#gray acolytes
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Now that the trailer is out, it's probably best that I get this out of the way before acolyte releases
The Jedi are right about the Force and the dark side
The Jedi did not lose their way
The Jedi were not corrupted
The genocide of the Jedi was not their fault
The Jedi are not wrong for being part of the Republic, it is in fact a good thing
The Jedi are not arrogant for thinking the sith are gone
and while we're at it the sith are evil, always, end of discussion
The Jedi do not steal children
If someone wants to leave the Jedi, that's allowed, no one will stop them
The Jedi are right about attachment
Attachment is not love (SW uses the Buddhist definition because Lucas is a Buddhist and the Jedi are based off Buddhist monks, Buddhism defines attachment as being possessive or unwilling to let go of people or things)
The Jedi do not forbid emotions, they forbid being controlled by your emotions, you must control them
The Jedi are not forbidden from loving people, nor are they celibate, they just can't get married (big whup) because their duties must come first
Being peacekeepers doesn't preclude the Jedi from fighting in war, sometimes to keep the peace you have to fight back, especially when its against tyranny, see WWII (or Ukraine today)
Gray jedi are not a thing
The Jedi are not slavers or complicit in slavery
Oh and of course, the Jedi are not elitists for not training non Force sensitives, (Han voice) that's not how the Force works, dave filoni broke the rules so he could shoehorn sabine into a Jedi (to give the benefit of the doubt, I do believe sabine's role as ahsoka's apprentice was meant for an original character but things got condensed by executives, so maybe filoni isn't entirely to blame here)
Feel free to add anything I forgot
Do not, DO NOT!! add anything Jedi critical, I'm done with it and won't hear it, don't have something nice to say? Then go away, I will block on sight, either reblog without comment (either in the reblog or the notes) or don't interact at all
#wooloo-writes#wooloo writes#star wars#sw#jedi#jedi order#pro jedi#in defense of the jedi#the acolyte critical#the acolyte#sw acolyte#anti the acolyte#anti acolyte#acolyte critical#star wars the acolyte#anti filoni#anti dave filoni#dave filoni critical#the jedi were right#the jedi did nothing wrong#george lucas#anti gray jedi#anti grey jedi
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Saw the trailer for “The Acolyte” and it got me thinking why do they not make “Lost Stars”?
As much as I love Jedi, it would be interesting to see from the Empire side of things like “Lost Stars”.
A great story showing how not everyone in the Empire is evil and not every Rebel is good.
A tale of two lovers who serves the Empire until an incident caused one of them to join the Rebels.
There’s been so many stories being told from the “good guys” and there isn’t any for the “bad guys”.
The reason “The Mandalorian” became a hit is because it takes a refreshing neutral point of view.
“Lost Stars” is like “Rogue One” where the story features Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader.
How people serving the Empire genuinely thought the Rebels are terrorists that disrupt the peace.
How the destruction of Aldeeran divide the Empire which drives some to join the Rebels.
A unique story that shows you that nothing is in black and white. How the two lovers are torn between their love for each other and duty to do what is right.
The story focuses on the imperial cadets, pilots, troopers, officers, of what happens on board the Death Star when Alderaan was destroyed.
I think it’s a waste not to make this into a live action series.
#Star Wars#the acolyte#lost stars#claudia gray#galactic empire#rebel alliance#rogue one#darth vader#moff tarkin#death star#alderaan#the mandalorian
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[Amid the heat and the wrack, hot boots invested, and cracked. Poor candidates jacked into gray light. An ultraviolet call, summoning both poet and thrall. Sweet catalyst for the acolytes.]
#s14e08 all vegas all the time#guy fieri#guyfieri#diners drive-ins and dives#hot boots#poor candidates#gray light#ultraviolet call#sweet catalyst#heat#wrack#poet#thrall#acolytes
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Hear me out
Wayne Family court of owls
Going FERAL
Can you imagine!? Martha and Thomas Wayne were part of the Court, and obviously Bruce is as well! He’s basically known as the Prince of Gotham anyway. What they don’t know is that he’s always been in line for the position as Voice of the Court.
When the Waynes die, the Talon is sent out to dispose of their killer. Bruce gets closure when the Talon brings him Joe Chill’s head.
Bruce is raised with the near constant protection of the Court (they cannot allow the Wayne name to die out) and when Dick’s parents fall in the circus… Bruce still takes him in. Defying the Court’s excited whispers of the Gray Son joining the ranks as a future talon, letting them know in no uncertain terms that he is now Bruce’s ward and thus untouchable.
Bruce presents Dick with proof of Zuccos… “disappearance” as a welcome home gift and introduces him to the world of the Court. How to manipulate high society and pull string behind the scenes to make the Court stronger, and Gotham a better, safer place.
Bruce never becomes the Batman. But his code name, before and after becoming the Voice of the Court, is still Batman. And Dick’s code name is Robin, now likewise under the Talon’s (Cobb) protection, and a menace to the criminal underworld because he has a penchant for going out into the streets in person instead of acting from the shadows like Bruce. (Poor Talon‘s got his hands full keeping both those idiots alive now).
And then comes Jason, who’s a street kid, and everything the Court would turn their noses up at— but their Voice takes interest in this one, too. And oh do they know by now how this story goes. (Cobb does not despair. He’s TALON. He’s above such silly things as despair. But BOY does he wish he could file for a vacation right now.)
While Dick is the charming circus boy turned court darling turned Robin turned Gray Son of Gotham, Jason is the gutter trash turned son of a billionaire turned youngest acolyte turned Heart of the Court. (Cobb refuses to acknowledge that he might actually like this firecracker of a kid. Wayne can shove his smug little grin where the sun don’t shine-)
I should probably stop now 😭
#Bruce Wayne#Brucie wayne#Batman#the court of owls#William Cobb#dick grayson#jason todd#batfamily#batfam#robin#headcanon#batfamily court of owls#court family
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I got a good feeling about "The Acolyte"
Not even kidding. Like, I've spoken before about why I'm wary of it.
George Lucas' Star Wars is something that intentionally has black and white morality, rather than shades of gray. Those movies are meant for kids and projecting a "gray" morality onto them then proclaiming it was George's vision all along is doing so in bad faith.
The narrative of the Prequels doesn't frame the Prequel Jedi in as negative a light as Leslye Headland, Dave Filoni, etc etc do.
See here for more details, but bottom line: yeah, a show that has a darksider as the underdog is bound to demonize the Jedi (who are the actual underdogs in the Prequels), and obviously that rubs me the wrong way.
BUT.
The trailer looks fucking cool. It really really does.
youtube
And more importantly? I've done some research... and Leslye Headland is ticking a lot of good boxes, in my book.
1. The Acolyte won't be a 10-hour movie.
I've criticized Disney Plus shows before, explaining that a big source for most of their issues is that these series are being structured as "long movies" rather than, y'know, actual shows.
But in this interview with Collider, Headland addresses that: it'll be a series. Not a long movie that you need to watch across four weeks.
Thank God. You have no idea how much that comforts me. Finally a showrunner who's, y'know, actually running a show.
And this goes hand in hand with what she told IGN, here, about how she's going about building suspense.
Yes! Exactly! That's how it's supposed to be!
Like, compare this to Baylan Skoll's storyline in Ahsoka.
In no possible way was that emotionally-fulfilling. For 8 episodes we had no idea what he was after, and the season ended where we still don't know. What does he want? What is he after? Your guess is as good as mine, it's something Mortis-related.
So yeah. Maybe getting the Emmy-nominated trained screenwriter on board to run this was a good idea.
2. Maybe the Jedi will not be as demonized as I originally thought.
Don't get me wrong. 80% of what she says about the Jedi makes me cringe. It's the typical fan's interpretation and y'all know I disagree with that interpretation.
It's painful to see her refer to the Jedi as an institution (not how the Prequels' narrative frames them) and to see her frame "Balance" in the "oh there's so many of them and just two Sith, that means the Force is out of balance" meaning... but at least she acknowledges the Jedi are a benevolent institution.
They're not an "elitist force hiding in their ivory tower" as others have described the Jedi.
Moreover, there'll be a variety of Jedi POVs, many personalities.
Yord Fandar, is described as a strictly by-the-book Jedi Knight and guardian from the Jedi Temple, is an overachiever and a rule follower.
The question now becomes: will the narrative frame him as "your typical Jedi" or is it just this one guy? I'm hoping it's the latter.
I also like how her reasoning goes re: Jedi drawing their lightsabers.
Which explains the hand-to-hand combat seen in the trailer.
This teenager is coming at Carrie-Ann Moss with a dagger, of course the Jedi won't draw her saber.
3. She's a fan of Star Wars... but a screenwriter first.
You can tell in the interviews she's a fan. She's using words like "BBY" and "EU" casually. In the above-linked interviews she's bringing up the Nightsisters, Timothy Zahn, The Clone Wars, she mentions she has a tattoo of Ralph McQuarrie's concept art of Leia, the High Republic books, etc.
She's done her homework. She's a fan.
But the vibe I'm getting from these interviews is that she's weaving in these various lore-elements in a more organic way, rather than in the "fan-servicey" way Dave Filoni has been doing in his shows.
The references and Easter Eggs will be there, but the narrative won't bend over itself just so you can get it. Crafting a good story comes first, and Andor is a beautiful illustration of why this is true.
Which is why I was never bothered about one of the writers never having watched Star Wars before getting the job. You need those fresh eyes when you're tackling something of this scale.
That makes sense to me. Maybe it's because of my own screenwriting experience, but yeah. That out-of-the box perspective is precious.
And like, obviously, that writer watched the films eventually, but for some reason everyone who bitched about Headland omitted that detail and opted for a more bad faith interpretation.
Hm. Wonder why.
Maybe it's the same reason that months ago this clipped audio circulated socials without context, in which she debates whether Star Wars only came from George Lucas and only Lucas is the key.
The FULL context of that interview reveals that she's actually:
debating the "autheur director" myth and positing that it was achieved by a collective of excellent filmmakers and craftspeople that George was skilled and smart enough to recruit...
the studios now think it's a simple as hiring one guy and throwing money at him, because they have no idea what the fuck they're talking about. See Napoleon (2023) for example.
Yes, she also does a jab to the Prequels, which speaks to the generation of fans she's a part of... but overall she's giving Lucas props whilst also stating an ideological difference, that's it!
George is a proponent of the "autheur" theory, Leslye isn't.
However, guess what, in like half the talks George gave post-selling Star Wars? He's giving shoutouts to everyone who helped make the first film, even remembering their names.
So I'm not even sure he'd vehemently disagree with Leslye, in fact they'd prolly have a conversation about it and immediately bitch about how stupid studio executives are :D
But that's not as incendiary, is it? Again, the more I do the research, the more it feels like the reason most of these influencers are hating on her is purely sexist.
