#we include aros/aces on this blog

[lgbtqtext]

[timedog]

SAPIARO / SAPIOACE — A term for when you don't experience romance or sexual attraction in the ways humans do due to otherkinity or general nonhumanity. This term is non-human exclusive. If you identify as human, this term is not for you.

Etymology — Sapio- meaning human and -aro / -ace meaning lack of attraction. Sapioace meaning lack of human-ish sexual attraction. Sapiaro meaning lack of human-ish romantic attraction.

— RADQUEERS and XENOSATANISTS are the only people not allowed to use my terms. Everyone else, feel free! Even if we disagree on discourse. Please do not reclaim or recoin my terms because of discourse stances.

— I do not consent to my terms being reposted without explicit permission from myself. This includes wikis, Pinterest, and other Tumblr blogs.

[anistarrose]

If you were an a-spec exclusionist (or even "neutral") in the 2010s on Tumblr, if you remember laughing at "cringe aces," and have since come around to realize "hey that was kinda shitty, obviously aces and aros are queer," then you've obviously taken a huge step forward. But if you haven't actually evaluated what subtler forms of aphobia look like, and unlearned those too, then you absolutely need to do that, or else internalized biases will persist in this community that make a-specs feel unsafe.

The most rampant and insidious type of aphobia on Tumblr in the past few years hasn't been about explicitly saying you hate/want to exclude asexuals. Aphobes themselves say they've moved on from "discourse blogs," now preferring to make superficially "normal" posts with subtle aphobic dogwhistles, and people who don't consider themselves "exclusionists" still pass those dogwhistle posts around! And sometimes, "subtle" is giving the aphobes way too much credit, because a-spec terminology and microlabels are still constantly mocked, and used as punchlines.

Below, I've linked a variety of posts about what aphobia looks like, what commonly misunderstood/mocked a-spec terminology really means, and how a-spec people differ from common stereotypes and misconceptions. I don't expect everyone to read every one of these posts. There are some long ones. But I know Tumblr would be a significantly less hostile experience for a-spec people if everyone unlearning aphobia looked at, and reflected critically about, at least a few.

Subtle Aphobia; A-Specs and Sex Positivity

[Plain text: "Subtle Aphobia, Aces and Sex Positivity."]

Sex Repulsion Vs. Sex Negativity - Know the Difference

“Anti-Sex” and the Real Sexual Politics of the Right (Spoiler alert: religious purity culture is not "anti-sex." Rather, it's actually opposed to sexual autonomy.)

Acephobia and Ableism, Queer Social Spaces "Discourse"

Common Modern Aphobia, Critical Thinking Questions About "Cringe" Ace Posts on the Dashboard

"Virgin" as an insult just perpetuates sex negativity

Tumblr polls as harassment bait

Hey, What Do Those Terms We Mocked Actually Mean?

[PT: "Hey, What Do Those Terms We Mocked Actually Mean?"]

Origin, Use, and Etymology of "Allosexual"

Why "Queerplatonic" Doesn't Have a Set Definition, and Why That Matters (from the actual people who coined it!)

"Queerplatonic is to relationships what nonbinary is to gender"

"Amatonormativity" as Defined by Dr. Elizabeth Brake

Amatonormativity Affects More Than Just Aces and Aros

On mocking people's labels — "I want to limit your ability to communicate"

Masterpost of A-Spec Readings

Aromantic Allosexuals (Yes, Including Men)

[PT: "Aromantic Allosexuals (Yes, Including Men)"]

"Aroallos are often treated as inherently "more sexual" than other allosexuals. Here's why that assumption happens, and why it's bullshit."

Romantic Attraction Is Not Required To Respect Women

You can't support aroallos without unlearning sex negativity

Further Readings on Aphobia

[PT: "Further Readings on Aphobia"]

The problems with "Asterisk Acceptance"

"Aces are Valid" doesn't cut it

Compulsory Sexuality Is An Issue For Everyone

When sex-positivity in fandom swerves into compulsory sexuality and othering aces. (This is the only "fandom"-adjacent post I'm linking, but doing so because 1. I know the demographics of this site, and 2. this post is so well-put that its point is generalizable to non-fandom topics too.)

Aphobia Was Bad, It Was Bigotry, It Was Part of the TERF Pipeline

Bi person discusses parallels between aphobia and other queerphobia

Bi and trans person discusses parallels between aphobia and other queerphobia

Asexual Women of Color Navigating White Patriarchy

"Trauma is not a factor by which queerness should be measured" - excerpt from Refusing Compulsory Sexuality, and related discussion

Arophobia: "You say you accept aromanticism, but..."

A-Spec Experiences Growing Up in Purity Culture Religions

"The World is Not Made For Single People"

Asexual Theory Masterpost

[sky-scribbles]

So there were some things I had to cut out of my book on aro & ace -ness for various reasons. Mostly, I had to trim it so it'd fit into a lower price range, but sometimes... I had to sigh heavily and admit that something was just too self-indulgent and it had to go.

