#so yeah i'm only talking about us ace folks

[dancerinthesky]

This particular population of Marauders fans can justify and contextualise themselves all they want, if they want. But as an aroace girlie, the sudden usage of asexuality as a trend just. Makes me sad.

[that-hippie-user]

my mattress now permanently knows my secret. Hope it keeps it well because it’s a really nice mattress but it’s so clear I peed it

how did you tell them? you’re an impressive person

time for another LONGPOST so indulge me for a moment while i ramble

well, with my dad it was a long time coming. :( i had this fear of him passing one day never knowing, and id be left never finding out if he'd accept me for who i am.

one day, after... escaping a traumatic time in my life, me and him were splitting cost for a hotel room to beat the heat. summer was wicked hot, we lived in texas at the time, and he was living in a car with no AC, so it was a welcome reprieve.

i decided that would be the week i tell him, i even wrote down a little mock contract to myself and signed it to make it happen.

:( it was a dark time in my life. i had just escaped some terrible abuse, i just got approved for disability, i was living in a shitty apartment my mom owned, and trying to figure out what to do in life.

but i knew i wanted to heal, and i knew healing meant getting in touch with my ab/dl side. so, after working up the nerve to buy a teddy bear (who i keep to this day) i knew it was inevitable.

i pulled up a website explaining diaper fetish and paraphilic infantilism. i adjusted the text size on my phone so dad could read it easier.

i showed it to him, and his response was "why would you ever be ashamed of this?" saying that what makes me comfortable is my business.

.... XD but imma put a BIG asterix there * cuz some years later it would come up in discussion again in a VERY different way. i'll sum up.

Me: yeah, love my friends. its nice to have folks to talk about my kink with.

Dad: kink?

Me: yeah?

Dad: how do you mean kink?

Me: you know, the diaper thing?

Dad: i thought that was a fetish.

Me: it... is? those words are synonyms.

Dad: no, a fetish is like an obsession you got, like some people do with feet. a kink is like... something you like about your partner or something you do with them in bed. getting spanked is kinky, me admiring a womans back is kinky.

Me: yeah, okay, i get that, but how is that different from a fetish?

Dad: a fetish isnt sexual.

Me: ...yes, it is. thats what fetish means.

Dad: ...i'm confused, you find diapers sexy?

Me: i mean... yeah?

Dad: how does... why would that be sexy? how does someone use it for sex things?

Me: idk, off the top of my head... masturbate while wearing one?

Dad: wouldnt that get in the way though? thats so cumbersome.

Me: idk what to tell you, its a sensory thing, we like the feeling and the noise they make.

Dad: and you and your friends share this.

Me: yeah, we do.

Dad: ... i'm gonna be honest, if i knew thats what it was about, i might have said it was a little weird and not to bring that up around people. but, you do you.

Me: well, seemed to work out okay.

Dad: sure sure, just be careful. dangerous world for trans people, dont want you getting hurt.

Me: thanks, i'll be careful.

XD so, okay, that was a bit weird to talk about years after my tense as hell confession and insane relief at his unconditional love.

:P but hey, he knows it makes me happy and has no judgement for it.

XD hilariously, before my big move, he had to wear one of my spars (he doesnt normally wear, it was just a bad day for him physically and he wanted a precaution.), and after the fact he admitted-

"i didnt realize there were diapers this comfortable. i think i understand you a bit better. the part about feeling comfy in them anyway."

:3 so yeah, long road to this point but now i got no fear of shame from my dad.

XD as for my mom, much more mundane. she saw me coming out about it on an older tumblr of mine, we talked briefly about it in the car, she gets it.

.w. my mom kinda got her own thing goin on in the kink community, so THAT doesnt suprise me anymore. my family is strange.

XD gonna cease rambling now, my life story could fill a trilogy of books, and im only in my late 20s!

point is, my fam is mostly accepting.

[dreamer0903]

How much I relate to each Marauders era character:

Sirius = 4, bad childhood, and I tried to escape from my home when I was 8, and then when I was 11 (??) but that's it

James = 7, honestly, I always thought that I was the complete opposite of him, BUT recently I realised I'm basically a people pleaser who doesn't want others to really worry about me 😆 so yeah, that was FUN

Peter = 7, okay, I'm not gonna go around backstabbing my friends 😉 but this guy likes food and sleep. He is a little shy compared to the rest of his friends, and I hc him as ace and Bi, so that's me folks.

Remus = 9, I am full of scars and health problems, and back pain is my BFF. I love to read, and I would actually prefer reading with a cup of tea rather than going out to clubs or parties.

Lily = 5, not much to say, I love her, but apart from -> I like to study and I am anxious if I don't, we don't have much in common

Marlene = 1, babe...idk just never related to her much, the only thing I can think of is the fact that I am vaguely disgusted by men lol

Mary = 3, just for the vibes, I feel like she would be a sarcastic girl and I am very sarcastic

Dorcas = 6, I am mean with people who disrespect me and my friends (!!) also kinda sarcastic, too, so yeah, I feel you, girl

Pandora = 7, I have strange dreams every night, and I try to interpret them as much as I can, I love to daydream and I like to help my friends, I want them to be able to talk to me about everything (I feel like this is relatable also for James)

Regulus = 10000, this man, oh boy, I am basically like him, he is me, sarcastic little shit? check, can't deal with his feelings? check, little sibling that feels like a waste and always compared to his big siblings? check, mean but actually cares but doesn't know how to express themselves? yes, likes to read, quiet, cats, and craves academic validation? Yes, that's me

Barty = 8, I would use violence to get back at someone for begin disrespectful to me/people I care about, kinda crazy, doesn't really care what other people think of me.

Evan = 7.5, for the vibes, I am the crazy friend but also the one that needs to keep the others in check before they go too far, snarky little remarks about people I don't like and I would insult you to make you understand that I care about you

NOW, those are my personal opinions on how I view the characters, obviously, so if you feel like "nah Barty is not like this," remember this is just how I view him and relate to him.

Maybe this was a little too personal but...who cares?

Love y'all babes, take care

[thevoidstaredback]

Void, what're your thoughts on current politics?

Oh, no. I have been tricked into having this conversation once already today, and I'm not going to have it again. I couldn't get a word in after sharing my initial opinion and thoughts with my uncle, so I'm not opening that can of words again.

But, we've had political discussions before; we share a lot of the same views if not opinions.

Yeah, that's what I thought about my uncle, dad, grandparents, and even some friends. We may agree on a lot of things, but my experiences have led me to realize that no matter how well we get on, either of us could say something and we're suddenly hostile.

Like what?

Well, I have strong opinions and views on human rights as a whole, but specifically women's and LGBTQA+ rights.

You know what I think about that stuff.

Do I? Because we've never really had an in depth discussion; Only shared jokes and dislike/hatred for a few of the injustices.

Shouldn't that tell you my stance?

A little bit, yeah, but there's a lot more that needs to be talked about. For example, I know you support LGBQA identities, but what about T?

You know I support the others, so why would Trans folk be any different?

