AVENUES
OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2020
AUT UMN 2020
FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE 3 4
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS COVID-19 AND THE UK MEETUP SCENE
…. BY SKYCAPTAIN
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THE NO-RONTO 2020 ONLINE AVEN MEETUP
….. BY SNAO CONE
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MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR REVIEW
…. BY KIMMIE
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THE LAST OF US PART 2 REVIEW
…. BY KIMMIE
11-17 18-21
QUESTIONS OF THE MONTH OPEN MIC
…. “IN MY HEAD” BY RENE’ ROSE …. “LOCKDOWN MEETS” BY EUTIERRIA …. “MY OTHER HALF” BY MILANA LATTIN …. ACE LION BY ARYANA S …. PAN ACE DRAGON BY PROXYOVERRIDE
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MEMBER HIGHLIGHT: UNA SALUS VICTUS
…. INTERVIEW BY SCARLETLATITUDE
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F eatured
ASEXY PUZZLE – MAZE OF PANDEMIC CONFUSIONS ACE SPOTLIGHT
in this issue
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS
Hello Aces! Thank you for being patient with us while we finished up this issue. We think it was worth the wait! This issue has articles about the COVID-19 lockdown and how it has impacted all of us. I hope you all are being safe and healthy. Stay strong! scarletlatitude Editor in Chief
HAVE A COMMENT FOR OUR EDITORS? FILL OUT OUR “LETTER TO THE EDITORS” FORM! HTTPS://FORMS.GLE/ZNFQRTXBSH5U9TBI8
EDITING TEAM Editor in Chief: scarletlatitude Layout: rainbowbarfeverywhere, kikuka Co-editors: kikuka, scarletlatitude, Kimmie
CREATIVE TEAM kelico, MichaelTannock, ben8884 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS/ARTISTS skycaptain, Snao Cone, Kimmie, Rene’ Rose, Eutierria, Milana Lattin, Aryana S, ProxyOverride SPECIAL THANKS TO: Interview: Una Salus Victus 3
COVID-19 AND THE UK MEETUP SCENE BY SKYCAPTAIN Britain went into lockdown. All meetups had to be cancelled, whether days, afternoons, even a hiking weekend. For three months we had nothing, just AVEN, for a lucky few WhatsApp, phone, etc. So how did we restart? Travel was, and still is, an issue. Reduced train service, masks everywhere, cafés, pubs and restaurants shut, social distancing--so what do we do? We had to think outside the box. Our first tentative attempt was a simple picnic and hike. It was a success, and so it set the template for the rest of the summer. It actually proved a great success, as everyone driving (or sharing a car), meant we could visit places we haven’t been before. Places like New Alresford or Old Winchester Hill. Further north the hiking meet was trialed at Ilkley, also a success. There’ve been a couple of off-forum meets as well. We even became more adventurous and had a mountain bike meet in the New Forest. Luckily the weather has been kind, so we have only had one shower during a meet. Unfortunately, with the best will in the world, these meets have been not ideal for those who don’t like, or aren’t capable of long walks, but picnics can only last so long. Sorry to those who’ve been discouraged.
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THE NO-RONTO 2020 ONLINE AVEN MEETUP BY SNAO CONE The No-ronto meetup–an online substitute for the international AVEN meet that was supposed to take place in Toronto from 19– 26 September this year– was a great success. Many people were able to attend various online events or general socializing–even ones that wouldn’t have been able to make it to the in-person meet as planned. Events were put on through A custom logo for the meetup, designed by kelico! a dedicated Discord server, and advertised in a thread in the Online subforum of the Meetup Mart. Here’s a snapshot of what happened: • Games! These included games that can be played online (like skribbl.io, which is like internet Pictionary), games that could be streamed through the Discord server (specifically Jackbox, which players can watch on Discord and join in on through any old browser), and a custom-made AVEN meme trivia streamed onto Discord as a slideshow – with prizes! • Music! As the event had a Canadian theme, Snao curated a list of CanCon (short for Canadian content, meaning music by Canadian artists) that interested people could stream through Discord. • Movies! Snao also streamed a selection of Canadian movies through Discord: Men With Brooms, Goon, Saddest Music in the World, Bon Cop Bad Cop, Strange Brew, and FUBAR. • Learning events! Snao, as the foremost expert on this topic, gave a presentation on shitposting and memes. Puck gave a presentation on a project in the works to help mixed orientation couples.
