#right now i feel very aromantic. do not try to flirt with me i will throw up (this is a threat)

[purplelea]

starting to identify as aromantic is wild bc. I still don't know if I'm truly aro or if my previous relationship really fucked me up so bad I feel sick at the mere idea of getting back with someone. which one is it? no one knows

[hlficlibrary]

HL Fic Library 🩷 Non-Traditional Omegaverse Fics

Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find the library's other recs here.

💜 War Of Hearts by BoosBabycakes / @boosbabycakes28 {E, 80k}

They are the bane of each other's existence, they never pass off an opportunity to remind the other of how annoying they are. Who would have thought that polar opposites could compliment each other so well?

A story about two boys, one looking for patience and trying to be strong enough to stand up for himself, and one struggling with self-discovery and strength, where facts, reality and becomings hit him in the face, and suddenly, everything that's ever been important to him is in play.

💜 What I Have With You (I don't want with anyone else) by @lululawrence {NR, 73k}

Louis smiled. “I’m sorry for how I ran away last night.”

“It’s totally fine. I’m sorry I did all that. I never asked if you were okay with it, and I really should have.”

Louis didn’t know how to respond to that. “I mean, I wasn’t really telling you no before that. How were you to know I’d be fine and then… not.”

“Well, if I had asked you first like I should have, then I would have known your boundaries.”

“How can you know my boundaries when even I don’t?” Louis scoffed. “Shit.”

Louis hadn’t meant to say that much to Harry. It’s not like he was embarrassed by who he was, but he still didn’t really talk about it openly either.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

Louis shook his head and kept his eyes trained on Harry’s chest. The shirt was old enough he could see the ghost of Harry’s tattoos through it.

“It’s a long and complicated story that is also very boring, so I don’t think you actually want the answer.”

Or Louis is an asexual alpha, Harry is his aromantic alpha friend and possible roommate, and faking a relationship might be exactly what they need to get their families and friends off their backs.

💜 Little by Little by nonsensedarling / @absoloutenonsense {E, 65k}

Harry Styles is an omega who works at the London Planetarium, has lived in the same flat for ages, and is happy enough on his own. When he gets home from his first (horrible) attempt at dating in years, a new pregnant neighbor knocks on his door after smelling his cooking. He and Louis quickly become close, but their friendship gets complicated when Harry begins questioning who he is and what he likes.

Or Harry discovers figuring out who you are is more complicated than a potato metaphor.

💜 Take Me Down Slow (Don't Let Me Go) by jacaranda_bloom / @jacaranda-bloom {E, 26k}

Louis has always felt different. Not necessarily on the outer realm of societal norms, but pretty damn close to the edge. As an Omega, he’s supposed to want certain things; to want to raise a family, to want to build a life with a partner, and to want that partner to be an Alpha.

Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

OR the one where Louis wants to find the right kind of partner to love, Niall hates snowboarding, Liam wants to settle down, Harry is really good with his hands, and mother nature could be the thing that changes everything.

💜 Iron Hearts, Fire Souls by hopelesswriter / @getmesometacos {E, 26k}

"Lou..."

“I know, Harry! I know what you’ll say, we can’t right? We can’t help each other’s needs? We can’t be what the other needs? But fuck, what about what we want?! And I say we because you’ve been saying yes to all of our dates and you've been flirting back all this time and-“ He took a deep breath. “And there is nothing that I want more right now than to kiss you.”

Or the one where Harry and Louis are two single and unmated Lawyer Alphas that have to share an office and even though they shouldn't be that attracted to each other's scents, it sure isn't a big deal, right? I mean, what could go wrong?

💜 No Easy Love (Could Make Me Feel This Way) by @allwaswell16 {E, 17k}

There’s never been anyone for Harry but Louis. He had always thought their love would last forever, despite society’s pressures on an alpha/alpha relationship. When Louis breaks up with him and moves to Chicago, he’s suddenly left behind to pick up the pieces of the life they once shared. Instead of moving on, he finds reasons to keep Louis in his life and in the process begins to piece together what went wrong.

Or an Alpha Louis/Alpha Harry au where they get a second chance to make things right with the love of their life.

💜 I'll Call You Mine by @kenniewen {T, 13k}

"Harry isn’t superstitious, doesn’t knock on wood, or wish on shooting stars, but his position on ‘love at first sight’ becomes increasingly wishy-washy as his mind begins to comprehend blue, blue, blue. He feels his heart constrict and tongue go dry. The man before him is the most beautiful omega he has ever seen in his entire life."

Or: A self indulgent Omega/Omega fic with a teacher/single parent of favorite student trope.

💜 Woke Up Feeling Knotty by @jaerie {E, 7k}

Beta Louis has a kink for knotting and the secret aesthetic porn blog he runs about it is more than proof. When he accidentally finds out his alpha best friend Harry is one of his biggest fans, he knows he has to come clean after everything that has already happened between them. Harry just might be willing to help him out anyway.

💜 All at once, this is enough by @lunarheslwt {G, 7k}

“Could you help me…to make a nest?” His question was whisper soft, not daring to look at Louis’ face as he asked. For a few seconds, nothing but silence ensued. And then- “You want me to help you make your nest?” Harry’s blush deepened as he meekly affirmed, “yes.” The lack of response straightaway from Louis, and the way he had questioned the request, had Harry’s stomach churning uneasily. Why did he ask that? You don’t ask your friends to build you nests, what the fuck Harry. Louis must think him to be such a twit- “I’ll help.”

Or, Harry, overcome with burn out, wants to nest but he has never nested before, doesn’t know how to. Louis, his best friend, is only happy to help him make a nest and be there for him. Along the way, they find something more.

💜 Milk & Honey by @kingsofeverything {E, 7k}

Breastfeeding twins is no easy task, so Harry joins the local M.O.M.M. (Male Omegas Make Milk) support group.

💜 Where I'm Meant To Be by Halos_Boat / @halohamilton {E, 6k}

Harry and Louis have been sleeping together casually for a while. As two Alphas they never wanted to define it as anything more.

When Louis helps Harry out with his rut so he can get it done in time for his exam, they're forced to face feelings they were habouring for a while.

💜 Sweet Dreams That Leave All Worries Behind You by @tommokat {T, 5k}

Harry’s getting his in ears secured and watching while Zayn and Louis mess with Liam’s microphone when the idea hits him. He slept perfectly last night; there was no chance for feelings of loneliness to creep in while he was wrapped up in Louis’ arms and scent and sheets. Which means if he can continue to—yes, this is perfect. Harry grins to himself and starts on his plan for tonight.

💜 Chew You Up Like Candy by LetTheMusicMoveYou / @letthemusicmoveyou28 {E, 4k}

As it turns out, the internet can also be used to find people that like the same things as you. However unusual they may be. Or in Harry’s case, the things he thinks he might want to try.

Which is how Harry has now found himself laying on his back, fully naked, and strapped down to a bench. With an intimidating looking fucking machine positioned right between his spread legs.

And completely at the mercy of the prettiest Alpha Harry’s ever seen.

So really, this is all the internet’s fault.

(Or the one where Alpha Harry falls down a Reddit hole, that leads him to discover a few new kinks he never knew he had. It also leads him to Louis, an Alpha unlike any other Harry’s ever met. Louis’ more than happy to help Harry explore his new interests).

💜 And I Want More by dimpled_halo / @comebackassholes {E, 3k}

Hearing Harry talk about knotting dildos makes Louis’ cock twitch. And fuck did it get hotter in here? Wiping at his forehead with the back of his hand he pulls Harry’s drawer to retrieve said dildo. It’s pink and glittery and honestly, Louis would expect nothing less from his best friend. A dazed smile forms on Harry’s face as soon as he wraps his fingers around it.

“Alright well, I should leave you to it. I’ll hang around on campus until your heat passes,” Louis informs Harry.

Harry’s eyes are open now, but they’re not looking at Louis, instead, they’re focused somewhere further south. He follows his gaze and immediately blushes when he notices what has caught his best friend’s attention. Louis’ erection is tenting in his sweatpants, a wet spot of precome darkening the fabric of his pants.

“Oh fuck.” It’s all making more sense now. All the heat he’s been feeling, the sweat. Louis is going through heat too.

💜 when we're finished saying nothing by @disgruntledkittenface {M, 3k}

Louis has barely woken up when she realizes that Harry is still mad from the night before. The silent treatment that Harry prefers when she’s like this isn’t going to achieve anything, so Louis gets up to apologize only to find out there’s more going on with her mate than she thought. That’s when her instincts take over.

An alpha/alpha AU inspired by Written All Over Your Face.

💜 dark rings of white noise by unwept / @peachade {M, 3k}

A culmination of emotions rise in him, he is a solar flare bubbling with indignation and shame and desire, three heavy emotions clashing together, threatening to explode in him and make a mess of his insides, ruin him and call the aftermath as art when he is more aftermath than art.

💜 Change of Plans by @haztobegood {G, 2k}

Harry and Louis plan to visit their families over Christmas. Sometimes, plans don't work out.

💜 When you're good to mama (he surprises you) by @sadaveniren {E, 2k}

“I hate your dick,” Harry sniffed.

“I know, baby.”

“Fucking magic beta dicks. Should have mated a damn alpha.”

aka Harry's pregnant with his sixth kid

💜 we don't fight fair by @hellolovers13 {E, 2k}

“What, you think I'll just roll over for you now?”

The smirk on Louis’ face was almost devilish. “Yes,” He breathed against Harry’s lips, cocky and sure, like it was a fact of life.

It sent all kinds of shivers through Harry. God, but he wanted to. Wanted Louis to have him right against this wall, let everyone see how he fell apart under him.

But not tonight.

Harry fixed his posture, standing up straighter and trying to get himself under control. “I don't think so, omega.”

Or: Nothing like a little chase to start off Louis' heat.

💜 Hanging Around by @homosociallyyours {G, 1k}

As a gay alpha loving alpha, Harry spent a lot of his life expecting to be single forever. Meeting Louis changed that, and after moving in together Harry realizes that he has the urge to nest. It's not a typical thing for an alpha to do, but Harry has never thought of himself as typical. Then again, neither is Louis.

💜 I got me an appetite, now I can taste it by @enchantedlandcoffee {E, 1k}

"Haz, are you sure about this? I don't want to hurt you, love." Louis asked, hovering over Harry's chest.

"Lou..." The omega whined, bringing his hands to the alpha's butt in an attempt to bring him closer. "You won't hurt me."

"Are you sure?" Louis asked again, staying rooted in his position until he was sure he wouldn't hurt the omega.

"I'm sure," Harry whined, moving his hands to the top of Louis' thighs. "How about this? If I'm uncomfortable in any way, I'll tap you twice, like this, okay?" The omega demonstrated the movement for Louis, tapping twice on the alpha's upper thigh.

OR Louis and Harry try something new in the bedroom.

[phoenixcatch7]

Random mdzs headcanons that I don't think interfere with canon:

Though sufficient cultivation cures this, lwj is short sighted. (this is because of that mxtx interview but if he actually was short sighted he would be wearing glasses in canon.) Similarly, so would lxc and lqr is already halfway there lol.

Wen chao is barely older than the main cast. Like a couple years at most. This is is because it took until his poor wife (who shall forever be unknown, rip) being mentioned for me to go 'that's an ADULT?!'. Everything from the voice to the face to the short sighted immaturity and the lying to adults in charge, there's no way this guy is anything over 20.

Lqr isn't a very strong cultivator for all his technical skill is impeccable. I think this because I thought he was young grandparent age when he's the uncle!! It's too much stress! Major props.

He's also aromantic! We know that nothing will stop a lan in love, much to their detriment, but not only does lqr seem to regard the lot of them as idiots for finding the absolute worst choices ever but I feel if he'd also loved and lost it would have been... Relevant.

Jfm was gay, and his unrequited love was wcz. Alternate sexualities (and queerness as a whole) is one of those things that's still so dangerous in many countries, and I guess ancient fantasy China is one of them! Poor mxy. Anyway that plus arranged marriages plus jfm being an only child (to my knowledge) and needing heirs... Yeah I feel like that's one of those things that happens. It's common all throughout history, forcing people into het relationships for any number of reasons or risk social (or even physical) death. I could so easily trace how that would have affected him through the courtship, marriage, his parents, him genuinely trying to love yzy and maybe deep inside knowing it was doomed to fail, her intelligence picking up on that and trying to figure out how she was unworthy, her feeling hurt and disrespected, getting more and more paranoid and sensitive as it wears on, her being so close to the right answer but correcting her would expose him. Him just trying to settle for mutual respect and teamwork and her never getting what she needs to be fulfilled in life, what she was raised and trained all her life in preparation for. The way he's so unwilling to force his kids to do anything miserable and the way he's so quick to call off the engagement when all he's hearing is disinterest and incompatibility. I could make this a whole post on its own but I fully believe this man lived and died like so many other queer people have in the past - never being able to find out who he truly was, and that he wasn't broken for not being the way he needed to be. Wangxian have an easier time of it, but when there's stories like mxy? People keep their heads down. He raised jc the way he was raised, and he turned out fine. It wasn't their fault he was such a failure of a son.

