-I’m-the-normal-guy Kei — Tsukishima Kei, who always underestimates his own capabilities and relies on what he can see in front of him, blocking the Ushijima Wakatoshi, one of the top three high school aces nationally. The character development from someone who did the bare minimum (as noted by other players/coaches at one of the training camps) to someone who finally had their moment to get hooked on volleyball is one of my favorite progressions of all time. Seeing him fall in love with volleyball gradually and then all at once is truly heartwarming and beautiful to witness.  8. “No matter what other people may say, we are the protagonists of the world.” This quote is incredibly empowering to me. Even if your days consist of mundane activities, you are the protagonist of your own story every day. You may not be the main character in a shounen manga or an adolescent seeking to usurp the government in a dystopian novel, but this is your story. No one can tell it like you do and no one can replicate your story. It is yours and yours only.  And that concludes my Haikyuu word vomit! I really do wish I could have properly conveyed my pure adoration and love for this series better. I truly do love Haikyuu so very, very much. It will always have a special place in my heart and I will never forget the memories and lessons it has taught me! Thank you, Furudate-sensei, for such a beautiful story. And thank you Haikyuu, for everything. For all the losses and victories we shared. For all the smiles and laughter, and for all the tears we shed. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. 

[syrupness]

Hurt/Comfort Ex 2022 Letter

Thank you so much for making a gift for me!

I would prefer close to canon-compliant characterisation, especially for the Watership Down requests. As for those pesky plot-idea additional tags, well I have chosen to be very open and let you choose a path you are happy with.  

Super Special Number 1 likes:

Banter

Tenderness/Gentle moments

Definitely Do Not Wants:

Alzheimer’s/Dementia

Emetophilia/Vomit

Daddy Kink

An additional thing that isn’t really a DNW, because it is okay if handled carefully, but is not one of my favourites: victims being comforted by their abusers.  Of course some of my requests can certainly lean in that direction, but I would prefer if you don’t make that point the centre of the fic. 

Fandom Specifics:

Fandom: Watership Down #1

Relationship(s): Fiver & Hazel (hurt Fiver), Bigwig & Pipkin (hurt either), Hazel/Hyzenthlay (hurt Hazel), El-ahrairah & Frith (hurt El-ahrairah)

😭

Going to be honest here, if you choose either Watership Down request you will have already aced the hurt part of Hurt/Comfort for me. Feel free to use the vocabulary of the book and the Lapine names of the characters (In case you don’t know what I am talking about). 

Because I want the characters to be rabbits as per canon representation many of the additional tags would need adapting -like ‘Collapsing on character's doorstep’ can be changed to ‘Collapsing into character’s den’-  but don’t feel you have to find inspiration in the tagset for this. Let your mind run wild.

I have all the soundtracks so if you want you can indicate when to start playing certain songs -or I’ll probably just have Bright Eyes on repeat as I read and weep.

If you art for this request please no gore. Some blood is okay but no viscera or fatal wounds.

Do Not Wants: Major Character Death Gore Species Change, including Anthro beyond canon levels (Keep them bunnies bunnies!)

Fandom: Watership Down #2

Relationship(s): Black Rabbit of Inle & Pipkin (hurt Pipkin), Black Rabbit of Inle & Campion (hurt Campion)

😭😭

I like the idea of The Black Rabbit coming to relieve them of their pain and reward them for a full life, though you could also go for the Black Rabbit being a hallucination or the Black Rabbit leading another character to come and help Campion or Pipkin, but really anything you write will have me crying so bad. 

If you art for this request I would love if you capture some of Pipkin or Campion’s personality. Prepare yourself for incoherent rambling comments typed blindly.

Do Not Wants: Species Change, including Anthro beyond canon levels (Keep them bunnies bunnies!)

Fandom: Split

Relationship(s): Casey Cooke & Luke (hurt Casey), The Beast/Casey Cooke (hurt either), Casey Cooke/Kevin Wendel Crumb (hurt Casey), Casey Cooke/Dennis (hurt Dennis), Casey Cooke & The Horde (hurt Casey)Casey Cooke & Kevin Wendell Crumb (both hurt), Casey Cooke & Hedwig (hurt Hedwig)

I am really open to anything except my DNWs for this fandom. I would love to read any additional tag from the tagset or anything that pops into your head as well as feel free to explore any AU you want. Canon is quite dark (yet weirdly amusing) so I'm happy if you want to drop these character into another scenario/AU that works better for what you like to write about.

Tender!Beast is always appreciated, even if he just cameos in a fic for another relationship.

Do Not Wants: Underage or dubcon/noncon for shipfics (referencing canon events is fine) Alzheimer's/Dementia

Fandom: Он – дракон | I Am Dragon

Relationship(s): Arman/Miroslava (hurt either or both)

I put a bunch of optional tags for this request so you could have some ideas (I realise I may have been unhelpful by not giving any guidance with my other requests, oops!) but don’t feel you have to do one of these. 

Arman spends part of his life as a Dragon, so feel free to use Arman the human or the dragon in your fic. You can set the fic at the beginning of their story where Mira starts to care for Arman and fears the Dragon, or you can set it at a point where Mira and the Dragon respect each other, or you can make up an in-between scene where it is a bit of both....or you know, completely ignore the dragon all together. 

Do Not Wants: Noncon/violent rape Major Character Death

Fandom: The Endless

Relationship(s): Hal/Tim (hurt Hal), Justin/Hal (both hurt), Aaron/Justin (hurt Justin), Aaron/Anna (hurt Anna), Aaron & Justin (hurt Aaron), Aaron & Hal (hurt Aaron)

The canon is so fascinating it would be amazing if you could keep it close to canon. Time loops that end in death give lots of opportunities for fatal injuries and mercy kills that then reset and everyone is alive again. Traumatised but alive.

Obviously, darkfic is a-okay for this request but you don’t have to be killing characters for the hurt. The canon is very understated but there is lots of emotional and psychological pain that must be going on. There is probably all sorts of kinky and weird stuff going on behind closed doors and in the bushes of Camp Arcadia!

Do Not Wants: Noncon/violent rape Alzheimer's/Dementia Emetophilia/Vomit Mommy/Daddy Kink

[adiarosefandoms]

Asexual Awareness Week

The LGBTQIA+ community is one who historically has little representation. Luckily people have been working to fix that, spreading their stories online as well as artists including characters with different sexualities in books, movies, tv shows and music. But not all groups are getting good representation. While the G in LGBTQ+ is fairly easy to find in pop culture now a days (not that I am saying their shouldn’t be more as there definitely should be a steady influx), the other letters in the sexuality spectrum are in dire need of attention.

To me it’s always seemed like asexual is the one that gets mentioned the least. The one you can’t really find celebrities or fictional characters that identify as such. This is really a shame to me because I myself identify as asexual and I hadn’t even heard the word till at most early 2020.

The only character I’ve ever seen who is asexual is Raphael on Freeform’s Shadowhunters (which is a show you have to watch), and the Shadowhunters book series as in Red Scrolls Raphael says he’s just not interested in sex.

When I started doing the Today in Fandom History thing that now dominates this tumblr I focused myself on finding publication dates for the books in my bookshelf, movie releases, and musicians birthdates/performances/deaths. After finding that there were so many days and weeks, even months, dedicated to certain things I looked for ones that centered around things I experience such as mental illness. It took a very specific search for me to be able to find asexual awareness week, but now that I have, I’m not letting it go by unnoticed.

There is this strange disbelief that comes with asexuality, like people who identify as such can’t exist. Like a sexual drive is one of the key factors that makes us human beings and so those who say they’re asexual are either lying or just don’t know better, but that is not how it works. If you haven’t been educated on asexuality, even if you know your not asexual, please just look it up. If not so you can understand yourself better, than so maybe you can understand somebody else better. We need to talk about asexuality more, at least so that young people know it’s a thing that exists. I heard about every other form of sexual identification before I heard about being ace, and the moment I did I dug up information because it just made sense to me. It made more sense than any of the alternatives I had heard. And it felt so good to find a word for it.

Educate yourself, educate others, spread the word. Happy asexual awareness week!

Information on Asexuality:

https://www.asexuality.org/

https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/219975-im-not-asexual-but/

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/12/asexual-heres-asexual-spectrum-asexual-quiz-everything-else-youre-curious/

[ae0nx]

FRUITS BASKET S2 EPISODE 9 RECAP AKA THE KYORU CHRONICLES PART I

Look... I’m gonna be honest. I wasn’t really in the mood to do a Fruits Basket recap this week. The world’s always a mess but this time it was definitely a personal attack and I’m still dealing with it but this episode was a needed mental break. A bit triggering at times... but it was golden.

Let’s goooo...

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

Lol, I love how the creators right out the gate were just like: “Look... you know what time it is...” 🤡😺

- I love Kyo in that green jacket, I don’t even know why 😂It definitely fits in well with the autumnal scene and his hair... He gets outfit appreciation this week again for the same outfit... just because.

HEART EYES, MOTHERFUCKER

*grooves to the opening song like an AC character*

- Tohru’s so happy that Kyo was invited that she’s in tears? On one hand... SO sweet! On the other hand... girl. 😩

Another adored moment between these two. Even though this episode is all about Kyo’s feelings for Tohru. I adore seeing how easy things are between him and Tohru now. At allll timesss. Gimme bucket loads of kyoru content, mannnn

Even though I’m still frustrated at these kids fighting each other, I really appreciate that this moment (and even previous episodes) has shown that Yuki has slowly been figuring out how to play the game of appeasing Akito but also trying to figure out how he can be better and stronger and more clever than the shitty situation that he’s been given. The walls are crumbling, indeed... Yuki wins Best Boi this week. I would’ve given it to Kyo but I lowkey give it to him every week so...

Tee hee... 😺✨💖

...Right, I genuinely don’t know what to say on an emotional front about the Akito and Kyo scene besides “this moment is gross and awful and Akito is a terrible, disgusting, manipulative person” so I’m just gonna talk about my appreciation for how the scene was displayed and edited.

That anime fish eye lens used for intense situations? Classic.

I really did like the flashback scene though. It starts when we see Kyo literally physically threatening Akito and yet Akito through words alone bests him... easily. The colour toning is great, it gives a slightly underwater feel which just increases the suffocating feeling. The way the scene flips from this scene to present day showing how Kyo, despite the time gap and despite all the personal developments, is still in Akito’s suffocating and entrapped position. 

I love how inhuman the designers and animators make Akito through their movements and body poses. I’ve gone into it before but I thought it was worth saying again-again.

HEARTBREAKING. But, this is some visually stunning content. I love this full on visual representation of Akito’s curse. Seeing how different it is from the other zodiac members (obviously) but also how it could be interpreted as a metaphor for how tied Kyo is to his fate in his position in the zodiac. The stuff of nightmares! Chilling!

- Kyo saying ‘please, stop’ broke. my. heart. Yuma Uchida, as always, was great. I love how different he sounded when he said that. So hurt and weak, it’s almost alien for Kyo...

- Dickheadedness aside... I really find Akito’s view on perfection being monstrous an interesting viewpoint... (even if they are mostly saying it just so they can have the upper hand)

THIS IS THE MOMENT, GUYS...

I ACTUALLY SQUEALED. 😍It hurts so goood....

- I’m glad that Momiji’s question from ‘The Foolish Traveller’ moment was brought back again to bring a full circle as to how Kyo felt about Tohru. Such a great throwback.

- But wow, Kyo having to say he hates Tohru to protect her from Akito. Aka the ONLY MEMBER OF THE ZODIAC WHO DENIED THEIR LOVE FOR ANOTHER PERSON TO PROTECT THEM, CAN I JUST SAY. Golden. Heartbreaking. Kyoru.

- STOP HITTING, KYO!!!

Not so much of a comment on what was said in this scene but more so the position of Kyo’s body. I’m sorry, I’ve turned into one of those yoga heads right now and there’s no going back. 

I noticed his position is somewhat between a ‘child’s pose’ and one of the variations of a ‘cat-cow pose’. Child’s pose is known for showing vulnerability and surrender. And the cat side of the cat-cow pose is known for tensing everything up for eventual release into cow pose (as well as it easing out your spine). Also known as by cats... getting ready for attack.

