#< see? no colored tags for these two tags. but they are for aromantic asexual separately >:T

[nonbinary-niki-bog]

Tumblr needs to have an aromantic asexual or a simple aroace colored tag. i mean look at them. isn't these beautiful?

@ any and everyone who are aroace, anywhere on the spectrum, or anyone who just supports us.

[writer-ace]

I watched the asexual and aromantic communities get eaten away at by exclusionists and proto-TERFs and queer people making fun of microlabels and people who talked about how they just wanted all of us to stop dividing ourselves so much and people who decided that the concept of the Split Attraction Model was homophobic and people who flooded the ace and aro tags with porn and--

Well, you get the point.

But now a lot of people on this site don't know about ace culture and modern history, so here's some stuff you should know about:

The Asexuality Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) was started in 2001 by asexuality activist David Jay as a forum and educational space about asexuality.

A Carnival of Aces, which is a monthly blogging carnival on ace topics, has been taking place since May 2011 and has included such topics as coming out, non-traditional relationships styles and polyamory, asexual education (which I hosted), and labels and microlabels.

The Split Attraction Model is one model for talking about sexual and romantic orientation that splits out those two orientations, allowing individuals to describe sexual attraction/orientation as distinct from romantic orientation (e.g., aromantic bisexual, heteroromantic grey-asexual). While this model is primarily used by people on the ace and aro spectrums, it can be used by anyone who wants to discuss or describe sexual orientation as being separate from romantic orientation.

The AVEN triangle (or asexuality triangle) is a black and white or greyscale triangle that originated from taking the Kinsey scale and extending it down into another axis to address/acknowledge the range of attraction between what's on the Kinsey scale (allosexuality) and no sexual attraction (asexuality). It's generally presented as white at the horizontal line at the top and then black at the point at the bottom, often with a gradation of shades of grey down to the bottom.

Microlabels are specific (sometimes very narrow) labels for sexualities, romantic orientations, and genders. While these are not aro- or ace-specific, they were often associated with those communities because there was a culture of having nuanced conversations about narrow definitions, often by people couldn't find something that fit their experience in the standard L, G, B, or T lexicon. Demiromantic/demisexual, cupioromantic/cupiosexual, and quoiromantic/quoisexual are all examples of micro-labels.

The ace ring, a black ring worn on the middle finger of the right hand (generally) is a symbol of asexuality that some ace people wear. It originated on AVEN in 2005 when people were looking for a symbol that was rather covert.

Cake has also been an ace symbol, mostly from the idea that ace people agree that cake is better than sex. It used to be common to see a drawing of a cake with the ace flag colors.

The ace of (heart/spades/clubs/diamonds) has at times been used as a symbol for different ace spectrum/aro spectrum combinations. Ace of hearts is generally agreed on as alloromantic asexual and ace of spades as aromantic asexual (aroace or aro/ace). Ace of clubs is sometimes for grey-romantic asexual and ace of diamonds sometimes for demiromantic asexual, but those are less common.

Dragons were also associated with the ace community, at least on Tumblr. I'm less certain where this one came from (theories include that they're mythological creatures the way ace people are seen to be or that it's because there were headcanons that Charlie Weasley was ace).

[hecateisalesbian]

The Pride of June: Aromantic

Todays art piece (bottom) was created by @zedleaked. Please go check out their blog and show support!

Scroll to the bottom for a message from our Tumblr User!

The Aromantic Flag is the Flag used to describe someone who experiences little to no romantic attraction. This IS NOT the same as asexual. Someone who is Aromantic can still feel the desire to have sexual relationships.

Fun History Fact: They first recorded use of the word Aromantic was said as joke by someone trying to explain they have no desire to be in a relationship

Tumblr User: @zedleaked, and @boilinghotsoupandcrackers (who is aroace)

Media characters: Lilith Clawthrone from The Owl House is aroace, Peridot from Steven Universe is aroace, Percival King from Epithet Erased is asexual and implied aromantic, Howie Honeyglow from Epithet Erased is aroace, Kusuo Saiki from the Disastrous Life of Saiki K is aroace. Unfortunately, aromantic people are very underrepresented and aroace representation in general is very limited. It can be seen that there aren’t any characters in media yet that are alloaro [people who can feel sexual attraction but not romantic attraction] which is a little unfortunate, we can only hope by spreading awareness about aromanticism that one day we may be represented more in media. (Written by @zedleaked)

Why the colors? Green and light green represents the aromantic spectrum, White represents platonic love and friendships, and Gray and black represents the spectrum of different sexualities

Where can I find the calendar? The calendar is my pinned post on my blog @hecateisalesbian! This will be occurring all throughout June, and tags such as #The Pride of June and #PoJ Project can be used to find my post

Special Message

”What does being aromantic mean: Aromantic is an umbrella term for people who do not feel romantic attraction or do not feel it most of the time. Romantic attraction is the desire to have a romantic interaction with another and potentially be in a romantic relationship with another. Aromantic people can be asexual at the same time or can just be standalone aromantic.

Fun history fact: The term aromantic started being used in 2005. There was an aromantic community formed on the AVEN: The Asexual Visibility & Education Network which was a community centred around asexuality. Guess these two really do go hand in hand!

Personal Experience: To break the professional language for a sec, figuring out whether you are aromantic or not is hard, especially if you are not asexual as well. When I was figuring myself out I often found that I never really developed crushes on others and that made me feel weird since romance is so mainstream and talked about and for some reason I don’t feel these weird butterflies in my stomach or something? I guess I’m just weirdo! Sure, I can find people attractive and cute but I didn’t feel that romantic feeling. As a kid I would try and just scan other kids in my class to try and figure out if they’d be a good partner. I didn’t know that there had to be some kind of feeling to get in a relationship with someone. I just thought people would go ‘hey this person is nice and cute, I will be their partner!’ but that’s definitely not how it works. I would find it hard to differentiate romantic and platonic love because I mean… love is love…? I mean some would say romantic love is doing stuff like cuddling, holding hands, kissing, hugging… but you can also do that platonically, right? There’s just that extra step in romantic love that I just can’t see because I can’t experience that extra step. There are moments where I think I feel love but I realise that at the time I was just really eager to be their friend as I get very excited when meeting someone like me but if I really thought about if I would be in a romantic relationship with that person… the answer would probably be no. Some aromantics can feel lonely as they can’t feel romantic love and they don’t have the desire to devote their life to a person, but remember that you still have those platonic relationships and they can be just as strong if not stronger than romantic ones, nothing is better than hanging out with a really awesome friend. If you believe you’re on the aromantic spectrum but are unsure, try doing some research for yourself as there are many terms under the umbrella that may fit you! Demiromantic for example is when you only feel romantic love when close to someone or grey-romantic is when you feel fluctuating levels of romantic love but as a whole barely experience it”.

[jasper-graphics]

Queer dividers part two, this one covering common sexualities and romantic orientations.

In order: gay masc (aka Achillean), lesbian (both 7 and 5 color versions), poly, aroace, grey asexual, asexual, aromantic (all green hearts and green, grey, and black hearts), bi (purple hearts and no purple hearts), and pan.

If you want to see another flag in the next queer divider batch, let me know in an ask (and check the queer tag on my blog to see if I've done it yet)!

Please remember to like and reblog this post if you save these!

[werelosingdaylight]

RULES AND

REGULATIONS

I MAY BE FORGETTING SOME THINGS AND THINGS WILL BE ADDED ONTO THIS IN THE FUTURE BUT FOR NOW THESE ARE MY RULES! Including: normal requesting rules and Mini AU requesting rules!

All readers are welcomed! <3

Do NOT request the same thing multiple times unless tumblr eats the request! It will not make me write any faster.

You can send requests in both my ask box and my messages! Anonymous is always on incase you wish to remain unknown!

You can make as many requests as you want as long as they are not the same thing!

NO HATE SPEECH OF ANY KIND!

IF I write something Offensive it was not on purpose and I am so sorry! Please let me know so I can fix my mistake. I appreciate your feed back and I’m always looking to become better!

IF I forget to tag a trigger warning/or you get triggered by something I write please let me know!! I want the readers to know what they are getting into before reading.

Genres I will write include: Angst, Fluff, Romance, Mystery, Horror, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Comedy/Crack, Adventure, Alternate Universe, LGBTQ+, and Smut! I am not completely used to writing smut so I apologize if it is not very good!

Length of writing: One-shot, Two-Shot, Three-Shot, Longfic, Multi Chapter, Imagine, Drabble, Blurb, Bullet point, Preferences/reactions, Ficlet! Please let me know which you want in your request!

Requesting a part two, I love when people like my work enough to want a part two; especially if it’s a work I am proud of, when it comes to requesting a part two it depends on two main things. If multiple people want a part two, or if I already have a part two planned, then I will most likely be working on it very soon. If only, say one person, wants a part two; or I have no muse for it, I won’t write a part two.

Feel free to send in VERY detailed requests! It gives me more to go off of in what you wish to see in the writing piece! I would prefer detailed requests, but if you only know a few details you wish to include that is more than fine too!

I do NOT write C!Character x C!Character, unless it is a polyamorous relationship!

If I am uncomfortable with your request I have every right to deny said request, without giving you a reason. You will need to take your request to another blog that is comfortable writing it.

I do sometimes forget to add a character to my ‘List of Characters’ if you don’t see a show character that you are interested in making a request for, send in an ask and I will respond to it as soon as I am free!

I try to write characters as canon as possible unless it is an AU!

I will NOT write smut for characters that are minors!!

WHAT I WILL WRITE!

Disabled Readers: Now, with Disabilities I would love if you were specific on what kind, It may take me a while to write because I will be doing research into the disability, I would like to make it as accurate as possible for anyone/everyone reading my works!

LGBTQ+ Readers: ALL SEXUALITIES ARE WELCOME ONTO MY PAGE!! I am an Asexual!Demiromantic!Lesbian Myself and I notice how they’re aren’t many fan-fictions out there including Asexuals, Aromantic, Demiromantic, Demisexual, Omnisexual, Omniromantic, Etc… So, I want everyone to feel included in my writing pieces!

ALL GENDER readers: Gender fluid, Agender, Male, Female, Androgyne, Bigender, Transgender, Etc… YOU ARE ALL WELCOME AND VALID!! If you have a set of Neo-Pronouns you would like for me to use in a writing piece let me know.

Neurodivergent, Chronically Ill, and Mentally Ill readers: If you have a specific request including any of these and you want it to be Specific to you/your situation then Please let me know, I wish to make it as accurate as possible for you!

