#the MC is explicitly ace and implied aro;

[aroaessidhe]

2022 reads // twitter thread  

Funeral Girl

a girl who can talk to the ghosts of those who come through her family’s small town funeral home & tries to fulfill their last wishes

when her classmate dies unexpectedly & wants her help, she’s forced to confront her deep fear & anxiety about death & her relationship with her friends & family

aroace MC

[mossy-aro]

a few people asked for a list so it will be my pleasure to provide one (@kittyking445 @badmizaj)

1) you can find a list on my goodreads acc here - I haven’t read them all but I keep it continuously updated and I review the ones I have! Please keep in mind that some of the books are headcanons though.

2) here are my recs! I’ll only discuss the aspec rep - reviews are over on gr

-Loveless by Alice Oseman: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (YA)

What more can I even say about this book? It’s an aroace coming of age story by an aroace author. I would definitely recommend this one, I’ve reread it about ten thousand times already - it’s super heartwarming and really delves into both the good and bad side of being aro ace and figuring out your identity. The rep is very relatable and accurate, which is unsurprising considering it’s ownvoices.

-Every Heart a Doorway by Seannan McGuire: ★ ★ ★ (YA)

Has a canonical asexual protagonist! I’m a bit iffy about the rep in this one - some bits the author nails on the head, where asexuality is described very accurately, and then there are bits where she seems to mix it up with aromanticism - the MC says a few times that she’s not interested in “dating” because she’s ace, which??? hmm. Still, it’s a decent book worth reading.

-Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Bowman: ★ ★ ★ (YA)

A pretty decent book!! The protagonist is aroace and this is explicitly stated in the text. Although her sexuality is not the focus of the novel, it is a subplot and I would say significant enough to warrant reading if you’re interested.

-The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzie Lee: ?? (YA)

I’m in the middle of this one right now!! I’m enjoying it so far but it is the #2 book in a series (which hasn’t bothered me at all so far). The main character is never said in the text to be aro or ace but it is historical so that makes sense - it is very heavily implied though, and the book makes an effort to emphasise the important of platonic relationships! I also believe it is confirmed by the author.

And a bonus:

-Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: ★ ★ ★ ★ (Adult)

This is a headcanon one, and although the possibly aroace character is quite a main one, the book only briefly mentions it and it’s certainly not the focus of the story - still, this is an absolutely fantastic book and I would recommend reading it anyway! [She is allo in the TV adaptation however].

been reading loads of books with aspec characters in them lately and let me tell you i am feeling FED for the first time in a long long time and it is a nice feeling

[booksturnmugglesintowizards]

Hey! So I saw you mention A Madness of Angels had an ace MC. I'm ace so I love whenever I find new ace recs. I just wanted to know if it's explicit on the page rep? I'm fine with implied rep I just enjoy knowing it's explicitly stated :)

It is stated that they find sex "absurd if fascinating". It's a generally accepted headcanon that they are ace and aro.They have a one night stand in Book 4 but its a plot point - no romance arcs in these books.

[reluctantlyback]

Aroace here! Speaking for myself, and only myself, I would be concerned with someone (regardless of sexual/romantic orientation) writing a relationship with an aroace character.

Here’s why: depending on the people involved, queer platonic relationships can look a lot like romantic relationships. Society places a lot of emphasis on intimate, meaningful, potentially physical (ex. cuddling, hugs, etc.) relationships having sexual and/or romantic meaning. It has to be explicitly, frequently stated that both parties expect no romantic/sexual overtures. Not to mention not all aroace people desire queer platonic relationships. I know I don’t. Do I like to platonically cuddle/hug my friends? Yes. But I wouldn’t say those are queer platonic partners. The thing is, queer platonic relationships are hard to define. What I consider to be part of a healthy close friendship (hugging or cuddling in this case) someone else might attribute to be exclusively part of a romantic/sexual/queer platonic relationship.

As for your question of “Why aroace and not x-romantic and asexual?” I think that is super valid. I also would love an asexual LI. On the other hand, I feel as though that feeds a little into the damaging mindset of “Just because X is ace doesn’t mean they don’t want romantic love!” To me, an aroace, this is hurtful because it implies either a) I am fundamentally broken because everyone wants to be loved (“love” being romantic in this context) or b) my platonic feelings somehow aren’t “enough.”

I’m not saying you intend your question to make aroaces feel upset. But when your romantic/sexual orientation is estimated, at best, to be a quarter of one percent, it’s difficult to not at least entertain the possibility that maybe this person is saying “Aroaces are too prevalent in this media.” Especially when you say “Or are y’all really going to act as if every ace and aro person is one and the same?” You may have been directing it at Lovestruck, but I can see where it might be construed as a dig on aroaces (tbh, I read it as that and was very angry before taking a second look).

And I will say, having one of these aroace characters be the MC’s brother (Josh, AFK) isn’t particularly helpful—just in terms of we’re not supposed to have feelings for a sibling anyway. Regardless of his aroace-ness, he would never have been considered as a potential LI. So I’m really happy Imohn—someone players have wanted to romance—is aroace. I just hope people will be respectful of their orientation.

So to sum up: totally valid question(s), but I would have to say: don’t write a queer platonic relationship unless you are willing to explicitly, frequently say that the relationship is not romantic or sexual; aros (at least, I am) are willing to see non aromatic aces, so long as they are respectfully written.

………….

I am conflicted.

On the one hand, three ace characters confirmed.

On the other hand, did EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. HAVE TO BE ARO??????

Look, I love my aro peeps, I do. But can we for the love of ANYONE have an ace character that isn’t aro? And an aro character that isn’t ace, for that matter?

Can’t the ace of hearts get a chance for some rep too? Or are y'all really going to act as if every ace and aro person must be one and the same?