Asexuality

alexconall wrote the ficlet "Speaking in Flowers" based on my prompt about an asexual-aromantic florist, among other inspiration.  It's short and sweet, a story about taking joy in other people's relationships without feeling compelled to have a romance of one's own.

We invite everyone to the 2013 Asexy Valentines Fest! Valentine's Day is about affection, not sex; asexual and/or aromantic folks can enjoy the holiday too. This is an opportunity to celebrate love and romance for their own sake, outside the expectation of sexual consummation. All types of material are welcome -- fiction, nonfiction, poetry, artwork, music, etc. All fandoms (along with original content or crossovers) are welcome.

Posting is open from February 7-February 21 on asexual_fandom. Read full details here. Visit the Asexy Valentines collection on AO3; there are subcollections for fanworks from 2012 and 2013. Special thanks to verity for the banner, collection, and Tumblr post.

kajones_writing has internet connection again and is posting a bunch of new stories. Fans are encouraged to give prompts when there's a prompt call, and request continuations of favorite stories. Some things are written and shared backchannel, like if you adopt a character and get extra stories about them, and those can be sponsored for release to the public.

Jack is an asexual vampire in the Donor House series. I asked for one because for these vampires, there's a sexual component to feeding, and I figured this would make for really interesting dynamics. It has. The first story about him is "Jack - An Asexual Vampire," already posted. There's a second part that hasn't been posted yet and is available for sponsorship. The new story is "Jack - Searching for Someone." Jack watches the sexual people kissing and wishes that he could find someone compatible with his own preferences. He's has a lot of disappointments but he keeps looking. I want to see how this develops, because he's in a high-traffic place with a good chance of finding the right person sooner or later. There's an echo post on the author's personal website where you can click a button to request a continuation of the story.

If you want to see more stories about asexual characters, this is a terrific project. kajones_writing has over a dozen series, mostly fantasy but some science fiction and horror. There are lots of opportunities to interact including prompt calls and character adoption. You can even name and describe new characters, if you take part in the credit system which is one of the perks for participation.

poetree is doing a multi-hosted QUILTBAG Pride week in honor of the anniversary of the Stonewall riots.  Asexuality is the A in QUILTBAG.  Everyone should be able to love whom they want, as they want, if they want; and not be persecuted for those choices.  

Today was my day to host.  You can read my posts featuring "Queer Poetry" and "Some of My QUILTBAG Characters."  It's a good way to find my ace characters, along with other flavors of queer.

Do you write or read poems about asexual characters, or other QUILTBAG options?  Drop by poetree and comment on the posts.  We love discussions. 

Is anyone here a fan of steampunk and/or independent film?

There is a project on IndieGoGo, "Aether Dancer," fundraising for a steampunk webseries. This is an open source project, as I've described in a post on my blog, which means that folks are welcome to create characters and write or film things that will become part of the overall setting. The teaser trailer gives a glimpse of a world that's rebuilding civilization after a catastrophic meteor shower. I'm particularly intrigued by the clockwork constructs, one of whom is a crewmember on the airship Aether Dancer. If you have a little extra spending money, consider chipping in toward entertainment that's off the beaten path.

Are you tired of movies, TV shows, books, etc. where there are no asexual characters, or they're done wrong, or they're only there to die horribly or Discover That Sex Is Really Great? It's even worse with science fiction, which shows us different glimpses of the future, but often a future where many kinds of people aren't represented at all. So fix it. Create an asexual character in the Aether Dancer setting. In addition to humans, there are the clockwork people, who could quite plausibly be asexual. Then write a script or a story or a poem or whatever you do best. Shoot a scene, if you're into independent film. Even just dress up as your steampunk character -- it would be nice to see some characters who don't dress like centerfolds -- and take still pictures to share. Make a difference.

I found "Bareback Ink" through a post over on LJ-asexuality which really excites me because it means folks are talking about crowdfunding in other venues, and more importantly, they are catching on to how crowdfunding can help creative people connect with niche markets serving topics that the mainstream ignores. 

This play is about the relationship that develops between an asexual tattoo artist and a client.  I don't know if it's any good or not.  I do know that I like encouraging folks to write about fresh ideas and about characters who don't get much representation.  So I'm boosting the signal for this project in hopes that it will succeed.