#so there’s where the aro spec comes into play

[fruitisthenewvegitable]

JESUS DREW MY JESUS HEADCANNONS FUCK YEAH

the power of christ isn't even that compelling if i'm being honest

[royal-wren]

random myth tidbits involving Hermes that I think are very fun and interesting:

There is no myth about Hera being mad at Hermes (or Maia) ever

Chances are that Helios was originally in Apollon's place for the cow myth just like how Hermes could've been the one originally in the Death myth with Sisyphos. Something something potential for a khthonic goddess to rescue him (it's myth, there's potential) if not Ares

There is a version where Hermes is either announcing or a part of the birth of (most of) the major Olympians, playing into his part as nurse/fosterer, guide/protector, and herald. This even comes down to him being the third option after Hephaistos and Prometheus with Athene springing from Zeus' head. The birth of Aphrodite with so much art of it, telling everyone about the birth of Artemis (and sometimes Apollon in addition). More commonly known for persistently ensuring Dionysos' safety and having as positive a life as possible with his many carers. Hermes has the cult name Imbrasos (and any variation of it) and the river of the same name is an alternate place of Hera's birth. Not to mention Herakles, Arkas, Asklepios, Aristaios, Dioskouroi, and Helen whom he either saved or was involved in them having security and/or protection.

Like many older agrarian hellenic deities (Persephone, Artemis, Hekate, Dionysos, Despoina, Ploutos), he's also a child of Demeter in some variations

He killed a man purely due to a shouting contest

It was very rare to have Hermes be a party to the usual myths about gods and other women (nymphs, mortals, goddesses), especially before the mid to late Classical period to the Hellenistic period. That's why you'll notice there aren't that many, just a lot of late additions of people trying to legitimize their status. Heavily Aro/Ace spec Hermes ftw

[woofwoofwolf]

Go home, Hobie Brown pt. 2

Hobie Brown x reader

Part 1:

Notes: Alt and aro ace reader (although that’s less relevant here), fluff-ish, reader remains GN but might have a writing bias towards fem, Hobie does some illegal shit, Hobie and reader are adults, use of (y/n), no phonetic spelling of Hobie’s accent, brit written by a European sue me, he’s probably a bit OOC in this one,

“Why does reader work at a factory and not, say, a pub? That’s a little weird isn’t it?” it’s bc I work at a factory and this is once again ✨wish fulfillment✨

So this initially was something else, but I realized that it was similar in structure to my previous work and that if I reworked it a little bit, it would be a nice addition to that. Is this a series now? I fucking hope not, I have a bad track record finishing those. Loosely connected two shot for now. I might come back tonight to tweak some stuff, but I think it is in a readable state lol

Pls dont repost anywhere thx ✨️

You tried your best to ignore him. An half hearted attempt to deprive him of the reaction he wanted while you continued to flatten out your stack of cardboard boxes, throwing them into the container next to you. Hobie was standing right in front of you, not having said anything to you since he arrived. He stood far enough away from you for it to appear casual and incidental, but close enough for him to still tower over you.

Finally, his patience caved. “…hey,” he said.

“Hey, Hobie,” your tone was cool. You didn't feel as embarrassed now that there were no people around, right outside of the small factory you worked at.

“What are you doing?”

You peered up at him with a smirk on your face. “I need to throw out these boxes. You know, for my job? My job that I have at this factory that we’re currently at. That you jumped a fence over to get to just now.” You gestured towards the fence right in front of you.

“Ey no way,” Hobie laughed as if he hadn't known all along. “You think they got cameras?”

You shrugged, all the while continuing your work. “We have a front door. You could’ve just talked to the lady at the front desk. She might have let you through, you know?”

“Nah, didn't like the look of her.”

"She probably wouldn't have liked the look of you either to be fair," you laughed. Technically, she'd be right, Hobie was trespassing. But she was a sour tart anyways, so you understood Hobie’s comment.

"What's wrong with those boxes anyways?" He pointed. "They look brand new."

You had noticed that he had been antsy about that. He probably didn't like you throwing out boxes that were still more than usable. It wasn’t something you agreed with either, but it wasn’t up to you.

"Dunno." You answered. "I don't think theres anything wrong with them perse. They probably prepared more than they needed."

"That's IT?! What a bloody waste," He gave the container a kick after his outburst. "Why are you contributing to this,"

"Boss's orders" you gave him a cheeky salute.

"I'm disappointed in you," You choked back a laugh.

"I knew you would be. I'm part of the machine, Hobart," You stuck out your hands and did a mock robot walk. “they’re coming to get you, Hobart-” 

Hobie pushed your arms back to your sides. His hands lingered there longer than your heart could handle "That stupid uniform too... They're stripping you of all the important bits."

"Well.” You said, hoping to go back to a lighter tone. “If you know of an anarchist version of this part-time job where I can come and go when I want, where I barely have to speak to people and where I make this much money, doing the workload equivalent of Homer Simpsons job, then let me know." It was true, this was the easiest part time you've ever had. "If you look at it like that, I'm practically stealing from the boss, don't you think?"

"I know of a job like that." He said, playing along. "It's called 'dating me'. heard It's got real good benefits too. "

"Ohhh does that include the part that I dont have to talk to my boss?" Hobie’s big dumb smirk dropped to an amused smile.

"No, I'd prefer if you kept doing that to be honest."

You couldn't hold it in and you awkwardly laughed alongside him.

"Can I have them?" He asked out of the blue.

"Pardon?"

"The boxes.”

"What do you need cardboard boxes for?" You put the box you had picked up back on the pile. "Don't become a hoarder, Hobie, I'll stop visiting you guys."

"Not me," he picked up one of the boxes to inspect. "For Gwendy. These are the exact size she uses to ship her clothes in when she sells them online."

You looked at him with narrowed eyes. If he took the few remaining boxes, you could finish up and go back inside, which was tempting.

Before you could answer him, the door to the building opened.

"Hey (y/n)," your manager said. "I came to check on you. Who's this..?" She frowned at Hobie, who was obviously not supposed to be there. Hobie looked troubled, even though he liked testing the boundaries he didn't want to get you fired over something like this. Which is honestly something he should have thought of before coming over, but what can you do.

"Actually," you said in the most somber tone you could muster. You placed your hand on Hobie’s arm in a comforting gesture. "Hobie just told me his grandma passed away this morning." You felt him stiffen up, his emotions shifting from confused to amused to acting out sadness in a split second.

Hobie, of course, didn't have a grandma in his life.

"Oh..." your manager said, you knew how empathetic she was. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

“I’m sorry ma’m.. I know I’m not supposed to be here, but,“ He let out a very fake sob and you suppressed the desire to roll your eyes. “I just know how close (y/n) was to my nan... I’ll be going now...“

Before he went though, he turned around and grabbed an entire armful of cardboard boxes. Leaving your manager stunned. Hobie walked towards the fence gate.

“You perhaps got a key for this gate? Ah, you do? Thank you I’ll be leaving now, Cheers.“

Your manager looked at you when he left. “Ah well. Nan would have hated for those boxes to go to waste.”

---------

Alright wow, I'm being so productive with fics at the moment this is kind of crazy.

I hope he isn't TOO out of character? I think it's really hard to get his speech pattern right. And then I don't just mean his accent, but how that interacts with his cheeky and confident way of talking. But my biggest pet peeves in fics of his at the moment are a) phonetic spelling of his accent and b) people who write fake and cringey British slang. (He doesn't constantly speak in cockney rhyme in the movie ppl lol) Bonus point if both are true, haha... I've lived in England, but honestly, getting it right is difficult, and I still feel like I'm having him say american phrases 😭

[qwertycake]

more qpr fluffy squishy platonic writing prompts! wahoo!! part two!!! :)

Same disclaimer applies as my first post - these are aro- and ace-spec centric, may only work for shortform fiction, and feel free to tweak them to be less specific/more specific to specific characters.

