#I say this as a person who identifies as ace

[theforgottencrow]

+*MASTERPOST // INTRO?!*+

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Gwuhhhh Hiya my name Is Ink/Corv, But my friends/Moots call me Crow! Welcome to the Nest!

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

updated 06-01-2024

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

✦Blogs I run ._. @theforgottencorvid, @the-one-and-only-ink (not very active on my Rp account but feel free to start a Rp or ask stuf idm)

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

✦About Me !!!! :0

Firstly I present some of my flags !! (Theres so many more...)

My main prnz are Xe/Crow/He/Ink/Bite, but ill happily use Blood/Gore/Skull/Bone/Fang/Pest/Knife/It/They/Static/Etc. (How to use Xe/xem prns Here)

My very special interest is Undertale + Utmv !! (Pretty obv..)

Proud Furry <3

I’m a Polymorph/Polykin Therian. I am CrowKin, DragonKin, CrocodileKin, (+more kins), my other theriotypes are Snow leopard, Lynx, Coyote, GreenTree Python, Griffin, Fox, etc.

Bi-Oriented Polyamorous Aegosexual Aro/Ace ✨

Trans (F->M) Who still comfortably identifies as a Butch ✨⚔️

I LOVEEE Mascot Horror/Creepy games !! A few of my favs are Indigo Park, Kinitopet, Poppy Playtime, Little Nightmares, Dark Deception, Amnesia, Fnaf, Etc.

I HAVE A PERSONA !! You can find its ref riiiight here i'll be drawing myself as it often and if not xem my Monster Sona riiight here

I LOVE LOVE LOVE MY MOOTS/FRIENDS/PARTNERS !!!!!!

A few of my other hyperfixations are : Regretavator, Hellsing, Scott Pilgrim, Sweet Tooth, Dungeon Meshi, CoS, DHMIS, FPE, Indigo Park, The D!ckheads, Welcome Home, Inanimate Insanity, etc.

Some of my fav bands/artists : Mindless Self Indulgence, Lemon Demon, Alex G, Pompey, The Living Tombstone, Cave Town, Derivakat, Baby Bugs, Ryan Mack, Etc.!

Some of my fav Songs : Alien Blues, Body Horror, Pure as a Lamb, I Should've Stayed Home, Seriously?, Sex For Homework, Rät, Stupid MF, Shut me Up, Fine Great, Get It Up, Etc.!

Some Fandoms I'm In !! : Undertale, Utmv, Deltarune, WoF, WC, FPE, Indigo Park, DHMIS, Horrid Henry, LackaDaisy, Tmnt/Rottmnt, TOH, Sweet Tooth, Delicious in Dungeon, Amphibia, Ramshackle, BBU, Owls of Ga'hoole, Welcome Home, PP, Hellsing, WOTHH, Bee & Puppycat, Wednesday, Doom & Gloom, HH & HB, Pokemon, MD, Tadac, Monkey Wrench, Bluey, Sarah & Duck, Puffin Rock, Spooky Month, Fnaf, LMK, Animaniacs, Etc.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

✦ My Tags !!! (Wow I'm finally gonna be using tags crazy...)

#My Art - Art -_-

#Crow reblogs - Reblogs -_-

#Crow Rambling - my weird rambles/random talking

#Crow Chatter - Me Interacting w/ ppl & answering asks

#inbox doodles - little doodles made for inbox answering

Persona Chatter - Me answering Asks as my Persona/Saying stuff as my Persona

#Crow Simping - me loosing my marbles over a character I deem hot

#HEAVY Crow Simping - foaming at the mouth blue balled over a character

#F r i e n d 🫵 - Me interacting w/ my friends/Moots !!

#Crow on Crack - Me saying out of context things/or me being weird :)

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

✦DNI.....

Lgbtq+ Phobes.

Transphobics, Xenophobics, Etc...

Racists, Sexists, Discrimination, etc.

Invalidates a Person's Pronouns / Gender / Identity

Pedophiles, Sexualizes Minors, Jokes about R×pe, etc.

Pro-Isreals.

People who Harass, Dox, tell ppl to kys, etc.

AntiFurries.

ZOOPHILES.

MAPS.

Anti-Blm.

Anti-Therian.

Anti-Alterhuman.

Slander of my interests/hyperfixations.

Mockery of Me, My Friends, or my mental illnesses.

Unwanted Criticism/Extreamly rude Criticism, unless I asked for it please don't.

