lujart

[lujart]

The way home

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i never shared my yeosang birthday poster in here!! <3 here it is :]

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hey everyone how are we feeling about the latest chapter

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Happy pride month please have my gay furries (both he/him)

[lujart]

I want to talk about how unique Kemutai Hanashi is in terms of aro/aroace - spec representation.

So, I've been talking to someone(if you are reading this, I need you to know you are cool) a lot about this manga and since they are also aro/aroace-spec, they led me to thoughts I don't know if I would have on my own.

You know, aroace representation we have at this day and age uses pretty much the same formula? Actually, three formulas.

"Encyclopedia" - made for allos, who know nothing of the subject. It is supposed to "educate " them, and because of it seems to lack nuisance, and as an aroace-spec person, it can be hard to relate. Also they are always hitting the "absolute" aroace with no attraction whatsoever, which is, you know...kinda pretty harmful for people on the SPECTRUM?? ("Is Love The Answer?" for example)

"I don't know that love is/I've never fallen in love/I don't need romantic relationships to tell me my worth" - basically "a secondary character in a (mostly romance) story having a spotlight for one scene to tell us aromantics are valid". Yea, cool! But also, are we that uninteresting? We only deserve one scene which doesn't really explore our experiences, our problems, our lifes? We only deserve to be represented as this outcast, who is always alone in this wild and wonderful world of romance? Thanks, I quess. (Spot-on example - Isaac from Heartstopper)

Ambiguous relationships - they don't want to say these characters are gay, so, like, I think we can pretend it was made for us. Even if it was not. Even if it's queerbait. .....Okay, it is not ALWAYS like that. Sometimes authors deliberetely want to write a relationshop that doesn't fit societal categories, and that's great! Still, for the most part, they are leaning towards romance, and you need to try pretty hard to actually stay convinced what it is about a queerplatonic relationship. Kinda frustrating. (Kazuki and Rei from Buddy Daddies(though THEY do not frustrate me), Sherlock and Watson from Sherlock BBC, Seigi and Richard from Jeweller Richard)

Okayyyy, that out of the way, which type is Kemutai Hanashi? The third one, you will say, because it's about an anbiguous relationship. But it's not! The thing about this manga is that even though both of our main characters are struggling to find words to describe their relationship, they never even think towards romance. It's not about "maybe we have romantic feelings for each other...maybe not", it's about "people will call us friends but it's not what we are and we don't know what we are" And their relationshop is not something you can just brush off or overlook, it is in the heart of this story. Or decide "they are friends" or "they are romantically involved" and move on, because it is stated that they are none of these things.

And that's why, I present you the forth type:

4. Stories for aromantics/aroaces! Allo people will get super confused, and they are also niche as all hell so you need to try extra hard to reach them, but they are there! They exist! And Kemutai Hanashi is one of them!

(The examples are "Loveless" by Alice Oseman(I haven't read it myself, but author is on the spectrum, so it's probably an accurate depiction of our experiences) Also Koisenu Futari.)

But that is just one thing notable about representation in this manga. Another thing I absolutely adore about it and I had never seen it presented like this, is how normal aroace-spec characters are. It is a slice of life, so nothing extreme ever happens. They get up in the morning, eat breakfast together, get to work, work till the evening, buy milk(they ran out of it), get home, eat dinner, go to sleep. On the weekends they will go on a walk together, shop for groceries, eat out sushi, and, if they have an opportunity, maybe they will visit aquarium. They are the most normal people you will ever meet. And since you, as a reader, follow them, it is only natural for you that they are living together like this. There is nothing strange about how they cook together, have these meloncholic and kind of philosophical conversations, how they are each other's closest people.

So than some characters go out of their way to say "So you're dating" you let the same "Huh?" Arita and Takeda are having, because where did that come from??? And when you are reminded that we live in amatonormative society and you can only be that close if you are romantically involved. Huh.

That I'm talking about is how most aro/aroace-spec stories rely heavely on the difference between aro character and amatonormative world, saying "look, they feel like an outcast because they are so different!" or "the world around them is insane & people are all weirdos, the only sane person here is them".

Here, it is nothing like that. Nobody is weird or exceptional, characters are absolutely like everybody else. They see nothing odd about who they are or their relationship. Sure, it's not completely understandable for them, but it is natural for them, to be like that and to have that.

Being aro/aroace-spec is always about being a fighter, trying to live in a world which says "you are the odd one out, and you will never belong there most people do(you can only belong with abnormal ones like you)". Kemutai Hanashi doesn't say you need to stop fighting, but it says "You are normal, just like everybody else. Just because you are slightly different doesn't mean you don't belong there most people do".

And I find comfort in that.

[lujart]

btw I’ve found these stretches from the WAK blog very helpful when knitting a lot:

Plus make sure to take breaks regularly - and stop if anything starts to hurt!

especially with gift knitting I know it can be tempting to push through it for a deadline, but it’s really not worth causing long term injury. (And anyone knit-worthy should be understanding of that, imho.) Stay well :)

[lujart]

honkkkk mimimimi

cawww shuu💤💤💤

[lujart]

The waltz of the Sun and Moon

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Failed boy

oc: Emi: (he/it)

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Throwback to one of my favorite childhood mangas ever

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i need more content with him......

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~~~

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WHERE SEASON 2

(Why is digital art so hard ugh)

This is bad but i kinda vibe with it..?

[lujart]

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ Here's the Pride Month illustration from the end of this week's update! 🧡💛🤍🩵💙

Read And Another Lovely Day on WT Canvas!

[lujart]

Yona 💕