I mean, on IGN she's even acknowledging that she does plan on taking stock of fan reactions for Season 2.
It's not a guarantee that she'll incorporate the feedback, but at least that's more consideration than, say, JJ Abrams or Rian Johnson gave the fandom.
She's even bringing the moral ambiguity that the Gray Jedi-loving edge-lords love so much.
"No, she's a woke feminist! Anything she does is evil! Eww, girls!"
🙄
Needless to say... I'm gonna give it a shot.
I think it's gonna be a good show, I think it's gonna be a solid story.
I'm crossing my fingers that they won't as biased against the Jedi as it seems they'll be. Even if they are... if it's still an enjoyable experience, I'll gloss over it.
As @gffa states in this post:
Worst case? It's not a story from George. I can dismiss it from my headcanon without a moment's hesitation :D
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101 Aromantic Books Rec List
For this list the goal is fiction books with a main character or significant secondary character that is on the Aromantic spectrum, or non-fiction books about being Aro-spec. Some books will overlap with my Asexual Book rec list.
Junior Novel
1. Hazel's Theory of Evolution by Lisa Jen Bigelow Hazel knows a lot about the world. But even Hazel doesn't have answers for the questions awaiting her as she enters eighth grade. What if no one at her new school gets her, and she doesn't make any friends? What's going to happen to one of her moms, who's pregnant again after having two miscarriages? Why does everything have to change when life was already perfectly fine? Hazel is asexual and aromantic (it isn't said in the book, but it is specified in the author's note at the back of the book).
2. Every Bird A Prince by Jen Reese After she saves the life of a bird prince and becomes their champion, seventh grader Eren Evers must defend a forest kingdom, save her mom, and keep the friendships she holds dear--if she is brave enough to embrace her inner truths. Eren is aromantic.
3. The Dragon of Ynys by Minerva Cerridwen Every time something goes missing from the village, Sir Violet, the local knight, makes his way to the dragon's cave and negotiates the item's return. It's annoying, but at least the dragon is polite. But when the dragon hoards a person, that's a step too far. Sir Violet storms off to the mountainside to escort the baker home, only to find a more complex mystery—a quest that leads him far beyond the cave. Accompanied by the missing baker's wife and the dragon himself, the dutiful village knight embarks on his greatest adventure yet. AroAce main character.
YA Fiction
4. Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace A postapocalyptic ghosthunter escapes her dire fate by joining the ghost of a supersoldier on his quest to the underworld Aromantic asexual main character. Dark fantasy/dystopian.
5. Latchkey by Nicole Kornher-Stace Isabel, once known as Wasp, has become leader of the fearsome upstarts, the teen girl acolytes who are adjusting to a new way of life after the overthrow of the sadistic Catchkeep-priest. They live in an uneasy alliance with the town of Sweetwater—an alliance that will be tested to its limits by the dual threats of ruthless raiders from the Waste and a deadly force from the Before-time that awaits in long-hidden tunnels. Archivist Wasp Sequel. Aro/Ace protag.
6. Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends the Gray Sisters by awakening the revenant bound to a saint's relic, even though she runs the risk of being possessed permanently by the powerful ancient spirit. Non-explicit romantic asexual main character. Fantasy.
7. Not Even Bones by Rebecca Shaeffer Nita's mother hunts monsters and, after Nita dissects and packages them, sells them online, but when Nita follows her conscience to help a live monster escape, she is sold on the black market in his place. Aro/Ace main character
8. When Villains Rise by Rebecca Shaeffer With her best friend, Kovit's, life in danger, Nita is determined to take down the black market once and for all. Latina asexual and aromantic main character.
9. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee Henry "Monty" Montague was bred to be a gentleman. His passions for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men, have earned the disapproval of his father. His quest for pleasures and vices have led to one last hedonistic hurrah as Monty, his best friend and crush Percy, and Monty's sister Felicity begin a Grand Tour of Europe. When a reckless decision turns their trip abroad into a harrowing manhunt, it calls into question everything Monty knows, including his relationship with the boy he adores. Aro/ace secondary character (prequel to a Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy).
10. The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee A year after an accidentally whirlwind grand tour with her brother Monty, Felicity Montague has returned to England with two goals in mind—avoid the marriage proposal of a lovestruck suitor from Edinburgh and enroll in medical school. A highly loved book in regards to asexual portrayal, Felicity’s journey does a fantastic job of exploring the struggle of navigating a world where marriage is expected of women in order to function in society. Even more refreshing is Felicity isn’t just avoiding getting married out of a sole rebellion against the patriarchy (though those themes are also present), but simply because she doesn’t have an interest in sexual or romantic relationships at all.
11. Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp When Corey moves away from Lost Creek, Alaska, she makes her friend Kyra promise to stay strong during the long, dark winter, and wait for her return. Just days before Corey is to return home to visit, Kyra dies. The entire Lost community speaks in hushed tones, saying her death was meant to be. And they push Corey away like she's a stranger. With every hour, Corey's suspicion grows. Lost is keeping secrets-- but piecing together the truth about what happened to her best friend may prove as difficult as lighting the sky in an Alaskan winter. Aro/Ace main character.
12. Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate Seven students. Seven (deadly) sins. One secret. There is a character who sounds asexual and aromantic and autistic but none of these are ever explicitly named. He seems like a stereotype at first but has his own storyline that's both important plot wise and gives him his own character arc.
13. Not Your Villain by C. B. Lee Bells Broussard thought he had it made when his superpowers manifested early. Being a shapeshifter is awesome. He can change his hair whenever he wants, and if putting on a binder for the day is too much, he's got it covered. But that was before he became the country's most-wanted villain. After discovering a massive cover-up by the Heroes' League of Heroes, Bells and his friends Jess, Emma, and Abby set off on a secret mission to find the Resistance. Aromantic Black secondary character.
14. Not Your Backup by C. B. Lee Part 3 in the Sidekick Squad series by C.B. Lee. Follows a questioning aromantic asexual latinx superhero sidekick fighting to prove her worth on the team despite her lack of superpowers, all admist the team's battle against the corrupt League of Heroes.
15. Fire Becomes Her by Rosiee Thor With only a drop, one can light the night sky with fireworks . . . or burn a building to the ground. The few flare families on top — the so-called “elite” — hoard the magical resource for themselves, and seventeen-year-old Ingrid Ellis wants her fair share. Main character is demiromantic.
16. Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying she doesn’t have the answers to everything. What to eat, where to go, whom to love. But there is one thing she is absolutely sure of—she wants to spend the rest of her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea. Then Lea dies in a car accident, and her mother sends her away to live with her aunt in Hawaii while she deals with her own grief. While not the main focal point of the book, Rumi does grapple throughout the story about where exactly she lands on the ace and aro spectrum—and whether she has to label herself at all.
17. If It Makes You Happy by Claire Kann Winnie is living her best fat girl life and is on her way to the best place on earth. No, not Disneyland–her Granny’s diner, Goldeen’s, in the small town of Misty Haven. While there, she works in her fabulous 50’s inspired uniform, twirling around the diner floor and earning an obscene amount of tips. With her family and ungirlfriend at her side, she has everything she needs for one last perfect summer before starting college in the fall. …until she becomes Misty Haven’s Summer Queen in a highly anticipated matchmaking tradition that she wants absolutely nothing to do with. Aro/ace secondary character.
18. The Trouble With Robots by Michelle Mohrweis Evelyn strives for excellence. Allie couldn't care less. Together, these polar opposites must work together if they have any hope of saving their school's robotics program. Allie is asexual and/or aromantic.
19. Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong In 1931 Shanghai, two Nationalist spies pose as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders causing unrest in the city. Rep: demisexual Chinese protagonist, bisexual Chinese protagonist, bisexual Chinese main character, Chinese trans woman main character, aromantic asexual side character; (Chinese-Kiwi author).
20. It Sounds Like This by Anna Meriano Yasm Trevi didn't have much of a freshman year thanks to Hurricane Humphrey, but she's ready to take sophomore year by storm. That means mastering the marching side of marching band--fast!--so she can outshine her BFF Sofia as top of the flute section and earn first chair. But Yasm steps off on the wrong foot when she reports an anonymous gossip Instagram account harassing new band members and accidentally gets the entire low brass section suspended from extracurriculars. Rep: Biracial Latina fat asexual-questioning cis female MC, Jewish gray-aromantic gray-asexual male side character with ADHD and APD.
21. An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows When an Australian teenager follows a world walker through a magical portal, she lands herself in the middle of a deadly web of politics and a potential civil war. Saffron’s fate is intertwined with that of many women, and the whole world hangs in the balance. Gwen Vere – allosexual (queer) and aromantic. (source)
22. Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger What if America had monsters, magic, and interdimensional beings? For Elatsoe, this is real, and she has to uncover her cousin's murder! She can do this with the help of her ghost dog, Kirby, but has to remember not to wake human ghosts. Aromantic ace main character. Paranormal mystery. Casual representation which extends to Ellie’s identity as Lipan Apache. This identity is asserted more often and firmly than her asexuality, and Little Badger drops in nuggets of education for us settlers about what Indigenous people, and the Lipan Apache in particular, suffered at the hands of settlers.
23. Loveless by Alice Oseman A queer coming of age story featuring a romance obsessed aromantic asexual main character discovering her sexuality and coming to terms with what that means, and a variety of other queer characters that support her on her journey.
24. Aces Wild A Heist by Amanda DeWitt An all-asexual online friend group attempts to break into a high-stakes gambling club and commit a heist together. Includes a male asexual character navigating what love looks like for him, an aromantic asexual Latinx gender-nonconforming boy, a Vietnamese American and German asexual nonbinary teen, and a black asexual girl. This cast represents a range of ace and aro identities.
25. Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor A secret beats inside Anna Thatcher's chest: an illegal clockwork heart. Anna works cog by cog -- donning the moniker Technician -- to supply black market medical technology to the sick and injured, against the Commissioner's tyrannical laws. Determined to earn his father's respect, Nathaniel sets out to capture the Technician. But the more he learns about the outlaw, the more he questions whether his father's elusive affection is worth chasing at all. This YA novel features an aroace character gradually coming to accept his orientation in the midst of everything else that is happening in his life. Perfect for older teens who also enjoy WLW representation and dark themes.
26. Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno While anyone would love to have a bit of magic, what happens when magic turns dark? Georgina Fernweh will come into her magic someday soon. Before she does, Georgina faces a tragedy that tests the islanders' trust. In this book, Georgina’s best friend Vira is aroace, and it’s addressed somewhat in the story at different points. There is a sweet strength between Georgina and Vira, full of loyalty and support that is lovely to see.
27. Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie Aisha Un-Haad, seventeen, and Key Tanaka, eighteen, have risked everything for new lives as mechanically enhanced soldiers, and when an insurrection forces dark secrets to surface, the fate of humanity is in their hands. In Hullmetal Girls, Aisha is not only ace/aro but she is also happy with her identity. Crucially, so is everyone else.
28. The Trouble by Daria Defore Danny Kim is a college student and the frontman of a Seattle based indie band. He also happens to be aromantic, and completely matter of fact about that aspect of his personality; The Trouble is not a coming out book, which is refreshing. (source)
29. A Promise Broken by Lynn E. O'Connacht/S.L. Dover Cooper Four-year-old Eiryn tries to grieve her mother while her uncle and caretaker, Arèn, fights accusations of her upsetting the world’s balance with a song. Arèn, aromantic and asexual.
30. Birthday Landscapes by E. H. Timms in Queerly Loving Anthology A disabled and aromantic warrior-mage and legend returns home on leave in time to celebrate his twin children’s birthday with his family.
31. Chameleon Moon by RoAnna Sylver The city of Parole is burning. Like Venice slips into the sea, Parole crumbles into fire. The entire population inside has been quarantined and left to die - directly over the open flame. Eye in the Sky, a deadly and merciless police force ensures no one escapes. Ever. All that's keeping Parole alive is faith in the midst of horrors and death, trust in the face of desperation... and their fantastic, terrifying, and beautiful superhuman abilities. Multiple AroAce characters.
32. Sea Foam and Silence by S.L. Dove Cooper Maris has only a month before she turns into sea foam, and she has no voice to help her. Love comes in many form, however, and she is no closer to understanding which will earn her life among friends and family on land. Aro and demi-aro characters.
33. A Harmony of Water and Weald: a Sea Foam and Silence collection by S.L. Dove Cooper A Harmony of Water and Weald is a collection exploring some of Maris's darker moments as she learns what it means to be human and a glimpse at what her life and family is like after the Sea Witch's deadline has passed.
34. Two Dark Moons by Avi Silver Sohmeng Par is sick of being treated like a child. Ever since a tragic accident brought her mountain community’s coming-of-age ritual to a halt, she’s caused nothing but trouble in her impatience to become an adult. But when she finally has the chance to prove herself, she’s thrown from her life in the mountains and into the terror of the jungle below. Aromantic and nonbinary rep are woven through the world and characters seamlessly.
35. We Go Forward by Alison Evans Two sad queer girls roadtrip around Europe (Germany, Austria and a little of Prague) while developing a deep and supportive friendship.
36. A Word and A Bullet by Rachel Sharp When the real apocalypse hits, three zombie-LARPs friends discover their skills may not be enough to get them through the road trip to safer communities in Canada. Asexual, aromantic, and touch-averse major character.
37. Beyond the Black Door by A.M. Strickland Kamai was warned never to open the black door, but she didn't listen. Everyone has a soul. Some are beautiful gardens, others are frightening dungeons. Soulwalkers―like Kamai and her mother―can journey into other people's souls while they sleep. But no matter where Kamai visits, she sees the black door. Demi-romantic main character.
38. Lemon & Salt by Claudie Arseneault Two aromantic singers renegotiate their queerplatonic partnership within through a one-of-a-kind concert. Puns included!
39. Warrior Anthology by E. H. Timms
Twelve writers. Twelve worlds. Twelve warriors. Multiple AroAce character.
40. Nkásht íí by Darcie Little Badger A short story featuring two friends and a paranormal murder mystery. AroAce main character.
41. Haunted Hearts by Amelia Faulkner When Basil and Jon meet over a rumored haunting, they agree to work together. But when the ghost proves itself not only real but also insanely homicidal, Basil and Jon are caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, and whatever feelings they might have for one-another have to take a back seat to a desperate fight for their very survival. Queerplatonic, arodemi character.
42. No More Heroes by Michelle Kan The peaceful nights are kept under the clandestine and watchful eye of young, gifted Vigilantes the world over. But a sudden rash of Vigilante deaths heralds the arrival of a new and unfamiliar enemy – one whose motive is as unclear as their identity. Ace and greyromantic.
43. Second Chance by Chelsea M. Cameron When Serena Nolan decides to spend the summer at her cousin’s house and queer café, she doesn’t expect to run into her ex, Fiona … or to discover she’s still very much in love. Demi-ace, demi-aro.
44. The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath It's Norway 1904, and Asta Hedstrom doesn't want to marry her odious betrothed, Nils—even though a domestic future is all her mother believes she's suited for, on account of her single-sided deafness, unconventional appearance, and even stranger notions. Asta would rather spend her life performing in the village theater with her friends and fellow outcasts: her best friend Gunnar Fuglestad and his secret boyfriend, wealthy Erlend Fournier. AceAro.
45. The Last Chronomancer by Reilyn J. Hardy Haunted by the curse that follows his bloodline, it soon becomes apparent to Mae that no matter what you do or how far you run, your past will always catch up to you. The tale of two, cursed for destruction.
One with the strength to kill and the other, the courage to resist. AroAce.
46. Unburied Fables by Rachel Sharp This collection enlisted talent around the world. From students to seasoned professionals, these writers came together to raise awareness and reinvent classic stories. While they showcase a wide variety of origins, styles, and endings, all the tales in this anthology have one classic element in common: a happily ever after. AroAce main character (Match Girl).
47. Any Way the Wind Blows by Carlin Grant Callie lives on the road, trading labor for food and lodging through a farm work-exchange program. She's perfectly content with the life she's created, but it is shaken up when she meets Jo, a mechanic and sister of Callie's latest boss. For the first time, Callie begins reconsidering the choices she's made. But Jo's life is far more complicated than her own and as family tensions rise, they threaten to pull Callie in, and her growing bond with Jo might not be reason enough to stay.
48. epicene: a short story by Ulysses Constance Bougie "Charlie never said a word during English, but they had plenty." An hour in the life of Charlie, a high school student with social anxiety. Over the course of a class period, Charlie considers their anxiety, their desire to express the things they feel, and their very aromantic crush on the beautiful Q.
49. A Murder's Hunt by Danica Taylor Othloh is a city run by criminals. It’s in constant chaos, and no one comes out unscathed. The only law they have is Occisor, a small mercenary group that keeps the fragile peace between the rivaling gangs intact. But when Kestrel Fulani, the newest of the four Crime Lords, begins causing too much trouble, Occisor is hired to remove him from the playing field. Aro heterosexual main character.
50. Loose in the Heel, Tight in the Toe by Valentine Wheeler Prince Heinrich doesn’t want a wife, but as the only heir to the throne he knows he'll need to marry–even though he has no interest in romance or sex. When a mysterious woman at the ball in his honor is completely unimpressed by him, he’s intrigued. Could she be the partner he’s been looking for? And when catastrophe strikes both their families, how can their arrangement hold together? Cinderella retelling.
51. Skybound series by Alex London The people of Uztar have long looked to the sky with hope and wonder. Nothing in their world is more revered than the birds of prey and no one more honored than the falconers who call them to their fists. Brysen strives to be a great falconer--while his twin sister, Kylee, rejects her ancient gifts for the sport and wishes to be free of falconry. She's nearly made it out, too, but a war is rolling toward their home in the Six Villages, and no bird or falconer will be safe.
52. Tower In The Crooked Wood: A Novel Paula Johanson A woman walks across the continent to track down a sorcerer who nightly enslaves random victims, magically transporting them to various work camps to help build his sorcerer's tower. Whenever Jenia, our heroine, is taken, she finds small ways to attempt to sabotage the sorcerer's efforts. In between magical abductions, she walks on, encountering communities so isolated and self-contained that they appear blissfully unaware of the sorcerer setting up shop in the neighbouring wood.
53. This Golden Flame by Emily Victoria Orphaned and forced to serve her country’s ruling group of scribes, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother, long ago shipped away. But family bonds don’t matter to the Scriptorium, whose sole focus is unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army. In her search for her brother, Karis does the seemingly impossible—she awakens a hidden automaton. Intelligent, with a conscience of his own, Alix has no idea why he was made. Or why his father—their nation’s greatest traitor—once tried to destroy the automatons. Suddenly, the Scriptorium isn’t just trying to control Karis; it’s hunting her. Together with Alix, Karis must find her brother…and the secret that’s held her country in its power for centuries.
Graphic Novels
54. A-Okay by Jarad Greene Eight grade can be tough, especially if you have acne and bullies, and lose friends. But our relatable asexual and aromantic protagonist, Jay, pulls through. This is a relatable memoir with colorful artwork.
55. Jughead, Volume 1 by Chip Zdarsky A comic book reboot of the Archie comics centered around Jughead Jones. Follows an aromantic asexual main character in typical Archie-style shenanigans. Part 1 of a 3 part series.
56. Is Love the Answer? by Uta Isaki A poignant coming-of-age story about a young woman coming into her own as she discovers her identity as aromantic asexual. A complete story in a single volume, from the creator of "Mine-kun is Asexual." When it comes to love, high schooler Chika wonders if she might be an alien. She’s never fallen for or even had a crush on anyone, and she has no desire for physical intimacy. Her friends tell her that she just "hasn't met the one yet," but Chika has doubts... It's only when Chika enters college and meets peers like herself that she realizes there’s a word for what she feels inside.
57. I Want to be a Wall, by Honami Shirono Any love story aficionado will say that the key to a successful couple is intense desire for one another—but what if the characters in question are an asexual woman with a passion for Boys Love stories and a gay man whose heart forever belongs to his oblivious childhood friend? Although romance will never be in the cards for newlyweds Yuriko and Gakurouta, the bond blossoming between them promises to be a wonderful relationship—the likes of which neither has ever experienced before…
General Adult Fiction
58. Common Bonds A Speculative Aromantic Anthology by Claudie Areseneault Common Bonds is an anthology of speculative short stories and poetry featuring aromantic characters. At the heart of this collection are the bonds that impact our lives from beginning to end: platonic relationships. Within this anthology, a cursed seamstress finds comfort in the presence of a witch, teams of demon hunters work with their rival to save one of their own, a peculiar scholar gets attached to those he was meant to study, and queerplatonic shopkeepers guide their pupil as they explore their relationship needs and desires.
59. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata Convenience Store Keiko Furukura. Keiko has never fit in, neither in her family, nor in school, but when at the age of eighteen she begins working at the Hiiromachi branch of "Smile Mart," she finds peace and purpose in her life. Keiko is very happy, but the people close to her, from her family to her coworkers, increasingly pressure her to find a husband, and to start a proper career, prompting her to take desperate action... Aromantic, possibly asexual and autistic.