People who think trauma is a joke & belittle it.

those who think neurodivergent ppl w/ BPD, Bipolar, etc are “Scary” and don’t belong.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

✦ Byi + Boundaries..

I have Autism + Alexithymia, ADHD, BPD & Bipolar. Tone indicators are optional when talking w/ me, but I appreciate them a lot ^u^

I'm an Irl + Fictkin !

Yes I can be cringe and idc :)

I WILL SHIP AND DRAW WHAT I WANT. If your are uncomfortable with something you see block the tag and move on do not harass me.

Please do not ask personal info/give about me unless I'm willing to give or I give permission. This includes Name, Age, Basic stuff like that.

My art requests are always open, I might not do them right away or always do them but I try my best and they help with inspiration :>

DO. NOT. REPOST. MY. ART. WITHOUGHT. PERMISSION. I will know.

My Askbox + DMs are always open !! I love love love meeting new people and getting to know them :] I'm fine w/ tags, comments, & spam-likes/reblogs too!!

I might spam-like (I get a lil excited sometimes..especially if I REALLY like your stuff, if you don't like this please let me know and I'll stop!!)

I do make suggestive jokes and I'm hypersexual but that doesn't mean I'm not sex-replused most of the time.

I'm Nonhuman !! Pls do not refer to me as human. I prefer Skeleton terms & Crow terms over everything else. I'm just your average Paint Drinking Souless Skeleton <3

I tend to make random remarks, say out of pocket things, have trouble w/ volume control/typing in all caps, making inappropriate jokes, flirt & tease (w/ my close close friends/moots) if you ever get disturbed by this please let me know & I'll stop.

I am VERY Blunt. And I might say something rude or offensive and if I do please let me know because my Alexithymia makes it hard for me to understand if I upset people.

I'm neither Pro nor Anti, I couldn't care less. I honestly don't care if a creator is Proship/Com, because if I like their stuff then I'll keep interacting/following the stuff they make. FICTION IS FICTION. If they condone that stuff irl then that's where I draw the line. Do not go harass ANYONE. Over a fiction. Use the block button, we have it for a reason.

My blog, my rules!! <3333

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

more may be added in time.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

[letstrywritingmaybe]

Anyone else following Never Let Me Go by lotus451 cause I am amazed. I’ve always said reading CoAi fics in Chinese hits different but man this one is just… I don’t even have words. I should really leave a comment at this point, but I’m afraid it’s going to end badly and I don’t deal with that well. Plus there are certain things that I just don’t enjoy reading, like I get why it has to be there but I’m not fond of it (basically any mention of the canon ship being a thing is an automatic no for me. I could care less. If they’re going to break up then I need to see it happen already, I don’t want to see them be cute together. Literally nothing makes me nope out quicker. Except for maybe first person pov in English. I’m really not fond of reading that in fics. I’ve been so spoiled in my main fandom that my standards are too high) But this author has written fics I’ve really enjoyed so I’m still continuing to silently read. Again bad habit I know, cause it’s fun to comment on every chapter and cheer the author on, but man I can’t. I’m already too invested as is, if I leave my long comments every chapter and it ends badly? I’m going to lose my shit and maybe swear off fics forever. I can’t deal with it. I hate bad endings, they hold no value to me and will never make me think oh yes this is how it’s done. The fics that stay with me and I think of as masterpieces are the ones that give my ship the happily ever they deserve. Few exceptions cause I do have favorite authors I would read just about anything for, but there’s currently not one for this fandom that is active. My favorite fics will always be the ones that end happily even if they’ve been through some bullshit. But again I read fics for comfort and for stuff that canon won’t give me. If I wanted to be sad and angry then I would just follow canon cause that’s a bunch of bullshit at this point. Just end the series. Stop dragging it on and making everyone suffer.

Anyways, still all about self indulgent writing and the author being the one to make their choices for their story. I just don’t have to like it and that’s fine as long as I’m not being an ass and commenting unsolicited thoughts to them. People who do that suck and for real need to get a new hobby. It’s not hard to just shut up and press the x to close the tap. Go rant about it with your friends or ramble like I do on my blog that no one reads. But don’t be an asshole to the author. Just don’t.

[waterberry-strawmelon]

just gonna go ahead and say this in advance—

if Riz does indeed come out in junior year, and he says, “I’m ace” or “I’m asexual” when referring specifically to his lack of romantic attraction, aromantic people are allowed to be upset about it.