Specific is a weird word lol

Anyways…

“We both get caught out in the rain and wait out the weather under the same shelter, and either we’re meeting for the first time or we have a nice excuse to hang out together” AU

“You annotate a book for me and I annotate it right back for you, and we keep passing the book back and forth until its a mess of affectionate scribbles that we keep on the coffee table” AU

"It's hot outside and you love the heat but I hate it and you're being stupidly nice and sweet to me while I'm a grouchy mess" AU

"I can teach you how to play this instrument if you stop DISTRACTING ME by looking so ENDEARING AND INFATUATED" AU

"Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes" AU

"We're both too tired to take care of ourselves because of sickness/work/school/whatever but we immediately find the energy to take care of one another via making tea and grabbing blankets" AU

"We trade clothes for Halloween and do terrible impersonations of one another" AU

"We have a bunch of unfinished craft projects between the two of us and decide to just... finish them all in one day... 24 itty-bitty hours... oh boy..." AU

"We recreate a terrible low-budget movie together" AU

"On Valentine's Day, we decide to make a bunch of garlic bread and cake, and buy each other flowers in the colours of our respective aro-/ace-spec flags... and then the day after, we buy all the chocolate that's finally gone on sale" AU

“I teach you how to do make-up because for one reason or another you’re unfamiliar with it” AU

“Fake dating and having dramatic break ups over silly things in public for shits and giggles” AU

“So, the world might have just ended… so guess who has two thumbs and a bunker that desperately could use a roommate?” AU

“We’re made to play seven minutes in heaven at a party and after a few awkward minutes of silence we both decide to just order a pizza or something while we wait out the seven minutes” AU

“Hey, you can dance, and I can’t, teach me— no, I don’t care that I’ve got two left feet, teach me!” AU

“We’re both artists, maybe of different skill levels, and we decide to draw/paint/make art of each other” AU

“I’m a night owl and you’re more of a day person, so whenever we stop texting because you have to go to bed, I’m stuck laying awake thinking about you Please Enjoy Waking Up To A Bunch Of Messages” AU

“I’m a day person and you’re more of a night owl but I struggle to fall asleep because I’m stuck thinking about how lucky I am to be your friend Hey I Think I Could Stay Up For An Extra Ten Minutes” AU

“We’re both nervous about going to the gym alone so we try going together… but neither of us have the guts to get out of the car so we just go for a walk or something instead” AU

“You’re super into sports and exercise and I’m just getting into it but you hype me up so I’m less nervous about getting started” AU

“I bake a whole bunch, you cook big meals… at the same time of day - our kitchen is chaos” AU

“It’s New Year’s Eve and we’re hanging out at a party and everyone’s speculating that we’re gonna have our New Year’s Kiss together but the New Year comes and we just do a weird handshake” AU

“Non-Fatal Hanahaki Disease AU where we’re some of the few people who don’t experience it because we’re content with whatever non-romantic thing we have together… but we both have hay fever and are very annoyed by the constant barrage of flower petals around us and have to tell our friends to Please Stop Crushing On The Random Barista At Starbucks It’s The Third Time This Week You Are KILLING US” AU

“We’re both alien test subjects who’ve never met before and have to try and plan our escape - bonus points if the aliens are specifically testing for something like amatonormative like All Humans Fall In Love and we’re the black swans of the research since they apparently abducted Only Romantic Allosexuals Aside From Us Somehow” AU

“It’s midnight and you show up on my doorstep unannounced after a long while of us drifting apart, what on earth happened?” AU

“We’re both capable of granting wishes - you’re the monkey’s paw and I’m the guy who’s stuck remedying all the messed up things you have happen to people What Is Wrong With You” AU

And finally…

“I’m laying on the couch at a party drunk/high/exhausted/whatever and you’re looking after me, having only met me that night - I proceed to ramble about how embarrassed I’ll be when I’m older and think back to how I made a fool of myself in front of someone I wanted to be friends with really badly… but luckily for me, you’re flattered that I think you’re super cool” AU

[our-aroace-experience]

hi. i have been questioning if im aro for a while, and where exactly on the spec i would land. none of my friends are aspec to my knowledge. so im just going to share my experience here. (i am ace, which probably plays some role in this.)

i have had like 2-3 crushes since 7th grade (now in 12th), and they tend to last a long time. none of that moment-to-moment stuff where the crush could be completely gone by the end of the week. and while i do experience that infatuation - finding them cute, admiring them, getting flustered around them - i don't think i've ever really wanted to Date. like, i have imagined my crushes liking me enough to ask me out, but i don't think that's really something i need, or even want. honestly, i just want to be close friends. maybe upon being close friends with them i would have realized that i actually do want something more, but i don't see why i would. all i want is for them to like my company, to talk and to hang out all the time. maybe even cuddling and physical closeness - which are all things i want to do with my platonic friends as well. i don't want to hold hands as we walk or go on a romantic date or kiss, certainly not kiss. i just want to be around them and admire them freely. i think that's all i need. i have a hard time understanding why my friends Want to have crushes instead of feeling them whenever they come by, and why they so desperately want a relationship. when i don't have a crush, im perfectly content with that. i can think about the previous one if i feel like daydreaming, not itch for a new one. or i can imagine a cute fictional one.

but, yeah. i hope this wasn't too long. i tried to reel in the rambling.

thanks for sharing!

[isekai-crow]

Apothecary Diaries / Kusuriya no Hitorigoto General Impressions

Man, this anime has changed my life. I'm obsessed. Maomao my beloved, Jinshi is ironically but secretly somewhat of a sad little meow meow (badumptss), Gaoshun is my life, and Ace representation? In my anime? More likely than you think.

I somehow missed all of the fanfare about the manga! But even living in Japan, I think it was flying under the radar until the anime got announced, and then it had to compete with advertising for Oshi no Ko and the return of Spy x Family. However I can confirm that it is now sweeping the elementary school students in Japan which is A Big Deal.

I'm going to do a general overall SQUEE here about the show, and then hopefully do individual posts about the first 12 episodes later. Probably once I finish the second half of season 1 with my Capybara, because I WILL force us to go back and do a re-watch (I'm already re-watching it without subtitles to force my Beetle to watch it with me).

I'm also forcing myself to NOT read ahead in either of the mangas nor the light novel, both so that the mystery of what come next remains magical, and so that I don't burn myself out on it and instead milk it for all it's worth.

I am also spoiler avoidant for this unless I go looking for them myself, so this should be safe for anime-only peeps who are caught up on the first half. This is just my general impressions so far!

Going into this, I was expecting another Raven of the Inner Palace, but was worried it wouldn't be as good, and was still missing my lovely little Raven and her friends. I've seen my fair share of Chinese and Korean historical dramas that I enjoyed, but was worried this would be another Shojo, a genre I don't often like.

The PVs didn't do a lot to dispel this worry, but I assume this was simply because I had never read the manga. (I wonder what the initial impact would have changed had I done so.) It's been a while so I can't really pinpoint exactly what made me have doubts outside of simply wanting a second season of Raven Palace.

The first few episodes were a whirlwind of world building and set up, and mystery, and they dragged me fully into the world of high ranking courtesans and harems.

I immediately fell in love with Maomao's deadpan delivery, manical obsession with poisons, complete nonchalance with the sex industry and harem activities, and absolute lack of interest in Jinshi while still being able to appreciate how dangerously beautiful he is.

I fell in love with Jinshi's idiocy, the level of uke vibes he gives off, his knowledge of and use of his beauty as a weapon and tool while still giving off hints of not necessarily enjoying the attention, and felt like I was riding along with him in his fascination with MaoMao.

Gaoshun is a DELIGHT. I always love the exasperated assistant to the rambunctious Male Lead, and the nickname Xiaomao is SO CUTE AHHHHH. This happened in Raven Palace too, where the two eunuch assitants/spies were my favorite (but they were also crow shipping bait). Gaoshun is just a delightful 'old' man who needs a break and deserves one. I want to be Gaoshun.

The Ace/Aro vibes are also STRONG in this show, and I love it, even if it might only be vague representation.

