#we're here and we're queer

[queerum]

Free (mostly academic) aro theory resources

On Amatonormativity

Amatonormativity, Aromanticism, and What Defines a Relationship - Rilee Granger

Amatonormativity in the Law: An Introduction - Silver Flight

"Allonormativity and Compulsory Sexuality" (chapter 6 of Encyclopedia of Queer Studies in Education) - Stephanie Anne Shelton

'I Dont Want To be a Playa No More': An Exploration of the Denigrating effects of 'Player' as a Stereotype Against African American Polyamorous Men - Justin L. Clardy

On Relationship Anarchy

The short instructional manifesto for relationship anarchy - Andie Nordgren

The Relationship Anarchy website

Thinking Relationship Anarchy from a Queer Feminist Approach - Roma De las Heras Gómez

Beyond romantic love – an analysis of how the dilemma of closeness vs. autonomy is handled in relationship anarchy discourse - Ricardo Guillén

The Ethics of Relationship Anarchy - Ole Martin Moen

On community

Examining aromantic and asexual inclusion in queer-serving organizations - based on Lauren Lichty's work

Exploring Aromanticism Through an Online Qualitative Investigation With the Aromantic Community: “Freeing, Alienating, and Utterly Fantastic” - James Fowler et al.

Community Listening Sessions with Aromantic People: Summary and Recommendations Report

Aurea Aro Census

Sexuality, romantic orientation, and masculinity: Men as underrepresented in asexual and aromantic communities - Hannah Tessler

On QueerPlatonic Relationships

Queerplatonic Zucchinis: A Short Primer - Omnes and Nihil (unsure)

Queering the Nuclear Family - Katie Linder

Queer(ing) consensual nonmonogamies, queering therapy: queer intimacy, kinship, and experiences of CNM in LGBTQIA+ lives - Christian Klesse et al.

On intersectionality

Intimacy and Desire Through the Lens of an Aro-Ace Woman of Color

Being Aroflux & Black - Kimberley Butler

Transitioning into Aromanticism as a Trans Student - Amethyst

Existing and Defying Stereotypes as an A-spec Disabled Person - Sapphire Crimson Claw

A Reflection on the March Carnival of Aros (several testimonies by aros of color and non-cis/non-het aros are linked in this article)

Other aro-related interesting reads

New Dimensions, New Directions: Asexualities and Aromanticism in the 21st Century - Megan Carroll et al.

Enriching the Story: Asexuality and Aromanticism in Literature - Adrienne Whisman

The Importance of Representation for Lesser-Known Sexual Identities on the Example of Asexuality and Aromanticism - Jasmin Kiechle

Experiences of Italian Asexual and Aromantic Individuals in Healthcare Settings: from Explicitly Aggressive to Affirming Interactions

Other lists of aro-related ressources (not all sources listed in these are free though)

by Aurea

The Asexuality and Aromanticism Bibliography

If you know of any other free ressource about aromanticism please consider adding to this list

[phantomhunting]

We're Here and We're Queer // Sanders sides modern teen AU

CHAPTER 1 - queer teens have immense crushes on each other and wont fucking CONFESS ALREADY.

<Next chapter coming soon>

CW: implied abuse, and intrulogical being intrulogical (mostly Remus)

Ships: Logan x Remus, Roman x Virgil, Remy x Janus, Emile x Patton

Patton was sitting in his room in front of the mirror, trying to make his light cyan hair look good, but it was too messy. He sighed, the reflection of his soft blue eyes staring at him from the mirror. "I hate this" he whispered. He sighed again and got up, going to his closet and taking out his favorite top, a baby blue vest with a white button-up. He put it on and grabbed his school bag and walked downstairs to get some breakfast.

There wasn't much to eat at home, even though the Mor family (which Patton was part of) had a lot of money. He decided to eat some overly-sugary cereal with lactose free milk (because he's lactose intolerant). When Patton finished eating, he could hear his father walk up the stairs. He quickly washed the dishes he used and placed them neatly on the dish rack. He checked the time, '8:10' was what the clock read. "You're late to school again." his father exclaimed as he entered the room. Patton started breathing heavily, scared of what his father might do. "I-i was just leaving!" He grabbed his bag and ran out the house before his father could do anything. He ran all the way to school, not wanting to be even more late.

- - -

Virgil was sitting in the back of the class with his small dagger shaped fidget, barely listening to the teacher. He was waiting for the break so he could hang out with his friends. He and his older brother, Logan, have recently moved into this city, and a group of students have accepted them in as one of their own. Virgil always doubted if they actually liked them or if it was just because they're new, but at least he'll make the most of it. After two long and boring math classes, it was finally break time. Virgil put all his stuff in his locker and grabbed his food from his bag. He ran to the back of the school, which was where the group always stayed while in there. Roman, Patton, and Remus were already sitting and chatting there. Virgil was hesitant to approach, not wanting to intrude. Then, he suddenly felt a hand touch his shoulder. He jumped and let out a squeak, turning around to see... His older brother, Logan!