ALL SIZES OF READERS: Plus Size, Smaller readers, People who never really fit in either of the categories, All of you are beautiful and I love you!

POC Readers: If you are a person of color and wish to make a request to where they are described physically please tell me! I want everyone to be included in my writing!

Age-Gaps: As long as they are both consenting adults then I am comfortable writing age gaps. They will be tagged in the warnings because age-gaps make some people uncomfortable, which is perfectly understandable!

THINGS I WILL NOT WRITE!

Rape/Non-con: This one is self explanatory! If it’s part of the readers past in a flash back it can be hinted at but I won’t actually write it!

Pedophilia/grooming: Absolutely Not. This is N O T allowed on my page at all. Once again If it’s part of the readers past in a flash back it can be hinted at but I won’t actually write it!

Certain Kinks: There are certain Kinks I cannot bring myself to write such as; Piss Kink, Degradation kink, Electrostimulation, Etc… there is nothing wrong if you like these kinks but I genuinely cant bring myself to write them.

Philias I won’t write: Vorarephilia, Zoophilia, Coprophilia, Necrophilia, Etc…

SUBMISSIVE READERS!! This is nothing against Subs but I can not write submissive readers very well as I am not one.

RULES FOR THE MINI UNIVERSES

If it is set in a specific place; College, Neighborhood, Etc… then that is the place it will stay!

If the reader has a specific title; Mistress, Master, Mommy, Etc… it will all be set in different universes, You can not be called Mommy/Mistress in the same universe.

All Genres are welcomed in the requests!

Requests for these universes are always open.

[moremysteriesthantragedies]

FAI

Rating: PG-14 | Genre: Horror, Mystery | POV: 3rd person limited

As he noticed the cold, silver shovels sat to the side, prepared and waiting to commit their lurid dance, he began to wonder what she had done to deserve this.

Book One Synopsis

Struggling with the death of his mom and the odd reactions of the adults around him, little Matthew feels all alone in this world. That is, until a FAI, a toy put out of production after a factory incident, mysteriously breaks into his house. He names the toy Shapey, and finds the toy has more personality than he bargained for. In fact, sooner rather than later, he finds himself with a lot of friends. They always appear late at night, without warning, and seem to have a keen interest in the young boy and each other. As the nights go on, Matthew learns the hard way that the FAI might not be the only creatures infiltrating his house, and that there might be more going on with the adults than he originally thought. By the way...where are all these FAI coming from anyway?

Taglists

Wip Update Tag list: Ask to be added!

Worldbuilding Taglist: Ask to be added!

Trigger Warnings

Book One: Child endangerment, death, and themes of death throughout, monsters, evil toys, parent death, child neglect, trauma, fear, entrapment, and survival.

Book Two: TBD

Themes: Death and loss, denial, growing up, found family, discussion of anxiety, trauma, and children being wrongfully ignored.

Tropes: Adorable critters, creepy toys, a kid having to survive, no one believing the kid, animal companion, vague adults, and horror monster.

Characters

Matthew Williams

Affiliation: Adopted son of Lisa and Joan. Theme Song: She Doesn't Sleep by Anthony Amorim

Age: 6-18 Star Sign: N/A Personality Type: ISFP Pronouns: He/they Orientation: Demiromantic asexual Height: 5'6"

The son of Lisa and Joan. A shy and socially anxious though kind child, his case is known for single-handedly causing the FAI fad and horror stories on the internet. In his youth, he has a love for dinosaurs and animals of all kind, especially the FAI, who he sees as real, living beings. As an adult, his creativity in youth shows itself in his passion for inventing and design, following in the footsteps of his dead mother Joan.

“Okay, Mr. Giggles.”

Shapey

Affiliation: Prototype FAI Theme Song: Not A Crime To Smile by The Make Believe

Age: 24 Star Sign: N/A Personality Type: ISTP Pronouns: It/its Orientation: Aromantic asexual Height: The top of its ears reach the bottom of a child's knees.

A FAI given to Matthew by Zeke as a gift, Unbeknownst to both him and Lisa, it broke out of its box. Often described by Matthew as being mischievous, rude, and yet oddly skittish. Refuses to let Matthew pick it up and very rarely responds or reacts to him. Still it stays close to the child most of the time. Unlike the other FAI, it has more of an angelic appearance with a more lion-like tail and feathery wings.

"What are you doing?"

Joan Williams

Affiliation: Matthew's dead mom who also appears to have a connection to Zeke, as he knew her and the family. Theme Song: N/A

Age: Died in her early 30s. Star Sign: Leo♌ Personality Type: ESFP Pronouns: She/her Orientation: Lesbian homoromantic Height: 5'9"

Matthew's mom, who died mysteriously after taking the night shift at her work. Matthew recalls she had come home looking quite serious before then, discussed something with Lisa, and then rushed out. She was energetic, creative, and eccentric, have a knack for creating wonderful things and connecting to her inner child.

"That’s why green is such an amazing color. It’s a perfect mix between sad and happy. See?"

Lisa Williams

Affiliation: Matthew's mother and Joan's wife. Theme Song: N/A

Age: In her early 30s-late 30s Star Sign: Aries♈ Personality Type: ISFJ Pronouns: She/her Orientation: Lesbian homoromantic Height: 5'7"

The surviving parent of Matthew, who is often judged by the adults around her for going out at late hours and mysteriously not returning home at times. She does not tell anyone, not even her own son what she goes out for, usually just saying its work as a cover. She is the more down to Earth parent, though absolutely loves her son and treats him very kindly. Unfortunately, she often is too busy to actually listen to his concerns.

"I know what I saw! Would you just listen?"

Zeke Atum Quotidian

Affiliation: Is involved with Atum Electronics, the toy company that FAI come from. Theme Song: Business Man by Mother Mother

Age: 26-38 Star Sign: N/A Personality Type: ESTJ Pronouns: He/him Orientation: Straight heterosexual Height: 5'9"

Friend to the Williams family with a connection to Atum Electronics. He gifted Matthew a FAI despite them being delayed, and appears to be doing his best to help Lisa during these times. Matthew doesn't like him, noting that he doesn't seem to listen very well to Lisa and smiles too much for his tastes.

"You see, your friend here is a prototype. It was the first FAI ever made. There never was one quite like it, and there never will be again. Isn’t that right little guy?"

Updates

Book one

Update One | Update Two | Update Three | Update Four |

Book Two



Snippets

(Scenes written for fun and do not completely reflect the final project.)

Other Links

[spnpridemonth]

hey there friends!! we’d like to introduce you to spnprideweek! this is a fan-led event to celebrate queer stories and characters in supernatural! it will run from june 13 to june 19. here are our prompts for each day with some ideas to get you started:

day 1: coming out / flags — coming out is pretty self explanatory, and can be as taken as literal as you’d like! what’s their story? how did the people around them react? are they coming out in terms of sexuality or gender or both? etc etc. flags is also up to interpretation, you can use the flag colors from different pride flags, explore red flags, play flag football—entirely up to you! [sunday, june 13]

day 2: mlm / pride — men loving men refers to any relationships that are between men or any characters that are mlm. pride is another open-ended prompt: what does ‘pride’ mean to you? what does it mean to these characters/how do they show pride? or, if you desire, this prompt can broadly refer to being proud or taking pride in something! [monday, june 14]

day 3: trans / acceptance — trans is a prompt specific to work about non-binary, genderfluid, and trans characters and/or their relationships. acceptance might refer to self-acceptance journeys or even coming out stories. again, quite open ended! [tuesday, june 15]

day 4: wlw / supporting characters — women loving women can showcase the awesome queer women on supernatural and their growth as characters, their relationships with others, or anything else you’d like to showcase. you can also show some love to the supporting characters not explored fully by the show. one episode wonders? one season stars? flesh them out or highlight their scenes! remember that you are of course welcome to use these characters for any other prompts as well! [wednesday, june 16]

day 5: found family / fun — found family: who are the important people that surround your character(s)? how do they support each other? how did they become family? you can easily tie this prompt into fun, or just run with ‘fun’ on its own and explore what your character(s) might do to let loose ! [thursday, june 17]

day 6: aroace / queer poc — day six allows creators to make content surrounding aromantic or asexual characters! you can combine this with queer poc if you so desire (e.g max banes, kaia nieves, whoever else you headcanon), but the second prompt is geared specifically towards queer poc characters and/or their relationships! [friday, june 18]

this day runs adjacent to @spnpocweek 's creator weekend (18th-20th) which will be boosting content from poc and about poc characters or relationships! be sure to check it out!

day 7: free space / free space [saturday, june 19]

* the ideas listed above are just to get you brainstorming! feel free to be as creative and interpretive of the prompts as you would like!

rules/info:

two prompts are provided for each day for flexibility's sake. feel free to combine them or choose whichever ones suit your fancy!!

you do not have to participate in every day of this event.

headcanons and canon are both welcome!

in addition to the prompts listed above, this entire week our blog will be open for you tell us your queer or gender-related stories! these can range from personal anecdotes to how the show and/or its characters helped with your coming out or understanding yourself, or anything else that you feel comfortable sharing. we’ll be posting these all week, so feel free to send us an ask (either on anon or off), submission, or tag us in your posts!

remember to use our tag #spnprideweek and/or tag us @/spnprideweek to make sure we see it and can reblog!

NO wincest or incest of any kind will be accepted. NO rpf ships or nsfw works will be reblogged on the spnprideweek blog, since this event is open to minors.

Thanks for your understanding, and if you have any questions, be sure to send us an ask!

& finally — check out @transnaturalweek from the 22nd-28th of this month!! in collaboration with those at transnaturalweek, you are able to resubmit any content made from spnprideweek to transnaturalweek by tagging them in your work on the appropriate/corresponding days of their event!

[asexual-society]

Prompt #5 We want to hear about your experiences with the a-spec community! Write about any online forums you’ve joined, or your favorite online or in-person groups. What have your experiences with a-spec communities been? Are there any particular experiences, good or bad, that stick out to you? How has the presence or absence of community impacted your experiences? Do you have any dreams of what the a-spec community could be like in the future? Feel free to write about anything that comes to mind!