To cheer things up, I firmly believe that wwx is bisexual af. Just because lwj is his soulmate doesn't mean he's not. Are you an mxtx protag if you're simply, straightforwardly gay? I think not.

Though I do wonder if jc being Banned From Women was 100% an entirely whoopsie daisy accident. Sometimes standards are supposed to be impossible... Now I think about it, the certainty lwj hated wwx, the total lack of any partner, the focus on jl, the constant frustration with wwx's flirting and incomprehension with jyl crushing on jzx... I think the women are the only straight ones in the family, cuz he's sounding the aroace bell! Good for him tbh!!! Break the cycle!!!!

Lsh is the child of either wrh, wc, jgs, or two perfectly lovely normal people who died in war/childbirth. He was 100% a village kid, so thank goodness they all stepped up. I feel like one of the wens would have told wwx his parentage either way, so if he hasn't told anyone else I can't imagine it's great.

Each sect is associated with an element. The wens of course were fire, the nie earth, the lan air, the jin water (koi/carp tower), and the jiang are lightning (given we assume yzy and the jiang territory are compatible (her husband is probably water lol oof)). Years of specialised clan training and select marriages have caused the clan members qi to take on movement (at minimum) matching the respective elements. This is based on the anime, where everyone has nice handy colour coded qi, but the twin jades have the prettiest cloud texture that perfectly matches their crest and wwx has an almost lightning spiky red with just enough smoulder to make he sure he's a fire type. This also!!! Matches their fighting styles, have you noticed?? Idk if they did it on purpose or not but it's so cool!!! Wwx and jc are constantly moving, redirection, bounce and flip around; lwj and lxc are very twirly, lots of attacks from above, lwj often lets his sword fly mid battle, and of course the music! And the nie are very... Brick wall lol. I'd say NHS is air? Maybe? Water?

This one's a bit silly, but I like to imagine csr and bsr are mother and daughter from a distant land where people use their surnames last (gasp) and it wasn't really important to bsr cuz secluded mountain but they did figure it was going to be a problem a touch late. 'oh but phoenix they have different spellings in Chinese' csr got asked 'oh so like the immortal?' panicked and changed it on the spot. Her husband's nicknames all use her 'surname', he's the only one who knows about the mix up.

Spinning in the air helps you change an attack or helps you float. Yes this is based entirely on the anime (donghua?) where even the most serious of characters (lwj) do three full rotations before landing a big attack midair. It might be so he has time to get his guqin out lmao.

Jc is left handed, I'm pretty sure that's anime canon at least. Any good swordsman (or dual sword whip wielder!) can do a little ambidexterousness tho.

Wwx can do decent guqin cuz he's the gentleman prodigy of the arts but he probably whittled a dozen dizi out of roadside bamboo on long journeys to entertain himself which is why chengching was such a fine tuned spiritual tool.

The jiangs were a great sect lead by good people in an ehhhh family. Individually they're all actually decent people but they bring out the worst in each other even as it keeps them all in check.

I firmly believe that yzy was holding back a LOT when made to whip wwx in front of the wen wench. That's a whole entire spiritual weapon and she was going at it wildly in a barely stable environment. Compare that to lwj who took the discipline whip not too many more times (if any) and was rendered bed bound if not house bound for years recovering (and grieving) and over a decade later is still a mass of scar tissue. And that was an orderly and structured punishment using materials designed to NOT kill the victim, not a whole entire LIGHTNING MURDER WEAPON. Wwx was back on his feet minutes later sword fighting, rowing, carrying jc on his back... Lwj is the more realistic result, real whips can be lethal, and very, very dangerous. They are excruciatingly painful and if you make a mistake they can easily flay skin and muscle to crack bone. You're not supposed to strike the same patch of skin twice. Yeah wwx and his stupid pain tolerance but I truly believe him and yzy were in full accord in that moment with the roles they had to play (and jc hated every second). She could at least have apologised... in the middle of heated battle for her home and life though....

Lwjs eyes are gold and sunset and stars' YES ALSO BUT I looked at them and my immediate reaction was 'that's a bird of prey'. They're LITERALLY falcon eyes, they're identical, and I've never once seen that comparison :(. He's already piercing/intense/pinning/scouring, (and his anime eyeliner and dark lashes look like the markings) he's so perfect for the metaphor. Make it that wwx is the rabbit prey, come on.

Why is wwx sun coded but moon aesthetic and lwj moon coded but sun aesthetic like how's that fair why does it always happen.

Stop blaming wwx for Suiban he admits he came up with a zillion good names and it was jfm who didn't pick any and named it as a joke. Ngl if that was my trusted person who went and did that I would have been gutted but hey wwx thrives. I do feel like jfm naming the sword that wwx sacrifices to save jc is grounds for some angst at the very least.

Lxc was definitely in some situation with the other two because he does read as a parallel to lwj. Their romantic lives are basically inversions of each other, you could hold a graph up to a mirror. It's just that lwj was so deeply lucky to get wwx back, and he fell in love with someone true to himself. Lxc just got used and left with the ashes, no matter how much true love was on either side. Wwx chose family, kindness and community with poverty and jgy chose greed and power and wealth for total isolation. It was NHS that inverted their fates, but either brother's love could only come at the cost of the other. Poor qiren...

All those fancy huge ribbons in everyone's hair (again it's the anime donghua) are special and ridiculously sturdy ribbons given by the parents they wear in varying styles to tie it all up and as they grow up so they don't trip on it. This is a silly headcanon but I love it cuz those ribbons are stupid long and literally everyone has it. Maybe it's the mdzs equivalent of the guan ceremony?

Wwx has for sure done cannibalism.

Ooh painful headcanon time - his parents died in yiling right? And all corpses get tossed into the mounds for centuries, right? Nonzero chance wwx's parents bodies broke his fall.

Lwj gets wwx a mule for a birthday/festival cuz those guys are basically the perfect mounts humans are ever going to get, they're just v rare and infertile. They're smart and brave as donkeys and fast and strong like the horse, resulting in an animal that is down for mounted parkour with the right training. And then lwj can ride a horse alongside wwx when they go travelling ^^. Idk I just think it'd be super cute.

Wwx only comes up with good names when he's doing real bad. Names when he's doing good: Suiban, li'l apple, rulan (after his bf). Names when he's doing bad: chengqing, yin iron tally/stygian tiger amulet, compass of evil.

[matsaysyes]

hey this might sound weird but im currently writing a story that heavily involves talking about the experience of being aroace. i js wanna be as accurate and inclusive as possible so if you could share some thoughts or experiences you think should be included that would be literally incredible

thanks! <3

I don’t mind at all! I think a big thing in the AroAce community is a feeling of loneliness. Not just because you won’t have a traditional romantic/sexual relationship with someone. It’s also a big feeling of loneliness within alloromantic/allosexual groups and even lgbt+ groups. I think the video by Jaiden Animations does a really good job at showing that. There’s a lot of pushback from people that Aromantic and Asexual aren’t real and that romantic feelings and sexual feelings are the same. Those are a lot of the issues that AroAce people, like myself, have to deal with.

Obviously the experience of being AroAce isn’t just all negatives though. Aromantic and Asexual are both spectrums and there are lots of different specific identities within them. It’s not just black and white. A big misconception about Aromantic and Asexual people is that you don’t want to be in those types of relationships or you have a low libido or you haven’t met the right person yet, etc. This isn’t true. Being aroace means you have little to no sexual and romantic attraction. You can still have sex with people or date people.

Some people of course don’t want those types or relationships but some do. Some people want a type of family unit. Living with someone who will always be with you maybe even have a child. All/most of it being platonic. This is what we call Queer platonic relationships. When you have a relationship with someone that is in between platonic and romantic/sexual. It can vary between different people because aro and ace are spectrums. It can be with someone almost like a life long friend who you live with. It can also be a life long friend who you might kiss and have a kid with (adopted or otherwise) even without the romantic and sexual attraction. Of course with these types of relationships you have to fully communicate what you want and how you feel.

I will now get into the specifics of how I personally feel. This paragraph will of course not be the same for everyone on the aroace spectrum. I personally am repulsed by the idea of sex. On the other hand I’m a hopeless romantic which makes me with I had those feelings towards people. It’s very hard for me to imagine what being attracted in those ways to people would be like. I don’t understand crushes or when people are called hot. Even though I long for a romance once I actually get one I feel absolutely disgusted when people flirt with me or kiss me. I love my friends and family dearly and I hate being called a robot for not wanting to date someone. I hate whenever having a friend you care about (especially one of the same gender) always turns into an investigation from everyone about whether or not you like them. Especially in school.

The biggest thing I want people to take away from this is that if anyone ever try’s to understand or represent a group (especially if you’re not apart of it) you should ask people who are. Multiple people, especially when those groups are spectrums like the Aromantic or Autism spectrums for example. I hope that I could in some way help you with your story. <3

[k7l4d4]

K Reviews and Rants: Miraculous Ladybug Season 5! Episode 9

Hello everyone! I'm dropping this a bit early, since I have work today.

Honestly, in retrospect, this episode kinda best represents the kind of hypocritical double standards MLB can get up to. As always, whenever Ladybug does something creepy, overly insistent, or boundary pushing, it gets treated like a joke, yet when Chat does it, it's presented as tragic that the person he likes isn't giving him a chance. Even leaving to the side this episode bringing the show's obsession with treating romance as the be-all end-all to life (which feels pretty insensitive to any aromantics in the audience) to the forefront, the episode has Alya, who has consistently been a person who, even after learning Marinette's secret, a near-rabid LadyNoir shipper, acting as a low-level obstacle by turning her stance on Ladybug get with Chat Noir on a dime. It's not healthy to treat romantic feelings like that; they aren't something that can be controlled, or reasoned with, or that you can just decide to no longer love someone or not. And the show treating love as this thing that can only ever happen between two people at any given moment is... unpleasant.

Now, enough of my rambling, onto the review! As always, please forgive my profanity.

Episode 9: Elation 

Okay, somehow Ladybug pulls out an entire table, complete with a cloth covering, chairs, and snacks. On the top of a roof. WHAT!? Okay just... no, this isn't any kind of funny. It's just weird and out of place. 

I'm honestly creeped out by how forward Ladybug is being. She's actively trying to keep Chat around, despite the fact that he is literally starting to time out of his transformation, and insistently trying to kiss him. Like, this is uncomfortable on so many levels to watch. 

I'm just exhausted, and it's not even five minutes in. It's just cringe-inducing role reversal between Ladybug and Chat Noir's usual dynamics, but whereas Chat, as annoying as he could be at his worst, limited himself largely to just flirting, Ladybug is actively trying to forcibly kiss him... and somehow doesn't seem to get the problem with that. Just... this show in general seems to have a severe issue with informing kids that you have to willingly and knowingly consent to be in a relationship, and that rejecting someone's advances SHOULD BE THE END OF IT. What makes this fiasco all the more infuriating is that Weredad was literally an entire episode dedicated to shutting down the idea of Chat liking Marinette. 

Okay, the thing I find the most annoying about this current set-up is that they aren't actually addressing anything INTERESTING about this change in dynamics. They just have Chat play it off as a joke or a test, and Ladybug moping. It's just boring drama. 

And now we get Marinette complaining about Chat Noir shutting her down... and we get Alya, one of the people who has ROUTINELY called out Ladybug for "not giving Chat Noir a chance" despite him constantly pushing Ladybug's boundaries, saying that her old behavior of keeping Chat at arms length and wanting to be just friends was perfectly within her right to do so. Yet her wanting to move on from Adrien is treated by both Alya and Tikki like some dumb joke. Wow, I am amazed (sarcasm). 

