31/01/10 [DMFA #1084] - Asexual Abel

[Ry]

Asexuality doesn't really disqualify one from having urges or emotions about people, it just means that you DEFINITELY don't act on them out of choice. 

I'm not sure I understand what you mean.  If you mean that there are asexuals with a healthy libido- this is accurate, although there are non-libidoists (and argument over whether non- or libidoists are "true" asexuals *eyeroll*).  But that sex drive is not aimed at anyone, and most see masturbating as fulfilling a physical need than a "sexual release" or "pleasurable activity" and don't want to have sex to deal with that libido.

If you mean that asexuals are celibate- that isn't true. Many asexuals desire a romantic relationship, and are willing to have sex with their partner for the romantic aspects.  Some even enjoy the pleasure it gives their partner or the emotional/physical intimacy of the act.

[Drayco84]

RAWRGH! I HATE THAT TITTLE!

Sorry, I first heard the term "asexual" in one of my science classes and my brain got the meaning "Reproduces without having sex." somehow imprinted. In other words, my first interpretation was something like "Abel reproducing with himself." Yes, it's awkward as heck and I was going to complain, but wiktionary (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/asexual) backs up the meaning you're all using. However...

RAAAAAAGH! I STILL HATE THAT TITLE!

Gays I can handle... Weird, bizarre fetishes I can handle... (Heck, I have some of 'em. No, I'm NOT going into details!) But the thought of Abel self-impregnating himself is just... Ugh... GAAAAAAAAAH!

I'm WALKING away now...

[The_one_who_is_odd]

But the thought of Abel self-impregnating himself is just... Ugh... GAAAAAAAAAH!

Crud now I have to write another Fanfic...

[AmigaDragon]

Gays I can handle... Weird, bizarre fetishes I can handle... (Heck, I have some of 'em. No, I'm NOT going into details!) But the thought of Abel self-impregnating himself is just... Ugh... GAAAAAAAAAH!

I'm WALKING away now...

Then just consider it another bizarre fettish.

[Attic Rat]

Becoming romantically involved for the pleasure it brings is somewhat like throwing yourself from a tall building to the concrete below for the pleasure of free-fall, save for the fact that the second of those two suicidal acts would hurt a good deal less.

Besides that, Abel doesn't like himself. He probably has good reason to believe that only liars or fools would act in a friendly manner toward him. Not wanting to join his life with a liar or a fool, he remains free of romantic entanglements for now.

He has thousands of years to figure out his life. Or maybe he'll have some glorious revelation and become just like everyone else so we can all feel better about him. For the moment, he's doing the safe thing.

I'm all for him starting his own clan. An entire clan of kind-hearted and admirable jerks, strewing confusion and snippets of hard-boiled wisdom throughout Amber's world... Eh, fun to think about anyway.

[AmigaDragon]

He has thousands of years to figure out his life. Or maybe he'll have some glorious revelation and become just like everyone else so we can all feel better about him. For the moment, he's doing the safe thing.

Perhaps that is part of Fa'Lina's plan in sending him to Lost Lake, to open him up.

[Ellian]

I know I'm late as far as commenting on this goes, but still...

Kudos to Amber for lending Abel's voice to a hardly recognized minority. Bad luck for him revealing his orientation to Wildy, though... with anyone else, his choice of words might have been appropriate.

Some people have guessed that Abel's sexual disinterest might stem from his screwed up upbringing and such. I'm not sure if this is necessarily a cause-and-effect thing. Another possibility would be that simply becoming aware of his orientation made him feel even more of an outsider and added up to him becoming who he is now.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Becoming romantically involved for the pleasure it brings is somewhat like throwing yourself from a tall building to the concrete below for the pleasure of free-fall, save for the fact that the second of those two suicidal acts would hurt a good deal less.

Really?

Strange. I wasn't aware that anyone became romantically involved for any other reason. Ever.

[Mao]

It worked for Stalin...

And Mao...

Not for Julius Caesar.  He trusted Brutus!  And look what happened!  

What?  I haven't even posted in this thread. (Dohohoho)

Edit: Wait, damnit, now I have!

[Scarydragon]

I can't help but feel annoyed by the people thinking, 'Abel's rough childhood made him asexual.'
I'm not saying that his childhood didn't have an effect on his orientation, but rather that it wasn't the sole cause. Many asexual people have had 'whitebread' upbringings, just as many straight/gay/bi people have had hectic childhoods. It's just something that happens.