I am aware of the debate over whether or not Maomao can be considered asexual or not, and I'm firmly on team A-spec, as someone who is aegosexual/ace myself and who can still have sex and consider it to be an act of connection with someone.

I agree that the environment she grew up in affected her views on sex and how it's a tool and a product, and women only get to control it in very limited situations, but that doesn't negate the ace label. Both can exist, and if it turns out differently in the future then that's that, but people are allowed to believe what they want.

Even both being on team Ace(Aro)!Maomao, Capybara and I have our disagreements about how this is going to play out, and have our own ideas about what we'd like to see play out too.

Capy hopes they become Bros and stay fully ace/aro, and I hope they end up in some sort of queer-like relationship. But either way I am SUPER happy to have a show that has so much of its world building connected to sex, and yet it doesn't revolve around sex. Even the fan service like moments aren't really all the fan service-y. They serve a purpose apart from fan service, and I am here for this.

(Maomao is absolutely telling her what a boob job is.)

The mysteries are great and twisty, and there are enough clues that if you're paying attention you can figure out what actually happened. Then there are some like the entire last few episodes of the first half that wouldn't be possible without knowing what Maomao learned, and we don't get to learn what happened until the culprit does either.

I admit that only watching the anime sometimes leaves me with questions, and the subtitle translations are sometimes different than what's being said, in a way that implies a cultural difference that's not possibly to translate clearly. Reading the corresponding chapter of both mangas to whatever episode I watched helps a great deal, and helps to fully flesh out the characters, their motivations, and the world as a whole in it's small small corner of the palace.

I'm looking forward to the second half of the season, and I will hopefully be posting reactions to each episode, and then when I go back to re-watch, I plan to write up about those episodes then. Maybe I'll make a master post, and maybe this hyper fixation will dissipate before I make it that far.

I LOVE THIS SHOW.

[delightfuldevin]

Hellooooooo!! Can I bother you for some headcanons on the Koopalings? I've been thinking about them a lot recently gkjhkgsf. Personality, Likes/Dislikes, Orientation, Ages, Koopa Breed, where they came from; anything you got think thonks about them on pretty please!!

Hello hello!! Ask and yee shall receive! I’ve written out a lot of stuff about them for my lore fic, but I haven’t polished it yet so that’s why it hasn’t been published with the rest of the fic! Under a cut this time since there’s seven of them and thus, this is gonna be looong

I’ll start with orientations since it’s pride month and I can’t bring myself to draw yet ;^; (also ages cause I should probably figure those out eventually lol).

(Added some headers to separate this so it’s a bit easier to navigate!)

Genders, Orientations, and Ages

Larry (he) - binary trans boy; straight (at least 12, maybe 13?)

Morton (he) - cis; aro-spec polyamorous (14-ish?)

Wendy (she/fae) - trans demigirl/genderfae/Idk some kind of girl-but-not-girl gender hdchjsxbjchjsx; lesbian polyamorous (15 or 16)

Iggy (he/they/ze) - genderqueer; gay (16 perhaps?)

Roy (he/they) - agender; bisexual polyamorous (17 or 18)

Lemmy (any pronouns) - genderfluid; panromantic asexual (18-ish)

Ludwig (he) - cis; aroace (18-20 Idk hdbcdcsjab)

Species/Biology

In terms of species, they’re the same as Bowser, which I call Dragon-Koopas! They are typically larger and physically stronger than most other types of Koopas, and they’re capable of breathing fire and using magic, though the latter depends on how much magical potential they have. All the past rulers of the Koopa Kingdom have been Dragon-Koopas. There are Dragon-Koopa families who aren’t royalty, though many are nobility in some way. Biological features include:

spiked shells, which come in many colors, that are unable to be separated from the body (unlike regular Koopas, who can remove their shells)

the flame pipe, an internal organ that produces fire and keeps the fire from burning other organs

very large and sharp teeth (Dragon-Koopas’ diet is primarily meat)

longer tails (for balance)

hair (only a few other types of Koopas are capable of growing hair)

“giant form”, a defense mechanism developed during puberty which causes Dragon-Koopas to grow many times their size when they have been mortally wounded (can also be affected by mental state)

Sorry to go on a biology rant hdbcjjds. Moving on!

Origins

Larry, Wendy, and Ludwig are the only ones related by blood. All the Koopalings arrived at Bowser’s Castle at different times (though all during childhood, perhaps within a year or so?), and eventually came to see each other as siblings.

Ludwig’s parents worked in Bowser’s Castle. When Larry was around 3 years old, their parents (died? Disappeared? Not sure yet dhbcjxcb). Bowser took them under his wing (he didn’t officially adopt them yet) and named Ludwig his heir (Idk how royalty works irl so I’m not sure if he can technically do that, but oh well, this is the Koopa Kingdom and Bowser makes the rules lol).

Next to arrive were Roy and Morton. They were both orphans and met each other on the streets and became like brothers. Roy, being the hot-headed and impulsive child that he was, decided it would be a good idea to break into the king’s castle. When they were caught and Bowser was asked what to do with them, he put them on cleaning duty under the guide of the castle’s cleaning crew. Roy protested at first, but Morton convinced him to suck it up since he thought the king would do worse if they didn’t. Morton was always scared of Bowser and only started to warm up to him after Bowser Jr was born.

Next was Lemmy! He was part of a traveling circus and was left behind when the circus came to the capital. Wendy found him and brought him back to the castle to play with and convinced Bowser to let him stay.

Now, Iggy was the last to show up and it happened randomly without anyone even noticing until he was already settled in. Lemmy was the first to notice Iggy was in the castle, and they just played in his room most of the time. Most of the castle attendants had gotten used to seeing Dragon-Koopa kids running through the castle, so none of them thought it unusual when they would see Iggy around.

It was around this time that Bowser started referring to them collectively as the Koopalings cause he got tired of calling them individually whenever he needed more than a couple at a time. Back then, he didn’t keep track of them so he didn’t know how many there were in total. When he finally called them in to get a final count, there were seven of them and he didn’t question it. No one knows where Iggy came from, and he deflects the question whenever it’s brought up to him.

The Koopalings were officially adopted not that long before the, uh, “current” time for lack of a better term. Bowser Jr was actually very surprised, not because they were being adopted, but because they weren’t already. Like, they’ve been living with Bowser for longer than Jr’s even been alive, so he (understandably) thought they were already his siblings to begin with hbscjsbcjd. Thing is, everyone thought they were Bowser’s kids all this time and they practically were in principle; he just never made it official until very recently.

Extra

I have sooooo many headcanons on these guys, but for the sake of not making this post a mile long, I put 4 points for each. The rest will be added to my lore fic, so look out for that!!

Larry:

Very shy and afraid as a toddler so he stuck to Ludwig like glue since he’s his older brother; very outgoing and sociable now, and doesn’t even remember being shy lol

Loves to play games; video games, sports games, card games, board games. Anything so long as it’s a game

Hates losing so he cheats in almost everything; Morton is the only one who plays with him cause Mort’s the only one who doesn’t mind his cheating and won’t call him out on it

Despite his cheery demeanor, he has a rather short fuse and is easily angered

Morton:

Terrible at telling lies, but good at keeping secrets

Likes to bake; enjoys making cakes and cookies the most

He talks a lot. Like a lot. He’s shy around strangers, so one might think he’s the quiet type, but once he’s comfortable he will never stop talking

He is magically strong and physically strong too, making him the perfect balance amongst his siblings. However, he is known to take things overboard when it comes to his strengths, which makes him very unpredictable and dangerous in battle

Wendy:

Likes typically “girly” things like bows, make up, jewelry, and high heels, but not above violence to get what she wants

Known as “the scary one” amongst her siblings and many of the minions; the other Koopalings may not listen to Ludwig sometimes, but they all know to listen to Wendy

Her necklace can be used as a weapon like her rings; it’s a chain/whip

Gets into petty arguments with Roy a lot, usually over small things like which shade of pink is the best

Iggy:

Ambidextrous

Has a deep fascination with nature and all kinds of plants and animals

His Chain Chomp is named Horace

Does all of his experiments and inventing in his room and he’s accidentally destroyed it multiple times; stays in Lemmy’s room whenever his has to be rebuilt or fumigated

Roy:

The weakest Koopaling in terms of magic, and the strongest physically (though he and Morton are almost evenly matched); relies on brute force most of the time and doesn’t care about improving his magic

Has heterochromatic eyes (his right eye is dark purple and his left is bright blue)

Wears sunglasses because his eyes are extremely sensitive to light and it can be very painful; his sunglasses were magically created by Bowser

Has an exceptional sense of smell and hearing since he relied on those senses mainly before he got his glasses

Lemmy:

Used to have a very overactive flame pipe when he was younger (sometimes he would just be trying to talk and then all of a sudden a bunch of fire would come out); has better control over his flame pipe now and his is the strongest of his siblings (meaning he can breathe the most fire at once)

Enjoys dancing and abstract painting

Always on his rubber ball; he’s even been known to sleep on it (how he manages to stay balanced on it seems like magic in and of itself)

Naturally blonde; dyes the rest of his hair

Ludwig:

The strongest Koopaling in terms of magic; according to Kamek, with enough training, he could be the strongest Dragon-Koopa in modern history

He curses a lot, which is unexpected due to his somewhat princely personality

Considers himself the leader of the Koopalings; the others usually follow him, but sometimes they don’t cause they think he’s too bossy (he kinda is lol); trusts Wendy the most and puts her in charge when he can’t be

With Bowser Jr’s birth, he is no longer Bowser’s heir, but he has no animosity about it; rather, he’s decided that it’s his responsibility to make sure Jr grows into a proper king (kinda like he’s living vicariously through Jr lol)

Sorry if this isn’t coherent I really gotta put this stuff together properly for the lore fic dhbcjsnbdcsjs

[genderqueerdykes]

Questions about sexuality - and romance alignments -a lot of labels come off like, they don't so much ascribe to a truth so much as a perception+box. But that makes it really hard to figure out what labels to use. Like; for a lot of people, aroace means zero sexual and romantic attraction - and I don't see a lot of people treating it as a spectrum. But for me, I've only ever been sexually+romantically attracted to my gf and her system - no one else. Am I aroace? And then there's demi, but I don't see that used as much. And I'm bi-oriented? Or should i just say bi? Is specifying polyamory too much? I question and doubt every label because I worry about misunderstandings and exclusionism. Mainstream definitions seem to be getting more rigid in who can use them. I was excited to discover m-spec lesbianism before I saw a lot of conversations about "men invading". The way the binary genders are viewed are also very strict. It's a bit overwhelming.

it can definitely get overwhelming at times, i get that! i'm sorry to hear it's been frustrating to research

i think the biggest thing to keep in mind is the boundaries on most identities are not quite that rigid. for a lot of people, aroace can mean 0 attraction, but for many it's used to denote that they're on the aro- and acespectrums, which includes a very wide variety of experiences. i'd also like to say demiromantic and demisexual are very popular terms, and are used very widely, i think the reason they're not seen quite as much at the current moment is because a lot of people aren't as open about it due to a lot of extremely violent aroacephobia from a few years ago. it's been hard for the aroace community to find a footing and it's unfortunate, because the experiences are varied and valid

also ignore any and all rhetoric involving "men invading" lesbian spaces, it's rad fem / t erf rhetoric and it's not worth your time. men are allowed to be in lesbian spaces, lesbians are allowed to identify with male genders, lesbians are allowed to date men, and lesbians are allowed to be attracted to multiple genders, lesbian does not have to be an exclusive identity. i am an m-spec lesbian, myself =) it has never been and will never be a bad thing to be a bisexual, polysexual, pansexual or other multisexual identity lesbian. bi lesbians have been around as long as the community has. lesbians can and do have a wide variety of experiences with sexuality, gender and attraction

things are very confusing at first, but i think eventually the bubble will burst, so to speak, in your mind and you'll have that moment where you realize it's okay if you play with the boundaries of things a little bit. queerness is at its core about pushing the boundaries of what we are societally taught to believe is the "correct" way to go about relationships, and it's okay if you don't fit 100% into a rigid textbook definition of something that can be neatly laid out on paper. you are a person with nuance, and it's okay if your labels have nuance as well

hope you're able to figure things out, identity is confusing and whenever you read about labels online, they can seem like very strict boxes you have to put yourself in. whenever you meet people who identify with these things and see how their identities present, though, those lines become a lot softer, and often times harder to see, and that's a good thing. take care of yourself, good luck in your journey

[thechaseofspades]

aromantic ask game: 6, 18, and 19?

Alright let's get it!

6. What is your favorite part about being aromantic?

I think it's just being satisfied with who I am now. Before, I was all like "oh no I'm weird again" which is pretty common since I'm already autistic. But now I can just chillax because I don't even have to worry about being different than everybody else. I can just embrace it. It's very validating.

18. Do you have any aro-spec headcanons?

I've joked about this before but I'm pretty open to headcanons of basically anybody as aro. It's such a diverse spectrum that encapsulates so many different factors, many of which would be near impossible to portray in media anyway.

Character shows any sort of emotion other than romance? Aro-spec.

Character insists they've never loved anybody until the major love interest comes into the picture? Demi.

Hopeless pining that never goes anywhere for status quo purposes? Lithro.

You can play this game all day. It's very fun because sometimes the accidental aro actually fits really well. Pretty much, if they're not explicitly portrayed as allo in canon, they're fair game.

19. Is there a song that is very aromantic to you?

I feel like I'm being baited into plugging "My Head is an Animal" and specifically "Love Love Love" but I'm totally not gonna do it because that's cheating.

A song I've latched onto recently is "Born This Way". It came out when I was growing up so I know what the times were like at least in my neck of the woods, and it feels very progressive for its time looking back. It's not an aro song of course, but it's still a pride song that just astonishes me with how big it was for 2011 sensibilities. It makes me feel good about where we're headed.

I'll add that since aromanticism itself isn't as well known, I tend to associate it with other more common themes. Anything about platonic friendships, anything about being different in a good way, any of that meshes really well with aro for me.

So yeah, hope that answered some stuff. Saying words is fun. Thanks for the ask!

[wetbloodworm]

filled out the gender/orientation demographics of all 200+ of my characters so analyzing where it currently stands under the cut

you should be able to enlarge the pic to look at it better. the colors are all perfectly fine to me but if the readability is shit lmk. the totals off to the side are all the same, that’s just for my reference to make sure i don’t leave any kids out

a thing i’ve commented on is that i feel like i’m... y’know, being Too Loudly Queer when it comes to my characters. specifically Too Loudly Trans/Nonbinary with a side of Too Loudly Aspec. i recognize that this is bullshit, of course, i can have as many of these characters as i want and i’m not being Annoying or whatever the source of that anxiety is. but also like... [gestures at the numbers] clearly i could be louder!!

first disclaimer: many of these storylines are from middle school or high school and feature the predominantly cis characters i made at the time. there’s a good amount of queer kids mixed in there from the start, but most of them were also perceived as allo because i didn’t know there was an alternate option. i’ve only kinda re-examined some of these kids to see how i can tweak things in a way to improve them and their individual stories, and sometimes i’m too married to an idea of an OC to want to tweak them.

second disclaimer: many of these lists include the family members that don’t actually have any ‘screen time’, or otherwise don’t feature as heavily into the story. basically characters that are there for rounding out an existing character. cian’s got ten family members on the rescueverse list (excluding lyle since he’s his own thing) and only one of them has had any form of screentime and that’s dying in his gta au backstory lmao. anyway, what this means is that there are a lot of filler characters in here, and the VAST majority of these characters are allocishet. the fact is there’s a lot of not-queer people out in the world and that’s generally what i’ll default to for these filler characters unless i feel particularly strongly about a detail. like, ivan’s mom alyona dies when he’s a kid in every AU so she doesn’t feature much, but i know in my heart she was closeted bi+aro.

