loved the little part where Isaac says that a relationship seems nice in theory but it isn't what he actually wants and James goes "so you're aromantic?" and Isaac absolutely lights up with a smile and he says "you know what that is?"
the funny part is that when James said that my face also lit up with a smile and my thoughts were "he knows what it is!!" even while watching fictional characters. the fact that our identity is so unknown and invisible makes this such a universal aro experience.
QOTD: Have you ever read a book with aromantic representation? If not, I highly recommend giving one a go!
If anyone has any recs where a character realises they’re aromantic a bit later in life, I’d love that. I’ve known I was ace since I was 18 and I didn’t realise I was aro until my late 20s.
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Books featured:
Slide 2: Aroace
- Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao
- Loveless by Alice Oseman
- City of Strife by Claudie Arseneault
- The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
- The Isles of the Gods by Amie Kaufman
- Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
- The Spider and Her Demons by Sydney Khoo
Slide 3: aro-allo
- All You Want For the Holidays by Quinton Li
- A Grim and Sunken Vow by Ashley Shuttleworth
- Something Extraordinary by Alexis Hall
- Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
- Everything Under the Moon: Fairy Tales in a Queer Light Anthology
Slide 4: On my tbr
- Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault
- Being Aro anthology
- Cinder by DN Brynn
- Goddess of the Hunt by Shelby Eileen
- Aces & Aros: Volume 1 by Jeremy Whitley, Kat Calamia and Phil Falco
You, Me, and the Sea, my short story featuring an aroallo siren named Marlowe that definitely eats people (but would never eat Masie), and Masie, their tired aroace human bestie who is hanging on by a thread, has been accepted in Common Bonds 3! Art by the incredible @starsinmycoffeedraws
Be sure to visit the Kickstarter and sign up for updates, and support it when it launches.
From Claudie Arseneault - Get Ready for Common Bonds 3 - An Anthology of Aromantic SFF
aspec fairy tales i've seen so far, in the order i've seen them (note: "aspec reading" denotes works without canonical aspec rep, but either lack elements of romance/sexuality or can be read as aspec):
(aspec reading) obligatory inclusion of fairytale/fantasy media geared towards younger audiences, as these are obviously non-sexual, but consistently include romance (notable non-romantic examples: alice in wonderland; certain disney films e.g. brave, brother bear, dumbo, frozen, moana, winnie-the-pooh; ghibli films, ymmv; over the garden wall, pinocchio, pixar films, rise of the guardians, wish dragon; many kids books about non-romantic love e.g. frog and toad, the little prince, winnie-the-pooh). still favorites though!
(aspec reading) rise of the guardians comics by rufftoon - explorations on pitch black and the guardians' backstories. no romance. i loved these as a kid. favorite.
thread re: platonic beauty and the beast - aroace interpretation. m&f companionate, short and sweet. favorite.
(aspec reading) short story re: parental beauty and the beast - maurice parents the young beast. familial, father & son, short and sweet. favorite.
oh! the humanity! (a hat in time au) - mean ghost reverts back to the prince he once was and moves in with his space alien child nemeses. also an entity that stole his corpse and memories wants to be friends but he hates them. familial adoptive parent & children + ambiguously familial self-situationship/companionate/brotherhood. PEAK. game-changing concept. favorite.
(aspec reading) art by littlestpersimmon - warm, magical southeast asian fantasy with heavy filipino influences. trans m/m, iirc artist is ace so i interpret his works as ace romance & companionship. favorite.
critical role fairy tale aus by vietbluecoeur - so so enchanting and heart-wrenching! love the fic based on vietnamese mythology for that SEA rep. special mention to eyes like coin of gold; lips a reddest rose (rubygold beauty and the beast) and those that crawl and flutter towards the sun. found family and m&f aspec mixed romance and companionship. favorite.
post re: aro little mermaid - aro reading about amatonormativity. short and angsty.
royal rescue - prince teams up with a dragon and a runaway to dismantle an unfair rescue-based arranged marriage system. fun and whimsical, interesting concepts, but the writing style and execution of rep didn't do it for me, plus the second half is an ableist mess. m&m companionship and animal friendship.
until the last petal falls - contemporary nigerian beauty and the beast, short and novel enough to hold my interest the whole way. i liked the nigerian culture references and snake bf. gave me kilig during some parts. free on kindle. m&m companionate. special.
tales of the thread - chinese aro fairytale anthology. m&f friendship and companionship. short and sweet.
the language of roses - beauty and the beast retelling, interesting worldbuilding and premise, decent prose. f&f friendship and exploration of abusive relationships. dnf for Aroace Best Friend trope.
post re: sleeping beauty being born on a leap day - fun, short and sweet.
post re: non-romantic fairytale love - familial, friendship, companionship. short and sweet. favorite.
more than enough - gardener of a cursed mansion discovers the prince trapped inside. m/m ace romance or companionate, beauty and the beast, pretty prose. dnf bc too slow for me but it's otherwise nice and sweet.
Everyone's heard of Felix Song, lead singer of America's most popular boyband. Unfortunately, so has Natalie Nielsen, although she thinks he's just an annoying rich kid from her hometown. But when his little sister's hearing loss worsens, Felix offers Natalie a job that could save her family's Deaf Center: teach him ASL while on tour.