These included:

A study of some historical figures whom I think might have been ace or aro (not to 'claim' anyone as aspec - we have no idea how people from the past might identify today - but I think it's important for us to remember that historical figures should not be considered straight by default, and that their lives shouldn't be painted as tragic if they didn't have a partner.)

In particular I got very annoyed with adaptations of certain historical figures' lives that write in romances that never existed, as if their lives are uninteresting unless you shove romantic love in there

A couple of thousand words yelling about how groundbreaking Critical Role's ace and aro characters are (this one PAINED me to remove)

A rambling diversion into animals that breed cooperatively and how they disprove the dumbass narrative that 'the sex drive trumps everything so being ace is obviously ~unnatural~'

A bunch of other stuff where I had to look myself in the eye and say 'Sky. I know this is fun. But is this relevant. Is this necessary.' Alas it was not.

Anyway it makes me very sad that I couldn't include this stuff, and the upshot is: I'm starting a free Medium blog (EDIT: formerly on substack but moved for Reasons) so I have a place where I can yell about everything I couldn't fit in the book. I'll probably use it to yell about general aspec & pop culture things in general!

I'd love to to have you if you're interested in my aspec gushings <3

(Book available for pre-order here & here)

[hpacearofest]

HP Ace Aro Fest - 2025

It is official, we are back for the second year running! Our amazing fest was created to highlight any character who you see as asexual, aromantic, or anywhere on those spectrums.  Any era, any age, anyone.  Give me your QPRs, your sex-repulsed lovey-doveys, your hypersexual aromantics, and everything else you got.  As long as you give me a main character from the HP fandom who is a-spec, your work has a home with this fest.  Accepting fic, fanart, podfics, any medium your heart desires to give us.

Stay tuned and keep your eyes peeled starting in May, claiming will be opening on Aromantic Visibility Day!!

Important dates

Announce: April 18

Prompting: May 1 - June 5

Claiming:  June 6 - July 30

Posting to start around: August 10

Guidelines

All content is allowed, no restrictions on what can be submitted so long as it is thoroughly tagged and doesn't violate tumblr or AO3 TOS.  Mods will have final approval on whether or not a work is sufficiently tagged in regards to potentially triggering matters in works rated M or above.

Etiquette

The goal of this fest is to celebrate and highlight the joys (and some of the stresses) of the lives of the HP-verse characters who fall into the a- sexual and romantic spectrums.  

There will be no ship or character bashing (even if it’s a fandom-wide hated character, please just avoid including a character/ship if you do not like them).

SALS - Ship And Let Ship.

YKINMKBYKIOK - Your Kink Is Not My Kink But Your Kink Is Okay.  Yes, this fest is about a-spec relationships. Yes, that means they can still be kinky as can be.  No, that does not mean you can shame others for what they want to create so long as it is duly tagged.

Each person has unique lived experiences within and and without the LGBTQIA+ community.  Just because you don’t see yourself in how someone is portraying something, doesn’t make them wrong for it.

This event and blog are created on the following 4 founding ideas. If your values do not align with these core principles, this event is likely not for you:

1. Trans Rights are Human Rights 2. Free Palestine and Free Congo and Free Sudan or else no one is free 3. All Nazi's deserve to be punched 4. FUCK JKR

Written fic

Written fic should preferably be longer than 500 words

There is no maximum word count

Must be a completed work, no on-going series to be completed after the fest

Works must be stand-alone (can be part of a collection but one must be able to read it without reading previous parts)

Using a beta is strongly encouraged but not required (if you would like help finding one, feel free to join the fest discord server to find them)

Art work

Work must be exclusive to this fest

Digital and physical art are both allowed as long as scans/photos of the physical are clear

Podfic work

Please provide proof of permission from the creator (unless it is yourself) which includes a screenshot of a blanket permission statement on their profile as long as the username matches 

Selected work must fit the theme of the fest as well as the 500 word minimum for written fics

Make sure you upload it with the author’s original tags as well as the fest tags and podfic notation

Submission

All works must be uploaded to the AO3 collection by the deadline of July 30 (around 1 week before posting  pending any extensions granted)

Add acearofest account as co-author so mods can just double check for correctly tagged content and posting as well as a final once over of the SPaG/formatting

[earthsparked]

Wow just....wow. You write so beautifully. I follow a lot of very kink oriented transformer/human blogs which definitely scratch an itch shall we say but yours is like a cup of hot cocoa in the middle of January. Everything you write is so comforting, so relatable. It's like someone has dug in to my robot brainrotted mind and painted a masterpiece with all the random and super specific fixations i have about human/transformer relations and you so perfectly capture the sheer terror exhilaration and vulnerability that humans would realistically feel if meeting them. Please never stop writing! (Also sorry if this message is a little intense i hope I didn't freak you out im just very passionate about all this and also a little tipsy rn 🙈)

Anon, I am tearing up and giving you the biggest, tightest hug. I’m so touched that you’re finding something worthwhile in my ramblings!

