#they were the first normal-ish school friendship cartoon I watched

[confused-beany]

The original Trio

So the thing that was going through my head when I was drawing this is that, there's a new kid and he gets this Mean Girl type rundown of all the clichés in school. Then the new kid sees these three and he's like, "Who are those?"

And Dash is like, "Oh Fenton and his Freaks. Yeah you'd best stay away from those." Then he hesitates, "But if there's a ghost attack, you should listen to them. Don't follow them like a freak. Do as they say, not as they do."

And. My, isn't that familiar, Jason Todd thinks.

[askanaroace]

You recently reblogged something from an aro who likes Crazy Ex GF, can you recommend other shows/movies/etc that have aro/ace visibility? Thanksthanksthanks

Hi there! Sorry this has taken so long. ^^;;

I just want to make a clarification here that there’s a difference between aro/ace visibility and aro/ace friendliness. Aro/ace visibility would include some form of aro/ace rep, while aro/ace friendliness would be stories that aren’t super focused on romance/sex (or at least in the normal way we expect) that aro/ace people may be more comfortable watching or just relate to on some personal level as a result.

That being said, I want to clarify that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has a lot of romance and sex in it! I absolutely adore the show, and it absolutely does play with and flip common romantic tropes, but there’s no aro/ace rep or really visibility in it. But to get to the end of flipping the amatonormative script, our protag spends the vast majority of the show chasing a relationship. So for any who saw that post, do know there’s a lot of romance and sex in CEG, even though it does play with common tropes!

That aside...

A new blog @aro-test has popped up to go over if media has a romantic subplot or not, so it’s definitely a blog of interest! I also suggest @representativecharacters, which has a great tagging system you can use to look for a variety of rep. I’ve also got a variety of tags I try to keep up on: representation, book recs, and comic recs so far. As for things I could think of off the top of my head, trying to hit rep/friendliness in a variety of ways (in the order I thought of them; there’s only explicit rep if I mention it):

Shows

BoJack Horseman - to be honest, I still haven’t tried one, but it does have an explicitly asexual character.

Shadowhunters - another show with a canon ace character I haven’t gotten to watch (but really want to).

Steven Universe - okay, this is a children’s show and it’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea (I didn’t really even notice the inconsistent art style until people pointed it out), but I’m suggesting it because: a) there is an overreaching plot that runs the course of the show; it’s not just disconnected segments like something like Spongebob may be, b) there’s a lot of episodes to go through, and c) there really is not a lot of romance in it (and as a kid’s show, there also isn’t anything really sexual - I don’t even remember catching any subtle innuendo like a lot of kid’s movies these days have). There are a couple characters in relationships or who are kind of flirty/pining, but it’s mostly background and subtle, and the main plot is more about finding and having confidence in who you are. I’m also suggesting this one because unlike some other kids shows I could cover, the characters here are either human or very human-like. I don’t know about others, but I personally don’t feel very represented by, say, cartoon horses. ^^;;

Sex Education - There’s some debate on this one, but I personally really enjoyed the first season and am going to remain optimistic for any future seasons. There is sex and romance in this show, but the main character isn’t interested in a sexual relationship and is also repulsed by masturbation. The controversy comes in because the potential ace character’s actions are thought by others to be a result of some form of sexual trauma when he was younger (likely coming from living with his sex therapist mother who is not so subtle with the men she sleeps with). However, he’s really the first character who really seems to put my high school experiences on TV, so I think the show is worth it.

Avatar the Last Airbender - okay, another kid’s show, but a great kids show. There is some romance in this, but it’s definitely not the focus, and if you just look away fast enough at the last 30 seconds of the last episode, you can pretend the romantic subplot that never really existed also never got started. =p But seriously, great show that focuses more on friendship and empathy justice more than anything else.

Jessica Jones - unfortunately, the show is really going downhill as the seasons progress IMO, but I’ve easily read Jessica as similar to myself: caedromantic. There’s sex and there is minor romance between other characters, but Jessica herself seems more focused on herself and her semi-superhero-status than anything else.

Black Summer - I’m still very pissed off that (spoiler: they killed off the deaf character of color), but the first season of the show was very much focused on the drama and horror and survival of the beginning of the zombie outbreak, so it was aro/ace friendly.

Pose - there is some hints/lead ins to sex and some characters in romantic relationships, but by and large the focus is on queer poc and the world they have carved out for themselves. I would say the main relationship type is found family, which I adore.