Those who wish to respond are free to do so as a reply to the post, a reblog with their addition, an ask sent to the blog, a submission sent to the blog, tagging asexual-society in a post of their own, whatever way they are comfortable! And don't worry; if you would like to respond to a prompt even if it's not the most recent one, go ahead! We just want to celebrate this Pride Month by generating some community discussion and pride! The tag for this event will be "pride month with asexual-society" the tag for this specific prompt is "a-s aspec community" This is one of nine Pride Month Prompts that @asexual-society will be posting & interacting with followers and our communities about this month! Prompts are released on Tuesdays and Saturdays throughout June.

Click here to see previous prompts: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [image description: A dark grey infographic, the top of which reads “aspec community” in all-caps yellow font. The middle shows two simple graphics: on the left are three individuals wearing outfits the colors of the asexual flag, and on the right are two hands holding up the aromantic flag. The bottom reads “pride month prompts” in rainbow cursive font, and “asexual-society” in all-caps white font. /end id.]

[arotechno]

Jughead (2015), Issues 9-11: Discussion and Commentary

This brings us to the first arc written by Ryan North, who saw that the aroace Jughead train had left the station and simply could not resist tagging along for the ride. If you’ve followed anything about Jughead as a character at all, then you’ve probably seen many screenshots from these three issues before. It’s the Sabrina arc (that’s right, as in the teenage witch)!

I have a lot of analysis at the end of this one, so buckle up!

The gang ends up at Pop’s, as usual, where Jughead meets the shop’s new mascot, a talking burger lady. Jughead is, unsurprisingly, thrown off his game by this. After all, burgers are his one true love, but girls? He doesn’t really have an interest in them. It’s a confusing moment for him, and when his friends witness this, well… they assume he’s got a crush on her.

This is an iconic page in the “aro Jughead” canon. Here we have Betty trying really hard to be a good friend and doing what in her mind is the best for him, trying to help him through what she and the others perceive as his first crush. Jughead, meanwhile, is diving headfirst into a spiral of confusion (and later, discomfort) at the idea of having any sort of interest in another person.

I want to give my utmost respect to Ryan North for explicitly having Jughead say that he doesn’t get crushes. It’s not the only time that North does this during this arc, and I think it makes all the difference between making this awkward and relatable rather than making it seem like Jughead is being stripped of or “cured” of being aro.

Betty pushes Jughead to talk to Sabrina (the burger lady—it’s Sabrina), and after a while of running into each other day in and day out as Jughead frequents Pop’s on a regular basis, they strike up a friendship. Jughead has gotten what he wanted—to be friends with the cool burger lady—and he seems genuinely satisfied.

…But unfortunately, things do not go as planned for Jughead. The next time they see each other, Sabrina asks Jughead out. And Jughead, in true stereotypical oblivious aro fashion, agrees, without realizing until it is much, much too late that what he has just agreed to is a date. Like, a real date.

If you think about it, Jughead has probably never been asked on a real date before. And this is something I ABSOLUTELY would have done (and may still do today, if I’m completely honest with myself) as a teenager. Jughead’s immediate regret is so palpable here, and so relatable to me as an aromantic.

In his panic, Jughead turns to his friends for help. They are… not helpful. They’re trying to be helpful, sure, but whereas Jughead doesn’t really seem to want to go through with this at all, his friends are more set on giving him romantic advice (with varying degrees of usefulness). Jughead really has to go out of his way to defend himself and insists on multiple occasions that he thinks the girl in the burger costume is cool and interesting, but that he doesn’t like-like her, he doesn’t even really know her!

Unfortunately for Jughead, he ends up going on the date. And who does he call for help? His only other openly queer friend (I say openly because let’s be real with ourselves, none of those kids are cishet), Kevin Keller.

And okay, this scene with Kevin is genuinely kind of funny. You get the impression that Kevin has had a lot of practice dealing with straight bullshit, and that he’s more than a little disappointed that Jughead’s “big emergency” turned out to be something this totally mundane and not worth his time.

Ultimately, Kevin is also super not helpful, even after Jughead steals his phone in an attempt to get him to come to the table and diffuse the awkward situation Jughead has found himself in. So Jughead resorts to what I can only assume is plan Z, which is to call Archie for backup.

Only semi-related, I really love the way Ryan North writes conversations between these two. It just feels really genuine and believable. And anyway, I don’t know what Jughead was expecting, but resident himbo Archie Andrews is of no help to him, and only ends up making things a hell of a lot worse.

This leads to Sabrina rushing off to the bathroom and casting multiple spells to try to get Jughead to at least play along, if not outright fall in love with her, all of which fail spectacularly and only end up making her far angrier with him. I don’t blame her for being upset—the date was a total disaster, and right at the moment Jughead was about to be honest with her, Archie showed up and made things worse. Sabrina storms out, and vows that she’ll get revenge on Jughead for this, somehow.

All of Sabrina’s subsequent spells on Jughead also backfire. She tries to make him fail his classes, and he passes with flying colors; she tries to make him spend the whole day with resident asshole Reggie, but he ends up befriending him against all odds. She even ends up unleashing a giant eldritch horror by accident, and—well, that’s not important.

In the end, Jughead decides to make things right. He never meant to hurt Sabrina, and she seems to be in a tough spot, having just moved to town, so he brings her some food as a peace offering and explains what really happened. And Sabrina is… surprisingly receptive, in fact more receptive than Jughead’s friends were when he came to them for help, despite the fact that this is something they should already understand about him. Being upset with Jughead wasn’t doing her any favors, so Sabrina already seems to be at peace with what happened and is more than willing to forgive him and be his friend despite all that transpired between them.

This is a really great scene. There’s a nuance to it—the way Jughead acted on their date was unfair, both to Sabrina and to himself. He needed to be honest from the beginning, but instead, he just kept trying to escape. At the same time, Sabrina gets it, and it wasn’t very cool of her to try to use magic to get what she wanted, either (not that Jughead knows she did that).

Jughead helps Sabrina re-enroll in her old school and quit her job at Pop’s to move back in with her aunts, so that she can live out the rest of her teenage years the way she’s supposed to. Afterwards, Sabrina and Jughead both seem really happy, and thus volume two ends on a positive, quiet note.

I really like this arc, for the reasons I’ve already stated and more. It’s funny and awkward and endearing (I say that a lot about this series, don’t I?), and it portrays a realistic and relatable aromantic problem without it being aboutaromanticism. It’s more about Jughead being honest about his feelings and making a new friend than about Jughead being aro, even though that contextualizes the situation. A great deal of the series is about that—Jughead being honest with himself and others. In the first arc, it’s Jughead shaking off a persona of apathy. In the second, it’s Jughead being honest with Archie about their friendship and the way Archie’s behavior has been making him feel. Here, it’s about Jughead being honest about who he is at his core, and accepting it about himself—and Sabrina accepts it, too, no questions asked. Even if he never says “I’m aromantic,” the sentiment is there plain as day, and it’s a refreshing beat for the story to land on.

That said, I do have a bone to pick with this arc. There’s a line in the sand here between Zdarsky and North. In the last arc, we saw Zdarsky portray that really subtle but meaningful interaction between Archie and Jughead, in which Archie seems not only keenly aware of Jughead being aromantic—even without the word—but also tacitly supportive of him, such that he knows immediately when he’s crossed a line. Here, we see Ryan North take a bit of a step back from that, such that Archie may be aware of Jughead’s orientation but seems way too quick to assume all that’s changed the moment there’s even a sliver of possibility that Jughead has a crush. That’s the reality of having different writers stepping in to interpret the same characters in loosely connected stories like this, but it still bothers me. I prefer Zdarsky’s style of storytelling in general, but in particular I also prefer his portrayal of Archie, as much as Ryan North’s on-the-nose aro moments and undying love for Reggie make me very happy. As a whole, nobody ever stops to ask Jughead what he wants, they only tell him what they think Sabrina wants. Jughead says so himself:

I suppose one could make the argument that Jughead’s friends, or even Jughead himself, are only really aware of the asexual bit (if at all—for all we know Veronica and Reggie have no idea, for example) and that’s why they don’t only never mention aromanticism but also sometimes seem ignorant of it. It’s possible that the aro side of Jughead’s orientation is still something he doesn’t have the words for, despite it being a truth he knows about himself, and in fact I think that would have been an interesting angle to take, had this series continued beyond 15 issues. But what I have an issue with isn’t so much the fact that Jughead’s friends are unhelpful (because let’s be real, sadly a lot of us have been there), but the fact that never are they asked to apologize for pushing him to do something he so clearly didn’t want to do. Whether he or they know he’s aromantic or not, he was clearly uncomfortable with the idea of going on this date—and not just due to a lack of experience. I would have liked it had Archie, or Betty, or Kevin apologized, or even once asked him what he really wanted. Betty comes the closest, by talking it out with him in the first place, but even she still earnestly pushes him to go through with the date anyway.

Anyway, there are two arcs left for me to discuss, and frankly I’m not as enthused by either of them as I was for these past three, for a variety of reasons. The Ryan North train continues for one more arc, and then it’s on to Mark Waid and Ian Flynn’s big finish. Those two updates might come a little slower. Until then, I was going to include a compilation of Jughead looking uncomfortable, but I've only got one image slot left thanks to tumblr, so instead I leave you with this:

Same, Jughead. Huge same.

[gay-otlc]

Keepers Of The Chaos (3)

Summary: Tam, Linh, Dex, Keefe, Biana, and Fitz are part of the tiny fandom for Keeper of the Chaos, and Tam and Linh’s podcast convinces some of their other friends to watch it as well. The group finds themselves strangely invested in this show, where students at Tumblr High School who work together to write about an elf named Sophia, cause incomprehensible chaos, and fight their rival Pinterest High School.

Content warnings: Cursing, religion (Jewish Vackers), and Amsterdam (just in case, I know that was stressful for some people).

Word count: 1621

Notes: Most of the episodes are just events stolen from Lynn's roundup, Dex's memes are here

(Read on AO3)

The life of an amateur meme maker on dumbles dot com was a strange one, that was for sure. After finishing xyr favorite show- Ze-Ra: Monaerchs of Powhir- for the third time, Dex had searched for another show to fill the void in xyr soul. Biana recommended this show called "Keepers of the Chaos" and described it to xem. Xe was doubtful at first, but after watching the first episode, xe was hooked.

