Today, 25 February, in 1971, New York newspaper The Village Voice published an article, titled Asexuals Have Problems Too. The article satirised earlier debates in the paper, which had argued over whether straight or gay people had things harder, positing that being asexual in a sex-obsessed world was the hardest of all. You can read the whole thing here.
Although the article was not intended to be taken seriously, it resonated with readers – some wrote in thanking the author for increasing the visibility of asexuality, others wrote in solidarity, hoping to learn more about how to support the ace community.
If you’d like to hear more about this moment in ace history, check out our podcast!
Asexuals and aromantic should be allowed to discuss how society is hyper focused on sex and romance to people’s detriment without being accused of being homophobic
All credit for the translation to rosemary on SNOD
While Nikki was preparing an outfit to attend the graduation ball, Momo led her to a mysterious attic in order to find the perfect dress, but suddenly, a mysterious red light from the wardrobe appear, and Nikki was entranced by a vibrant red dress and travel to a new world!
Led by the sounds of World God Aina, Nikki came to an ancient castle where Aina was sealed. In the process, Nikki followed Aina's directions and found a new source of power surging inside her, "the power of imagination"
According to Aina, we know that this world had an event - "the death of gods", and because of it, Aina was sealed at the castle for 100 years
So the question is: Why is World God Aina is sealed and trapped? And who's the master of "The Vow of Reunion" (?)
From a speculation:
The master of "The Vow of Reunion" from 1000 years ago could be Nikki from another dimension!
Moreover, Nikki from 1000 years ago had failed in saving the continent, following that is the fall of gods
To preserve "Infinity Heart" (?) of Nikki, Aina decided to bring herself to be sealed in the castle for a thousand year
After 1000 years, Nikki finally came, and Aina give back "Infinity Heart" to its original owner. Aina also said after Nikki collected all legendary suits, she will be able to change the ending of this world and learn the truth behind everything
Hi guys so I made a fake cover for one of my oc stories. I'm just now realizing that it doesn't quite fit the vibes of this current excerpt but I promise it makes sense with more context 💀 I thought I'd post something to go along with it and so here's the prolog chapter!
Any feedback or comments are appreciated 🫶
PROLOG
Every star in the sky is that of an ancestor looking down from the land beyond mortals. The names of those still residing in the memories of generations to come are the names belonging to the brightest stars.
As time goes on and memories twist and turn through each person's account, the people behind those names slowly turn to ash, leaving behind hollow gods — mere figures in legends and prayers. A long time ago, one such star existed. The founder of the kingdom high upon the mountains, Hua Xinyang, shone with splendor never seen before in the northern sky. Never obscured by clouds, he was Yujun's symbol even long after his physical body had been devoured by dirt and worms. But he too, would disappear one day. When a dark void appeared in the spot where his star would have shone, Hua Xinyang, although still remaining in the hearts of his people, was truly pronounced dead.
Ever since then, the two other gods who watched over Yujun alongside him, were rarely ever seen again. They said that one secluded himself in his realm in the depths of The Abyss, while the other, crushed by grief, hid away in his garden and never dared to cross any form of life again. Even though their stars still existed in the night sky, their absence made it no different from the death the people of Yujun had experienced just moments before.
That was 500 years ago. Yujun has moved on from their grief and the kingdom has learned to live on without their Tri-Deity. Today, their names are only uttered in respect; for the small fragment of history that people are still able to remember. However, whatever happened before, in between, and after that brief moment in time was a mystery, one that would never reach their descendants because nobody who lived through it was around to tell those stories anymore.
But there was somebody who lived, unbeknownst to anyone besides himself and the gods who had disappeared long ago.
One day when the descendant of Hua Xinyang took in a boy from the south of Yujun, Xiang Yulan, who'd laid dormant in his Silk Pavilion for years, felt that something was out of place within the mortal world. After a distanced observation of the child, the link between them only became clearer. However, he wasn't the only one who felt that way. Bai Ming who'd disappeared from the eyes of all beings — living and dead — suddenly returned to check on this "disturbance." Something wasn't as it should be with Hua Beifang's boy, and as time went on, Bai Ming's suspicions, although believed to be illogical even by himself, seemed to be proven true. The child had memories of the past; the deities' past. He wasn't sure whose memories they were, but they were certainly more accurate than the myths being passed around as the trio's history in the current day.
As a god of the underworld, truth be told, Bai Ming was unnerved by the occurrence. The boy was an anomaly to the cycle of life and death. His duty should have lead to him killling the boy to restore all that is natural, but due to his own personal desire, he could not bring himself to do so.
By the time Hua Xinyang perished, he, Bai Ming, and Xiang Yulan each had their own skeletons in the closet. However, whatever the latter two were hiding was an open secret compared to the events that Hua Xinyang hid away, even from Xiang Yulan.
Despite the shining image of brotherhood that the people of Yujun saw Bai Ming and Hua Xinyang as, Bai Ming couldn't care less about the secrets that the founder had. For what it's worth, if they were to disappear just like their owner, he still would not have felt as if he'd lost something important. On the other side of that spectrum, there was Xiang Yulan. The death of the founder was a secret that he was hiding in itself, one that he was hiding from Xiang Yulan specifically. At least that's what the moon god believes. He didn't know why his companion would do that, but he knew that he must've been keeping something from him, something big, something... awful.
When the boy entered the picture, Xiang Yulan thought that he could be the key to the puzzle. So, he sought after him. He waited for the moment he'd be able to take him as his contract disciple. He always watched him, but never interfered. Without realizing it, he'd watched him grow up.
Bai Ming was aware of this. The revivification of the moon god was a surprise, but, at the start, it was a welcome one. He and Xiang Yulan's relationship had strained after the founder's death, so all he could do was look after him from afar. It was once he'd grasped the other god's true intentions that he finally stepped in. The moon god had no obligation to listen to him, as the death god had no obligation to stop him. But Bai Ming wanted something too, and he was willing to destroy whatever legacy they'd left behind as a trio in order to achieve it.
When the two couldn't reach an agreement, it was settled that from then on, the moon and the waters below were enemies. How people would remember them now was unimportant, because at that point, neither of them had anything to lose.
