#i struggled with it a lot until I put the aspec framing on it

[alatariel-galadriel]

⭐️

Alright alright alright SO one of my favorite lines in Calefaction isn’t exactly the prettiest when it comes to prose, but I love it nevertheless:  “He wants to file this all away and never think about it again, and he doesn’t ever, ever want to let go.”

That line was my breakthrough for the story. See, Calefaction got stuck in Writer’s Block Hell for ages because the difficult thing about writing an Itafushi story hinging on a conversation about feelings is getting Megumi to talk. He flat-out won’t. He’s allergic to it. He’d rather die.

So in order to have talk about feelings be a legitimate story beat, I had to figure out why he wouldn’t just ice out and avoid the conversation completely. I was honest-to-god drawing flowcharts to try and figure this one out, and then I wrote that line—he doesn’t want to let go—and it all sort of clicked.

Because that’s what kickstarted the tragedy of the two of them, isn’t it? Megumi can’t let Yuuji go, even within minutes of meeting him. He’s the one who advocates for Gojo to spare Yuuji’s life, even though it goes against his morals, because he can’t walk away from this dumbass he just met. Yuuji’s the one he makes exceptions for, over and over again, so while talking about his feelings is unbearable, the alternative just isn’t an option for him.

From there, it was pretty easy to weave that thread throughout the rest of the story, and everything fell into place. The this-is-unbearable-but-the-alternative-is-worse motivation had the potential to be angsty but honestly just made his internal monologue an so much fun. His inner voice is so dry and logical that mixing in Dramatic Teenage Angst™  is hilarious to me specifically. For that exact reason, my second favorite section is “His face burns like he’s a middle-schooler with a stupid crush and honestly. Just shoot him now. Put him down like a sick dog. End his misery,” especially since this kid graduated middle school less than a year ago. It's wonderful.

Overall, this story was so much fun to write and I had a lot of fun answering this. Thanks for the ask!!

[scvrllet]

General Harry Potter Headcanons Because Why Not

CONTAINS: Mentions of death/murder, small implications of abuse, and that's about it I'm sure. These are also general headcanons and are not reader inserts

AUTHORS NOTE: All headcanons are my own personal ones except for those marked with (*) which are popular one's I've read online. Enjoy! [HP MASTERLIST]

Newt Scamander, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Luna Lovegood, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy are on the aspec spectrum because I am asexual and said so. (Extras; Luna is grey-ace while Hermione and Draco are demi)

Regulus flinches when someone raises their hand quickly and gets scared when someone that he is close to goes silent (whether it be after an argument or for no reasons). He tries to hide it but they can usually see right through his act. They all know Walburga did a number on him no matter how much she may have favored him over Sirius

Speaking of Walburga, the reason she hates Sirius so much is that she sees a lot of herself in him. She didn’t want to get married to Orion, she had her own lover who was a Halfblood or Muggleborn but Orion found out and, wanting to keep the bloodline pure, proposed to her knowing she would be shunned if she denied. She became much more cold and strict once they got married, much to Orion's pleasure. When Sirius was later born and she saw so much of her younger self in him, her love for him quickly turned to envy. On the night Sirius ran away, Walburga kept her composure until night fell and she cried. Cried because he was able to do what she wasn't able to, cried because he was hopefully happier, and cried because she had officially lost her first child. She avoids his burnt off portrait on the family tree for this reason

Harry and Cho often found each other in the library late at night when both couldn't sleep. Harry would be sat at a table far away trying to do homework in attempt to distract himself and Cho would be reading a book. One night, Cho came up to his table with two cups of tea and took the seat across from him. Harry didn't say anything but she caught his small smile. They made it a routine every night for whoever gets to their table last has to bring tea and biscuits (and without getting caught by anyone). They would be exhausted when morning Quidditch practice came but it never stopped their late night meet ups in the library. When she started dating Cedric however, those late nights in the library together stopped. Harry would only go to the library when he struggled to sleep from the nightmares and such but there was no longer a cup of tea and bag of biscuits for him and when Cedric died, he hesitated before getting out of bed and heading down the tower. When he arrived to their spot in the library and saw a familiar figure sitting in the seat that has been vacant for so long, he felt his heart ache. Setting down two cups of tea, a bag of biscuits, and a book he knew she loved to read when she needed comfort, he didn't know how to react when she stood up and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly as she cried. Taken aback by the sudden action, it took him a moment before wrapping his arms around her and letting her cry until she no longer could