so, with those disclaimers in mind! looking at the numbers. pretty even between men and women, both as a whole and between cis vs trans men and cis vs trans women. it’s funny to me how that’s split, actually; half the trans kids are nonbinary, then 25% for trans men and women each. didn’t realize it worked out that way. the ? gender kids kinda vary but mostly those are actual children who i don’t want to label so concretely just yet.

looking at the individual storylines, the pattern is MOSTLY consistent, though TRverse has always had more women so that’s not surprising to me that they skew slightly there. MMCverse meanwhile has always been pretty dude-heavy. the DND section is an outlier for nonbinary kids, which makes sense to me both since these are characters i, a nonbinary person, am playing myself, and also these are largely characters i’ve made in the past couple years.

conclusion for gender is that i do need more nonbinary kids and more trans kids overall.

for the next two sections, i have orientation split with the aspec section since i use the split attraction model and this makes more sense to me than shoving everything into one category. i also originally had bi and pan in separate sections but with the same color-coding since they’re separate identities with overlap, but it felt unhelpful when getting the stats together. so i combined them, and i feel a bit conflicted about that. like, anya specifically IDs as bi, and syrus specifically IDs as pan, and that distinction can be important to people. i already have an ‘aspec (specific)’ section so i might make an ‘orientation (specific)’ section to get more detailed, can also get lesbian vs gay men numbers that way. rename the ‘bi/pan’ section to ‘m-spec’? i’m not sure. it could get messy. Mmmmmmm we’ll see I’ll think about it

ANYWAY the queer kids definitely win out here, because the thing is that while most of the straight kids are also allo, some of them aren’t. that’s why i don’t have a queer vs allocishet section, i’d have to get more complicated formulas to pick that out and i don’t wanna. so i don’t know the exact numbers, but! definitely still mostly queer kids. most of the straight kids are also the family members/filler characters, though i DO have a handful of more defined kids that are straight. just... not very many, lol. for instance, i have 15 kids marked as either primary tier or secondary tier in rescueverse and only 3 of them are straight.

have the largest amount of bi/pan/m-spec kids, which makes sense to me. aro + ace kids can either be full aroace or aspec kids who prioritize that part of their identity rather than the genders of who they can feel their limited attraction towards. some in the aro + ace section could probably fit in the bi/pan/m-spec section too but that’s not how they ID, so it’s not where they go.

the aspec section surprised me a bit because i really felt like i had WAY more aspec kids than this lol. i just feel like i’m especially noisy and annoying on that front, which is probably some internalized bs i need to unpack don’t worry i’ll get to that. but nah, there’s WAY more allo kids, even more than there are straight kids and close to the number of cis kids. again, lots of those are filler characters, but it covers a lot of the main kids too. i could definitely stand to be louder here. especially with the aro-spec kids who are trailing behind a little bit, which makes sense to me since that’s a newer aspect of my identity that i’ve been exploring more through OCs over time.

i should make an aspec vs allo chart like i did for the gender section. i’m not doing that now i’m like minutes away from a nap tbh

SO YEAH THIS IS INTERESTING TO ME i also have sections for like. height and birthdays in the demographics. might add stuff like hair color and eye color just to see if there are trends in my designs. have considered adding race because i KNOW i got a lot of white kids, but that’s something that’s also improved over time, and i’d like to see the actual numbers and see where i can improve in what storylines. but i don’t know if that’d be a weird thing for me to list out/track or not. i’ll look into that a bit.

okay it is nap time now

[voidtheacesuccubus]

1. Asexual, recently added Quoiromantic

For further context I am nonbinary, but visually indistinguishable from a perfectly "regular" cis het woman, giving me the classic cis-het-woman-problems in dating as a base line. Like, we're really out there playing among us with a bunch of "nice guys". Somewhere is an abusive asshat, but you don't know where and you're guaranteed to be at a complete physical disadvantage should he try something shitty. Also for some reason it's always a totally innocent guy who gets kicked out of the ship first.

2. Romance in theory nice, in reality gives me anxiety bc I feel like I'm too stupid for it and a partner doesn't feel loved by me

Touching/Hugging only with permission but can be nice

Kissing (with permission) very dopamine printer button, I only care about who does it to me bc shit like herpes exists.

Sex (with consent) very dopamine printer button but I am too stupid for it and get anxiety if I have to come up with ideas myself. And the partner literally doesn't matter outside of my trust issues and, again, getting sick. Imagine the dog meme going "no attraction! Only sex!"

Love nice in theory gives me anxiety in practice bc see romance, very one-sided situation, not because I don't love but bc I can't express it

QPR very new concept to me, feels like the ideal thing the more I read about it though. Kinda what I always imagined a romantic relationship would be before I recently realized damn I'm an idiot nobody(outside of aros) else thinks this way

Significant other I love the idea of having a very close, personal partner to battle whatever life throws at you with, I hate how possessive some people are about them. I am my own person, not one half of a conjoined unity.

One night stands in theory very interesting, I am hypersexual after all, but in practice I have nothing exciting to offer and would be at the complete mercy of a sex-hungry stranger, not a comfortable position to be in when you're *complicated*.

Porn gives me nothing. I'm not a visual type.

Smut of fictional characters I already have some kind of emotional bond to is amazing, can't get enough of it, love you AO3 M rating writers, doing Dodo Jesus's work.

Dates are ugh. Tell me upfront what you hope to achieve, otherwise any hints you place will go right over my head and I will be an anxious mess because of it. Nothing is worse than a guy misunderstanding you and having expectations that don't get met. So I don't actively seek out dates, but avoid them at all costs. Unless they're established friends. I go on dates with my hetero male friends all the time and at this point we're all just laughing about how other people think we're a couple.

Yeah I should maybe have suspected this aro-spec-thing a lot earlier...

3. Most people just put me right back into the allo-box when I say I'm not repulsed by sex, then get annoyed when it turns out I'm not lol. Not that I'm mad, I'm annoyed with myself, too, because it makes obtaining (consentual) sex as a hypersexual very hard.

4. Not really, but I don't tell many people because why would it matter to them, it's only relevant for romantic(-esque) relationships and only one guy ever got that far with me. He was not aphobic, just confused, but same mate, same.

5. I am autistic, which has a massive impact on all this. The alexithymia is strong with me, my connection to my feelings overall is bad, but with romantic feelings it seems much worse. Maybe I can mend this one day, maybe I will not go ???? when things get romantic at some point. But right now this is where I am, which is why I adopted the Quoiromantic label.

And I'm ace bc all people are equally unattractive to me. I can go "nice fashion" or "such skill making that hair" but people overall give me nothing, not a single attractive person on this dirtball.

The Aspec Questionaire

Aspec is such a vast category and one some folks (especially allo folks) tend to treat like a monolith. So I thought it’d be good to do a little questionnaire to demonstrate.

(Skip anything you don’t want to answer.)

1. How do you identify?

2. How do you feel about the following, one word answers are fine if you want:

- - Romance

- - Touching

- - Hugging

- - Kissing

- - Sex

- - Love

- - Queer Platonic Relationships

- - A Significant Other

- - One Night Stands

- - Porn (Video)

- - Smut (Written)

- - Dates/Dating

3. What is the thing you think most people misunderstand about your identity?

4. Have you encountered aphobia in your life?

5. Anything else you’d like to add on the topic?

[radiosandrecordings]

Do you think Jon's relationship with gender is related to his ace-ness or separate from it?

Slams my hands on the table NOW THATS A QUESTION

UH. Hm! I am unsure and I like both options! I’d also love to hear others thoughts on this because for me, I have absolutely no idea how my lack of gender, aceness and bafflement about how single gender romantic attraction works, all play into each other. I think they mostly influence each other but I cannot tell where the chicken and egg etc are. I think the aceness is the origin, that affects romance, and the romance affects gender? Or maybe my upbringing affected my gender. Or maybe the gender affects the romance. Could be any of them!

For Jon.... I want to say because he’s both bi and ace, his relationship would be similar-ish? I always get the impression that he presents himself both in a masculine manner because that’s just the styling he happens to like, and that that’s what’s expected of him, and he doesn’t particularly care much either way to go against what’s expected of him.