Okay, and now we get Marinette going "wait a minute, what if he's turning me down because he doesn't love me (Ladybug) anymore!?" Wow, it's almost as if he's a person with his own emotions and not obligated to return how Marinette feels... just like how she wasn't obligated to return how he felt back when he was being the ultimate flirt. It's just so... bland. Like, they aren't making Marinette be DUMB, but they are making her come off as oblivious that she can't see these very obvious reasons for things.

Oh, and one really annoying thing that's coming through to me is that Marinette doesn't seem to grasp that she's coming off as obsessive and massively pushing Chat's boundaries even further than he has ever pushed HERS. 

And we get yet another repeat of "blab our secret identities if we got together then Monarch would find out," but they never expand on HOW THAT WOULD EVEN WORK. And if I ever see anyone unironically point to Chat Blanc and Ephemeral, I would throw a fucking shoe at them because those episodes made it very fucking clear how contrived Gabriel "figuring it out" really is. He somehow failed to pick up on the truth FOR MONTHS in both throw-away timelines, and only figured it out based on a wild guess because of overhearing Adrien/catching Ladybug on video. Because it's not as if Ladybug is a nice person and would agree to pass along a gift for a girl's crush, or that anyone other than Chat Noir would use fancy pet names like "my lady." 

And now we get the strawmanning of Marinette deflecting the already shoddy argument of "revealing their identities, leading to Hawkmoth figuring out who they are!" by getting mad at Nino and Alya blowing their secrets to one another... when as Alya pointed out, that's literally all her fault since she gave them their Miraculouses while they were directly in front of one another, at the exact same time. 

And now we get the "Marinette's lying to herself" point. Sigh, the level of deligitimization of romance going on in what's supposed to be a love story is honestly disgusting to me. 

Is Alya supportive of Marinette moving on, or isn't she? Is Alya respectful of Marinette's right to reject (or not reject) Chat Noir's advances, or isn't she? Are Marinette's feelings for Chat Noir real, or aren't they? It just can't seem to make up its mind and just clings to whatever stance makes the most drama. 

And now Marinette's just having a meltdown. Honestly, this is probably the most interesting part of the entire season to date, in that it's Marinette finally losing her cool over how her "love" for Adrien is functionally dead in the water and how she's basically been making a fool of herself for the majority of the school year all in the name of impressing a guy who hasn't shown any interest in her in nearly the entire time. 

Okay, Adrien just showed up to the bakery and he's acting super awkward. I would find it adorable to see him visibly out of his depth and having no clue what he's doing if it weren't tied to more Love Square BS.

Uuuhhh... I am honestly just... tired of how this show treats teenage crushes between awkward kids as if they are gonna be together forever. 

It's one thing if it's just the teens themselves, but the adults too? They should honestly know better. Okay, I'm honestly mostly annoyed at just how incessantly Alya is trying to push Marinette in Adrien's direction. It honestly looks more like she cares more about getting them together than about how Marinette feels and what she wants. To note, I don't blame this on her, but on the writers, since if they think THIS is being a good friend, I pity whoever they claim are their best buds. 

Because let's be honest, even though the writing is very strongly portraying Marinette as a Strawman against HERSELF, her position is honestly the most moral (however loose and twisted a definition of the word you use) in that so far, everyone who should be in her corner is ignoring her agency and pushing her to do something she (currently) does not want to do. 

She had me at "for once, we aren't talking about Adrien" and then lost me at "we are talking about Chat Noir." If this narrative of ignoring what she wants and feels and trivializing her desire to stop pursuing Adrien in favor of Chat Noir hadn't been pushed as an inaffective case of denial on her part, seeing her shut down Alya honestly acting like a bad friend and just having actual turmoil in their friendship would be interesting, but because it's all about this stupid Love Square BS, it's just irritating. 

And the stupidest part of all this is that I'm still not even five minutes into the episode. 

I will say this, seeing Marinette's downward spiral into paranoia, self-loathing, and just a flatout inability to cope with being a superhero could be interesting... if they weren't trying to make it all about the Love Square. 

Adrien getting ambushed by someone who wants a photo "with the Alliance guy" does a surprisingly good job at pointing out that the so-called "freedom" of Alliance supplanting his responsibilities as a model is just a facade. It's almost entertaining.

What really makes this whole thing with both Alya AND Tikki treating Marinette's crush on Chat as if she's lying to herself so obnoxious to me is that the battle against Safari with Marinette becoming Lady Noir kinda strongly implied that her feelings ARE real... and now this episode has her having to convince herself that this is true. It's kinda pathetic how inconsistent the writers are. 

I'm honestly kinda banging my head against the wall at how Marinette doesn't seem to realize she's acting around Chat EXACTLY how she acts around Adrien; i.e. a flailing, awkward, motor-mouthed MESS with limited self-control and non-existent self-confidence. 

Okay, just got it started again and WOW, they are seriously doing the "awkward whistling while up on a balcony" scene. Oof... it just looks so awkward. 

EEeeeyyuupp... Marinette's inability to talk to her crush (THAT ONLY EVER SEEMS TO APPLY TO ADRIEN/CHAT NOIR) is back again. Ugh, they seriously can't come up with any new material, can they? 

Honestly, what's throwing me off the most with this is that they are having Chat be so awkward and dodging addressing his apparent attraction to Marinette... which doesn't make much sense to me given his track record for being blatant to the point of being pushy when it comes to Ladybug. Why in the world is he so awkward HERE, with Marinette? 

Okay, awkwardness sorta passes a bit with Chat providing a cheesy pickup line... but I will (grudgingly) give the writers credit, since this comes off as the most heartfelt and genuine moment in all of S5 I've seen so far. 

And Marinette goes and says "she thinks of Chat like a fan." They SERIOUSLY cannot keep her from self-sabotaging herself, even for a second, can they? Okay, they recovered it. Still cringe-inducing. But the fact that they set this up as being doomed to fail, despite this honestly being the BEST romantic representation the show has had ALL THIS TIME, is infuriating. 

And now we FINALLY get Alya having a moment of self-reflection over how she's treating Marinette's feelings... now how are they gonna fuck this up?

Okay, and we get TIKKI being the one to ruin things by claiming that Marinette's feelings for Chat Noir having "caused negative feelings between her and Alya!" Like... Tikki. THOSE NEGATIVE FEELINGS WERE PURELY BECAUSE YOU AND ALYA WERE IGNORING AND DISMISSING THE VALIDITY OF HER FEELINGS, WTF ARE YOU ON ABOUT!? 

And I honestly just "love" how Tikki claims that romance between the holders of Creation and Destruction has the risk of causing the end of the world... when we literally have ONE OF HER PAST WIELDERS CONTRADICTING THIS!! As much as I fucking utterly HATE the revisions they made to Joan of Arc's history, SHE AND DARK GRIMALKIN NEVER PUT THE WORLD AT RISK JUST BY GETTING TOGETHER!! And Tikki KNOWS that Adrien and Chat Noir are the same person, SO BY THAT LOGIC SHE SHOULD BE DISCOURAGING BOTH OF MARINETTE'S CRUSHES!! GOD FUCKING DAMMIT DOES THIS PISS ME OFF!!! 

And here comes the Ice Cream Crybaby. Ughh... I'm just gonna tune out this idiot, since nothing he says is anything more than a bad joke about shipping. Okay, them acting as if Andre going "Chat Noir is supposed to love Ladybug, and Marinette is supposed to be in love with Adrien Agreste" and having them be rattled honestly annoys me. It's just more feelings invalidation. 

Nope, nope. N-O-P-E. This all just absolute BULLSHIT. I don't mind Chat Noir learning that Marinette used to crush on Adrien, and literally EVERYONE knows Chat Noir is obsessed with Ladybug, but why the absolute FUCK are they treating Andre telling them this as if it's some big reveal that they never knew about!? Like, yeah, in this context, CHAT has a reason to be upset because he now has a reason to think that the girl he now has a crush on wouldn't love him if she learned the truth, but why in the world is MARINETTE acting as if her crush on Adrien is this big secret OR that Chat's crush on Ladybug was a big secret!? This episode ITSELF had it pointed out that Chat was head over heels for Ladybug, and that idiotic two-parter Truth and Lies had it revealed to Marinette that her "crush" on Adrien is WELL KNOWN TO ALL OF PARIS!!! Dear LORD is all of this obnoxious. I just... can't deal with this crap. I'm just gonna try and tune this out, for real, because this pisses me off way too much to be healthy. 

And the forced drama BS just keeps on coming. I knew, I just KNEW, that Marinette describing herself as a fan would come back to bite her in the ass, because now Chat thinks he's taking advantage of her, not building a real relationship, meaning the ONE possible bright spot in this BS season has just been shot in the foot. FUCK ALL THIS NOISE.

And we get another fucking meltdown from Marinette, and unlike the prior one, this one is just obnoxious because it's entirely forced by the writing insisting that she HAS to be pursuing a relationship to be happy instead of, you know, HAVING FRIENDS, HOBBIES, AND A FAMILY THAT LOVES HER!!! 

Because all this BS? It's just the show artificially creating drama FOR THE UMPTEENTH TIME!! All to shoot in the foot a ship they were never gonna let get off the ground in the first place, and I FUCKING HATE IT!! 

And of FUCKING COURSE they make it be Chat Noir forcing Marinette into a kiss in a panic be the thing that stops the Akumatization, BECAUSE WHY FUCKING NOT!? 

And WHY THE ABSOLUTE FUCK ARE THEY ACTING AS IF IT'S THE FACT THAT MARINETTE IS PURSUING CHAT NOIR THE REASON SHE WAS ALMOST AKUMATIZED!? Seriously, THIS IS NOT THE FIRST CLOSE CALL SHE HAS HAD!!! It is not possible, NOR HEALTHY, to be lacking in negativity every second of every fucking DAY, and I just GAAHHH!!! I can't even put into words how much this nonsense both disgusts and angers me. I'm just... I'm just gonna stop typing, and wait until we get past the Akuma before I add any other thoughts, I just can't DEAL with this. 

Alright, I'm wrong, one last moment. Seriously, it has been who knows how many moments since Andre last saw Chat Noir and Marinette, WHY THE FUCK IS HE GETTING UPSET NOW OF ALL TIMES!? He wasn't even fazed to see them when they showed up asking for Ice Cream, SO WHY IS HE UPSET!? Was he spying on them and saw them kiss somehow!? Because that's the only thing I can think of that would make this manchild flip out like that. 

OH DO NOT EVEN GIVE ME THAT "LOVING CHAT NOIR WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA!!" BS!!! WHAT HAPPENED HAD NOTHING TO FUCKING DO WITH YOUR CRUSH AND EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THE WRITERS FORCING DRAMA FOR THE SAKE OF IT!!! 

Marinette IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT AT ALL!!! Andre has been set off by FUCKING PICTURES in the past, and I'm just fucking SICK of this forced drama nonsense. SICK OF IT!!!

Huh, we get ANOTHER Akuma that's actually incapable of retrieving the Miraculous. Who knew an Akuma that's a giant Ice Cream Golem without actual hands and whose limbs are too big to even remove the Miraculouses to start with was a bad idea? /s 

Okay, never mind, apparently he can reach his human limbs through the ice cream. 

I would be more impressed by Alya learning to let Marinette make her own choices regarding her feelings if it weren't coming off the heels of her attempting to FORCE MARINETTE TO LET ADRIEN KISS HER IN A PRIOR EPISODE, among many other things. It's a sharp case of "too little too late." 

The way this show treats the fact that they are superheroes and having secret identities as this overwhelming obstacle against being a couple is exhaustively stupid. 

And like, AGAIN, the "we love each other as friends" resolution is so much a case of "too little too late" I just roll my eyes. 

Okay, how did Hawkmoth know where Ladybug and Chat Noir were hiding?? 

You know, the stupidest fucking part of all this, Andre's obsession with Ladybug and Chat Noir being a couple, is the fact that THEY WERE NEVER A COUPLE TO BEGIN WITH. Making him going "what matters is that you are happy" bit ring hollow, because the actual status of their "relationship" has never stopped his nonsense in the past. 

Show of hands, who thinks that Gabriel learning that Chat Noir is "in love with Marinette" will amount to all of fucking nothing? (Raises hand) 

And now they are having Chat write off Marinette's feelings as "idolization." Which, yeah, is partially because of Marinette's fumbles right from the very beginning of this episode... but that honestly more accurately describes Marinette's feelings FOR ADRIEN than it does for CN. 

Huh. Chat Noir managed to make me find a joke of his funny. ...Please check outside your window to make sure the sky isn't on fire and raining cats and dogs. And we get the ending being Plagg (accidentally) encouraging Adrien to keep pursuing Marinette on the basis of "she could fall for me again!" Instead of doing the emotionally healthy thing and try to move on.