Xe used to not have many friends at xyr school, so xe did what every neurodivergent queer teen would do- made an account on dumbles dot com. People seemed to like xem- or at least, they liked dizznee-plus's memes and edits of Ze-Ra characters. Even after Dex befriended xyr squish, Fitz, thons sister, Biana, and aer girlfriend, Sophie, xe continued making content on dumbles. Around that time, the Ze-Ra fandom started dying off, and xyr memes started getting fewer note

In a sudden, two am burst of inspiration, Dex made edits of some of xyr favorite characters, like Ref, Akki, and Rose, with their respective pride flags (all of them bi) over them, and captioned it "we must be gay." The post blew up, or at least, what could be considered blowing up in Keeper of the Chaos's tiny fandom, and that was how Dex found xyr calling as an amateur meme/edit maker for KOTC.

History had been repeating itself, with the KOTC fandom starting to die off, until it was revived by an announcement from creator Saturn Nolastname- a season two would be released soon. Frantically, Dex made a meme about season one episode two, with the car salesman meme. Xe edited "chaos keepers" onto the car salesman, "the rarelynoticed" on the car, and "this bad boy can fit so many stripper outfits into it."

That had been... an interesting episode, to say the least. The chaos keepers had been talking about the antagonists of "Sophie and the Dark Duck"- a rebel group called the Rarelynoticed. In the information packet they'd been given, it was confirmed that the Rarelynoticed wore black cloaks and armbands, but no other clothes had been mentioned. Somehow, the chaos keepers came to the conclusion that the Rarelynoticed really wore neon pink leotards and green stripper heels, then drew this idea.

Needless to say, the Tumblr staff did not let them write that into the book. Nor did Lynn, the unofficially chosen leader of the group. Unfortunately for her, this didn't stop the chaos keepers from drawing more of these- or the fandom from making a ton of memes. In addition to the car salesman meme, a post with Drake saying no to "wearing normal fucking villain outfits" and yes to "leotards and stripper heels" gained popularity within the small fandom.

Though nothing could match the absolute shock of seeing the Rarelynoticed stripper outfit for the first time, Dex decided to rewatch the episode anyway- it was funny to see the chaos keepers freak out, and maybe xe could get some good screen captures. The good Saturn Nolastname indulged xem, and xe captured an excellent scene of most of the chaos keepers either laughing or screaming at the Rarelynoticed stripper outfits, with Kimber- one of xyr favorites- sitting on the side, explaining to Juno and Kaitee why Bianca Cracker was bisexual.

Xe went over to dumbles, posted the picture, added an image description, and captioned it "Live photo of me not caring when my friends talk about sex/romance." Xe chuckled to xemself- this really was how it felt to be aroace. Xe tagged it as aromantic and asexual as well, since dumbles added flag colors. Smiling, xe went to go check xyr notifications.

Xyr jaw dropped when xe saw that @lordofthesnuggles- Fitzroy (Dex didn't know thons middle name) Vacker thonself had liked and reblogged all three of xyr memes, even adding compliments in the tags! Xe'd had a bit of a platonic crush on Fitz for... a really long time, but xe always felt too awkward to talk to thon, so it was nice to see that thon appreciated xyr humor.

Feeling energized- and excited to procrastinate on xyr math homework- Dex went to watch the next episode: Dark Duck Is Jewish Now. Being Jewish xemself, this was a really funny episode to xem.

Lynn had been writing a sort of spinoff- it would be called fanfiction, but it was for her own story- about some of the Dark Duck characters celebrating Christmas, and added a throwaway line about Bianca and Finn Cracker celebrating Hanukkah. Then, her fiance, Shai, had taken that idea and run with it, writing a list of ideas about what would happen if the Cracker family was Jewish. Hir friend Sam had jumped on the idea, and soon they had abandoned writing the actual Dark Duck in favor of writing a story about Jewish Dark Duck characters. Some of the other Jewish chaos keepers, like Ref and Cat, helped out.

To be honest, it kind of surprised Dex that no one had made a joke about the Jewish Crackers just being matzah, so xe supposed xe would have to be the first.

Xe posted that observation, quickly getting a like from Fitz- which made xem smile. After a few minutes, Dex posted another meme: Shai and Sam standing in front of a door with a sign that read "elves don't have religion," and them saying "This sign won't stop me, because I can't read!"

It was accurate.

While that episode was great for Jewish representation, and funny, the Banana Noir episode was just plain weird.

It focused less on the Dark Duck than most of the other episodes, and was more about the crazy interactions of the chaos keepers. The episode was named for Banana Noir, who was really Cat Noir, but in a banana suit. Banana Noir was the son of Mellie, who looked like a shark, and Nora, who had platonically married faer. The mothers tried to arrange a marriage between him and Akki, who loved the side characters of the Dark Duck series. However, Akki wanted to marry Amelia. After a lot of shit that basically no one understood, Banana Noir's attempts were thwarted, and Lynn officiated the wedding between Akki and Amelia.

Yeah, Dex had no idea what the fuck was going on either. Xe'd watched an episode of Twins of the Chaos and a youtube video by arsonpog analyzing the Banana Noir chronicles, as it had been dubbed by the chaos keepers, and both expert opinions seemed to agree that Saturn Nolastname and the rest of the writers had probably been on crack when they made that episode.

The next episode made slightly more sense, though it was a low bar. After taking a break from the "official" Dark Duck story, the chaos keepers began collectively writing a Cinderella story about the characters Sophia and Bianca. People weren't allowed to be queer in the official story, but the chaos keepers still wanted to have fun with their obviously gay characters.

Even to the viewers of the show, who only received secondhand information about the Dark Duck characters, knew there was no way any of them, let alone all of them, were allocishet. The exact identities weren't entirely clear- when Dex had made edits of the characters' official art and xyr headcanons for their pride flags, a few people had disagreed- but both the chaos keepers and the fandom knew that despite what Shannon said, Sophia and Bianca were in love, and their Cinderella story should have made it in to the official Dark Duck story.

While excerpts of the Cinderella story were quoted in the show, most of it was left unclear, so Biana had taken it upon aerself to write aer own version of it. Dex was expecting an update later  that day, actually, or maybe the next. Ae wasn't always 100% reliable with aer update schedule. Still, Dex looked forward to when it eventually did come.

After the brief calmness from the Sophianca Cinderella episode, season one episode six, Amsterdam, exploded back into chaos. A few of the chaos keepers decided to discuss a fake scene in the book in which crazy shit went down, with the scene supposedly being located in Amsterdam. It had never been written and was never going to be, but everyone discussed it like it was real. Some of the highlights involved all the Dark Duck girls having swords (and the chaos keepers being gay for them), and a speedboat chase scene through the canals. Fitz had a popular theory that the chaos keepers would actually travel to Amsterdam in order to commemorate this crazy part of their lives. Almost as popular as that was a meme Dex made, with a man labeled "chaos keepers discussing amsterdam" and gesturing feverishly to a wall covered in papers and red string.

Of course, episode seven (Dark Duck Disney) was chaotic too. Everything was chaotic with this group, it was in the title. Shannon announced that the winning Dark Duck story would be adapted into a Disney movie. After past experience with terrible book to movie adaptations, the chaos keepers panicked. They panicked so much that it became major news within their school, which until then, had been largely ignoring the chaos keepers. Once the discussion about the movie settled down, they talked a lot about how in awe they were that their Dark Duck shenanigans were trending within the school.

But of course, none of that compared to the last episode of the season...

Dex changed xyr profile picture to include an ominous pair of teal eyes and sighed.

[bluejayblueskies]

philautia

n. a love based on deep connection to one’s well-being and built upon a love for one’s self; a centered wholeness

Words: 2.3k

Fandom: The Magnus Archives

Relationship: Sasha James & Tim Stoker & Martin Blackwood & Jonathan Sims, Past Tim Stoker/Sasha James, Minor Jonathan Sims/Martin Blackwood

Characters: Tim Stoker, Martin Blackwood, Jonathan Sims, Sasha James

Additional Tags: AU - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff and Humor, Statement Fic (but not in the way you expect!), Aromantic and Asexual Characters, Implied/Referenced Homophobia (very minor), Implied/Referenced Arophobia (also very minor)

Summary:

SASHA

So, according to Tim, I’m supposed to be recording a statement on, quote, my “most swashbucklingest experience as an esteemed member of the LGBT community.” He left this recorder on my desk and stole my scone. Timothy Stoker, I will not forget that.

---

Statements of members of the archival staff at the Magnus Institute, London, regarding certain facets of their aspec identities. Statements compiled by Timothy Stoker on 10th June, 2016. For personal use only.

Ao3 link in reblogs

Or read below:

[CLICK]

 MARTIN

 —really don’t think this is necessary—

 TIM

 Aaaaand we’re recording!

 MARTIN

 (exasperated) Tim.

 TIM

 Oh, come on Martin, it’s more fun this way!

 [MARTIN MAKES A NOISE OF DISAGREEMENT]

 TIM

 You cannot look me in the eye and tell me that this doesn’t appeal to your, and I quote, “retro aesthetic.”

 MARTIN

 (reluctantly) It… might.

 TIM

 See! So it’s perfect!

 …

 [HE SIGHS]

 Obviously you don’t have to if you don’t want to, Martin. I just thought it might be nice—to have something to look back on when we’re all old and sick of each other, you know? Here, I can go first.

 MARTIN

 Tim, you don’t have to—

 TIM

 (overlapping, adopting the ‘Archivist’ voice) Statement of Timothy Stoker, regarding the first time he went to Pride with his brother, Danny. June 10th, 2016.

 (cheekily) Statement begins.

 TIM (STATEMENT)

 (in his normal voice) I realized I was into blokes too when I was 15, you know. Think it took me a while because of the whole ace thing, though that took me until I was in uni to really figure out. I was still fine with sex, you know, always enjoyed it when it came up, just… never really wanted it with anyone in particular. So I suppose I’d assumed for a while that the things I was feeling toward other guys weren’t romantic because I never had the sexual parts to go along with them. (with wry humor) Almost ruined a few relationships that way, actually.

 But I’m getting a bit off-topic. Can’t be one of those rambling statement givers Jon hates. God, I can see his face now, that thing he does with his nose—Martin, you know the one, the- the way it looks like he’s just smelled something really, really rank.

 MARTIN

 I thought you said you weren’t going to ramble.

 TIM

 Cheeky, cheeky. Okay, where was I. Right.

 TIM (STATEMENT)

 Mom and Dad weren’t real big on the whole bi thing, so the first time I got the chance to go to Pride was in uni. The first time I got the chance to go with Danny was after he turned 18 and got his first modeling gig. At least, I think he was already modeling back then. Point is, we were both out of the house, and Danny had been dying to go to Pride with me ever since I sent him pictures of me and Sasha eating an entire box of rainbow-colored donuts that first year. I’d figured out I was ace by then, but it had been pretty recent, so when we got there, I found one of the vendors selling those big flags you drape over your shoulders and got an ace one. Felt a bit weird having the ace flag instead of the bi one like the other years, but I had worn that pink, blue, and purple button-down Sasha got me for Christmas once, so overall, it felt all right.