One Day At a Time - I’m honestly purely recommending this one for a moment in s3 (tad spoilery but I’ll keep names out of it) where two characters are thinking of having sex, one freaks out, and the other gives a really heartfelt speech on how it’s okay to take things slow and it would in fact be okay if they never had sex. It’s more of a family show, so there’s nothing very explicit. There is some romance. But s3 completely exceeded expectations with that scene, so I’m throwing the show up here as a rec.

Z-Nation - there’s some on and off romantic (and some sexy times, but I think these both get less and less as seasons go on) subplots, but again, the focus is on zombies. And honestly, I love a zombie take like in Z-Nation where there are still outlets where people come together and they don’t all just automatically kill each other on sight. >.>

Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - our protag is getting out of a marriage, so there are allusions/discussions to and about that, but in the first season (couldn’t watch the second as I moved and don’t have my own prime account) the focus was definitely on Mrs. Maisel finding herself and figuring out how to do things without a husband. And she doesn’t do this by trying to wrangle up a new husband. She does it by chasing a career she enjoys just for herself.

Good Girls - there is romance and IIRC some sex in this show, but by and large, the romantic relationships are kind of broken and falling apart, while the core group of friends must stick together and keep each other together.

Into the Badlands - awesome karate action show with bits and pieces of romantic subplots but largely action-focused.

The X-Files - so Scully and Mulder end up together-ish (I don’t think it really happened until the movies, but I don’t clearly remember), but I’m not alone in seeing Scully and Mulder as really more queerplatonic than anything else. Also the werelizard episode of the re-start is hilarious.

Movies

A Wrinkle in Time - I found this movie cathartic to watch. Really beautiful. Really sweet. Really pure. It was beautiful and the focus was absolutely on familial relationships. I really loved at the end of the movie when the parents got the kiss, not the two kids, who we got to see just being kids still.

Men in Black - I love the MIB series and am very much looking forward to Thompson’s and Hemsworth’s upcoming version. These movies I think are both aro and ace friendly and just super fun to watch.

How to Train Your Dragon - (I’d ask how kids shows/movies keep ending up on here, but I don’t need to ask, lol) while Hiccup and Astrid become a couple, they’re really not overtly romantic (and definitely not sexual) and the focus is on friendship and family and dragons.

Webcomics

Rock and Riot - haven’t started it yet, but I think the entire main cast or close to it is aspec in some way, and it looks really cute.

Mistlands - another one with a ton of queer rep including aspec characters that I haven’t started, but have followed here on tumblr, and really look forward to starting.

Girls With Slingshots - this one’s definitely pretty sexual and romantic, but there is an ace character introduced partially through, and I really enjoyed the run of this comic. It’s one of the few webcomics I actually started and kept up with over the years.

Books

Books I’m not going to get into here not only because of my book rec tag above but also because there are some queer rep blogs out there you can search asexual/ace or aromantic/aro on, and they’ve already done a much better job sharing these books than I ever could! Check out @ya-pride, @lgbtqreads, @harmonyinkpress, and the #books tag on @fuckyeahasexual.

Hope this is something like what you were looking for!

.

Anyone feel free to make your own recs!

x

[smokedcapybara]

sometimes I get really curious how much my personal experience with and introduction to anime and manga(and manhua and manhwa) differs from the average experience and whenever that happens I kinda wish I could ask everyone who’s had any kind of experience with them what their story is

like, is it even normal to have a Story to it or do most people just stumble across it and that’s that? and for those who do have a Story, how similar is theirs to mine?

how many people stubbornly held out, believing they’d never get into it? how many people jumped in head first and totally immersed themselves immediately? how many people started with one and then through that got into the rest?

for how many people did it all happen all at once, slowly, over the course of several years?

there are two facts I need to share as context for the beginning of my Story:

fact 1: younger me was very much the kind of person who would read anything with words they could get their hands on

fact 2: my older sisters have both been into anime and manga for over a decade

I started reading Tokyo Mew Mew before I even knew what manga was - before I knew what comic books were either - it was literally the basis of my understanding of the whole concept of graphic novels

I started reading it because one of my sisters had a few of the books and they all had colorful covers and, of course, words