[im-gonna-draw]

Name: Opal

Affiliation: Courtless

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Key Personality Traits: clever, dependable, world-savvy, witty, prideful

Likes: traveling, selling merchandise, finding people to match witts with, being right, making other people look stupid, men’s clothing, Oleander

Dislikes: tricking customers, breaking/someone breaking deals, her family history, Opulence and her side of the family, romance, letting her guard down

Bio: Opulence’s estranged cousin. More specifically, she’s a descendent from the Brother in the fable “Leaves of Plenty”, who was outwitted and humiliated by the Younger Brother. Her side of the family had always lived in Opulence’s side’s shadow, often mocked for having lost their wealth to the other. Opal ultimately decided to take their story in a new direction by becoming a traveling merchant, exploring the realm far and wide with her Stall-in-a-Bag. She opens her stall wherever she sees fit and sells very rare items from her travels.

While she’s keen on overselling her merch to others, she’s adamant about making an honest sale without any trickery involved. Whether this is due to her family history or trying to distance herself from Opulence’s reputation is unknown.

Because she travels so often (and perhaps her fear of someone deceiving her and forcing her to repeat her family’s shameful history), Opal makes it a point to not form any attachments. Further, she finds romance to be a curse that makes the strongest of magical creatures act like fools (she would be considered asexual/aromantic by today’s terms). Despite all this, she can’t help but enjoy Oleander’s company, who easily matches her dry humor. They also bond over their unique taste in fashion, as Opal chooses to dress like a man as dresses make her feel too “vulnerable”.

Quotes:

• “So….you were just pretending to want to marry my cousin? …..Snrk….I laughed, sorry, that’s terrible but I did.”

• “Jack, heard you took Opulence’s home from her. You get a discount on your next purchase.”

• “Behold: A tooth or claw from a real dragon! ….Does it really matter which one it is? Did you hear me say dragon?”

• “I once watched a Siren drag a sailor to his death. I guess I could’ve saved him, but he tried to rob me once so I didn’t……Oh wait, or was that his brother? Oh dear…”

• “I’m only in this village for two days. It’s too late, you’ve seen the book! Now if you don’t buy it, you’ll always wonder ‘what if’!”

• “You pissed me off. Now I’m only here for one day.”

• “Aw, are you trying to flirt with me to get out of our deal? That’s so cute! (Beat) I hate cute.”

• “Tell you what, Oleander. Find me a good summer outfit that’ll fit my style and this tea set is all yours.”

• “Counteroffer.” (Catchphrase)

• “I won’t go back on my word. I’m not my wretched cousin.”

• “Ah, I do love the drama of a good auction.”

@leafkingofbirds

[readingoals]

Mid Year Book Freak Out Tag (2024)

I know I'm a bit late with this but I figured I might as well still do it 🤷‍♀️I wasn't tagged but hey if you also haven't done it and want to consider this a tag, feel free lmao

This is hard to narrow down because I've read some absolute crackers and nothing is like super standing out from the rest. Maybe The Next Big Thing by James Colley just for how fun and Aussie it was, or maybe Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie because it was a clever mystery with some really great Poirot/Hastings banter.

Another toughie because though I've not read many sequels, the ones I have picked up have all be great. Recently I caught up on the last two The Adventure Zone graphic novels and god I just love that series so much. I loved the podcast and I think they're done a great job of adapting them.

Also right up there are Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson and The Kiss Curse by Erin Sterling, both of which I adored.

I've surprisingly not re-read all that many books this year (yet anyway, there's a couple I wouldn't mind getting to). So I think it has to be The Shadow of the Wind. That's been one of my fave books for years now and it had been a while since I last picked it up so it was so great to revisit it again.

As it has been for the last few years, the genre I've been reading most is mystery. Most of those are Agatha Christie's since I try and read one a month.

Oh theres a few of these. A Botanical Daughter was probably my most anticipated release of the year but it took aaaggggesss for me to get my hands on a copy because the place i pre-ordered it from went into voluntary administration so my copy was never shipped. I mean I probably wasn't going to read it until October anyway but while waiting for it to arrive I also read some reviews that said it kind of missed the mark so I'm a little less excited now. The other book I still havent got around to picking up is Kill Your Husband by Jack Heath even though I was really excited for it too. And then there's also Clairmont by Lesley McDowell which I hadn't known was coming out but I saw in store and immediately bought and then also didn't read it.

Definitely Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio. I think Ben Aaranovitch also has something new coming around September but I'll admit I'm a little behind on all of the rivers of london novellas and stuff. The Benjamin Stevenson has a Christmas book coming and I think the next book in the Ex Hex series is also due out and I'll probably pick it up pretty quick.

Hopeless Aromantic. Huge disappointment. I was really interested in a queer nonfic book that focused on aromanticism rather than asexuality and it just missed the mark by so much. It was poorly researched and cobbled together and frankly not worth anyone's time.

The Mysterious Mr Quin by Agatha Christie. I've read a few of her short story collections before so I went in expecting the usual sort of thing and it definitely felt like it was going along similar lines to start. But it got weird. In a good way. It feels as if the stories flirt with fantasy elements, and the last one even crosses over maybe? almost? Mr Harley Quin came off as kind of creepy too. It was definitely not quite like her usual stuff and I really really enjoyed it.

I've read from I think 9 or 10 authors that were new to me and yet I'm not really sure how to answer this, no one super stands out. Maybe Erin Sterling? I've read two of her romances this year (tho does she really count since it's the pen name for rachel hawkins and i've read one of her mysteries?), the book I read from James Colley was also really good and I'd probably pick up whatever he wrote next, so maybe him? From a nonfic author, Carnage by Mark Dapin (an Aussie true crime book) was very interesting and I liked he way he handled such difficult topics, so maybe him?

Probably Alex Easton from the T Kingfisher novellas?

I don't think anything I've read this year has really made me cry. I thought Loveless might but it didn't this time around. I guess I did get a bit blurry eyed during The Adventure Zone: Eleventh Hour graphic novel and same with Carnage, but not full tears.

Oh, so many lmao. The TAZ graphic novels, Ghosts: The Button House Archives, The Thread That Binds, Everyone On This Train is a Suspect, Cain's Jawbone (happy that I got it solved though I never got confirmation I was right lmao).

Okay this one is easy. My Folio Society edition of The Shadow of the Wind. Also, since I answered this last year I've also got the Folio Society edition of Frankenstein and I know I got it last year but I couldn't not mention it.

I also found some of Georgette Heyer's mysteries in a great edition at the lifeline book fest

I have 6 more Agatha Christie books to read (I'm partway through one of them now). Then there's also the copy of Northanger Abbey that Lauren annotated for Christmas last year, that'll be coming up soon, and whatever book we decide to annotate and swap for this years present. I'd like to spend October reading at least a couple of Frankenstein/Mary Shelley inspired books so I'll probs try and get to A Botanical Daughter then, maybe Clairmont and maybe Chicano Frankenstein or any of the others I have. I'd also really like to get to Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies but I'm saving it for like the end of the year when it's summer.

[zero-braincells-left]

not a vent post but idk if anyone actually wants to listen to me talk about romance and my gf and. my confidence in my romantic attraction shattering right in front of me lmao. anywho

tldr: hmmmmmmmmmm hey i might be lithromantic. but first let’s go on several unrelated tangents that only barely go together to prove whatever point i was trying to make??

ive kind of felt like i feel romance. wrong ? like i know there isn’t a wrong way like this and whatnot but it’s still just. idk. first of all like,,,, i just don’t get the concept of falling in love (romantic). what being in love would even feel like. but most definitely not in an aromantic way, no, i 100% do have crushes. i am. extremely sure about that part. but that’s just liking people. i feel like im too young to be in love, but everyone else announces such. last time i used the word love romantically was fucking forever ago when i was in 4th grade with my very first crush. that, in fact, was not love. love is just a strong word.

(after writing everything else im unsure where to put this where it fits, but also, I haven’t really been able to imagine myself in any sort of long term, romantic relationship. i don’t want to get married, and i can’t see myself dating someone for, like, life.)

but i love my friends. because that’s platonic. love is a perfectly acceptable word to use for platonic or familial things in my mind. just not romance, at least not for myself? like i get the thing of having a partner and being able to say “i love you” and i mean. cmon. with all the ships i have I’ve imagined that with characters plenty of times. but like

i love my best(?) friend so, sosososo much more than i “love” my girlfriend. because, with dating, i just like her. romantic . and she knows that and the feelings mutual because love is just too strong a word for a relationship both of us know isn’t forever. but. do i even like her (romantic.)? i think so? i had a crush on her for like. half a year. and i know that was a crush, for sure. and that day on Halloween when we started dating i was happy, i was excited. but something about calling her my “girlfriend” felt so. weird. ive never dated anyone before, not even a shitty 3 day long elementary school “dating” kinda thing, so i just kinda chalked it up to that. i still can’t pinpoint what it is but right now. yeah, okay, we’re dating. whenever i think about that fact—I like the thought of it but i don’t like that it’s real. that it’s happening. the thought of being ‘romantic’ or holding hands or anything feels genuinely uncomfortable if i think about it now, even when it used to be a nice idea. and in practice, before either of us knew the other liked them, and we had all sorts of “fake” flirting bullshit, i was also perfectly fine and even happy (and flustered) by the closeness because. i liked her. and now with a relationship, even if the idea makes me really uncomfy, in practice I don’t really mind. it’s just, kind of, neutral.

speaking of which, I’ve made several “if you say that again im breaking up with you” or when she does something dumb/silly and goes ‘oh yeah? what you gonna do? break up with me?’ “yes” jokes. and like. she’s fine with that and we both think it’s funny but. i genuinely don’t not mean it, like, the idea of breaking up with her doesn’t bother me (well, it does a bit.) and the idea of staying with her, still dating, also doesn’t bother me (well, it does a bit). again im just completely neutral on it, and she knows this. but i feel like im only here because she likes dating me more than i enjoy it. i cant tell if I like this or not.

it’s like, knowing my feelings were reciprocated and being able to date her like I wanted to, made my feelings go away or at least. lessen (cause i still, I guess, do like her? sort of?)

anyways i guess I might be lithromantic then ? i already know of that label AND I’d considered it before.

for long as I can remember now, I guess, whenever I have crushes I can get over them really quickly. it’s just having that closure that’s fine. hell, earlier this year I liked one of my friends so i told him, got confirmation he didn’t like me back, and then got over it the next day. that was just a few months of crushing though—a couple years ago, i had a crush on one of my main friends at the time for one whole year. December to February of the following year. my feelings didn’t weaken over that time, either. then i got peer pressured into confessing, got confirmation it was a no, and the VERY. NEXT . DAY. i was over him. i knew it was a no so I didn’t dwell on it.

it’s just always been like that, I guess. i can get over anyone if I have the closure.

but nobody’s ever liked me back before. what happens if that ‘closure’ is a yes? i thought about it one time maybe a year or so ago and thought that, yeah, maybe I’d stop liking someone if that was the case. and now it… sort of is. i don’t know how I feel about my gf or what to do about it and I don’t know how to talk to her about it. i know she’s understanding of that so it’s not that im scared she’ll think im weird or wrong for it, just. idk. i dont even know what I’d say, but I might try tomorrow.

im fine dating her, i honestly don’t mind it, i just feel like being able to. express how i do feel about it at least haha. and i feel really guilty that this might be mostly one-sided on her end.

i have another thing to say actually but I’ll rb and add it on cause I want to end this specific thought here

[wooziswonderfulworld]

Love is (not) in the air

Z realizes how different his love life is compared to his friends. Aka Z realizes he might be Aromantic

—————-

For as long as he could remember Aaron Z was different from his classmates, as a child he never had crushes on anyone like his peers did, when everyone was getting into relationships in high school he wasn’t

“Oh you’ll find someone” his mother told him when he was fifteen, then he was sixteen and still had no romantic feelings for anyone

“Maybe they just aren’t my type” he’d try and reason with himself but did he even have a type? He was sure he did, everyone had a type

Then he was joining a new boy band, 4town, by this point he was seventeen almost eighteen. He quickly learned that all four of them where very much into romance. Jesse, the oldest was engaged to the “love of his life” he’d met her, she was kind and her and Jesse made a cute couple