 And Danny—god, he loved it. Pretty sure he ate his weight in fried food that day.

 [HE LAUGHS]

 Almost got the aro flag he’d borrowed from Sasha dirty, actually, when he—

 (quickly changes course) Ah, nothing! Sasha, if you’re listening to this, absolutely nothing happened to your flag, and I definitely did not have it laundered before I returned it to you.

 TIM

 Aaaaand that’s it! Statement ends, I guess.

 See—easy! (a bit more seriously) But really—you don’t have to record one if you don’t want to, Martin.

 MARTIN

 …

 No, I- I want to.

 TIM

 Are you sure? I don’t want you to do that thing where you just do something because you think someone else wants you to.

 MARTIN

 I do not—!

 …

 Okay, okay, fine. Point taken. But yeah, I- I’m sure.

 [RUSTLING AS THE TAPE RECORDER IS PASSED FROM TIM TO MARTIN]

 MARTIN

 (with an audible smile) Statement of, er, Martin Blackwood. Regarding… a crush. No, no, wait—god, that sounds so juvenile. Regarding himself, and a person who- er, someone whom he—

 [HE SIGHS]

 Fine. Regarding a crush. Statement given June 10th, 2016.

 Statement begins.

 MARTIN (STATEMENT)

 I’m always a little embarrassed to tell people that I’ve never dated anyone before? Okay, a- a lot embarrassed, actually. I try not to bring it up, but people will say things like, oh, you know how it is to shop for a partner or meeting her parents is definitely nerve-wracking—which is wrong on, er, two accounts, actually—and then I feel more awkward not telling them that I don’t know, actually, because I’ve never been in a relationship longer than a week or so. Then, they’ll get all sympathetic, like it’s some- some tragedy that I’m not involved with someone, and that’s worse, because then they’ll offer to set me up with people, or say that they don’t understand why I’m single because I’m a catch or whatever, and I have to give them some excuse about not interested at the moment.

 It’s not that, not really. Dates with strangers, they- they just never work out for me.

 I think I fall somewhere on the aromantic spectrum? I didn’t think about it much until Sasha mentioned it once over drinks—I think you were there, Tim, although you were (laughs) very drunk by that point. I told her I hadn’t had a crush on anyone since sixth form, and she threw around a bunch of terms. I- I honestly don’t really remember, it was kind of overwhelming and (laughs) I was also pretty drunk as well. But yeah, it… it sounds about right.

 (hesitantly, as if bracing himself for impact) So… this person. Who I, er. Recently, that is, who I…

 [HE CLEARS HIS THROAT]

 It’s really strange, that’s all. And a- a lot. I—heh—I don’t really know what to do about it.

 MARTIN

…

 Uh, statement ends? I guess? I, uh, don’t really have anything else to say. (jokingly) It’s not like there’s any, er, follow-up or whatever. (to Tim) Was- was that okay?

 TIM

 (audibly smiling) Yup! Most excellent, Marto. (more seriously) You felt okay, right?

 MARTIN

 (huh) Yeah. Yeah, I- I did. A bit nice, actually. (quickly) As- as long as this stays in the archives, though. It… it is staying in the archives, right?

 TIM

 Oh, definitely. Right next to the section on love potions, I think.

 MARTIN

 Tim!

 TIM

 (laughs) Yes, Martin, it’s staying in the archives. Pinkie promise. Just you, me, Sasha, and Jon. (in the tone of a man who knows a great secret and wants nothing more than to share it) Speaking of Jon—

 MARTIN

 (quickly) Uh, recording ends!

 TIM

 (undeterred) —is he the—?

 [CLICK]

.

 [CLICK]

 SASHA

 Right. So, according to Tim, I’m supposed to be recording a statement on, quote, my “most swashbucklingest experience as an esteemed member of the LGBT community.” He left this recorder on my desk and stole my scone. Timothy Stoker, I will not forget that. It was white chocolate raspberry, and I’m stealing the money it cost out of your wallet.

 …

 Anyway.

[SHE CLEARS HER THROAT]

 Statement of Sasha James, given 10th June 2016. Subject of statement is… hmm. Let’s say… (laughs) A brief relationship with one Timothy Stoker.

 Statement begins.

 SASHA (STATEMENT)

 Tim, I know you’re listening to this, and I just want to preface this by saying that yes, it was Italian that we had for dinner that night, not Greek. You’re thinking of a different friendship-turned-hookup-turned-awkward-aftermath-turned-friendship.

 [SHE LAUGHS QUIETLY]

 Anyway, I guess the best place to begin with this whole thing is by saying that I’ve known I was aro since I was 16 and that I’ve never been very good at talking about it. I’ve ended plenty of tried and failed relationships with the it’s-not-you-it’s-me talk because I didn’t know how to explain that I just… wasn’t interested in romance.

 I wanted to explain it to you beforehand, Tim, I really, really did. We’ve had this conversation, I know I know—I won’t rehash it over tape.

 [SHE SIGHS]

 But the important thing is that I like you so, so much, and—god, this is stupid—I guess maybe I thought that it wouldn’t matter with you? That you could like me romantically and I could like you platonically and it would be fine. Like I said, stupid, but you asked me out to that Italian place—yes, Italian, for god’s sake, I had the chicken parm and you had some sort of lasagna abomination—and I just… couldn’t say no. And it was nice, really. I had a lot of fun.

 And then we slept together. And… that was really nice. But then, the next morning, the… the guilt set in. Because I felt the same as I always had about you—which is to say that I loved you, just not in the same way you loved me—and I became convinced that I’d gone and ruined the whole thing.

 Ignoring you for a week was probably not the correct response. (quieter) Yeah, definitely not my finest moment. But I’d gotten it in my head that the moment I told you that I didn’t feel that way about you and that I would never feel that way about you—or about anyone—you’d hate me. And you don’t have to say that you’d never hate me—I know you wouldn’t. I think I knew it then, too. But fear is a powerful thing.

 …

 Anyway, you know how it all turned out. You finally dragged me out to coffee and I finally told you why I’d been avoiding you and it was really, really awkward for about a month after that and then it just… wasn’t anymore. (audibly smiling) And you’re still my best friend, Tim. Even if you did steal my scone.

 [THE SOUND OF PAPERS RUSTLING AND A CHAIR ROLLING BACKWARD]

 Recording ends.

 [CLICK]

 .

 [CLICK]

 ARCHIVIST

 Statement of Kyle Henning, regarding a strange mushroom he found growing in his garden. Original statement given April 15th, 2011. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.

 Statement begi—

 [DOOR OPENS]

 TIM

 Hey boss! Got a moment?

 ARCHIVIST

 (irritated) Tim, please at least knock when the door to my office is closed. I was just about to record a statement.

 TIM

 (unbothered) So if you were about to, that means you’re not recording one right now, which means you do have a moment.

 ARCHIVIST

 (flatly) Shut the door on your way out, Tim.

 TIM

 (brightly) Right you are, boss! Juuuust going to leave this here on your desk. Bring it back whenever you’re done!

 [PAPERS RUSTLE AS SOMETHING IS PLACED ON THE DESK]

 ARCHIVIST

 (dryly) I’m fairly certain that I’m the one who assigns you tasks to complete, Tim.

 TIM

 That you do! I guess I better get back to them then. Have fun!

 ARCHIVIST

 (firmly) Tim—

 [DOOR CLOSES]

 [HE SIGHS]

 ARCHIVIST

 Right. Well, given that this recording is essentially useless now and I hadn’t even gotten to the statement, I may as well start over. (mutters under his breath) Bloody waste of tape and my time—

 [CLICK]

 .

 [CLICK]

 [PAPERS RUSTLE. FOR A MOMENT, THERE IS ONLY THE SOUND OF BREATHING. THEN, JON SIGHS.]

 ARCHIVIST

 Before I begin, I would like to make it very clear that this is not an appropriate use of working hours or the tape recorders, which should be used for statements that won’t record digitally as per Elias’s request.

 …

 That being said, I am… not entirely opposed to this project. So, I suppose…

 [HE CLEARS HIS THROAT]

 Statement of Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London, regarding… regarding a black ring worn on the middle finger of his right hand. Statement recorded by subject, June 10th, 2016.

 Statement begins.

 ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT)

 I’ve often been told that I am not a very open person. I don’t necessarily intend to be closed-off, but I’ve also never found the need to disclose every aspect of my personal life to everyone I come into contact with. And yes, Tim—because I trust that you and you alone will be listening to this tape—that is a perfectly respectable way to live one’s life. Not everyone needs to know what I ate for breakfast that morning or who my favorite primary school teacher was.

 …

 I… will admit, though, that in certain circumstances, I… could probably stand to be more transparent regarding aspects of my personal life. Perhaps that’s why Georgie bought me the ring.

 It wasn’t a special occasion. She just brought it back from the shop one day, a few weeks after a… particularly illuminating conversation about certain sexual identities, and dropped it atop my copy of Wuthering Heights. Honestly, I had no idea what it was at first. I- (heh) I tried to make a joke about unorthodox proposals, but I- I don’t really think it landed. Georgie just looked at me and said that she’d seen it on one of the online forums, that it was called an ace ring, and that she thought I might like it. I think I was more surprised about the fact that the ring fit perfectly than at the fact that she’d bought me the ring in the first place.

 So I wore it. And it felt… nice. Understand, I don’t keep quiet about my romantic and sexual identities out of shame or embarrassment or indecision; I simply don’t feel the need to announce them at any given moment. So I’ve always been fond of small things—pins and stickers and such—that I can incorporate into my life, insignificant enough that they aren’t readily apparent to anyone but me, as they’re for me more than for anyone else. My ring is one such thing.

 [THERE IS A MOMENT OF SILENCE. MORE WORDS SIT IN THE AIR, WAITING. EVENTUALLY, HOWEVER, HE SIGHS, AND THE WORDS REMAIN UNSAID.]

 ARCHIVIST

 Statement ends.

 …

 Right.

 (with something that might be a smile) As for your other request, I do have a prior engagement with Georgie and Melanie this weekend. Though if you’re willing to accommodate two more, I’m sure they wouldn’t be opposed to coming along. Georgie’s always telling me that Pride is more fun when you’re with a group, after all.