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• Food and drink! Prior to the week, Snao gave suggestions on what people could buy or make that might resemble Canadian food and drink. The biggest star was, of course, poutine. The Discord had both voice channels and text channels, paired up together to keep conversations in context. When a group watched a movie, for example, they could chat by text in the accompanying channel to avoid talking over movies or making anything lag. Standard etiquette was to mute yourself unless people wanted to voice chat. This made things less overstimulating for people who just wanted to tune into the entertainment, and also put no pressure on people to listen or partake in conversation themselves. The setup of this event was not without hiccups. Technical issues included connection speed, streaming quality, and reliability. The account that Snao streamed from had upgraded to a Discord Nitro membership to improve the quality, but there were still limitations from the quality of the internet connection itself. Time zones also posed significant challenges: movies were scheduled for different times at different days to appeal to different continents (primarily North America and Europe), so some people missed out due to their work or sleep schedules. Very few people got the chance to catch all movies or take part in all games. Overall, though, it was successful enough to turn this Discord server into a recurring social space for online AVEN meetups. We are continuing regular movie screenings that are organized through the Party Time at Snaotown thread in the Online Meetup Mart subforum. Join the party!  
MICROSOFT FLIGHT SIMULATOR REVIEW BY KIMMIE FORMAT: PC and Xbox One (not yet released) TESTED ON: PC with Ryzen 9 3900x, RTX 2070 super oc and 16gb ram. I was using a Thrustmaster T.Flight HotasX joystick. First off, this is not really a game, but a simulator. I have
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never flown a plane in real life so I can’t decide how realistic it is. This review will treat it as a game. DESIGN AND GAMEPLAY The first thing after the installation and updates is a clear and simple to use menu with several options, such as a world map, training, and challenges If you choose “world map” you’re shown a menu that looks like Google Earth, where you can select any airport or airfield in the world. Here you can also choose your airplane, everything from a Cessna to a Boeing 747. The simulator lets the player choose the weather or have it set as live weather which reflects the current actual weather at the chosen airfield. You can also set a destination airport so the navigation system will automatically set up a flight route for you. When you are done, selecting “fly ” will take you to the loading screen When the loading is done you are met with a top view of the airport you chose. Once you’re ready to fly, you press the button, and you are in the cockpit at the runway. You can set it so you have to start up the plane and taxi it to the runway. Then, you just rev up the engine, release the brakes, and off you go. When you are in the cockpit you can look around and every button that you can see is functional. When you are up in the sky you will see just what everyone has been talking about: the world! The whole planet is represented in a 1:1 scale. Every tree on the planet is there. The world map is created by Microsoft’s Bing Maps and Blackshark.ai and is streamed to you, as there are several terabytes of data. When everything comes together, it is amazing, but sometimes in cities things can be a bit wrong because of old maps. For example, in my home city, several buildings are missing that were built two years ago. You can also set how realistic the game should be, with damage and g-forces and things like that. I played with a Joystick with a throttle grip for more control and to make it more fun. I can’t say anything bad about the controls and physics. Everything feels like I imagine it would.
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CONCLUSION I really recommend the game to everyone that likes flying games and exploring. One thing, though, is it is really performance heavy, so your computer will run warm. The map can be wrong from time to time, but that will be solved with updates.
