The Leafy Seadragon (pastel On Paper)

the casual ace/aro phobia is astounding. in my english class this year most of the texts were centred around AI technology and the idea of ‘humanity’ — our novel study was Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan, and while it is a well-written novel I was quite uncomfortable with reading & then having class discussions detailing how integral sex is to the human nature.

like there’s so many other elements I can think of instead that also make up the human experience :

aesthetic appreciation, a sense of wonder & awe, the need for connection, altruism — and not all of these are exclusive to humankind !! which is even better !!

so tell me why the first google search result lists “sex” as the fifth example of human nature, especially by an article with a url of ‘newscientist’

and don’t even get me started on how harmful anthropocentric beliefs have been to our world (specifically vertebrae supremacists but that’s a whole other tangent)

I’m so fucking done with discourse around ace and aro identities, so I’m just stating my opinion as many times as I can at this point.

They

Are

Spectrums

You feel little to no sexual/romantic attraction as an ace or aro person! You can still feel a small/rare amount of attraction!

Libido ≠ attraction, so get out of here with the whole ‘aces don’t want sex!’ Because there are sex favourable aces!! Sex repulsed aces are just as valid and we need to appreciate the ace community in all of it’s glory!

Aromanticism is the same! Aros can want romantic relationships/enjoy romance without feeling romantic attraction because they’re not the same thing!! Romance repulsed aros are also very valid (I’m romance repulsed irl but invested in fictional romance lmao)

And loveless aros!! People always try to claim that love is what makes us human, so let’s stop with that because it’s not true and pretty aphobic.

Every acespec and arospec identity is different, and we should be appreciating each identity and how every experience is going to be unique in its own way.

If you’re not aro/ace you have no right to talk over us about our own communities as well so please just stfu.

My day was made today by finding this rare gorgeous lad spooding around in some leaf litter and oak shoots. He's habronattus alachua - I've only seen 4 adults and I love them. Sweet little fancy lumps. Enjoy. 🥹

8/10/23. N. Florida

N. Florida

love furby’s, man i still remember the blue one i had, it was the OG model design.

poor thing didn’t make the move from canada to aus all that way, as 10yr old me didn’t think to remove the batteries before it got sent over via shipping container. sadly the batteries corroded and it was never the same afterwards. it would turn itself on and off at random intervals, and it’s eyelids never shut properly. it also sounded… wrong.

it does make for a hilariously terrifying storytime however, as one night our new kitten knocked it off the desk where i kept it (covered by a bucket so i wouldn’t have to see it’s perpetually glowing eyes in the dark) the thing suddenly came to life with a cackling screech, writhing around on its back with its pupil-less eyes wide open and flashing wildly.

scared the everloving shit out of my formerly asleep younger self, genuinely to this day i think it must’ve been possessed or smth

Skipper face 4 u

Puppy

Living Fossils - Creatures that remain seemingly unchanged by time. Here's the Coelacanth, the Sturgeon, the Gar, the Horseshoe Crab and the Nautilus! (Gouache on 50x40cm canvas, SOLD)

the vibes when there are some bugs under a rock

Maybe if I hit my head really hard against my sketchbook, the image in my head will transfer into a drawing

holding slugs!!!

PSA