I was about ten I believe, give or take a year, and I loved it just as much as I loved any story - which is to say a lot

when I was eleven or twelve one of my sisters (likely the same as the one who owned the Tokyo Mew Mew books) left her copy of the manhwa Kill Me Kiss Me on the banister for at least a week(it felt like much longer to me but then I was tiny and young and being tortured by the temptation)

the entire time it was there I was at war with myself. on one hand: the cover and title had me worried about the contents, I didn’t want to scar myself again(never let a ten/eleven-year-old read Wicked or Return to the Secret Garden). on the other hand: words

eventually I gave in and it turned out to be a really adorable gangster romance and I loved it

around the same year as my kmkm dilemma, my two sisters decided to indoctrinate me and my brother to the wonders of anime

Jen went about it by sitting us in front of the tv and making us watch One Piece; Mike was instantly ensnared, I was not - in fact, quite the opposite

Ashley’s method was to invite me to watch her shows with her, turn it into a bonding experience. she introduced me to Ouran High School Host Club and Ah! My Goddess and, despite them being the exact opposite of everything I cared about at that point in my life, I loved them

unfortunately Ashley had a habit of also watching without me, resulting in me missing huge chunks of episodes, so neither show actually stuck

two-ish years later, around when my reading was starting to decline (I’d recently moved across the country and the school libraries worked on a different system that had me confused to the point where I outright avoided them) one of my friends convinced me to go with her to the school library so she could return her books and check out new ones - she also encouraged me to check some out myself, though I was pretty sure I wouldn’t

then I got a good look at the books she was checking in - the first few books in the +Anima manga - and fell in love. with the cover art, the summary. I had to read those books

so I checked them out and read them and then looked the rest up online and finished the series

that same year, I got really into Teen Titans and Young Justice (the cartoons, not the comics, I remain to this day not a huge fan of comic books - mostly cause dc and marvel are both so confusing I have no idea where to start and thus no desire to) and, like I did when I was super into Warriors, I started watching amvs on youtube (of course, these amvs are how I got from Teen Titans to Young Justice in the first place... but anyway)

and then I discovered that just watching amv after amv was a great way to have music in the background while doing other stuff and a good way to find new songs

and leaving autoplay on led me to anime amvs, usually filled with images from multiple different animes

and then there was one that was just one anime, filled with bright colors and pretty clothes and magical transformations and mermaids - everything I was too ashamed to admit I liked - and I looked it up

I started watching Mermaid Melody in secret, trying to only watch it when nobody else was in the room, and I loved it - but as soon as my family found out and started teasing me I dropped it like a sack of bricks

sometime around when all of this was going on - more before than during, actually - Jen introduced me and Mike to two things online; the webcomic Hannah is Not a Boy’s Name, and the manhua 1/2 Prince (which for years I thought was also a webcomic because I was a Foolish child) and while I dropped HiNaBN as soon as I realized it wasn’t going to updated any time soon(and it still hasn’t been kjdsfhk) I kept up with 1/2 Prince for a year or so until it kinda faded from my mind

and then freshman year of high school I watched an entire anime - Shugo Chara - over spring break, I started watching FMA because Mike complained about the Anime Club refusing to watch it, I started InuYasha - and dropped it within a couple months - because it showed up in an amv and I was curious, I started Katekyo Hitman Reborn - also because of an amv - and dropped it after the first episode (and then picked up again a few months later and dropped it after one or two more episodes and eventually got past the first twenty episodes during sophomore year and sped through the rest)

suddenly I was watching animes with Mike - things like Bleach, Soul Eater, Death Note, and later Fruits Basket, Baka and Test, etc - and building one of my closest friendships ever off of a shared love of anime (and drawing) with one of my classmates

and then, just as suddenly as it started, it all stopped around senior year

I went weeks, and then months without watching any anime or reading any manga

Yuri on Ice briefly broke the streak a bit after graduation, and there were a couple others that I tried to watch but never really got into in the year or so after that

and now I only watch anime when my mom wants to watch some with me and I only read manga(or manhwa or manhua) when I’m re-reading one of my first few

it all confuses me so much. how it happened, why it happened the way it did

idk

[devouer]

unusual asks: 1-100,,,,, All of them,,,,,

Spotify, SoundCloud, or Pandora?

spotify!!!

is your room messy or clean?

clean usually, although it’s weird right now with moving back home and getting rid of pretty much everything I owned before this year

what color are your eyes?

dark brown!

do you like your name? why?

i like elma ling but not elma very much just because of the flow + because my host family used it to differentiate me from my host sister emma so I associate it with warmth and familiarity + it’s cute and reflects my heritage?? idk I feel like it fits me well enough

what is your relationship status?

marrying @katsudaddy and adopting our dog cranberry and our cat sock and living in a cozy apartment together

no but rly im single but so involved in my friendships that like... honestly I put no difference in commitment between them and romantic relationships

describe your personality in 3 words or less

grateful, I think, more than anything! I hear things like sincere and mature pretty often too, but I think love and thankfulness define my perspective towards others more than anything

what color hair do you have?

dark brown

what kind of car do you drive? color?