I feel like this winds back to what I was observing about Yuki earlier in which he’s pretty much playing the game that Akito has set up but he’s approaching it in a smarter more clever way. And I think through this visual representation, it shows Kyo is doing the same. 

I wouldn’t say that both Kyo and Yuki are at the point where they feel they are worthy of happiness and believe in themselves and are ready to tear the wall down but you can see... they’re kinda getting ready to do so... whether they’ve noticed or not.

Lol. Ohhhhh, the times that we’re in...

- Yuki and Kyo working weirdly in sync is always my favourite <3

Oh... kid... 💔 All of Kyo’s thoughts of whether he deserves to live and questioning why he keeps going on is... a lot... to say the least...

- I do really love the way Kazuma’s VA delivered the speech of how hope will always bloom again even if you crush it. Toshiyuki Morikawa pretty much nailed how Kazuma would say it in a frank and stern way but also making it seem gentle enough to accept as advice. We stan.

Also, this!!!! 👆🏾

KYOKOOOOOOO 😭(I envy anime only fans sooooooo bad rn, hee hee heeeee)

At first, I didn’t really love the fact that Kyo and Yuki knew (or knew of) Tohru before the beginning of the Fruits Basket story as it kinda ties into my disdain for the ‘tied together by fate’ plot line. But as time goes by, I can’t help but just be swayed by how cute the younger versions of the trio are and the uwu feels. Whatever... it cute. For the most part anyway...

I was literally hitting my chair arms by how frustratingly bittersweet this last scene was. Kyo’s ‘I’m putting up a happy front so the love of my life doesn’t worry’ face?! <3

Tohru’s genuine happiness to see Kyo?! <33

<333!!!! Look, I was already dead by this point but THEN

👀... 

AND THENNNNNN

💔🤬

BUT THENNNN!!!!

Like what am I meant to do with my heart at this point, dude? Do I mend it? Do I guard it? Like... what?!?!

That was a hell of a last few minutes. I love this episode.

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

This was really fun! A great way to take my mind off current things. It wasn’t all smiles but it showed pretty much how a glimmer of hope is enough to keep going and that’s exactly what I needed to hear this week and probably for the rest of my life :) 

Hope you are all keeping mentally as well as physically well and #blacklivesmatter. ALWAYS. 💜

See you next week!

[atalana]

I understand that your only source of representation is through Jughead, so how do you feel about people who ship him with other characters? Would you want them to stop?

i mean in an ideal world? absolutely yes

that said, i'm well aware i can't control much about the world outside of my own personal bubble, and people who ship jughead with other characters but stick to their own space aren't the biggest problem here? i'm not gonna go on a crusade to tear down any sectors of the archie and/or riverdale fandom with jughead ships, because honestly that sounds way too tiring and like, i'm sure i have things that i like to think and write about that other people would find infuriating, i don't wanna be a hypocrite and insist my way of doing fandom is the only way to do fandom

and the same goes for other fictional characters that are strongly implied to be aro/ace but 95% of the fandom has ships with them in, it gets on my nerves, but it isn't majorly harmful

the biggest problem, honestly, when it comes to jughead specifically, is riverdale, for bringing archie comics back into the public consciousness and pretending to be supportive of lgbt+ rights, and then at the same time erasing jughead's canon sexuality. like, this has been less of a problem in recent years bc from what i've seen the show has made a fool of itself in lots of other ways? but for people who do still watch it, just remember, no matter how many gay characters they include, they do not support this community. they include gay characters because it's become socially acceptable to include one or two and pretend like you're a paragon of representation. they're not. they're cowards who do not care about us

but when it comes to fandom, here's what is a problem when dealing with aro/ace representation, and things i'd like all fandoms to work on:

stop assuming that everyone needs sex or romance to be complete, stop assuming that any kind of positive relationship between two non-related characters must be romantic. like please. im so tired. people exist in this world who would be actively worse off in any romantic/sexual relationship, even a loving one, than they would be on their own. acknowledge these people exist, and maybe, just maybe, consider them in your sexuality headcanoning. (do you know how much it hurts to see someone make a sexuality headcanon page of a fandom with like 20+ characters and all of them are gay bi or pan? like representation for all of those are great as well, you should include them, but don't do so at the cost of excluding us. if your only reasoning behind headcanoning a character as bi is "they have Bi Vibes and I Want To", why is it so hard to make one or two of them ace or aro or both?)

people who have no interest in the opposite gender are both gay and aro/ace coded. it's something i've found constantly, whenever even a hint of aro/ace representation shows up, there's gonna be a very loud section of the fandom who insists they can't be aro/ace because they're gay coded, and making them aro/ace would deny representation. these people's only argument? they showed no interest in the opposite (binary) gender. guess what guys! that can be both! and insisting it's only gay is honestly aphobic as fuck and you will instantly lose my respect

same goes for characters who in canon show no interest in anyone at all. you'd think this would be a stronger argument for them being aro/ace than for them being gay, but not for these people! and like, this isn't me saying gay people can't relate to characters, of course do what makes you feel better, but i'm just asking for you to make space for us and acknowledge we're here. let the people with aro/ace headcanons feel just as acknowledged and validated as the people with gay headcanons, instead of shunned and like no one wants them around

(i still lose followers any time i make an aro/ace positive post. which honestly only makes me more incentivised to keep doing it. i'm here i'm queer and i'm not going anywhere, the hill i've chosen to die on is protecting younger aro/ace people and fighting for their rights and good luck knocking me down)

this does include the archie fandom, by the way. i'm assuming you sent this because you saw my post from 3-4 years ago about jughead being canonically aro/ace? well, there are plenty of people who angrily told me that jughead, a character explicitly said in the text to be aro/ace, was gay coded and i was being homophobic. like fucking stop it.

if you're genuinely interested in being a good ally to aro/ace people, and i really do appreciate that you've asked this!! here's a few things you (and the fandom at large) can do:

make space for aro/ace people in your headcanons, even if you're not aro/ace yourself. honestly, while this is a personal opinion, i don't even mind if your understanding of what being aro/ace is is slightly wrong? i mean if you wanna explore that in depth, doing research is better than not doing research (my ask box is always open), but i'm just happy to see anyone be inclusive, those people are the good people in my book

make space for aro/ace people in your jokes and memes. we like to have fun too! i'm still never really gonna get over the gay alignment chart meme, like... they had two separate squares for gay and lesbian, one for bi/pan, and none for aro or ace. that pretty much sums up everything wrong with representation at the moment. if you had to stick to three for the sake of the meme template, gay/lesbian, bi/pan, and aro/ace would have been much fairer. and yeah it's just a meme but like... we shouldn't only be on people's minds when things are serious

stop making all your aro/ace headcanons jokes. don't headcanon horrible real life people as aro/ace. be careful that your aro/ace headcanons aren't entirely children or robots. like, you can headcanon those characters as aro/ace, but if you're exclusively doing that, you're not really seeing us as people

(i have... complicated thoughts about spongebob apparently being canonically aro/ace. but i wouldn't hold that up as the pinnacle of representation)

(also despite many assholes' insistence to the contrary, being aro/ace isn't an 18+ identity. if a 12 year old can be gay a 12 year old can be aroace. they may not have discovered the sexual part yet but they can still know the romantic part. every sexuality goes through this same persecution why are even gay people still passing it down)

aro/ace people can be happy, well adjusted, non traumatised adults! many of us are! go make some headcanons of that!

while just aro or just ace people definitely do exist, and you can headcanon characters as such, some of us don't split those labels (i just use aroace for myself bc it's one thing, like how bisexual and biromantic people just go by bi). make sure you have some aro/ace people in the mix there, and you're not falling into the pitfall of using our identities only to make Gay Lite(TM)

don't let people walk all over us. we had a really thriving community back in 2013, and then the exclusionists came in and completely wiped it out. i saw it happen. they've faded into the background but only because 90% of aro/ace people are now scared to speak up on their own behalf. encourage aro/ace people to share their experiences if they want to, encourage aro/ace headcanons where you see them, make sure your fandom is a space where aro/ace people want to be. and if you see people being exclusionists (laughing at aro/ace people like they're cringy, pretending like aro/ace people are stealing non existent resources from gay people, or calling aro/ace people homophobic for existing are big weapons of the exclusionists), don't pretend it's just an argument or "discourse", let them know they don't belong. we can only fight so hard on our own behalf, we're a community for a reason. we're in this together

research, read, and most importantly, have fun with it. that's what fandom's for. if the only way you get enjoyment out of characters is by putting them in ships, try exploring a different, non romantic angle, and see what happens. encourage different forms of relationships. encourage aro/ace characters who are happy and secure in their own identity. encourage aro/ace characters having the same emotions as everyone else, just without the being attracted to people part. we're cool people! and ultimately, ship what you want. but just remember we're here, we're desperately in need of representation, and we can't make that happen on our own

[bethd0456]

hellooo lovely! i loved reading your response to my last ask - apparently tumblr is messing up my asks bc a lot of them haven’t been going through :( but let’s hope this one does! i’ve been seeing that you watch cherry magic, and it’s one of my favourite shows at the moment!! 💘 who’s your favourite character? mine is kurosawa personally, i relate so much to him and his gayness. also udon chan, the cutest little cat! what did you think of the last ep, wasn’t it so cute!!! (1/2)

i hope you’re doing well!!! i also wanted to ask what your favourite shows and ships are! i already have a vague idea formulating just by browsing through your blog and over our shared love of cherry magic, but i’d looove to hear your thoughts and your favourites!! wishing you the bestest day! 💘 - your secret santa (2/2)

Hiiiii!!!! I hope life is treating you well!

Omg I'm so glad you enjoyed reading it! I hope you're ready for this MASSIVE answer and you don't get too bored reading this one!

CHERRY MAGIC!!!!!! It instantly became a comfort show for me, as it did for many others!

ADACHIADACHIADACHIADACHI. Adachi is 100% my fave. I never fully understood what a comfort character was. I was like, "yeah! I love Tine also!" But. Adachi is the definition of comfort for me. I see so much of myself in him! Everyone sees him and is like "babie. Must protecc." And honestly? Me too. How can one character be so damn CUTE??!?!? One of my favourite moments is him seeing Kurosawa after the almost-kiss. He just like, sees him, and gets so panicked 🥺 the way his arms just flail about makes me smile like an idiot.

But like, on a deeper level, this drama makes me believe I'm worthy of love. The idea that someone like Kurosawa could be THAT infatuated with you, even though you're an awkward virgin lmao. The point of watching these dramas is to get lost in a story, right? See a situation you want so badly but you know will never realistically happen? The entire premise of the show is just really enticing to me. I am Adachi, Adachi is me. Also, the thing he said in ep6 about not having a clear dream in life? Yeah. I felt that. I'm so envious of people who have passions they work so hard for, it gives them a form of purpose. Like Adachi, sometimes I feel like I'm living in a "daze". I feel like I don't really have any specific passions or skills that I want to develop into a career. Sometimes I just wish I had ambition. Adachi makes me feel so seen and like I'm not the only person who feels like this. The kinds of characters that usually make good protagonists are characters with a clear goal/passion. In most shows this obviously really works, but I can never relate to them personally. It's really special for me to see a character who's similar to me in this way.

Kurosawa is such an amazing character too!!!!! His gay little heart 🥺 on another level, he's just so?? Respectful??? 7. YEARS. 7 years of pining and he holds himself back so well!! He's been waiting for this relationship for so long but is so patient, willing to take things slowly for Adachi. He flirts shamelessly (as he should) but never to the point where Adachi was too uncomfortable.

He cares so much about Adachi :(. But also, even before he liked Adachi, he could tell he was uncomfortable with the drinking thing, so he DOWNED the wine lmao. Clearly he's just a lovely person all round who's really socially aware.