In the afterlife, the first person Sirius saw was Regulus. He offered nothing but his extended hand and after a short moment of eying the boy Sirius once called brother, he grabbed it and pulled him to his chest in a hug. That was the first time Sirius had ever seen his brother cry

Killing Marlene was what got Peter his dark mark* and every time he finds himself missing his friends, he'll look at his forearm and remind himself that he has no right to. And every time the dark mark is cast in the sky or used to call upon Voldemort, he hears Marlene scream

Draco was chased by the peacocks outside Malfoy Manor at least once. If you saw my post about this last year (this one), I still fully believe that this has had to happen before

Regulus was an animagus. His form took the form of a cat, more well known as Crookshanks*

Remus was actually good friends with Regulus during their Hogwarts years. They wouldn't say much, but it was enough to put Regulus at ease knowing that his brother was doing well*

Speaking of the Black Brothers, a pile of unopened letters sealed with the Black family crest sat in a drawer of Sirius' desk before he was arrested. Sirius never got the chance to read the letters signed "Your brother, R.A.B"

On James and Lily's wedding day, the two spent the entire morning before together, much to Lily's mothers dismay who believed it was 'bad luck to see the bride before the wedding'. The young couple brushed it off, not quite believing in those "silly beliefs" but perhaps she was right all along.

After graduating Hogwarts, Harry went to his parents vault and Gringotts and found several items left behind but what caught his eye was a photo, hidden in plain sight. It was in a small frame and the photo itself was of a women with red hair, green eyes and a kind smile sitting beside a man who had messy black locks and brown eyes. The women had her head resting on the mans shoulder, smiling as she looked at the child in his arms. Enchanted to move, Harry watched as the man made the child give the women a kiss. Harry didn't realize he was crying until a tear fell onto the photo and he quickly went to wipe it away, scared he would ruin the photo

During his years at Hogwarts, after he ran away more specifically, Sirius got many tattoos. Each and everyone had a special meaning to them that all his friends knew but no one could quite understand the significance of the tattoo on his upper forearm that was just a single raven bird. Back at 12 Grimmauld Place, Regulus smiled at the ravens perched outside his window. They were always his favourite bird

And that’s all for now! :))

[thedreadvampy]

If i can chime in as an aspec person (who thought the were aroace until Very recently), I think there's also this anxiety some ace and aro people feel around certain types of non-sexual intimacy, where we're afraid of having our affection mistaken for attraction and getting put in an uncomfortable situation. At least, that was my experience. So sometimes we feel a need to try and stake a "claim" over certain types of physical affection, claiming certain things as Inherently Asexual to try and affirm to ourselves that we're normal and allowed to be affectionate without being afraid of "accidentally flirting" or leading someone on. when you don't have much of an internal frame of reference for what other people find sexy, the fear of Just Not Trusting That You're Allowed To Touch People is very real. that's kind of the vibe i get from people tagging stuff like that art as "asexual vibes," at least. There's a stereotype that aces think we're "purer" than other queer people and while i think that is a contributing factor to stuff like this, I don't think it's the whole story.

That's fair but again it comes down to I think there's a tendency to assume that non-ace people have a simple script of Intimate Actions which just. is not the case. like non-sexual intimacy is important for everyone and I too have definitely had the experience of getting too nervous to express casual intimacy with close friends or Partners I Don't Currently Want To Have Sex With because it may be misinterpreted.

like this is going to sound harsher than I mean it I suspect but I think the attempt to 'stake a claim' on non-sexual intimacy is. a problem. nobody is trying to fuck every time they express intimacy. nobody is able to identify with 100% clarity how their intimacy will be interpreted. most of us have some anxiety about touch or closeness or non-sexual nakedness being misinterpreted, that's partly why non-sexual intimacy is intimate, it's an act of trust that the other person won't misinterpret it in a way that's uncomfortable for you or them.

like ultimately, and this is going well beyond the tag and into the thing it touches for me. what I object to is the idea that wanting to have intimacy without sex, having anxieties and fears around not wanting sex when someone else might, seeking non-sexual affection, all that stuff, is exclusive to the asexual experience, which it isn't, most people regardless of orientation feel those needs and anxieties.