 End recording.

 [CLICK]

[mcrmadness]

I think what the person meant by aroace and bi was a bi-oriented aroace.

Oriented aroace is aroace but the other types of attraction besides sexual and romantic are there and like a sexuality in a way. Like I'm ace but I still say I'm gay bc not only do I have romantic attraction to only men, but I also have aesthetic, sensual, ect attraction towards only men as well

So that persons attractions (besides sexual and romo) are oriented in a bi way

Idk if that made sense but I hope it helped

Ohhhh I see!

I just find it very confusing because personally I am able to divide attraction into 4 or 5 different ones: sexual, romantic, sensual and aesthetic. Of which I myself only experience aesthetic regardless of gender which is why I sometimes might use the word "pan-aesthetic" even. And then there is the fifth one aka platonic attraction which I still don't really understand what it means or feels like. I might be aplatonic too.

So when a term has the word -sexual attached to it, I immediately imagine it also means _sexual attraction which is why I find/found it so confusing because asexuality is the lack (or very small amount) of sexual attraction, so how can one feel and not feel sexual attraction at the same time? Unless their sexuality just is fluid, but I am not sure if there's also a word for that. Actually, I think there's yet another term even in the asexual/aromantic spectrums for this, but I have never heard anyone being both at the exact same time.

I have heard of the -oriented terms before, tho, and have seen people using them, too. They do make somewhat sense but at the same time not (for me, at least), unless it's someone who's maybe demi or greyace, as sometimes people also like to define their gender "preference" (if it's the right word) with these.

More about my personal experiences under the cut ↓↓↓

I guess my own asexuality and aromanticism just are so black&white for me that I find it really confusing when I see posts and terms where these things are basically all over the place. It's so difficult to put them in order in my head when my own order is way different and much "simpler". I cannot even compare sexual and romantic attraction with each other because I don't experience either at all. It's like trying to imagine something that simply does not exist at all.

I also don't experience sensual attraction because I'm touch-repulsed, but I can imagine that it probably feels a bit same as when I see a picture of a tiger and have an urge to pet. Aesthetic is just the urge to "stare", for me. Bit like sometimes I wanna stare at the orange SALE tags because they are so pretty and bright color it almost hurts my eyes. (Ummmm why do I have the sensual and aesthetic urge to do only things that could either kill me or then hurt my eyes??? ::D)

And platonic attraction makes maybe even the less sense for me of these all, especially because I understood that it and "platonic love" are quite far from each other. Or not far, but not linked the same way as e.g. romantic love and romantic attraction are to each other. There are also several different descriptions for platonic attraction, depending on whom you're asking from. But being aplatonic does not mean that one does not want to have friends, that much I know.

This is why I sometimes use the label "loveless aro" but I don't know if there's much or any difference between aplatonic and loveless aro, so I often use them both interchangeably cos I forget which one I like more :DD And whenever I'm confused by platonic attraction, I use 'loveless aro', and whenever I'm confused by loveless aros, then I use aplatonic... simple, but not really... :D

So basically if I was put mine as a list, it would look like this:

Asexual

Aromantic

Asensual

Pan-aesthetic

+ Aplatonic and/or loveless aro.

What I prefer to do is to just stop at that aesthetic/platonic state, and I don't want to start chopping these identities into microlabels inside microlabels as, personally, I don't feel like it serves any purpose for myself. Only exception being that loveless aro one, as it's main idea is that "love is not what makes us human" and it makes me feel better on those days when I start worrying about what if I am a psychopath for not feeling/understanding even platonic emotions.

And then of course I also use the terms sex-repulsed, romance-repulsed and touch-repulsed, but I don't think these have to be tied only to aspec identities. Especially touch-repulsion can simply be just a trauma related. I find it also highly unlikely that every single allosexual is "sex-favorable" even when they experience sexual attraction.

This is actually something I was already so annoyed by even back then when I found out about asexuality for the first time when I was 16 or 17 (it was in 2008), it annoyed me so much that being not-ace automatically meant (or still means) that every allo is sex-favorable.

Back then, asexuality also basically meant only these two: aromanticism + sex-repulsion. At least that's how it was understood in my country back in the day, or at least I understood it that way, as no one talked about romantic orientations yet.

I learnt about romantic orientations a few years later and finally things made even more sense - as for a moment I kept calling myself as "asexual bi". But turns out I was just aroace with ADHD and having people-hyperfixations on online friends! :D

[visionmarred-archive]

character stats tag

tagged by @aeducanka - thank you so much, Karolina! 💜 doing this for a couple OCs and shoving it under the cut.

not tagging anybody this time around, but go for it if you want to! please. it’s always lovely seeing people talk about their OCs. :D

Face claim: Jade Thompson.

Name: Periella Graciana Amell. She hates it when you call her Periella, please call her Perry.

Age: 20-21 (9:30, Dragon)

Height: 5′9″ (1.75 meters? I’m not great at conversions)

Species: Human

Gender: Cis-gendered woman (she/her pronouns)

Birthday: Wintermarch 10th, or January 10th in the real world. She’s painfully a Capricorn.

Residence: Formerly Kinloch Hold, later toggles her residence between the palace at Denerim and the Keep in Amaranthine.

Marital status: Married to Zevran Arainai. 

Love interest: Zevran Arainai. I’m debating an OT3 with Perry/Zevran/Leliana, but I haven’t solidified anything there.

Alignment: Lawful-Good

Drink: Spiced, warmed wine. Apple juice as well.

Food/snacks: Perry loves her desserts. Especially cookies, and especially if they’re chocolate. I will now wonder what kind of cookies are common in Ferelden.

Day or night: Day! She likes having a busy schedule to look forward to.

Pet: She and Sidane share a mabari, Steiner. I’m pretty sure Perry would probably try and catch a frog to keep as a pet too, but I haven’t decided if she’s successful in that endeavor. 

Flower: White lilies.

Color: Purple! Specifically shades of lilac and lavender. She prefers softer tones.

Sexuality: Bisexual.

Body type: Tall, very curvy. Initially on the thicker chubby side, but develops some solid muscle during the Blight thanks to her arcane warrior style of tanking.

Eye color: Purple. 

Hair color: Red.

Face claim: Alice Hirose, at the moment (but I go back and forth a lot here.)

Name: Skysargas Ozarai Starbrac, third of her name. She generally goes by Sky as a nickname, and has used “Roxa Surik” as an alias in the past.

Age: 32 (KOTOR 2).

Height: 5′1″ (1.55 m)

Species: Human

Gender: Cis-gendered woman (she/her pronouns).

Birthday: I’m absolutely blanking here. She would be a Libra in real life, though? Somewhere in the GFFA’s equivalent of early October.

Residence: The Ebon Hawk, at this point. Possibly a residence on Dantooine or Coruscant when she helps rebuild the Jedi Order?

Marital status: She’s single only in the legal sense. They’re not married, but she is in a long-term, committed relationship.

Love interest: Atton Rand, the afore-mentioned long-term, committed relationship. She was involved with Atris from when the two were 16 until Sky joined the Revanchists at 19-20, at which point they broke up.

Alignment: Neutral-Good in terms of a DnD alignment, Light Side in-game. Her Mandalorian Wars days are trickier; she hadn’t fallen to the Dark Side completely, but she was definitely a lot crueler and more ruthless with her enemies and would’ve qualified as either Lawful-Neutral or Lawful-Evil, depending.

Drink: Alderaanian honey wine. She borders on being an alcoholic, if we’re being honest. 

Food/snacks: Any and all sweets, especially chocolate cake.

Day or night: Night. She would claim it’s because she likes reflecting on the day’s accomplishments, in reality it’s more because there’s less people around and she doesn’t feel the need to keep up her mask she wears around others.

Pet: None. I feel like she would’ve tried to befriend some of the wildlife on Dantooine when she was a padawan though lol.

Flower: Hibiscus.

Color: Blue, particularly light and medium shades.

Sexuality: Bisexual

Body type: Small frame, and on the thin side because she doesn’t eat very well.

Eye color: Warm brown.

Hair color: Black.

Face claim: Shunsuke Daito.

Name: Terranill Itenyu of House Starbrac, first of his name. Goes by Terran as a nickname.

Age: 28 (KOTOR 2)

Height: 5′4″ (1.63 m)

Species: Human

Gender: Transgender man (he/him pronouns).

Birthday: I have no idea, tbh. Maybe he’d be a Sagittarius? In that case, somewhere in the GFFA’s equivalent of early December.

Residence: Absolutely not. He loves traveling way too much.

Marital status: Single. Almost got engaged when he was younger, but that was an arranged thing and he very much did not want it.

Love interest: Nobody. I was thinking about him and Mical being in a relationship, but it just didn’t happen.

Alignment: Neutral-Good in a DnD alignment, Light Side in-game, and has stayed that way for pretty much his whole life. Kudos to Terran for being the only one of my KOTOR OCs who hasn’t fallen to the Dark Side even a bit.

Drink: Coffee, but using an energy drink instead of water to make it. Kidding, I’m gonna go with the GFFA’s equivalent of fruit punch for this one.

Food/snacks: Nerf burgers. It used to be omelettes, but he’s given up on bird products when he got Daggers.

Day or night: Day. Terran is a sunny boy who likes sunny days.

Pet: Daggers, an orobird he rescued and took in. His very best friend that he dragged onto the Ebon Hawk with him in spite of how much Mira hates that.

Flower: Tiger lilies.

Color: Crimson red.

Sexuality: Aromantic asexual.

Body type: Short and muscular. He’s actually pretty ripped underneath the clothes, definitely a tank.

Eye color: Hazel-brown.

Hair color: Black.

[skylights422]

@ace-and-aro-wlw-positivity created a Q&A for aspec authors/writers, and as an aspec author, I am excited to participate and answer as many of their questions as I can. Under a cut since it became really outrageously long.

1. What was your inspiration for your character(s)? Are they modeled on yourself, a person that you know, or a character that’s already been established?

Typically I’d say my characters are a mix of general inspiration from other stories/characters and then bits and pieces taken from myself. I try not to make any of them like a clone of myself or another character, try to mix it up, possibly with mixed success but that is the goal.

