Mar 29, 2023
Since I have seen a few people try and frame Tolya being aroace as just a headcanon, or point out the (valid) fact that being aroace doesn't completely negate that someone can be in a relationship as a reason why having him be interested in Inej in the show isn't erasure, I feel like it's important to point out that he very specifically states in the text of one of the books that he has no interest in forming a romantic relationship or attachment with anyone and never has:
So yes. Shipping him with Inej, or anyone else, is erasing his canon sexuality. That's it.
#cannot belive people need this explained to them in the year of our lord 2023#'but he didnt SAY hes aroace' and Jesper never specifically called himself bisexual but you had no trouble getting that#neither did Nina for that matter#like if a character specifically calling themselves the exact same terms for something that we have is the only way to confirm their#sexuality then that means basically any character in any work that doesn't take place in the last century of the real life world has#no canon sexuality. you realize how dumb that sounds#Tolya is aroace. that's canon. he also has no interest in being in a relationship. that is also canon. trying to change that is aroace#erasure. thanks for coming to my tedtalk#shadow and bone#s&b#tolya yul bataar#inej ghafa#tonej#tolnej#image description in alt
