ŷ������

“This was another thing Vale’s mother never understood: Vale was aro-ace, both aromantic and asexual. She’d told her parents she just wasn’t interested in dating any number of times�� But they never seemed to get it. To them, Vale’s sexuality was a ‘phase�� that they were certain she would one day outgrow. Their obliviousness was a raw spot for Vale.”
― Danika Stone, Switchback

“Pomyśl o tym jak o byciu jedynym bez okularów w grupie okularników. To, że ich nie masz, nie znaczy, że jesteś gorszy i czegoś ci brakuje. Po prostu nie potrzebujesz ich, żeby dobrze funkcjonować.”
― Weronika Łodyga, Angst with happy ending

“I just care about you so much �� but I’ve always got this fear that �� one day you’ll leave. Or Pip and Jason will leave, or �� I don’t know.�� Fresh tears fell from my cheeks. ‘I’m never going to fall in love, so �� my friendships are all I have, so �� I just �� can’t bear the idea of losing any of my friends. Because I’m never going to have that one special person.��
‘Can you let me be that person?�� Rooney said quietly.
I sniffed loudly. ‘What d’you mean?��
‘I mean I want to be your special person.��
[...]
‘But you know what I realised on my walk?�� she said. ‘I realise that I love you, Georgia.��
My mouth dropped open.
‘Obviously I’m not romantically in love with you. But I realised that whatever these feelings are for you, I …�� She grinned wildly. ‘I feel like I am in love. Me and you �� this is a fucking love story! I feel like I’ve found something most people just don’t get. I feel at home around you in a way I have never felt in my fucking life. And maybe most people would look at us and think that we’re just friends, or whatever, but I know that it’s just �� so much MORE than that.��
She gestured dramatically at me with both hands.
‘You changed me. You �� you fucking saved me, I swear to God. I know I still do a lot of dumb stuff and I say the wrong things and I still have days where I just feel like shit but �� I’ve felt happier over the past few weeks than I have in years.��
I couldn’t speak. I was frozen.
Rooney dropped to her knees. ‘Georgia, I am never going to stop being your friend. And I don’t mean that in the boring average meaning of ‘friend�� where we stop talking regularly when we’re twenty-five because we’ve both met nice young men and gone off to have babies, and only get to meet up twice a year. I mean I’m going to pester you to buy a house next door to me when we’re forty-five and have finally saved up enough for our deposits. I mean I’m going to be crashing round yours every night for dinner because you know I can’t fucking cook to save my life, and if I’ve got kids and a spouse, they’ll probably come round with me, because otherwise they’ll be living on chicken nuggets and chips. I mean I’m going to be the one bringing you soup when you text me that you’re sick and can’t get out of bed and ferrying you to the doctor’s even when you don’t want to go because you feel guilty about using the NHS when you just have a stomach bug. I mean we’re gonna knock down the fence between our gardens so we have one big garden, and we can both get a dog and take turns looking after it. I mean I’m going to be here, annoying you, until we’re old ladies, sitting in the same care home, talking about putting on a Shakespeare because we’re all old and bored as shit.��
She grabbed the bunch of flowers and practically threw them at me.
‘And I bought these for you because I honestly didn’t know how else to express any of that to you.��
I was crying. I just started crying again.
Rooney wiped the tears off my cheeks.”
― Alice Oseman, Loveless

“And what does that mean for you, Tori Spring? Have you fancied many boys in your time?"
I actually haven't. Ever. Presumably this is because I have a very low opinion of most people.
I look down. "I guess I'll just go with 'straight' until proven otherwise.”
― Alice Oseman, Solitaire

“Have you considered such lack of sentiment might be a curse?" His dulcet words were almost playful.
"Mikkelsen, I'm the most sentimental person in this blasted town. And, truthfully, that's my curse.”
― Carly Heath, The Reckless Kind

“back in my mid-twenties, a friend getting into a relationship could be enough to send me into a spiral of depression and anxiety, simultaneously worried I'd lose the friend and reminded that (as I thought then) I'd be forever alone.”
― Eris Young, Ace Voices: What it Means to Be Asexual, Aromantic, Demi or Grey-Ace

“Nobody talks about breaking up with your friends. It sucks. Especially when that friend ditches you to be with whoever they think is The One.”
― Ann Zhao, Dear Wendy