Then there was Robaire, who was fittingly born on February 14th, spoke one of the most romantic language ever fluently, and in general just loved the idea of romance (Z was certain he had a secret girlfriend)

Aaron T loved watching romcoms (much to Z’s displeasure), he was a huge flirt as well and would often flirt with Z but the slightly older boy couldn’t even tell that was what he was doing. No one ever flirted with him it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t tell

Tae Young was the biggest sap, he loved any romantic gestures, would constantly talk about finding his “one true love” would awe when he saw a couple showing affection to each other (something Z couldn’t stand seeing, he didn’t understand why couples had to be on lovey dovey out in Public, go home and do that)

“You’re just a hater” Tae Young told him with a laugh as they walked through the park

Z just shrugged, sure maybe he was just jealous because everyone seemed to be able to fall in love and he couldn’t “where you in a bad relationship and now you don’t like romance?” Tae Young asked bringing him out of his thought process, shaking his head he spoke up “never been in one”

Tae Young was shocked by this news “what!? But you’re like every, well a lot of, girls ideal type how are you single??” Z just shrugged “well did you have any crushes” again he shook his head “well I had fictional crushes..?” He muttered “that doesn’t count!” Tae Young Said laughing “did you find people attractive?” “I think so? But it only lasted a few days” he said rubbing the back of his neck

“Wow that’s so weird” Tae Young Said, Z sighed, maybe their was something wrong with him, he felt like this wasn’t normal, his lack in romantic feelings couldn’t be normal maybe he could start dating just to fit in, but he couldn’t waste someone’s time knowing he didn’t have feelings for them

He spent the rest of the walk thinking about himself, about how different he was compared to his friends how none of them could relate to him and how he felt

As they made it back home Z sat down on the sofa immediately looking away from the tv as the guys where watching some stupid romance movie “did you guys know that Z has never dated anyone ever!” Tae Young announced earning a glare from Z “really?” Robaire asked surprised “maybe it’s cause he’s shy, don’t worry man you’re still young you’ll find someone” Jesse said from his spot on the couch

“But do I need to be in a relationship to be happy?” Z wondered aloud “because I have no desire to be in one” Jesse paused thoughtfully “well I guess not but why would you want to be alone?”

“I’m not alone I have you guys” He said shrugging “well what about when we move into our own separate homes?” T asked now pausing the tv “um I don’t know; I kinda like the idea of being alone. I mean I guess the idea of romantic gestures doesn’t bother me but an actual romantic relationship doesn’t interest me at least right now and since I was a child” Z explained

The guys looked at him again trying to understand him. Z just sighed giving up and went upstairs to his room

—-

It was 2002 now, the band was doing amazing, they where the biggest boy band in the world at that point. Aaron Z was now 23 and still hasn’t been in a relationship despite what rumors people started

Unfortunately the guys had gotten really tired of him not showing interest in anyone, so what did they do? Starting setting him up with people

“I hate you guys” Z groaned “I don’t even know the chick”

“I told you her name is Amara she’s 23 so same age as you and she’s very friendly” Robaire said trying to decide between to shirts

Z just huffed and zoned out. Before he knew it she was there at the front door

“Amara hi! So good to meet you” Robaire said opening the door for her “this Aaron” He said pushing Z forward, he froze not really the best at suddenly meeting new people, especially if he was gonna go on a date with them “hi nice to meet you” she said, Z nodded softly “he’s shy and has trouble talking to girls so, we’re trying to get him out there” Robaire said

Z zoned out again, everything was a blur and he hadn’t realized they where halfway to the restaurant “you don’t talk much do you?” Amara asked making him turn red “sorry” he muttered “it’s okay I get it you’re shy”

Z looked at her, she was very pretty but he still felt nothing, but they barely talked, maybe it would change…

Nope.

The drive back was silent, Z felt absolutely nothing for her. Even when she flirted with him he just responded with “okay” and “thanks” when she complimented him on his physical appearance all he said was “I know” because he couldn’t think of anything else

“Sorry” He muttered getting out of her car and walked to the front door as she drove away. That was the sixth date he’d been set up on and still he felt nothing

He opened the door ignoring the members and went to his room going on Google and typing something into his computer

“Why can’t I fall in love?” He typed searching for an answer

After a while he found something “aromantic?” He muttered reading into it, it felt like everything was clicking, this was it. Aaron Z was aromantic and there where so many people just like him who could relate just like he could

T burst in making him slam his laptop shut and turn towards him “did it not go well?” T asked him. Z shook his head “well I found this-“ “T stop” Z Said shaking his head and handed him his laptop

T raised a brow but opened it seeing what Z was reading “Aromantic?” He asked Reading about it “Aaron are you aromantic?” He asked curiously “I think so? I mean everything seemed to click for me when I read it”

“So setting you up on dates is pointless?” T asked making Z nod “probably” He said, T smiled and hugged him “I’m glad you’ve finally figured yourself out” he muttered

“Thanks T, so am I”

[imaginedmelody]

please feel free to talk about any of your middle aged gays wips I would LOVE to hear about any of them 👀💖

Beloved, this is literally my love language and you KNOW that 💖💖💖 A few of these are either not quite middle-aged or only one of the two members is, but here we go:

Allen Hynek & Michael Quinn, Project Blue Book- Listen, I know Allen Hynek was a real person, but the version of him in this TV series is very fictional and my version is even more so 🤣My top WIP right now is an aromantic-Allen fic which I am going to tentatively say is ALMOST done. It's what I'm usually working on in sprints (and I'm going to say something bold here: there's one passage in this that may be some of my favorite words I've ever written.) This pairing has the cocky fighter pilot/nerdy professor dynamic we've all been waiting for. The show is enjoyable if not outstanding, cancelled 1 season before it should have ended, and the fandom is not nearly big enough.

Irving & Burt, Severance- The ULTIMATE canon yearning! I've been working on a fic about them for months, but the fact that there's so much mystery associated with this show means that trying to write a romantic interaction with them outside of Lumon is proving complicated, lol. I've written pretty much all of it except the part that requires any explanation of the logistics of this show's universe. IDK, I am just deeply drawn to the vulnerability of two people whose knowledge of each other is confined to this very limited existence, stepping outside of that place's boundaries and discovering each other in the process. This fic has Irv and Burt flirting over classical music as well; between pieces I'm going to mention in the fic and other non-classical pieces that remind me of the pairing, I'm tempted to include a playlist along with this when I publish it.

Ted Lasso & Trent Crimm, Ted Lasso- Okay, okay, I don't have any solid WIPs about these two at the moment (there's one I started a long time ago that is in sleep mode until I figure out what I want to do with it), but Season 3 premieres March 15th and Trent Crimm apparently plays a "significant role" in it, so you KNOW I will have ideas in the very near future. I enjoy writing these two so much; they have such unique voices and that is so much fun to play with as a writer. Plus this trope is like grumpy/sunshine if the sunshine was secretly a clinically anxious mess of a human and the grumpy's harsh exterior was only a facade and he was unexpectedly very willing to have an open mind and see the good in someone.

Murray Bauman & Alexei, Stranger Things- (Alexei probably isn't quite "middle aged" here, but I'm including this anyway) Another underrated pairing, but I love their dynamic. Two people on opposite sides who could very easily be bitter enemies, but who (in the show, in canon) instead bond with each other so quickly! They snark and sass, but Murray is quite literally the only person who speaks Alexei's language, in personality as well as in actual words. I've already written fic for them, and I thought that was gonna be it, but I have more to say, lol

There are so many more middle-aged gays I love but haven't written for too! Truly we are in our best era with all of these wonderful pairings.

[acilykos]

Senku Ishigami is Aromantic and Asexual and here is why:

Because I'm sick and tired of Senku ships (yes, the queer platonic ones too because he's a loveless AroAce, and the x reader. Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble) and because AroAces deserve good representation where we’re not labled as heartless or boring (because Senku has a heart and is kind, as much as he likes to give snide remarks at times, and is an AMAZING character), I have gathered every instance where Senku shows clear disinterest (and distaste) in romance and sexuality to prove once and for all that he has been 10 billion percent Aromantic and Asexual since day ONE.

I will talk about his responses to romance and physical touch as well as look at his "romantic relationships" throughout the manga (We’re talking about the entire work, so spoilers ahead!!)

I've cited the chapters, as well as have included the panels to which I'm referring in this post so you all can look at the proof yourselves and added the various links too.

Also Happy Pride Month everyone, it’s finally the Aces' Day of it, so it felt right to make the post today!

Now then, get excited!!

On his Sexuality:

Unlike Taiju, Senku seems to averse the idea of romance, already seen in Chapter 1, as he mocks Taiju's interest in, but refusal to act on five year long crush on, Yuzuriha, even having created a "love potion" that actually was petrol and offering it to Taiju. His expression when Yuzuriha was revived in the same dramatic sense as would be in a cliché romance, points to Senkū being very nonplussed by the show of romantic acts as well (Chapter 5).

Senku seemed equally unamused when Tsukasa stated his admiration towards him “Senku, you are… an incredible man.” (Chapter 4), replying to Tsukasa “A man who’d praise another man to his face… is either flirting or scheming. What’re you really trying to say?” (Chapter 4), clearly showing that both the flirting and the scheming are equally unwelcome.

He also mocks Hyoga‘s mannerism during their battle, saying he behaved as if this was some sort of „awkward“ love confession and that he is not interested even if he is „divorced“ (Chapter 80).

Senku claims romance and love to only cause problems due to its highly illogical nature, „A brain clouded by love is the most irrational kind. It leads to nothing but trouble.“, as he explains to Kohaku (Chapter 17) because he mistook her interest in him as romantic. Even saying „Annoying crap like that makes me wanna curl up and die.“.

He instantly dismissed the idea of getting Garnet, Sapphire and Ruby any boyfriends, saying “Not a chance we’ll make one of those with science!!” (Chapter 22) with a very shocked and appalled face.

When it comes to inquiring about his type, he doesn’t give any actual answers, like when Ruby, one of the prettiest girls in the Ishigami Village, asked what his type of girl is and Senku replied, without even paying any attention to her “Girls who can pump tons of oxygen into an iron forge.” (Chapter 23), a blunt answer as Kohaku calls him out on using Ruby’s ‘interest’ for his personal gain with no sincerity or care for Ruby herself.

He also responses to Nikki’s exclamation of possibly falling in love with him with clear repulsion, kindly asking her not to do that and to “nip that bud” (Chapter 66) as he does not want people to have romantic feelings towards himself. As seen with Kohaku and Nikki, he is not afraid of telling people openly that their romantic feelings are not welcomed when directed at himself, trying to kill any aroused feelings towards him as soon as possible.

He also stays unaffected by Amaryllis love confession as she tried to fool them, looking absolutely baffled and repulsed by this advance and act (Chapter 105). Senku cuts Amaryllis off, saying “I’m the one for you? Blah, blah, whatever. Where’s the treasure?” (Chapter 105), showing not even a millimetre of interest in her and being his practical self in search of the Soyuz capsule. Kohaku add to it, saying that Amaryllis has finally “Met her match” (Chapter 105), which shocks Amaryllis, making her exclaim “Resisting my irresistible charms? Is that even possible?” (Chapter 105) as everyone else, including Soyuz and Gen found her very appealing. Gen even claimed that “Dear Senku is immune to those acts” (Chapter 105) before proceeding to flirt with Amaryllis himself. As we later see as well, Amaryllis starts to understand that Senku is uninterested in romance, able to tell from Kohaku hugging him, which Senku does not reciprocate, that he has no romantic interest in others as she says that it’s “not that kind of hug” (Chapter 138).

Senku is apathetic and repulsed to any advances made towards him, as is also later seen with Luna. Every relationship he has had was only due to circumstantial needs and always with a face of pure confusion and / or a certain amount of distaste, like his accidental marriage to Ruri, after Chrome fell unconscious and couldn't fight and he in his stead won their staged battle for the village chief's position, and whom he divorced seconds later, only wanting to take the alcohol of the village to finish the sulfa drug for Ruri (Chapter 39 - 40).

Later on, after he was shot by Stanley, and as an effort to save his comrades as well as his own life, he agrees to Luna's proposal to become her boyfriend, claiming it to be "Sorta like a political marriage!" (Chapter 178), again showing no actual romantic interest in her, which is supported time and time again by characters claiming "that you people don't know Senku at all" if they think his interest in a person is of romantic nature (examples: Chapter 51, Chapter 178).