As for other characters:

• Udon my baby!!!! The cutest cat ever!! I love animals sm :(((

• Tsuge's chaotic energy is iconic

• Minato a lovely little dance machine :))

• Rokaku deserves the world, my excitable kiss interruptor :(((

• Fujisaki my love! She's so soft and cute!! Also ace coded how iconic

I ADORED ep8!!! I LIVE for established Adasawa! Adachi coming out to Tsuge :((( I'm so proud of Adachi coming to terms with his feelings and being confident enough to share his relationship with his closest friend. Coming out is not easy and he did so well 🥺

Adachi and Tsuge are so useless bless them 😂 Kurosawa really said "well I guess I have to take these two socially awkward disasters under my wing." Adachi and Tsuge are such a chaotic duo, I love that they can communicate just by touching each other, and omg when Kurosawa said his name Tsuge was "wait maybe I know everything about you already" and if that isn't friendship idk what is

Also Kurosawa making up a poem in his head about Adachi???? Peak romance. Also iconic. I'M A SUCKER FOR HAND HOLDING SCENES SO I DIED. "I like him. I like him. I like him!!" HOW CUTE CAN YOU GET FJKHDSHSKSK

I also got another arm flailing moment when Kurosawa almost got the wrong idea about Adachi and Tsuge!! CAN ADACHI STOP BEING SO CUTE MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT. How on earth his boyfriend is still alive I have no idea.

There are so many other shows and ships I love. I feel like I'll probably miss some, but here we go. These aren't rankings at all, just like, lists lol.

Show list:

1. 2gether

This show means so much to me. It was the first time I watched a bl week by week and it made it so much more special?? I valued scenes so much more than when I binge shows and they would like, look at each other and I'd have a heart attack. They made the first part of my quarantine bearable bc I always had something to look forward to every Friday. I actually really enjoyed quarantine overall as an introvert (not to be insensitive about the literal deaths the pandemic has caused), but I really enjoyed constantly thinking about how long it was until Friday. I'm massively emotionally attached to all of the characters in this show you have no idea. Every single one. The found family of it all,, the way all of the characters have relationships. Still2gether did a phenomenal job of showcasing all of the unexpected but very welcome dynamics and relationships, platonic and romantic alike. I could blabber about this show for so long I'll spare u for now

2. YYY

Is it well written? No. Did I enjoy it anyway?? You know it! I told you how much I love the found family trope. UGH. THIS FAMILY. Also, seeing the feminine side of the LGBT+ community represented positively warmed my heart. There needs to be more bls that do that! Celebrate femininity!! There's nothing wrong with being camp as fuck! It's so much fun!!! This show made me so happy :))

3. Start up

I'm currently obsessed. It's my first Kdrama and holy shit this is what the hype is about. The budget!! The acting! Top notch. On a sad note I really wish bls got that much funding behind them. My heart aches for a complicated story with fully developed characters and plotlines, that just happens to have a gay main couple/character. Wishful thinking for now at least. Anyways, I'm massively emotionally attached to Halmeoni and Jipyeong. Team Jipyeong all the way (even tho Dalmi's obviously gonna end up with Dosan, and I'm happy for them!). All I need is a happy ending for my darling Jipyeong. Please give him one. Also, if anything happens to Halmeoni I will WEEP.

4. Cherry magic is obviously here but I've ranted about that enough already 😂

5. 3 will be free

I would never have expected gmm to make a series like this! But they went and did THAT. Wild. It was such a healthy representation of a poly relationship. The themes of feminism were so well handled and powerful, the chemistry was off the CHARTS, I was hooked from start to finish! Time for a rewatch? I think so.

6. Feel good

Not an Asian drama, but still gay as FUCK. It's written by my wife Mae Martin who also stars in it, and I have to say, it blew me away. Story time!! My friend irl recommended it to me without saying it was Mae, so I was like "okay sure I'll put it on my to watch list I guess" without much motivation to watch it. But as soon as I found out it was Mae I watched it and I've never looked back lol. Once I finished I sent my friend a splurge of messages about my feelings. The series touches on issues like addiction, sexuality and gender. "I'm not a boy. I'm not even a girl. I'm like a failed version of both." That shit HURT.

There's a scene near the end which has really stayed with me. So Mae's character is a comedian and she does a set making jokes about the stuff that happened in the series and oh my GOD. The way I CRIED. It made me realise that people who make jokes about their experiences are using humour as a coping mechanism and when people say "Haha I have daddy issues isn't it funny" we have to remember to be respectful. It's never okay to make jokes about someone else's trauma. Don't make a big deal of it but just don't be a dick.

Anyways I could go on but would 100% recommend this series!

7. HIStory 2 crossing the line

My first bl! This series is the reason I'm so obsessed with bl lmao. The main couple are so soft :( this little series will always hold a special place in my heart!

8. Sotus

My first gmm series, we've come a long way. I miss Kong and Arthit :(

9. Dark blue kiss

Such a brilliant series. I trust P'Aof (director) with my life. This series touches on issues that are so important and deserve to be talked about so much more in bls. This is what happens when you let LGBT people tell LGBT stories! They do it with such care and love!! One of my favourite lines is "I may like men, but I'll never like your brother." One of my biggest let peeves is "I don't like men, I only like x." Like, I get the business behind it, they don't want to make the character gay to make them available for girls to fantasise about. Which is disgusting. But Mork really said "no. ❤" and I LOVE IT.

10. The shipper

I could go on and on about how underrated I think this series is. This series took over from 2gether on Fridays, and while I didn't think about this series constantly like I did with 2gether, this series made my quarantine brighter. Fridays meant I was gonna laugh at least once and forget about life just for a short while. The humour in this series is so fucking dumb lmao, but I'm here for it.

I've seen people talk about the shipper as a bl but I disagree. I think it's better described as a series with bl aspects. The main themes are friendship, family, dealing with loss, respecting boundaries of people you admire, and one of the main messages is about making sure the people close to you know how much they mean to you. Don't get me wrong, the majority of the series is over the top humour, but by the end of it I was personally really attached to the characters and their feelings. Overall I really enjoyed this series but I don't see anyone properly talk about it :(

11. Gaya sa pelikula

A series made by gay people for gay people. Shows like this are so important. This show really healed my soul with how brilliant the representation was :(( "remember we talked about microagressions" the way that means Vlad is constantly educating Karl about LGBT stuff, UGH. SO GOOD. Also this show has the most realistic representation of a crush I've ever seen lmao, soft Vlad is the best Vlad.

12. My engineer

My happy little Saturday show :( I miss the shit writing, shit acting and soft story of this series so much. I'm so fond of this series, I watched it after the horrible ep12 of 2gether and it really made me happy. I'm looking forward to season 2, but Ramking's novel goes DOWNHILL from here on. I know tricreation wouldn't allow the final chapter's scenes, but the entire story is so problematic and unenjoyable :(. The only valid scene is King's coming out scene but that's literally it. And the collar scene can stay lmao.

13. Oxygen

Another soft saturday series! I love this series so much, all of the couples are so bloody healthy and it makes me so happy. The communication is amazing!! THIS is how you show healthy relationships!!!

14. The gifted

S1 was so amazing!! I loved all of it! The only part of s2 we'll talk about is timegracethird. Time best boy!! Grace a feminist queen! When future Grace said they would be friends for a long time that made me so happy :(( also pangwave canon

15. Until we meet again

So I talked about the healthy relationships in oxygen. But uwma really showed the healthiest relationship ever. DeanPharm are just the softest little humans :( I would die for Pharm. He's the closest I got to a comfort character before Adachi. I just have to PROTECT HIM. My motherly instincts really kick in when I see him lmao.

The storyline of this series is just breathtaking. And the ending? I don't think I've ever cried that much. At all. It was so fucking beautiful 🥺

16. My gear and your gown

I really liked this show! Honestly I don't think I'll ever rewatch it but I definitely enjoyed it. The way Pai just seemed to breathe freely for the first time when his parents accepted his sexuality :(((( my baby :( also purefolk were brilliant

Ship list:

1. Saratine

These two are the definition of romance. They mean the fucking world to me. The fact that their story is apparently gonna be continued in some form makes me so. So. Happy. I cannot begin to describe it. My bet is on a special episode and ugh I'm so EXCITED.

2. Aini

Thonhonchonlatee in general is enjoyable but I don't like Thon at all. It's such a shame bc I was so excited for Khaotung and Podd to be in a series together :((. BUT. Aini have grabbed my heart. I knew they would bc miketap are brilliant, but wow. They're so gay my little babies :( miketap are just so natural and comfortable to watch. I love their chemistry so muuuuuuch

3. Sunmork

Coffee boyfriends :( I miss them so bloody much

4. Ramking

One of my fave ships. As I mentioned, I'm apprehensive about s2, but s1 ramking is such a beautiful story. It's just about 2 boys falling in love, no complications. Plant boy who's afraid of dogs falls in love with quiet boy who loves dogs but is afraid of children. Iconic. Also chemistry outsold, I THINK ABOUT THE KISS CONSTANTLY. When I mentioned the acting is shit in this series (shit is harsh, I mean awkward), I did not mean Perth and Lay in the slightest. They really nailed their roles and I loved it.

5. Professor Layton x Claire

You 100% won't get this reference but I grew up with the Professor Layton games and holy shit do they hold up. They're so amazingly written with beautiful stories and the most lovable characters in the world. Layton's intellect, loving nature and surprising athleticism are admirable. Adachi is the character I relate to most, but if I was gonna choose a character to comfort me irl, Layton's your man. His voice is so comforting by nature. I'm blabbering at this point but the point is him and Claire are the only het pairing that matters.

These are just the ships that I felt should be separate from their shows. I love all of the ships from the shows I mentioned.

Oof this got horrifically long, I haven't had a proper chance to rant about most of these shows so I really let it out lol. I hope you've watched at least some of these shows and I didn't just rant to u about 12 shows you've never heard of 😂

I hope you have a wonderful day love!!!!

[chibiclem]

