Hi.

I feel like what makes the difference between something being romantic and something being What Society Says Is Romance is the connection between people.

Let’s say two people arrive on my doorstep. One of them has a bouquet of expensive roses from the florist. The other one has a dead bird in a plastic bag. We all know which one is to be considered the romantic gift (hint: it’s not the corpse)

And it’s not like I don’t like flowers or am allergic or anything, I would probably be flattered. But I have no connection to roses, and like, you can give roses to more or less anyone

Dead birds are not a standard gift, for pretty obvious reasons. A person bringing me a corpse in a plastic bag had to know me well enough to know that I collect bones and process them myself, and you don’t go shopping for birds in the Dead Bird Shop around the corner, so that means this person didn’t go out with the intent of getting me something and came back with an Appropriate Gift, they probably stumbled across something and thought about me (this ‘something’ just so happens to be a dead bird, because I’m weird) And then they had to go through the process of picking this bird up and bagging it and bringing it to me, probably pretty spontaneously and without a calendar event that says Find Dead Bird For Raptor with a timeslot between three and four pm.

You can’t have Corpse I Found In a Ditch be romantic without some sort of connection here. Roses can be romantic, but it can also just, be a formula. Two plos Two Equals Romance. A shortcut for ‘I care about you‘, even though the person might …. not, actually.

If it’s someone who loves fresh flowers in their home but rarely has the money to buy large arrangements, or like OP’s example where person A gets the chocolates because they know their s.o. thinks the boxes are super cute, then we have Standard Romantic Actions actually be romantic, but they might as well not be.

This is where my squad has the joke of someone posting a picture of a dead rat to the skype chat and goes ‘Raptor I saw this and thought of you‘ and I go -exaggerated gasping noise- “how dare you blatantly flirt with me right in front of my girlfriend“ from (and also THIS JOKE that bunch of people were confused about). Because there’s INTEREST and CONNECTION there. They’re obviosuly not actually trying to steal me from my gf, but there is a human connection and a knowledge of who I am and what I want to be associated with. The humor then comes in from the self-awareness that this could very much be the opposite of a compliment in, like, probably most other situations ever.

So TL;DR: Things can’t be romantic without the connection between people, no matter how ‘inherit‘ people claim the gesture is. However, more or less anything can be a romantic gesture if there’s the right connection and consideration behind it. Taking out the trash can be romantic. Bringing home a dead fox can be romantic. There’s no Romance Shortcuts. You have to actually care about the other person (sorry, Writers Of Like 9 Out Of 10 Mainstream Movies), there’s no way around it.

So basically: Care about each other!! If you’re writing, write characters who care about each other!! And if you don’t know what character A could do for character B, you might wanna look into whether or not you’ve made a Cardboard Love Interest, like I feel many mainstream writers do. But that’s a whooooole ‘nother can of worms.

There’s so many cans of worms.

Oh god there’s so many worms.

I am writing an aro/ace character for my original story and I would really appreciate feedback from people who are aro and/or ace to ensure that I’m writing her in a way that is not offensive, wrong, or otherwise negative for aro/ace people.

If anyone who identifies as aro and/or ace would be willing to take a look at this character and give me advice and feedback for writing her in a way that provides good representation then that would be amazing help.

Her characterization does not rely on being aro/ace but there are still aspects of who she is as a character such as her response to touch and platonic love that I want to make as positive as possible for the community.

Please, if anyone who identifies as aro and/or ace could lend a hand I will be forever grateful. And, if you don’t identify as aro and/or ace reblogging this post and getting the word out there would be amazing as well.

Man with two daughters losses his wife (Accident, cancer maybe?). She was the love of his life and best friend and he takes it hard.

Two years later his daughter take note of a new resident in the town. A single young woman who seems to share a lot of interests. They decide she’s perfect. 

Thus the movie continues with the daughters comedic attempts to get the new lady and their father to run into each other and talk to each other. Finally they tip their hand and their Dad catches them. 

He sits them down and explains that he wishes they could have a mother, but he’s not ready to start dating and honestly he may never be. The daughters roll their eyes.

“We know that Dad. We weren’t trying to get you a girlfriend.”

“We were trying to get you a friend-friend.”

“You’ve pushed away everyone else since Mom died. You talk to anyone or write to them.”

“So we found someone who you never met, so you wouldn’t be haunted by the time you spent with them and Mom.”

“Someone who into the same things, so you’d have plenty to talk about.”

“And some who was probably at least a little lonely too.”

“Not everything’s about romance Dad.”

And with the pressure off and the knowledge that they do understand, the dad does become friends with the Lady. He never dates or remarries, but that’s okay because he’s okay with it and not moping.  He helps the Lady when she gets married and they remain close friends.

all of the characters interactions are motivated by attraction

it’s always love at first sight

caring and being in love are mutually inclusive

Note that some winners are credited only by Tumblr accounts:

Best In Show: “Astra: Queen of the Frostborn”, a light-enhanced original design crafted by The Queen’s Armory.

Judges’ Choice: “Elphaba Act II Gown” from the Broadway musical Wicked, re-created in every detail by Shane Chandler (ShaneChandlerCostume).

Best Re-Creation: “The Ugly Stepsisters” A 2-person historical re-creation from Disney’s animated Cinderella, crafted by Devon Baker and Carrie-Lea Hoch (Komickrazi).

Best Original Design: “Cheshire Cat”, an original design inspired by Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, designed and made by Nina London Cosplay.

Best Workmanship: “The Ur-Dragon” inspired by card art of the Magic: The Gathering game. Crafted by Kensadi Cosplay.

Best Presentation: “This Is Quarantine” a 2-person re-creation from The Nightmare Before Christmas, imitating famous paintings, crafted by Perditas Wardrobe.

Most Humorous: “The Infinity Gauntlet” An original design inspired by Avengers: Endgame, crafted by Adolfo “Ariel” Estandarte, (Ariel004).

The above winners will receive WonderCon@Home trophies, plus free attendee badges to WonderCon Anaheim 2022.  Also, the Best in Show winner Astra: Queen of the Frostborn will receive $500 in cash from Frank and Son Collectible Show, of the City of Industry, California.

Honorable Mentions:

Each of the 3 judges had a costume they liked very much but did not win.  Here then they are:

“Oscar François de Jarjayes from The Rose of Versailles”, a re-creation from a Japanese shōjo manga series, and crafted by Yugiri315.

“Elizabeth Swann from Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”, re-created by Emily G. (GeekyGirlFashions).

“End Game Ironman” re-created from Avengers: Endgame, crafted by Capt Cash.

WonderCon gives a big thank-you to the contestants for all their work, to the guest judges for their time and expertise, to the Foglio’s for being our Masters of Ceremonies, and to Frank and Son Collectible Show for their generous support of the event!

THIS IS SO WONDERFUL

Another birthday, another cookie

This time it's for my friend @simp-cookie