[libraryleopard]

Young adult contemporary coming-of-age story (releases 4/16, I read an early copy from Netgalley)

Follows two first-year students at Wellesley College who run dueling anonymous advice columns and befriend each other in real life as they bonded over both being aroace, unaware of the other's internet identity

Platonic love story

Explores themes like aroace identity, finding community, being the queer child of immigrants, and trying to find your place in the world as a young adult looking towards the future

Love letter to platonic/familial love and finding community

Aromantic asexual Chinese American protagonist; aromantic asexual gender-questioning/nonbinary (she/they) protagonist; lots of QPOC side characters

[moinsbienquekaworu]

The struggle between being happy that all kinds of aspecs are talking about aspec experiences more and barely being able to stand the way people talk about aspec experiences

[feeisamarshmallow]

having thoughts n feelings about being aroace tonight folks

[grimark]

not that anybody asked but i do think terms like "cis+" or "cisn't", which i've seen thrown around in relation to the prev post, are a bit unnecessary. to me, it just seems like excessively atomising a fairly common experience, which is the desire to not be subject to the more uncomfortable and restrictive aspects of socially constructed gender roles. and sure, it might never even occur to a lot of cis people to do this kind of introspective analysis of their gender identities, and they might therefore be lacking some of the additional perspective of someone who has, but i don't think we necessarily need need a special new category for it. when you get down to it, "cis person who has previously questioned their gender" and "cis person who has never felt the need to question their gender" are both still cis, which in theory is a value-neutral description and a perfectly fine thing to be.

[bylightofdawn]

Just gonna say I've been a good girl all night so I'm going to waste some time combing through my tumblr for you tag and apologize to my TL in advance for the amount of Xedgin artwork I'm prolly gonna reblog. And the amount of drooling I will be doing over Holga and wanting her to alternately wife me and bend me into a subby pretzel.

They're not mutually exclusive but there is definitely some interesting intersectionality there. Ah the endless dichotomy that is my weird gray ace life.

[silasplaskett]

there is no meme here just. when u have to pretend that u dont care when ur friend has a stupid bad opinion bc u dont want there to be any tension at all but they keep talking about it and u want to die a little

[pwurrz]

sighs for 8 years

[captainchokchok]

My best (and basically only) friend lives like over 1000 miles away in another state and recently he has been getting so much busier just hanging out with his other friends and it makes me jealous all the time and causes me to have bad thoughts that maybe he doesn't really care for me as much as I think and yesterday we had a conversation about it and it really reaffirmed that he does care about me and that I'm the first person he goes to for stuff and I can never be replaced in his life but I can't fucking get that jealousy out of my head and I hate it. And the conversation came up because we were playing Stardew Valley yesterday and suddenly I just started crying and I was so stressed out on Saturday because he had a girl sleep over at his place and I was just so jealous that he had a pretty intimate time with her for the first time and I just wish I was able to be there and experience that with him and I am just so fucking lonely and I simultaneously am so happy he found someone who he thinks can be a potential partner because he has been wanting it and I'm also just so angry/jealous because again I just wish I was able to provide that for him in this weird way and idk if I like, love him more romantically than I am able to admit to myself or if it's just because I'm so lonely and he's my only friend that I just wish for us to be able to do more stuff together but we can't because of how far he is and blahhh I just feel like such a shitty friend

[aromantic-pantyanarchy]

It's me. I'm the cis, heterosexual, aromantic man. I will never marry, I will never be married, I will grow into middle age and elder age and I will die unmarried. I will be forced to support a household of myself on only my wages alone for the rest of my life. I will be asked about women and marriage and children by my family for the rest of my life (or men, the progressive ones might say). I may not ever come out to them. I feel like I burned my coming out on something stupid. I don't want to explain it. I don't want to run them through the definitions and intricacies. I don't want the acceptance without understanding, placating me with ceased questions and poor explanations to other, drunk adults.

I like my hair to be long, I spent a year with it dyed a golden blonde with dark roots because I like the trashy party girl aesthetic. I want to dye it again with pink tips. I like painting my nails, black and blue are my favorite colors. I like wearing chokers. I also like wearing baggy jeans and ratty hoodies. I like having stubble. I like having chest hair. I like having a square jaw and broad shoulders. I wish I had a flatter stomach and a thinner profile frame. I don't know what this makes me, perhaps this is something no more GNC than Machine Gun Kelly. I think about this a lot, how queer my appearance truly is. I should think about it less. I have thought long and hard about if I could be trans or if I could be non-binary or if I could be genderqueer and the conclusion I ultimately came to is that I most enjoy being a man open to whatever self-expression I want.