I really enjoy a lot of the TF kink writing too, there are some incredibly talented superstars. I know what you mean, though. I’m aro-ace, and what really does it for me is exploring the non-sexual vulnerability and intimacy possible between humans and Cybertronians. Getting into those connections built through communication, cultural connections, mutual attempts at understanding and acceptance. That’s what I’m hoping to keep front and center, and play with those ideas.

But also, sometimes you just want a giant alien robot to hold you and keep you safe and care about you, it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.

I will admit I’m the kind of person who cycles through interests, so it’s likely I won’t always be as productive as I’ve been the past few days, but I’ve been a Transformers fan for most of my life, so I’ll always come back eventually.

(Admittedly this is one reason I don’t do long fics. I don’t like disappointing people, including myself.)

No worries! Don’t apologize for passion! You and your passion and other feelings are always welcome here. ❤️ Thank you again!

[destielaureversebb]

Coming soon: The Destiel AU Reverse Big Bang

Calling all Destiel artists, gif makers and video creators!

One day, @hawkland and @friendofcarlotta were commiserating about how reverse bangs often were full of wonderfully creative AU ideas and scenarios, but it was hard to do them proper justice in the short writing period, and low word count, typically given for reverse bangs. So, we decided to try to launch a reverse Big Bang to fill that void!

Stories & art for this event must be focused on the relationship between Dean and Castiel in some romantic, sexual, or queerplatonic fashion that would qualify as more than simple friendship (ie, you would tag the story and/or art with a “/” and not a “&” on Archive of Our Own). Aro/ace readings of the characters are of course welcome!

Story minimum length requirement: 10,000 words

Art requirement per collaboration: 2 full illustrations or equivalent graphic/video works (For video submissions, 30 seconds per piece or one minute entirety. For gifset submissions, a minimum of 3 gifs per set, 6 in total.)

Banner/title art: Required from artist. (Can be just a crop/edit of the original piece submitted for claims.)

Full rules can be found here, along with the event schedule.

Be sure to follow this blog for future announcements and promos, including when sign-ups open on July 15th!

[loveless-arobee]

While I know the angry-aro blogs are from a troll (just blog them, really. They're an incredibly annoying individual who has just made a new blog to block-evade...), I do want to emphasize that my notes are not a safe place for ace-phobia.

While I did make a pose critisizing sex-negative and anti-AlloAro sentiments I've noticed in aspec-spaced, that does not mean I hate aces or would in any world agree that aces somehow oppress aros.

Yes, there are quite a few asexual people who do not question their own internalized anti-AlloAro rhetoric, and some (not a lot, but we won't get anywhere if we act like they don't exist) who openly agree with this sentiment and are extremely sex-negative and aromisic, the number of aces who try their best to listen, understand and include alloaros in aspec spaces is much greater. A lot of the people who reblogged and agreed with the post I mentioned above were asexual!

We won't get anywhere by acting like everyone will always be the worst possible. Assuming all aces hate AlloAros won't make the community any better, and aces assuming all AlloAros hate them won't either. Because none of that is true.

We also won't get anywhere by ignoring anti-AlloAro rhetoric in ace-spaces, or anti-ace rhetoric in AlloAro spaces (and also not by assuming anything AlloAros say about themselves without mentioning aces is somehow ace-misic...)

The reason I criticize aces for AlloAro-misia is not because I believe all aces are somehow more arophobic than any other given person, but because I try to make the aspec community a safer place for everyone, and AlloAros are part of that community, and a part that has been very often excluded from aro communities in the past. (One example I can think of being the aromantic subreddit implementing a rule that forced aroallos to tag even just mentioning sexual attraction without ever going into detail as "NSFW" and when they tried to fight back, because simply saying they're allosexual is not NSFW, being told to go to the AroAllo subreddit instead because they made the AroAces uncomfortable (there were also a bunch of AroAces speaking out against that, though. A few of them being assholes doesn't mean all of them are, even if the assholes happen to be the ones in charge in this case.) The rule is gone, afaik, but I'm not on reddit anymore so no clue what's going on now.)

Some aces being bigoted assholes does not give you the right to attack all of them nor to be bigoted back at them.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Aita for not making any of my characters, that I have to crank out daily, pansexual/polysexual/omnisexual specifically and only making them bi?

🏳️‍🌈👶🏼 so i can recognize this later lmao also I'm not panphobic or anything, this isn't about the validity of the label, pan is fine.

