Thorn Wilde

Some do. As was touched upon in an earlier chapter, demisexuals are people who are sexually attracted only to people they also experience romantic attraction toward. However, some asexuals will also engage in sexual activity with romantic partners simply because it makes their partner happy, or because it can lead to further emotional connection, without getting much from it sexually. Women are certainly capable of being just as interested in sex as men. However, there is also a hormonal aspect. Testosterone makes you horny. This is experienced very accutely by trans men on T, whose libidos suddenly shoot through the roof, and trans women on HRT, whose libidos drop. This is also why people who menstruate often note an increase in their libidos when on or near their periods, because that's when the AFAB body naturally produces the most testosterone.

That was a good question, and great answers! Interesting ones, too... I personally find short stories easier than novels. Hope you get some more questions in, Carlos. I like this feature. Gonna have a think about whether I can come up with any myself.

Nah. You know I love your story.

In all his self-hatred, I fear he'll do so far too easily...

You may be in minority, but I actually agree with you. I think Clay got off too easy. He caused Jeremy severe mental anguish, and you can't do that and just go, sorry, I was wrong, and expect everything to be okay. He couldn't know that, but he knew he was dealing with a person who has a potentially deadly virus that causes a lot of stigma. The things he said were thoughtless and cruel. He treated Jeremy like garbage, all because of his diagnosis, and that is a shitty thing to do, no matter what trauma he may or may not have suffered in the past. If that had happened to me, you're damn right I'd crawl inside a bottle or something similarly self-destructive.

I'm sorry it didn't work out, but glad you seem at peace with how it ended. If it's not right for everyone, then that's how it's got to be.

It's true. I don't rake as much as I should.

Oh no! I missed one?? 😱

Gotta say, kind of flattered that you thought I was @MacGreg.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm demi-bi. I have a definite preference for men, sexually speaking. I can be attracted to women, too, but in order for there to be a strong sexual attraction there has to be a strong emotional connection as well. With men, I can be super into no strings attached fun. With women, that's not really so interesting. Interestingly, purely aesthetically I find women more pleasing to the eye. Until sexual attraction is involved, lol! I'm glad you and your husband are having fun with Sam. He sounds like a great guy, from what you've told me.

I was mildly disappointed with myself that so many people got it straight away, lol! Thought I'd been so careful.

There are plenty of gay asexuals. People who are romantically attracted to people of the same gender but have no interest in sex at all. And what is sex? What is gender? Are we talking genitalia, secondary sex characteristics, or presentation? Some gay guys are happy to have sex and be in relationships with non-op trans guys, because they're men too. I don't think it's right to say that being gay is all about sex, in either definition of the word. This. For some of us, the right to self-identify helps us find community, friendships, relationships, love, or it helps us feel happy and comfortable with ourselves. For me, that last bit is paramount. The keyword is 'self'. Self-identification. We get to decide who and what we are and put labels on it. Other people don't. Someone else doesn't get to tell me what my gender or my sexuality is. Only I get to do that.

Well, I just finished the edit, so it's ready for you when you get the power back up. It's a good chapter. I realised as I started in on the first bit with Mason and Jeremy that I knew what was gonna happen. You'd told me the story had a character with HIV and I suddenly just realised it had to be Jeremy. Poor guy...

Hard agree on this one! Aren't there more important medical mysteries out there? And, as you point out, these studies always focus on cisgender men. No one ever looks into why women are gay, or why people are bisexual. Come to think of it, it's the same with studies into transgenderism; they're all performed on people assigned male at birth. As it turns out, as queerness is becoming more socially acceptable, more men who would previously have referred to themselves as straight are beginning to identify as bisexual. I think there are a lot more bisexual people than previously believed. It may in fact be the largest group in LGBTQ. Sexuality exists on a spectrum. There's a reason Kinsey made a scale and not just three categories. I think hard 0 and hard 6 are relatively rare.

Well, you are. And I'm proud of you. ❤️

Ugh, I know the feeling all too well. The city centre here feels like one gigantic construction site, lol! But, as ever, you turn negative emotions into beauty. I'm glad you found a few miracles. Thank you for sharing them with us.

A very deep and thoughtful poem. Lovely imagery. As a small aside, that last bit reminded me of a line from a song by Placebo. 'My computer thinks I'm gay. What's the difference anyway? When all that people do all day is stare into a phone.' I saw them live once and during that song someone in front of me was literally watching the concert through their phone cause they were filming at the time and the irony in that just astounded me. It's definitely worth stopping and thinking about what technology does to us. What was more important in that moment? The experience of watching a live performance, or having the video of it afterwards?

I think it's so wonderfully sweet how Jed and Wolfgang and the beast are bonding. How they've fallen in love in just a couple of weeks (less?). The trust and love they share is really beautiful. Also hot, let's not forget, lol!

Glad you had fun! And glad you're safe, that thunderstorm sounds kind of scary.

This kind of made me tear up, lol! I hope you realise what a wonderful human being you are, Wayne.

Thank you for your kind words and for your support. Finances is actually a huge problem for me. I suffer from chronic mental illness causing reduced work ability and my benefits are about to be cut off. It's extremely stressful and I worry about what that will do to my writing. I'd like to make money doing what I love, so I don't get mired in trying and failing to do something I don't, because that way lies further depression. The world would have me quit writing and use my very limited energy on some 'real' job that will likely make me even more miserable than I am. I hope I won't be forced to make that choice.

I really feel this. Especially the last few lines. It's a sad world where money matters more than people's lives. Thank you for sharing.

That's my feeling exactly. I follow many musicians, comic artists, YouTubers, game developers, etc., who fund their work through Patreon or Kickstarter, who take all the risks and get all the rewards. It's a marvellous business model if you can pull it off. It lets the artist have complete creative control over everything they do, and it lets fans discover things they might otherwise not have. And thank you, I may in fact do that. ❤️

Hehe, maybe you should. I appreciated your review of Black & Blue, anyway.

Go for it! I always try to think, if I like it, chances are others will too. That's why I'm doing this. That's why I dare put stuff out there in the first place. I like the stories I write. If you like yours, you should get it out there.