You just never know. I know people who support Lesbians and Gays, but are aphobic and transphobic. I know some people who don't support aro or ace identities, but everything else. There's a lot of niche topics that could potentially turn our relationship - friendly though it may be - hostile or strained.

Hm. I've never really thought about that. I figured that an ally to one was an ally to all.

That's not quite how that works. I think a more accurate way of saying would be 'an ally of one is an ally of none'. Every Queer identity is tied into each other, at least a little bit, if not closely related, so how can you possibly be in full support of one without being in full support of another?

That's.... actually given me a bit to think about. What about current events? We agree on pretty much all of those.

'Pretty much all' is your key phrase, man. There's a lot of shitty things that're happening in the world, most of which can be sourced to political influence. But, as I've found out through some of the same as well as different people, what I think shouldn't be happening/should be stopped, you could think should keep happening. Like, as another example, the fires in California. I think they're horrible tragedies and I pray that they stop soon, but a lot of people I've talked to say that the fires are supposed to be raging because the [LDS] Bible and religious figureheads say, in so many words, that California will sink in the last days. I've also heard people use their religion, LDS again, to excuse the hell that Israel has somehow excused as 'self defense'.

But I'm not religious. I haven't been for nearly a decade now.

I know, but you can not be religious and still follow some of the same ideals, good or bad in the opinions of others.

But, that's cherry-picking, isn't it?

Yeah, it is, and everyone - including myself, admittedly - does it. Cherry-picking information, maybe even going so far as to twist meanings, is unavoidable.

Completely?

Almost, yeah.

Hm

[the-ace-lesbians]

This may be a weird ask, I don’t usually ask folks stuff so feel free to ignore! But I have always known intellectually that I’m ace and I used to be able to identify more with that concept, but I feel like I don’t know how to accept it truly as a part of myself. Especially as I’ve gotten older and my peer group has aged and sex has gotten more normal. I know how to conceptualize it but I don’t know how to feel it and accept it without still feeling so other, if that makes sense? I haven’t ever really met anyone I’m able to relate to or talk about it with which makes it harder. Just looking for some advice or understanding. Thank you!

Hello! I don't think it's weird to ask at all, looking for a little advice from your community is a good thing, in my opinion, and the ask box is there for anyone to ask or share or anything like that!

I think accepting asexuality as an integral part of yourself is a hard thing to do. It's very, very much, for me, like the struggle for younger me to accept being a lesbian - I knew that it was true. I was happy to say it. But it didn't quite click in my soul for a while. I think, for being a lesbian, it was because of the state of society. Homophobia abound, comphet, the societal pressure to marry a man, and just general misogyny always implying men were the constant end goal in everything anyone deemed 'a woman' did, you know?

For being asexual, I feel a similar thing is true. Sex is everywhere, it's considered not only something that must be done, but that should be expected to see, engage in, revel in, surround yourself in. So when you exist outside of that overbearing concept, there's this inherent inability accept it inside yourself because it's like -

'Oh, here I am. Purposefully putting myself apart from others,'

Queer identities always feel othering because of our society, it's something I feel is just... integral to it all? I'm not saying to be queer is to be other, or different, or lonely, it's more like to be queer is to exist in a world where people will tell you it's other, different, and lonely, even if your lived experience is the opposite of, but anyone constantly being told that is going to have a sort of cognitive dissonance moment.

The feeling of loneliness or being othered is real. I dare say in many ways it's normal for asexuals, as well as any other queer identity. There have been many times where I wished I was simply not asexual because the ostracization from all directions is too much, I've even posted vent art I made about it on this blog.

I do understand you. Being asexual can sometimes feel like being stunted, or left behind, or just so intrinsically different from others that it's sort of a weird road block, and there's this question of, how do I embody something that sets me apart - at least, for me.

I'm not sure if any advice I can give you would help exactly, because everyone's own journey in accepting and being and internalizing who they are is different, and comes about in different ways. I can tell you that my personal journey for that was turning to sex positivity, learning about it, and in the end when I was even more disinterested in it for myself, I went, 'yeah, okay, so my boundaries and consent are always a hard no for this'. Once I had established a hard belief in consent and learned about the intricacies of sexual identity and the likes, the idea of where my own boundaries and interests sat really felt like just nothing.

It was like, okay, so, I'm not sexually attracted to anyone. Some people are mainly into feet, or balloons, or some other really specific niche - once I realized and accepted the variety and spectrum of human sexuality, the fact that I sat inside my own niche was just nothing out of the ordinary.

Of course, that was my own personal journey! It was also largely spurred on by being sex-averse (yeah, a sex-averse stone butch sex-positive asexual is a crazy mix), so this isn't a one size fits all solution, and maybe your own journey could come from a completely different thing. Maybe finding a specific label, or figuring out exactly where your lines are drawn, or acknowledging your sexuality online or to people you know in real life, can start making it feel more real, and more like you instead of a concept.

You'll have a community here regardless of where your journey is on the road, or how you got there, or where you end up, chief.

[vrabbiit]

Hi i just have 2 lil questions.

what do you personally headcanon all (but the cleaning bots ofc😂) - security breach animatronics sexuality and gender identity plus pronouns ? O.o

And what would they like and dislike in a S/O?

Thanks=🍪

of course anon! just a heads up that while i may personally headcanon animatronics with certain sexualities, doesn't mean that i have any sort of issue with others headcanoning otherwise! they're fictional characters with no set identities, of course, and i encourage other interpretations! i'm also specifically using the terms masculine and feminine in terms of preference / identity so as to not be exclusive to people who fit in binary identities - as a nonbinary/genderqueer (as well as bi ace) person, i understand that language surrounding attraction and gender can be fucky sometimes but please know that not feeling as though you fit into my descriptions here does not mean you cannot read or enjoy my content - i always try to stick to gender neutral readers unless specified otherwise, so that everyone feels included or represented! that said, here goes!

glamrock freddy in my interpretation is bi, with little to no preference of the gender of his partner! he uses he/him, but that's as far as he's considered gender identity. he's naturally attracted to people who are kind or who seem to genuinely care, and while his more diplomatic personality can be a good level for more impulsive or hot-headed people, he generally tends to shy away from people who are outright argumentative - our boy does NOT like unnecessary confrontation for the sake of it. (this does not mean he will not stand up for what he believes in, just that he does not like when people want to argue for no reason.)

montgomery gator is imo unlabelled but multi-spectrum, with a preference for masculine partners (although he is by no means only into masculine / male people!) he also uses he/him, and while i haven't thought too hard about his gender i don't really see him as cis, so take that as you will! unlike freddy, he does enjoy confrontational people and he tends to not be as comfortable around people who he thinks are just agreeable to avoid arguments. he wants someone he can be himself around, and he is quite hot-headed.

glamrock chica i see as bi with a preference for feminine partners! she uses she/her, but i can also see her being open to using they/them or other pronouns! she's not picky about the personality of her partners, since she gets along with almost everyone! she does have a soft spot for shyer or more quiet people, though, as she thinks it's cute!