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THE LAST OF US PART 2 REVIEW BY KIMMIE DEVELOPER: Naughty dog FORMAT: PS4 This text will include spoilers Wow, where to start with this one...? There are a couple games out there that have changed gaming--Super Mario bros with its game play, Half-Life with the storytelling, and so on. One such game is The Last of Us with how it forces players to think about good and evil. STORY TLOU 2 takes place four years after the first game. Joel and Ellie now live in a small town called Jackson. After a wet night, Ellie is woken and told that that she is late for patrol with another young woman named Dina, who it turns out she kissed last night. So, things are a bit awkward between them. Gameplay starts after that cutscene, and you are introduced to the town and a short how-to for how the cover system works is taught via a snowball fight with Dina. Here we also learn things are frosty between Ellie and Joel. Then you ride out together for the patrol. We are introduced to a new character named Abby, a big strong woman who, together with some friends, is after a certain man. The story then starts to jump backward and forward in time. It starts off like a simple revenge story but soon develops into something else. I will not go much farther into it because this is something you have to experience yourself. The overlying theme revolves around the meaning of right and wrong, and just because something is right for you doesn’t mean that it is the right thing, and that violence feeds more violence. GAMEPLAY The gameplay has been upgraded since the first game in every way. Everything is really heavy - every shot and swing is noticeable. You can fall over if you are hit. I feel like they have ramped up the gore a couple of steps too. The blood and wounds are so much more noticeable and the sound an enemy can make when you hit them makes you feel sorry for them with realistic facial animations. One thing that is not super great is the melee combat. It doesn’t lock-
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on to the enemy, which in hectic situations can make you swing your axe or hammer in the air several times. The pace is sometimes a bit off. But the weapon upgrade system is still fun. You need to look everywhere you can to find parts both for upgrades for weapons and to build stuff, as well as vitamins to upgrade your own skill points. You need to look in places like shelves, cabinets and safes DESIGN The theme of the world could not be more fitting in this time and age—a civilization that has collapsed because of a sickness, in this case fungus spores. The worst monsters are not the infected, but other humans. Most of the game takes place in Seattle, where nature has started to take back the land so almost everything is overgrown, and buildings have started to collapse. There are also signs of other groups living in the city via old documents you find and graffiti and actual signs. It is also really interesting to listen to what enemies are talking about. They are calling each other by name and talking about random things. IN CONCLUSION I liked it overall, despite the gameplay issues mentioned. Because this is an asexual magazine, I want to mention a couple of content warnings: This game has sex references and nudity and also some drug use.
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QUESTIONS OF THE MONTH
WAS YOUR COUNTRY ON LOCK DOWN (OR STILL IS IN LOCK DOWN) DURING COVID-19? EXPLAIN HOW THAT AFFECTED YOU. DID YOU DO ANYTHING NEW OR DIFFERENT? The country I currently live in (Germany) was in lockdown. However, being an introvert, lockdown had a positive impact on me. I feel more relaxed working from home alone than being in the office every day. There was also far less external pressure to socialize with others. - Cathya Yes, my country was in lockdown. I moved to another part of the country to look after my grandparents. - Bluebellstar Kind of. It did not affect me that much because I am not that social anyways. But I had less to do at work. - Kimmie My country is still in Lock-down, although slowly opening up. But international travel is still complicated, and my family is scattered across the globe. So not being able to see my Dad and siblings for unforeseeable future is very upsetting. - KathyHoh Yes. I’ve been to work (in a school) for just 4 days over the last 13 weeks of school. I live in a tiny flat and am anxious about exercising outdoors so I haven’t done exercise; gyms open soon but I don’t know when my swimming pool will open. Support bubbles were available to anyone who lives by themselves but due to my anxiety I couldn’t ask anyone local and no-one asked me, so I have been on my own for nearly 17 weeks. I’ve had more time though, so I’ve been enjoying learning new things (songs on the keyboard, languages, and updating my math knowledge to help with work). I have also had time to consider what else is important so I’m trying to put more focus into being anti-racist, and I’ve started thinking more about what I eat so I eat a lot more vegan and vegetarian than before. - Anonymous