The Ace of Hearts and his Jack

" Feliciano never expected the situation to be this complicated... For the Jack of Heart to have been dispatched far from his King and Queen it was an event, but to even have sent him to the border of the No Man's Land, the Joker's territory....By The embodiment of Heart! He really knew something had been off . But what exactly.... Even Kiku..-well I mean his Highness- who was the one to give the alert about strange phenomenons couldn't tell him exactly what he was supposed to find. And even Gilbert the Joker who often came to tease his King would only smile widly at the question, exposing his sharp teeth, and say something like " Kesese !! It's so exciting and awesome you will see!! It's something long forgotten but that will awaken to furfill it's purpose once more! But I can't tell you more, you will have to find out by yourself!" The Heck was that seriously?! It was hella scary now!! Don't get him wrong, Gilbert was mostly friendly to the Heart's hierarchy in general, but he was a JOKER, a malicious and suspicious being, and thus, couldn't be trust. Nobody knew what he really was, nor the extend of his power...nor his purpose. And after saying such things, he would just vanish in a "pouf!", nowhere to be seen ( like usual), letting the poor Jack having to go check all the things out. At least his Highness told him to be carefull not to go too far behind the border and to retreate if any danger was around, which the Jack was to gladly obliged! Still, he had been scared to the core, being the one being send for one of his first real mission, near the abandonned and scary land where nobody from the 4 kingdom would ever go excepted banished ones! Tales said it was full of monsters, or people that didn't belong to any of the 4 kingdoms .(He prefered the second kind to the first honestly.) He eventually had left with his faithfull horse, Isabella, after a 3-hour lecture about how to call help and flee AT THE LAST TIME by his King, and had ran for 4 days before reaching the borders, gulping at the sight of the devastated landscape and the narrow mountain looking like shark teeth. The checkpoint tower's guardians were really brave, he had though, to be able to stay there. Hearts soldiers were known for their discipline and here was the extreme example of that! Stopping by the tower, the Jack had tried to give a confident vibe and had proposed himself to go on an inspection, alone. He didn't know why he had said that at that moment, maybe because he had always wanted to prove he wasn't useless to Ludwig, but he had regretted it immediatly afterward, when he had started to walk along the borders. Before him had been standing the mountains he had seen earlier, and the sight of a desert, the air being dry and heavy and the sun burning good despite the purple smoke emanating from the floor. "Vee!!!" would he cry out when he though he spotted a movement, or a sound. He really wanted this to be over soon, but he still had to go there. And surprisingly even to him, he did. Shortly enough, he had been surrounded by rocks, but still could see the reassuring tower behind him. After 1h, seeing that nothing was happening and that he couldn't spot anything wrong, he had though about fleeing when he had suddenly realized there was an extra shadow covering him. Just after that, he had heard a soft whistle and had felt the air being moved behind him. At this point, he had hoped for a bird, but when he had turned around what he had found...was the most strange humanoid he had never seen: A blond humanoïd man (or woman? He couldn't tell), wearing some bizarre clothes with a heart printed on it, and with a huge tail also shaped as a Heart, floating by him and looking at him with wide eyes. Wide eyes he had exchanged for long seconds while gasping and holding his lance near him as if it was a ramp to save him from falling. "Vee!!! Don't...don't hurt me please!! I don't taste good!" he had said out of habbit. At that, the blondy had started smiling and  waltzing right and left in the air with excitement, singing musical notes so fast that even the Jack confused spirit came to notice it was like he was trying talking to him. Without much warning he could have understand, the thing was hugging him with strengh, seemingly very happy to see him, whereas the Jack had started screaming. More minutes had been needing for him to fully recover that encounter. When the half-humanoïd floating hazard had let go of him, sniffing him around, he really did start to examinate him. "Ve..you scared me! But what are you exactly? I've never seen such creature before...Oww...nobody will believe me.." How was he gonna explain that? No, was that even real? He couldn't have told at that moment. Besides, he didn't know if it was the thing he was looking for. So what to do? Well, he had asked! "Are you...the one who was supposed to awaken?" To his surprise (not that he wasn't already, but it was pilling up), the humanoid had seemed to understand and waved his head, then ondulated and caressed the Jack's hand with his nose. It was like...a floating giant humanoid cat asking for a hug! Feliciano had patted him back cautiously, allowing himself to relax until he had remembered his mission with a serious dead face. "Sorry buddy...I've to report you to the King and the Queen! But I should still search a little more...Could you stay there for a while ?" He had told the Blondy. Yeah, he really did believe it to stay kindly there, but the night and the day afterward proved him wrong. And here he was right now, straddling back to the castle Isabella with the dragon-thingy flying and playing with his lance, trying to steal hugs here and there or floating around him like he was the sun and him an hyperactive moon. Heck he never actually believed nobody in the tower saw the Blondy before he left. It was like he could dissapear in thin air as soon he tried mentioning him and then come back waking him up in his bedroom, when everybody he had tried to explain what he saw was soundly asleep. At least, it was following him so his highnesses could see him! It was better than what Feliciano hoped! But now he was thinking....what was going on exactly, and if the floating hazard was the thing to awaken...what was his purpose? Was he gonna be scolded by the King once again for bringing it to the castle? Heavy thoughs would accompagny him all during his trip, while the Ace of heart seemed perfectly fine and playfull! Fa Fa Mi Sol, It felt good to be awake!" *** From a serie I will call "Ace awakening", with for setting the Hetalia Cardverse universe and his representation I have of it! *Hearts : For me, Heart is a valiant kingdom, know mostly for his strong army but also hard workers community, which is appreciated among the others kingdoms. However, the" Land of Love and Faith " has some like to call it suffers from a lack of ressources, and are very dependant of the others kingdoms, specially since it is one of the most populated kingdom. Thus, only ties with Clubs (a manufacturing specialized kingdom) are a strong one since a long time, the others really being for necessity and commerce mostly, even if the Queen of Spades and Hearts are quite close together. Poland, Ace of Hearts : “Fé” is the most sociable, expressive and malicious of all the Aces. Like an hyperactive cat,  He likes to give hugs, to eat with the royalties, expressing his joy by singing (he is quite “talkative” ) and waltzing in the air like crazy!  The Kingdom of Hearts in my story is the Kingdom of the mind and spirit : Motivation, Determination (hehe, remind you of something?), Bravery, Valor, etc…As his Queen, he have the power to control bodies and of course, can do it to more than 2 or 3 person! *The royals and their Jack : As a result of these weakness the others could exploit, the King Ludwig has to lead his kingdom with an iron hand and thus has it very strict about many aspect in life, at least in public. He had to for most his life, and if it wasn't for the help of his Queen Kiku and his Jack Feliciano, certanly he could evolve in a scary and cold king that have to keep an appareance even among his own people. However he is quite loved, which is not totally the same with his wife Kiku, a foreigner that was born from Spades parents but that showed the Heart mark. Why would the at-the-time Prince choose a stranger among all the candidates? Well, Ludwig wasn't much for love but he felt Kiku and him where on the same vibes, as they both could be strict with things. And he was right, since they became allies quite fast. Kiku is a secretive Queen, not showing much of his emotions and used to not be liked. He was almost pulled out of his family, magical scientist from Spades, and forced to marry the Heart King. Having a strong will to respect the rules, he still initially held a grudge against the Hearts but then thanks to Feliciano discovered the hidden side of Ludwig, the kind one he never showed, and progressively felt like a part of the family himself, becoming the most precious ally of his husband. Still, even if he was never borned with a Spade symbol, he sometimes crave for his old place. That's how he became friend with Queen Arthur, as they are both quite found of spells and magic! He always though that Spades had the key of all the magic power hidden in each kingdom and behind their marks, and he likes to borrow books to deepen his knowledge about it! Feliciano him was Ludwig's devoted Jack since they were children. The poor one wasn't really good at it (he could be scared of many things and run away without warning!), but only him could make him show his warm side, and thus he kept the honor of his family, working for the Heart Monarchy for generations, intact! Besides, the young brunette was strong as all the citizen of hearts, and some had made a mistake by underestimating him. It's rare, but it's only when he wants to! He has an older brother who's ended up being diamound and they were separated very young. They still saw each other from time to time since Lovino was taken care of by a close friend of Francis, Antonio; but there's still a gap between them... It's probably this missing brother that made Feliciano be so clingy with Ludwig and after Kiku. Like that, the trio has an alchemy that none other Kingdom royalties can relate to. ****

Links to others Cardverse related art: https://chibiclem.tumblr.com/tagged/cardverse

I’m making a test to see if it is better that way than making this in as a picture post!^^

[nicomoviewatchinpsychopath]

Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Review

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: VIDEO GAME BASED MOVIE IS FORMULAIC BUT OFFERS PLENTY OF FAST-PACED FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY AS WELL AS LONGTIME FANS! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

The world’s fastest hedgehog hits the big screen in Sonic the Hedgehog

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND SEGA

The blue blur (or Blue Devil as the movie calls him) makes his big screen debut in Sonic the Hedgehog, based on the beloved Sega video game franchise of the same name. Believe it or not out of all the video game franchises, my favorite is and always will be Sonic the Hedgehog and have been a proud supporter of the hedgehog since childhood.             

Granted, it wasn’t until after Sega became a third-party developer for consoles like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo when I became a fan of the blue hedgehog, but ever since I got my hands on the Nintendo GameCube port of Sonic Adventure 2 as a kid, my Sonic fandom was pretty much instant. I’ve played many of the video games both old and new, watched all the cartoons, read the comic books published by Archie Comics at the time, and I owned several action figures, plushies, and other Sonic merchandise throughout my childhood…in fact I still have most of those even to this day.             

I’ve been clamoring for a Sonic the Hedgehog theatrical movie for years despite video game film adaptations usually being critical and/or box-office poison. But given the popularity of Sonic especially during the 90s when he was rivaling Nintendo’s Mario franchise who already had a theatrical film released in 1993, I’d assume one would have been made back then or at the very least in the early-late 2000s when Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, and Sonic Heroes as well as the hit Saturday morning anime series, Sonic X were released, I was so eager for a Sonic movie that a couple of friends and I got together and made movies of our own when we were kids (They sucked BTW!).             

After years of waiting and Sonic making a few big screen appearances prior in Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph movies and Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, the beloved hedgehog finally gets a movie of his own which leads us to today. The film is directed by newcomer Jeff Fowler in his directorial debut, produced by Neal H. Moritz (Fast & Furious franchise, XXX, 21/22 Jump Street), and executive produced by Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator: Dark Fate) and is a live-action/animated hybrid (Yep, just like Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Smurfs), which had me very worried when it was announced back in 2014 and was even more worried and disgusted when the first trailer came out last year which had an absolutely atrocious design for Sonic, fortunately they fixed it.

So, how does Sonic’s first movie hold up? Honestly, while I can’t call it the Sonic movie I wanted as a child, I had a fun time with it. It isn’t a perfect representation of its source material and the plot is pretty generic, but the charm of the film’s leads, humor, and subtle references to the games that inspired it are enough for me to overlook that flaw.             

The film follows Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz-Parks and Recreation, The Other Guys, The Walk), blue anthropomorphic talking hedgehog from another dimension with extraordinary speed who travels to Earth to escape from those who want to capture him and harness his power. However, when he accidentally causes a power outage while hiding out in the town of Green Hills (Get it?), Sonic is targeted by the government and the tyrannical mad scientist, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey-Ace Ventura 1 and 2, The Mask, The Truman Show) who plots to use Sonic’s power for world domination.             

This forces Sonic to team up with Green Hills sheriff, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden-X-Men franchise, Enchanted, Westworld) who agrees to help Sonic on his adventure to find his missing bag of magical rings that have the power to get him home. Of course, while getting into all sorts of trouble along the way.             The film also stars Tika Sumpter (Ride Along 1 and 2, Get On Up, Southside with You) as Tom’s wife Maddie, Adam Pally (Happy Endings, The Mindy Project, Iron Man 3) as Wade Whipple, and Neal McDonough (Star Trek: First Contact, Band of Brothers, Justified) as Major Bennington.             

Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog probably isn’t the movie longtime fans wanted, but it still manages to be an entertaining and fun adaptation in its own right. It’s easily one of the best films based on a video game alongside Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and The Angry Birds Movie 2 and shows that we’ve come a long way since the dark days of Uwe Boll’s directing career.

As mentioned before, the plot is nothing special and rehashed from other kids’ movies however what sets this apart from things like The Smurfs or Masters of the Universe is that Sonic and Tom do have a strong chemistry together. It’s amusing to see them interact with each other on their road trip, cracking jokes, getting into trouble, and over the course of the film they learn more about one another thus making you care more for them over ANY Smurf or Chipmunk. 

While there are a few jokes that don’t quite stick the landing, the humor for the most part not only made me laugh but there were moments in this movie where I laughed hard. Whether the film was poking fun at the entire Sonicfranchise, a particular running sequence that’s obviously a reference to the Quicksilver scenes from the X-Men movies, or Sonic breaking the fourth wall similar to Deadpool, I was laughing while also admiring how clever some of these jokes are, and let’s not forget Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, but we’ll get to him momentarily.

The redesigned Sonic is a lot better than what we could have gotten, he doesn’t have those ugly small eyes, questionable muscular arms and legs, or the terrifying human teeth anymore. Now, his appearance is more faithful to the source material recreating the hedgehog’s cartoony nature but is different enough to stand out from the rest of the character’s previous designs and be its own unique creation, this is a really good design for Sonic and had the filmmakers went with their original version, this movie would have crashed and burned even harder than Sonic ’06.

Besides Sonic being more appealing to look at now, he’s also just as entertaining to listen to, Ben Schwartz while he’s far from being a replacement for Roger Craig Smith, Ryan Drummond, Jason Griffith, or even Jaleel White, does a solid job providing Sonic’s voice and captures the cocky, arrogant, but good-natured attitude Sonic is known for having. He actually almost sounds like Ryan Drummond’s Sonic voice without sounding like a cheap impersonation.             Moving on to Sonic’s new friend that doesn’t have two tails, James Marsden as Tom, his performance is decent even though he doesn’t quite make as big an impression as Ben Schwartz’ Sonic and especially Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik. With that said, he gets some funny lines once in a while and as mentioned before has good chemistry with Sonic, so yeah, believe it or not James Marsden was partnered up with another CG animated character and this time came out with his dignity unlike his performance in Hop.             

Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik owns every scene that he’s in, he’s no Mike Pollock and is a radically different Robotnik than from the games, but Carrey’s energetic and wildly animated personality shines through and gives a million percent whenever the crazy evil genius is on-screen. He’s certainly a lot better than Dennis Hopper as Koopa from the Super Mario Bros. movie.