I guess more correctly my objection isn't purity it's simplification. there's very often an underlying sense for me that people understand asexuality as having a Complicated Relationship To Sex And Libidos and allosexuality as Knowing Exactly What's Up And What You Want and like. that's not my experience of anyone. regardless of orientation pretty much everyone struggles with the ways and speeds they develop an understanding of what they want. pretty much everyone has to deal with times when they're at cross purposes with someone who thinks they want to fuck when they want intimacy or friendship. pretty much everyone has a complex relationship to sex and intimacy. especially among queer folk tbh like if you're trans or same gender attracted the anxieties around relationships and intimacy and being misunderstood as sexual are. high. same for of you have a history of abuse. but also just. that's everyone that's part of being a person having intimate human relationships, whether or not You Wanting Sex is ever a factor.

like I feel like it comes from an understandable place. sex is posited as so unalterably important that if you acknowledge you don't want sex it feels like you have to justify that your attraction isn't Less Than. and also it's very difficult to communicate about these kinds of crunchy feelings bc language is imperfect and we only have our own experiences to go on.

but. like. the effect is that a lot of the time how people talk about the Asexual Experience implicitly flattens out the complexity of non-asexual relationships. it's an orientation not a different type of person, and being Not Attracted To Someone In The Way They're Attracted To You or Intimate But Not Feeling Sexual are experiences that all of us sometimes have, whether we're gay bi straight aro ace or sth else like.

and I don't think it does anyone any good to try and claim exclusive ownership over something that's part of almost everyone's life experience, or to buy wholeheartedly into the idea that Things Are Simple When You're Allosexual

[alexanndrite]

Sanders Sides Teen Struggles AU?

YES-

Virgil Jackson is a “flower of the universe” gay demiboy (he has flowers growing out of him that represent how he feels at that moment; flowers grow quicker when he sings; he’s prone to Hanahanki) (I made this up)

Dee (Dylan Jackson) is his adoptive aspec part snake bro that can literally see souls

Their parents are Dot and Larry (cuz I said so)

Patton and Roman are biological werewolf bi disaster siblings

Logan is a demi-ro wizard (again, cuz I said so-)

Remy is Virge’s adopted kid. Emile is Patton and Logan’s.

Let me explain (Studios):

When a child is unwanted by their parent(s), they are given another parent(s). Their “destined” parent(s). When its one parent, they have one string around their wrist corresponding to their parent’s soul. When they have two or more destined parents (that arent already togther), they have multiple ‘strings’ that are seperated. When said parents get together, the strings fuse and are now one string that shows the parents’ soul colors fading into one another.

Oki.

Dee does parkour, music and dance. Same with Virgil, but he also does singing. Roman does acting and dance. Patton plain performs and Logan plays classical.

I’ll finish this later, im tired-

Im bacc- Alright. Virge and Dee hang out in the same park as Ro, Lo and Patt, but they dont know. How they find out? One day, someone starts playing P!ATD songs. Dee and Virge obviously are fanboying and wanna perform but hold back. Until.... THE DEATH OF A BACHELOR~ (album) Again, they hold back. Then Victorious plays. No more context is needed. Patt also decides to join in. Lo lets it happen and ends up being a gay disaster along with Ro. After that, Dee goes home while Virge goes to pick up Remy from the daycare. Turns out, Ro went to go pick up Emile for Patt at the same daycare!! They have a gay bonding moment and exchange numbers. They bond a lot more after that and eventually had a play date/sleepover with everyone else. Emile is already asleep, but Remy wants a lullaby from his dad. It also happens that Ro had to use the restroom and overheard. Virge complies and damn, if Ro didnt already like him, he definitely was in love now. Once Virge wraps up, the following insues (I cant write): "That was...beautiful, Virgil." He whispers. Virgil squeaks a little in surprise and turns around to see the fanciful jock in the door frame. He lets out a slight sigh of relief. "Roman! I could've woken Rem up!" He whisper-yelled. "Sorry! Not my fault my bladder decided to run the waterworks." Virgil laughs and puts Remy in his crib. "Welp, sorry you had to hear that." A sad smile appears on his face. Roman is confused and worried. Did Virgil really think that? "What do you mean? Virgil, that was lovely!" Virgil, still not convinced, shakes his head. Roman narrows his eyes. "Virgil. Do you think I'm lying?" Said stormcloud looked down in shame. He heard footsteps approaching him and felt a hand tilt his head up. The emomade eye contact with the other and blushed once he saw how close him and Roman really were. It only grew when said teen wrapped his arm around his waist and pulled him closer. "Why would I lie about the truth?"