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Yes, I live in the US and we went into lockdown about midMarch. This affected me a lot, I am a grad student who works in a lab so suddenly I was taking courses online and couldn’t get into the lab space to do my work. I also am a part of a couple different performing groups, all of our performances had to be cancelled. One was cancelled literally 2 days before we could perform. Thankfully we were able to record ourselves and put it up online, but it was a big shift to happen all at once. - Christa Our schools moved online and all restaurants etc. closed. The capital area was in lockdown so only necessary trips were to be made to and from there. All of these regulations have now been taken down and life is returning close to how it was before. There are still some effects like how sports events can only have a small amount of audience and restaurants have limitations on the number of customers they can take at a time. - Anonymous Yes. England is easing the lockdown, but I feel we should be being more careful about it. I’ve personally quite enjoyed it. As someone who is autistic and socially anxious, it’s been great not having to deal with people I don’t want to. The time has given me the opportunity to finally start taking cosplay seriously, as I’ve been kind of interested in doing for a while. - Elliott During the lock down, I grieved deeply for my routine. I work in education, so I missed seeing my students and colleagues. Achieving a similar level of connection through the distance learning program was not easy, but it was not impossible. I did take the extra time I had on my hands to take online mindfulness classes such as yoga and meditation. Grounding myself in my practice has helped me see this pandemic with greater clarity. Although the infection rates are very high where I live as of July, I now feel a stronger sense of unity with strangers as we all agree to wear masks in public places and physically distance ourselves. - Sunnyside
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My country was put into lock down, not for long though, maybe five, six weeks. I’m a student doing their last year of school, so I had online learning. Some of my subjects at school suffered, but I enjoyed all the moments. As an introvert. And also, as someone who wanted to be as far away and as safe from the virus as possible. The major effect was a lack of exercise and more time to read. There were some anxious points though, but the solitude helped me through. - B’Elanna I live the in US, so we entered lockdown late and, living in the South, we came out of it early. I didn’t really get out much before this happened, but it did mean that I lost the last weeks of time with my friends before summer. We used to get together every week and thought the break was only going to be temporary, but with only a couple exceptions, I’ve not seen any of them in person since March. I worked remotely for a while but went back to inperson work in June. But with a co-worker testing positive, I have to go get tested again (second time this month), and I don’t know when or if I’ll be returning in person. The weirdest thing for me is the constant background hum of anxiety. That’s nothing new for me, but now it’s everywhere. Going to the grocery store, even with a mask, feels reckless and dangerous, and I feel the need to apologize to people if I have to pass them in the stairway or something. I have been journaling more often, though, which has helped to deal with some of the existential dread that seems to crop up every two or three weeks. - Anonymous We are still in lockdown. It has affected me tremendously, as I had to finish my spring semester of college online. My summer internship was cancelled as well, and my fall classes will likely be online as well. Being in lockdown did give me more time to take care of myself by going on walks and eating healthy, so I guess that’s new. - Kat My state (I’m from the US) was on lock down for a while but is in the process of trying to reopen. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a nationwide lockdown earlier on and now all the states are in different places. The main noticeable way it affected my life was it completely changed the end of my senior year of high school and now my freshman college experience. The last of my high school
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classes and my graduation were all online and my senior band trip got cancelled, and now my college experience is very chaotic and different from how I was anticipating it being. - Anonymous My country did go on lockdown, and most of the country still is in lockdown. My state isn’t in lockdown, though we still have closed borders and such. My state was less affected by Covid-19, and we don’t have many active cases anymore. The lockdown didn’t have too much of an impact on me apart from some decreased motivation in my studies and not being able to buy some basic groceries. - Aydin M I live in America, so we have been in “lockdown” since March, though the guidelines are becoming looser every so often. Though I am currently able to go to work or other businesses when necessary, I am at home for the most part taking classes virtually. I have been fortunate to still have a job, but the pandemic has definitely had an impact on me. My ADHD and anxiety have gone through the roof, and every day feels like I am starting a new year trying to navigate all the changes. Some new things I have been doing to stay healthy include keeping a somewhat regular schedule, dedicating time to fighting for important issues like racial justice and leaning on my friends for support when needed. - Ronnie
HAVE YOUR ORIENTATIONS HAD AN IMPACT ON HOW YOU EXPERIENCED THE LOCK DOWN? (FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE A ROMANTIC PARTNER, WERE YOU TOGETHER?) Lockdown has finally given me a chance to consider my orientation. I was lonely so decided to go back on a dating website but finally admitted on it that I was asexual (rather than ignoring labels), and I now accept myself more now that I’m willing to accept the label.