So i (20snb bi) have a project I'm working on where I take all the characters from a specifc media I'm into and pair them up with each other to make every possible ship kid from every possible ship(excluding characters who are kids themselves or are related or something, that shit is gross). Basically taking every character and pairing them up with another and creating a kid I think they'd have. Its a big project with lots of characters and I'm easily over 400 at this point. I really enjoy this, even if I'm not even 25% complete.

However I set a schedule for myself that at least one ship kid needs to come out each day which, considering I draw them, color them and give them some development and some even have siblings, (The refs themselves easily take me an hour to an hour and a half) I have to make lots of them quickly to keep up with my daily grind. I've been doing this project for over a year and although it's stressful, I can get them out quickly with breaks for myself.

Their character sheets all have some pretty basic info like their name, gender, pronouns, personality and more but it also includes their sexuality/orientation. I have a pretty basic list of options for what their sexuality will be: straight, lesbian, gay, Enbian, bi, Aro, ace and aroace with a few random things like polyam, WLW and a good amount of the something-loving-something/juvelic terms. I did this because, well, there's not many entirely unique orientations outside of them and although I love mogai/xenogenders and complex identities, I dont want to potentially drag up discourse or bring problems to my budding art blog over it. Its just not worth it to me to turn something I really care about on its head, even if I like microlabels.

In this case, I'm using bi as an umbrella term as most of the other terms share the same definition with slight variations in wording or action but not much difference in practice. We all like everyone, it's basic stuff. However, apparently this is a problem.

I've gotten one or two anons asking me questions about my guides asking some kind stuff like is this lesbian ship kid a butch or femme or Is this picture of them now or just at the age you put on the ref and other harmless stuff. Then things got rude with some Nbphobia but thrice now I've gotten asks:

1. Asking snarkily if im a panphobe

2. insulting me for not specifically writing pan or Omni and just writing bi.

3. Saying that I "clearly dont care about pansexual representation." Then brought up how my primary oc is native american so i clearly care about representation but that oc used to be a sona and I'm native?? Its confusing. (And Lowkey racist shit to just assume any native character is a "diversity quota" character instead of just a person existing but I digress-)

Im not pan, im bi so ig these people assume I'm not cool with pan people which isnt true? I have nothing aginest them, they are just pretty similar and I dont feel like it matters if they are specfically bi or pan or poly or any other label. I don't go into details like that for any other sub-group, not even pronouns and I included combinations and some common Neopronouns. I understand the importance of representation but my project has less than 50 people looking at it every day, Im not netflix or something. I'm one guy on the most LGBT blogging site with a big project and very little audience, I'm not showing people who wouldn't already know what pan is that pansexuality exists.

This project isn't that deep considering the characters in question aren't human/dont have human characteristics.(no it's not hazbin/helluva) Also ive never spoken about lgbt discourse or stated anything remotely close to it beyond the guides just passively having characters who are an LGBT identity. I've not even mentioned all the potentional orientations they could have so I'm not sure where/why this came up in the first place. The most politcial things ive said are calling out a creator in my fandom who outed themselves as a transphobe and mentioning im pro-palestine. That's it.

I mean this is pretty low stakes, I can just block these people and be done with it and this some seriously online shit but I just wanna check.

Am I being an asshole for just writing bi instead of specifying their mspec label because I have to produce characters quickly and I don't see enough of a difference to warrant a change/specification that would ultimately slow and clog an already stressful and complex project?

I dont think I am but idk lol

What are these acronyms?

[brightside-brigade]

★☆~Welcome to the Brightside Brigade!!! This blog is run by the host of the system, though a few others occasionally post. If you want to read more about the system and it's members, click the post linked after the intro and byf stuff!~☆★

★ psst. Seen us posted on a cringe sub or site? Let us know, so we can add to... the "rent free" Tally! ★

🎉Rent free Tally 🎉 [/]

Hiya!! My name is Jack, but you can call me Bright or Brighteyes! I'm a Dr Bright fictive and this is my blog! I post just about anything here, various interests, stuff about my alterhumanity or our system, shit post, and all around just be me! (《Please note I have autism, anxiety, and depression! So if my posts are ever erratic or sound off, that's why! There may also be slumps in posting! Thank you for understanding 》)

I'm bodily 22, and transmasc, plus neo/xeno hoarder. My pronouns are he/him, they/them, nya/nyas, and... probably more neos to come!

I'm arospec due to autism (not feeling/understanding emotions the same way an NT being might), and omnisexual with a masc lean. I'm currently in an in-sys relationship and I'm uncertain about adding anything external at the moment! However, playful flirting is allowed via anons so long as you're also 18+. I'm a grown ass man.

I love my source, mascot horror and analog Horror, or digital horror, resident Evil, and horror in general! Especially things like Welcome Home! Non horror things I love include pokemon, minecraft, Steven Universe, mlp and more!! I also like toys, such as lps and plushies! I hoard both. I like to draw and make bracelets! But I'm not the best at them, the knots are hard to tie. ^^"

I'm also a furry and age regressor. My agere blog will be linked below as well.