Strange. I wasn't aware that anyone became romantically involved for any other reason. Ever.

I became romantically involved so I didn't have to buy a new toaster after mine broke. Plus hers has 4 slots.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Edit: Wait, damnit, now I have!

... I can fix that... ;-]

[TheDXM]

Also, is it just me or can Abel's last statement be taken one of two ways? He could either be saying: "I hate myself so much that I wouldn't bother to subject someone else to being with me" or, "I can't even stand myself, so what makes you think I'd stand for being emotionally attached to someone else?"

or maybe it's a bit of both... Assuming he's not just being snippy.

[Les]

"..The closest thing I have to an orientation is "Not Interested".  Which, who knows?  It might change to a more textbook defenition one day.  but I doubt it."

This could be interpreted one of two ways.

One, he's saying that one day a proper technical term for his (lack) of sexuality might exist.. which is highly doubtfull given how anything that exist pretty much will be cataloged and categorized eventually (and outside the furrae-verse it already yas, as Asexuality.)

Two, he's not ruling out any eventual change from 'none of the above' to this, that or the other, but given what he knows and feels right now he doesn't see it happening.


All in all it's just another brick in the wall.   

[Keleth]

Because believing that his troops are going to sell him out to the Dragons or stab him in the back as soon as he looks the other way is the trait of a great leader  

Or believing half of your cubi army is gonna stab or sell you out because they're dealing with an illegal black market and have enemies on all sides over souls.

[Ry]

On self-impregnation: If that isn't already a small subset of m-preg I'll be surprised.

I can't help but feel annoyed by the people thinking, 'Abel's rough childhood made him asexual.'
I'm not saying that his childhood didn't have an effect on his orientation, but rather that it wasn't the sole cause. Many asexual people have had 'whitebread' upbringings, just as many straight/gay/bi people have had hectic childhoods. It's just something that happens.

The point is that it's possible he's not actually asexual, btu that there's something else repressing his orientation. For example- someone with a low libido.  It's entirely possiblet hat they're asexual and no amount of increasing their libido would change that. However, it's also possible that they aren't "really" asexual and increasing their libido would reveal their "true" orientation.

It's the same with Abel- it's possible that he's asexual.  It's also possible that his past has made it sot hat he automatically pushes away relationships of any kind (including friendship) and he won't acknowledge sexual attraction that he does feel, so he isn't "really" asexual.

I agree completely that your childhood doesn't cause your orientation, but asexuality is a bit slippery because there are things that can make a person who isn't "really" asexual think they are.

[AmigaDragon]

That's more or less how I think he is, not asexual, just straight and not interested.

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

I think he just doesn't know, because he's never tried to know. That's what I'm sticking with!   

[Janus Whitefurr]

Some people seem rather insistent that he -can't- be asexual. Some do concede he could be, but most seem to want to throw doubt on it because... why?

[Keleth]

Some people seem rather insistent that he -can't- be asexual. Some do concede he could be, but most seem to want to throw doubt on it because... why?

Because they want Abel to marry them.

[candide]

In response to the concern for Mason's employment, I will second the fact that things will be fine, at least for the next while. The Canadian Government has seen fit to make certain we are taken care of in situations like this.

Good to hear.  I hope things work out for them soon.

Gonna pile on the well-wishes wagon, too. 

I was laid off last June.  I'm still looking.  I completely understand how much it sux.

Hugz and well-wishes to you, Amber!  I hope that things turn around for you guys soon.

[Scow2]

Some people seem rather insistent that he -can't- be asexual. Some do concede he could be, but most seem to want to throw doubt on it because... why?

... I don't see it. We/They are just saying that his asexuality still isn't confirmed. He's an introvert taken to an unhealthy excess, considering he takes pride in that he's managed to isolate himself from everyone else in a school swarming with telepaths for ~375 years... Any relationships at all are out of the question for him... I don't want to elaborate on much detail, considering the underlying content of the subject.

[Lego3400]

Some people seem rather insistent that he -can't- be asexual. Some do concede he could be, but most seem to want to throw doubt on it because... why?

Same reason people seem to think there's no such thing as being bi....

[Mrs_A_ZeTavia]

Some people seem rather insistent that he -can't- be asexual. Some do concede he could be, but most seem to want to throw doubt on it because... why?

Same reason people seem to think there's no such thing as being bi....