I don’t drive

where do you shop?

a lot of MUJI and uniqlo ngl + a bit of zara/h&m + school apparel + thrifting

how would you describe your style?

minimalist but dreamy? kind of a mix of european and asian styles

favorite social media account

instagram probably! I use tumblr and snapchat quite a bit too

what size bed do you have?

I mean, I had a twin in france + at school, but here I have a full which makes me very sad it’s too big for one person so I’m trying to switch rooms/beds with my brother

any siblings?

my brother, who’s 13! I also have five host siblings even if they’re not my real family :’)

if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why?

honestly, considering the languages I know right now, I’d want to live on the west coast of france – there’s nowhere I feel more at home in terms of the people and lifestyle, and I love the way the light endures in the evening and the delicate beauty of patchwork cities and gardens... I’d love to live for some time in Russia, China, and Japan for language acquisition, though!

favorite snapchat filter?

I never use the filters omg but hm I love when @katsudaddy sends me bunny filter snaps she is cute

favorite makeup brand(s)

colourpop is the bomb! + nuxe, la roche posay, and the body shop are good for skin and beauty things that aren’t makeup

how many times a week do you shower?

probably around 5

favorite tv show?

YURI ON ICE

shoe size?

36 EU/6 U.S.

how tall are you?

5′2″!

sandals or sneakers?

sneakers!

do you go to the gym?

I work out regularly, but not at the gym bc it was too expensive in france >:( I’ll probably start going now that I’m back, though!

describe your dream date

picnic and museum or exploring tbh... or going to the sea at a quiet hour... anything rly what matters is the other person!!

how much money do you have in your wallet at the moment?

around $40 I think

what color socks are you wearing?

not wearing socks atm, but was wearing grey socks earlier!

how many pillows do you sleep with?

one usually

do you have a job? what do you do?

I’m camp counseling this summer!

how many friends do you have?

probably a good dozen, although I have around 4-5 really close friends!

whats the worst thing you have ever done?

clarify worst

whats your favorite candle scent?

LAVENDER I LOVE EVERYTHING LAVENDER it reminds me of home and early autumn in the loire and the fields of provence and my favorite honey :’)

3 favorite boy names

remi, alexeï, antonin

3 favorite girl names

irene, tereza, kiyoko

favorite actor?

the 12 year old in me is still hopelessly in love with orlando bloom

favorite actress?

katherine reber class of 2017

who is your celebrity crush?

nathan chen......................

favorite movie?

i rly love amélie!

do you read a lot? whats your favorite book?

i read a decent amount, but used to read all the time before hs! my favorite book is The Unbearable Lightness of Being by milan kundera!

money or brains?

um brains lmao I don’t like having many physical possessions

do you have a nickname? what is it?

elmy, elm tree, elmdog, soup dumpling, soup, xiao long bao, red bean, elma ling was a sort of nickname that became my normal name, french bitch

how many times have you been to the hospital?

none lmao

top 10 favorite songs

rachmaninoff piano concerto no. 2 (esp. the second movement!)

rach 3

rachmaninoff ave maria from “vespers” (can you tell that rachmaninoff is my total comfort music)

debussy arabesque no. 1

theme for a taiwanese woman in lime green by devendra banhart

immobile by cliché

you only live once by the strokes

chosen by blood orange

astor piazolla tangata

getting to know you by spazzkid

do you take any medications daily?

nope

what is your skin type? (oily, dry, etc)

normal-ish? i have acne which is annoying but it’s been getting a lot better since I’ve come back I’m convinced bretagne water was just really bad for my skin

what is your biggest fear?

losing my ability to learn with the ease needed to continually better my understanding of the world and others (lest the progress of time bypass my ability to view the flow) and thus have unsatisfiable ambition and love

how many kids do you want?

none rly

whats your go to hair style?

half-back, sometimes french braided

what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc)

decent-sized family home, but I can’t wait to get out and live in an apartment I rly hate having space idk

who is your role model?

MY TEACHERS especially my physics and french teachers I rly adore them and could never express my gratitude for the dedication of their lives to my growth

what was the last compliment you received?

friends’ parents saying they believe I’ll do great things in the future and wishing me good luck at uni :’)

what was the last text you sent?