Hopefully, this movie will be a hit during its theatrical run because I’d love to see a sequel especially if it introduced other Sonic characters like Tails, Knuckles, or even Shadow. Don’t make this like the recent Power Rangers movie, I need my big screen version of those characters!

Whether a fan, newcomer, or just looking for something fun to take the kids to, Sonic the Hedgehog should make everyone happy. It’s not perfect but it has enough action, wit, and charm to make it worth checking out. You’ll be “Up, Over, and Gone” before you know it.

For more movie reviews please visit: https://moviewatchinpsychopath.blogspot.com

[marsmaywander]

pride month: ace fic recs!

i figure that i’m so happy to find asexual representation anywhere i can, i should put together a list of fanfics i’ve come across. warning that this is gonna be heavily marvel-skewed since that’s my biggest fandom at the moment. please take care to read all tags and warnings in the individual fics - there are some heavy topics in some of them. let me know if you enjoyed this list or have any other faves to share!

( ♥ ) indicates personal favorites of the bunch

MARVEL

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19264345 Evening Star by alifetime (gen) summary: Tony comes to terms with Peter’s sexuality. supportive dad™

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1575290 The Question by fadewords (tony/pepper) summary: Tony Stark is a fucking sex god, and proud of it. But there's something indefinably different about his approach to sex--there always has been, he's just never noticed it before--and now that he has, he can't quite put his finger on it. (Or: An asexual Tony Stark goes through life without knowledge of asexuality, and does just fine--until he actually learns about asexuality. Then shit hits the fan.) notes: some wonderful self-questioning and sex-positive ace tony

https://archiveofourown.org/works/14802476 i don't need anything (but you) by WritingThroughTheMess (tony/bucky) summary: Together, Bucky and Tony dismiss the need for bitten tongues and whispered apologies. There is no need for anything but them.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17954036 ♥ take my hand, take my whole life too by FreyaS (tony/steve) summary: Tony stands in front of the mirror and nervously adjusts the cuffs of his bespoke suit. He fiddles with the cufflinks shaped like the atoms of the element he created (a present from Rhodey for his forty-something birthday) and tries to breathe in slowly and calm his nerves. This is his fifth and probably last date with Steve and he wants to commemorate the moment with his most polished look. The suit is his armor and it’ll carry him through to the bitter end.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19129132 Flags by candycanedarcy (bucky/clint) summary: Bucky's been seein' a lot of rainbows around lately, and he's curious as to why. He doesn't know asking that question will give him the answer to a different question he didn't even know he had.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/924291 Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel (gen) summary: "Darcy was convinced it was going to become part of SHIELD’s oral history forever, like that time everyone on this one op was doused with sex pollen and the only one who didn’t screw someone senseless was then not-yet-deputy director Agent Hill, and Robards said it was because she was a frigid lesbian and Hill told him that the term was asexual and if he was going to be a bigoted asshole about it he could at least get her orientation right. And then Coulson made him go through the hardcore diversity and sexual harassment training as punishment, because everyone knew Hill and Coulson were bros." Maria Hill is honestly pretty happy with her life. notes: a good confident maria gen fic

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6544546 As You Are by WinterSky101 (tony/pepper/bruce) summary: Tony and Pepper are very sexual people. Bruce isn’t. When he gets invited into their relationship, he’s not entirely sure how that’s supposed to work.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11102553 It's (Not That) Complicated by Reioka (tony/steve) summary: Steve is asexual. Tony's straight. They love each other anyway (even if other people don't understand it).

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11726187 Human Moment by usedupshiver (tony/bucky) summary: In the modern world, Bucky Barnes is something as rare as a full-blooded human. Sure, humanity used to think it was the ruling species, but now they are well aware that they share the world with angels and demons, elves and goblins, spirits and ghosts, and humans did what they have always done best – they adapted. For Bucky, that meant making a very comfortable living selling all the things only a human body can offer beings that aren't. Over the years he has nourished all sorts of creatures, and has never had an unsatisfied customer. Then Tony Stark shows up at his doorstep, and nothing seems to work out like it should.

https://archiveofourown.org/series/35347 ♥ Not alone by Arkada (series, OT6) summary: Clint's asexual, and he's always thought he'll end up alone. Then the Avengers happen, and he's living with all five of them. Then all five start sleeping together, and everything falls apart. notes: some great whump and self-hatred followed by discoveries and lovely comfort. one of the first marvel fics i ever read

https://archiveofourown.org/works/511492 Variations in Modern Dance by Pookaseraph (tony/steve) summary: There's only one thing in the world that Steve has decided the 21st century isn't alright with: not wanting to have sex. Sadly that seems to be the one thing the Serum couldn't fix, and it's playing hell with his ability to deal with his feelings for Tony. Thankfully Tony is a brilliant engineer, and he might be able to find a solution, or maybe he'll realize there's nothing there to fix.

https://archiveofourown.org/series/179492 ♥ Aces Trump Kings by Unadulterated (series, tony/pepper) summary: Tony doesn’t want what everyone else seems to want, and can’t make himself like what everyone else seems to love. So he keeps his mouth shut and his smile bright. It doesn’t occur to him that maybe his normal is not to be. notes: a bit stereotypical with a pride parade, but nevertheless a really great self-discovery series - one i keep coming back to

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19363432 ♥ Eggplant Emoji by Reioka (bucky/natasha) summary: Natasha doesn't know why Bucky doesn't want to have sex with her. notes: NEW ADDITION TO THE LIST! hilarious bantering and great ace diversity

SHERLOCK (BBC)

http://archiveofourown.org/works/1028720 this could work by orphan_account (gen) summary: Later that night, long after she’d dried her tears and cleaned up the mascara which had smudged all the way down her cheeks, Molly found her answer. She also learned the definition of “asexual.” http://archiveofourown.org/works/778479 ♥ Black. Two sugars. by solrosan (gen) summary: Everyone seemed to assume that Molly was in love with Sherlock Holmes, and it was so much easier to go along with it than to correct people. notes: some really nice platonic molly & sherlock moments here https://archiveofourown.org/works/246997 the art of getting by (isn't really so artsy at all) by stupidmuse_hatesme (john/sherlock) summary: “He's treating things like they're normal! Things are not normal.” Sherlock drags his hands from his mussed up hair and covers his face. “You aren't helping much,” he mumbles into his palms. “I hope you know that. ”The skull only grins from his perch and says not a word. “Really, you're supposed to do more than just--sit there.” https://archiveofourown.org/works/383984 Random Numbers - songlin (john/sherlock) summary: Just because they're not having sex doesn't mean they aren't intimate. A collection of moments in the relationship of asexual!Sherlock and straight!John.

LEVERAGE

http://archiveofourown.org/works/85681 The Not Your Teaching Tool Job by BlackEyedGirl (OT3) summary: Parker doesn't understand why it has to be more complicated than: "I want to be with you, I just don't want to sleep with you." It's everyone else who has the problem. (Parker as a biromantic asexual)

WTNV

https://archiveofourown.org/works/934124 ♥ ♥ ♥ run, run, fast as you-- by orphan_account (cecil/carlos) summary: The night that his research partner (and sort-of ex) shows up at his apartment with a gun, Carlos decides to take a mysterious but exceptionally well funded two-year research posting in a town called Night Vale. A story in which Night Vale is there for the people who need it, Cecil's propensity to wear his innocent heart on his sleeve is perceived as a threat (until it isn't) and no one is allowed to hurt the Scientist. No one. notes: this is my most favorite ever ace fic. it’s like 100k+ words long and amazing. having trouble not rereading the whole thing right now.

[oldtvandcomics]

I've seen some posts going around about Crowley/Aziraphale being queerbaiting in the Good Omens series. I'm afraid I will regret writing this, but I have OPINIONS, said opinions being less about Good Omens and more about Tumblr not necessarily understanding the way audiovisuel storytelling and the queer community work, and maybe it's worth taking a moment to think closer about these things.

Spoilers for Good Omens (2019) and some allusions to the Discourse below the cut. Also, long post. You have been warned.

I probably should say here that I liked Good Omens, am myself aro ace, and am of the opinion that Crowley/Arizaphale is canon. So yes, personal bias exists, although I am going to do my best to be objective. Also, I haven't read the book yet, so am only going to be talking about the series.

(Ignoring hereby that they are supposed to be agender. It is a very good series, but they really, REALLY should have found a way to include that piece of information.)

This is a surprisingly complex question, that can be boiled down to three different problems: First, the way people analyze audiovisuel stories (in this case, television, but the argument also stands for movies), second, the term “queerbaiting” not being clear enough and also used too broadly, and third, people's still too narrow view of what is and isn't queer.

In this order, I am going to start with the way tv (and movies) work. It is the least controversial.

One of the things that I love about tv so much is just how complex and layered it is. There is what is directly said and shown to happen, but than there is the music, the acting, the costumes, locations, camera angles and editing, all of which have their own language and add something to how we will see a story. If you watch Good Omens, you'll notice that the exact nature of Crowley's and Aziraphale's relationship never is directly addressed or them confirmed to be queer. However, you will also notice the way they keep looking at each other, the fact that romantic music plays in the background for an awful lot of their scenes together, that they do and say things on a regular basis that goes further than the normal limits of a friendship, and the list goes on. This show is as clear about them loving each other very, very deeply as it possibly can be without directly talking about it.

This, of course, leads us to the question: What is and isn't text? What level of queercoding counts as representation? And this is where things get a little more complicated, because there IS NO clear line. People usually say that it doesn't count, unless the correct term is used. Which makes sense, given everybody's tendency to just... Idk, make a movie about somebody fighting his ex without ever telling us that he is, in fact, his ex, and than hope that they can get away with either the queer fans doing all the hard work of reading between the lines, or just write a couple of tweets about how they're totally gay and get credit for the representation.

Seriously, people, don't do that. If there is a way to use the terms, do it.

But there is a gray area. Welcome to Night Vale never labeled Cecil's orientation, yet we still know that he's gay. That scene they cut from Thor: Ragnarok of Valkyrie leaving the room of a woman? It never said that she was bi. I mean, I haven't seen it, but from what I know, I'd bet A LOT of money that, had they included it, people still would have complained about it not being clear enough. We still act as if including it would have confirmed Valkyrie's bisexuality. What about period pieces, set in times when certain labels didn't exist yet? And, finally, what if a relationship would actually benefit from being left vague and undefined?

There is no clear answer to this. It's a gray are, so feel free to just sit around and think about your own opinion on these things.

Which leads us to queerbaiting: Creators playing up the fact that they MIGHT have a queer character or relationship in their work for publicity, without ever planning to include it. It's a thing that happens both inside and outside of the story. In practice, this usually looks like putting in a lot of subtext between two same-sex characters, including suggestive scenes in the trailers, and going in interviews “well, they could be, it's an ongoing series, you'll just have to wait and see. ;) ”.

Queerbaiting is a VERY vague and very popular term, that is used very broadly, even in cases where it isn't exactly accurate. It is not exactly easy to tell what is actual queerbaiting, and what queercoding because Higher Powers wouldn't let the creators include openly queer characters in their work. Than there is of course the cases where queer characters are kind of there, but it's a blink-and-you-miss-it thing. I've heard the term “queercatching” used for that in a video. Also, queerbaiting is an accusation people like throwing around every time a show disappoints them by not making their OTP canon. (Stop doing that, PLEASE!)

In this context, it is understandably difficult to say if a certain ship is or isn't queerbaiting. However, I would argue that Crowley and Aziraphale are not. I haven't seen all the promotional things going on, so no idea how big of a selling point their relationship was. But I do know that everyone behind the scenes seems to agree that those two love each other very, very deeply, and the show itself isn't trying to hide it. On the contrary, it goes out of it's way to draw our attention to it. To anyone who is watching halfway attentively, it is going to be very, very clear that what those two have going on is NOT straight.

Which leads us to our final point: What is and isn't queer.

Oh dear. It is a topic that is still hotly debated within the community (at least on Tumblr), mostly by people trying to exclude certain orientations or keep other people from using certain terms.