I'm alterhuman!!! Both physiologically and spiritually, and possibly physically as a way of fully rejecting this body I'm stuffed in. That's right, Dr Bright is also... a creatures. A certified #1 Critterboy

My ID's for that are as follows:

🦂 Las Plagas (think the fanart you see of infected Leon, one of those bad boys.)

🐈 a Cheshire cat (as in the species, not the character)

🍂 an unknown (for now) forest entity

💞 I also feel strong connections with wild canids, deer, not-deer and not-animal cryptids, dragons, demons, and angels! 💞

Stances:

Pro lgbtqia+

Pro mspec identites

Aro, ace, and apl spec belong in LGBTQIA+

Pro slur reclamation

Pro mogai, liom, ect. This includes xenogenders and neo pronouns

Pro endo and all system origins

Knows there's no such thing as a "bad person disorder"

Supports Pro recovery and anti-c paras

Believes in and supports survivors of RAMCOA, TBMC, OEA, programmed systems, ect.

Alters don't need to separate from, apologize for, or denounce their source, or their actions in source

Radqueer apathetic (burned out from discourse), VIOLENTLY ANTI XENOSATANIST, BASED/LACED QUEER, ECT.

YKINMKATO

supports all non human identites, including physical, p-shifters, and CLCZs

Thought crimes don't exist

You can enjoy media with problematic themes. You don't need to "acknowledge" or "enjoy it critically,"

Shipcourse is fucking stupid.

I don't give a shit what someone does or enjoys within a fictional setting

DNI:

Basic DNI

Terfs, swerfs, radfems, gender crit, transmed, ect

Any form of ageplay or sexualized age regression

IRL nsfw blogs

Don't believe in or follow our stances if you're going to start shit (IE: sysmeds, ect)

Pro-c or neu-c harmful paras (you deserve to rot)

if your blog is heavily discourse centered

Anti agere/petre

Anti alterhumanity

Believe in narcissistic abuse or demonize personality disorders in general

Harm beings that cannot or do not consent in any capacity

☆ do not refer to Jack by Elias or any other rewrite name. He is not them, they are not him, and he has no intention of source/name separation. If this bothers or upsets you, block this blog.

Warning: This blog will mostly be discourse free, but Jack Bites Back™️ and will go after those who Start shit on positivity posts or make posts defending groups or identites his friends are or are a part of.

Have a question or want clarification about the above? Just ask! ^_^

vvv LINKS vvv

System intro post:

Jacks age regression blog:

~more to come~

[deadboydetectives-confessions]

i certainly won’t say purity culture ISN’T a thing in the fandom because it’s definitely in an increasingly prevalent thing in all spaces (including fandom), but i haven’t really seen a lot of examples like the kind the previous anon described (and maybe i’m just missing them! tbh this blog is the main way i interact with the fandom now so that is very possible). because while yes, it’s very normal for teenagers to explore their sexuality, and that is a journey that started in season one for edwin, i feel like the objections people are having to the potential sexual storylines in s2 aren’t about the fact that he might be having sex, but because it implies he would be exhibiting risky/impulsive sexual behaviors, which is both a harmful stereotype about gay men and inconsistent with his character as we’ve come to know him. like virginity is a stupid and antiquated concept, but edwin clearly put a lot of stock in his first kiss, and presumably would do the same with his “first time.” it doesn’t need to be charles, but it would need to be someone he trusts (which after the whole monty thing would probably take some time to develop).

i actually think the show does a good job of exploring the variation in teenage sexuality. like, crystal pretty bluntly states she’s had sex before and isn’t shamed for it (they also demonstrate the way teenagers inexperienced with relationships can be taken advantage of with david in a way that i feel does not demonize - pun intended - teenage sexuality itself). niko hasn’t ever kissed anyone or been in a relationship and that is also super normal (regardless of sexuality! i love all the ace/aro niko headcanons but it’s also worth nothing that a 16 year old not feeling ready for/interested in a relationship does not have to be a sexuality thing). we don’t know a ton about charles (i’d guess he has had sex at some point but is probably not super experienced) and then edwin! and the other teenagers (and crows turned into teenagers) in the show also have a variety of experiences and it’s all normal and fine!

fanfic/fandom is obviously its own space and people can write and ship whatever they want, obviously, but saying “i am worried about the way some of the s2 leaks indicate edwin’s sexuality is treated” doesn’t seem like purity culture to me. it seems like just that - wanting to make sure a character’s journey is treated with care and sensitivity.

.