I don't date, but I've thought about it. I would like to meet people, and I would like to have sex with them. But I don't want to hurt them. I fear if I explain what I am beforehand it'll scare them away. I fear if I explain after they'll feel manipulated or abused. I don't know how many people in the dating scene want what I want. I fear my own lack of experience will make me a bad lay, an embarrassing story to tell to confidants in hindsight. I fear my own virginity, a boundary to those I wish to be like. All of these fears are baseless, as I've not been able to even begin a single relationship in my life. Despite this I still heavily identify with terms like "slut" and "manwhore" and "thot" because my interests lay so deeply within casual sex, sex without great intimacy or emotion. This may be some form of stolen valor. I hope the true sluts are not too mad at me.

I made this blog several years ago because a mutual of mine reblogged memes making fun of aro and ace people, making fun of the concept of aphobia, and in addition well known aphobes. I didn't feel comfortable talking about aro stuff on my main blog, for as little as I talk about it. Living through the ace discourse of the 2016 era has largely caused me to cringe in embarrassment any time I am forced to discuss my orientation with people who aren't aro or ace themselves. I no longer follow this person. I unfollowed many people I was mutuals with from that time, most of them because they posted too often about how much they hated men and I didn't want to see that, some because our interests simply drifted too far apart, only one for explicit aphobia reasons. (Also one because they became a "both sides are bad, any vote is wasted" libertarian, but that's unrelated.)

I guess at this point I don't care deeply about what strangers on the internet think of me. If a trusted friend told me that they don't think I'm truly queer that may hurt. But I am going to continue to use the word for myself. I take up no resources. I go to events that are open to me. If an event was not open to me, I think I'd not want to go anyways. I am not a hypothetical, I am not a strawman, I am a person with lived experiences both within and exterior to the queer community. If you hate me, I will permit you to continue to do so. But ultimately, I am who I am, I cannot change these facts, and I would not choose to do so even if I could.

[heehoothefool]

"Are cishet ace/aro men queer" holy fuck you people are just awful huh. Really just showing that we haven't moved past the Basically Straight ideology.

As a cisgender, heteroromantic ace individual myself, allow me to tell you a little bit about myself.

I spent most of my life wondering what was wrong with me. I knew very quickly that many of the people who confessed their love for me would not want me the moment they found out I was averse to sex. I would daydream of various men I'd had crushes on over the years spending time with me in ways I was comfortable, but rarely did I confess my feelings because a simple saying rang in my ears.

"You'll never find a man who will love you without sex."

And the people in my Instagram DMs who would call me baby and then ghost me after they figured out the flag in my profile picture spoke volumes to that. I was only desirable because I was physically attractive. No one wanted to love my personality, not if they couldn't also fuck me. It just wasn't an option.

I have been ostracized. I have been told I don't belong. The straight community does not want me because I do not actively desire sex. The very people you're trying to lump me in with because I'm "basically straight" will not claim me because I am not like them.

I am The Other. I am Less Than. I am Strange. I am Queer.

A person born male, who identifies as a man, and is attracted to women exclusively but only in one way (romantic) or the other (sexual) is queer.

That is a man who either does not desire sex, and is therefore Not Really A Man by society's gender standards and expectations, or does not desire a romantic relationship/wife/girlfriend and is called a manwhore dirtbag who sleeps around or is asked eternally by family and maybe partners who don't get it When He's Going To Get Married.

To be straight requires you to identify with your gender assigned at birth, to feel romantic attraction to the opposite gender exclusively, to feel sexual attraction to the opposite gender exclusively, and to only desire monogamy in that relationship.

A man, born a man, who is not romantically attracted women, but sexually attracted to them, is not straight.

A man, born a man, who is romantically attracted to women, but not sexually attracted to women, is not straight.

There is no debate. Yes, even the Demisexuals and Demiromantics. Yes, even the ones who are capable of feeling these things only under the right conditions.

They're all queer. Every single one. Because they deviate from the idea that Every Man Wants To Fuck A Woman And Be A Loving Husband By Default.

If you disagree with any part of this post get the fuck off my blog. If you try to start shit in the notes or in my asks you're getting blocked.

We're here. We're queer. Fucking deal with it.