roxanne wolf i personally headcanon as a lesbian because - yeah, i just can't imagine her as anything else, and nobody else i've talked to really can either! she has attraction to girls of any kind, and any nonbinary folk who would include themselves in that pool of attraction! she's possibly the most enigmatic out of the main band with her preferences, but she likes people who don't immediately brush her off as self-centred or self-absorbed - there's so much more to her, and anyone who actually takes the time to get to know her will see her warming up to them a lot quicker than she would admit.

sun and moon, in my personal headcanon, both use they/them and he/him pronouns individually - there is not a cisgender bone in their body! neither of them really have a label on their attraction (or have really thought about it too hard), but they do have slightly different preferences for a partner! sun is, lovingly, a lot to take in sometimes, so his ideal partner is someone who either matches that energy or mellows it out - in general, people who are very negative to others repel their sunny attitude, but that doesn't mean they don't understand someone can have a bad day! for moon, he's a bit of a Menace and hasn't quite gotten past the "he likes you so he's mean to you" stage. granted, he's never cruel, but he finds themself fixated on people who can either handle his weird ways of expressing love, or who they just find plain cute!

djmm is, well... he's the dj!!! generally going by he/him or it/its pronouns, the dj doesn't really consider himself that aligned to romantic or sexual attraction! on the aro-ace spectrum, probably being under demisexual and demiromantic labels! for that reason, it's hard to pin down what he's interested in in a partner - it tends to vary from person to person!

you didn't ask, but vanny/vanessa? very heavy feminine preferences - she is for the girls first and foremost. for the guys? maybe, she hasn't figured it out yet! uses she/her, but like monty i also don't think she's exactly cis, so interpret that however you want! she's kind of also a menace who likes people she fins entertaining, but unlike moon she actually knows how to process her attraction into flirting!

[return-to-twisted-wonderland]

🌸Anon

{Ortho laser people for family, good job buddy, but can he help her here on this?}

I'm(not)Okay.........

[As her twin floated back to her(and that RSA Student just ran away, at least she is not going to be seeing that guy again), Elisa managed to smile a little even a chuckle(it sounded a little weak though)]

Elisa: Thanks Orthy, but you didn't had to do that. He's not the first person to have said something like that and I doubt he'll be the last.

[She is trying her best to still smile for him, however she also doing her best not to show her teeth as she began to walk back to NRC with Ortho]

Elisa: Heck back on earth, there were some that only said that stuff like "your so tragically beautiful if only your eyes didn't look creepy"

[She doesn't realize she is begining to walk faster]

Elisa: I'm used to it, and now used to the fact that now my hair and teeth are being added to the mix. "Your teeth are sharp as knives" "Your hair is on fire". It's a pity you have this, such a shame that. I think I even heard freaking repeats at this point but it's fine, I got used to hearing those comments

[She is walking faster, her hair begining to turn red]

Elisa: Stupid RSA jerks and everyone else who said that stupid dumb kind of junk, saying that if I didn't have the flaming blue hair, sharp teeth, and yellow eyes I would actually be beautiful.

[She clenches her hands as she begins to walk faster, her hair more redder]

Elisa: Why the hell do they have to say it like those three things about me are bad and horrible. Like those three things make me something kind of freak, what I have in common with you and Onii-chan is something to be ashamed of

[Walking faster, redder]

Elisa: Yeah right as if I'm ashamed, those words mean nothing to me. They don't hurt, I'm used to hearing them. They don't hurt at all and since I'm not hurt, I'm okay. Fine

[faster, redder]

Elisa: I can smile just fine with my teeth heck Onii-chan has sharp teeth too, my hair is like an awesome nightlight plus blue's a cool color, my eyes remained the same in both here and Earth as well as being the same as you and Onii-chan's eyes. I am not ashamed of them, so screw the people who say I should be, and screw that guy just now too, heh. Stupid him calling you a kid when you're the same as age as me. Stupid him looking at you with those eyes as if to say you aren't normal, of course your normal your body just a little different than most folks.

[faster, redder]

Elisa: You are a teenager like me, the same age as me. Twins for great seven and kami sake. That guy's just plain stupid to not notice that. plain stupid and dumb.

[faster, redder(Are at NRC's gate and went passed it's gates and into school grounds)]

Elisa: We both are teenagers like the others at Night Raven College, Normal teenagers that can use magic pretty well like everyone else there. Everyone there has unique quirks to them, we have unique quirks too like the flame hair and teeth and maybe the eyes too even. That doesn't make everyone at NRC a freak, it doesn't make us freaks

[faster, redder(Sebek spots her and tries to talk to her, however becomes concren when she went passed him quickly like she couldn't see him. He decided to follow her)]

Elisa: So no, I am not tragically beautiful. I'm just beautiful in general like your a person like everyone else. We both are just normal teenagers with some quirks that's all

[faster, redder(Epel and Jack see her and tried to tell her hi but noticed something was wrong and muttering too. Followed her out of worry)]

Elisa: Anyone who says otherwise is stupid and dumb. plain stupid and dumb, really plain stupid and dumb

[Running, hair about to explode into red(She ran passed a concern Ace and Deuce, they began to follow her too)]

Elisa: Stupid and dumb, stupid and dumb, stupid and dumb, stupid and dumb, stupid and dumb, stupid and dumb

[Elisa's own eyes began to brime with more tears(Grim sees her and tries to call to her, she doesn't hear him. He doesn't hesitate in running after her trying his hardest to get her attention)]

Elisa: stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid

[her own negative thoughts about herself were making themselves known in her head, remembering all those times she considered in wanting to hide her flaming blue hair, yellow eyes, and sharp teeth. Thinking maybe she is somehow cursed and ugly for having those three traits. Tragically Beautiful(She doesn't realized she already headed for Ramshackle, the cameras showing Idia everything)]

Elisa: I don't need those stupid pity looks. It's not a pity at all. For Great seven and kami sake

[She than ends up screaming as her hair exploded into red(She wants nothing more than just cry in her room alone)]

Elisa: I ALREADY HEARD THOSE COMMENTS A MILLION TIMES BEFORE ALREADY SO STOP SAYING IT AND SHUT UP ALREADY

[She doesn't realized she has now slamed open Ramshackle's door.........(No longer in the nearby town near NRC)]

Ortho: Sister...

[pumpkin-spike18]

✨Weekly Progress 2024 #13-15✨

I thought I missed 2 weeks, but turns out it was 3 🤐

Weekly Progress #13

Submitted DGM Page

Submitted 1/2 Fan Project checkin

Fleshed out about 1/3-1/2 P^3 outline

Read through + ID'd illustration points for Fan Project #2

Weekly Progress #14

Made SYVNH Script plan

Copied SYVNH + Side B to renpy

Talked with SFB musician

Drafted a pitch

Initial scripting pass for SYVNH main story

Sketched SFB Dove & Avia sprites (additional poses + outfits)

Linearted SFB Raven sprite

Weekly Progress #15

Initial scripting pass for SYVNH Side B

Finished 19 new additional SYVNH art assets

Coded in additional SYVNH art

Programmed in Side B link in main menu

Scripted in additional SYVNH art

I had a lovely two weeks of scripting 🙂🙂🙂

Yes, I lost my mind. Yes, it was mostly missing to begin with so no harm done.