"Lo.. don't ever do that again" he tried to sound intimidating but he was so much smaller than him. "What did you get?" Logan asked, pointing at Virgil's lunchbox. "Oh- umm, it's just some bread with a piece of cheese on it" Virgil answered. "You know, you need to eat more than that, Virg" Logan's tone seemed harsh, but Virgil knew Logan cared a lot about him. They both walked over to the group, and sat down next to them.

"Virgil! Logan!" Patton called, happy to see his friends. "Hello!" Remus called as well, only happy to see Logan. "Hi..!" Roman whispered quietly to Virgil, blushing slightly. "Hey, Roman.." Virgil responded, hoping his makeup hides his red face. "Ree, is that new?" Virgil asked, pointing at the collar on Remus' neck. "Why won't you ask your brother~?" Remus responded, making a flirty face to Logan. "Ew- you could've just said yes" Virgil wanted to throw up thinking about his brother and Roman's brother having... Adult times. Remus scoffed. "Has anyone seen Barry? We were supposed to study now but he's not responding to my texts." Logan quickly changed the topic. "Probably still asleep, he oversleeps constantly" Remus responded, taking out his bottle (that's full of some blue liquid that seems full of sugar) and taking a sip. Logan is disgusted by the drink, but moves on, "he's usually here by now..." he checks his phone's notifications again. "Ugh, why does it matter? We're having a conversation here now" Remus rolled his eyes.

There was silence for a few seconds, only the sounds of Patton's chocolate chip cookies in his mouth were heard. "Wassup nerds" Janus sat next to his younger brother, Patton, and placed his bag of oatmeal cookies besides him. "Good morning, Jan" Remus smiled. Virgil and Roman rolled their eyes, they both disliked Janus a bit too much. Janus flashed a sarcastic smile back at them both, raising the tension.

"hey, Remus, may i speak to you in private?" Logan asked, cutting the tension. "Ooo~" Remus smirked. "About a serious topic. Now." Logan hurried. "Alright alright" Remus got up, and Logan followed. They both walked inside the building, they were out of sight in a moment. "Well.... Uh, Roman, did you see the vid i sent you?" Virgil asked, attempting to start a conversation without Patton or Janus. "I did! Wait- we're talking about the dnd one, right?" Roman hurried to clarify, and Virgil nodded, "yeah so i did watch it, it seemed really interesting! I'd love to do a game with you some day" Roman blushed. Virgil smiled awkwardly, wanting to show Roman his years of campaign planning just for him, but he knew it'd seem weird. "Hey, lovebirds, there are more people sitting with you" Janus exclaimed, signaling at himself and his brother. Roman and Virgil both burst into denying chatter, while Patton giggled to himself. They all spent the rest of the break talking about some math teacher that got pregnant from a different teacher. Remus and Logan didn't come back.

- - -

At the end of the school day, as Patton walked out, he saw two cute boys talking right outside the school's gate. He took a deep breath and approached them. "H-hey! My name is Patton, and I think you look really cool, wanna be friends?" He asked, seeming as innocent as a baby. The taller one chuckled, "sure. Im Remy, this is my twin brother, Emile" he smiled, and took a sip out of his coffee. Emile smiled a bit, already knowing he's got feelings for Patton, he always saw him around, hanging with hus classmate, Virgil, and he always seemed so sweet and caring. It was obvious he liked puns, just perfect for him. "He's awkward" Remy whispered to Patton, and preceded to be slapped by Emile. Patt giggled, but in a friendly way rather than a bullying way. Thats when Janus whispered into Patton's ear, "we need to get home, bitch" and laughed.

"LANGUAGE!!" Patton shouted. Janus just kept laughing. "Sorry, uh, this is my brother, Janus" he explained to his new friends. "Is Janus your actual name?" Emile asked, his sweet honey colored eyes glowing with curiosity. "Nope, its Julia. But i really hate that name, so i changed it. Too feminine" Janus explained, grabbing Patton's hand, "now, me and my beloved brother need to head home. See ya!" he dragged him off to the bus stop.

- - -

"he was amazing!!" Emile called, flapping his hands. "His brother was hotter." Remy replied, sipping his coffee like the bad bitch that he is. "Sometimes i really dont get how you're my twin brother and not some distant uncle of an uncle" Em joked. "What can i say, I'm the Picani with the most personality" Remy flipped imaginary hair (his hair is too short). "Pfft, yeah, right. You dont even know what you're gonna do next week, i already know what im learning in college." Emile joked as they both started walking home.

[pixieperson19]

Sleepaway camp in August.

We’re doing introductions in the cabin.

“...but I was wondering, if I could try a different name?” I ask quietly when it’s my turn.

They all nod and their looks nudge me encouragingly, saying that it’d totally fine.

I feel bad for not telling my parents.

I meant to.

“I want to try the name Casey.”

