DeltaAro

“Selene Vassos“ from the video game “Returnal”. The difficulty of this game was insane. So that perhaps was a factor, that I ended up squishing on Selene. 😉

There is also another thing, which I find mysterious as an outsider: Roe vs. Wade is a decision from 1973. In this whole time, was there really no opportunity to settle the issue by a federal law? E. g. in 2009 : In the November 2008 elections, the Democratic Party increased its majorities in both chambers (including - when factoring in the two Democratic caucusing independents - a brief filibuster-proof 60-40 supermajority in the Senate), and with Barack Obama being sworn in as President on January 20, 2009, this gave a Democrats an overall federal government trifecta for the first time since the 103rd Congress in 1993. This is is not meant as some sort of gotcha, but as a genuine question. What happened back then?

Those recent developments (SCOTUS leak) again prove to me that the U. S. is politically and culturally very far removed from Europe. It feels weird to post aro positivity stuff here when something like this is going on. But in the end to me the U. S. is really just like another far away country. I could as well get all worked up about what’s going on in India, China or Saudi Arabia.

Well… look at the colors of the arrows’ feathers in my interpretation of “Quiver of Aros” … could be easily changed to “Quiver of Queers” 😉

Yes that would be very aro, too! Now, I further researched the matter: Yuffie is the only date where an actual kiss (most innocent kiss, but still…) happens. Yet it goes all so damn wrong, that this date is truly 100% “gleefully aro”! Yuffie: [after kissing Cloud on the cheek] “I just felt like doing that.” Cloud: “............” Yuffie: “That's all.” Cloud: “............” Yuffie: “H, hey!! Say something, why don't you!!” Cloud: “............” Yuffie: “......gawd, I could just die.” Cloud: “............” Yuffie: “Say something, PLEASE!” Cloud: “...................something.” 🤣 But seriously, the Yuffie and Barrett dates are the only good ones to me. I already have problems with such overly romantic vibes. But if the romantic object (Aerith, Tifa) is rendered in state-of-the-art PlayStation 1 graphics aka “hooves for hands”* … as a hard aro, I simply lack the required imagination. It just feels too grotesque to me! * yeah, not dissing the game… I acknowledge all the enormous creativity that went into it, sadly curtailed by the technical limitations of it’s time; overall FF VII Original is still playable and great even today.

I sadly never played this most legendary of all open-world games (maybe I should, it got an update for PS5 but costs 40 € wow for a decade old game). I heard that the Skyrim NPC population is around 1000 (quite enormous compared to Elden Ring which is around 50!). So one temple should be able to handle the demand. But that everyone has to make a long journey just to marry is quite unfortunate! Skyrim Wiki says: it’s the Temple of Mara. And surprise: Mara is the Goddess of Love. Who would’ve thought! IMHO there should be 100% secular, civil marriage in a fantasy game for once! That would be refreshing. The in-universe explanation could be: different religious groups could not agree who the REAL goddess of love is (and a lot of blood was shed in this conflict). Finally the worldly powers made secular, civil marriage compulsory. OK… b2t… Another classic I recently finished: Final Fantasy VII, Original (1997). There happens a date with one character from your group at “Gold Saucer” (a huge amusement park). The character who showed up for my “date” was Yuffie, a sort of Ninja girl from a Japanese/Chinese-like region called “Wutai”. She even gave “me” (= Cloud) a “kiss” (peck on the cheek) and was very embarrassed after that, lol. Like: --- Silence --- It seemed she liked me as a friend / mentor but wasn’t really ready for anything seriously romantic. Now I read that the game determines the date there depending on how you treat the characters in your group. I sure shot down all romantic attempts by Tifa and Aerith (who are the default options). But Yuffie seemed just like some troubled teenager to me, and I treated her nicely and so got her to “date” me in the end. Typical aro playthrough!

I just installed ePSXe and played Final Fantasy VII, Original… took me 35 hours, already played FF VII Remake some months ago…

Very beautiful! So CC BY … right? I aspire to be an aro art collector … and “publish” an aro art collection! (i. e. a large zip file ) If I may ask, what’s your painting's title?

