Allegedly a blog

(As this project now encompasses twenty stories, I thought I'd celebrate with a master post.)

Is it "aay-romantic" or "arrow-mantic"? What if she hears "I’m a romantic" instead of "I’m aromantic"? What if she says "isn’t that just friendship" or "that can’t be real" or, worst of all, "I’m looking for something more"?

Hallo, Aro is a series of flash fiction stories about allosexual aromantic characters navigating friendship, sexual attraction, aromanticism and the weight of amatonormative expectation.

Contains: Dragons, a duchess's daughter, an autistic who collects pride merch, odd voyages into creative non-fiction, werewolves and gods, hunters of witches and the fae, the power in aromantic discovery, and lots of allo-aro feels and experiences.

Plus many trans, multisexual and sapphic aros!

Unspoken

How do you tell the person you like about the relationship you want when it requires a language nobody speaks?

Leaving

You leave a trail of people behind you, the cruel and curious and stubborn, until you find someone who understands the word aromantic.

Friendship

All Eliza wants is to partner a dragon’s handmaiden without risking romantic complications–but her dragon has something just as valuable to offer.

Lucky

The only way Piper can survive his workplace's fumbling attempts at aro acceptance is to make a game of it.

Attraction

Eliza can’t help fearing that her interest in another girl is best explained by a word she doesn’t wish applied to her: romance.

Existence

How do you come to terms with your path through life when nobody said the word that describes you?

Neuronormative

What does aromanticism mean to an autistic who cannot distinguish it from alloromanticism?

Loveless

When Paide ein Iteme says the words “I don’t love”, he doesn’t just refer to romantic relationships.

Monstrous

You submit, obediently, to their chains and collars … until you start to wonder what it is about your beast’s nature that requires the loving to demand such restrictions.

Pressure, Side One

When aromantics speak of the social pressures that weight our existence, sex negativity seldom comes first to mind.

Pressure, Side Two

Even in a city wrought to display our proud green, many things are shaded purple.

Abrasive

Spending Midsummer night with a pretty man shouldn’t be a problem for Suki … except for everybody else’s romantic expectations.

Question

When people ask about your love life, it demonstrates their acceptance of your queerness. What does it mean, as an aromantic, when they show no interest at all?

Antagonist

Cai likes women, casual sex and an absence of long-term relationships. None which would be a problem if said women didn’t see this as proof of his becoming the enemy...

Witch

The forest road promises you the chance of a world beyond marriage’s expectation … but the witch waiting by the roadside offers up queerer, stranger proofs of validity.

Hunter

The Citadel assumes that Prudence obediently searches for the sorcerer potentate’s missing twin … but she has her own reasons to hunt the Ring’s witches.

Pillar

When fog creeps and moon fades, the desperate seek out gods few dare name … but even gods struggle to witness the cruel consequences of their people’s amatonormativity.

Tomorrow

Stories speak of heroes’ sexual escapades on the night before they risk their lives, but Darius doesn’t dread death as much as he does the complications of surviving to see the day after tomorrow.

Steel

When a needlewoman agrees to run away with her fae lover, their fairy-tale ending has little to do with happily-ever-after.

Future

Helping Sala choose an outfit to attract men's attention seems an exercise in absurdity. Yet when Sala asks Daisy about her romantic dreams, the answer just might change her future.

Hallo, Aro is a series of flash fiction stories about allosexual aromantic characters navigating friendship, sexual attraction, aromanticism and the weight of amatonormative expectation.

Contains: A woman who dreams of her romantic happily-ever-after; a woman who dreams of other women but not a lifetime; and the ache of growing into an allosexual aromantic adulthood.

Length: 1, 039 words.

Content advisory: This story contains sexual touch, physical intimacy, sexual attraction and romantic attraction mentions or references. Please expect a focus on the intersection of heteronormativity, amatonormativity and misogyny, particularly in relation to the expected roles women play in sexual relationships, marriage, family, childbearing and childraising.

“No, not this one.” Sala scowls, turns from the mirror and tosses another blouse atop the growing pile. Skirts, kirtles, shawls and stockings form colourful mounds across her attic room’s slanted floor—piles enough, Daisy thinks, that Sala must have pillaged her mother’s wardrobe. “Nothing works! If only I could afford something new…”

“We’ll be waving at the queen-to-be’s cortege as it passes.” Daisy, tired witness to Sala’s experiments, lounges across the bed. Given that Daisy’s interest in attire starts with “not naked” and ends with “won’t trip over it”, Sala’s courting her opinion seems as foolish an undertaking as this quest through fashion’s discarded mountains. “Why must you look so perfect?”

“Why must you look perfect?” Sala, sighing, slumps to the floor in a froth of petticoats. “Daise, you’ve no imagination.”

People level such accusations at Daisy more often than she appreciates, but she works to keep her voice level. Sala, at least, never intends unkindness. “How so? Are her courtiers likely to notice anyone in the street?”

“It isn’t about the seeing—although if a handsome townie spots me, I’ll take him.” Sala snatches up the closest blouse and lobs the offending garment at Daisy’s chest. “It’s about the possibility that his eyes land upon mine, like in a story. Don’t you dream that way? About ladies for you, of course, but the dreaming’s the same—a rich, gorgeous noblewoman picking you out from the crowd?”