Just saying it makes me smile.

“Hi Casey,” David, the camp counselor, says.

A warm feeling wraps around my heart, and the camper next to me introduces themself.

We make name tags, and I don’t hesitate to carefully write out a big ‘C’ to start my name, decorating around the letters with stars.

I add “they/them” underneath, adding more stars.

I hesitate, before writing in small font underneath- “star/stars/starself”

I don’t feel embarrassed, and I don’t worry what other people will say as I smile and clip it onto the lanyard, pulling it over my neck.

I hardly take my lanyard off all week.

It quickly becomes my normal wear, only taking it off to sleep or when I’m on the lake.

I wear it, over and over.

“Casey,” it reads, in my big loopy letters.

‘Casey,’ I repeat inside my head.

I’m crying on the porch of the cabin, it’s the second to last day before we go home.

My sibling will be leaving for college by the time I get back.

I will be leaving ‘Casey’ behind once camp ends.

The counselors check in with me.

David sits on the porch, and we talk.

I tell him how I don’t feel ready, and how I’m so scared.

How I don’t know what life will bring, and how I don’t know if I’m ready to face it.

He tells me about his wife, his kids.

How he misses them, how he’s glad he took this opportunity.

He looks at me, and says that he knows I will do great things, because he can tell I’m a good person.

I don’t know if I believe him, but I’ll try.

I tell him how I’m not really ‘Casey,’

and how I don’t know how to tell my parents that here, at camp, I was.

He thanks me for the talk, saying he’s happy we spoke, and that it helped him think about things in a different way, and keeps calling me Casey anyway.

I ask him and the other counselor, Momo, to pick me out a rock from the camp before I leave, a keepsake.

I hold them and my tearstained name tag close on the way home.

Now that I’m home, I long to go back.

Where for once, I didn’t think about school, or what I would need to make myself to eat today, or what I was going to do with my life.

Where there was a schedule I slipped right into.

Where I could just be Casey.

And no one gave a second glance.

Where for once, I was surrounded by kids who were like me.

They weren’t really like me of course,

but they were more like me than all of the kids at school.

more like me than all the people I had ever met.

So I wore that name tag all week.

Because at camp, I was Casey.

And I will never, regret being Casey.

[victusinveritas]

All of these are by @mattxiv on Instagram.

Here's to all the shockingly single bachelor uncles or the two very close friends who just happened to be girls and are only living together until one of them finds a man (they lived together for forty two years).

[sugarbot-artpost]

Might make these pendants or maybe earrings. Really big earrings. Lol

[destructivedistractions]

We can live laugh love after we resist rebel riot alright?

[theenbyroiderer]

Happy Pride everyone!! Life may be hard and bleak right now for queer people in many countries, but I fully believe that the future is queer and our persistence will pay off.

[shelvesofsiddurim]

A kid saw my pronoun pin and my tzitzit, lit up, and went "you're like my abba!" And then ran off to get his dad.

Said dad gave me a fist bump and invited me for a queer Kabbalat Shabbat in a few weeks.

This is Queer Jewish joy.

[mariposapen]

When speaking on the murder of Jonathan Joss, a native man was hate crimed for being gay. That cannot be understated no matter how much that detail is left out of the headlines. Fuck a reboot or whatever. HE WAS HATE CRIMED FOR BEING GAY ON THE FIRST DAY OF PRIDE!!!!!

[nerdy-chocobo]

I saw someone say "being a trans man is always rewarded as long as theres not enough femininity there to disprove it"

and that's the fucking thing: there's always enough femininity to disprove it, cisnormative society will find a way to fucking disprove trans men's masculinity no matter what

because think about it, if half of cis men get "transvestigated" or told they're too feminine or too sensitive or too invested in being just kind to be real men, how the fuck do you think trans men are treated?

like seriously, you are so close to getting it

[alltimefail]

Happy Pride Month from me and Charles Rowland!

If you erase the B, T, Q, or + from this month, we have our cricket bats ready! 💖💜💙

Thank you @anaart-stuff for taking my ramble idea and making it even better than I could have imagined! 😭

[berrycake99]

I still can't get over how funny Vox was in that latest art. Like two fucking pictures, the whole crew PLUS Vel and Val js smiling widely being ultra happy, holding their little flags, and then Vox is js

Like this man does NOT give a fuck. Look at him, he doesn't even know wtf he's holding😭😭😭 "oh my god u guys are SO ANNOYING can we get this over with so I can be in bed it's 10pm it is late my back hurts and I have a meeting in the morning" He's old and fed up. And Val literally making him shake his little hand up with his gay-ass flag is SO FUNNY. "C'mon babe, see? Yay!" Y'ALL DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH THIS IS SENDING ME

[victusinveritas]

[clockworkreapers]

No, you may not have to-go boxes or the check.

[muttmedley]

yeah i can't really cum inside but i still think it'd be hot to cum on my fingers and then shove those fingers inside their cunt idk