Chelsea even claims that "Doesn't sound like you're an item to me." (Chapter 178) with Kohaku agreeing that she assumed as much as Senku isn't romantically attracted to anyone. Another example for it is when he wanted to gather information on Homura, who was spying on them, and Ginro thought Senku meant it in a romantic or sexual way, to which Chrome and Kohaku both replied that "No, pretty sure that's not the case. You people don't know Senku at all." (Chapter 51).

When he was a young child and wondered why the moon was following him, Byakuya jokingly insistent on the moon loving him "Having a thing for him" (Chapter 42), to which Senku replied in disgust, claiming that he was "doing serious science" in the Anime and "Huh? Enough bedtime stories. Gimme cold, hard science facts." in the manga with a displeased expression (Chapter 42).

When Luna expressed doubts about her dating Senku, since later was gone working against Xeno, she said "I mean you're not about to tell me... That Senku ten billion percent doesn't give a crap about dating... and would say whatever I want to hear... Just to accomplish his goals, right...? Because obviously nobody'd ever be that outta line... Right?" to which every character present made clear that he does those things, with Kinro adding that "Actually, in order to further his goals, he even went as far as getting married." with Luna expressing shock that he is married, to which Kinro clarified that "Well, then he ended it..." to which she again expressed shock (Chapter 163).

He despises and is disgusted by physical contact, escaping any hugs (Chapter 74) and even threatening Taiju for hugging him buck-naked (Chapter 1). He also shows disgust at Amaryllis act to charm him as she hugs him tightly and expresses her “love” towards him (Chapter 105). Another show of absolute disgust from physical contact being when Kohaku kissed his cheek in an effort to fool Kirisame from discovering that they're intruders and enemies (Chapter 107).

Another strong instance is the amount of disgust he expressed at the thought of having had to cuddle with Magma to prevent hypothermia (Chapter 56), calling it the "Worst-case scenario" and even putting emphasis on it being the worst-case.

At best, Senku exhibits little to no reaction about naked bodies, being very neutral about the fact and rationalising that in an emergency like that, it doesn’t matter whether or not one is naked, making no comments about appearances or the like. The complete opposite of Taiju, who became very worried for Yuzuriha’s comfort, not wanting her to be naked at revival (Chapter 3). He’s equally unimpressed with Ryusui at his revival and the confidence he showed, being more bewildered at Ryusui’s sudden comment about his naked state being “tacky” in front of three beauties (Chapter 85).

There are only a few rare times where he actually allows physical contact, most of them being little touches or even hugs after hard-fought battles or difficult tasks (not counting in the high fives and handshakes since they're not as "intimate" and Senku clearly has no problem with them), such as allowing Kohaku to hug him after defeating Ibara on Treasure Island (Chapter 138), noticeably not hugging her back. Amaryllis in that instance explains how the hug they shared is not of romantic love, saying "No, it isn’t like that. It’s not that kind of hug.“ when Gen claimed that Kirisame still thinks they're a couple when they absolutely aren't.

Another time being that he allows Suika, after seven years of her trying to break the second world-wide petrification event, to hug him (Chapter 196, start of Chapter 197), as well as Taiju and Chrome, after they seized victory and regained control of the Miracle Cave (Chapter 75). Here Inagaki himself confirmed that Senku is not the type of person to be considerate of others feelings, so he doesn't hug back. Even in the special chapter Senkū doesn't hug Kohaku back while lost on sea and doesn't even blush, despite the circumstances, which Kohaku calls out (Chapter 232.5).

When during the Communications Arc they catch Homura, to avoid her informing the Tsukasa Empire of Senku's recreation of telephones, Senku pinned her to the ground, to which Homura told him to be careful where he touches with Senku replying "That won't work on me, so drop the act." (Chapter 62), having her show a defeated face that Senku exhibited no reaction in being in such a compromising position. He also implies that he is not one of the men Homura can flirt with even after civilisation is up again (but considering her own affections towards Hyoga, she also wouldn’t try) "After our scientific civilization is up and running, there'll be plenty of impressionable young boys for you to flirt with.".

Senku, unlike other characters, has never been stated to be or have been in any romantic entanglement before the petrification event either in the Q&As (Big example in Volume 22 or 23 as seen in this translation from Reddit, the link is at the end of the post), as well as the relationship chart from Chapter 179, where love interests are shown, but Senkū himself has none because he’s not attracted to anyone romantically.

Even with the fanbook, the types of people each character enjoy are general statements, not indicative of romantic/sexual attraction considering that most characters talk about and say "people" in general. Senkū's for example are "people who do what needs to be done", which is reflected by the people he's surrounded by, as he says he likes those who quickly catch onto the situation, for example Ryūsui and Stanley, who get a verbal shout-out (Chapter 85, Chapter 221) since Senkū values intelligence.

He has yet to refer to himself as being in a relationship with anyone too and by the end of the manga, Senku stays single with his sole focus still being science, confirmed by Luna still trying to win Senku over, showing she hasn’t had any success in the past years since they first met (Chapter 232).

Senku's sole interest has been in science and science alone. Rather he exploits the romantic entanglements of others for himself, like getting Chrome on his site to make his Kingdom of Science grow using Chrome's attraction to Ruri (Chapter 21). The only two instances of him being in a relationship have been purely accidental and / or of strategic nature to reach a goal.

As seen in the Spin-off Chapters which notably take another few years after the series’ main storyline conclusion, Senku is still not in any sort of relationship. When Chelsea asks after Ruri and Chrome’s wedding whether Senku has any “romantic prospects” himself, to which he looks clearly confused and irritated going “Huh?” (Spin-off, Chapter 1, also see panel above). Moreover, he straight up says himself that “You oughta know I ain’t got the time for all that.” (Spin-off, Chapter 1) when Kohaku suggests she wouldn’t mind (which also doesn’t sound like she’s romantically interested either, and regards it more like another duty to fulfill). Afterwards any sort of romantic discussion for Senku is promptly shut down and never brought up again as the series reaches its final conclusion. Senku also agrees to Whyman’s statement that the “Heart and Emotions are just sophisticated programming to persevere social groups”, saying “Yep. No lies detected.” (Spin-off, Chapter 3), which mirrors exactly what he also told Kohaku when they first met in Chapter 17. It shows that to Senku STILL after over 10 years, these type of emotions are not something he regards with any positivity nor interest on his part.

On Ruri:

Never mind that Ruri herself isn’t interested in Senku, their accidental marriage due to Chrome fainting before he and Senku could finish their staged fight for the position of village chief and Ruri's husband was solely completed on Senku's part to get his hands on the resources necessary for the completion of the sulfa drug to save Ruri's life, claiming “Aaargh… This just got a whole lot more annoying“. He divorced her barely a few seconds in, as he wasn't allowed to leave the village due to his "marriage celebration" to which he instantly uttered "Then I demand a divorce" (Chapter 40) before taking off with Kaseki, Kohaku and the alcohol to complete the drug. Ever since their divorce has been referenced as pure comedic effect, even from Senku when he ridiculed Hyoga during their fight saying "What is this, an awkward confession of love at school? Hate to break it to you, but I'm married. Well, divorced... But still." (Chapter 80) as the other wanted to Senku to join forces with him. Kinro confirmed later on that the marriage was only "to reach his goals" (Chapter 163).

On Luna:

Their relationship is very one-sided on Luna's part, as Senku does not refer to Luna as his relationship partner, nor exhibits any interest in her that goes beyond her usefulness, as the only one with surgical and medical knowledge and skills, and as an ally. When Luna expressed her doubts about their arrangement saying "I mean you're not about to tell me... That Senku ten billion percent doesn't give a crap about dating... and would say whatever I want to hear... Just to accomplish his goals, right...? Because obviously nobody'd ever be that outta line... Right?" with everyone in her vicinity making clear that he did and that it's not his first time, as he got married to Ruri to "Further his goals'' as Kinro explains to Luna (Chapter 163). Senku calls their arrangement to be like a "political marriage" (Chapter 178), again clearly showing that there are no romantic or sexual feelings on his part towards her. Chelsea, as well as other characters, have noted that they aren't or don't seem like being in a relationship (Chapter 178) and Kohaku agreeing with her, claiming "This is Senku we're talking about, so I assumed as much" (Chapter 178), the only one claiming it to be one being Luna herself who is a very idealistic romantic herself, blind towards Senku's disinterest in romance and sexuality.

Senku has shown multiple times throughout the entire work his disinterest and open distaste towards both romantic and sexual advances, actively saying that love creates problems and is illogical next to stating that crushes and love is "Annoying crap" and makes him want to "curl up and die" (Chapter 17), next to openly telling Homura that her flirting and attempt to embarrass him on an intimate level "does not work on me" (Chapter 62) He has equally as often shown time and time again that he despises any kind of physical contact, referring to it twice as "worst-case scenario" (Chapter 56) even if it could save his life. Also evading every sort of attempted hug and showing displeasure at even a fake kiss on the cheek in a situation where he was forced to pretend being in a relationship (Chapter 107). Just like Ryusui has been only through the work itself confirmed as interested in both women and men, Senku has been confirmed to be aromantic and asexual through his open distaste towards romance and sexuality which is also called out in his own wikia.

Senku's "romantic" relationships have been purely for strategic purposes, mostly to literally save a or his own life.

Senku's sole interest lies in science and his self-proclaimed job and goal to save all of humanity, exhibiting zero interest in romance, sex or any sort of the like. He's a loveless AroAce. However, he can and does form strong friendships, caring for the people in his life in his own special kind of way.

Quotes:

"DON'T DARE HUG ME ALL NAKED LIKE THAT! I'LL KILL YOU!" - Senku to Taiju as later tries to hug him at their reunion after 3700 years, Chapter 1

“Wait! Senku!” “?!” “Yuzuriha… is naked!! We can’t revive her like this!” “Really, more irrational nonsense outta you? Who caaaares about crap like that? We live in a brutal stone world now!! Nobody’s gonna mind seeing a bare butt or someone’s junk swinging around!” - Senkū being completely unimpressed and neutral about naked bodies in the stone world emergency situation, Chapter 3

“Senku, you are… an incredible man.” […] “A man who’d praise another man to his face… is either flirting or scheming. What’re you really trying to say?” - Senku reacting negatively towards Tsukasa’s admiration towards him, Chapter 4

"Sheesh... Annoying crap like that makes me want to curl up and die. I mean really? You've got a crush on me now? In an Emergency like this...? [...] A brain clouded by love is the most irrational kind. It leads to nothing but trouble." - Senku to Kohaku, after she expresses that she likes him, Chapter 17

''Then I demand a divorce!'' - Senku, trying to escape with the liquor for the sulfa drug, Chapter 40

"Huh? Enough with the bedtime stories. Gimme cold, hard science." - Senku in response to Byakuya telling him that the moon must have a thing for him, Chapter 42

"No, pretty sure that's not the case. You people don't know Senku at all." - Chrome and Kohaku in response to Ginro thinking Senku is interested in Homura romantically or sexually, Chapter 51

"We avoided the ''worst-case scenario''! [...] Wrong! I would've kept freezing... And then the worst-case scenario would've been... Hugging Magma tight to conserve body heat..." - Senku explaining to Chrome and Magma his worst-case scenario, Chapter 56

''Heh, heh, heh... That won't work on me, so drop the act. After our scientific civilization is up and running, there'll be plenty of impressionable young boys for you to flirt with." - Senku in response to Homura trying to get him to let her go, Chapter 62

“Hee hee… I could see myself falling for you.” “Let’s nip that in the bud, ‘kay?” Senku’s response to Nikki’s declaration of possibly falling in love with him, Chapter 66

''I wanted… To speak with you, Senku. Just the two of us!'' ''What is this, an awkward confession of love at school? Hate to break it to you, but I’m married. Well, divorced… But still.“ - Senku mocking Hyoga as Hyoga wanted to get Senku on his side, Chapter 80

“I’m the one for you? Blah, blah, whatever. Where’s the treasure?” “She’s met her match” “Resisting my irresistible charms? Is that even possible?” “Until civilisation is back up and running, I’m afraid dear Senku is immune to those acts” - Senku, Kohaku, Amaryllis and Gen as Amaryllis was shocked to find out that Senku is immune against her charms, Chapter 105

"I mean you're not about to tell me... That Senku ten billion percent doesn't give a crap about dating... and would say whatever I want to hear... Just to accomplish his goals, right...? Because obviously nobody'd ever be that outta line... Right?" - Luna, as he expresses her doubts about her relationship with Senku, Chapter 163

"Actually, in order to further his goals, he even went as far as getting married." "HE'S ALREADY HITCHED?!" "Well, then he ended it..." "HE'S A DIVORCÉ?!" - Kinro confirming to Luna that Senku indeed tricked her, Chapter 163

''Sorta like a political marriage!" - Senku to Luna's proposal that she'll save him if he becomes her boyfriend, Chapter 178

"Doesn't sound like you're an item to me." - Chelsea, as Luna explains how she started "dating" Senku, Chapter 178

"This is Senku we're talking about, so I assumed as much." - Kohaku agreeing with Chelsea that Luna and Senku aren't dating, Chapter 178

“Heh heh heh… You oughta know I ain’t got the time for all that.” - Senku in response to Kohaku’s suggestion, Spin-off, Chapter 1

Citations:

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-1/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-3/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-4/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-5/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-17/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-21/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-22/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-23/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-39/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-40/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-42/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-51/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-56/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-62/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-66/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-74/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-75/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-80/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-85/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-105/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-107/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-138/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-163/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-178/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-179/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-196-scientist-all-alone/

https://dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-197-a-stony-eden-and-its-forbidden-fruit/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-221/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-manga-chapter-232/

https://w1.dr-stone-online.com/manga/dr-stone-manga-chapter-232-5/

https://dr-stone.fandom.com/wiki/Senku_Ishigami

https://www.reddit.com/r/DrStone/comments/qjnpe0/dr_stone_vol_22_23_extras_translated/

https://stone-dr.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-232f/

https://stone-dr.com/manga/dr-stone-chapter-232h/

[indigo--montoya]

Reading your posts I know that you’re a “romo aromantic” but I thought that aromanticism meant no romantic attraction? So I’m kind of confused about it. Since I wanted to ask someone with experience, what does a romo aromantic mean?