2. How much, if any, has your character(s) changed since they were first created? What caused this change?

Oh wow, okay I have characters I still use from grade school and middle school, and those characters have changed/grown a lot. Most notoriously (to me) though are my two fellas Euphranor and Kadri. I created them while daydreaming in middle school while watching those science videos in class about how I could make a more parody-like version of said videos, Kadri being the energetic and comically sadistic teacher and Euphranor being the constantly irritated and foul-tempered student. The core of their designs and personalities haven’t totally changed (Euph is still a hot-head and Kadri still likes to troll him), but they’ve become far more nuanced as characters as their story become more involved and serious. They’ve also become softer characters, with Euph having a Heart of Gold and Kadri being a bit morally grey but generally compassionate and friendly. I think the cause of this change and others comes from a mix of things, for one I simply got older and what I wanted out my characters changed a bit. But also I think it’s because I spent so much time with those characters in my head that I couldn’t help but develop them more fully, which in turn made me want to give them a good story. Also, everyone is definitely more queer now then how they started, largely because I became more aware and comfortable with my own queer identity and spent more time in queer spaces (though with Euph I actually just realized he had to be gay because I every het relationship I envisioned for him fell totally flat and yet imagining him as having crushes on guys just seemed to work better/make more sense, and that was an earlier decision).

4. Do you intend on publishing your story one day? Why, or why not?

I definitely do! I have many, many stories I want to publish, as books or comics or tv shows or films. I’ve always wanted to publish some of writing since it’s one of my main passions and have always taken inspiration from the stories I consumed. I just love writing and would want to be able to do it as my main career, the key will just be figuring out how to focus on one project long enough to finish it. xD

5. Surprise fact! Give a random fact about your character(s), whether it’s their favorite color, food, or even song!

Euphranor loves to sing! He hums to calm himself down and even full on sings to vent his feelings sometimes. Kadri loves literature and video games, and blackberry pie is his favorite food.

6. Admit it, you have a folder on your computer of the various types of picrews you’ve created for your character(s). Would you mind posting a few (or five)?

*VIBRATES* MY TIME HAS COME. I absolutely have way too many picrews of my fellas so I won’t post them all, just two each for the core four of my main novel project. First, Euphranor:

(yes he is a Hufflepuff)

Kadri:

(also since I dragged the Hogwarts houses into this Kadri is Ravenclaw)

Ena:

(I put her in Gryffindor)

And finally, Fiera:

(Right now I have her in Slytherin. She could also be in Ravenclaw though)

7. Time to get serious for a bit. There’s been heavy debate on having non-human characters identify as ace, aro, non-binary, etc., but never actual humans. As someone who’s aspec, how would you explain to someone who’s allo why this can be and is seen as hurtful?

I mean, as a sci-fi fan I definitely love if the non-human characters are queer coded, but it’s definitely important to include human representation as well, and I think there are a few simple reasons for that. One is that queer people are, in fact, humans, and therefore our stories deserve to be told as they are in reality as well as how they could be in fiction. The other is only writing us as inhuman implies you consider our identities as fictitious or too strange for a human to have, and queer people already have to deal with other forms of erasure and invalidation in real life. (Also, not everyone is a fan of sci-fi/fantasy, and they should still be able to read stories where they can see themselves)

8. It’s a sad reality that many stories in mainstream media don’t have characters that are aspec, not to mention without resorting to harmful stereotypes. Besides there being nothing wrong with IDing as aspec, why did you choose to have your character ID as such? What would you tell other authors who’re interested in writing characters that are aspec, but are afraid of offending the community?

I have a huge list of aspec characters, which definitely started happening more once I was aware of my own asexuality (and later, aromanticism), since I realized that I could make my own aro and ace characters and then just went wild with it lol. It’s also easier for me to write since I can actually draw from personal experience somewhat for it. Beyond representation having aro and ace characters also allows you to explore more facets of human emotions/the human experience, so that’s always fun.

As for how I would advise allies looking to write a-spec characters, my main advice would be to remember that we are an incredibly diverse group of people, and so while no one a-spec character will resonate with every a-spec reader, an a-spec character written in good faith will definitely speak to some of us. Write them as an character first, and when it comes to things like how their attraction does or doesn’t work and what they want out of relationships, figure out what works best for them. Really, if you’re concerned your character would be offensive in some way you can always make a post asking about it, many of us are happy to offer constructive advice and appreciate that someone is wanting to put in the effort to write about our experiences. Reading or listening to anecdotes from an array of a-spec people is also a good way of getting ideas of how to portray us, and there are various resources for that (the tags, AUREA collects anecdotes from arospec individuals, and probably more than I can think of offhand)

9. If you’re comfortable with sharing, what is your characters’ identity? Do they use any microlabels? Does theirs reflect your own?

Unsurprisingly I have many characters who are aroace (Fiera is one of them), and Ena is bisexual and gray-aromantic. Kadri was originally supposed to just be bi/pan but has become increasingly aspec, will they end up gray-aro as well as grey-ace? Will they end up as a pan oriented aroace? I don’t know yet, but they sure are a pan a-spec. My most recent project has exclusively aro-spec protagonists, Valentine is aroace, Cedar is demiromantic, Raelene is cupioromantic, and then Clematis and Hadyn are presently just Aro and might stay that way. My aroace characters are often styled after my own aroace experiences, while other a-spec characters aren’t as much.

11. Why do you think that not just representation is important, but GOOD representation? Can you offer any examples?

Well, I think there are a few ways to make ‘good rep’. There is the ‘this character helps bring awareness/educate about the community’ and then there’s ‘this character just resonates with certain a-spec people a lot’, and the main reason I think it’s important is because rep should be for the people they’re representing. So if rep hurts the community or totally fails to be relatable to anyone who’s actually a-spec, then it missed the whole point and is doing just as much to leave the community feeling left in the dust as no rep. Of course things do get complicated when the community is divided on whether the rep is good or not, which I imagine will be a common occurrence, and many examples of rep probably fall into the grey area between Good and Bad, but generally people should aim to tell stories that will help more than hinder the people you are telling your story about. (Although I also think that the long term end goal is to get to the point where there is enough representation that it doesn’t matter if some of it is ‘bad’ or not, since I feel like that is the true state of normalization, but that is sadly not yet the case)

12. What’s the genre of your most recent story? Do you always write in this genre? If so, what other works do you have? If not, why did you pick it?

My most recent story (with Valentine) is fantasy, inspired by shoujo style anime series like Cardcaptor Sakura, while Euph’s story is more dystopian urban fantasy? His exact genre has shifted around a lot and will probably continue to do so. In general, most of my works are fantasy in some way or another. A few are more sci-fi or horror based, but definitely the majority are fantasy whether that be magical girl type stories, urban fantasy, superheroes, or dark fantasy.

14. What’s a brief biography of your character? Is their history, personality, and/or looks similar to your own?

I’m going to go with Fiera here. The short version of her backstory is that she and her older brother were born to neglectful parents, and while their grandmother was attentive emotionally she also lived far away. Her brother discovered magic, long thought forgotten, but killed himself shortly after, leaving Fiera alone and confused. She then made a point to dedicate herself to studying the theory and history of magic in the hope that she may someday understand why her brother would take his own life so suddenly like that. She has a down to earth personality and is very observant, and has a great deal of ambition and focus for tasks. She naturally has a more lighthearted and curious personality, but has become more somber since the death of her brother. While she always struggled with sustaining personal relationships, it’s only recently she started using her power of observation to be more manipulative and always keep a cool, pleasant demeanor. She has a love for fashion and sewing, as well as an interest in chemistry.

She isn’t really based on me at all backstory or appearance wise, and only slightly takes after me personality wise. Our main similarity is that we both can be quietly observant and don’t tend to get outwardly angry very often, and that we are both aroace. But I am nowhere near as focused as her, am terrible at lies/manipulation, and have different interests. I’m also way more prone to energetic rants and blunt statements than she is.

15. What are the themes of your story? Is it a lighthearted adventure, or are we talking deep, ocean-sized levels of angst? Why, or why not, did you choose them?

The tone of Euph’s story is kind of all over the place due to how often I’ve tweaked it, but there are certainly oceans of angst for all the protagonists. There’s just also decided remnants of the wacky humor from when the story was predominantly a comedy, and a lot more scenes of the characters just relaxing or goofing off than might be typical in a high tension drama adventure. My story with Valentine is generally much more lighthearted, though there will be some deeper moments for character development (and also because I want it to have a slightly gothic vibe, just Because)

16. How long have you been writing? Has your style changed from when you first began to now? What are some tips you’d give to those who’re interested in writing a story of their own, be it professionally or as a hobby?

I’ve been writing in some capacity just about as long as I can remember, and so my style has definitely taken various shifts depending on how old I was and what I was taking as my main inspiration at the time. Sometimes I went for more sarcastic and whimsical narration regardless of the events happening of the story, sometimes I went for a more quick modern-ish style, sometimes I would focus more or less on descriptions or dialogue. I don’t really know where I’m at right now though.

What I would advise to anyone wanting to sit down and write is to be patient and kind with yourself. Nine times out of ten what sounds epic in your head will come out at first as clunky and all over the place. But that is pretty much the whole purpose of first drafts; the clunky first draft crawls so the second draft may walk so the third draft may walk a little faster so the final draft may run. The other thing I would advise is to absolutely experiment, and see what works best for you. There is every kind of writing advice out there imaginable, much of it contradictory, so really you just have to mess around with styles and perspective and dialogue and see what happens, which stuff you liked and which stuff you didn’t.

17. What’s your process for writing? Do you plan your story out first, write whatever you want then edit later, or both? How might this help others?

My writing process is pretty much a mishmash of writing whatever comes to me, then planning, then writing, then using a bunch of character building exercises to have fun but make no progress in the plot, then neglect the project for months, then write some more or maybe plan. I don’t know how much this would help others, though I have found when I set goals with deadlines and some external pressure (nanowrimo, reward system implanted by friends, etc) I am far more productive, so perhaps that is something others could try if they struggle with staying on track?

18. Your book’s become quite popular, easily reaching the New York Times Bookseller list, and now, you’ve been picked to lead a writing workshop. It goes swimmingly, and afterward, someone comes and tells you that your book not only inspired them to write a story of their own, but also helped them discover and accept their identity. What’s your reaction?

Mostly I would just be flabbergasted, but also extremely pleased and honored to have been able to provide any kind of help or assistance to my readers.And I would feel very happy for the person, since that sort of inspiration is great to come by.

19. Are there any published stories out there that feature aspec characters that you also read? Do you have any suggestions?

Unfortunately not that I can think of! I am peripherally aware of some ace characters, but they aren’t in stories I personally consume. I hope to find more though!