60. Have You Seen Luis Velez? by Catherine Ryan Hyde Raymond Jaffe feels like he doesn't belong. Not with his mother's new family. Not as a weekend guest with his father and his father's wife. Not at school, where he's an outcast. After his best friend moves away, Raymond has only two real connections: to the feral cat he's tamed and to a blind ninety-two-year-old woman in his building who's introduced herself with a curious question: Have you seen Luis Velez? Mildred Gutermann, a German Jew who narrowly escaped the Holocaust, has been alone since her caretaker disappeared. She turns to Raymond for help, and as he tries to track Luis down, a deep and unexpected friendship blossoms between the two. Raymond is aroace. And he is depicted as kind, loving, sensitive and realistic.
61. Stake Sauce, Arc 1: The Secret Ingredient Is Love. No, Really by RoAnna Sylver In which: A cute punk-rock vampire and a disabled firefighter-turned-mall-cop with a dark past join forces to battle the forces of evil–vampires that hunt the streets of Portland. Jude, the protagonist, is gay and grey-aro-ace, trans, has PTSD and wears a prothesis, Eva is aro-ace as well, Jasper has migraines, Pixie is chubby, and while we don't know the identities of all the other characters, all of them are queer (or seem to be) and there's a poly relationship in the works.
62. Walking the Wall of Papered Peaces by Penny Stirling in Capricious: The Gender Diverse Pronouns Issue A asexual clockmaker pursues her non-binary plumber fiancé on a quest along a magical wall of origami animals to work out communication issues in their relationship. Ace and demiromantic.
63. The Melankholia Series by A.N. Mouse and Ace Layton Explore the dreamy, decaying world of the Endless City, where human dreams lend strength to the hunters's unique powers, and where human nightmares spawn into terrifying monsters with no warning. Follow the nightmare hunters, ravens, runners and regents of the shadowy underworld as they fight monsters, fate, and each other.
64. Ice Castle: A Queerplatonic Love Story by Katie Fouks Shoveling dirt over slippery patches while dressed as a Christmas fairy isn’t the most glamorous job in the world, but Rachel Forrest doesn’t mind spending another holiday season as “dirt girl” at the Ice Castle ice maze if it means she gets paid. She never expected one such patch of ice to lead her to Cassie Harlan. Cassie is cute and funny and shares Rachel’s aromantic asexual identity. Rachel finds herself drawn to Cassie in a way she’s never experienced, and as her feelings grow, she questions what exactly they are. Does Rachel want to be her friend? Or something else? She’ll have to learn to trust Cassie and herself in order to figure it all out before they lose their chance at anything.
65. Play It Again by Aidan Wayne When Seattle-based blind YouTuber Dovid Rosenstein finds Sam Doyle's Let's Play channel, playitagainsam, he's instantly captivated by the Irish gamer. Everything about Sam is adorable, from his accent to his personality, and Dovid can't get enough of his content. Dovid's glowing shout-out on Don't Look Now, his own successful channel, sends Sam's subscriber numbers skyrocketing overnight. He has more comments than he can read. And while the sudden surge in popularity is anxiety inducing, Sam decides it's only right to dedicate his next episode to Dovid...which soon leads to a heart-pounding exchange of DMs. Aro Ace Jewish side character.
Fantasy
66. Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault When her twin—a powerful witch and prime exocore material—disappears, Claire redoubles in her efforts to investigate. She keeps running into Adèle, however, and whether or not she can save her sister might depend on their conflicted, unstable, but deepening relationship. Baker Thief is the first in a fantasy series meant to reframe romance tropes within non-romantic relationship and centering aromantic characters. Those who love enemies-to-lovers and superheroes should enjoy the story!
67. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction--but assassins are getting closer to her door. Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic. Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel. Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep. Aromantic main character.
68. The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia Based on Persian mythology, this is a stunning story of a nonbinary blood magic user who is kept on the outskirts of society. Firuz finds themself a refugee, and gets a job working at a free clinic using their power for good. While working they discover a new disease that threatens to spread across the empire if it isn’t stopped soon. Now Firuz must convince the world to trust the very people they shun to stop the disease and save the world. From the author: it's about an aroace nonbinary refugee healer who is trying to cure a magical plague in their new home while hiding their blood magic.
69. City of Strife by Claudie Arseneault City of Strife is the first installment of the City of Spires series, a multi-layered political fantasy led by an all-queer cast. Fans of complex storylines criss-crossing one another, elves and magic, and strong friendships and found families will find everything they need within these pages. This series has many AroAce characters.
70. The Ice Princess's Fair Illusion by S.L. Dove Cooper To ensure she will never be forced into marriage, Marian pushes back suitors with cold cruelty–under the day her father promises to marry her to the first beggar to come. Edel, who knows well the weight of society’s expectations, ensures she gets the hand, and they must learn to trust and respect each other to survive. AroAce main character.
71. The Necromancer in: Myriad Lands: Volume 2: Beyond the Edge by David R. Stokes A necromancer raises his fellow magician and best friend, a trans man, to give him a second chance at life without the interruptions of dysphoria. AroAce main character.
72. The Faerie Godmother's Apprentice Wore Green by Nicky Kyle The village of Styesville has a dragon problem, but when Dea — a faerie godmother’s apprentice — comes to investigate, she discovers the problem runs much deeper than a simple creature. AroAce main character.
73. Holding Onto Day by E.H. Timms Half a lifetime after the Split, when a world of myth and legend took over the night, grieving aro-ace widower Cal winds up snowed in at a waystation with post-breakup aro-allo Evvi. Proximity and patience draw them closer, both in the day when they are human, and at night, when they become vampire and werewolf.
74. Create My Own Perfection E.H. Timms Emma Stone, medusa, is the groundskeeper for Olson College of Extensive Education, a place where everyone is welcome, from the mythical to the magical. When her selkie best friend loses her skin in Fresher's week, the race is on to find it before someone uses it against her. The search brings Emma face to face with her oldest enemy - and forces her to confront the worst nightmares of her past.
75. Mahou Shonen: Just Say No by Nico H In a world where becoming a "magica" is a phenomenon known to and highly frowned upon by the public, a middle school teacher leading a normal life finds himself involved with Horace Giorno, a young man known as the Prince of Magical Boys, and the brutal, murderous magical girl Pretty Fighter Ribbon Red.
76. Come Drink With Me by Michelle Kan A Dragon, a Phoenix, and an Opera House. Bonds that transcend time, loyalties that defy hardship, and the magic of the places we call Home. (Wherein a Dragon and a Phoenix make their living on earth in an Opera House.)
An Aromantic Chinese Fairytale.
77. The Caelish Order Series by A.J. Barber Ever since her brother murdered four of his closest friends, Alicia Omura has been trying to start over. She changed her name, got a new job, did everything she could to make sure no one ever pegged her as Devon Blaine's sister. Now she's a Hunter for the Caelish Order, protecting Seattle from rogue summoners like her brother, and from their Elaiyu servants. But when Devon himself turns up in the middle of her first big case, he turns everything she thought she knew on its head. His story is outlandish--traitors within the Order, corruption at the highest levels. If he's telling the truth, Alicia has more to worry about than rookie jitters and an inconvenient crush on her partner, Jordan Morrow. AroAce male main character.
Science Fiction
78. Rainbow Lights by Polenth Blake A deep-sea robot tells stories in every colour, but no shade can describe meeting a giant squid. Rainbow Lights is the first collection by science fiction and fantasy author Polenth Blake. Alien scorpions, vampire ice cream sellers and clockwork flies, try to find their place in worlds where being human is optional. AceAro main character.
79. Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace Mal is one of many war survivors in the old town working multiple jobs to scrimp by, one of which is her team's streaming video game play. The team lives with several other roommates in a converted hotel room run by Stellaxis, the company that owns half of town, and is the only legal provider of drinkable water. When Mal catches sight of an elusive SecOps character, special non-player characters (NPCs) modeled after Stellaxis' twelve bioengineered operatives, the team pursues her inside the game to catch her on video for two seconds before their power curfew kicks in. By the time Mal heads down for her daily ration of water, they've secured a lucrative contract, involving an in-person meeting and a conspiracy theory, paying them to capture images of the three living SecOps characters. When Mal returns to find out why the next payment failed, she becomes involved in a fracas that will endanger everyone she knows. Aroace main character.
80. Werecockroach by Polenth Blake As aliens hover above London, three flatmates scuttle across the city to escape. They have more in common with coackroaches than hoarding cardboard and hissing at people, however. The narrator is agender, aromantic, and asexual. Science Fantasy.
81. Faction Paradox: Liberating Earth by Kate Orman and E.H. Timms Just what would happen if a couple of Cousins used our planet as their personal game board? As they create one alternative reality after another, twisting history and reality into knots, only one outcome is sure: whoever wins, the human race loses. AroAce.
82. The Changing of Allison Dutch by Michón Neal This is the first in a trilogy of Allison Dutch's life on earth. Follow along as she comes to terms with vampirism, sexuality, and the outer limits of reality. This book incorporates the realism of human growth and human potential while set in a highly unusual background of sci-fi, fantasy, and sheer horror. What does it take for a person to want to conquer the world? Find out in this coming-of-age story about a girl caught in the intersections of time, reality, sanity, normality. Aro Pansexual.
83. The Dreamhealers Princes Series by M.C.A Hogarth Seersana University is worlds-renowned for its xenopsychology program, producing the Alliance's finest therapists, psychiatric nurses and alien researchers. When Jahir, one of the rare and reclusive Eldritch espers, arrives on campus, he's unprepared for the challenges of a vast and multicultural society... but fortunately, second-year student Vasiht'h is willing to take him under his wing.
84. Novis by Rachel Tonks Hill Novis Colony has a reputation for being cursed. *Something* is killing the colonists, and every single mercenary team that has been sent to protect them. Ros Lamarr is the best mercenary captain in the Commonwealth and even she thinks twice about taking the job. But she's sick of low paid jobs and bored of sitting in a station bar pickling her liver and getting into fights. Breaking the curse on Novis Colony is going to ask more of Ros than any other job she's ever done but if she can do it the rewards will be bigger than even she can imagine. But she can't do it alone. Aro characters. Queerplatonic relationships.
85. Retaking Elysium: a Mars Consortium story by M. Darusha Wehm The woman now calling herself Lisa Marie has spent her whole life trapped by the struggle to make ends meet, and sometimes held hostage by her own memories. On Mars she might finally find financial security, but will she also find something to care about today, and maybe even for the future?
Historical Fiction
86. Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on grand stories about the might and benevolence of the gods. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, her own worth measured by how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear. Desperate for some measure of independence, she turns to the ancient texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. Kaikeyi is asexual and aromantic. Although the words "asexual" and "aromantic" aren't used in the book.