Hi anon! :D It's understandable that you're confused, since many people just say aro means no romantic attraction. However, things are more complicated than that.

Aromanticism means atypical or no romantic attraction. Aro includes people who don't experience romantic attraction at all, and it includes people (like me) who experience it in unusual ways.

The term "romo aro" can include any aro who experiences romantic attraction or desires a romantic relationship. Not all of us use it, but many find it fits well. I don't know if you know of any aro microidentities, but a few of the more commonly-used ones that fall into this are demiromantic, grayromantic, and cupioromantic.

If you do know of these identities already, you might be going "but wait! Demi and gray romantic are arospec, not aro!"

They are arospec identities. The microidentities that mean no romantic attraction are also arospec identities. All of it is arospec. If you want to read about this further, here's the post where I first read about the term romo aro.

Also, here's a definition of the term. Either linked post will probably be more helpful than my rambling. Looking through @romo-aro-culture-is could also be helpful, especially if you're trying to figure out whether you're romo aro.

I'm romo aro because I'm duraromantic, which for me means I have gotten two (2) crushes in my life and am not over either of them. The first one was when I was thirteen and I can think about him semi-calmly, the second one was less than two years ago and everytime I so much as think about her I get a ridiculous grin. I am holding back said ridiculous grin right now typing this. I could start rambling about how amazing this girl I barely know and haven't seen or talked to in well over a year is, but I will spare you.

Anyway. Technically duraromanticism is a subtype of grayromanticism, but because of how intensely I experience romantic attraction and how large the percentage of the time that I experience it is, I don't feel that grayromantic really fits me.

Romo aro does. I'm aromantic- I don't see romantic relationships as more important than other kinds. I don't see relationships as inherently hierarchical. I don't understand why people stay in romantic relationships they don't like or that aren't healthy. So far as I can tell allos usually differ from me on at least most of those counts.

But I'm also romantic. I don't get crushes often, but when I do my brain is next to useless if they so much as look at me. If they talk to me, well. Good luck getting me to speak in complete sentences. Also I can't flirt someone teach me to flirt there is very little chance I will see either of them ever again but if I do I want to be PREPARED instead of sounding like an idiot AGAIN so help me-

anyway. Enough rambling! The point is, romo aro! It's a great term! I'm glad it exists!

Tldr, aro means atypical or no romantic attraction. Romo aros are aros who are/are perceived as romantic in some way (experiencing romantic attraction, wanting a romantic relationship, partnering) and feel the term fits them. I'm duraromantic, which means I get a crush and then I never get over it. Yay.

[ciasquare]

You might be aromantic if

I realised that the original post by the anagnori tumblr can no longer be located... This resource has been invaluable to me for years and I feel like it should be preserved. I’m glad that I copy pasted this list many years ago and I hope to continue to keep this resource available for all who need it.

This is a list of some common experiences that aromantic people share and is by no means a checklist that decides if you’re aromantic or not. Your sexual/romantic orientation is only your business and only you can decide how you identify. This list is just meant to help and nothing more!

When you discovered the word “aromantic,” it felt like something finally clicked into place for you.

Identifying as aromantic makes you feel relieved, free, happy, or more like yourself.

When you discovered the concept of a “squish” suddenly a lot of things made more sense to you.

You have trouble telling the difference between romantic and friendly feelings.

You’ve never had a crush on someone, or fallen in love.

You’re not sure if you’ve ever had a crush on someone or fallen in love.

You have trouble telling the difference between a crush and a squish, or between romantic and aesthetic/sexual/sensual attraction.

You have doubted whether crushes or love really exist, or if they’re just cultural constructs.

You find romance boring, annoying or upsetting when it appears in fiction, even if it’s written well.

You once thought that having a crush on someone meant you admired them or really wanted to be their friend.

You thought crushes were something you consciously decided to have, and selected an acquaintance or celebrity to be your crush, because everyone else was doing it.

You forgot which acquaintance or celebrity you were supposed to have a crush on.

If you’re not asexual, a “friends with benefits” relationship sounds ideal to you.

You have trouble relating, or feeling involved, when your friends discuss their romantic relationships or romantic feelings.

Falling in love doesn’t seem very exciting to you.

You don’t understand why other people make such a big deal out of having crushes or falling in love.

You don’t understand why people do ridiculous, irrational or over-the-top things in the name of love.

You don’t understand why finding someone sexually/aesthetically attractive would lead you to want a committed relationship with them.

Or, maybe you sort of understand those things in an abstract way, but you can’t really relate to them.

You have never had a romantic relationship - not because you couldn’t get one, but because you just never really bothered to try, or you liked being single better.

When a romantic relationship gets serious, it makes you feel cold, distant or uncomfortable.

Getting a romantic partner feels more like fulfilling an obligation, or something you’re supposed to do, than something you’re really enthusiastic about.

Your romantic partners always seem to be way more into the lovey-dovey stuff than you are.

A likable person suggests having a romantic relationship with you, and you’re indifferent to it - you’re open to trying it, but you won’t get disappointed without it. Other people may find your indifference bizarre or think you’re giving off mixed messages.

You have felt guilty about not loving your romantic partner as much as they loved you, even though you sincerely cared about them and wanted to love them back.

You have felt suffocated, repressed or tense in a romantic relationship, even though you really liked your partner and they hadn’t done anything wrong.

When your last romantic relationship ended, you felt relieved and free more than you felt sad, even if your partner broke it off, and even if you liked them very much as a person.

You’re more excited by making a new best friend than by falling in love.

You wouldn’t mind marrying your best friend and spending your life with them, even though you’re not in love with them.

You’d rather spend Friday night having a sleepover party with your buddies than going out on a date.

You want a best friend much more than you want a romantic relationship.

It’s not so much the idea of being single forever that bothers you, so much as being alone or unwanted.

You are either oblivious to other people flirting with you, or feel uncomfortable or threatened by it.

You are sometimes perceived as flirtatious when you only meant to be friendly.

You live in a large community and see or meet hundreds of people around your age every year, but none of them have ever stirred romantic feelings in you.

You recognize whether something is romantic or not by comparing it to other gestures, words and signals that your culture has taught you are romantic, rather than “feeling” the romance of it intuitively.

When you say or do romantic things, it feels like you’re following a script or copying romantic things you’ve seen elsewhere, rather than something spontaneous and natural to you.

When thinking about what sort of person you’d want to date, your criteria are identical to what you would want from a best friend.

The main benefit you get from a romantic relationship is either platonic, sensual, sexual, or a combination of those; the romantic aspect is okay but it’s not really the part you like most.

You have trouble imagining romantic activities that you would enjoy, unless those activities are also fun or interesting for you on a platonic or intellectual level.

You feel like your closest friends and/or queerplatonic partners are better at fulfilling your emotional needs than romantic partners would be.

You would rather be huggy, cuddly or emotionally intimate with all of your friends instead of reserving your intimacy for just one person.

You would rather have a queerplatonic relationship than a typical romantic relationship.

You don’t feel as if you’re missing anything in your life right now; having a romantic partner might be nice, but you don’t need it or seek it out.

The idea of being single forever sounds awesome to you.

You enjoy gestures and activities that are traditionally labeled “romantic,” but at no point during them do you actually feel attracted to whoever you’re with.

You don’t enoy gestures and activities that are traditionally labeled romantic, either because the romance aspect bothers you, or because all of them are just plain unappealing to you.

You avoid going places where people are likely to flirt with you, such as bars, parties, nightclubs, and concerts.

You’re not sure why other people enjoy romantic stories; you usually just find the lead characters to be annoying, boring or dysfunctional.

You like the idea of having a big wedding celebration more than the idea of actually marrying someone.

[greedlers-hat]

Believe Yourself

Greedler/Trans Male (/Masc) Reader  Hurt/Comfort Drabble

The Greedler comforting trans male/masc reader because I feel ~dysphoric~ and desperately need affection </3

The Greedler and Reader have a platonic (it’s hinted that there might be sexual aspects in the future) relationship and they’re very emotionally and physically affectionate/sensual. You can interpret this as romantic but please don’t comment/add tags about it because I’m aromantic and romance repulsed and it makes me uncomfortable.

TW: Sexual flirting, sex mentioned, “gay loser” used in a playful way, gender dysphoria and dysphoric thoughts, crying, let me know if I missed any!

Word count: 903

Read it on AO3!

    You feel dizzy, your mind swimming with contempt and it's all directed at you. 'You're just a girl fetishizing gay men. Men don't have boobs. Your face is too round to be masculine, no real gay man will ever find you attractive. You are a woman, you'll never be a real man. You're fake and everyone can tell. Everyone knows, and the people who respect you are just doing it to be nice.' Every word feels hot in your veins, like they’re burning their way through your body. It burns and it feels numbing, you wish it’d stop but you can’t even tell whether you hate the thoughts or if you hate yourself. Maybe both. 

    You don't even realize that you're crying until your best friend, The Greedler, is hugging you tightly to his chest, you look up to see him smiling at you. "Hey, Y/N. You doin' alright?" Greed asks softly, carefully. He’s worried, obviously, and he cares about you. He wants to help. You shake your head, "What's wrong, babe?" You wipe at your face roughly, trying to get all the tears off. 'Men don't cry.' And isn’t it ironic that that thought just so happens to make you cry even harder? You bury your face in Greedler's chest. You can't help it, you need his support right now. Your mind is messy, cruel place right now and you need him to pull you out of it, if only for a minute. Greed presses a soft kiss to your head and holds you all the closer to himself, humming a little tune that you recognize to be one of your favorite songs under his breath. "Do you wanna talk about it?" He offers after a few minutes, having waited for you to calm down enough to talk before speaking himself. You nod, "Mhm." Your head is still swimming, it's hard to gather any coherent thoughts but you definitely do want to talk about it. 

    You take a moment to figure out how to word yourself before speaking, "M' not a real man." You say, sniffling and wiping at your nose. "I look n' sound like a girl... m' just fake. Pretending." It’s much more complicated than that but you have no idea how to explain it any further. How do you tell someone that your brain doesn’t hate you, but hates how you look and sound? That all the words of transphobic men and women you’ve encountered throughout your life still echo through your mind way more often than you’re comfortable with admitting? That everything about yourself makes you uncomfortable, that you so desperately wish you could look in the mirror and see yourself. That you don’t think you’ll ever truly be comfortable in your own body. You look up at The Greedler once you finish to gauge his response. Greed shakes his head, "That's not true. You're a beautiful young man, there's nothing "woman" about you. When you first told me you were a man, I believed you right away and I still do. Why don't you believe yourself?"