I don’t really like romance in video games. It’s usually highly stylized and unrealistic in games. Like even way more unrealistic than in movies. Too confusing for my aro brain… I often don’t emotionally get the hints (especially at PEGI 12 games or below), and it’s supposed to be romance what I regard as friendship (sure, on a purely analytical level I correctly identify romantic attraction…). It’s also often extremely drawn out. I mean big name AAA games usually take me at least 30 hours to finish. And there are indeed games that just keep this romantic attraction hinted at (but nothing happening!) for all that time, like 30, 40, 50, ... hours … it’s insane. Imagine watching a four season TV series with romantic tension from the pilot to the final … but going nowhere! It would drive me crazy! Way worse than any real, cringy romance itself. Aside from that I really like the game. But it’s cringe-level is nearly unrivaled (except, perhaps, by Final Fantasy VII Remake and Kingdom Come). Also risque scenes with uncanny valley characters aren’t my thing…

Mmh... the Decameron is not a Renaissance work, but still medieval, right? And the attitudes of antiquity vs. middle ages about love and sex are worlds apart. While these deities existed, who, aside from the intellectual elite, knew about them in medieval times (that there was Eros and Aphrodite Pandemos).

A masterpiece of aro art! I especially love the self-assured look like "I can enjoy garlic bread" !!!

oh dear… scary… arominatrix

Idea 1: (as already mentioned) aro vegetarian vampire I always wonder… vampires in fiction are stereotypically romantic (e. g. Twilight) – why? Just like vegetarian vampires exist: Vegetarian vampires, Remedios Varo, 1962 ……… aro vampires and even aro vegetarian vampires must exist, too! Now since the vampire is aro, they do not like RED but instead GREEN food (avocados, kale, kiwi, …) and also – quite unusually – enjoy garlic bread (the aro dish). Idea 2: would be an an aro arrow-themed drawing. We already designed two “Quiver of Aros” “aro scout” badges, [1], [2], but… what we’re missing is one of the aro animals like griffin, aardvark, frog, dragon, etc. as some sort of Robin “Aro” Hood archer. If you could draw any of that…? That would be so nice!!! Many thanks!

Granny who? Weatherwax? Anyway, we need more aro art!

Caught!

My interest in romance in fiction before identifying as aromantic: 0% My interest in romance in fiction after identifying as aromantic: 0%

Just beat Elden Ring. Disappointing, anti-climactic ending after 70+ hours. Final boss: tedious, ultra-annoying mixture of Loch Ness monster & an amoeba. Cowardly, tanky boss you have to chase around for 15 minutes in a large arena – while it can one-shot you at every moment. I admit I have a strange love-hate relationship towards From Software games. But this unnerving, dumb “Elden Beast” is objectively the worst final boss they ever designed. No NG+, no way. Too much fillers & heavily frontloaded. Past Leyndell it’s just repetition. Ruins / mines / caves / catacombs are very repetitive from the start. Now playing: Ghost of Tsushima.

I’m also INFP, but aromantic. When I first took the test a few years ago, F vs. T was a rather close match. I got much more F over time. I, N and P are like > 90% though. INFP aros are similar to aros liking the romantic era. Superficially it seems contradictory. But in fact, it’s just the modern era that reduces rich, intense emotions to romantic love. 🤷‍♂️

for the glory of the Arocratic Star Empire of Aro!

Swans and butterflies – not aro!

Oh, I indeed, seriously, seriously see an aardvaark mixing aromatic aromas!?! 😃 Thanks a lot for it, It looks great!!! The most realistic aardvark here so far!

yes, it would be very nice if you could draw it !!!

Since I always misread “aromatic” as “aromantic”, I imagine the aromantic pride animal “aardvark” working as a perfumer (its nose!!)… creating all sorts of aromatic aromantic perfumes … like “Eau de Aro”, “Spirit of Lovelessness”, … Maybe I draw that next time … if nobody else does it for me (you‘ve been warned! I’m better as the idea giver than the actual artist).

yes, your drawings are really professional!

I can’t really draw myself. And have even hit a plateau regarding my very restricted capabilities… But we are seriously lacking in Aro Art. And I guess that even my attempts are better than nothing! So if you create something aro-themed , it would be nice if you could post it here.