Queer is an umbrella term used for members of the LGBT+ community, meaning “not straight”. It may refer to gender identity, romantic or sexual orientation, and things that don't quite belong in any of the boxes we have. The beauty of the term “queer” is exactly that it is so huge and so vague that it exceeds all boxes and definitions. A really handy thing to have, if you want people to know what you're talking about without needing to give them an hour-long vocabulary lesson first.

Please note here that so far, I have avoided using any labels for Crowley, Arizaphale, or their relationship. Please also not that while I did say that they love each other very deeply, I never used the word “romantic”.

Because here is the thing: I really don't think that they're gay. Or bi, or pan. Or anything else, really. They, and their relationship, like the term “queer”, fall outside of any predetermined categories. It is just, really, really, really clear that what's going on isn't heteronormative.

I have seen many aces being happy and feeling seen and seeing themselves in Crowley and Aziraphale in Good Omens. I've also seen many aros think the same thing. Because here is the beauty of it: We only know that they love each other more than anything else in the world. It is never said that that love is romantic.

I've also seen many allos completely miss this point.

Asexuality and aromanticism, as is to be expected from orientations that are defined by the lack of something, are still very invisible, both in RL and in fan circles.  While we do have our own spaces and our own little community, mostly we are just there between our allo friends and... kind of stand and wait in a corner while they are busy with the sex and romance our society is constantly throwing at all of us. Being ace and/or aro is often confused with “being celibate”. We don't talk enough about what sexless or romanceless relationships could look like. No wonder so many people missed it when they saw one in Good Omens.

The queer community is STILL very strongly sexualized. And this is a problem, because while sexual attraction IS an important part of being queer, it is also not the only one. Queer people are still queer if they are not having sex. They are queer if they DON'T WANT TO have sex. They are queer if they don't enter romantic relationships. There is nothing straight about the close bonds aros can have with their friends. There is nothing straight about having a friend be the person you are emotionally closest to, close enough to openly beg them to run away together. Multiple times.

Queerplatonic or quasiplatonic relationships are the ones that are a bit difficult to define, because they are somewhere between “friendship” and “romantic relationship”. What they look like depends really on what the people involved want them to be like. Some live together, others don't. Some do things together that are usually considered to be romantic, others don't. Some kiss or have sex, others don't.

So far, I haven't really seen anybody really talk about the existence of queerplatonic relationships outside of ace and aro circles. And while I aggressively headcanon Sherlock Holmes and John Watson being queerplatonic, this was the first time that I've really seen an actual relationship onscreen that can be easily, or even best, read as being one.

But almost by definition, this means that it has to be vague, and subtle, and floating around somewhere around the lines separating friends from romantic partners. As such, I think that Good Omens did a really good job, giving us a relationship that is so obviously loving but also so beyond easy descriptions. However, this also means that it is easy to miss and end up feeling baited.

The problem is, I'm not sure that they COULD have done it better. Any explicit discussion about Crowley's and Aziraphale's relationship would have felt forced and out of place, and the term queerplatonic isn't enough known, they would have had to follow it up with an explanation of what that even is. And it isn't as if they could have made it any clearer how much they love each other as they did.

Some people say that they should have kissed onscreen.

Betty and Veronica in the Riverdale tv series kissed, and we all still know that it was only queerbaiting.

And isn't that, wouldn't that be, in the end, reducing queerness once more to the sexual bit in queer relationships?

I don't know. As I said, there is no clear answer, and in the end of the day, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I suppose, the best I can say is that what Good Omens did with Crowley and Aziraphale is very beautiful and well executed and also undoubtedly queer. It is, also, not enough. We still live in a time where we don't have much representation, and therefore all collectively jump on anything we can find. As long as this is the case, people will always be unsatisfied with everything. We need more. More explicit, more sexual, more romantic, yes, but also more quiet and subtle and undefined loving ones.

Anyway. I just had to write my opinion on this, because I REALLY didn't like what looked like a group of people dismissing a queer relationship because it wasn't sexual. This isn't even about Good Omens, not really, more about Tumblr being generally Tumblr and not seeing nuance and not thinking things through.

So... Please learn how to properly analyze audiovisual stories. Please be more careful and think a little before you start throwing around the term “queerbaiting”. And, please, PLEASE take a minute to think through if what you are doing isn't in fact sexualizing queer people and excluding parts of the community because of a too narrow definition of queerness.

And finally, PLEASE leave Gaiman alone. One, he has no obligation towards you whatsoever, and two, this was originally a thirty year old book that, three, he co-wrote with a now deceased friend. Being critical of media is one thing, and obviously, Good Omens isn't perfect. But... Just think about what you're doing before you do it, ok?

[caduceus-tealeaf-derolo]

Comfortable Confessions

This was a request from the lovely (and ever so patient) @mamzellecombeferre who requested an Ace!Fjord drabble, with Fjorster content; This was a lovely challenge, and I loved writing it! (I am also very open to constructive criticism, especially in the realm of Ace representation, as I am not Ace myself, and wish to do the community justice.)

 Without further ado -  The incessant ticking of the clock was getting on her nerves as the afternoon droned on. Jester was never good with monotony, and even less so when she had something to look forward to. The lack of distractions in the meantime gnawed at her subconscious as she sketched idly in her book, not really seeing what she drew. The room was too warm, the ticking seeming to make the time pass even more slowly; with a huff, she threw her possessions into her bag, and marched outside. 

The winds tugged playfully at her clothing as she walked through the campus, the winter storm clouds swirling overhead and creating interesting pieces of art in her mind’s eye. The community college wasn’t terribly large, but it’s architecture was pleasing, the people who populated the grounds fairly nice, and the professors well appointed. Walking briskly through the small gardens between each proper building, Jester made her way to the theater where her “Darling Suitor” as her mama called him, would be busy rehearsing. The cramped lobby had the feeling of a lush boudoir, which was offset by a beaten couch and coffee table, an even more cramped ticket booth, and a small set of stairs on the right and left that led to the stage beyond. Plopping down on the couch, her skirts spreading out in an artful arch as her mother had taught her, Jester re-assembled her pastels and her sketchbook, turning to a fresh page. From the drawn curtains across the room her ears picked up a lilting voice profess their love for the keeper of their heart before humming a few notes, and seeming to continue on with their work. Letting out a happy sigh, she snuggled further into the couch, and pulled a small throw blanket from her bottomless bag. The soft surroundings soothed her frazzled nerves, and eventually she dozed off in safety and contentment. Minutes or hours later, as time passes differently in theaters with them being realms between, Jester was lightly jostled by firm and familiar arms. “Hey Jessie, I’m just carryin’ you to the car. No worries.” eyes shut tight, trusting the care of her boyfriend, Jester dozed off once more to the rhythmic sway of his step as he held her. Vehicle already started and warm, he clicked her into the buckle, and made sure her tail was inside the vehicle before closing the door. Jester dozed, neither awake nor asleep, but floating in the in-between. Soft warmth surrounded her, a larger, somewhat rough hand sneaking beneath the blanket to hold her own on the drive. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know that he smiled at her whenever there was a stop. “I’ll be right back, grabbing us food.” she managed to grumble out what seemed like an appropriate response, and felt his smile as he kissed her drowsy cheek. The winter wind that swirled through the warm vehicle as he left made her snuggle deeper into the reclined seat, wiggling toasty toes that sat right against the heat that was blowing on them. A frumpkin-length nap later, the door opened once more, and this time a barrage of enticing scents swirled around her. Paper bag in hand, Fjord leaned into the back seat and secured what she figured to be a take away dinner, before pulling out and driving them to their small shared apartment. Upstairs, and just enough space for the two of them and a friend if one needed a place to crash, Fjord carried first her, then their dinner and her bag up the staircase, proving once again that she was not the only strong one in the relationship. Comfortable and finally ready to exist as a person again, Fjord found her happily setting out two large bowls and two sets of ornately painted sticks at their side. Placing the large bag of food on the coffee table that also served as their dining room and studying surface, Jester dutifully scooped noodles and toppings into the bowls before pouring the piping hot and fragrant broth over them. “Thank you Jess,” the half orc smiled, tusks nearly fully grown in, “you’re wonderful.” Jester cocked a hip along with an eyebrow. “I’m wonderful? Silly, you just let me exist as a burrito for nearly an entire evening. I feel practically pampered. Here, eat while it’s still hot.” Shoving a pair of chopsticks into his hand with a small kiss to the cheek, she sat down across from him, each enjoying the other’s company. Walking through the day each of them had experienced, it was decided that while nothing in particular was bad, that they both were wearing a bit thin, and needed an evening to, as Fjord put it, ‘Get in touch with ourselves and each other.’ And so, began the great pampering. After consulting briefly with both Molly and Caduceus about what they each recommended, the pair went about their night. Sappy movies were promptly put on the laptop while they both snuggled in jammies, wearing some sort of face mask that ‘Duces said would help them both sleep better. Jester and Fjord watched Oskar and his beloved make eyes at each other, eventually culminating in a rather messy tangle of sweaty bodies, which Jester scrunched her nose at. The screen faded to black, far too late in the tiefling’s opinion, and Fjord began combing his fingers through her deep azure hair. “Jess, you’re sure you’re okay with us not.. Doing those things? You used to be pretty interested in it.” the deep twang prolonged his words, their formation so specifically him that she smiled. “No, my darling gentleman suitor, I am very very okay with not doing… Those things.” worrying her lower lip with her teeth, she rolled the topic around in her mind a moment before continuing. “Even if I were interested in doing that, having sex and things like it, I know you are not and would not ask you for it.” the appreciation in his eyes encouraged her to go on. “And also, I have found a freedom in not having sex be a thing that is expected of me. For my mother, it is her business, her trade, and she is rightfully proud of it.  Though, as much as I know about it, especially through her, I am not sure if I could separate the act from the mindset of ‘work’ at this point. It would be like if I sold my art, instead of giving it away. It would sap out all of the joy in creating.” Her partner nodded, moving fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp in small circles that felt particularly good around the base of her horns. “Boy am I lucky to have landed you, little missy.” “Ditto, dear suitor, now, let’s watch another one - apparently this movie is about a magical school.” The two holding each other, small kisses and snuggles exchanged throughout the rest of the evening, they each found comfort in the arms of the other, and eventually fell asleep.

[orpheus-type-beat]

Hadestown Fanmix

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/16lTzi7BM8g2v5w7BliBpa

falling through the sky

Fanmix inspired by Hadestown

overview

I tried to learn from Hadestown’s approach to adapting the ancient Greek myths of Orpheus and Eurydice, as well as Hades and Persephone, in the same story. I took aspects of the particular characterization choices from Hadestown, and the basic idea of having an anachronistic setting. However, the “setting” and “plot” for this fanmix are different than in Hadestown, and are based on other adaptations of the Greek myths we read and saw in class.

The setting is vaguely modern, modern enough to have airplanes and touring professional musicians in the modern sense. In this version of the story, both Orpheus and Eurydice are recast as singer-songwriter musicians. They get engaged at the start of the story, but Eurydice is killed while on tour due to a plane crash before the couple can get married. Orpheus is stricken with grief and becomes cynical and self-destructive, until he decides to travel to the Underworld in an attempt to win Eurydice back.

After arriving in the Underworld, Orpheus performs/plays a set of five songs for Hades in an attempt to win him over. These five songs adapt a version of the story of Hades and Persephone, where the relationship is consensual. Demeter is a character in my version of the story, but one that Persephone wants to get away from (at least, at first). However, these songs don’t comprise a totally neutral re-telling of the myth of Hades & Persephone. It’s from Orpheus’ perspective, and his idea of Hades & Persephone’s relationship is informed by his own relationship with Eurydice. And, because Orpheus is trying to please Hades, the songs were picked by Orpheus for an audience of one.

After the set of five songs, Hades is moved enough to let Orpheus try and take Eurydice back — of course, on one condition. Orpheus looks back, failing, and Eurydice is set back to the Underworld. There are several songs that explore the feelings of this moment, and then the fanmix ends with a live version of a song from early. The sound of the crowd implies that this is a snapshot of Orpheus, removed from the events of the story by some time, turning his story into art that he performs over and over again (related to the cyclic themes of Hadestown and the original stories)

“I Will Follow You Into The Dark,” by Death Cab for Cutie

This is the sort of cheesy, melodramatic song Orpheus would like and use as part of an overly elaborate, soppy proposal. It ironically foreshadows what’s to come, and sets up Orpheus’ character. He’s talented, and makes beautiful music, but is kind of simple. He’s romantic and cheesy and has big emotions, but maybe isn’t always well grounded.

“Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver

Eurydice is leaving to go on tour for the first time after they got engage, and Orpheus is worried. Eurydice plays him this song to cheer him up and poke fun at him, since it’s his sort of song (old fashioned, melodramatic, beautiful but a little cheesy) and, in her opinion, a little hyperbolic for what she expects to be an uneventful tour.

“Fake Empire” by the National

At some point on tour, there is an explosion on her plane, and she dies along with her band. (This plot point is inspired by/a tribute to John Denver, and how he died in a plane crash.) This song takes place in her last moments, thinking about Orpheus and her relationship with him as she’s dying. The song’s lyrics speak to the unreality and transience of their brief, beautiful, whirlwind romance. The line, “it’s hard to keep track of you / falling through the sky,” here is sort of her last words — she’s finding it hard to keep track of “you” while she’s “falling through the sky.”

“Grief” by Earl Sweatshirt

This song represents Orpheus, distraught after Eurydice’s death, at a deep emotional low point. The angry, paranoid, cynical lyrics reflect his bitterness and self-destructive behavior. At the end, the beat changes dramatically — still sad but somewhat more hopefully sounding —reflecting Orpheus’ decision to try and get Eurydice back from the Underworld.

“Highway to Hell” by AC/DC

Orpheus goes to the Underworld. He takes a car because, you know, he’s not in the mood for flying. This is just a joke; it’s funny to follow up Grief with Highway to Hell, and it’s kind of a pallet cleanser after the ‘first act’.

When he gets to the Underworld, Orpheus meets Hades. Hades agrees to entertain Orpheus’ request, in musical form of course. The next few songs are essentially a fan mix of Hades & Persephone’s story, made by Orpheus for Hades. Therefore, it’s from Hades’ perspective influenced by Orpheus’ tastes. Also, it’s sort of implied (like in Hadestown and the original myth) that Orpheus and Eurydice’s relationship is similar to Hades & Persephone’s relationship, so that when Orpheus is singing about Hades & Persephone’s relationship he’s also, simultaneously, singing about his own marriage.

“Plastic Taste” by Joji

In this version of Hades & Persephone, I’m obviously modernizing their relationship and making it consensual. I’m taking some cues from the cartoon we watched in class, where Hades can see Persephone from the underworld, with this song choice. It represents Hades in his sad boi “I don’t know what smiling is” phase, right before he and Persephone really meet and get together. Here, he’s longing/pining after her, but is dragging his feet on introducing himself: “I’ll admit that I’m afraid / let this moment go to waste.” The line “excuse me for my plastic taste” refers to Hades’ kingdom of artificial things below the ground, which he has grown comfortable with even though they aren’t real and don’t truly make him happy.

“Tomboy” by Princess Nokia

This song represents Persephone’s personality (and, subtextually, Eurydice’s personality). She’s an outsider because she’s a bit of a Tomboy, but she’s been able to accept herself even if the world hasn’t accepted her. The chorus section represents the community that says “that girl is a tomboy,” and more specifically her mother Demeter, who expects her daughter to be more traditionally feminine. Thus, when Persephone takes pride in her “little titties and … phat belly,” it’s a rejection of her mother’s expectations of femininity and a celebration of her version of femininity and her sexuality.

The song describes an aspect of the relationship dynamic between Hades & Persephone (which mirrors Orpheus and Eurydice), and depicting a blissful honeymoon period in a new relationship (at this point, while not married, Hades and Persephone are “dating,” though discreetly so as to avoid Demeter’s wrath). This song also implies something about what Persephone sees in Hades, at least in this initial stage of their relationship. Hades is “so in love / He think it's a spell / This love is too magic and he cannot tell;” their relationship, in defiance of her mother’s wishes, is a testament to her agency and charisma (“I could take your man if you finna let me / It's a guarantee that he won't forget me”).

“Love Story” by Taylor Swift

This is a song that Orpheus un-ironically loves, and a song that Hades secretly has on his iPod and doesn’t want anyone to know about. It represents the conflict surrounding Hades & Persephone’s wedding, and the conflict between their relationship and Demeter’s reluctance to let her daughter go. Keeping Demeter and imaging Hades & Persephone’s relationship as consensual makes this part reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet — or at least, Swift’s version of Romeo and Juliet.

Also “I talked to your dad / go put on a white dress” is basically what happened in the original Hades & Persephone myth, if you think about it (just that, because they’re Greek gods Persephone’s dad was also Hades’ brother).

“ATTENTION” by Joji

This song represents Demeter’s perspective on Hades and Persephone’s marriage. Demeter asks if “it would kill [Persephone] to throw a little bit of attention,” and remarks, cruelly, that “when [she] cries [she] waste[s] her time / over boys [she] never liked” — implying that Demeter doesn’t believe Persephone really loves Hades. This song also reflects the pain of a mother who’s no longer as central of a figure in her daughter’s life: “I thought I’d vocalize my troubles but nobody would listen.” It also has some fun mythological tie-ins, when the line “if I hurt you I’m afraid God’s gonna teach me a lesson” implies that Demeter is afraid of disobeying Zeus’s order to let Hades marry her daughter.

The line “would you hate me if I said good-bye / so quick you could eat my dust” is Demeter’s hyperbolic, distorted representations of Persephone’s voice — she sees her daughter as being callous and disloyal.

“About Today” by the National

This song represents both the cycle of seasons, and the cycle in Persephone’s relationship with her mother and her husband. It most directly represents Hades and Persephone’s relationship growing cold, probably as Spring approaches and she prepares to leave. It also implies that, like in Hadestown, Hades and Persephone’s relationship isn’t perfectly happy. In this instance, however, it seems like it’s primarily due to Hades having a hard time letting Persephone go for half the year.

The song can also represent the emotions of Demeter, again as a mother losing her (young adult) daughter to marriage. Demeter wants to ask her daughter “about today” — almost like asking “how was school?” — but that line of communicate isn’t open anymore as Persephone is growing up and beginning to “slip away.”

Also, since these are song Orpheus chose (in a sense), this also reflects a sense of guilt he has about losing Eurydice. Maybe their relationship wasn’t perfect when she died, which is why he’s so desperate to get her back? (Also, the repeated use of the phrase “slip away” fits with the song “Slip Away” used later.)

This concludes the fanmix/ballad Orpheus performs for Hades. Hades is moved enough to let him try and take Eurydice back, on the one condition. In this adaptation, you could see this condition as something Hades is imposing on Orpheus for Orpheus’ own good. Hades’ relationship with Persephone is rocky because he can’t let her go and really trust her when she spends six months above ground with Demeter. Either out of anger, or a well-meaning desire to make sure that Orpheus doesn’t share his flaws, Hades implements the condition that Orpheus can’t look back as a test based on his flaws and his marriage to Persephone.

Orpheus and Eurydice begin to ascend.

“Slip Away” by Perfume Genius

This song represents Orpheus and Eurydice’s hope, as they start their journey out of the Underworld. They really believe that they’ll “never break the shape [they] take,” and they try to let voices of doubt (or maybe the undead, since they are in the Underworld) “slip away.” Of course, this is a slightly cheeky song choice, since we all know that Eurydice will, in fact, slip away from Orpheus.

Despite Eurydice saying “Don’t look back / I wanna break free,” Orpheus looks back, and Eurydice is sent back to the underworld.

“Love Love Love” by the Mountain Goats

This song takes place in the moment after Eurydice is taken back to the Underworld. The lyrics summarize the theme — “some moments last forever, and some flare out in love” — of both the myth of Hades and Persephone, and the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Like the first song, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” it’s an acoustic guitar ballad performed by a solo male vocalist; but now, after the events of the story, the type of acoustic guitar ballad Orpheus is drawn to has changed. This song is more complex, mature, and sad. It reflects how Orpheus’ tendency towards simplistic melodrama and uncomplicated romance have been complicated by tragedy, and how despite that tragedy his impulse towards beauty and music as emotional self-expression still remains.

“Fake Empire (Live in Brussels)” by the National

This song represents how Orpheus has processed the tragedy months, years, or even decades later. This was originally Eurydice’s song (it’s from her POV earlier), and by playing it live he’s remembering her and keeping her art alive. It’s also a summary of Orpheus and Eurydice’s relationship, now from Orpheus’ point of view after the tragic ending. “We’re half awake / in a fake empire” describes how Orpheus feels about his relationship with Eurydice now. It was unreal, an illusion or a dream that was fragile and bound to crumble. The line “it’s hard to keep track of you / falling through the sky,” is now from Orpheus’ perspective — “you” now refers to Eurydice, and “you” not the speaker is the one falling.

I like to imagine Orpheus playing this song in concert, touring, over and over again. It gives the story the kind of cyclic element that draws parallels to the story of Hades & Persephone, while also paralleling the way that the Orphean myth is about finding meaning in the endless cycle of love and loss through art.

(Also, this is probably my favorite song, so I wanted to include both versions).

image credit

I got them from google images, but here are some links

tornado background

girl falling (weirdly hard to find any picture that had a reasonable pose)

bonus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDAicYWcy6k

This has nothing to do with this fanmix, and I unfortunately couldn’t shoehorn it in, but this is probably runner up to my favorite song. It’s a narrative rap song that can be read as either about a kid growing up in Chicago public housing or the origin of a superhero (more specifically, Juggernaut, an X-Men character I’m not super familiar with).

[aroworlds]

Aro-Spec Artist Profile: Neir

Our next aro-spec creator is Neir, introducing eir work to the world as R. Tally, better known here on Tumblr as @tallyrunning​.

Neir is an asexual, aroflux and genderqueer person demonstrating the diversity of talent amongst aro-specs in poetry, fiction and musical composition. You can find eir classical and ambient music on Soundcloud and eir writing on Wattpad and Booksie, encompassing an eclectic mix of literary fiction, autobiography, LGBTQ+ fiction and short stories. If you have a dollar or two you’re wanting to invest in worthy aro-spec talent, please investigate eir Ko-fi!

With us Neir talks about identity and connection to other people, composing non-romantic musical pieces, the fear of misinterpretation by alloromantics and the challenge of finding an audience for non-romantic works. Eir words encapsulate a passion for challenging alloromantic norms and celebrating unique creativity, so please let’s give em all our love, encouragement, gratitude, kudos and follows for taking the time to explore what it is to be aroflux and creative.

Can you share with us your story in being aro-spec?

My aro realization was fairly quiet, and it came much later than I think I logically would have expected it to, had I known it would. It was easy to figure out that I was asexual; sex has always made me very uncomfortable, and as I grew older I realized that it wasn’t immaturity that was causing my repulsion, but just lack of attraction. It didn’t make sense to engage in something I didn’t want to do with someone I didn’t want to do it with. I also had an ace friend at the time, so the vocabulary came easily to me.

My aro realization came much later, around halfway through university (not more than two years ago). A friend of mine whose feelings with regards romance I strongly shared got a boyfriend, and I became confused because if even she could feel romantic attraction, and we were so similar, why couldn’t I?

I am a touchy-feely person who loves hand-holding and hugs, so for the longest time I thought my strong love for my friends (and potential friends - notorious feelings called ‘squishes’ I couldn’t name at the time) had to be romantic. I honestly just did a lot of internet research and stirring in my own head until I woke up one day and just went, “romance is a sham, I don’t understand it and I don’t want it.” The -flux part of my identity is something I recently started using to label my vastly differing moods and feelings day-to-day regarding platonic attraction. Some days I love people and being close to others; other days I want nothing to do with anyone and am cold as ice.

Can you share with us the story behind your creativity?

I’ve always been someone who lives in my own world, partly because I find the real world confusing and difficult to navigate at times. I’ve written stories and poems ever since I could pick up a writing utensil, and they were always for myself. They were a way to write what I wanted to see in fiction; I would only realize in adulthood that I did this so much because I didn’t see a lot of me or things I could relate to. It’s recently that I’ve come out of my shell and decided to share my works. I always love reading others’ stories, so who knows? Maybe someone else feels just like I did as a child and needs some representation and good ol’ escapism.

