So Uh….some Dude Apparently Recreated Adobe Photoshop Feature-for-feature, For FREE, And It Runs In

what i’d really like is for someone to objectively watch me for a week or so and then just sit down with me for a few hours and explain to me what i am like and how i look to others and what my personality is in detail and how i need to improve where do i sign up for that

Aro/ace spec students who anonymously send validating little messages using owls and different spells for people struggling with accepting their identities. Eventually other students catch on and start doing the same thing, especially the students who benefit from them.

They use that one owl in the owlery, you know the one. Old Agrippa. Agrippa won’t fly long distances, so it doesn’t get to deliver messages much (something it loves very much). Agrippa becomes a favorite of the a-spec students, who bring it treats and toys and pride-color ribbons that help it hold onto things.

When the mail arrives, Agrippa soars through the Great Hall ahead of the rest. It never drops and flies; it always stays for a bit of sausage and affection. The aros and aces of Hogwarts send more messages of encouragement both for their fellow a-specs and for the owl who has stolen their hearts.

- Ravenclaw Mod

I’m not sure if I’m alone in this, but as an aromantic person, I wish my romantic friends understood the emotional labor it takes for me to lend an ear to their dating woes and to provide sound romantic relationship advice when I have no solid basis for understanding said relationships in the first place. 

I tend to approach dating advice from a humanistic point of view, rather than a romantic one. That is, I’m more concerned with relationship outcomes and the physical and emotional impact of relationships than the romantic value and excitement of a relationship. That’s mostly because I am aromantic. 

I appreciate that people think of me when they’re in need, but at the same time nothing makes me want to tune out more than issues related to romance. It takes tremendous effort for me to stay engaged in a conversation involving the needs of romantic people, which might make me sound like a bad person.

At the same time, I don’t think romantic people really consider the impact this has on aromantic people. I cannot speak for every aromantic person. However, we all have our own boundaries and needs. For aromantics, that could mean that discussing romance is an exhausting activity with little to no pay off. 

I do care about the well-being and safety of my friends, but I don’t often care about their romantic pursuits. I am genuinely happy for them finding fulfilling relationships, but I am not emotionally invested in the details of their romances. I do want to support my friend, but not at the expense of my own well-being. 

The most difficult part comes down to giving relationship advice to friends whose partners or potentially partners present aromantic behavior. I want to gently remind them that not everyone experiences romantic feelings the same way that they do, but then amatonormativity rears its ugly head from said friends.  

The amount of times I’ve heard a friend describe a partner or potential partner as emotionally constipated is distressing, along with friends describing said persons as a potentially abusive because they wont open up to them or engage in romantic behavior … all the while ignoring their own impact on others…

All of this being said, I think it’s okay as an aromantic person – or any person really – to step back and say that you’re not comfortable or you’re not the right person to talk to about romance. It’s not your job to empathize with romantic feelings for your friends’ sakes when you can’t feel it in the first place. 

Any other birds, apart from cassowaries, that look like dinos?

thick-billed ravens rank pretty high on the "jesus christ a dinosaur" scale imho

YOU KNOW WHAT

I'm gonna be cremated so archaeologists can't steal me bones. I don't want to know what they do with them.

Me in fourth grade: I am a god above you all. I have a twelfth grade reading level. I'm one of the two biggest readers in school and everybody knows it. This book? Yeah, I started it yesterday. I finished it today. Yeah it's 600 pages, what about it? You fools are nothing compared to me.

Me now: I can only read fanfiction and comic books. I can't even reread my favourite books. Actually starting a new book? Not happening. Reading is still my favourite activity but I can't do it. I am physically incapable of reading more than ten pages. I had to google how to spell twelfth. My favourite books are all over 1000 pages send help.

Aromanticism often goes hand-in-hand with:

Low self-esteem, self-loathing, and/or feelings of inferiority

Feeling lonely, isolated, or like you’re an “other”

Shame

Anxiety

Fear of abandonment, distrust of friends and family

Constant second-guessing one’s own identity

Fear of the future or an inability to imagine oneself with a “happy ending”

Disassociation in the form of feeling “unreal” or “inhuman”

This is a huge problem that can really destroy a person, and the root cause is the way our society treats relationships. But the thing is, nobody ever tries to address this problem. People outside of the aro community (which is small and disjointed as it is) don’t discuss aro issues, and don’t try to think critically about the messages they put out, and then when aros talk about how much they’re hurting, we just get told that we don’t have it as bad as other people, so we don’t have any right to complain, and our feelings aren’t real.

God knows it’s hard to heal yourself without help from others, and aros aren’t getting that help. And sure, sometimes we can talk to each other, but that can only get you so far- it’s the emotional equivalent of two people simultaneously trying to save each other from drowning. The aromantic community needs outside support, but nobody is trying to help us aside from saying that we’re Valid™ every now and then. That’s a big problem.

"homosexuality is unnatural! there's only two genders! it's a sin-"

I'm sorry, have you seen NATURE???

and there's so many more species than this that exhibit homosexuality, varying genders, etc. SO! MANY!

it's very much a natural thing. it always has been. unfortunately, while homosexuality is found in many species, homophobia is only found in one

ALSO THE ARTIST IS HUMON, FIND THEM AT HUMONCOMICS.COM!! was so sure I had included that but apparently I forgot, so sorry!

I will NEVER see a prehistoric dinosaur

Part of being aromantic, at least for me, is always being the third wheel. Feeling awkward and left out whenever my friends leave to go on a date or whatever and I have no one to hang out with. I'm not saying that I want to intrude on someone's date or whatever, they deserve to have time to themselves. I get that. I just wish I didn't feel so alone when everyone around me has someone special to them and I don't.

And it's not like I want to be in a partnered relationship, either. I actually feel pretty squicked about the concept of being the recipient of romantic feelings, and I feel completely neutral about having a qpr (aside from the knowledge that I don't feel any sort of attraction and don't particularly want to have to make personal decisions only with the help of someone else).

I guess it just makes me feel a little like I'm not anyone's most loved, if that makes any sense. No one loves me more than anyone else. I'm nobody's best friend, nobody's dearest individual. And partly that's freeing, because I don't have to figure anyone else into my future, but it's also sad, too, because I'm nobody's favorite and I'll always have to take a backseat to other people.

Ugh, idk. I shouldn't be complaining. I have great friends who I love dearly and who care about me. I just have to constantly be aware that I'm never going to be the first one someone thinks of when they think of home.