Slice of life Salami

Ok so let's talk about how Gears for Breakfast accidentally created the most compelling aromantic horror story I have ever laid eyes upon

Starting with the way the storybook is set up:

A typical fairytale

Now there's a certain heteronormity and ESPECIALLY allonormity that can be inferred by the ideas of a stereotypical fairytale that can be seen directly in the story book

The Prince and Princess always fall in love and always live happily ever after, that's just how it is!

And that allonormitive mindset bleeds into the entire genre to the point where WE as the audience see 2 people with crowns holding hands surrounded by hearts and we instantly assume we know what's going on here

But we don't

AHiT subverts the allonormitive fairytale narrative for something much darker, something that paints an idyllic fairytale romance as a nightmare scenario

And that's the important part to me:

Romance as a nightmare scenario and love as horror

Even if we don't know everything about The Prince and Vanessa's relationship we can infer one thing:

That Vanessa's feelings were FAR stronger than The Prince's were

Think about it: the only perspective we get from The Prince is a single letter and the act of buying flowers, THAT'S IT! while almost anytime we see Vanessa she's going on about how obsessed she is with The Prince

She bans bacon because he likes it

She cuts his hair without his consent

She fantasizes about locking him in the cellar

It's clear as day that what Vanessa feels for the Prince is far stronger than what he feels for her and that it's possible he can't even properly reciprocate her "love" for him

And while these actions are 100% abusive and not healthy in the slightest for ANY kind of relationship, it can still be interpreted as whatever type of "love" she feels for him not being the same as the love he feels for her, which is a common struggle and even fear for some aromantic people!

I do not speak for the entire aromantic community but the idea of someone developing feelings for me is genuinely terrifying and my inability to reciprocate said feelings resulting in a one-sided obsession is even more terrifying!

No matter how much he "loves" her back, The Prince will never be able to "love" Vanessa the way she "loves" him, and that's what destroys Subcon!

and the final nail in the coffin was a bouquet of flowers... a traditionally romantic gift...

Now let's talk about the cellar and how it ties into all of this (this might get a bit dark so be weary)

We can tell from the diary pages that Vanessa didn't just choose to throw The Prince down there on a whim, this was a PLANNED punishment that she fantasized about doing to him before the incident even happened

it obvious she wanted to completely remove his agency by literally chaining him to a wall, making him into a decoration to gawk at NOT A PERSON now there's a VERY SPECIFIC thing this could be a metaphor of but for the sake of not stretching too much and keeping this post "safe" im not going to make that connection what i AM gonna talk about is how being aromantic means certain people dehumanize you because in their eyes if you cant reciprocate their idea of "love" then you are less than human, something to isolate and mock almost like being locked in a cellar... Vanessa's treatment of The Prince removes his agency in the "relationship" and invalidates his "love" for her as "not being enough!" which is something that many aromantic people stuck in toxic relationships can relate to! her "love" for him is so intense and volatile and suffocating that nothing he can do even compares to what she feel towards him and she gets upset when he cant properly "love" her the way she wants him to!

and it kills him

she leaves him down in the cellar to die and it kills him

but this is just the beginning... OH BOY TIME TO TALK ABOUT

SNATCHER

oh boy where do i even start with this guy- seriously how do i even BEGIN talking about the aroace swag this ghost possesses???? they ditched their horrid ex, took over the woods, acquired an army of children loyal minions, and is just living their afterlife chilling in the woods without any need or want for another partner! sure sometimes he reminisces about her but does he plan on going back? HELL NO!!! he has all he could ever want! he doesn't need her! he doesn't need anyone!!! except his kids ofc

seriously this ghost is living my dream rn "but what about the soulmate comment from deathwish!" DO YOU THINK HE WANTS TO GO BACK???? im pretty sure that was just nostalgia (which does not equal actually wanting to be with her again) its clear that they're much happier spending their afterlife without the need for love than they were when they were alive and chained to Vanessa AND I LOVE THAT!1!!1!1! I LOVE SEEING CHARACTERS REALIZE THAT THEY DON'T NEED A SIGNIFICANT OTHER TO MAKE THEM HAPPY!1!1!1! I LOVE SEEING SNATCHER BE FREE FROM HIS PREVIOUSLY ALLONORMATIVE RELATIONSHIP!1!1!1! seriously this guy is living his best afterlife single and i love that for him sm now... why is this so important? why should this matter to you?

aro/ace characters are rare to come by in media and any sliver of representation we can get is always a welcome sight! seeing a character who was previously chained down by a relationship free himself of those chains and reclaim his (after)life for himself is a narrative that many aro/ace people can admire and relate to! seeing so much of a focus of romance in fandom spaces can be very hostile ESPECIALLY towards those who are romance repulsed and people who are just tired of seeing it everywhere i wrote this "essay" as a way to not only share a very underrated headcanon which ive held onto for years but to also shed light on how important stories like this can be for those on the aromantic spectrum! i hope ive made at least a few people think about this perspective more and i hope you can respect my personal interpretation of Subcon Forest's story (you can always have your own interpretation!)

anyways thanks for reading! idk what else to say so uhhh-