    You can't help but smile at Greed's words, he always knows exactly what to say to make you feel better. You know that he doesn’t fully understand, but the fact that he still tries even despite not knowing what it’s like to be in your skin just makes you feel like you have the best friend in the world. Even if you don't feel perfect, what he said still makes you feel a lot better. "You're right... can you tell me what about me you think is masculine? I just really need the validity. Please?" The Greedler smiles and nods, "Of course, Y/N." He moves one of his hands to grab and squeeze yours, "I think the way you go about things is really masculine, your attitude and mindset about things as well. The passion you have for what you enjoy is also super masculine, and your drive to go for it. Believe it or not but you also smell really masculine, I like how you smell a lot," he emphasizes his point by burying his face in your neck and taking a big whiff. It’s playful and flirty and it makes you giggle, "Greed!" You groan playfully, "You're relentless, you know that?" He chuckles, "I know. But I meant what I said, you're hot- I mean- Masculine." 

    Greed pressed his tongue against your neck playfully, you roll your eyes and kiss his cheek, "Gay loser." You tease and he presses his own kiss to your neck, "Pretty boy~" He teases back. "It's not gonna work on me, Greed. I refuse to be flustered by your weak attempts at flirting with me. I refuse. Unless you do something like pin me to the couch and call me a good boy there's nothing you can do to make me blush." The Greedler moves his head from your neck and raises his eyebrow at that, "Is that a challenge?" You smile, "Maybe it is. But it’s one for another time cause I need cuddles and forehead kisses right now, not hot kinky sex all over the living room, okay?" He can't help but chuckle at that, "Got it." He presses several little pecks to your forehead, pulling you directly into his lap and turning on the TV. "Let's finish that show, shall we?" You smile and lean into him, "We shall."

[tssidesfics]

TSSides Anti-Fairytale AU

I’m not coming for fairytales. They have their place, but as an aromantic person...I do not feel seen. And then I decided to re-watch Enchanted (pirated, of course, because fuck Disney). And then this idea happened. 

Patton was a child-king who married his best friend when forced to, and then she died in childbirth. He’s given Roman everything he could, but he’s lived his life dictated by the advisors who’ve used him as a puppet king his whole rule. He’s miserable because he doesn’t like how the system functions but he thinks he’s chained to tradition.

Roman copes with his complicated relationship with his father by questing and almost dying, like, every other week. Anxious attachment for days. Boy keeps trying very hard to find a princess and can’t seem to figure out why nothing will stick. To which Patton goes “oh. He got it from me. Oops.”

All I know is Remus is aromantic and aplatonic and exactly as chaotic as he should be.

Roman’s birthday. Ball. The classic. He greets all the noble families and he’s seen those losers a bunch before, but this time, he meets a new “girl” with a family he usually hates who intrigues him. He is not a girl and I will not be misgendering him because ew, but, gist: Virgil, transphobic rich parents forcing him to conform to gender roles, absolutely miserable, in Peak Bitch (gender-neutral) form. Roman mistakenly believes he’s cured and talks Virgil up a lot. Convinces himself he’s fallen madly in love.

Problem is, he tells Patton, who’s shocked he found a “girl” but absolutely is on-board, and then goes to the family to ask for Virgil’s hand and there’s no Virgil.

Thus begins the Mulan ripoff but openly trans where Virgil poses as a boy servant at the castle because his parents can’t get into the castle willy-nilly and it’s the safest place to be. Absolutely loathes Roman’s very existence because that dumb bitch flirted with him while he was a girl and therefore VIrgil thinks he is The WorstTM. Then Roman catches him grouching about and decides to solve this by teaching him sword-play, mostly to give him the excuse to beat on a dummy with a sword-shaped stick. 

Meanwhile Roman is just le sigh I did it again. I connected more with a boy than a girl. Why did she have to run away? Now I’m doomed to be weird.

Well then assassins break into the castle and Ever-Paranoid Virgil immediately susses them out as bad news and uses the remnants of the ball to absolutely wreck them when they try to kill Roman and his father while they’re taking a rare opportunity to chat and bond. Patton decides he is Adopting This Child, fuck you, advisors, he’s as thin as a stick, and Virgil now gets to eat with the royal family. 

It’s the first time Patton has ever actually told his advisors to go fuck themselves. It’s the first step toward a positive turnaround and it happened because Patton’s dad instincts took over and nothing in the world is more valid than that, fight me.

Enter genderqueer icon morally neutral witch, Janus, all pronouns, who’s trying to topple the monarchy to enact lasting change and didn’t want to dirty her hands right away, but honestly people are so unreliable. So he gets onto Patton’s crew as a handmaiden and excuse you who gave the king permission to be actually endearing?

Roman feels slightly weird because Patton’s calling Virgil “kiddo” and he’s not calling him his son but he also treats him very similarly as he does to Roman and Remus, which isn’t great but is significantly better than it could be, but Roman’s got a crush. 

Then Janus finds out Virgil’s trans and reveals this. Virgil thinks he’s about to get blackmailed into murdering the only people who have ever cared about him and then Janus just rolls their eyes like “excuse you I’m evil not psychopathic. I can give you a potion to make your body reflect your mind. You in?”

“Great, so my only cure to stop feeling like frozen trash reheated in a forest fire is to accept the highly dangerous bribe of a definitely evil witch! Thanks! I hate it!”

Yes Virgil memes even in a fantasy world where Tumblr doesn’t exist.

Also Virgil and Roman are bonding. A lot. They’re getting very close and Virgil even lets slip that he loves Roman and then tries to fling himself out a window. Roman gets touched, stops him, and tries to kiss him, but Virgil leans away. Roman expresses confusion.

“I...I love you, but I don’t want to kiss you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I don’t either. But I’ve...never wanted to kiss anyone. For any reason.”

“But...you still love me?”

“I do. I’m sorry.”

Roman...doesn’t feel as rejected as he thinks he maybe should? Honestly, it’s not totally a relief, but it’s just kinda...neutral. It’s not even a disappointment. 

Well, Janus is not evil and actually wants to run a kingdom (instating a committee mixed of educated rich fucks and working class receiving education) a whole lot more than Patton, who thinks she’s just...kinda awesome and very misunderstood. There’s a lot of hissing and grumbling that they’re not misunderstood, they’re evil, they don’t even have a tragic backstory, they just kill people to enact the change they want to see, just because they got ditched in a forest as a baby and was raised by a magic snake means nothing. The snake was a very loving and supportive parent.

Roman talks to Patton and Patton is like “fuck marriage rules. Fuck heteronormativity. Fuck my advisors. My kingdom is a haven for the gays. All the gays. Of every color. Come here and be merry and queer.”

Virgil’s just like “yo no reason but in this new world where it’s okay to love whatever gender is it maybe cool to be a boy when the world says you’re a girl?”

Janus draws a knife and glares at Patton and Patton’s just like “even if my partner wasn’t threatening to kill me I’d say it was fine why?”

“No reason.”

“Virgil.”

“What?”

“Is there something you want to share?”

“No.”

“Is there something you need to share?”

“Fuck you.”

“You’re being defensive again, Storm Grouch.”

Virgil sticks his tongue out. “Fine. People used to think I was a girl and I have a stupid body. Happy?”

And Patton learns from Janus the fine art of Validating The Fuck Out Of Gender.

The advisors stage a coop and lock Janus in an anti-magic cage, and then at the same time Virgil’s biological nightmares track him down and steal a spelled green apple from Janus’ shop they give Virgil. You know the drill. Deep sleep like death, yadda yadda.

Well, they immediately claim the body making a big dramatic deal about how they have to bury “her” and they’ll take “her” home to see her off and it’s so tragic, just as they were reunited, when the reality is they have the antidote back home, they’re just looking for control over his life again.

Except Roman goes off. “He is staying here where he--where he will be buried under the name Virgil dressed properly and if you came anywhere near his body I’ll kill you myself.”

Guess what constitutes a totally platonic, non-kiss related act of queerplatonic true love, bitch? Fighting your transphobic partner’s parents over their dead body.

Kingdom’s retaken, sweeping reform while Patton retires to be a stay at home dad to fix his relationship with his kids. Virgil gets formerly adopted. The stepparent is actually a morally neutral genderqueer witch who runs the kingdom fairly and justly, the central love story is trans and aromantic, and my queer ass is something resembling happy.

Logan is probably one of the advisors and the only one with sense who probably starts knocking off his coworkers after the coop because they’re all deeply, deeply stupid. Remus probably spends half the story making friends with a troll he brings in to save the day in the third act.

[stickandthorn]

Something I always think about when debates about queer rep in cr come up that I don’t see talked about often is something I’ve come to refer to as “gay resources and resource allocation.” And no matter how I try to describe it when it comes up I can never really encompass what I mean, so here’s my one big old try at explaining it. I am truly not trying to discourse with people, I just want to explain my feelings on all this finally.

So, let’s start with, what the fuck do I mean? Basically, dnd live shows aren’t actually set up the best for queer rep in some ways, logistically speaking. They don’t have as much resources and those resources they have to allocate. And what the fuck do I mean by that? Well:

PCs are your main source of rep, but there are only so many PCs, 7 every 3/4ish years for cr in particular. And besides that, you have NPCs, which are numerous, but usually interactions with them are so surface level or unrelated to their sexuality or gender that it almost never comes up unless they use they/them or neopronouns, or are actively flirting in a visibly queer way/in a visibly queer relationship. So in short, there’s only so many people with so many sexualities to go around. And if someone isn't comfortable with something, like how Travis wasn’t comfortable doing romance in C1 (tho I guess you could argue that Grog was aromantic from that angle), they shouldn’t be forced to do that and that takes another piece off of the gay board. Resources and resource allocation, basically.

And then there’s the issue of, well, characters being run by singular person. Usually when someone chooses to make a queer character in a TV show/book/movie whatever, they have resources. They have the time to rewrite and rewrite, to get other queer people and sensitivity consultants to help (and yes I’m pretty sure cr does have a sensitivity consultant but it’s not completely relevant to my point), do test screenings, etc. They often don’t because they don’t care, but they have the opportunity.

But CR has none of that because they’re literally live. Even if the show isn’t broadcasted live, it is completely unedited (besides gags and goofs for the ad read) and they can’t reshoot something. It’s a continuous, completely improvised, fully live story. That can be very scary I’m sure, because you have to do your rep 100% right at all times or you’ll get trashed online. What if you’re portraying an identity that isn’t yours? You wanna do it right, but that’s very hard when it comes down to Just You and you actually care. Even if you aren’t doing something wrong you’ll get trashed online.

Also this isn’t me excusing mistakes they’ve made representing queer people, it’s not me giving them a free pass. But I’ve heard people tear the cast to shreds for stupid, inane, unnecessary things, in the most bizarre way possible. Like, look at all the shit Liam has gone through with two bisexual characters.  And the live format also means that opportunities to do rep are harder. If you write a book, you can engineer the perfect scenario for someone to come out. But when you do a live play show, things have to come up naturally, and that sometimes just doesn’t happen. Look at Caduceus. He was aroace, and in my opinion played very well and very consistently throughout the entire show. Hell, a lot of ace people identified him as being ace from the beginning. But the actual conformation, the “coming out”, was waaaay after he was introduced. It wasn’t that they were hiding it, it just didn’t come up in a way that made sense. And it’s even harder for NPCs. Now let’s look at romances themselves. With NPCs it’s easier, look at Kima and Allura or how in EXU it was confirmed that Gilmore has a husband. But PC romance not only takes a long time, but is complicated as fuck. The emotions you feel while playing dnd are real, even if they aren’t applicable to you the person. So developing a romance takes a lot of time and energy and can be very messy, especially when it’s getting torn apart on the internet. Not to mention if there isn’t anyone in the party you can romance (but want to), or how hard NPC romances are. Once again, less resources.

And this isn’t just in CR. In one of the home games I play a huge percentage of the players are queer in some way, including our DM. But we have all these same resource and resource allocation issues, though they aren’t really issues in our case because we aren’t setting out to do rep. PC romances are rare, and NPC romances even rarer, and although there are plenty of enbies in both party and NPCs, actual sexualities rarely come up because they just aren’t applicable. The only time thats come up a lot in my experience was in games designed for romance. 

And this isn’t even touching on how CR1 wasn’t set up for live-streaming and purposeful diversity, it was originally a home game, etc.

So now we look at what all this means. Well, I don’t have a big conclusion. I still think queer rep is hugely important and cr should continue to work to include it, like they’ve done in the past. I think actual fuck ups in rep should be discussed. But I think some parts of the fandom need to keep in mind all of this when discussing queer rep, because the debates can get really bad faith at times when this stuff isn’t considered.