Stuck in a Yandere Visual Novel...HELP!!

As I discussed before, I do my scripting in multiple passes. Though, this time I checked to make sure my staging is good before doing sound bites and audio. I'll admit that it's mostly so I can listen to streams as I go through the rather mindnumbing task. There were 10 files for the main story remaining so I tasked myself to script 2 files per day. Each file varied from as little as 150 lines (like 1 file) to 200 lines (most files) to 300+ lines (1 ending) and completing 2 files/day took about 6-8 hours.

Scripting mistakes result in both above and below. ...This is what I get for calling MC's sprite "mcs" and the male extra sprite "ms" One missing letter gives me a black shadow jumpscare.

The Side B scripting was a bit forgiving. It's only 28 pages compared to Scenes 5-6's 55 pages. So altogether Side B only took me 2 days for first pass scripting. That gave me time during the rest of the week to draw... new art assets... that I realized I needed during scripting. Some of them weren't required, but I felt would make a scene flow better.

And since I'm an artist?

Of course I did all 19 of them.

Wait, this wasn't updated- Just trust that I did 19 new image assets, including 3 new sprites 😂

Here are some previews. Is that a familiar character? Maybe~

So yeah, I've coded and scripted in all the new art, but I haven't tested everything yet. I plan to do that when I add in the soundbites.

A Sky of Falling Birds

...Still don't know what sort of visual I want for the game so I just started making sprites and lineart. I might make a demo with just the flat color at this rate tbh.

I got some positive reactions on their sprite sketches, so that makes me shy happy ;//v//;

Peter Pan Project = P^3

Still no title, but I've gotten used to calling it P^3 right now haha.

I didn't get very far with this project in the last 3 weeks, but about a third-half the story is outlined.

The story comes in 2 parts. The first part is 2/3rds outlined (1.7k+ words). The second half of the story is two bullet points lol. Granted, The second half may be a rapid descend to a conclusion. The planning document is already 2.3k+ words, which surprised a few folks...? I think my longest planning document was 11k+ words.

Hopefully next time I update, I'll have more info to share.

[Fan Projects]

Not too much/anything I can show yet as project rules have me not sharing until specific dates. It will be for Ace Attorney and D. Gray Man c:

[mbrainspaz]

my gay uncle trying to explain to me that reagan wasn't that bad and his whole excuse literally being 'he had a gay friend.' 😶 I am ... how can you be this way when you actually lived through the 80's? I know media wasn't as accessible back then but damn man have you not looked back once? And then he has the nerve to frame ME as the ignorant one?

he was giving me a whole talk about how I can't just shut people out of my life for 'disagreeing with me.' (Because he wants me to unblock my transphobic mom because us not talking anymore is making everyone else soooo uncomfortable.) Ugh. 0/10 worst entire conversation I've had recently. He even tried the 'trans people don't deserve the same rights [as us gay guys] because they didn't even exist in the public discourse until recently' bullshit. When I mentioned the story of the trans research from 1930's Germany that was destroyed by the nazis he acted like I was trying to make the holocaust about trans people instead of jews. Not even??? Incredibly disingenuous. When I brought up literary sources he actually got upset and exclaimed that I should read some book about how Fauci is evil. I laughed like... 'okay.' "People only read things they agree with!" he exclaimed triumphantly as if I hadn't just agreed to read it. "Do you know how many right wing conservative christian books I've read? That's how I learned to think critically about what I read, take it apart, and refute it." That kinda took the wind out of his sails but I don't feel like I got through to him at all.

In another attempt to excuse his politics he tried the 'all politicians are evil' discourse so I talked about the minimization of harm and actual harm inflicted by candidates he probably voted for. He jumped that track so fast. Yeah I can see why he wouldn't wanna think too hard about that. He might... I dunno... have to shift his worldview to actually consider the needy and marginalized.

Over and over he kept trying to frame everything as my fault for 'playing the victim.' and 'being too polarized.' I gave the criticism earnest consideration but nah, it doesn't track. I mean I am polarized but in a standing for something so I won't fall for anything kinda way. He tried to say I was making myself the victim by letting my dad kick me out during the pandemic—said it was my fault for saying I was going to vote for Biden. Mmmkay. So I one-upped him by saying 'actually I knew moving in with my folks was my mistake from day one when my dad refused to let me pay rent. That was totally on me and all I've done is deal with the consequences ever since.' (A thing I've been saying since 2018. And it's silly anyway because my dad actually kicked me out like 4 months prior to that incident for refusing to give up any of my animals to a shelter because he believed it was their fault the AC in my apartment kept breaking [the AC broke again months after I moved out—it was a shitty AC]).

It sucks because deep down I know he still loves Reagan and stays right wing because they're the ones who made him rich. It doesn't matter that they would've rejoiced at his death back then. Even that Reagan effectively tried to kill him with gross negligence. I know that to get rich you can't afford to get hung up on the cost. I know we're each standing in vastly different moral landscapes shaped by our learning and our struggles or lack thereof. I'm pretty sure he doesn't see that. He just knows that I'm wrong so he keeps blindly tossing darts hoping he hits a target that proves he's right about me.

He kept saying something like 'I can love and respect people who disagree with me on all kinds of things. Even people who hate my lifestyle.' —as if I'm not doing exactly that by being here in his house, helping him cook pans of lasagna and potato salad for a bunch of my conservative relatives who are about to spend 24 hours belligerently misgendering me and who I know have voted for candidates up and down every ballot who're actively working to take my rights away & keep me trapped in poverty.

Look, I went in to this conversation desperately wanting any answer that would help me understand his take on this kind of thing. I wanted so badly for him to have a memory of some important historical event that I just wan't aware of yet. I also want to understand how he's been able to forgive the family who treated him so poorly when he came out. Nada. It's always just follow the money. I still hope he'll talk about his own views more (without attacking me) so that I can understand him better, because I still want to think better of him. Because I can and I do love so many people who persecute me. Anyway a little bit later he asked us not to bring up his partner's real estate buying business because the market is 'looking grim'. My hasn't-been-able-to-afford-rent-since-2017-ass was over there going, 'oh noooo that's gotta be so haaaard for him. Lemme just cry a single tear while I'm dicing this onion with one of your new $3000 knives.'

[ilovedthestars]

I've gotten multiple responses to this post that are basically along the lines of, "I mostly agree with this, but calling close platonic relationships 'queer' still feels weird to me. That's not what 'queer' usually means and I don't know if I'd use it to describe relationships like this."

And like. I appreciate that people are listening to my point and being receptive to it, even if it feels a little Out There to them! I genuinely appreciate the folks who aren't sure they get this but are hearing me out.

But I also keep wanting to be like. Yeah, that's my point!

We don't use 'queer' to describe platonic relationships but I think we should. (Or at least, should be able to, when it fits the circumstances!) I know, and I acknowledge directly in the post, that this is not a widely accepted usage of the term. I am arguing for an expansion of the term.