[twstowo]

Their Magicam Accounts[Twst]

♡︎How I think their Magicam Accounts would look and what they do in them.

♡︎This was been catching dust in my drafts for months now. Crazy

♡︎Includes: NRC, RSA and Rollo

⋆⋅☆Riddle: Owns two accounts on Magicam. The first one is only used to like or comment on posts from friends, Carter set up this account against Riddle’s will. He once accidentally posted a picture of the two of you and had a heart attack trying to delete it. The second account is a secret one where he only posts hedgehog pictures.

⋆⋅☆Trey: Has one account where most of his posts showcase his cakes, including pictures from unbirthday parties and moments of you cooking with him. His profile picture is him with that dog filter, you can’t change my mind.

⋆⋅☆Carter: Literally Owns Magicam, posting pictures every time he does something or is with someone. #Thevoicesarewinning. Comments on every post and totally knows that Riddle owns the hedgehog account. He also has a side account for stalking people. Changes his profile picture daily.

⋆⋅☆Ace: Initially only posted embarrassing pictures of people and would only take them down if they paid him. Got suspended quickly from Magicam. The second account is more relaxed, where he shares random content whenever he feels like it. He’s also the type to edit group pictures to make everyone look bad except himself, just to annoy everyone.

⋆⋅☆Deuce: Was the one who reported Ace’s first account since most pictures were of him. Has Shaky pictures, the best picture he has is one of him, Ace, and you together. Probably uses social media mostly for chatting with friends. Also, he, Ace, and you have one of those quirky couple profile pics.

⋆⋅☆Leona: Owns an account with no posts, profile picture, comments, or followers. Rarely uses Magicam, but he occasionally checks your posts.

⋆⋅☆Ruggie: Uses Magicam for selling stuff. Created a group for selling second-hand items and pins all his stuff to ensure faster sales than everyone else.

⋆⋅☆Jack: Gym pictures? Nah, I feel he’d be too shy for that. Probably has one image that he uses everywhere else just to identify himself.

⋆⋅☆Azul: Opened an account to promote Mostro Lounge, daily posts feature new dishes, prices, menus, and sales. He also has a personal account but doesn’t post (doesn’t think he looks nice in pictures).

⋆⋅☆Jade: Mushroom account, has so many followers who share his fascination. Their conversations are all about their mushroom hikes and can last for hours. Makes really aesthetically pleasing posts filled with detailed information about different types of mushrooms.

⋆⋅☆Floyd: For legal reasons I won’t say why, but his account got suspended after one week of its creation.

⋆⋅☆Kalim: Sends party invitations through Magicam, Jamil had to create a group to prevent Kalim from sending individual invitations constantly. Enjoys capturing pictures of the sky. Once posted a picture of Jamil, after it was deleted, he didn't post anything for a whole month, I wonder what happened.

⋆⋅☆Jamil: Similar to Leona, but he often checks Trey’s account for his cake posts. When he saw a picture of you and Trey together, he invited you over to cook with him but didn’t have the courage to ask for a picture of the two of you.

⋆⋅☆Vil: Posts frequently, sharing about himself and his daily routine, always looking impeccable. Regularly receives barking comments, he spends hours deleting all of them.

⋆⋅☆Rook: We all know he has a fan account for Neige. Likes posts of all the celebrities he adores. Writes extremely lengthy comments whenever he finds someone beautiful. He's been blocked so many times he's lost count.

⋆⋅☆Epel: Initially tried taking cute pictures following Vil’s advice but got annoyed as he looked too feminine. Instead, he started promoting stuff from his farm back home.

⋆⋅☆Idia: Uses an account with a weird name to hide his identity, posts about games and occasional activities. Engages in lengthy debates with anyone who disagrees with his new hyperfixation. Has a different notification ring for your posts.

⋆⋅☆Ortho: Shares many pictures of you and him and others doing silly things, sometimes posts gossips and causes huge scandals with them, to the point he decided to create an account with only gossip info. (Azul is literally taking notes.)

⋆⋅☆Malleus: This man owns a Nokia 3310.

⋆⋅☆Lilia: Creates posts about the Doramas he watches, managing a fan page to discuss them with others. Shares pictures of Silver, Sebek, and Malleus, although the latter two get embarrassed, leading Lilia to take down their pictures.

⋆⋅☆Silver: Posts images of nature and cute animals. There's only one picture of him – you took it while he was sleeping and posted it. He didn't have the heart to delete it, knowing it was you.