“OH MY GOD TOO FAR”

how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real?

idk little me was caught between knowing better and remaining purposely ignorant out of a nostalgia for wonder in total unknowing of infancy so

what is your dream car?

i literally don’t ever want a car of my own

opinion on smoking?

very harmful, never something i’d try... like, I have a lot of friends/classmates who smoke and I’d never judge their characters from that, but idk I think it’s a rly bad habit

do you go to college?

yep, uchicago!

what is your dream job?

i’d love to be a journalist or writer with international involvement but idk really! I’m very flexible when considering my future!

would you rather live in rural areas or the suburbs?

RURAL AREA like anywhere but the suburbs tbh like a city would be ideal, but at least in a rural area, I could have a thoreau-esque retreat

do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels?

no i never use them

do you have freckles?

yes i have so many spots on my skin idk it just pigments very easily

do you smile for pictures?

i do now (even though i prefer candids by a long shot) but i would refuse to when i was very little maybe until i was like 6-7

how many pictures do you have on your phone?

7133 

have you ever peed in the woods?

so many times lmao i hike i have no qualms

do you still watch cartoons?

.........does yuri on ice count

do you prefer chicken nuggets from Wendy’s or McDonalds?

idek the difference

Favorite dipping sauce?

curry sauce!!!

what do you wear to bed?

if it’s cold i bundle up in sweatpants + a patagonia, but if it’s decently warm, i just wear underwear

have you ever won a spelling bee?

no

what are your hobbies?

piano, painting, picking up new languages bc i’m a loser, organ, photography, hiking, teaching english from time to time + writing + editing

can you draw?

decently ehhh

do you play an instrument?

piano, violin, and organ!

what was the last concert you saw?

probably the marriage of figaro at the prague opera if that counts lmao..... i don’t go to non-classical concerts idk

tea or coffee?

tea usually, but I love a good espresso

Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts?

neither

do you want to get married?

@katsudaddy and I are already married

what is your crush’s first and last initial?

CB

KIDDING lmao no i’m not really into anyone romantically right now

are you going to change your last name when you get married?

depends on what sounds nicest tbh... I don’t like the sonority of my last name much so...yeah probably

what color looks best on you?

deep red looks nice, but I prefer wearing neutrals + greens/blues

do you miss anyone right now?

my family (host fam)

do you sleep with your door open or closed?

closed, but i used to leave my balcony doors open sometimes in france

do you believe in ghosts?

no

what is your biggest pet peeve?

PHONES OUT DURING MEALS

last person you called`

my dad

favorite ice cream flavor?

hmm I had a honey-almond gelato near marseille that I rly liked!!

regular oreos or golden oreos?

i don’t even remember what they taste like

chocolate or rainbow sprinkles?

rainbow bc they’re gay

what shirt are you wearing?

white t-shirt with a loose denim dress on top

what is your phone background?

aljkdfsh fanart of yuuri kissing viktor on the head... very cute

are you outgoing or shy?

honestly i think the best way to describe me would be intense? like, i rly swing between extremes with this depending upon where I direct my energy, so like... idk I’m naturally quite private but come off as outgoing bc I put up that front in public events when I have to

do you like it when people play with your hair?

ppl don’t rly play with my hair but I like playing with others’!!

do you like your neighbors?

idk the neighbors in PA or even in France, but at school, I lived with my classmates and teachers, and I loved the majority!!!

do you wash your face? at night? in the morning?

both!!!!

have you ever been high?

nooooo

have you ever been drunk?

yes, but I stay pretty in control

last thing you ate?

strawberries!

favorite lyrics right now

idk I don’t really think I have any! the sonority of music has always been a lot more moving to me than the lyrics

summer or winter?

summer, but the dawn of spring is my favorite time of year

day or night?

the last hours of day in the northern summers where the sky will be light almost until midnight

dark, milk, or white chocolate?

DARK like 85%-95% is good

favorite month?

maybe march or april... it depends on the weather each year!

what is your zodiac sign

taurus but idk it’s Very inaccurate for me (like i constantly crave change and take initiative to throw myself into uncomfortable and new situations, and I eschew material possession... at least i’m rly loyal though?) tbh my chinese zodiac (dragon) is much closer to my personality

who was the last person you cried in front of?

dave, my physics teacher :( I was thanking him one last time for showing me a way of surviving, u know? like there’s so much love and passion in what he does and idk I always worry about losing spark and so it’s like... idk he reminds me that there is always life in love if that makes any sense