I can only make guesses as to what people with this kind of reluctance are feeling, but my best guess is that they're used to "queer" (or at least "queer relationship") being used mostly in reference to gay/lesbian/same-gender love and attraction. A lot of people mostly associate the word "queer" with gay romance. And while that's a big subset of queer experiences, honestly, I think it's a shame that it's often the only type of queer experience that gets talked about.

Queer is an umbrella term for a reason! Is there any reason "queer relationships" shouldn't include, say, friendships between queer/trans people? Or romantic/sexual relationships that could be considered straight, but include one or more trans people? Or, as I make the argument above, relationships that are breaking down the normative ideas of what kinds of relationships a person is "allowed" to have, regardless of whether the people involved are themselves queer?

Maybe that last one is a leap for some people, and you think that a relationship can't be queer if the people in it don't identify with any of the LGBTQ+ labels. I understand that reservation, but honestly, I think that there's so much social pressure against non-normative relationships that people who break them should get to be considered queer / in a queer relationship if they want, and that we should get to apply queer interpretations to characters in that kind of relationship as well.

(Also, like, a lot of people in non-normative relationships are in fact queer, especially aromantic and asexual. But if we aspecs can have fun with our queer friendships and queerplatonic relationships, I don't see why anyone else shouldn't be able to!)

Anyway, all that to say that if this is pushing your definition of queer a little bit, good! That's what I was trying to do! And I hope people come away from this a little more open to the idea.

If you still aren't really convinced, that's okay. If it doesn't change what you personally use the word "queer" for, I hope you still get something else out of this post—like learning about amatonormativity and starting to see it around you, or considering friendships in media through a queer / anti-amatonormative lens of analysis when it feels relevant. (Or just being more chill about aro and ace people in fandoms who don't ship your ships. Please. We would really appreciate it.)

And I just want to say, while I'm here: Thank you for the incredible response to this post. It's just over 10k notes as I'm posting this and I'm so happy that so many people are interested in this topic & my thoughts on it (and so grateful that the response has been 99.99% positive so far). To all the aspec folks who have told me I've put something into words that you never could—thank you, I'm truly honored and I love you all 💜💚. To all the people who have told me I've opened their eyes to something new—thank you for being curious and willing to learn! And to all the people who still don't get it but are here anyway—thank you for listening to what I had to say. I'm glad you're here.

I wish it wasn’t a hot take that a story in which two characters of any gender prioritize their purely platonic relationship over any other romantic or sexual interests they might have is a textually queer story

[green5quirrel]

Ugh. I'm bored.

I'm just gonna write some shit.

It's like "Morning Pages" except circa late 90's early 2000's Livejournal/OpenDiary style. So bear with me.

I've just updated my Bullet Journal. Even typing that makes me cringe. What would 20-something year old me think of a bullet journal? What would 20-something year old I don't fit in any boxes so don't try to put me in one think of writing on grid paper? I mean...it's ALL boxes, isn't it?

But this is my life, now. I write in Bullet Journals. I wear cardigans. I claw my way through the Artist's Way carefully excising the presence of religion. I don't have boobs (or nipples). Let's just say a lot of things have changed in the past two decades.

I go to this amazing little queer coffee house. I use the word "queer" unironically and also use it for myself. I go to this amazing little queer coffee house with its fairies dangling from fishing wire on the ceiling (like, doll fairies not the slur). These plastic folks are mostly Barbie dolls made to look like fairies and sway in the breeze of people walking by amid the lines of faux Edison bulb string lights and pride flag garland.

I go there every Wednesday. I meet up with a bunch of folks (folx? I dunno the current accepted spelling these days) and we do an iteration of Stitch and Bitch. Today I worked on my fanfiction.

After I left the café I went to an Ace Hardware store. I went there because I am an adult and uncool and also because I am working to get into clock repair as a hobby and had been there last week to pick up some tools that were not clock specific.

I met a 61 year old man called Bill there last week. He excitedly chatted to me about the clocks he'd inherited and sold and those he had kept. He has a mantel clock and wanted me to take a look at it. I declined. And I declined again after he insisted. I've not even cracked open a clock and taken out a movement. There's no way I'm working on a family heirloom.

He'll show me the picture of the clock next week as he wasn't able to get over there to take it on account of it being someone's birthday (his business partner's?). Bill shares his life like a person shares Halloween candy in a big plastic bowl on the first of November.

He likes my name. But he still refers to me as a girl. But he also treats me like he's excited to see me even though we've only met twice.

Bill once got paid a few thousand dollars to do some landscaping for a rich person and a few hundred to put in a tree. So, yeah, I consider those two things like tootsie rolls. The chocolate bars are when he talks about his family and how he supports them and his childhood in a watch shop with his dad while a parade of circus animals passes by.

At any rate, after I talked to Bill I went to an antique's mall nearby and scoured the shelves for anything that would be beneficial to my clock repair goals. I didn't find anything today, but that's okay. I'll go back in a couple of weeks.

I am struggling a little right now. So lemme give you all some quality Halloween candy, if you don't mind.

In 2020 my mom died of liver cancer. I had moved back to my hometown to help her and when she started to decline I decided that as soon as she had passed and I had come to terms with it I would move on and explore my options of where to live next.

In 2020 there weren't any options. There continued to not be options for a while after that. Now, as time has finally started to even out and pass like it's supposed to pass, instead of the slow/fast/manic/depressive pace it went through during the pandemic, I am suddenly left with possibility. And that is scary.

I have a partner in Canada who works in Michigan. So there is a thought to move there. But I'm not sure how my mood will go with the rain and cold. Still, Michigan seems safer than here below the Mason Dixon line.

Currently, in this moment, I am struggling not only with motivation and courage but also with working retail when my brain wants anything but to work in the toxic environment of the needy and the entitled.

I have no energy to be creative and my clock repair hobby is also crawling because of that lack of energy. I don't know how I used to do it. How did I sustain myself while expending so much time and energy on a job like this? It wasn't drugs. I wasn't cool enough for that. It must've been joy to some degree. Youth, certainly. Perhaps hope. Perhaps ignorance/naivety. Whatever it was I definitely don't have it anymore.

Was this meant to be an entry to whine in? No. It wasn't meant to be anything. It wasn't meant to be pithy or amusing or witty or motivational. It was meant to be an entry for boredom and reflect. So there it is. I've done it. I've succeeded.

Now to sacrifice myself to the fatigue that has been insisting on attention for an hour now and draw myself a warm blanket to lie in and drown in my dreams.

[chibigissy]

This is gon' be a long post, yo. It's about Super Mario RPG (+ the remake) and Another Crusade. (with SGtWS being the bonus point, lol)

Now, I should probably say this:

I have not heard about Another Crusade until just a couple of days ago so I've known about this until AFTER I got super hyped about the SMRPG Remake. ^^; That said, I would like to talk about it in a fair standpoint. :0

I'm also going to bring up my own project, Seven Guidances to Wishful Safety, as an example of how I took inspiration from Super Mario RPG as well.