Which I find those people who do, slightly insulting; because I'm Bi and proud of it!! 

[Baal Hadad]

Some people seem rather insistent that he -can't- be asexual. Some do concede he could be, but most seem to want to throw doubt on it because... why?

Same reason people seem to think there's no such thing as being bi....

Which I find those people who do, slightly insulting; because I'm Bi and proud of it!! 

I'm bi too but I'm not proud of it--I didn't work at it.  I'm not ashamed of it, but I save pride for something I put effort into.

[Ry]

Some people seem rather insistent that he -can't- be asexual. Some do concede he could be, but most seem to want to throw doubt on it because... why?

Same reason people seem to think there's no such thing as being bi....

I don't understand how acknowledging that ABEL might not be asexual is saying "asexuality isn't a real orientation".     I'm asexual, I fully believe it's an orientation and just as valid as any other, I always thought that Abel seemed more asexual than anything, but that doesn't mean I have to think that it's set in stone that Abel is asexy.  There's evidence that Abel is fairly self-loathing, he also doesn't seem to have a healthy view of personal relationships (even just friendship) and may have ignored sexual attraction in his quest to be alone.

Abel might be asexual, yes, but it's just as possible that he's not.

[Bjalf]

Some people seem rather insistent that he -can't- be asexual. Some do concede he could be, but most seem to want to throw doubt on it because... why?

Because there is insufficient data on the subject. And because it's the simplest explanation. According to Wikipedia, only about 1% is asexual. According to the comic (and real life), everybody's got issues. And Abel's got tons of issues, with whipped cream and a cherry on top. Family issues, trust issues, relationship issues. Waffle issues ... no wait, that was Matilda.

Abel just wants to be left alone. No sex, no romance, no friends. And no labels.

[Arcblade]

But the thought of Abel self-impregnating himself is just... Ugh... GAAAAAAAAAH!

No, no, silly-head.  Abel reproduces by budding! 

I do rather wonder why Matilda is terrified of pancakes. 

[Magic]

Off the record;

Which ones of you who are advocates of that doubt that Abel potentially isn't asexual actually want him to be of x orientation? We can't blame you for being fans, that is your choice, anyway. And we can't use it against your well presented arguments.

I'm not going to judge anyone here, feel free to respond or don't. It'd be interesting to see an actual opinion for once, as opposed to grinding foreheads together in some convoluted debate.

[/aside]

I like how Abel reacted, actually. He seemed to treat this as so much noise, like when a message is repeated so much at you and you learn to block it out. Shows you an actual reason why he's a recluse; a cause rather than an effect.

[Bjalf]

Which ones of you who are advocates of that doubt that Abel potentially isn't asexual actually want him to be of x orientation?

Personally, I'd think that a relationship between Abel and Jyrrbuttas would be fun. And it should be a relationship with all the trimmings, including sex, because that gives a much bigger potential for embarrassing situations.  

Oh crud, apparently I have an embarrassment fetish!    How embarrassing!  


On a slightly more serious note, I felt that the "asexual" label was unfortunate, and an attempt at giving Abel "special powers", which I find unneccessary, because Abel is quite awesome by himself, without a label, cape, or rubber costume.    

Again, there is just too little information at this point. Abel's sexual orientation could be anything except slutty. All we know is that he's not interested, which could be based on a number of causes or issues. Being a shapeshifter, I'd rule out physical impotence, though.  


Edit: And all our wild speculations are based mostly on Abel's words, spoken at a time when he was somewhat annoyed. He could be lying outright. He could be deluding himself, but thinking that he told the truth. What would Abel know, anyway? He's frigging drowning in issues!   

[Arcblade]

Off the record;

Which ones of you who are advocates of that doubt that Abel potentially isn't asexual actually want him to be of x orientation? We can't blame you for being fans, that is your choice, anyway. And we can't use it against your well presented arguments.

I'm not going to judge anyone here, feel free to respond or don't. It'd be interesting to see an actual opinion for once, as opposed to grinding foreheads together in some convoluted debate.

I'm rather curious as to what you consider "an actual opinion" if well-presented arguments alone don't cut it.   If they're only well-presented arguments from people who aren't interested in Abel, then your chances of getting one are fairly slim.   

That said, I myself only debate Abel's orientation out of academic interest.  I like people and I like trying to predict why they do the things they do.  If Abel eventually figures out he's truly asexual, or gay, I will not be heartbroken.