Into the Wilds

[edinburgh-by-the-sea]

walking through summer

[kyri45]

Pride Sticker Collection by @Kyri45

Here’s my absolute best-seller coming back ONLY for the month of June!!

[herius-is-drawing]

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH TO ALL OF YOU 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️💖 let’s parade even for those people who can’t be in the street, we’ll be louder even for you 🗣️💖

[snoomfies]

snoopy pride flags :)

[martopiaaa]

It’s time to try living again

[p0ssibly-an-ali3n]

i've noticed that quite a lot of people are severely undereducated about aroace , aromantic , and asexual people , even allies and lgbtq people themselves

sure , to my knowledge we're not directly focused on by homophobic groups ( thanks for the clarification @/plum-petunia !! ) . but society is still extremely against the mere existence of those who don't feel certain types of love .

i was venting to a friend about being aroace and she asked me " why don't you just not be aroace ? "

people say " aromantic / asexual / aroace people can still date !! " and then refuse to engage with the nuances of an ace/arospec relationship

so many people i've told about being aroace all say " well , you're not gonna be aroace forever , right ? "

hell being asexual didn't stop being considered a mental illness until 2013

the only representation of aro/aspec people in media are cold villains or are "innocent" and "pure" , and even THAT rep is taken away

romance is viewed as better than all else . every conversation is about romance . nothing sells without romance

people can't conceptualise a relationship with romance without sex . people can't conceptualise a relationship without romance with sex . people can't conceptualise having no desire for a relationship with romance or sex .

society doesn't treat us as people worthy of respect . people dont care enough to represent us properly .

amatonormativity , aphobia , and arophobia are everywhere once you notice it

[aro-ace-chaos]

I’m so tired of the “why do people hate aspecs, they aren’t doing anything?” argument. I know that it is an attempt to support us, but it fails so spectacularly to understand aromanticism, asexuality, and any other aspec identity that it’s actively frustrating.

We are doing something. We’re rejecting allonormative ideals and that’s a massive thing to do. We’re actively fighting not just to help other aspecs, but to help everyone, because amatonormativity (and allonormativity as a whole) hurt everyone. Single people who want to find a partner but can’t also deserve to be able to exist.

There are so many issues with the expectation of marriage, including:

A single income isn't enough to get by anymore

Having a spouse is almost necessary under the current medical system

Society shames and pressures people who are single to get into relationships constantly

Rejecting allonormativity means fighting against these things that hurt everyone.

So, no, aces and aros and other aspecs aren't "doing nothing." We're doing quite a lot.

[crowwkui]

a karlach and nimue for @maezanilla ! ❤️💜

[merryweathart]

Kids, always remember to hate on generative ai, fascism and the patriarchy ✨️

[shouty-y]

"There's an old legend that a silverwood once fell in love with a witch..."

Prints

[fiafey]

imagine the smile she'll wear

[headmastermephistopheles]

Gal astarion lives rent free in my mind..and she demands silk curtains.

[anskapaints]

Dancing picture continue with the pookiest of pookies - that's a lie, they all are the pookiest pookies. I was fairly nervous about this one because I was afraid it would look boring compared to the others because of the more limited pallet.

[theprettiestnoise]

Sego lily. Their bulbs were once a famine food, and these two know a lot about starving. 🧛🏻🧙🏻 Watercolor on cold press

[ajooples]

Lol get yoinked nerd

[theloverislost]

as we are rapidly approaching pride month, here’s an obligatory reminder!

AROMANTIC PEOPLE

ASEXUAL PEOPLE

AND AROACE PEOPLE

ALL BELONG IN THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY

I WILL REMOVE EVERY BONE IN YOUR BODY IF YOU SAY OTHERWISE

[iamofthewilds]

To anyone saying asexual, aromantic, and agender people aren’t queer enough- let’s meet out back. If there’s one thing I despise- it’s gatekeeping. Way up until 2013 asexuality used to be treated as a sexual dysfunction disorder. As an older asexual, I heard about asexuality im university but never thought I could be asexual as it was sadly still medicalized. It led to years of feeling like I was broken and trying to pray that I would wake up feeling physical attraction and deeper romantic attraction- in a sick and twisted away I was practicing conversion therapy on myself (yuck 🤮). I also had a therapist who just thought my lack of intimacy was due to depression and anxiety and tried to get my more comfortable with physical intimacy and romance without my consent. It was hurtful and I’m sure other asexual, aromantic and aroace people have similar experiences. I have a feeling many other asexual, aromantic, aroace, and agender people young and old have had healthcare professionals, friends, and family say they need to change or try to change them. It doesn’t work and only leads do more pain as we were never broken to begin with.

Gatekeeping is cruel and dangerous. It can deny people a community, it can invalidate their identity and it can also lead to severe mental health consequences. It took me until I was 38 (get off my lawn you whippersnappers) until I came to terms with my asexuality as I didn’t realize it was a valid sexual orientation as I was terrified of it’s stigma and association with mental illness. It took a cunty little vampire in a super popular video game who struggles with intimacy and boundaries around bodily autonomy -albeit for reasons very different from my own- to feel seen. (BG3 fans if you know, you know 😆). I then went down the magical rabbit hole of research and discovered some incredible asexual educators and activists.

That’s why I’m so outrageously thankful for ace activists and educators like Yasmin Benoit, AceDadAdvice and AceofGrace that help educate people both within and outside our community. Nobody should ever be made to feel like they aren’t queer enough. Being part of the LGBTQ + community isn’t the oppression Olympics. I could go through all the ways asexuals face oppression, but being queer isn’t about that. The A is queer as hell. We are anything but heteronormative and many of us subvert amanormativity and gender identity. We belong. The asexual and aromantic and agender communities are full of such beautiful and varied experiences. They need to be uplifted and shared. We need to raise diverse voices in our community as this is how we learn from each other. To all my As- you are loved and valid. This panplatonic asexual gender questioning auntie ace sees you. Happy Pride! 🌈

[squeaky-potat]

Astarion and Gale exchange quiet vows under the stars of Waterdeep with their witness Tara. They’ll do a big ceremony to feed Astarion’s ego later but this moment is just for them… Their little family. ❤️