[totescowaii]

[IMPORTANT] LET ME BE CLEAR

Cuz some TERF decided to troll the transfem supe tag today and thought I was being serious, i've decided it's probably for the best to just make this list and a little note saying that my blog is pure kink fantasy. I do not condone transfem supremacy in real life because it cannot and will never exist. It is a fun fantasy where we get to feel like we have any power but if you turn off your phone for two seconds, we have major global super powers waging war on us for no god damn reason. ANYWAYS Here are a list of things I support: Consensual Kink Freedom of gender expression and identity Freeing Palestine Destroying Facism Supporting and boosting minorities in all facets of life Supporting real human art and defunding AI Polyamory and non-monogamy lifestyles The Aro/Ace community Mental Health Advocacy All LGBTQIA+ labels and subcategories. Free Universal Healthcare Universal Basic Income Supporting victims of sexual assault and brutality Small artists who need exposure Here is a list of things I DONT support:

MAPS, Pedophiles, groomers and minors in adult spaces Actual incest not roleplay Actual sexual assault not well discussed Consensual Non-Consent Bestiality (Please do not the cat) Self Harm or the glorification OF self harm (This includes ED) AI Generated Imagery Raceplay or "Race" New World Order tags TERFs, Zionists, Nazis, Racists and bigots This weird fuckin' culture on tumblr of assuming shit about people because you were radicalized by JK Rowling and not basic empathy for every day people.

[color-picked-aroace-flags]

welcome to color picked aroace flags!

this blog takes colors from an image, and tries to use them to make something close to an ace, aro, or aroace flag.

you can submit images in the ask box, or tag me in posts.

rules for submissions:

send the image or post you want color picked, and include which flags you would like me to do. while I stick to the aro, ace, and sunset aroace flag normally, you can submit any aspec flags, including things like the aplatonic flag, alternate versions of flags, microlabel flags etc. no nsfw

I decided to make this blog mostly due to the recent influx of bots in the ace tag, so that while we wage war on the bots, we can also enjoy some positive content, tho this will still also of course do aro flags.

main blog: @randomnerd737

pronouns: they/she

dni: aphobes, transphobes/terfs, homophobes, exclusionists, pedos, etc.

[orchid-merryweather]

Ehh I guess I should make an intro post

Omnisexual and aspec + possibly arospec idek anymore

Gender and pronouns: I DON'T FUCKING KNOW ANYMORE

Minor (oh God oh fuck I'm seventeen what do you mean I'm gonna be an adult next year iM NOT READY)

Instead of listing all the things I'll just say haters dni. We all know who that means

I post fandom stuff and sometimes book reviews and lots of shitposts

I don't really use any specialized tags for my posts but I will be using "Orchid's gender talks" whenever I decide to ponder my gender on Tumblr dot com again because I seem to do that a lot. I also use "my irl friends :3" when I interact with real people

I also run @author-orchids and @fixing-breaking-fixing-bad-posts pretty sure both are self explanatory

I have other blogs but if you want to connect my gimmicks to my main you have to hunt me down

This blog supports queer people! That DOES include, aces and aros and that DOES include the people that are queer and straight (trans and straight, ace and straight, etc) and that DOES include people who are attracted to multiple genders who are in a straight relationship

This blog stands with Palestine

This blog stands with Ukraine

And this blog does NOT support trump

This blog supports The Claims Adjuster (ALLEGEDLY, allegedly Luigi is a hero)

Deny, Defend, Despose.

"War does not determine who is right, only who is left" -(if anyone can tell me who first said that quote, I'd really appreciate it, Google isn't being helpful rn)

It's the roaring 20's again, but instead of some roar of progress, it's the roar of some great beast.

[leikeliscomet]

Having some thoughts on why the Black-ace-culture-is blog is doing way better than ace-lesbian-culture-is blog and why Black asexuality seems to be growing as a distinct identity whilst asexual lesbianism or lesbian asexuality isn't or isn't as much (this is just based on my own experience and this post is mostly yappery and speculation). Time for another long post lads:

Firstly I think its cus the two are perceived differently. I think there's contexts where ace lesbians can exist in just lesbian spaces or we're at least tolerated but Black aces are just mainly alienated. TERFs and radfems mainly just see us as lesbians that don't fuck or celibate women that can get dykey with it. And like obviously that's bad. If we just focus on our lesbianism we get a 'pass' but essentially if we get to loud with it we're not rated like that and tbh I do question if I'm actually supported by non-ace lesbians at times or if it's a case where the othering is silent but will get louder if I ace things up too much. But racist asexuals on the other hand don't see us as asexual in any real context. We're seen as non-ace and Blackness as in opposition with asexuality because they treat the identity as a form of sexual purity. They see Black music e.g. hip hop as uniquely sexual, their idea of sex obsession in society keeps pointing fingers at Blackness. Or it's microaggressive racism. They don't see Black ace representation as ace representation. They don't look at ace activism by Black aces. Large reason why there's a growth in Black asexual specific asexual things is because of the antiblackness we get in AND outiside the asexual community. So the choice is between being seen as incorrectly performing lesbianism vs seen as an invader of 'pure' asexuality so there's a bigger push for one of these to be its own separate sexuality. (Not to say being an ace lesbian is 'easier' than being a Black ace cus race x sexuality is different to sexuality x sexuality)