87. Daughters of Britain by S.M. Carrière 68 ad. The Roman Empire has swallowed most of Europe. There are pockets of resistance...
but nowhere, no one, is safe. Mederei, eldest daughter of the fallen war-queen Boudicca, fled north with her sister to continue the fight for British freedom. But nowhere is safe from Rome. Now she must fight for her life for the amusement of her enemy. Adalbern, a proud Batavian, serving in the Roman auxiliary, lived by their rules. But no one is safe from Rome.His people scattered and his nephew held hostage in Rome itself, he is now nothing more than a glorified prisoner. It's life or death both in the arena and out for Mederei and Adalbern as they try to survive and save their people. Aro Ace side character.
Romance
88. The Midnight Bargain by C. L. Polk Beatrice Clayborn is a sorceress who practices magic in secret, terrified of the day she will be locked into a marital collar that will cut off her powers to protect her unborn children. She dreams of becoming a full-fledged Magus and pursuing magic as her calling as men do, but her family has staked everything to equip her for Bargaining Season, when young men and women of means descend upon the city to negotiate the best marriages. The Clayborns are in severe debt, and only she can save them. AroAce coded character.
89. Syncopation by Anna Zabo After a viral confrontation with one of his bandmate, Ray and his fledgling band are in a tight spot, and in need of a new drummer. Enter Zavier Demos–insufferable, sexy, talented… and Ray’s high school crush. Pansexual aromantic character.
90. Dithered Hearts by Verity Chase A gender-confused farmer desperate to reclaim her farm and escape her stepparents’ abuse. A closeted prince more interested in helping his people than finding a bride. A fairy godfather with a ton of secrets and no powers. In this diverse fairy tale, everyone is searching for a happy ending. Aro pansexual character.
Psychological Fiction
91. The Bone People by Keri Hulme Our main character Kerewin Holmes is a mixed race (Maori and White European), asexual and aromantic woman who lives in solitude in New Zealand. She meets Simon, a young boy recently rescued from a shipwreck by his Maori foster father, Joe, and the three quickly come to find comfort and support in one another. (source).
Horror
92. Cold Ennaline by RJ Astruc Ennaline Whitehall has always been faithful. The god’s love is all encompassing, after all. Besides, she hardly had a choice growing up in the church alongside Ro and Ray, the twin sons of Father Piedmont. Now the twins are talking about marriage—all three are reaching the age for betrothal—but Ennaline doesn't feel that way about the boys. She doesn't feel that way about anyone, and who knows what the other faithful will do if they learn of her peculiar coldness? AroAce.
Speculative Fiction
93. Margins and Murmurations Trilogy Otter Lieffe An aromantic trans woman with the ability to move through time return to a highly-militarized city with her lifelong friend, Pinar, to help queer activists, sex workers, and other organizers of the underclass rebel.
94. Power to Yield and Other Stories by Bogi Takács Power to Yield is a collection of speculative tales exploring gender identity, neurodivergence, and religion from author Bogi Takács, who deftly blends sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction. These are stories about the depth and breadth of the human condition—and beyond—identifying future possibilities of conflict and cooperation, identity and community.
Mystery
95. Same River Twice by Janet Poland When reclusive reporter Miren Lassiter inherits her scientist uncle's riverside cottage, her carefully guarded world is upended. She discovers the body of a local historian hanging from antique gallows in a museum, and soon becomes a suspect in his murder. Mysterious intruders break into her home. When she catches one of them in the act, he is the last person on earth she expects to see. As Miren struggles to get answers from scientists, history buffs, and nosy neighbors, she must face the reasons behind her fear of intimacy and commitment and reach out to others to identify a murderer...before she becomes the next victim. Aro-heterosexual main character.
96. The Courtyard Clairvoyant Mysteries by J.J. Brass Ace Aunt Elise lives in a cozy small-town courtyard with her twenty-something niece Val, a polyamorous pansexual who is currently recovering from an untimely stroke. When Val’s wheelchair is stolen, Elise realizes she’s in a unique position to investigate which of their neighbours played a hand in the theft.
Nonfiction
97. Aro Eros Arrows by Michón Neal This is a fantastic indie book that explores aromanticisim in the context of friendship and polyamory. Aromantic doesn’t mean that there is no love in your life, just that love looks different. Michón Neal also explores aromantic identities in a Black and queer context. A truly empowering and impactful book that breaks down the aromantic identity in such a clear and insightful way. (source)
98. Ace Voices: What It Means to Be Asexual, Aromantic, Demi or Grey-ace by Eris Young How do we experience attraction? What does love mean to us? When did you realise you were ace? This is the ace community in their own words.
99. Ace and Aro Journeys A Guide to Embracing your Asexual or Aromantic Identity by Various Authors What does it mean to be ace or aro? How should I approach the challenges that come with being ace or aro? How can I best support the ace and aro people in my life? Join the The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project (TAAAP) for a deep dive into the process of discovering and embracing your ace and aro identities. Empower yourself to explore the nuances of your identity, find and develop support networks, explore different kinds of partnership, come out to your communities and find real joy within. Combining a rigorous exploration of identity and sexuality models with hundreds of candid and poignant testimonials -- this companion vouches for your personal truth, wherever you lie on the aspec spectrum. You are not invisible! You are among friends.
100. Ace What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen Angela Chen does a remarkable job exploring asexuality and aromanticism in a modern context. She relates the identity back to how queerness is represented or underrepresented in popular media. By looking at these identities in a large context, we get to learn a lot more about how amazing these identities actually are. An asexual person herself, Angela Chen has such a fantastic narrative voice that keeps the reader engaged.
101. The Invisible Orientation An Introduction to Asexuality by Julie Sondra Decker The perfect book for those struggling with their identity, and for people whose loved ones are asexual or aromantic. It goes into how these identities are treated and are largely ignored. It does a great job of analyzing all this data, as well as pointing out how reception of this identity is changing to being not so invisible anymore. A much more academic text than others in this list, it’s still an easy enough read that you shouldn’t be intimated by the academic language. It’s very much an accessible read.
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I have not read all this books, but I did my best to ensure the representation of the chracters when I was looking for books for this list. I did my best for genres, but sometimes it was hard to know.
I hope you enjoy this list! Isn't it amazing how many aro books there are out there?!
People who requested being tagged: @snailoutofwhack
#aromantic#aro#arospec#aromatism#book list#book rec#booklr#aromantic books#aromantic characters#aromantic spectrum#aromantic identities#books#recs#aspec#aroace#aromantic asexual#book recommendations#lgbtq#lgbtqia#lgbtq+#queer#queer books#queer fictions#lgbtqiia+#lgbtq community#aromantic positivity#list#rec list#aro pride#book rec list
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Things I think would've been fascinating to include in fairy tail:
Heavier emphasis on organized religion
Specifically on how religious figures respond to demons, monsters, and magic.
Mirajane changing so much following the death of lisanna due to monster/demon magic being claimed as taboo by the church. Mirajane experiences so much guilt and the belief that it's her fault she becomes incredibly religious. How she unpacks it over the course of the story.
Celestial mages being acolytes of the church with the idea of Layla breaking off to marry Lucy's dad and her lineage stretching back to the first acolytes of the church.
Mavis leading a religious army after being manipulated by Zeref into believing she was a chosen of the gods, and her connection to the church/king allowing her to form fairy tail with financial support. The difference between what the guild was and what it currently is.
Juvia choosing to opt out of the S-class exam and instead focusing on self healing and growing out of her gray obsession. Her, Jet, and Droy bonding in their grief about Levy and Gajeel disappearing and Juvia herself seeking out old phantom lord friends to reconnect and inform of Gajeel.
Nab and Vijeeter getting proper characters and a focus on how their magic could be powerful and terrifying.
Building off of Mest existing, make a stealth group who speaks directly to Makarov taking missions he approves. They get sent on infiltration missions and are typically overlooked in fairy tail itself. They never take the s-class exam so their exact magical abilities never get publicized.
A longer gap in between the founding of fairy tail and the modern day so Mavis has more time to become a legend that few if any know the truth of.
Actual consequences for magic usage beyond just tapping out mana. Erza's armors all having unique drawbacks, natsu having to build up his tolerance to fire as a child and constantly underthreat of overheating and boiling his insides if he goes to far, etc.
Erza going on quests specifically to find unique armor sets that all have some historical meaning behind them that we as the audience get to hear about (connecting to a previous point, her heavens wheel armor being one of the remaining sets from Mavis' army)
Chapters from the POV of the guildmates left behind in-between the 7 year time skip to build up the excitement for the group return.
I know there are more but this is my list so far.
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kita x f!reader, oral (reader receiving), reader wears a skirt, established relationship
minors and ageless blogs do not interact.
"Let me."
Kita's already kneeling before you can protest, one hand wrapped around your ankle. He undoes the strap of your sandal with a quick flick of his deft fingers.
You gaze down at him, at the way his gray hair has gone silver in the genkan's dim lighting, the black tips like thunderclouds. He's focused solely on the task at hand. Something in you pangs.
"Up," he says softly, rubbing his thumb over the bone of your ankle, the callused pad catching slightly at the thin skin.
You lift your foot without a word. He slips the shoe from your foot and sets it to the side.
He undoes the other sandal's strap. He drags it free slowly, the leather strap gliding across your skin. He helps you step out of it, his grip firm as he balances you.
When he glances up at you, his amber eyes have gone whiskey-dark, deep and heady. He smooths his strong hand up your calf and leans forward to dot a kiss against the side of your knee. And then he nips at you, a pinch of pain that he immediately soothes with his tongue.
"Shin," you breathe.
He presses another little kiss against your skin, fleeting like a summer storm. His hand slides higher, until his fingertips are just beneath the hem of your skirt. He's still looking up at you with those dark eyes, an acolyte at your altar.
"Can I?"
"Yes."
He rucks you skirt up around your hips and holds it there. He presses another kiss to your knee before he trails upwards, kissing along your upper thigh gently. You shift in place.
"Don't tease," you tell him.
"Just takin' my time."
He punctuates it with another kiss, high on your inner thigh. You can feel the heat of his breath against your cunt. Then he's nosing at you, pressing his face between your legs with a soft sigh.
He shifts forward so his shoulders are spreading your legs wider and you suck in a sharp breath as he dips low, laving at your dampening underwear with his hot tongue. He nudges against your cunt with his nose again and you shudder with it, dropping a hand down to tangle in his hair.
Your skirt drops on one side as he lets go of it to hook a thumb into the gusset of your panties and pull it aside. The first flick of his tongue is soft, almost exploratory, a slow drag against the length of your cunt.
"Shin—"
You can feel the way he smiles against you. Before you can say anything about it, he flattens his tongue and drags it through your folds, sending sparks skittering under your skin. He ends at your clit and sucks it into the wet heat of his mouth. You hiss in a breath.
He rolls over your clit with his tongue, adding pressure as you clutch at his hair. He sucks at you and those sparks become embers, simmering through you.