As I’ve discussed before Jon goes against a lot of masculine tropes, specifically as a protagonist, and I’d like to say his aceness plays into this! Maybe it doesn’t, that’s also fair, but when masculinity often comes with an expectation of sexuality, a rejection of that very much puts you on the outside, though this is diluted by his nerdy academic status coming with less of that than if he was more of an action hero.

Also, when you’re not sexually attracted to anyone, and romantically attracted to theoretically anyone, it becomes very hard to distinguish just where genders actually are and they all sort of become meaningless, which is a view I can definitely see him sharing (reading him as aro-spec plays into this too I feel!)

But as I said I love Jon gender thoughts and Jon ace thoughts so 👁 Give thoughts

[acespec-ed]

Hi! I'm not aplatonic, so this ask comes with absolutely no pressure, but I would love to hear about your experiences as an apl person. How did you come to identify as apl? How do you experience friendships (if at all), are friendships important to you? Is there an apl community you're part of? Is 'apple' an acceptable nickname? At risk of sounding ignorant, is there an element of "i just don't like people" in being aplatonic? Are there any questions or assumptions you're tired of hearing? I'm just curious because I've seen the definition of aplatonic come up on your blog a lot, but I struggle to imagine what life is like for apl spec people.

Again, absolutely no pressure, and im really sorry if I've been rude or crossed any boundaries by asking. And I realise that's a lot of questions! I'd be interested to hear anything you have to say.

No problem! 😊 So many questions though, I don't know where to start!

I've never been good at making friends, and I've never been bothered enough about that flaw to fix it. All my friendships started with someone talking to me regularly for some reason or another, or someone joining a friend group and taking an interest in me. I have had best friends in the past, and I considered them important people that I cared for. I have happy memories of them. But at the same time, I always felt like I needed more space than they did. Like, they wanted to hang out and talk to me A LOT. And I don't mind talking and hanging out, but I'm very introverted and require a lot of alone time. I always chalked it up to me being introverted and them being extroverted. But at the same time, they'd make the occasional joke comment about what if we lived together, which is just... something I would not want. And sometimes they'd get, like, fiercely protective over hypotheticals of someone hurting me? But I played along with that sort of thing to spare feelings. I was never sure if they were joking or serious.

And then, God, all the aphobes talking shit about QPRs being just a "normal friendship" or whatever. Saying it's normal to want to live with your friend and whatnot. And of course, I disregard those kinds of comments because, those people are being willfully ignorant. But it's funny because, the more I saw them dismissing friend-related aspec terms for being "normal," the more I'd end up looking into all these aspec terms because none of that shit is "normal" for me! So occasionally, I'd do some poking around to try and figure out what exactly is wrong with me. Because for the longest time, I thought I was just introverted. Or just asocial. Or possibly had schizoid personality disorder. I'd heard about aplatonic, but I thought that was just an aro term for not having squishes. It never once occurred to me that, even alloros can have squishes!

Anyways, one day, I don't remember why, but I was digging through the aplatonic tag here on Tumblr and a lot of what aplatonic people were saying sounded relatable. It then occurred to me that it was ridiculous to think platonic attraction was an aro-only thing. This was confirmed by seeing people say alloros can be aplatonic too. I even saw some sort of aplatonic checklist that I hit every box on. And then it just, fit!

There have been times where I’ve wondered if I’m possibly aplatonic due to childhood experiences of losing friends. In elementary school, I kept gaining friends then losing them each school year. With the exception of a neighborhood friend, I had no friend stick around me longer than a year or two. By high school I was starting to wonder what the point of getting attached to people was if they’d only ever leave in the end. Sometimes I wonder if that could’ve contributed to it. But then again, I don’t recall ever going out of my way to make a friend even before all that. There might’ve been periods of times when I was little, where I wanted a friend because I didn’t have any. But we’re talking about shit that happened 20+ years ago so fuck if I’m remembering anything right. (Then again, some apls want friends so whether I ever did or not doesn’t matter anyway.)

I'm not part of any aplatonic communities. I'm not even sure if there are any active ones. But apple is an appropriate nickname! I've come across jokes about apl = apple similar to aro = arrow. I kinda like it.

I've often joked about "not liking people." But it's not entirely true. I do need some level of human interaction. But I'm fine with that interaction being with acquaintances and coworkers. I do have my boyfriend who I consider my best friend. I'd also be fine with living with him, and I actually don't get tired being around him all the time. So he's a strange exception to all my rules. (Probably helps that he's also an introvert.) So right now, I'm satisfied with the level of social interaction I get between him and coworkers. I sometimes worry what would happen if we ever break up- how my life would look like then. Because my biggest concern is, getting older, I won't always have parents/family around to get me out of any jams I find myself in. And I'm (typically) not interested in being in a romantic relationship. So I'll probably remain single. But with no friends/family, it makes me worry about when I get old and start having medical emergencies or get in unsafe situations or even just, need help moving. That's when having friends comes in handy. And it's, like, going out to make friends would solve that problem. But it feels shitty to only want to be someone's friend JUST so you have someone to fall back on if your life goes to shit. Nobody likes that person who only calls you when they want something. And that's exactly my motivation for having a friend. But I currently don't see any signs of my relationship ending, so I'm gonna try not to worry about that stuff unless it happens.

I actually don’t have any questions/assumptions I’m tired of hearing. Because I rarely hear anyone even talking about us to come across common questions and misconceptions. (So I guess in a way it would be nice if we were talked about more?) I have seen people say it’s made up, which I hate, but people say that about every label. I guess the most helpful thing would be to acknowledge that, alloromantic aplatonics exist too! I probably would’ve embraced the label sooner if I’d heard that. Everyone just associates it with aromantics, and the vast majority of people identifying as apl seem to also be aro. Maybe that will change several years from now when it becomes more well-known.

This got long! Thanks for reading. 💛

[aspecpplarebeautiful]

i realized i sometimes have a hard time with empathy, at least when it comes to relationships. if someone had a breakup, i know that it probably sucks but i dont really get it and i dont know how to best comfort them. but now im not sure if this is because im aroace (and apl), or if its the other way around and im aspec because i dont have empathy regarding these things, bc i saw someone say empathy is like a cornerstone of human connection. im sorry i just needed to explain to someone bc i think most ppl wouldn't get it

Is your empathy similar in other aspects of life, or is it only around things like relationships where you feel like this? If it's just relationships it may be a because you're aroace thing. Even if you're empathetic in other areas of your life, sometimes when something is just really outside your own experiences it's just harder to connect to it. And I've known a-spec people even with high empathy who've had trouble really understanding how a breakup feels or why people act a certain way in relationships, etc.

If you have low empathy in general, and you feel like it may either be a factor in you being a-spec or even a cause, it's entirely possible. Definitely low empathy tends to be more common among neurodivergent people and neurodivergent people are also more like to be ace/aro, so there is a correlation. (Though of course empathy levels can vary quite a bit between both neurodivergent people and ace/aro people.)

It's so complicated what can affect our identities and how our attraction/orientations can work. And there are a lot of factors that can play into it.

All the best, Anon!

[baya-ni]

SHADOW’s Queer Coding

I first started exploring this idea of Sk8′s implicit queer rep (as in stuff other than explicit same sex intimacy) in this post.

I know we like to joke that Hiromi is the Token Straight of the protag gang, but I argue that he’s as much an example of queer rep as any of our main characters, albeit in a less conventional and fanservicey way.

So that’s what this post is gonna be, an analysis of Hiromi/SHADOW as a queer figure, how his character fits the Jekyll/Hyde archetype as a metaphor for queerness and The Closet, the similarities between SHADOW as a skatesona and early drag, and how his character represents a larger problem of exclusion within queer fandom spaces.

The 1886 Gothic novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is the origin of the phrase “Jekyll and Hyde”. What I’m calling the Jekyll/Hyde archetype, refers to the same thing; it refers to duality, to a character who is “outwardly good but sometimes shockingly evil” (as described from the novella’s wiki page).