“yuki laughed, because it was the natural response. everyone assumed it was easier, that she wouldn't have to navigate the difficulties of love. even her friends thought that, but it only came back to bite her in the end. it's not like you understand what it's like to love someone, do you? because in the end, they would have someone, they would all have their counterparts, and yuki was going to be alone.”
― Laura Pohl, The Grimrose Girls

“Alla fine, era questo il problema dell'amore. Era così facile romanticizzarlo perché era ovunque. Nella musica e in tv e nelle foto con i filtri di Instagram. Era nell'aria, fonte frizzante di possibilità infinite. Era nelle foglie autunnali, nelle porte di legno fatiscenti, nel ciottolato consumato e nei campi pieni di denti di leone. Era nello sfiorarsi di mani, nelle lettere scritte di getto, delle lenzuola stropicciate e nella luce dorata poco prima del tramonto. Uno sbadiglio soffice, una risata mattiniera, due paia di scarpe allineate accanto alla porta. Uno sguardo dall'altro lato della pista da ballo.
Vedevo tutto questo, tutto il tempo, tutto intorno a me, ma quando mi avvicinavo restavo a mani vuote.
Come un miraggio.”
― Alice Oseman, Loveless

“What’s going on?�� she said. ‘Talk to me.��
‘I …�� I looked down. I didn’t want her to see me. But Rooney was
looking at me, eyebrows furrowed, so many thoughts churning behind her
eyes, and it was that look that made me start spilling everything out. ‘I just
care about you so much �� but I’ve always got this fear that �� one day
you’ll leave. Or Pip and Jason will leave, or �� I don’t know.�� Fresh tears
fell from my cheeks. ‘I’m never going to fall in love, so �� my friendships are all I have, so �� I just �� can’t bear the idea of losing any of my friends.
Because I’m never going to have that one special person.��
‘Can you let me be that person?�� Rooney said quietly.
I sniffed loudly. ‘What d’you mean?��
‘I mean I want to be your special person.��
‘B-but �� that’s not how the world works, people always put romance
over friendships –��
‘Says who?�� Rooney spluttered, smacking her hand on the ground in
front of us. ‘The heteronormative rulebook? Fuck that, Georgia. Fuck that.��
She stood up, flailing her arms and pacing as she spoke.
‘I know you’ve been trying to help me with Pip,�� she began, ‘and I
appreciate that, Georgia, I really do. I like her and I think she likes me and
we like being around each other and, yep, I’m just gonna say it �� I think we
really, really want to have sex with each other.��
I just stared at her, my cheeks tear-stained, having no idea where this was
going.
‘But you know what I realised on my walk?�� she said. ‘I realise that I
love you, Georgia.��
My mouth dropped open.
‘Obviously I’m not romantically in love with you. But I realised that
whatever these feelings are for you, I …�� She grinned wildly. ‘I feel like I
am in love. Me and you �� this is a fucking love story! I feel like I’ve found
something most people just don’t get. I feel at home around you in a way I
have never felt in my fucking life. And maybe most people would look at us
and think that we’re just friends, or whatever, but I know that it’s just �� so
much MORE than that.�� She gestured dramatically at me with both hands.
‘You changed me. You �� you fucking saved me, I swear to God. I know I
still do a lot of dumb stuff and I say the wrong things and I still have days
where I just feel like shit but �� I’ve felt happier over the past few weeks
than I have in years.��
I couldn’t speak. I was frozen.
Rooney dropped to her knees. ‘Georgia, I am never going to stop being
your friend. And I don’t mean that in the boring average meaning of ‘friend��
where we stop talking regularly when we’re twenty-five because we’ve
both met nice young men and gone off to have babies, and only get to meet
up twice a year. I mean I’m going to pester you to buy a house next door to
me when we’re forty-five and have finally saved up enough for our deposits. I mean I’m going to be crashing round yours every night for
dinner because you know I can’t fucking cook to save my life, and if I’ve
got kids and a spouse, they’ll probably come round with me, because
otherwise they’ll be living on chicken nuggets and chips. I mean I’m going
to be the one bringing you soup when you text me that you’re sick and can’t
get out of bed and ferrying you to the doctor’s even when you don’t want to
go because you feel guilty about using the NHS when you just have a
stomach bug. I mean we’re gonna knock down the fence between our
gardens so we have one big garden, and we can both get a dog and take
turns looking after it. I mean I’m going to be here, annoying you, until
we’re old ladies, sitting in the same care home, talking about putting on a
Shakespeare because we’re all old and bored as shit.��
She grabbed the bunch of flowers and practically threw them at me.
‘And I bought these for you because I honestly didn’t know how else to
express any of that to you.��
I was crying. I just started crying again.
Rooney wiped the tears off my cheeks.”
― Alice Oseman, Nick and Charlie