Kita eats you out with careful thoroughness, as he always does. He pulls away from your clit and ignores your groaned complaint, dipping back to lick across the length of your cunt before he moves, bracing your thigh against his shoulder.
He sinks his face back between your legs with a quiet groan. You shudder as he nudges at your clit with the ridge of his nose as his tongue traces over your fluttering hole. Your thighs shake. You're dripping on him, your slick smearing across his mouth and chin.
You moan as he spears his tongue deep into you, your walls tightening. You rock your hips against his face, curving over him like a fiddlehead fern.
His fingers sink into the meat of your thigh as he coaxes you to rock forward again.
"Fuck," you pant as his nose presses into your clit again, undulating your hips to chase the pleasure pooling golden in you. He laves at your walls, getting as deep as he can with his tongue. Your thighs tighten around his head and he nuzzles against your clit again.
You cum with a low, desperate cry, the embers roaring into a forest fire. Kita braces you through it as your thighs clamp down around him.
He lowers you down to the genkan's step when you go jelly-legged. You lie back on it, still panting as he ducks out from underneath your skirt. Your cheeks heat at the sight of him; your slick shines wet over the lower half of his face. He's dark-eyed, his lids hooded as he rests his chin on your lower belly.
"God, Shin," you say. "What was that?"
He smiles at you. There's something like laughter caught up in the corner of his shining lips.
"Welcome home."
#bee writes hq!!#kita x reader#kita smut#hq!! smut#haikyuu x reader#wow it feels like i've forgotten how to write smut but that's okay
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/ / silence? anger.
fandoms: genshin impact
AU: SAGAU player au?
imagine that...
You were just minding your own business and playing genshin as you always do when u have free time. you always do farming, collecting, taking pictures of your characters, doing quest as the usual.
You hummed being satisfied of your works, you ran up in hills and killing some hiluchurls with your characters of choice. you were a silent player playing this game, like most games u play always being silent and if needed to talk you would. you never really need a reason to talk, what would the character do? reply? that's laughable.
Though, the thought of the characters replying is nice, as you can have a conversation with someone your familiar with and don't need to be uncomfortable with each other... you smiled and chuckled at your own delusion, a character wouldn't be programmed do so here, but u don't mind to think of that way.
The character u control is enjoying your presence and your elegant face in the skies. they don't mind being used for your own gain or just to have fun in general. though they wish to hear your voice rather than a sigh and a hum. they have seen a lot of your emotions that are visible on your face but not once voiced it out... until now ofc.
🌙━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━⭐
You were currently doing a quest that involves... ill abort or albert. you HATED that guy with pure sin and anger, u couldn't stand to be around him, you would glare and just avoid him at all cause, especially when u use barbara (or main her), but i guess this was your unlucky day, you had to interact with him.
You saw him behind the cathedral... again. agh you knew why he is there but u cant program him to just leave and jump off a bridge to the water,' now what does he want..' you approach him hesitantly just moving your character slowly, like micro slow. agh...
When u got close to him u couldn't stand him. like omg he ugly asf, you wish u could actually kill him with your character right now... you grumble and had a frown adored about your face, teyvats skies grew gray and winds grew harsh... the citizens wonder why u are angry and upset.. they couldn't have that right? if you were angry at someone, they should be disposed off quickly...
the character u are using glared daggers at abort or albert for making you upset, this man just had to anger their grace with his presence.. before abort finishes his first sentence, you beat boxed that bitch hard.
"stfu u looking like that one father that cheated their wife with a fuckin maid and still say your sorry even when u got her pregnant, what's up with you goofy ah outfit? bro looks like a a fuckin cabbage that your hair complements lookin like mayonnaise and what is with your posture? man even madame ping and the other granny grandpas has better back sides, you look like a whole ah gorilla, what's with the hair? did u dye it yourself bc u want to fit in the blonde air way? you look like bakugo madapaking katsuki Walmart version, bro i see others lookin like u in this game but you be the WORST one, bro looks like dottores failed experiment that lived a day to tell the tale. are u fucking jobless to stay here and fucking stalk our sweet deaconess barbara? i aint even surprised by you being jobless, bro i'd be surprise if your not homeless. bro thought he was albert Einstein but bro is just a weirdo stalking mf don't even stare at me with those fucking eyes i wish to PLUCK OUTTTT... "
You panted from that long speech and walked away from him, not looking back to see his shocked face and a group of acolytes behind him including Jean looking angered and disgusted.
You were to upset to do your routine with your character for now as u are tired from yelling at abort... maybe u will ignore his quest and do another later.. you sat them down on one of the cathedral seats outside and planted a kiss on your finger and placed the kissed finger to your characters lips and exited.
After you left, teyvats skies thundered infront of abort, the characters you used has their weapons out ready to murder the fuck out of abort.. i mean.. you wont notice if he is gone right your grace?
🌙━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━⭐
the next time you logged in the game, you dont see abort anymore, like he just.. didnt exist in the first place... but who are u to question? good radiance he is gone, this made your mood happy and hum. this isnt a dream right? this feels 100% real, hah. what a nice reality.
#➥🌙dreamer.ideas#sagau#genshin#sagau x male reader#sagau x female reader#sagau x gn reader#sagau x reader#genshin impact#i really like this one hehe
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did you know that negaduck from darkwing duck was based off reverse-flash? yeah, that doesnt even BEGIN to describe what's actually been going on between their character histories..
first, negaduck wasnt just inspired by or a reverse-flash parody. he's a literal copy-paste of silver age thawne with a very few changes of origin place from future to parallel universe and identity from some random future guy to main hero's evil twin, because originally eobard was fixated on being a Criminal and not particularly flash's nemesis. back in the day, thawne constantly mentions how much he loves his criminal life. half of his lines are negaduck-worthy purely because the rest is related to being a speedster scientist. my personal favorite as an example:
he passes the speed limit law in central city so that barry couldnt use superspeed without breaking it but thawne still could because he is 'a hardened criminal'. he invents rays that turn everything inflicted evil (something even negaduck has never done (ig solely because megavolt's already done it in the negaduck episode where he accidentally splits darkwing into good dw (posiduck) and bad dw(negaduck, with a black and gray color scheme), and while yellow negaduck is a different character this is basically how the idea of him was born and the writers just decided to keep him in a different form bc the gray one merged back into normal dw at the end which is super funny. imagine coming up with a duck villain and going 'oh this guy actually reminds me a lot of reverse-flash with all that opposite/negative thing. LET'S PAINT HIM IN THOSE COLORS AND GIVE HIM THE SAME PERSONALITY AND SIMILAR ORIGIN THIS TIME'), altho he DOES test the power gem on a cat in jail bird like thawne did with evil rays). he repeatedly tries to get poor former dr alchemy back to crime just because 'crime fun. why cant you see that. im doing it for your own good' and negaduck tried something like that with morgana in feb 14th episode my valentine ghoul (+that brief scene with gos from 2016 comics run where he believes she must be bad deep down inside out of comparsion to nega!gosalyn). negaduck also travels from a whole other world just to fuck around here for fun (there was this bronze age flash issue called flashback where thawne gets lost in the timestream because barry pushed the wrong buttons in his time capsule which is almost exact negaduck's fate in life, the negaverse and everything) and one of another few differences related is that negaduck is shown to be a dictator of his universe's St. Canard who is bored to live somewhere he already has all the power so he travels to another universe to cause problems on purpose.
second. dc's new52. eobard is rewritten again, now he and zoom are kind of one character. but guess what else is new in this version that never happend neither in zoom or professor zoom's lives? thawne is a fucking dictator in his own time. and people tried to fight his rule in flash's name just like friendly four needed darkwing as inspiration to finally fight back for their world.
he gets his own team, acolytes of zoom (i wish i could call them local fearsome 4 but there are 5 of them, making it more of a sinister 6 if you count thawne) which he trains for centuries to fight the flash and betrays later by trying to steal their powers just like negaduck stole f4's in jail bird to become mega-negaduck and if all that wasnt enough, without the mask he straight up looks like negaduck humanization. look at him. this mf is only missing a hat and a cape.
also these sudden black parts in his new speedster suit design? either it is some absolute fucking bonkers of a coincidence or someone on the flash writing team really went 'hey guys you know what would be real funny? lets base new thawne off negaduck. like he was originally based off thawne. i swear no one will notice' and everyone went with that. (i could also mention he has the same dumb motivation for being evil (having shitty childhood/being deep down sad about mistreatment and loneliness) as 2011 dwd comics run negaduck but imo that's too far of a stretch to actually be included)
third. yall know the deal of the first season of cw's the flash? yeah, what if i told you the whole thawne messes with the particle accelerator and causes barry to gain superspeed thing already fucking happend in darkwing duck, episode going nowhere fast?
(the way i lost my mind over this back in the day when i decided to watch dwd just because negaduck reminded me of thawne(i didnt even know he was a direct rip-off, i just went 'oh wait dt universe has this evil fuck that wears the same color scheme as reverse-flash? girl i AM checking the whole thing out just to see if he's anything like thawne'.) and first watched the episode... priceless, still haunts me to this very day. how the hell was that written in 1991. did cw writers just take the idea from dwd too. honestly i cant be sure about anything anymore).
and remember in the duck knight returns (2011 comics run arc) flashbacks there was a super funny thing with negaduck not knowing dw's secret identity and being so proud he cracked the case? remember cw!og!thawne looking for flash's time period and not knowing his identity in 2nd season cameo episode? what the hell was even up with that!!! like guys. guys one of you is the most devoted flash fan from the future and there is NO way none of that kind of information was left a CENTURY after (i mean come on dude couldntve you just asked gideon. she literally had that 2024 newspaper about vanishing and thats at the very least not mentioning she was created by barry) and another is straight up the same fucking person as the hero with the same fucking relatives and enemies. idk take a wild guess??? ((i really wonder if anybody on the wirting team of 2011 dwd run saw not just life, the negaverse and everything but any episode featuring negaduck at all. not only do they ignore the existence of nega!gos in the 'oh he mean bc alone :(' approach, they ignore the very definition of negaduck's character which is literally evil drake mallard. i mean sure hes dumb and may miss obvious clues because of being the same dw just evil but come on, such a comedic situation and never addressed by drake whos literally been in the negaverse and knows they are the same person or by anyone else he coluldve told that? oh well unless drake is also dumb af and thought there never was any drake mallard in the negaverse in the first place and that negaduck is some other guy. which is a real probability i suppose))
also. negaduck's death by being split on billions of evil particles in crisis on infinite darkwings and thawne, being 'exorcised' from nash's body in a form of a negative speed force stream with sparks in 6x15 of cw's the flash.