⋆⋅☆Sebek: Shaky hands #2. Takes pictures of his paintings of Malleus; if you scroll long enough, you might see an accidentally posted painting of you.

⋆⋅☆Che’nya: Shares pictures of people's scared faces, taken while invisible when the flash goes off.

⋆⋅☆Neige: Lost track of his posts; like Vil, he has many followers. Captures moments with the dwarfs and shares funny stories about his day in every picture.

⋆⋅☆Rollo: Has one account filled with pictures of Fleur City. His profile picture used to be a croissant, but he removed it since it looked dumb. He was blocked every magic user, except for you. Yet.

[deadliestpieceontheboard]

I don't think younger/newer users fully grasp the shit show that ace discourse was around 2014-17

It was so hostile that, to this day, discussions that begin to derail just enough can make me physically nauseous, some specific mockery trigger crying sessions years later. We lost most accounts with any sort of ace positivity. There was no information, no support, and all this damage was done predominantly by other queer people.

All this to say that you, however you identify yourself, should be engaging with aphobic comments the same way you do any hate. We don't sugarcoat or try to be comprehensive with people who are blatantly racist, homophobic or terfs, so why give it a pass just because it's coming from a queer person? I see how this tolerance goes and it's done enough damage as it is.

[leidensygdom]

The ways in which being asexual feels isolating

I've been pondering whether to post this or not, but I figured out I wanted to explain a bit of this experience.

So, I could go on a very long tangent on how being asexual is usually a lonely experience, and how much I've been otherized here and there- Specially in real life. How the same people that claimed to be queer (or allies) had been much weirder about my asexuality than they were about me being bi/pan or whatever.

But I think I wanna talk about how something like that bleeds in every aspect of socializing, even down to something like fandom. I stay away from fandom usually- I like to look at cool fanart and that's about it. I hate discourse, I hate drama, I hate reading people getting worked up because they're treating fanon as canon. But there's one thing I've noticed, over and over, that just sends me off my rails.

And it's how fandom tends to treat asexuality (or aromanticism). So, you get a character in some piece of media that explicitly, unequivocally, states they're either ace, aro, or both. "I do not have interest in a partner", "I don't desire to have sex nor do I enjoy the topic", whatever. And as an ace person, I do appreciate being able to see myself in media- There isn't many chases where something is established that bluntly.

Now, you decide you want to check some fanart for that. Fandoms have this tendency to make absolutely everything about shipping, even when the media they're basing it in does not revolve about that (and it's annoying, because a lot of times people aren't interested in the actual themes- It's all reduced to shipping). Suddenly, you notice people treating the aforementioned character as anything but aro or ace. It's all about shipping. "This person interacted with this other person in a way two friends would, but we gotta make this their entire personality now". Some people may instead go for "well, maybe the character is not having sex, but they're probably an absolute freak about it, studies it extensively, has encyclopedic knowledge about it-"

Now, there's of course sex-favourable aces, and that's completely valid, but it's already straying from what, canonically, the character had mentioned. Asexual or aromantic characters aren't really allowed to exist as themselves. People often see them as a blank slate to fill, to change, to fix. I could talk forever about how people react to real life aces like that. I've had people asking me incredibly invasive questions because they saw my lack of sexual attraction as something broken, something they could fix.

And I hate that! I think I'm allowed to say that I hate that! It's hard and unusual for media to cement an aro/ace character, because they're defined by the lack of interest for something, which is often hard to show. But when it does- No one seems to care. It's all shipping, it's all "well, he's gay in denial", "well, she's probably super repressed". If you took a canonically gay character and made them straight on a fanfic, you'd get angry people. Which is bound to happen when you erase representation that people identify with. But aro/ace characters are NOT even seen as queer, they're not even seen as "representation" by most people. You can erase that bit of it, put some god awful shipping on top, and people will applaud you. And it sucks!

I wish people would see being aro or ace as an identity worth respecting, not an identity that needs overwriting. It feels a bit too close to how people often treat aro/aces irl, and it sucks. It reeks of this sort of exclusionism, where "aro/aces are technically queer but it's queer lite at best, it's less interesting than being gay, and we kinda don't want them near us anyhow". Again, I've had far worse experiences about being ace than I have about not being straight.

Sorry if the post got long, but I hope this experience may at least resonate with other people who have been struggling with this, too. It has always felt just kind of lonely to be ace, and see how little people do even consider it an identity, even when it comes down to something like fandom.