But yeah, let's get around to it. ^^

As everyone and their grandmother knows, Super Mario RPG is getting a remake that will release in November and all of us that had been waiting for what felt like eons got super hyped about that! The fan artists raised up like there was no tomorrow (Not to say there was a shortage of fan art but it surely HAS increased since the announcement)

In fact the only think I am sorta missing is the overly long subtitle "Legend of the Seven Stars". Like I get it, it was a thing the west added when the original was ported over to the states back in the mid '90s and they are not doing that for the remake but still! ;w; Ah well, that's just one thing I'll miss but other then that...HYPE!! :D

But there is a indie game I heard about that has been in development for a couple of years and that game is Another Crusade:

Now, I will say that the game does look cute! And from who I'm seeing for far, it seems to capture elements of the gameplay that SMRPG has.

With that said... boy do I feel a lil sorry for it. Like, it probably would had a little more hype surrounding it, had it finished a little earlier. (That said, I get that the devs wanted to take their time with this game and a month ago is probably the best earliest announcement time they could do. ;;;;.)

And in all fairness, it was in development for a couple of years and during the beginning, we didn't know SMRPG was coming back. We just assumed that it would have been a faded memory until June of THIS YEAR. ^^;

Hell, to put myself out there, I've literally made a fanime that has basically similar plot elements to SMRPG and that is Seven Guidances to Wishful Safety!!

This was made back in 2019!!!!! Granted, there were many factors the fell in place for this series existence:

This was for the 2019 Fanime Weekly Challenge, and what I initially planned for said challenge didn't go as well as I hope and had to make changes. I had to think of a story QUICK

TBH, I was a lil' petty towards Nintendo and Square Enix for not giving SMRPG much attention during that point (again, before the remake was announced.)

And the key differences between SGtWS and SMRPG is the fact that the former is sort of an isekai/multi-ream type of story, whereas the latter had most of the characters be the locals in the world itself (minus Geno and especially the Smithy Gang)

So really, even if I was a little more critical of Another Crusade, I know I am not one to criticize because... well, just look at Seven Guidances.

So yeah, even though I very much really want the SMRPG Remake (as well as my own Switch for that matter!!!!), I would also like to give Another Crusade a chance! :0 Since it is on Stream (as well as other platforms), I'll add it to my Steam.

Seems tho that AC is going to release around a couple of days (September 15th) so I could probably give this a chance early while I wait for the SMRPG remake.

I know there are probably going to be some folks being a little more critical of it than I am and I can understand but for me, I want to give it a fair chance. (Again, I am certainly now one to criticize, FDSGOJFDBOTR)

So, yeah, that is my essay like weird take, lol. Hope you enjoy reading and have a good one. ^^

[tsuki-sennin]

We've survived the highs and lows of Jyama Ball, but we're only a little bit closer to discovering who the Desaster is. If they go undiscovered to the final round, they win the game outright and get their ideal world. And with the mysterious executives, Keiwa, Neon, and Ace's respective sponsors, Archimedel, and Buffa all making their moves, something tells me the real game is only beginning.

...more importantly than any of that though, where the Hell are we headed now?! Why are there BOMBS everywhere? What do the Jyamato even have to gain from these constant invasions other than food and conquest?

All these questions and more... probably not answered today, but like, important to keep in mind.

Spoilers, I guess...

-Neooooon!

-Neon, baby, if you're the impostor I'm gonna cry.

-Good morning Chirami.

-Oh okay, we're supposed to become fan favorite. I see.

-Well, from what I've seen from the fandom as of yesterday, a number of folks have taken very kindly to Sae-san (rightfully so), so if this were the real world she'd probably win this. Doubly so if she's the Desaster.

-Oh shit! Sara-neesan!

-...oh, she's... she's fine, seemingly.

-Can't cut a pineapple smh.

-Bomb Pineapple!

-Ohhhh, we're dead.

-Jyamato Express!

-Fruit!

-Bombs!

-Fruit Bombs!

-Ooooooh, even more Jyamato ciphers.

-I imagine a lot of folks are hard at work.

-Blowing up an entire city block.

-I see Creepy Garden Daddy Archimedel's very proud of his little Freedom Clubbers.

-Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes!

-Damn, Takahashi's Steam list must be wilding.

-Secret Mission Clear!

-For you, fox man!

-Awwww, spider phone cute :)

-First Blood!

-The Gun!

-Magnum!

-It's back!

-Ringo?

-There's just something so funny to me about how minimal the Jyamato Pawn costumes are. Head, limbs, uniform, that's all you need.

-"OHHHHHH MY SISTER'S GETTING BOMBED"

-"Oh hey little bro, I got tied up. Can you do me a solid and get the kitchen knife?"

-Sae-san's very cool and collected under pressure. Can see why she was picked for this.

-Oh hey, Mrs. Kurama~! I'm still pissed you slapped my homegirl Neon, just so you're aware.

-"Neon's a big girl, she can handle herself. She'd never be able to achieve her dreams"

-Ohhhh, Papa Naoto. You're extremely sus.

-"Time to go to work. See you around."

-I see Mama Kurama's not an entirely heartless lunatic.

-You tell her, girl!

-I'm gonna be honest, I'd be proud of Neon if she were the Desaster.

-There's the Buffa Core ID.

-No doubt there's gonna be a lot of Zombie DNA in that mutant.

-Oh?

-Oh, hello.

-Sponsor-sama!

-So, she's got big plans for ol' Michinaga.

-Beroba...

-Ohhhhh, he's got an infection.

-"You wanna beat the shit outta all them dirty Kamen Riders, huh~? How about you let me pay for everything, no strings attached!"

-A proper sadist, this one!

-Takahashi's giving us a lot of interesting female characters this go around.

-Well, Beroba-san. You're obviously a cold-blooded murderer, you've got a killer fashion sense, your first appearance is accompanied by scary organ music, you're friends with Papa Archie, you got jelly beans...

-Yeah, you're totally trustworthy. I hear you're played by an idol?

-Sae-san... you care a hell of a lot about your family, huh?

-Oooooh, Okinawan.

-Keeping yourself in peak condition for your family. I happen to know a dude in a bathhouse who'd be very impressed with you, Sae-san.

-Neon...

-Who threw that bomb?

-"Did somebody say BOMB~!?"

-Gotta save Onee-sama!

-Ohhhh, sunset is fast approaching.

-I'm surprised we haven't seen lemons yet.

-At least, I don't think so, the picture quality I have ain't the best.

-Michinaga!

-Jurapira!

-Buffato!

-Oooooh, he's pissed!

-"Fuck the bull! Go get pineapples for our Hawaiian barbecue!"

-Can't get in!

-Ooooooh, Zombie Tycoon!

-Damn, Keiwa's playing hard!

-Red Wire.

-HOLY SHIT BUFFA DODGED POINT BLANK

-Goddamn, these stunts are sick every time I see 'em.

-OHHHHH MY DUDE JEAN GOT A GUN

-Okay I checked, it seems it's Gene, okay.

-Hello, Beroba-chan. Guess the dweebs are fighting.

-"I'm betting all my money on that buffalo guy."

-...seems that Gene's okay with this.

-OH GOD NEE-SAMA

-Red wire!

-Nut up man, do it!

-We did it!