fourth! yall did watch ducktales 2017 reboot, right? specifically the duck knight returns episode? they introduce a whole new version of negaduck there! and guess what. jim starling, an old darkwing duck (in-universe 90s tv series) actor obsessed with his role, goes fucking nuts because there is a new darkwing duck actor in a new movie and he didnt even know. because he feels forgotten. because no one remembers neither him nor original series (objectievely not true bc obviously launchpad and drake but to jim they just dont count bc reasons. he seems to count only children but calls lp his fan when anthagonizes drake for taking even that from him in the end). because he was replaced and no one even bothered to tell him. he causes a fire on the set, almost kills drake but does have a change of heart at the end after launchpad's speech about what darkwing duck stands for and seemingly sacrifices himself to save drake and lp from the explosion. then they have the worst idea they could have in relation to jim's character ever: for drake to be a real life darkwing duck to honor jim's sacrifice. so naturally he hears that from the sewers or wherever he was hiding to see their reactions(look i am. 100% sure that this is what happened bc that makes so much more sense than jim getting brain damage or whatever from that explosion and waking up to choose violence again for no other reason). he gets hit with the being replacable and forgotten thing once again and renders back to negaduck tendencies, for all we know for good this time as his darkwing suit changes to the yellow-red one. yk who else went on a rampage because he felt forgotten and replaced? you guessed it! the return of barry allen, a 90s classic where thawne goes to 21st century for the first time, thinks he's barry (original-ish flash) because dissociation from trauma of seeing himself being killed by his hero and acts exactly like starling, having the same issues as motivation aka him/barry being forgotten and replaced by wally. he implies wally taking on the flash mantle is most disrespectful to barry. he rants about how he's the only flash and threatens to destroy not only the flash family but the whole central city for forgetting that. he and wally have a conflict of legacy similar to jim and drake's conflict in dt17. he is The starling blueprint only a lot more mentally ill. also we've heard something like the duck knight returns in running scared (this one is less reminiscent of jim but still features some things that werent in the return of barry allen). it's a rebirth arc that introduces another new origin of reverse-flash. now, he's been hyperfixated on barry allen his whole life (on a whole new level i mean) and there was the first meeting in 25th century where they Connected like thawne always believed they would. that day ended up in a fight and thawne's imprisonment because he set up casualties to get attention and praise for being the flash of 25th century but unlike all other versions this thawne has a change of heart after the fight, too. he promises to 'fix everything' including himself, he even goes to therapy afterwards. then he goes to the 21st century to tell barry how much he accomplished since they last met and then sees barry saying to wally one meaningful phrase he said to thawne that perfect day. like it wasnt something special only barry and eobard shared. like the day they met never happened. like he forgot thawne ever existed. like he was replaced as barry's speedster partner/friend/whatever he thought they were after that day by wally. and that shatters thawne so much he runs back to 25th and just decides to become the reverse-flash and make barry suffer until he gives him attention and recognition he deserved. frank angones, i am inside your walls. you CANT deny you based your versions of dw and nd off flash comics and thawne particularly. and more, you legit made reverse!eobarry au and put it in dt in duck forms. i have been losing my mind about it for 3 years now. i am exposing you and there is nothing you can do to escape that.
fifth(ish). yeah, and btw about friendly four from life, the negaverse and everything. did you think they actually escaped being mirrored in the flash? ha. i present to you reverse-rogues from the 25th century aka the renegades, carefully created by zoom and thawne himself, thinking it would somehow be funny.
cant believe hunter once saw it on tv put 2 and 2 together and went 'eobard my dude we need to go full negaverse with the 25th century. we need a friendly four to your negaduck. i swear it'll be Hilarious'. god the only thing they lack at this point is nega!gosalyn (i mean. hunter actually did try something like that with inertia, saving him from the museum and trying to teach him how to torture flashfam into improving them but thad was more of a nega!honker and reverted hunter to crippled powerless state just because. love that kid)
and that's all i have so far, if anyone here also into both yellow-red mfs with no life feel free to comment or even add more because there sure is or at least will be more and no one has the power to stop it.
#negaduck#darkwing duck#ducktales 2017#dwd#dt17#jim starling#drake mallard#disney afternoon#the flash#the flash cw#dc comics#eobard thawne#professor zoom#reverse flash#imagine d*sney puts you in their superheroics parody show as a duck and later you get rewritten in the image of said duck SEVERAL TIMES#how is eobard thawne as a character even real.#thawne-negaduck pipeline going BOTH ways is the most insane shit in existence and i cannot bear being the only one who Knows any longer#and to think i've ALSO unintentionally done that with my own starling and thawne versions and realized it only afterwards..#every once in a while someone reinvents negaduck when writing thawne or other way around. that's just their fate at this point.#thawne-negaduck pipeline
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Recently, while doing some snow-shoveling, I was thinking: what ties Miyazaki's games together, thematically?
...I think that maybe the best answer is: power, or control, within the context of a cycle or order. Who (or what) has the power? how is that power being wielded? and what is the "natural" order of things, as set against an "institutional", or "artificial", order?
I'm using quotation marks for these words because I'm not convinced that we have a proper definition of the artificial. The difference between a car and a tree is not one of naturalness but of function. We still largely operate on an essentially religious notion of Nature as a foundation intolerant of anything surpassing a certain threshold of evolution. A similar bias informs our conceptualizations of the natural vs. the supernatural. When, precisely, does one become the other?
Elden Ring is especially intent on communicating ideas about how the attempt to institute a different cycle leads to a revenge of the unconscious. The YouTube channel-collective Hawkshaw has convincingly identified Elden Ring's symbol of the unconscious as the snake, or serpent. With the overriding of Death and the subsequent damming of libidinal productivity, the land and all the life within it degrades. Was the problem here not evolution per se but a mismanaged vision?
The thing, though: none of these games offer any vision of a functional, evolutionary transcendence of a "natural" cycle or order; nor is it ever stated that any one ideological or religious faction perceives reality more accurately than another. The fact that the revolting Shabriri "Grapes" are so similar in appearance to the most noble Rune is one of many details suggesting that factional divisions only serve competing narratives -- not truth (and that the most Holy may also be, after all, the most Abyssal).
In one of Dark Souls 2's endings, it is suggested that our avatar will (or will attempt to) go "[beyond] the scope of light, beyond the reach of Dark" -- but it remains a particular characteristic of Dark Souls 2 that little can be ascertained from this detail, aside from the potential existence of a kind of Middle Way. And, of course, we are never actually shown here what this Middle Way might look like. "There is no path." It strikes me as yet another half-tantalizing vacuity.
I wonder if Miyazaki's vision could be characterized as conservative, or traditionalist. I mean conservative not in the way in which it is typically wielded now in the Left vs. Right pop-discourse, but in the sense that Miyazaki's works appear to stem from that tension -- the "natural" in frictional relation to the "artificial" -- and that these works show all attempts by the latter to gain control of the former ending badly. And I'm under the impression that Miyazaki is expressing more than merely the idea that civilization is always founded on a fundamental uncertainty, or in spite of a death-hungry Nature.
The entry of humanity onto the scene in Dark Souls' origin myth is the entry of activity as opposed to inactivity, as represented by the gray landscape of everlasting dragons and archtrees, which is entirely unconcerned with evolution. But, as the narrative of the Dark Souls series plays out, it becomes clear that the attempt to maintain an age of humanity is a forever-diminishing battle against the shift to a new aeon and/or some entropic principle.
In Bloodborne, despite all of the institutional corruption, it really looks like there is no elegant way to achieve contact with the numinous or develop one's scope of consciousness without also losing control. It is only a greater absurdity, an unimaginable chaos, which awaits the psychonaut.
The closest we get to an image of functional transcendence is probably the dragon acolytes in Dark Souls 3's archdragon peak. If this is indeed a Middle Way, it seems to be more of an escape than an evolution. And an escape to where? To nothingness? Against unwinnable odds, the only option is self-petrification; self-negation. This path of the dragon is also (apparently) deeply regressive, for the acolytes abandon their humanity for something resembling a more ancient form. Dark Souls 3 does give us other instances of apparent developments within the scope of what can loosely be called humanity, but all of these seem distinctly monstrous, even psychically automatic, such as the Angels or Pilgrim Butterflies, and none possess a civilizing impulse. Even their names are perverse.
Again, we're not ever given a picture of a fully functional transcendence or an equilibrium between the "natural" and the "artificial" allowing for such transcendence. Everything descends into the rigidity of authoritarian dogma or the primal slime of nihilism. So it's not clear what sort of societal-civilizational evolution Miyazaki regards as sound, or if he even believes in the idea of societal-civilizational evolution.
The closest thing we have to a truth in any of these titles is the notion of an ontological order which cannot be forcibly evolved beyond. Any such attempt will be rendered as a transgression. It seems like embedded in all of this is the idea that the Promethean act is simply a temporary staying of the inevitable dark; or, alternately, that Nature (if we are to affirm the binary, or the individuality of the self from nature proper) is in some way opposed to self-conscious evolution. What, then, can liberation be in any of these worlds, if there is an inevitably corrupted compulsion towards the will to power?
I should note that I'm still barely past the slimmest of interpretations of a lot of Elden Ring's material -- so I'm sure something could be said here, by those more informed, regarding how the Erdtree and Elden Beast are involved with the evolution (or lack thereof) of humanity. Is the "Greater Will" something approximating the tyrannical consciousness of Nature?
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“Why did you come back?”
Durge and Orin
That night, Orin orders her flock out to the city streets. Cause havoc. Breed fear. Leave. When the temple is quiet and almost empty, she goes to the gith locked to the altar.
The woman is unconscious, and will be until her death. At first Orin had kept her awake, hoping the awareness of her capture would be agony. But the gith’s curses and insults quickly became tiresome, and she had managed to bite off the tip of an acolyte’s finger when they tried to give her water. So now she is fed only sleeping potions. She lies in a delightfully corpselike slumber under the eyes of Bhaal.
Orin sits on the altar next to her. She peels one of the gith’s eyelids back. The yellow cat-eye does not acknowledge her.
“When she comes, it will be for me, not you,” Orin tells her.
The gith does not respond. Orin continues. “She was too slow fighting me before, too. In the great castle of flesh, on that veiny earth—it was perfect! A perfect grave for a daughter of Bhaal.” Orin shakes her head. “But she didn’t fight me like she did other, lesser creatures. She was always underestimating me. She let a death blow slip through her fingers, like she did not think I would see it. I saw it. I took it. She paid for thinking so little of me.”
Orin lifts the gith’s arm. It is too slender for the strength Orin has seen her capable of. She prods the bicep. Firm, solid, there is in fact muscle there. Perhaps githyanki bones are simply skinnier than those of other races. Orin will have to check after she tears this woman apart.