“I didn't like being the cause of a beautiful young man's melancholy. I knew I had love in me. My love, though, wasn't the conjugal kind.”
― Carly Heath, The Reckless Kind

“When it comes to romance, we're told, "You'll know it when you see it" Which is fine, unless, of course, you don't.”
― Eris Young, Ace Voices: What it Means to Be Asexual, Aromantic, Demi or Grey-Ace

“I just care about you so much �� but I’ve always got this fear that �� one day you’ll leave. Or Pip and Jason will leave, or �� I don’t know.�� Fresh tears fell from my cheeks. ‘I’m never going to fall in love, so �� my friendships are all I have, so �� I just �� can’t bear the idea of losing any of my friends. Because I’m never going to have that one special person.��
‘Can you let me be that person?�� Rooney said quietly.
I sniffed loudly. ‘What d’you mean?��
‘I mean I want to be your special person.��
[...]
‘But you know what I realised on my walk?�� she said. ‘I realise that I love you, Georgia.��
My mouth dropped open.
‘Obviously I’m not romantically in love with you. But I realised that whatever these feelings are for you, I …�� She grinned wildly. ‘I feel like I am in love. Me and you �� this is a fucking love story! I feel like I’ve found something most people just don’t get. I feel at home around you in a way I have never felt in my fucking life. And maybe most people would look at us and think that we’re just friends, or whatever, but I know that it’s just �� so much MORE than that.�� She gestured dramatically at me with both hands.
‘You changed me. You �� you fucking saved me, I swear to God. I know I still do a lot of dumb stuff and I say the wrong things and I still have days where I just feel like shit but �� I’ve felt happier over the past few weeks than I have in years.��
I couldn’t speak. I was frozen.
Rooney dropped to her knees. ‘Georgia, I am never going to stop being your friend. And I don’t mean that in the boring average meaning of ‘friend�� where we stop talking regularly when we’re twenty-five because we’ve both met nice young men and gone off to have babies, and only get to meet up twice a year. I mean I’m going to pester you to buy a house next door to me when we’re forty-five and have finally saved up enough for our deposits. I mean I’m going to be crashing round yours every night for dinner because you know I can’t fucking cook to save my life, and if I’ve got kids and a spouse, they’ll probably come round with me, because otherwise they’ll be living on chicken nuggets and chips. I mean I’m going to be the one bringing you soup when you text me that you’re sick and can’t get out of bed and ferrying you to the doctor’s even when you don’t want to go because you feel guilty about using the NHS when you just have a
stomach bug. I mean we’re gonna knock down the fence between our gardens so we have one big garden, and we can both get a dog and take turns looking after it. I mean I’m going to be here, annoying you, until we’re old ladies, sitting in the same care home, talking about putting on a Shakespeare because we’re all old and bored as shit.��
She grabbed the bunch of flowers and practically threw them at me.
‘And I bought these for you because I honestly didn’t know how else to express any of that to you.��
I was crying. I just started crying again.
Rooney wiped the tears off my cheeks.”
― Alice Oseman, Loveless

“I wasn’t going to die
alone.
I was going to try harder.
I wanted forever love.
I didn’t want to be loveless.”
― Alice Oseman, Loveless

“I still couldn’t quite imagine a scenario in which I would fall for someone, but I was going to make it happen, and I was going to enjoy it”
― Alice Oseman, Loveless

“And still, it's hard to find people like me. The asexual community is small enough as it is; there are fewer aromantic people and even fewer people who are both.”
― Ann Zhao, Dear Wendy

“And that really made me think for the first time about how this could happen with any friend who's not also aroace. Like, my person, my closest confidant, will probably always have someone else - a romantic partner - that they're closer to.”
― Ann Zhao, Dear Wendy