-No more pineapple for ever.

-Sibling banter

-Oh man, it's dark out.

-Seems Michi's in no shape to kill anyone today.

-Compass!

-Snacc

-Well, gotta keep the sponsors happy.

-Oh, the producer's coming in.

-...wonder if this is a metaphor of some kind.

-Ah yep! Sae-san was the sussiest baka all along!

-Lone wolf Lopo played nice for so long.

-Oooooh, that's a Glare retool. ...I suppose Gazer's our new "coming in hot and spicy".

-I wonder if we're gonna see a new DGP higher-up come kick ass every new arc?

-...fuck, what if we have to beat up Mama Mitsume? I don't think poor Ace can handle it.

-Shit seems to be getting real now.

[twst-drabbles]

Honestly I would get along best with Ace and Deuce.Definely reminds me of past friends I had.Trey because he will feed me and like the stray cat I am.

Sebek or Vil.Depend on the day.I'm a quiet person pretty meek and mellow.But Sebek could press the button.I can act a bit like Leona mostly a bit messy.And Vil needs to mind his business and to snarky for my taste.

I'm just analyzing characters at this point. And giving my little headcanons that explain their actions and habits.

Ain't that interesting? Sure I get along well with Deuce but I'd unfortunately would avoid him since he hangs around Ace. Ace's first impression doesn't not bode well with me since he stiiiinks of bully vibes and I'm not about to make myself a bigger target than I already am. I mean, you're in a college, where nearly everyone is arrogant and is full of magic, and the mirror just outed you as having none! There has to be at least one person in that college that wants to make you a subject of their fun, via messing you, malign your food float over your head cause haha you can't get iiiiit.

Yeah no, Ace I would avoid like the plague because of that shit first impression. Being that as it may, I'm sure he apologizes but that kind of shit doesn't just go away, that's something you can tell Ace must have been doing for years so he's got a lot of unlearning to do. But it also becomes obvious that Ace never had close friends, that behavior he has is the kind that comes from a person who wants to be cool, believes himself to be cool, but is actually probably a fourth or fifth wheel. Hopping around from friend group to friend group but never let's himself be bothered by it cause he's cool. In denial basically. So when he actually got put into his place, his loyalty becomes something fierce cause he's confident in the fact you're willing to be loyal back. First time he ever had a friend like that.

Ah yes, Treeeey. Loves baking, love feeding folks. Food is certainly a good way to make a good impression. Friendship through foooooood. Honestly, Trey would probably take one look at how much I eat(literally not even a bowl, like, half a bowl of soup or something) and go out of his way to "make too much" and give it to me. He's chill for the most part but does have his uh... Mischief side.

Loud man that Sebek, very loud. I bet he used to be ignored in group conversations when he was smaller. He'd start to say something but then someone would talk over him so then the conversation would turn to them, doesn't help that person is probably a full fae so they're more willing to listen to them. Hence why he adopted that loudness of his. You can't talk over him if he's too loud to be talked over. Still, doesn't take away the fact he's someone who's very hard to get along with cause he's waaaaay too much. And doesn't call human by name in the first impression.

Vil is strict upon himself and upon others. Now if only he would keep those strict standards to himself cause what's he gonna do if you legit just don't care? You don't need to be more beautiful when you're already as happy as can be. The beauty standards in the acting world are horrible as is and Vil is visibly trying to bend them, but he's still someone that conforms to a specific standard. Vil doesn't judge Jack for the way he looks because his body fits the build. However, when it comes to Epel, he will not tolerate Epel trying to get overly muscular because that wouldn't fit his small build. Still, that's Vil's standard, he judges what fits and doesn't fit. Let Epel be a muscular tinker bell! If he wants to get buff, Vil should be looking into how he can make that work, not automatically reject the premise.

[starsarefire824]

Heeey moot! Just woke up! Even though I'm late, I just wanted to say that you deserve to write whatever tf you want and I'm sorry some peeps were harassing you about The Pact. I don't think folks know how hard it is to not only write, but then to post it for others to see. So, for them to criticize you when it's just a fun fic that they can ignore or filter out (tags on ao3 are meant to be used geez) its wild to me. You're doing something very unique with the characters and including a lot of different subgroups of the queer community splendidly while keeping them flawed like real teens - all in 1 fic. As a demi ace myself, I was so happy to see you incorporate that in your fic respectively and a lot of my queer Sex Ed came from detailed, researched fics bc even though my parents and school system talked to me about sex, there was nothing for the queer kids, let alone ace kids to get guidance on. So, for fic readers/writers like me, using fics to explore sexuality was a godsend.

Can't help but also think it's the biphobia kicking in again, specifically for characters like Mike. No one has a problem hc Max as bi even though it seems like lumax is clearly endgame over elmax or elumax, but when it comes to Mike being bi it's like the world is ending despite it clearly being byler endgame. I personally ship all hcs of Mike's sexuality cuz only Robin and Will have been confirmed queer. Everyone else in ST to me is undisclosed until stated straight or queer. But again that's me.

Also love your poly rep cuz my sib is poly and so were some of my grandma's cousins from 1950s-now. So, again, all or most sexualities explored in fics is a must, regardless if you ship it. I've always been a polypartycule shipper and enjoy how you include all party members and mention Duzie sometimes cuz too many times I found fics/hcs excluding the fact Dustin has a stable relationship with Suzie in favor of just highlighting byler and elumax as the romantic ones of the party.

Sorry for the rant but I had to let it out. I hated scrolling through my feed and seeing that post you made of folks getting heated over fiction like you're gonna convince the Duffers to change the whole script. Anyways I hope my support is felt. This is still me typing in a sleep daze and yeah. I'll continue reading your work cuz I enjoy good writers first and foremost and omg lol you made it having some harrassers cuz the greatest books were on the banned book list. Not saying you deserve the irrational hate, but that's how I'm framing it - this is giving "banned book energy" just cuz The Pact is exploring romantic madwheeler when no one cares about byclair or henderhop or henclair (despite folks labeling El as a lesbian). Anyways, you do you moot be blessed out here

Hello deer moot!!!! <33

Thanks so much for the positive vibes!!! I truly appreciate it. I guess I was just feeling a little let down that a select few people made it so far into a fic and then were angry about the way things were going and/or felt the need for me to tell them the ending. At first it didn't bother me, but after answering the same questions 1,000 times and trying to sort of reassure everyone it got to a point of being exhausting! I want to talk about the fic, but I don't really want to have to defend my writing/story/ship choices every chapter. It's kind of exhausting and was bringing me down a little bit. But anyway, enough about that.

I am SO GLAD that you are like...really vibing with some of the choices in that story? Especially with your unique pov being demi ace and having poly family. I think that fanfiction can be a very important tool for a lot of teen when it comes to exploring sex, especially if it's not a cis het-normative type or even just....dealing with sex from a young person's pov and all of the obstacles that everyone faces in that regard. Also, I think it can just open up a conversation or make a person think about things that maybe they might not of before etc etc. Or! They can just enjoy those scenes for the writing/good time. I'm here for all of it.