“I left her there because her death was so pathetic,” Orin recalls. “If she would not honor me with a proper duel, I saw no need to honor her by savoring her murder. I did not look back. Do you think they found her where I left her? Do you think she crawled after me? Maybe she regretted, once she was alone with that sinfully fecund brain.”
Orin twists back one of the gith’s fingers. The crack of bone is audible in the still temple. Orin watches the gith closely, but she does not wake. Her alchemists have done adequate work, then.
“She must have,” Orin says. “She must be afraid to fight me now, and that is why she was hesitating. Or maybe she listened to that terrible, greasy man again. She must be craven or weak and that is why she did not come running to face me. Whatever brainmeat I bit from her skull, it must have been the part of her that was foolish and arrogant. I must have left the part of her that learned how worthy I was, right there at the end. She must be embarrassed by how much gratitude I am owed.”
Orin grips the gith’s face with both hands. “I had to addle her mind from afar this time,” Orin tells her. “I had to stir her gray matter and turn her from a coward, to a desperate coward. I had to let her know I did not enjoy waiting. But even if I hadn’t taken you, even if that smug little heathen had not forced my hand, she would have come to me. It would have taken longer, but she would have come.”
Orin shifts her blunt fingernails into claws. Freckles of blood join the black spots on the gith’s cheeks. “You are a tool, do you understand?” Orin asks her. “You are a catalyst for what was inevitable. She wants to rescue you, but she needs to face me. You are not her blood. Do you understand? Do you understand?”
The gith does not respond.
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༄࿔ deaths door
summary ; drabble requested by anon for my 1k follower celebration.
“50 types of Kisses- 24 with Lucerys?”
“24. Deep kisses where they have their hands tangled in each other’s hair to pull them closer.”
pairing ; lucerys velaryon x reader
notes / warnings ; au where lucerys lives to tell the tale after battle of storms end,, he’s also older than 13 because that’s no bueno! mentions blood and wounded arrax :(
it’s been two days since lucerys left for storms end.
what was supposed to be an hours long errand, turned into two days of anxiety, back and forth pacing, and clumps of hair being pulled from the root.
mostly, it came from you and the queen. both of you stayed in the hearth hall with the painted table, hands together, occasionally mumbling words of prayer, and doing almost anything to soothe the frayed nerves.
the clanking of armor turns your attention to the foyer. ser erryk of the queensguard entered, paying his respects to the queen, bowing his head to you, and announced his next words with clarity.
“watchtowers have sighted a dragon returning.”
you and rhaenyra gave each other a look before getting up. gathering your skirts in your hand, you did you best to hustle after the queensguard to the grandeur of the dragonstone entrance.
just as the giant doors were parted, a scaly, silver-gray dragon was doing his best to land gracefully. he slumps to the ground, an exhausted groan leaving the dragon. as you get closer, you see large gashes adorning his breastplate – wounds still fresh with blood. the dragon chitters, turning his head with a tired exhale to watch lucerys clamber down from his saddle. one his rider is safely off, arrax’s strength fades and struggles to stand to his height.
once lucerys turns to face you and rhaenyra, you notice that his clothes are dirty and soot litters his face.
rhaenyra, understandably, is the first to move forward. you watch as she looks at him in disbelief, her arms moving to his shoulders before pulling him into a hug. he returns it and buried his face into her neck, his face screwing up with an emotion akin to fear.
they stay like that for a moment before rhaenyra pulls away, wiping at the tears that have begun to flow from her eyes.
“take arrax and see that his wounds are mended,” she commands in high valyrian. the dragonkeeper elder and his acolyte do her bidding, quarterstaves waving in the air to corral arrax toward the dragonmont.
lucerys turns to you, a tired, sad smile twitching the corners of his mouth up. you both stay like this, distanced and observing each others features. he surges forward, arms finding their way around you. his embrace is tight and unrelenting. you feel him shake beneath your hold.
he was terrified of not coming home.
he pulls away just slightly, his lips finding yours to give you a passionate, remembering kiss. his hands find their way to your hair and he fists it, enough for it to be firm but still gentle and easy on your scalp. your hand trails to his own, fingers softly scraping his head. his hair is dirty and clumpy, no doubt from the time spent away, but you don’t care.
he draws you closer to the point where theres no air left between you. you’re chest to chest, hip to hip – practically molded together as a blade to a hilt. it’s comforting and connecting, letting you know that it’s okay.
both of you pull away and there’s slow tears causing streaks on his pink cheeks. he’s crying; soft, trembling gasps leaving him as he looks at you. his eyes are undeniably bright blue, highlighted by the tears that sheened them.
“i thought i was never going to see you again,” you cried, moving forward to give his face quick kisses. once you’re done, luke buries his head into you.
“i was petrified,” luke drawls, his body continuing to tremble and hiccup in your gasp. his voice is shaky, but becomes more sure as he speaks the words through shuddering breaths, “i love you, i love you.”
you two stay like this, hands clasping what fistfuls they can and arms tightening with every moment passing.
you hoped you wouldn’t have to fear losing him, again.
#lucerys velaryon x reader#hotd blurb#hotd imagine#lucerys velaryon imagine#hotd x reader#hotd fic#lucerys velaryon fanfic#lucerys velaryon#lucerys velaryon blurb#my writing#house-strong 1k celebration
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...
...
Okay I finally woke up, seems like I fell asleep while on Eclipse.
And now I'm in-... Hoenn...? I think that's the region name...?
All I know is that there's-... brown and white pokemon running around and a gray and dark gray one keeps trying to chew on my leg which is... pleasant.
Don't know anything else other than that.
...
...
Maybe I can connect to the news and get some info that way...
//@aura-acolyte guess where he is rn hehehe
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Some ideas for the X-Men as Tiny Mer (in their colors, not necessarily based on reality) include:
The Adults-
Xavier: Blue/Green Chromis or Seahorse
Storm: Small Electric Ray
Wolverine: Swordtail or Orange/Black Betta
Beast: Blue Tang
The Teens/Guppies-
Scott/Cyclops: Six-line Wrasse
Jean/Phoenix: Angelfish or Goldfish
Kurt/Nightcrawler: Blue Betta, Blue Danio, or Comb Jelly
Kitty/Shadowcat: Black Phantom Tetra or Pink Betta
Evan/Spyke: Small Electric Ray or Pea Puffer
Anna-Marie/Rogue: Fire Jellyfish (green/black/red)
Some ideas for the Brotherhood/Acolytes as Tiny Mer (in their colors, not necessarily based on reality) include:
The Adults-
Magneto: Seahorse or Tetra (purple/red/gray)
Mystique: Blue/Red Betta or Irukandji Jellyfish
Sabretooth: Swordtail or Orange/Gold Betta
The Teens/Guppies-
Lance/Avalanche: Kuhlii Loach
Pietro/Quicksilver: Seahorse or Tetra (green/blue)
Wanda/Scarlet Witch: Seahorse or Tetra (red/black)
Fred/Blob: Pea Puffer
Todd/Toad: Goby (green/yellow)
John/Pyro: Goldfish or Butterflyfish
Piotr/Colossus: Discus or Pygmy Octopus (silver/gray)
Remy/Gambit: Pygmy Octopus (red/pink/tan)
I just think they'd be neat-
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The Sith don't want peace.
I've seen some fans use the below quote by Lucas in the Revenge of the Sith director's commentary to frame Darth Sidious/Sheev Palpatine as "evil but with well-meaning intentions".
"Lord Sidious thinks he's bringing peace to the galaxy because there's so much corruption and confusion and chaos going on. Now he's gonna be able to straighten everything out, but the price the galaxy is gonna have to pay for it is way too much."
And uh... no.
Sidious thinking that him ruling the galaxy will bring about peace as a byproduct and him wanting to bring about peace are two very different things.
He's not doing what he does for altruistic reasons. He's a selfish dick who is saying that technically the galaxy won't be fighting anymore and the corruption in the Senate will be quelled... because of course it will be, they'll all be under his thumb in his totalitarian regime.
So Palpatine is not lying, but he's not being genuine either. And that's his whole schtick.
"The Jedi are holding you back, Anakin."
Yes, because Anakin has a tendency of flying off the handle, mainly because you enable him to give in to his darker instincts, Sheev!
"The Jedi are trying to take over!"
Temporarily? Yeah. Because you're a dictator who orchestrated a war and cemented division across the galaxy, and everyone behind you is corrupt to the bone, SHEEV!
He's not Thanos or Killmonger, he's not the "if you think about it, he's actually a good guy who took it too far" villain.
This is a modern myth with a binary view of good and evil.
He's Iago, Jafar, Freezer. He's not "gray", he's the classic "he's evil because he can be" villain. The Emperor is the Devil. As stated by Lucas himself:
"Palpatine is the Devil. There’s no fall from grace there. He’s the evil one."
- Starlog Magazine #337, 2005
And the Sith are not pragmatists or people who try to bring positive change using their passion. They're not "free thinkers" who "follow their own path". They're not "religiously persecuted for pursuing knowledge beyond the dogma of the Jedi".
And this battle between the Jedi and Sith, thousands years prior to the films ⬇️...
... it didn't happen the way it's shown in the comic panel. That's Sidious showing horrific unreliable visions to Maul - a child - to indoctrinate him into hating the Jedi.
You know who does that? A cult. That's what the Sith are.
Hell, their code was partly based on Mein Kampf.
The whole "the Jedi 'limit' but the Sith 'embrace' and that's why we're being hunted down" line is just that. A line.
It's what the Sith tell themselves to justify the fact that they fucked with Dark Magic, got corrupted, and are now making it everyone else's problem.
"The Sith are people who are very self-centered and selfish. [They] learned how to manipulate both sides of the Force, and then they fell into the trap of being corrupted by the dark side."
- Sci-fi Online, 2005
Which is why the Jedi step in, to stand up to them.
"The Jedi are the enemy of the Sith because the Sith want to dominate the galaxy, to control everything, and for a thousand years they have had a plot against the Jedi."
- Sci-fi Online, 2005
The Sith just wanna subdue and control everyone around them, including the Force itself, to fashion the galaxy in their image.
"The end game for the Sith was to bring the world into a very selfish, self-centered, greedy, evil place, as opposed to a compassionate place."
- James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction, 2018
So sure, have fun with your The Old Republic OC, go to town.
But when it comes down to it, when we're talking about the intended narrative (I'm looking at you, The Acolyte):
The Sith don't care about peace, they're literal religious extremists.
While some Sith may say they're misunderstood and some may justify themselves as being altruistic... at the end of the day, they're objectively not. They're greedy, power-hungry and self-centered.
They're the anti-theme to Star Wars' theme of "be compassionate".
#again 'The Acolyte' looks like it'll be objectively good but it's a real slippery slope man#sith#Darth Sidious#Sheev Palpatine
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