#aroworlds

[aspeczine]

A-Spec Zine Contributor Apps Open!

Thanks so much to everyone who participated in our interest check! Applications are now steaming ahead.

We are looking for WRITERS, ARTISTS, and DESIGNERS.

Due to the size of the project (small!) writer and artist applications will only be open for a week, but may close early if we hit the limit of applications we can reasonably process. We are only looking for around 10 artists and 10 writers, at most.

Artist Application

Hi hello welcome! This is the artist application form for the as-yet-untitled aspec zine, open to all experiences and identities across the

Writer Application

Hi hello welcome! This is the writer application form for the as-yet-untitled aspec zine, open to all experiences and identities across the

Designer applications will be open until the July 6 2023, or until we hit a hard limit of 10 applicants. If you are interested in designing as well as contributing, please fill out both forms.

Designer Application

Hi hello welcome! This is the supplimentary designer application form for the as-yet-untitled aspec zine, featuring original work about the

[alloaroworlds]

[image description: A beaded star pendant sitting on a blue microfibre blanket, attached to a white necklace cord by a gold-coloured jump ring. The star is threaded with translucent and pearly seed beads in the colours of the allo-aro pride flag: green, light green, white, yellow and gold.]

Here’s a close-up of the final allo-aro star pendant I made using my pride star bead tutorial!

[117-opossum-teeth]

The Aromantic Maiden

Sat at an open lattice window,

A maiden lets out a desperate cry

In hopes a savior will appear

From the starry night sky.

This is a forlorn last hope

On the night before her wedding day

Of a forced marriage she cannot cope,

She dreads her world turning to gray.

There’s movement in the inky sky,

It just barely catches her eye.

A figure in the darkness

Grows with every passing moment.

Soon the maiden realized its course,

Coming straight for her lattice window,

Flying fast and full force.

The monster was thrice the size of a horse.

The maiden stumbled from her seat,

Her heart thumped and breath caught in her throat.

The monster was snake-like and sleek,

It was no other than a dragon.

The beast landed on the building’s wall,

Sending a tremble through the room.

It stretched its neck through the window

And from its nostrils came a smoky plume.

The maiden cowered in the corner

Yet dared a glance at the foreigner,

And in its eyes she saw

No malice or disdain.

Instead there was compassion,

Understanding, and maybe even

An escape. The dragon

She suddenly believed in.

The beast had heard her prayer

And beckoned her out of her lair.

This was the savior she sought after,

Freedom was right in front of her.

She climbed onto the dragon’s back

And held on for dear life.

As the dragon expanded its wings,

She kissed goodbye her role as wife.

They sprang into the ebony night

And flew to a great height.

With the full moon to guide them,

The maiden was without any fright.

[aroworlds]

[image description: a square aro-ace cross-stitched flag patch sitting on a blue microfibre blanket. The patch bears the orange/yellow/white/cyan/blue horizontal stripes of the aro-ace flag and is finished with an edging embroidered in bright orange thread.]

Aro Week Patch Giveaway - Aro-Ace

To celebrate Aro Week, I’m doing a week of patch giveaways. The aro-ace patch features @aroaesflags​’s blue/yellow design with a bright orange border.

These are all handsewn pieces. They will have the small imperfections that come from being hand-embroidered. They’re also made using using a mix of Sullivans colourfast thread and thread from eBay that I will not promise is colourfast. I have also used a little clear nail polish in their construction (hidden underneath the embroidered edge).

Colours may not precisely match the flag colours (colour-matching thread to a backlit screen is difficult and/or I don’t have a better match in my thread stash). Since I like to play with different stripe and border combinations, every patch will feature a one of a kind, never exactly-repeated colourway.

Patches will come with a length of thread matching the embroidered edge for sewing onto your bags, coats or hats. I’ll be posting a tutorial about how to do this on my Patreon and WordPress site in the next few weeks.

These patches have been made by someone in a pet-free household who doesn’t wear artificial fragrances or perfumes but does wear deodorants and use shampoos containing essential oils.

I will ship these (sealed in a plastic zipseal bag) with a card in a standard letter envelope to any postal address accessible to me through Australia Post. (In other words, global with a few odd exceptions.) The giveaway ends at 12 PM AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time) March 2.

To enter, you need to do the following:

Follow me at @aroworlds​​ or @alloaroworlds​​

Be an aromantic of the identity listed in the header or entering on behalf of someone who is

Have your ask box or DMs open

Be an adult or have an adult’s permission to give your mailing address to an adult online

Reply to this post with the word “aro-ace” somewhere in said reply. Reblogs, while awesome, will not count as entries.

(I’m autistic. I can’t always tell the difference between “reblogging to signal boost” and “reblogging to enter” responses. So all reblogs will be accounted as signal-boosts and replies accounted as entries. I apologise to anyone who’d prefer to enter under the anonymity of a sideblog, but I need to make this as uncomplicated as possible.)

If you’d like to support me in future aro-community pride craft giveaways, I do have a Patreon (Aro Worlds, link in description box), where I’ll be running a subscriber-only giveaway for a dragon patch in the pride colours of your choice.

Good luck and thanks for reading!