As for music, I grew up listening to the same-sounding romantic love songs over and over again, and I began to get very annoyed with the topic. I think romance is great for other people, but the amount it was advertised felt nauseating. I couldn’t understand why it was so important. Similarly, when I took creative analysis courses in my post-secondary studies, professors would often talk about how certain motifs and instruments evoke romantic love by default. I now make it a mission to compose lyrics and instrumental pieces that are non-romantic.

Are there any particular ways your aro-spec experience is expressed in your art?

I often purposely avoid writing romance in my works (this may seem funny, since I’m currently writing a romance novel as an exercise). I focus on other themes I really enjoy reading about, such as ambiguity in social dynamics, mental health, and wonder. Even in my music, I find that I write many ambiguous-sounding or discomforting pieces (to the Western ear) in my attempts to avoid 'romantic’ instruments and motifs but still convey emotion.

What challenges do you face as an aro-spec artist?

I always fear that when I don’t explicitly state my intentions in writing something non-romantic, people will still find a way to see romance. This goes for my written work (fiction and poetry) as well as my musical compositions. I carry a lot of wonder for the world around me, and that expression of love may be (and has been) misinterpreted. In addition, I fear that no one likes to read things that don’t have romance. This seems to be a common fear, even for non-aro writers. I make relationships a big priority in my fictional work, but if there isn’t anything romantic, my stories seem to be left in the dust.

How do you connect to the aro-spec and a-spec communities as an aro-spec person?

I’m a pretty quiet person who is relatively happy with my orientation(s). I haven’t experienced a lot of rejection of my identity, although it should be said that I am not publicly out. I also get easily overwhelmed with people. I frequent Arocalypse, and love that it’s a small community, for example (in general, I like that the aro community is small and palatable). At the moment, I connect minimally and am happy with that. Maybe it will change in the future when I am more publicly out.

How can the aro-spec community best help you as a creative?

I would love for people to talk about my work! Whether that means likes, shares, criticism, comments, headcanons, questions, whatever! I’m not the greatest at self-promotion, and sometimes I feel like I am yelling to the wind and am the only one excited about art, so any and all help or validation would be appreciated.

Can you share with us something about your current project?

My current baby is a fictional story called The Charlatan. I still haven’t figured out what its genre is exactly, but it’s got elements of adventure and heavily focuses on personal and interpersonal character development. The main character of this book is an aromantic asexual, and every main cast member after her is LGBTQ+. (Note: one of these characters is an aromantic bisexual – I feel that non-ace aros aren’t represented much so I was quite happy when this label fit the character.) The story centers around the main character’s attempts to deal with being cheated by her home country, impending war, and learning to ally with others to achieve redemption. You can find The Charlatan on my Wattpad or Booksie pages!

[linkingnightvale]

And now a word from our sponsors... 101-150

Ep 102: Sears

And now a word from our sponsors. Today’s show has been brought to you by Sears. Sears would like you to know that they offer quality products at low prices. And also that there was a miscommunication and they thought this was a television station. They prepared a TV ad and aren’t sure what to do now. Um, I guess we’ll just describe what you would have seen, had you seen this commercial on TV. This is not the level of quality we want you to think of when you think of Sears, but here goes.

Exterior: a house. Snow drifts down onto yard already piled with snow. A warm glow on the snow, reflected light. We pan up. It is the light from the house’s windows. So cozy, so warm! Why would anyone ever want to leave and go to Sears? What kind of commercial is this? Wait, stick with us. Interior: living room. A woman looks out the window, bites her lip. “Bad weather,” she thinks. “I’m not going outside.” We don’t hear this as narration, the performer expresses this with her face, she’s a great actor. I wish you could have seen her, she doesn’t even talk in this commercial, all visual performance it’s, what a waste. So bad weather, she doesn’t want to go outside. She goes to the computer, loads up Amazon. It’s not Amazon, because we don’t want to advertise another company, but it’s like clearly Amazon, you know? We see her clicking on stuff, stuff she could be buying at Sears, but is instead buying on Amazon.

Flash forward a day. She got next day shipping, I guess. Same house exterior, it’s still snowy, the snow is high, the pavement is icy. A mail truck pulls up. A mail carrier gets out. He has her package. We see her in the window, so happy about her decision to buy from Amazon. He starts up the drive to her, he slips on the ice. Her package goes flying. It says “fragile” in the package, so that’s probably ruined. He falls badly, fractures his leg in three places! We don’t know this just by looking at it, but the filming of the stunt didn’t go like it was supposed to, so I can tell you: fractured in three places. Horror on her face. She does a great job acting this scene, I really wish you could have seen it.

We’re now in a court room. She’s being sued! The jury looks stern. She’s going to love. All of her savings will go to the mail carrier, but he isn’t happy either. He is in incredible daily pain, and what is money going to do to fix that? No one. Is. Happy. We fade out on the two of them at their separate tables in court, both facing a future that is diminished, that is diminishing. Next time, get in your car and go to Sears. This has been a message from your sponsor.

Ep 106: A grey pigeon

And now a word from our sponsors. 

Today’s show is brought to by a grey pigeon, whispering to you from your neighbor’s backyard. The pigeon – his name is Alfonso – is telling you that you are the one true God. [serene voice] And that he wants you to bring it a body part. A human body part. Doesn’t matter which part. Just do it. [ominously] Soon. [serenely] “Time’s almost gone. The Bible was wrong,” the pigeon added, suddenly from your right shoulder. “There never was a beginning.” 

This has been a word from our sponsors.

Ep 107: Ace Hardware

More soon, but first a word from our sponsors. 

Today’s show is brought to by Ace Hardware on Fifth and Shay Street. Which is a real hardware store, and not merely a camouflaged snake pit. Ace Hardware is here to fit all of your needs, and while it may look like a crude representation of a store created out of leaves and trash by hundreds of animals that had to work without the benefit of limbs. Trust us that we are a real store, that you can really enter, and will definitely leave again, alive and uneaten. Don’t worry, the near deafening hiss is the sound of [voice and music distort, static] hardware savings on everything including [ding] circular saws, reciprocating saws, [voice turns normal but the music still distorts] coping saws, and of course hand saws. All kinds of saws are 50 per cent off during this week’s “you saw it, you bought it” sale. Come by today. We also copy keys if you need that, so again, come on buy. 

This has been a word from our sponsors.

Ep 113: Equinox Gym

But before crunching those numbers, a quick message from today’s sponsor. 

Equinox Gym. At Equinox, we focus on the whole body. Particularly, the soft and vulnerable parts of that body. Stop by our windowless complex today to meet with a dietician about this month’s promotion, the Zima cleanse. Or for even faster results, nothing torches calories like our calorie torch. Also, new members this week to Equinox receive 60 days of free access to our popular Judgment Spa. 

This has been a word from our sponsor.

Ep 114: The new green co-op

And now a word from our sponsors. 

Today’s show is brought to you by the new green market co-op, which just opened up on Galloway Road between Patty’s Hardware and Discount Pastries and one of those escape-the-room places, where you wake up in a bath tub chained to a pipe, and there’s  another person across the room also chained to a pipe, and in the middle of the room is a dead body with a gun and a cassette player? Yeah, I hear those are great fun. Green market co-op owner Tristan Cortez said he opened the new store to provide a safe space for all your produce optics and food content transactions. Too often, the people who eat food don’t know where they are, or why they are, and they cry. They just sob in the middle of a store, afraid. Well, the new green market co-op store front on Galloway Road won’t let that happen, Cortez said. He said he will there every day to hold your hand, to nuzzle your neck with his nose, to whisper to you: “Don’t be afraid”, as he hands you an eggplant.

Ep 117: Money

Listeners, we have a new sponsor! Our show is brought to you by – money. When purchasing items, please consider using money. It’s exchanged universally in place of transactions with actual value. Money is available in handy ones, fives, sixes, eights, and now twenties. [very fast] Money may be habit forming, symptoms may include (avarice), lack of introspection and, frequent substitution of the phase “intelligent” for “wealthy”. Please ask your doctor if money is right for you and nod with considerable vigor when your doctor asks if you think money will complete you.

Ep 119: Love

We have a new sponsor. Our show is now sponsored by – love. Uh definitely consider love when wanting to buy things, because… love conquers all, makes the world go round, and is all you need. This has been a message from love, conqueror of our former sponsor, money. It’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru.

Ep 121: Ford

And now, a word from our sponsors.

Ford! Our cars are built strong, strong like a rock or a mountain or a bone. In fact, our cars are built out of bones, weird metal bones that were buried in a meteor. What creature did they belong to? How did it live with a skeleton of steel? Are its relatives even now streaking down from the sky, intent on revenging themselves upon the pitiful culture that desecrated their dead and turned them into affordable and reliable pickup trucks? Who knows. We certainly don’t. We barely understand how an engine works. We have one guy who knows, and he builds them all. But in order to protect his job, he won’t show anyone else how to do it. Now that’s smart thinking. Ford: drive weird bones.

Ep 122: ???

And now a word from our sponsors. 

Mute children perched atop strange formations on desert plateaus. Our eyes gaze toward a horizon that will never change. There is no movement here, no sun, but there is light. No darkness, but there is night. We do not need to eat, but we are hungry. We have no way to drink, but we are thirsty. We have nothing to sell you. Remember us. 

This has been a word from our sponsors.

Ep 127: ???

And now a word from our sponsors. 

Pay no attention to the vase in your backyard. All human beings die. This is unrelated to the vase in your backyard. You don’t remember purchasing that vase. Certainly it does not seem like your style. It wouldn’t go with any of your things, and that is not a color you buy glasswork in. You are, just in this moment, realizing you have opinions about the color of glasswork, and this is causing you to reassess in some small way your sense of self. But pay no attention to that vase in your backyard. We all get slower, get sick, and then we pass on. This is unrelated to the vase in your backyard. The vase in your backyard did not cause this. It is an inornate vase, not of any recognizable era or culture. Perhaps you should plant climbing vines or thick shrubs around the vase, so that eventually, you won’t have to see it anymore. It will be covered over with greenery, as you will some day be covered over with greenery. 

Everything will eventually be covered over with greenery, until the greenery goes too.

But pay no attention to the vase in your backyard.

All human beings die. 

This is unrelated to the vase.

This message was brought to you.

Ep 133: ???

And now a word from our sponsor. 

Today’s sponsor is… huh, okaay. Hmm, they just sent a video tape with the labels torn off of it. I guess I’ll watch it and describe what I’m seeing. [clears throat] [talking fast] It’s a black and white shot of a kitchen, a man is making a sandwich, it’s a falafel sandwich with cucumbers and tomatoes and he eats the sandwich, smiles at the camera and leaves the room. Now there’s a big red text thing, uh “there must be another way”. Now we’re back at the kitchen and the man is making a sandwich. He seems confused, as though he remembers having just done this. In his confusion, as he is cutting the tomatoes, the knife slips and oh my god- oh my god! Oh, he’s screaming but now that same text “there must be another way” and the, the man is back making the sandwich and he’s still screaming, uh but he realizes his hand is intact, and he goes to the phone uh to make a call and he slips and bangs his head on the counter and he falls out of frame and the text says again “there must be another way”. And the man is back and and, and he’s pale and shaking and he’s feeling his head, and he can’t believe it’s not broken open and he runs to the door and out into the yard and the camera follows him, and it’s not clear who is filming, and there is an earthquake and and a crevice opens up in his lawn and he disappears into it and again, “there must be another way” and he is back in the kitchen and he’s weeping. How long is this? OK, it, OK it looks like this tape is at least three hours long, so I’ll watch the rest of it later uhhhh, and kind of summarize. Maybe then we’ll figure out who is even sponsoring this thing.

Ep 136: Bed Bath and Beyond

And now a word from our sponsors.

When we talk apocalypse, we talk fires and spires of smoke and screams and wars and horrid clouds of ash and floods. And this is a comforting vision, because it supposes we’re all in it together. But death is mostly something you keep to yourself. In all reality, the apocalypse is likely going to just be you alone in a room with the flu. Bed, Bath and Beyond: you’re going to need some new sheets.