20. Just for fun, write down a paragraph of your most recent writing. It can be an action-packed scene, some witty dialogue, or a colorful description that you really enjoyed. (Be sure to properly tag any possible triggers!)

Well, my most recent finished work would be the clunky first draft of my novel. So, here’s a silly conversation that entertained me to write:

Once they had bought the food, they went back to the park to eat. 

“You know, Fiera, I have come to a realization.” Kadri said.

“Oh? What’s that?” Fiera asked.

“Store snacks are not as filling as restaurant food, nor as refined, but they are decidedly addictive.” he said, munching on Twizzlers.

“Yep. That’s what makes them store snacks. Plus, I couldn’t get any really nice stuff. I’m not made of money.” Fiera explained.

“Which brings me to my next question, how exactly are you financing our meals? You don’t seem to work a job of any kind.” Kadri said. Fiera was almost surprised that he knew about jobs, but decided not to ask about it. 

“You’re right, I don’t. But my parents leave me about sixty bucks a week so that they can do what they want without me starving to death in their absence. After yesterday and just now, I’m down to like eight bucks, and the next payment comes in three days, so after this stash goes it's dollar store snacks only.” Fiera explained.

“I see. Fascinating. And these drinks you bought us, why are they vitamin drinks?” Kadri said,looking over a vitamin water curiously.

“Because we definitely aren’t going to get any vitamins from chips and candy.”  Fiera said simply.

“There is logic to that, I suppose.” he said. There was silence for a few moments.

“Um… Kadri?” Fiera said after a while.

“Yes, Fiera?” Kadri said.

“You know you can’t eat a whole bag of Twizzlers in one go, right?”  Fiera said.

“I don’t see why not. If it is not going to give me the nutrients I need, it may as well provide me with the maximum level of pleasure it is capable of.” Kadri said.

“Yeah, but you’ll get sick. And we have limited supplies.” Fiera countered. Kadri looked at the bag of Twizzlers in alarm.

“These are poisonous in large doses!?” he exclaimed.

“What? No, not poisonous, they just make you sick because they’re candy. All candy does that if you keep eating it.” Fiera said.

“Commoners lead dangerous lives, it would seem. I shall never forget this betrayal.” He said to the bag of Twizzlers, putting it down and taking the vitamin water instead. 

[starrysnowdrop]

Character Study 🌙✨ Psyche Somnambula

Bold all that applies

Eyes: Blue | Green | Brown | Hazel | Gray | Gray-blue | Other

Hair: Blonde | Sandy | Brown | Black | Auburn/Red | Ginger | Grey / White | Multi-color | Other

Body Type: Skinny | Slender | Slim | Built | Curvy | Athletic | Average (for a Viera) | Muscular | Pudgy | Overweight | Petite

Skin: Pale | Light | Fair | Freckled | Tan | Olive | Medium | Dark | Discolored | Red

Gender: Male | Female | Trans | Cis | Agender | Demigender | Genderfluid | Other | Doesn’t Care About Labels

Sexuality: Heterosexual | Homosexual | Bisexual | Pansexual | Asexual | Demisexual | Other | Unsure | Doesn’t Like Labels | Doesn’t want a Label

Romantic Orientation: Homoromantic | Polyamory | Heteroromantic | Biromantic | Panromantic | Aromantic | Demiromantic | Unsure | Doesn’t Like Labels | Doesn’t want a Label

Species: Midlander Hyur | Highlander Hyur | Wildwood Elezen | Duskwight Elezen | Hellsguard Roegadyn | Sea Wolf Roegadyn | Dunesfolk Lalafell | Plainsfolk Lalafell | Keeper Miqo’te | Seeker Miqo’te | Xaela Au Ra | Raen Au Ra | Other (Veena Viera)

Education: High School | College | University | Master’s Degree | Phd | Other: Home Schooled by mother and maternal grandmother

I’ve Been: In Love | Hurt | Ill | Mentally Abused | Bullied | Physically Abused | Tortured | Brainwashed | Shot

Positive Traits: Affectionate | Adventurous | Athletic | Brave | Careful | Charming | Confident | Creative | Cunning | Determined | Forgiving | Generous | Honest | Humorous | Intelligent | Loyal | Modest | Patient | Selfless | Polite | Down-to-earth | Diligent | Romantic | Moral | Fun-loving | Charismatic | Calm

Negative Traits: Aggressive | Bossy | Cynical | Envious | Shy | Fearful | Greedy | Gullible | Jealous | Impatient | Impulsive | Cocky | Reckless | Insecure | Irresponsible | Mistrustful | Paranoid | Possessive | Sarcastic | Self-conscious | Selfish | Swears | Unstable | Clumsy | Rebellious | Emotional | Vengeful | Anxious | Self-sabotaging | Moody | Peevish | Angry | Pessimistic | Slacker | Thin Skinned | Overly Dramatic | Argumentative

Living Situation: Lives Alone | Lives With Parent/Guardian (Mother and Grandmother before ARR) | Lives With Significant Other (From HW to Present) | Lives With A Friend(s) | Drifter (ARR till beginning of HW) | Homeless | Lives With Children | Other

Parents/Guardian: Mother | Father | Adoptive | Aunt | Uncle | Foster | Grandmother | Grandfather | Other (Two Aunts)

Sibling(s): Sister(s) | Brother(s) | None | Other (Several cousins that are like siblings to her)

Relationship: Single | Crushing | Dating | Engaged (as of end of HW) | Married (After ShB) | Separated | It’s Complicated | Verse Dependent | Other

I Have A(n): Developmental Disorder | Learning Disorder | Personality Disorder | Mental Disorder (Depression) | Anxiety Disorder | Sleep Disorder | Eating Disorder | Behavioral Disorder | Substance-related Disorder | PTSD | Mental Disability | Physical Disability | Other: Prone to overwork and not rest enough

Things I’ve Done Before: Had Alcohol | Smoked | Stolen | Done Drugs | Self-harmed | Starved | Had Sex | Had A Threesome | Had A One-night Stand | Gotten Into A Fist Fight | Gone To The Hospital | Gone To Jail | Used A Fake ID | Played Hooky | Gone To A Rave | Killed Someone | Had Someone Try To Kill Them

Tagging: Anyone that wants to do this! Please tag me as well so I can see your answers!

[nerdygaymormon]

I saw the For The Strength of LGBTQ/SSA Youth facebook group post, and I was wondering if you know of anything like that for adults? It's hard not to feel isolated.

There are many Affirmation Facebook groups.

I belong to four of them. The first two aren’t especially active, just a few posts per month. The Journeys & Community Conversations pages are more active

Affirmation Prepare is for LGBTQIA people who are active in church or who still believe (even if they no longer attend).

Affirmation Living Waters is for LGBTQIA people, and allies, families & friends who are active in church or who still believe (even if they no longer attend). It’s a way to discuss issues from a believing LDS perspective

Affirmation Journeys is for LGBTQ individuals, family members and friends who are questioning their relationship with Mormonism or are former Mormons.

Affirmation:  Community Conversationsis mostly people sharing things that the group might be interested in, such as podcast episodes, news stories, blog posts and so on.     

Here’s a list of additional Affirmation groups (since I don’t belong to these, I don’t know how active they are):

Affirmation: Trans* Mormons, Families & Friends is a private group which means you have to join this group to see the discussion, post and comment.

Transgender Saints, ExMos, & Allies

Bisexual, Pansexual, Queer + Mormons and Allies

LGBT Mormon People of Color and Allies

Women of Affirmation LGBT Mormons is for women and non-binary people who have affinity in some aspect with being a woman or being female and being Mormon/LDS in heritage or practice.

Asexual/Aromantic Umbrella Mormons

Mixed Orientation Families is a group for married MOM couples, as well as both gay, straight, and bisexual ex-spouses to join. To join, must send a message to Ron Raynes.

For the Strength of LGBTQ & SSA Youth is for LGBTQ Youth, allies, siblings ages 12-18

Affirmation Crossroads For young millennials who are LGBTQIA or their siblings or allies within the ages 18-25.

Affirmation Millennials is for LGBTQIA/SSA individuals who were born from1980 to 2000 .

Grupo Mundial en Español (Spanish Group) 

Mundo Grupo Português (Portuguese Group) to join, contact João Heitor

There’s many local chapters of Affirmation, many have their own FB page. The thing is these are hit or miss. For example, there is a Florida chapter listed, but it hasn’t officially started yet. The local chapters should have a few activities each year where you can come and meet people. And if you need to speak to someone, can contact Affirmation and they’ll direct you to someone nearby (I’ve had several people in Florida referred to me).

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There’s non-Affirmation groups out there, and I want to include them, too.

I’ll Walk With You is for active LDS parents of LGBT/SSA Mormons. You must be a LDS Parent with a LGBTQIA/SSA child to join the group. To join: message Jill Hazard Rowe

USGA at BYU is for Brigham Young University students, faculty and guests who wish to strengthen families and the BYU community by providing a place for open, respectful discussions on the topic of same-gender attraction. They also invite LDS Institute students from across the Wasatch front.

USGA - Rexburg is for students, faculty and guests in Rexburg, Idaho.

Mormons Building Bridges is for Mormons who are interested in building bridges between the LDS and LGBT communities. I find it a very contentious page, but very active. I do love how they show up to Pride marches dressed in Mormon Sunday best to let people know there are members who love and support the LGBTQIA community.

Mormons for Equality is for Mormons who support equal rights for all people and all families

ALL Arizona Arizona community for LGBTQ+ LDS members and their friends and family.

Rise - Atlanta LGBT+ Mormons and Allies is for those in the Atlanta area who are members of the LGBTQ+ community and share a background in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Dragon Dads Dads who wish to have a private Facebook group to gain support, process, and support their children in healthy ways who are LGBTQ+. To join, contact Jake Abhau

Mama Dragons Mothers of LGBTQIA kids in a common cause to support their healthy lives. To join, please send a private message on the community page.

Transactive LDS A private group for transgender individuals or family members.

North Star has a number of groups, to find ones you might be interested in, click on the link and then request to join the groups you’d like

Of course on Tumblr, search of #queerstake and you’ll find a group of us. #Tumblrstake is for anyone who is of the Church and you’ll find some of us by looking there.

On Twitter, there’s no special hashtag, but a few people will occasionally us use #queerstake. #twitterstake is a popular tag for anyone who is part of the Church and you can definitely find queer Mormons using it. You can find me on Twitter, check out who follows me or who i follow and that will help you enter into the larger community there.