Happy 10th Anniversary!

This anniversary is not only ours, it is YOURS too. Because YOU are what makes this blog and this community possible!

To celebrate, take a trip with us down memory lane and check out our anniversary zine, filled with messages from other members of this community:

➜ Download the zine (pdf).

If you want to print a copy of the zine, download this file and print on both sides of a page before folding into a booklet.

We're also very happy to debut our new logo!

Isn't it amazing? Keep an eye out for the new Aro Movies Monday and Aro Tunes Thursday redesigns as well. This new visual identity was commissioned to @marirumo, a designer we've already collaborated with on previous projects; we're very grateful for her constant support!

Today’s the day! ‘The Other A in LGBTQIA+’ by AUREA is officially out today! Dive into the powerful, personal stories of the aromantic community—our voices, our experiences, our truth. Read more about it here: https://www.aromanticism.org/en/news-feed/our-book-the-other-a-in-lgbtqia-coming-out-now. Grab your copy now and help us celebrate this milestone for aromantic visibility!

Hello, fellow fandom-obsessed creatives! Please join us for the 11th edition of #AggressivelyArospecWeek in what is officially our tenth year holding this event!

Every year, #AggressivelyArospecWeek (#AAW) is an occasion to promote the creation of arospec fancontent by arospec creators. For an entire week, people on the aromantic spectrum celebrate their experiences through fandom and art.

For this event, “fancontent” means any creation related to a fandom, whether it’s a headcanon, a piece of meta, fanfic, fanart, a playlist,… All fandoms are welcome!

The content created for this event should center a character’s arospec identity (this can be a canon identity or a headcanon).

We only accept entries from creators who identify as being on the aromantic spectrum or who are questioning whether they might be.

This event is an opportunity for creators to explore their identities through fanwork within a supportive community. It’s also a perfect way for fans of all kinds (arospec or not) to enjoy art and have fun!

Join us from June 21 to June 27 2026 for an explosion of arospec fancontent on your dash!

To submit content to the event, please make a new post between June 21 and June 27 and tag it as #AggressivelyArospecWeek. You can also submit your work directly to our blog through the ask and submission boxes. Your post will then be shared on the Aggressively Arospec blog.

A collection will also be opened on Archive of Our Own to round up all the fanfics posted on there. Just search for “Aggressively Arospec Week ‘26” in the “Post to collections” tab when you’re posting on AO3.

Help us make this year's edition another success! We’ve only come this far through your support and creativity.

Please, take a second to share this post so your followers get to join in the fun as well 💚

‘The Other A in LGBTQIA+’ comes out next week on May 21st!

Rachel, one of the authors, reflects on how she incorporated her lived experience in the book. Read about it on the AUREA website here: https://www.aromanticism.org/en/news-feed/aurea-book-authors.

Pre-order your copy today! https://www.aromanticism.org/aurea-book

King Reynard of Rosemere is in want of one thing: a son. (Well, a son conceived in wedlock and possessed of a specific genital configuration.) Despite his collection of put-aside wives, the gods have cursed him with daughters. Far too many daughters! After three decades of failure, he places his last hope in a sworn vow: his children will wed the Ten Kingdoms' fairest, bravest and boldest princes. By blood or by marriage, Reynard will get his long-desired son ... and Bluebelle (who claims to be his first trueborn son) has long been a sharp thorn in Reynard's side. Worse, his daughters indulge such delusions! If any of his children need governing by a firm hand, it's Blue--and what good is the concept of royal marriage if this hand cannot belong to a husband? Preferably one located as far from Rosemere as possible? His vow fails to reckon upon one thing: Blue. For even if it requires a ceremony of questionable legality, he'll find a way to avoid obliging his father...

This story contains: A collection of siblings in want of affirmation for their trans kin; a guardswoman in want of fewer serpents; and a quoiromantic guard captain not in want of marriage (but also in want of marriage). Plus a marriage conducted by a death priestess; butches attracted to other butches; and a truth-indicating altar stone.

The Belles of Rosemere plays with a common trope in romance fiction, in which each installment showcases a different sibling's romantic happily-ever-after.

Final day to join @aggressivelyarospec‘s 10th Anniversary!

This is your last chance to be part of #AA's 10th anniversary. Complete the form below if you want to be part of this celebration:

Remember some of the submissions we collect will be published in an online zine that we’ll share with you all during our anniversary on May 22nd.

Today's the last day to send your answers, so don’t miss it!

I have dedicated big parts of the past few months towards the creation of this community zine! And oh am I delighted that it has actually become real!! The digital file is officially open for anyone to read.

I am forever grateful for the people in my tiny aromantic community who decided to take part in this encounter of mines! I will forever be grateful and will be thinking fondly of creating such a big thing! This bad boy is about 70 pages long!! Crazy!!

Ko-Fi link to download the free zine:

Everyone should check it out!

(My submission)

Final week to be part of @aggressivelyarospec‘s 10th Anniversary!

We're one week away from closing the submissions for the #AA's 10th anniversary. If you still want to join us, complete the form below:

Remember some of the submissions we collect will be published in an online zine that we’ll share with you all during our anniversary on May 22nd.

You have until April 30th to send your answers, so don’t miss it!