Erederyn

The University of Queensland partnered with AUREA to conduct research on aromantic experiences! The project is called AroUQ, and it'll hopefully be published sometime this year.

That's right, I already have the jackbox games. I'd just host it and everyone else can join on- they don't need to have the game themselves.

Thank you. Of course my parents have a general concern, which I totally understand and don't mind and we have a pretty close relationship. But their questioning of my situation been disproportionate and persistent and specifically about the fact that I'm doing this with a friend. For example, my younger brother moved in with his girlfriend and got married after they had been dating only 8 months and my parents didn't question him and were excited for him. I've had a close relationship with my friend for 14 years and my parents also know her well and really like her, but now that I'm planning this with her, they're being this way. So that's why I find their attitude frustrating and amatonormative.

I don't have experience with it myself, but there's an aspec blog writer I follow who writes about limerence from time to time: https://sildarmillionjournal.wordpress.com/tag/limerence/. Maybe you find it relatable and helpful.

I haven't read them myself, but the Bowden Anime Club books by Hailey Gonzales has an alloaro character: https://haileygonzalesbooks.wordpress.com/take-me-to-your-nerdy-leader/. This page also has a section on stories/fanfic with allo aro and non-asexual aros: https://aroworlds.com/allo-aro/.

I had posters of cats and mythical creatures like unicorns and Lord of the Rings posters 😁

Had fun with these! I also really wanted to get aro villain but did not, alas. First: Nonhuman aro Second: Appearance headcanon fodder Third: Swords Fourth: Aroallo flag

The caju/cashew apple is from a Brazilian ice cream company called Maipu. And avocado I would get from a local paletero/popsicle vendor or an Asian grocery store (I think Magnolia was the brand). I've been wanting to try and make it at home, though, since they're not easily accessible where I live now.

I generally prefer fruit-based ice cream: mango, avocado, and caju (cashew apple) are my favorites 😋

I'm sorry that you're experiencing this, it's definitely a stressful situation. I second not having to come out. I understand that you'd like to speak your truth, but you're not obligated to come out in the first place and sometimes it's better not to. It depends on how safe you feel and how much energy you're willing to put into this, but you can already see that they're not accepting. If you think it's worth it and it's something you're willing to put effort into, then sure you can come out and try to educate them, but might be best to not have high hopes of them understanding or accepting you. Finding support elsewhere is also a good idea. Also, this may not be your intention, but I'd be careful with potentially implying that asexuality and aromanticism are more palatable or acceptable compared to other LGBTQ+ identities and orientations by saying that aphobia doesn't make sense while homo- or trans- or other queerphobia might make sense with their religious views (and this erases the many Christian folks who are LGBTQ+ themselves or supportive of LGBTQ+ folks). Sure, there are some aromantics and asexuals who don't identify as queer or LGBTQ+, but as nonmerci stated, many people consider anything that deviates from normative heterosexuality problematic. Bigotry often doesn't make sense, anyway.

For sure, I do feel supported by fellow aros and other friends as well! And I hope you also manage to find what you're looking for. A year ago this seemed impossible for me, but things ended up working out. So you never know! Yeah, I find the comments odd, and it's more annoying because they didn't question my younger brother this way when he married and moved in with his girlfriend of 8 months (at the time) 🤔. And thank you, I'm very much looking forward it and trying not to let my parents hamper that, although I'd like their full support. It might just take time for them to come around.

Just need to vent. Recently, one of my best friends, who is the only a-spec person I know IRL, and I officially decided to live together. We're not necessarily going to have a partnership, but we are planning to live with each other long-term and plan certain aspects of our lives together. I'm not out to my parents, and they're not the most queer-friendly people, but I told them a couple months ago that this was my plan. They didn't outright say anything negative about it, but they keep talking about my future as if she's not going to be a part of it. Finally I told them that I'm serious about this plan and that because we both want the same things out of life (e.g., not getting married/having romantic partner and wanting to live with friends, among other things), that this is going to be long-term. That I'm planning on "settling down" with her. But still, they talk as if it's temporary. "How will you split up your furniture when you move out after a year or two? Why not just get an apartment for yourself and she can live in her own apartment somewhere close to you?" And other things about our relationship not being "permanent enough" (which no relationship is 100% guaranteed to be permanent anyway) and automatic assumptions that this is just a temporary thing until we each find romantic partners/spouses. My friend and I have been close friends for many years, so I'm very excited that this is finally working out for us. I want to be able to talk to my parents about my plans and be excited about apartment hunting and all that, but I'm frustrated with their attitude. It feels pretty invalidating and not fully supportive. I'll have to keep drilling it into their heads that this isn't some phase or transient "stepping stone" until I get married 😩 Amatonormativity once again being a thorn in my side

There's AroWriMo: https://arowrimo.tumblr.com/ Carnival of Aros could potentially be considered an event?

To add onto the others, there are many behaviors that are considered romantic ("romantically-coded") which don't necessarily have to be. For example, holding hands, cuddling, even kissing. There's this idea that those things are done only in a romantic relationship or with romantic intent, but as long as everyone involved is comfortable with it, that shouldn't have to be the case. What could be helpful also is to note that behavior =/= attraction (and vice versa), so you can continue to have the same dynamic even if your feelings or type of relationship have changed. If you want to dive deeper into these ideas, you could look into relationship anarchy. There are even some discussions/threads here on the forums:

I definitely find one-on-one time important with friends. I like hanging out with groups of friends, but I agree with Nix that sometimes the conversations can be more shallow. Sometimes you need time to have certain conversations with a friend that you might not have in groups. I also find it necessary for bonding and forging deeper relationships, otherwise my attention gets too scattered.