There's a few things inside lesbian theory already that can act as an asexual lesbian framework. For example when Audre Lorde wrote about The Erotic, she specifically included non-sexual intimacies like romantic, platonic and individual and these were just as revolutionary forms of joy and pleasure. It's not inherently asexual but you can easily get an ace lesbian reading from that. You could also look at stone lesbianism and the idea of lesbian sex without engaging in specific physical acts as a giver or receiver. Is it inherently asexual? No. But it unintentionally includes sex favourable ace lesbians who might prefer topping or bottoming without being touched or being the one doing the touching. That's why we have ace lesbians that are stone and stone lesbians that realised they're ace. There's also bambi lesbianism. Again, not inherently ace but ace lesbians that are sex repulsed can easily fit in as it's a form of sexless lesbianism outside the context of puritanism and linking to Audre Lorde a form of lesbian erotic that is non-sexual. Asexual lesbianism technically already exists as a framework just not called 'asexual lesbian' outright. So we don't need to fully reinvent the wheel, but just stick an ace ring on it.

But with asexuality it's different because with Black asexuality we're making everything from scratch. Black asexuality as a framework and a culture is distinctively different from mainstream asexuality. Black asexuality in terms of theory actively addresses white supremacy in a way mainstream (white) asexual activism doesn't. It's in direct support with Black aromanticism and Black aros, whilst the wider aspec community is starting to form separatist movements between alloace, aroace and aroallo. It's in direct support with the rest of the LGBTQIA community recognising their struggles are also connected to compulsory sexuality whilst (white) liberal ace activism consistently feeds into the idea of a unique asexual oppression with no correlation to the rest of the community. Obviously Black aces can and do participate in mainstream ace culture with the garlic bread and ace rings but this wasn't made with us in mind. Like I very much doubt the Denmark invasion stuff was made with any asexual POC in mind because if it had then it wouldn't exist as a joke about participating in colonialism when we're colonised peoples. Because we have the experience of being Black and not just asexual in isolation I think we can understand how culture operates better. Large parts of mainstream ace culture is made from creating an asexual version of a non-ace queer thing instead of making something with a specific social and political context. Like cake and garlic bread were originally a play on food being better than sex and the idea of non-sexual pleasure but it's just treated as a quirky ace thing now. We had the ace deck terms but those don't get used as much anymore. Some aces don't understand or engage with non-ace queer people, their spaces or history so that's why there's this constant 'we need an asexual butch and femme' 'what's the ace version of 'we need an asexual version of ___' instead of understanding the historical and social context behind why those terms where created. With Black asexuality we're making our own it's not just 'asexuality but Black' it's combining Black culture with asexuality to make something new. SoulAce Day is uniquely African American AND asexual. We have Tyger Songbird writing about Black asexual manhood, Sherronda J Brown writing about compulsory sexuality from a Black lense, Ianna Hawkins Owen on asexuality and the Mammy trope like it's all things that have never existed before. It's not a Black version of an ace thing or an ace version of a Black thing - it's fresh!

I think it's also based on power dynamics too. I think it's because white asexuals can see being Black as a marginalised identity and something they could wield power over (well... at least some do...) but a lot of non-lesbian aces don't see lesbianism as a marginalised identity. Their only exposure to lesbian culture is ace-exclusionist lesbians and the visibility of lesbian representation (which is mostly white cis and gender conforming) more than asexual rep so they assume they can't engage in lesbophobia or that it could exist in asexual spaces (I think this is an issue with how gay and bi aces are treated too). They can accept they can discriminate against Black aces but not lesbian aces. I think that's why some people are more comfortable when I talk about Blackness and being asexual instead of when I talk about lesbianism and being asexual, which is one of the few times another one of my identities has come 'before' my Blackness. A non-ace lesbian saying anti-asexual shit fucking sucks but I can still recognise they're not my oppressor on the basis of my asexuality on its own because lesbian sexual attraction isn't a protected class but a white asexual saying antiblack shit does make them one because they're benefiting from white supremacy whilst I'm marginalised by it. But with a non-lesbian asexual person saying something lesbophobic it's tricky because whilst asexuality isn't an oppressor class it's still marginalising me, especially if it's a straight ace saying it, because lesbianism isn't a protected class either. So in this context I get why some other ace lesbians can mostly do okay in lesbian spaces and not necessarily need an ace lesbian specific space whilst Black aces are having to leave essentially and make our own.