And the Jekyll/Hyde dynamic has also long been associated with Queerness. The antagonism between Jekyll and Hyde as two sides of the same person resonates with many people as similar to the experience being in the closet, and many many scholars have written about this queer reading of Jekyll and Hyde. Do a quick google search if you don’t believe me.

Hiromi experiences his own Jekyll/Hyde duality through his SHADOW persona, which seems to entirely contradict with Hiromi’s day to day personality.

Whilst Hiromi is sweet, romantic, and generally very cutesy, SHADOW is mean-spirited, sadistic, described as “the anti-hero of the S community.”  And though these two personalities seem entirely at odds, SHADOW doesn’t exist in a vacuum, he’s very much a part of Hiromi. In the show, this manifests as SHADOW’s sabotage moves being all flower themed, as Hiromi works in a flower shop, and how he’ll “step out” of character when playing babysitter to the kids.

Below is passage from an essay titled, “The Homoerotic Architectures of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” which reminds me a lot of Hiromi’s character, such that I think his character arc can be read as an allegory for coming out and self acceptance.

The closet, here, is a space not only for secrecy and repression, but also for becoming; it is the space in which queer identities build themselves up from “disused pieces” and attempt to discover the strength needed for presentation to the world. The closet is both a space of profound fear and profound courage—of potentiality and actualization. (Prologue)

Unlike the kid/teen characters, the show’s adult characters all lead double lives. When they aren’t skating, they have day jobs. Kaoru is a calligrapher, Kojiro is a restaurant owner, Ainosuke is a politician/businessman (but tbh his job is just being some rich dude), and Hiromi works in a flower shop.

But of the adult protagonists (so not Ainosuke), Hiromi compartmentalizes the most.

Kojiro leaves his face totally exposed such that he can be recognized both on and off the skate scene. Kaoru at least covers his face, but his trademark pink hair and constant use of Carla doesn’t make it very hard to connect the dots between him and CHERRY. He’s also always with Kojiro in the evenings, so if you don’t recognize him as CHERRY when he’s on his own, you certainly will when you see him interacting with Kojiro/JOE.

Next to these two, Hiromi seems the more adamant at separating his Work from Play.

Even when he’s been clearly found it, he still tries to deny that he and SHADOW are the same person. Miya even uses this to coerce Hiromi into helping him and the boys:

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the separation between Hiromi and SHADOW can be interpreted as a metaphor for being in The Closet. As SHADOW, he leads a secret life, one characterized by an tight-knit underground community with a vibrant night scene, where he behaves in ways typically frowned upon by larger society. He worries about being found out and judged by the people close to him.

But in Ep 4, the walls of his Closet begins to come down, or in this case is literally imposed upon by other members of his community, by its younger members, who don’t feel the same need to hide their passion for skateboarding or lead the same kind of double life.

We then see the line between Hiromi and SHADOW begin to blur.

He becomes less of an antagonist, and instead the audience sees him become a mentor and “mother hen” figure for the younger skaters. Later on in Ep 4, we see him casually interacting with the other protags in full SHADOW mode, not as an “anti-hero” but as a friend.  In Ep 6, he acts as a babysitter for the kids, and we see him totally comfortable appearing both in an out of his SHADOW persona throughout their vacation.

And I think that this gradual convergence of Hiromi and SHADOW will culminate in this tournament arc.

There’s something more personal that’s driving SHADOW to do well in this tournament. It’s not just for bragging rights or his pride as a skater, but the results of this tournament is going to have some kind of greater impact on Hiromi’s personal life. Personally, my theory is that Hiromi is using this tournament to prove to himself that he’s worthy enough to ask his manager out on a date.

Hiromi is no longer compartmentalizing, his two lives are overlapping and influencing each other. Recall the essay quote I cited earlier:

The closet... is the space in which queer identities build themselves up from “disused pieces” and attempt to discover the strength needed for presentation to the world... of potentiality and actualization.

This is exactly the case for Hiromi. Through skating, he is piecing together the disparate parts of him such that he can present himself to the world as a more unified and confident being.

And the show presents the very skating community that Hiromi has been working so hard to keep separated from his personal life- Reki, Langa, Miya, Kaoru, and Kojiro- as the catalyst for that becoming.

That, my dear readers, is queer coding if I ever saw it.

But there’s probably gonna be people claiming something along the lines of “But SHADOW can’t be queer rep because he’s Straight!” And I assume that’s because he shows romantic interest in his female manager.

First of all, Bisexuality. Also Ace/aro-spec people. And second of all, SHADOW is Hiromi’s drag persona.

And before anyone can say anything about how Hiromi can’t do drag because he’s straight (assumption) and cis (also an assumption) uhhhh no, fuck you.

Drag didn’t start with RuPaul’s Drag Race, that’s just how it got mainstream. And it’s also how it got so gentrified and transphobic. You heard me. But anyway.

Drag is, and has always been, first and foremost about exaggerated, and oftentimes satirical, gender presentation and performance. It’s about playing with gender norms through artistic dress and theater, not so much to do with sexuality or gender identity.

Literally, what’s the difference here?

SHADOW is a persona of exaggerated masculinity with a punk aesthetic. Regardless of his sexuality or gender identity, Hiromi’s gender performance as SHADOW is drag- that makes him queer representation, change my fucking mind.

Queerness is more than same-sex romance, and by extension, good queer representation is not limited to canonized gay ships. The very word Queer, in it’s ambiguity, is meant to encompass the richly unique experiences of everyone within the LGBTQ+ community.

In my opinion, Queer =/= Gay. I mean, they’re colloquially the same yes and even I use them interchangeably. But for the purpose of this post, they’re not the same, and that’s to argue that Hiromi/SHADOW’s lack of acknowledgement as queer rep illustrates a larger issue of exclusion within fandom.

I mean, this is something we all kinda been knew, but in the case of Sk8 specifically, there are a two main reasons why I think Hiromi is rarely acknowledged as queer rep.

1. He’s not shippable with another male character

Fandom favors mlm ships when it comes to what’s considered good queer rep. And the ultimate mark of good queer rep is explicit acts of romance or intimacy between two male characters. Unlike with any of the other characters in the show, we can’t point to Hiromi and automatically clock him as gay, especially because he expresses romantic interest in a woman.

So by default, he’s less popular, because “Ew Straight People” amirite /s.

2. He’s not attractive

This is really interesting, because like JOE, Hiromi is a beefcake.

But fans don’t thirst over him the same way they do over JOE. Granted, the show really plays up JOE’s muscles in a very strip-teasey way that literally encourages viewers to find him attractive. By contrast, Hiromi is pretty much covered head to toe and he paints his face in theatrical makeup- the point is to look scary, not attractive.

In essence, even though Hiromi engages in “queer behavior” through his SHADOW persona, his queerness isn’t palatable.

But I also think there’s some pretty insidious undercurrents of fetishization going on here, of both Asian people AND gay men. Which is... a whole other thing I really don’t have the capacity to unpack completely.

But basically, Hiromi doesn’t fit into any of the popular BL archetypes so he’s less likely to recognized as Queer. Relatedly, he’s also less often subjected to a fetishistic gaze as other characters. I mean...

So again, fans just don’t find him as appealing. Attractive characters are always more popular than ugly ones.

And I’m sure there are a lot of people who just don’t care for Hiromi’s personality, that’s fine, he does act like an asshole sometimes. But this post is meant to illustrate that queer rep takes multiple forms, and unfortunately I think a lot of media just tends to fall back on stereotypical portrayals of queer people for the sake of broader appeal. And by consequence, the fandom’s idea of what constitutes queer rep narrows to same-sex romance, usually between two cis gay men.

With the release of Ep 9, I know a lot of people queer people are going to find representation in the Kojiro’s whole “unrequited love” thing. But personally, I feel more represented by Hiromi, his journey of self-acceptance and subversive relationship with gender- that’s what resonates with me as a trans person.