I'm not sure if it's a biphobia thing? It honestly hadn't occurred to me, but you may possibly be right. I know a lot of people headcanon Mike as gay, which I fully support. I wouldn't be surprised if that is the case. I think if Byler happens in canon, he'll be unlabeled. BUT I do like to write Mike as bi, I personally think that there were feelings for El at some point. I personally headcanon him as a bi-romantic, and sexually leaning towards men. But that's just me....

But anyway, as that pertains to madwheeler, I also really enjoy the bi for bi Max and Mike dynamic, specifically because it's fun to write, and secondly it's another thing to add to their already similar personalities. And yea. I agree... unless a character's sexuality is specifically stated like El and Will's, there is room for exploration for most characters and that's what fanfic and art is for.

I do think there is this strange thought process regarding bi characters, that if they have a relationship with a person of the opposite sex it's like they're not "queer enough" for other people. Like it's somehow lesser than if Mike has a relationship with a woman, even though he already, in canon, is well, with a woman. And that people tend to forget that people are still bi, still queer, even if they are in the most outwardly straight presenting relationship, cause let's face it....you can't really help who you're attracted to and who you fall in love with. it just is.

And when it comes to the madwheeler in this fic, I am fully aware it is one of the least popular ships out there, but again, that is one of the reasons I wanted to explore it. And a a bi, poly person my self it was really interesting putting these characters in a dynamic where they were both involved with people of differing genders and orientations. It gives you a lot to work with when it comes to having things to write about! シ

And as you said, it also allows for some messy, realistic teenage angst! Which I am always a fan of! ;)

Anyway, thank you for the rant. I appreciate it so much, and am honestly still blown away by the positive responses to this story. Even if it's not everyone's cup of tea!

[algumaideia]

Aspec rep in Loveless

My attempt to write an organized post about the matter.

(I'm gonna fail, this post will be messy)

It is important to you, the person reading it, know that I'm a ace girl who is questioning if I'm aro. So, you know it is just my opinion. I also read half of the book with a headache, I didn't like it and I'm brand new to the ace community.

Edit: I discovered that I'm aro.

(Thinking about it now it all seems just like the bare minimmum.)

SPOILERS

@wint-er maybe you would like this post?

1. The character is not treated as broken, inhuman or something like that by the narrative

I don't think I need to add anything about it. But yeah, the narrative never treats the ace characters like that.

2. The way it dealt with aphobia

I really like how the book shows the different ways aphobia can look like. And besides Georgia's internalized aphobia, the characters that say, do something aphobic are always put as wrong or bad guys. It is framed as bad, disrespectful.

When it is about Georgia's internalized aphobia, the narrative is neutral about it. Which for me is fine, her journey is about her discovering she is aroace and accepting it. Since it is told by her pov, her internalized aphobia is not like called out for most of the book. But she gets better. So for me it is fine. Her development is about she understanding romatic love is not the only kind of important love, is not the happy ending to everyone and this is totally fine. People can be as happy without love.

3. Being aroace is not the character entire personality

Georgia is an akward shy teenager, but that is just because Alice Oseman likes to write akward shy teenagers and not because she is aroace. It is a story about Georgia discovering she is aroace, but she is never only aroace. She is shy, akward, doesn't know how to interact in conversations or talk to new people (I felt that), loves acting and Sheakspare, likes fanfic, etc. She is a character which brings me to the next point.

4. Good rep and being just a character

I think Alice Oseman books are in some ways similar to Studio Ghibli, in the same way she writes her books with rep in mind, Studio Ghibli made their movies with the goal to show girls also can be heroes. But in both cases I never felt like the rep aspect overshadowed the character. The characters are allowed to be their own selves, be unique, have journey, learn and not be the perfect rep that works for everyone.

Idk I have this problem that when it comes to female characters they like are a lot of times created with only representation in mind so like they end up so badly written. They have flaws, but no one never adress them and they have no consequences caused by their mistakes when they truly make a mistake, they have always been great, they don't learn anything knew, they don't grow, they were amazing in the begining and they continue amazing. Mulan 2020 is a good example of this, where is the character development?? There is none, Mulan started the movie having a great chi and being an amazing fighter and ended the movie like that. It was so horrible. They are just there to show: wow females can do this and this. And like they are not allowed to be well written characters that you know make mistakes because they are made to represent everysingle woman that existis.

Georgia, she is her own person, she makes mistakes and she grows. She is aroace rep? Yes. But she is a character before it.

5. There is no generalization of the aspec experience

I never felt like Georgia was meant to represent every single aspec person. It is her story. And not only that but there are other aspec characters!

We have another aroace girl.

A bisexual aromantic girl.

A homoromantic ace nonbinary folk.

Not only that but the book say that the asexual and aromantic spectrum are like huge and people that use the same label can feel things very differently.

A quote from the book:

'Some asexuals still enjoy having sex, for a whole variety of reason,' he continued. 'I think that's why a lot of people find it confusing. But some asexuals don't like sex at all, and some are just neutral about it. Some asexuals still feel romantic attracton to people - wanting to be in relationships, or even kiss people, for example. But others don't want romantic relationships at all. It's a big, big spectrum with a whole range of different feelings and experiences. And there's really no way to tell how one specific person feels, even it they openly describe themselfes as asexual.'

6. Steriotypes and being relatable

To be honest I don't know what are the aro steriotypes, cold hearted person? Anyway. The ace steriotypes I'm aware are that ace people are childlike, immature, naive, do not understand sex jokes, are oblivious, sex repulsed, traumatized. And I'm not here to say that is wrong if an ace person fits in those steriotypes. Far from me saying this. But it is just that although I think Georgia kinda fits in some of the ace steriotypes, she is allowed to be more. She is not only a girl that thought media was exaggerating in their portrayal of sexual attraction, she is more.

And there is no problem with Georgia fitting some steriotypes, really none. I just really like that she has a personality outside of it. And I think that this mix is what makes her relatable. Not everything she goes through will be relatable to everyone. But a lot of things hit close homes. It is not a check box of every single aspec experience. It is Georgia own journey, that has some general aspec experiences.

(This section makes no sense, but I swear I tried)

7. Friendship and queerplatonic relationships

I don't know much about queerplatonic relationships, but I know they are really important for a lot of aspec folks. I understanding it as what Aled said: Platonically falling in love with someone. So you have a platonic relationship with someone but in a way that most people associate with romantic relationship. (I don't know how to write, I'm sorry).

Georgia's journey ends with her understanding that platonic love is as important, as amazing, as fulfilling as romantic love. And it is also about her forming a queerplatonic relationship with her roomate. In the end of the book they declare their love for each other and they say how they're gonna be their person in the end.

And Georgia says how her true love were her friends. This book is about love and how romantic love is not the only option.(Congratulations for her because I cannot say I love you to anyone but my parents without feeling weird)

Something worthy to point out is that this book has a lack of cake, garlic bread and dragons. There is no jokes or anything.

This ended up worse than I thought it would.

Best regards,

Me.

Ps. If any aspec folk wants to add, comment or correct me, feel free. Non aspec people can also interact, but like no aphobia.