Relationship With Romance (Part 3)
Relationship with Romance, Part 3/3
And so we finish this series! God I feel like I have forever and everything to say about what was covered here 😭 Maybe most importantly, I wanted to end the comic with this emphasis on moving on, both figuratively and literally from that Romance section. For me personally, it’s been a big part of my journey with aromanticism. For those that need to hear it, I hope that you find the grace to move forwards too, even if it sometimes feels like there may be little else to find. Just like how there are more genres than romance, I promise life has so much more to offer 💚💚💚
BTW also, since I will be taking a bit of a break while working out my next comic series, I was thinking of doing some reviews of Aro-centric books as some buffer posts - so lmk if there are things you think I should read!!!
[Image Descriptions:
Slide 1: Celia lies on a bed of books, speaking up to the reader as she holds a pink one in her hands.
“Recently, however, I think that I’ve entered a new phase in my relationship with romance.”
Slide 2: “I no longer feel bothered by romance like I used to, and for a while I was even able to pick up some fanfiction or lighter romances and enjoy them as a story.”
Celia lies on her bed in blue pajamas. She gleefully smiles as she holds a phone up above her, reading a story on it.
Slide 3: Shot closes in on her, now curled up holding the phone to her side and hugging a plush emu toy. She smiles, her expression reading as bittersweet but ultimately still happy.
“But at the same time, it just … didn’t connect with me, not like it did before.”
Slide 4: The current version of Celia sits on a chair, flipping through the pink book she held earlier. “Maybe it’s because I don’t really need it, the way I used to.”
Slide 5: “Romance used to be a kind of escape for me,”
The shot switches to a close up of her hands holding the book open.
Slide 6: Celia, now depicted inside the pages of the book, stares back at a scene of a wedding drawn in a looser, watercoloured style.
She says, “and in some ways it was one of the few places I ever saw meaningful bonds between people being developed.”
A side note is written in lighter text: “And that mattered, a lot - for a child who grew up semi-forcibly socially isolated due to circumstances beyond their control.”
Slide 7: “Maybe it’s because at the end of everything, I’ve accepted that I’m not going to enjoy being in a romantic relationship nor will it be a part of my life.”
Still within the pages of the book, Celia stares off to the side looking at a scrapbooked section with a photo of her younger self taped down. The teen raises their hands excitedly in front of a sketchbook showing a shipping chart with OCs and arrows, and a pile of scrawled pages underneath underneath the sketchbook.
The teen says “Shipping is my fav activity!” while an arrow pointing to the image says “trying waaaay too hard to convince everyone (myself included) that romance was my fav genre”.
The older version of Celia looks at the collage, chuckling and nothing ‘I was so cute back then …’
Slide 8: The scene switches back to the normal style, showing Celia closing the book. “No matter what, I’m just … neutral about it. And maybe that’s okay.”
Slide 9: A darker slide, with a panel at the bottom showing Celia putting a book back on the shelf.
Slide 10: Celia walking away from the bookshelf, looking cheerfully away from the romance aisle.
“I think it’s time that I opened a new chapter in my life, anyway.” ]