And I think it’s important to see that kind of less palatable type of queer representation more acknowledged in fandom, and in Sk8′s fandom especially, because I know the demographics of this fandom lean heavily queer.

But that’s all for now, lemme know what you guys think :)

[aropodcasting]

The Fabled A-spec Post I Keep Saying I’ll Make

Since I’m p aro on sideblog + community terms are unknown to people outside the community (as well as those inside the community due to the wipeout exclusionism on the website circa 2016-onward) so I figured I’d make a quick post to let people know abt some of the things I’ll be referring to!

Terms

Allo: someone who is not a-spec; used in front of -romantic or -sexual (ex. alloromantic) or used as a descriptor (ex. I cannot believe everyone else here is allo)

A-spec / Aro-spec / Ace-spec: abbreviation for the spectrum; A-spec as an abbreviation for the entire spectrum, aro-spec as an abbreviation for the aro spectrum, and ace-spec as an abbreviation for the ace spectrum

-> a note: can be written as a-spec or aspec, but due to screen readers/ what I’ve seen dyslexic a-spec people discuss, I use a-spec. I am not dyslexic nor use a screen reader, so I cannot comment on this, and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong

Qpr/ qpp: queerplatonic relationship/ quasiplatonic relatonship; queerplatonic partner/ quasiplatonic partner. Qprs do not have a strict set of rules, and as such are hard to describe. They are not romantic nor sexual inherently, though one could be. A qpr can be committed, married, and non-romantic/ non-sexual; they can look like a romantic relationship; they can include sex and sexual elements; they can appear casual; they can be monogamous or polyamorous; they can occur at the same time as a romantic relationship. They’re very moldable. They are a relationship that, as it comes from the aro community, is not inherently romantic, but goes above and beyond traditional societal norms for friendship (though, friends can do everything a qpr does and not be in a relationship labeled as other than friends). To get a better understanding of qprs, I’d suggest looking into community resources and finding other posts a-spec blogs have made about them. AUREA, or aromantism.org, defines them as “A committed non-romantic relationship that goes beyond what is the subjective cultural norm for a friendship. Levels of intimacy and/or behaviors between the partners involved often don’t fit the conventional standards set by society. Some QPRs can include sex and elements that are generally considered romantic. In practice every queerplatonic relationship is different. Abbreviated to QPR, and queerplatonic (quasiplatonic) partner to QPP.”

Squish: a catch-all term for non-romantic and non-sexual attraction; commonly mistaken for a crush

-> a note: there are many other words for different types of attraction (plush for queerplatonic attraction, swish for aesthetic attraction, etc) but squish is a catch-all and used most often

Peach Fuzz: a qpr that pretends to be romantic/ dating for any reason

Zucchini: an old term that became uncommon after exclusionism became widespread; another way to refer to your partner in a QPR (ex. This is my zucchini!)

Amatonormitivity: The assumption that everyone is looking for a long-term romantic relationship; the assumption that romance, marriage, ‘partnering off’, etc, is the only path someone would want to follow in their life

Queerplatonic / quasiplatonic: an attraction that is ‘non traditional’ and not romantic or sexual. A hard to define attraction that is different than platonic attraction but not romantic or sexual

Aplatonic: Someone who does not experience platonic attraction; also a spectrum called the aplspectrum; can be used as an identifier (ex. demiplatonic, greyplatonic, etc)

SAM: the split attraction model, which serves to split types of attraction (ex. aroromantic and bisexual as two different terms used at the same time)

Non-SAM aro, ace, etc: commonly used as Non-SAM aro. People who don’t use the split attraction model (ex. only identifying as aro/ terms related to aro and not ace/ allosexual)

Oriented aroace: a term for people who are aroace who experience another type of attraction larger enough to label it (ex. Lesbian aroace, pan aroace, etc)

Angled aroace: a term for people who are on the a-spectrum (grey, demi, akoi, etc) and who experience a type of attraction that is not romantic or sexual, and feels significant enough for them to label it (ex. see above, angled omni aroace, angled gay aroace, etc)

Relationship anarchy: the belief that no relationship is better than another; instead of a pyramid of relationships, they’re all equal. Not specific to the community, but often discussed

Romance/ sex repulsed/ averse: someone who does not want romance/ sexual relationships/ actions taken towards them. This can go from feeling uncomfortable to getting triggered by these actions. One can be romance repulsed and not sex repulsed, or sex repulsed and not romance repulsed, or both

R/s indifferent: someone who does not care one way or the other about romance and/or sexual actions taken towards them. One might be unwilling to do romantic/sexual actions because they don’t care, or, on the other end of the spectrum, might do them anyway even though they do not feel any real want to. On a spectrum and can apply in any combination, like r/s repulsed.

R/s favorable: someone who likes romantic/ sexual actions and wants to do them. Again, on a spectrum, and in any combination, like the two above. They might seek out romantic/ sexual interactions, enjoy them, and want a romantic/ sexual relationship, despite not feeling romantic/ sexual attraction

-> a note: be careful! Sex negative and sex positive are used to refer to whether you support those who are sexual or not (ie. sex workers, those who are in sexual relationships, etc) instead of whether you specifically feel repulsed/ favorable. Don’t mix the terms up, as they mean two different things

Voidpunk: a section of punk morals/ aesthetic not unique to the aro community but coined in it. The practice of rejecting ones humanity and reclaiming their inhumanity, specifically only to be used by groups that people use inhuman against; a way to cope with dehumanization from oppressors. Not specific to the aro community (also used by poc, neurodivergent people, etc, and the intersection of multiple identities that are called ‘inhuman’) but popular inside it

Soft Romo: a term used for anyone but most often on the aro-spectrum; for people who like to perform stereotypical ‘romantic’ gestures such as dating, etc. without wanting the high-energy kissing, holding hands, etc. A ‘low-level romantic relationship’, where performing high-level romance is not preferred or just not possible due to different aspects.

-> let me know if there’s anything you would like me to add/ explain!

Symbols

[ID: an image of two hands, palm up. The right hand is on the left, and the left hand is on the right. They are resting on a dark grey blanket, and there is a light blue rug behind them. On the middle finger of the right hand there is a black ring. On the middle finger of the left hand there is a white, almost transparent, ring. End ID]

Black ring: a symbol of the ace-spec community. Worn on the right hand, middle finger. A way of identification/ pride in public w/o displaying flags

White ring: a symbol of the aro-spec community. Worn on the left hand, middle finger. A way of identification/ pride in public w/o displaying flags

Cake: a symbol commonly used in the ace community, either as a joke (ex. This cake is better than sex!/ Cake will always be better than sex) or as a symbol

Arrow: a symbol commonly used in the aro community, drawing on the way the words ‘arrow’ and ‘aro’ sound the same. Similar themes (archers, bow and arrow, etc) can also be used

Ace card symbol: the ace of a card deck, commonly used as a symbol in the ace community. While the card usage isn’t often discussed, I’ve found sources discussing each meaning; Ace of hearts-> alloace; Ace of spades-> aroace; Ace of diamonds-> the ace spectrum Ace of clubs-> questioning. Draws on ‘ace’ and ‘ace’ word play; also used in jokes (ex. I have an ace up my sleeve/ Aced it!)

Yellow roses: a symbol commonly used in the aro community. Symbolizes friendship, using the symbolism in the yellow rose

Purple/ Green: the colors in the ace / aro flags, respectively

Yellow: the ‘color of friendship’. Commonly connected to yellow roses.

-> a note: there are many more symbols in each community; space ace, frogs for aros, griffins, dragons, etc. I’d suggest looking up symbols and finding some more yourself! These are just some common ones I have seen frequently

That’s all I can think of right now, but if anyone would like me to add on things / explain more my ask box is always open and I am always willing to edit. People in the a-spec community, please feel free to comment/ correct things/ add on things you feel like I’ve missed! While I did not do a list of identities, I did not want to leave out identities that are lesser known/ made fun of. Again, my ask box is open. I linked AUREA (linked to the FAQ) above earlier (linked to the home page), which is a great site for the aro community if anyone would like to know more.