[llamacorn-productions]

When Shizuka moved to a new town, her main concerns were learning how to make friends and avoiding more bullies. She was not expecting the demons hiding in the forest or their plans to take over the world. 

Taken By a Demon is an original fiction book I’ve been working on for a while. It’s a combination of slice of life and fantasy. The slice of life stories center on Shizuka, Diana and their classmates as they deal with growing up and learning how to be who they want to be. The fantasy stories deal with the magic and demons hidden in the surrounding forest and the battles Shizuka and her allies must fight to keep the unknowing public safe.

I see the book more as a collection of related short stories than a collection of chapters, though some, including the first one, are long enough to have chapters. As short stories, the focus can jump more freely between the large ensemble cast of the slice of life stories and the more focused cast of the fantasy stories. While romance is not a main focus of the book, it will eventually become apparent that most of the cast is queer in some way.

So far I’ve uploaded the prologue and the first chapter of the first story. I plan to upload a chapter every Friday, though I may take a Friday off once in a while to post chapters of other stories.

You can click here to read it on Wattpad.

[eeee-lye]

Me: I’ve got a novelette, a short story and a chapter to try and finish in a month that’s already a third over, and I’ve spent most of the last week unable to move my right shoulder.

Me: Let’s start an aro-spec fiction writers’ collective! Anyone interested?

Don’t get me wrong: I need something like this to exist. I just seem to have ideas and motivation when I am least able to do the thing...

(But please check out the post if you’re an aro-spec writer of original creative media and you want some folks to buddy up with! Also, you should be following my blog @aroworlds and submitting your work...)

[aroworlds]

Pride Patch Tutorial: Basic Stripes

This is a tutorial for a cross-stitched pride-flag patch in a simple stripe design. Please first read the Beginner’s Guide at Red Gate Stitchery if you’re unfamiliar with cross stitch, as this tutorial is about …

I’ve started a tutorial series on my WordPress site for cross stitching / hand embroidering my aro pride flag patches! The first installment covers materials, patch sizing, cross stitching a plain striped flag design and embroidering the edges of the patch.

The next installment will cover sewing the patch onto a bag or jacket, along with turning the patch into a pin or badge and the technique for the zigzag stripe designs. This has turned out to be a seriously time-consuming project, so please expect a few weeks’ interval between tutorial installments!

I’d really like to see what patches folks make if you do give this tutorial a shot!

Image description under keep reading cut:

[Six handsewn cross stitch patches, arranged in two rows of three, against a background of a textured partially-translucent aromantic pride flag. Text between the two rows reads Aro Pride Patches in black type. Patches include aromantic and allo-aro in zigzag patterns, nebulaquoi and arovague in plain stripes, a text patch reading Allo Aro and an arrow design in allo-aro colours.]

[aroworlds]

[image description: a square lithromantic cross-stitched flag patch sitting on a red watermelon slice pillow. The patch bears the red/orange/yellow/white/black horizontal stripes of the lithromantic flag and is finished with an edging embroidered in light peach thread.]

Aro Week Patch Giveaway - Lithromantic

To celebrate Aro Week, I’m doing a week of patch giveaways. The lith patch features the common red, orange, yellow, white and black stripe design with a pastel peach border.

These are all handsewn pieces. They will have the small imperfections that come from being hand-embroidered. They’re also made using using a mix of Sullivans colourfast thread and thread from eBay that I will not promise is colourfast. I have also used a little clear nail polish in their construction (hidden underneath the embroidered edge).

Colours may not precisely match the flag colours (colour-matching thread to a backlit screen is difficult and/or I don’t have a better match in my thread stash). Since I like to play with different stripe and border combinations, every patch will feature a one of a kind, never exactly-repeated colourway.

Patches will come with a length of thread matching the embroidered edge for sewing onto your bags, coats or hats. I’ll be posting a tutorial about how to do this on my Patreon and WordPress site in the next few weeks.

These patches have been made by someone in a pet-free household who doesn’t wear artificial fragrances or perfumes but does wear deodorants and use shampoos containing essential oils.

I will ship these (sealed in a plastic zipseal bag) with a card in a standard letter envelope to any postal address accessible to me through Australia Post. (In other words, global with a few odd exceptions.) The giveaway ends at 12 PM AEDT (Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time) March 2.

To enter, you need to do the following:

Follow me at @aroworlds or @alloaroworlds

Be an aromantic of the identity listed in the header or entering on behalf of someone who is

Have your ask box or DMs open

Be an adult or have an adult’s permission to give your mailing address to an adult online

Reply to this post with the word “lithromantic” somewhere in said reply. Reblogs, while awesome, will not count as entries.

(I’m autistic. I can’t always tell the difference between “reblogging to signal boost” and “reblogging to enter” responses. So all reblogs will be accounted as signal-boosts and replies accounted as entries. I apologise to anyone who’d prefer to enter under the anonymity of a sideblog, but I need to make this as uncomplicated as possible.)

If you’d like to support me in future aro-community pride craft giveaways, I do have a Patreon (Aro Worlds, link in description box), where I’ll be running a subscriber-only giveaway for a dragon patch in the pride colours of your choice.

Good luck and thanks for reading!