Then we can mix and match because we can definitely get into the antiblackness of the lesbian community and the birth of Black lesbian specific theory and culture in response to that, why we have stud, stem, fish, dom, tom, boi, AG and more. I think Black asexuality is going the same way but there's less of it again not because of 'allosexual privilege' or it being 'easier for the lesbians' but because it's just a matter of time. Modern lesbian culture started to grow within the mid 20th century so Black lesbian specific culture grew towards the end of the 20th century whilst modern asexual culture started to grow in the early 21st century in the 2000s so Black asexual culture is growing afterwards too but this time we're all watching it in real time.

TL;DR - Different things are different. Asexual lesbianism and Black asexuality exist in two different social contexts so ace lesbians are kinda scattered across the ace community, the lesbian community and joint ace lesbian spaces because of compulsory sexuality and lesbophobia whilst Black aces are forming our own stuff because of antiblackness.

[urautismdiagnosis-wistie]

Guide/Masterpost and introduction

Figured I should make one of these so here we go, I'm Wisteria but u can just call me Wisty or Wistie! ^v^

btw if I dont follow u back its because this is a side blog and not my main blog, and I dont wanna share my main 👍also just to clarify reblogs are cool but reposts arent

Idc about pronouns just don't call me he/him lol

I joined the octonauts Fandom like right at the start of 2025, and im just into making art and au's for the octonauts but ill occasionally reblog stuff about animal facts or character tropes lol

My main au is going to be tagged "Misty Memories au" for now

Some other tags u can use for my blog include:

Misty memories comic (for the official comic itself)

My art (anything that I've drawn, from mini comics, main comic updates, etc)

Character design (my character design art for the octonauts characters+ ocs that often include lore about the character)

My comic (parts of my main comic for misty memories)

Yap post (any post that I either made or added onto and talked alot, these may have lore for Misty Memories)

Octo headcanons (these are usually silly posts that might contain some art, but 100% has different (usually) lighthearted headcanons about character dynamics, habits, past, and etc)

Wistie responds<3 ( anything that i respond to from my ask box, so if u asked me a question anonymously and haven't seen a response u can check that tag! Also I might just take 1-2 business days to respond cuz I'm a slow processor or might be making art for an ask that just happened to inspire me:> )

Cryptid Kwazii AU (an au ill probably post about later in the future lol there's nothing under that tag)

Octo lore: specifically lore posts

Not my character (art and etc that contains other peoples ocs)

I'll add more tags if needed

Also feel free to send me asks! You can ask me anything about octonauts or my au! U can also request art but I cant promise ill make it, at least not right away anyways lol

I guess DNI and general rules under the tags?

Also if ur the type to hate on minorities or people with mental disorders and disabilities please don't bring that energy to my blog. I will also not tolerate anyone who isn't supportive of Palestine.

I also don't want people arguing over ships or whatever under my posts, if yall have beef please do it someplace else. Please do not involve me in any Fandom drama that may occur I do not need the anxiety or stress.

This blog isn't for drama, hate, political issues, or anything else. This is meant to be a safe space for me (and anyone else who happens to like my art) to enjoy octonauts and maybe the occasional animal fact post.

If there are irl issues that I dont post about its because as mentioned before, this isn't what the blog is for and also because I have anxiety about posting/reblogging about certain topics.

Don't approach me with the intent of a romantic relationship.

I am an adult but I dont feel comfortable with sexual comments towards myself or my artwork. Saying u think a character is hot or wtv is fine but no weird comments.

Do NOT repost my artwork even if you credit me. If anyone sees that happen please let me know.

Some of my art will contain trigger warnings, any artworks that I feel are more likely to be triggering (such as those containing blood) will be put under a tag such as "tw blood". If you see that any of my artwork of posts contain triggering topics I haven't tagged please let me know.

Idk if it'll ever happen but if anyone wants to draw their own art for my au that's fine, just make sure of ur drawing art that is associated with my comic (aka using my character designs or plot points) to give me credit 👍

I dont wanna sound egotistical or assume but like ig I should mention that cuz I've seen other artists talk about it lol

also IN MY AU MANY CHARACTERS ARE ARO OR ACE ASPEC

This includes captain barnacles and kwazii! I ship them as a queer platonic relationship or QPR. So its fine if u tag my posts with their shipname-

But please understand i don't feel comfortable with their relationship being seen in a sexual/highly romantic way, at least not for MY AU.

I dont care about what other people ship but please don't force social norms about romance and etc onto my aro ace depictions specifically, thank you.

My au is very important and personal to me, so purposefully twisting it to something else just because u don't like mental health depictions or aro ace experiences is kinda yuck yk?

If u wanna share ur own thoughts and etc in comments then thats fine, I love that stuff, but I just DONT WANT TO SEE

"LOL hes not even autistic though" or " they are so into eachother just make them kiss already" or ANYTHING of that sort

Okay sorry if this bit sounded aggressive or whatever hrjrhdnsbskdnf I love to hear different interpretations but I just can't stand ablism and etc