A one shot so the post will spoil most if not all of the plot. A piece that debates the nature of aromantic and asexual identities directly. There are some gatekeeping sentiments around the nature of labels and the spectrum of both identities, but, I believe if this was written with the knowledge of the labels of being demiromantic or demisexual, the story would be much more conscious of them, so trigger warning for that sentiment.
Despite this, I think this warrants a rec for the fact of acknowledgment. Mentions of sexual themes and aphobic themes of society.
Authored by Amupaka, the story follows two women, Kanade and Aoi. Aoi has been struggling to connect with others as she cannot seem to make herself fall in love with others despite pushing herself to conform and dress to appease potential partners. On another night of this routine of trying to find someone that she could love she meets Kanade, who after hearing about this mentions that Aoi might be aroace, just like Kanade.
This identity seems to be very freeing for Aoi, letting herself be free of expectations and norms and living life how she wants to. The two of them very quickly become friends and confide in one another their life problems and stuggles of a love expecting society.
The story turns when Aoi begins to have a crisis of newfound identity as she begins to fall in love with one of her coworkers after learning to trust and care for him. After telling Kanade telling this, she expresses:
She feels betrayed by her friend falling in love when she couldn't.
A Sidebar about This
In a more aware context, I think that Aoi's character is incredibly a textbook example of a demiaroace. She only forms a romantic and sexual connection with her coworker after a deep emotional connection with them. The author introduces some context of possible romantic trauma in highschool towards Aoi, but it is never made clear if she was the one denying herself love or if she fits the labels. Either way, the sentiment that Kanade expresses here is incredibly divisive nowadays and has been the source of much online discourse. While the two characters reconcile, this should still be addressed and acknowledged as a reductive view of aspec identity. People can fall in and out of labels because they are just that, labels. They create a meaning for self that doesn't need to last forever.
Sidebar Over
We are shown Kanade's attempts to fall in love all met with failure of herself, even experimenting with her sexuality assuming that she wasn't straight until she is met with the revelatory introduction of the words asexual and aromantic. We don't spend much time in the conflict as Aoi expresses that she wouldn't have been able to be happy without Kanade's influence and that Kanade would always be a part of her life no matter what.
I think that this isn't the best representation of aspec identity, but it is a welcome step in the right direction of acknowledgement of the pressure and assumptions that society puts on aspec people.
TLDR:
Direct addressing of aspec identities and the pressure that society places upon them to conform to concepts of romance and family life. While there are some ideas that are reminiscent of past ace discourse, a modern lens makes the story read differently than it is written.