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Anonymous
Yes, my partner found out I’m ace even though I chose not to tell him yet. - Lucid It has been much harder to find and feel supported by the communities I used to have before the pandemic. Being at home by myself most of the time has made me feel more alone than ever, especially being asexual and aromantic. I didn’t want to find a sexual or romantic partner, nor would one be comforting to me even during the pandemic. I usually rely on my friends and peers for that emotional support, and not having that has been difficult. - Ronnie As a single ace, I think I’ve had it pretty good to be honest. Seeing the memes online about everyone complaining about not being able to date and hook up has made me very relieved that I have minimal interest in those things. Being alone in my apartment though has definitely made me want to try dating again though, which probably isn’t a point I would have hit if I could have been outside with my friends all this time. - Christa Definitely. Being ace made me constantly under pressure to suddenly become normal. - Bluebellstar I had just discovered asexuality and joined an LGBTQ+ social group but did not feel confident with continuing when it became virtual. This has meant I have not really been able to discuss and explore this with other people at the moment. - Anonymous I didn’t have a relationship with anyone at the time. I was isolated from everyone though. I didn’t really talk to my friends, just read, a lot. After we came out of social isolation, I didn’t know what to do with people. Still don’t. I lost a bit of confidence and found it harder to approach friends who had kept contact in the lock down where I hadn’t. Even though I only saw them once every two weeks, it still affected me greatly. One friend even got their lives together over the shutdown. I felt embarrassed, ‘cause if I did anything, it was the opposite. I couldn’t face them with ease as I once had. I’m still working on that.
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My fiancé and I were going to be married in late June but opted instead for a wedding in my parents’ kitchen in early May, which I think was a good decision. It was just us, our parents, and brothers, and two friends, and everyone else was on Zoom. That’s changed the way I experience lockdown tremendously because, otherwise, I’d still be living with my parents or alone in a small apartment and would have been since the start of the lockdown. That wouldn’t be good for my mental health. As it is, I still have rough days, but having someone to be next to me helps so, so much. - Anonymous Not really. If anything, being asexual made things easier, as I wasn’t missing the physical parts of a relationship (like sex) that were denied to people because of quarantine. - Kat I did not have a partner before but with all the increased at home time, I’m wishing I had some more friends closer to me both physically and emotionally. - Anonymous Only in the sense that I was out at school but I’m still not at home (I live with my parents), so I haven’t been able to acknowledge it as much/have had to lie by omission a lot more. I didn’t think it’d feel quite as restrictive as it does, but I still have some outlets for it, so it’s bearable until college starts. - Anonymous As an aromantic asexual, my orientations didn’t have much of an impact on me during quarantine, though not being able to cut my hair did slightly trigger my dysphoria as a transmasculine person. - Aydin M
HOW DID YOU SHIFT YOUR HABITS TO FEEL “CONNECTED” WITH YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS? DID YOU DO ANYTHING Q uestions
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MORE OFTEN THAN USUAL? Not that much I could and can still not visit my mom because I don’t have a car and you should stay of public transport if you can. I can visit my dad without a problem. - Kimmie I was less connected with family and friends, because I was shielding /isolating as a result of the UK’s shielding policy for extremely vulnerable people. - Liam Pearse I have a friend that lives 200 miles away, we would always meet in London a couple times a year and knowing that we couldn’t do that we started checking in with each other more and we now go on Zoom twice a week to do online quizzes and chat, so I’m feeling a lot more connected to them at the moment (which is good as I feel a lot less connected to everyone in my everyday pre-lockdown life). - Anonymous I definitely have had to use things like social media more often than I used to, as well as texting and face timing my friends to try to stay in touch. I have also been seeing them in-person (following distancing/mask guidelines), though we have found different ways to hang out or games to play that we can do while 6-feet apart. - Ronnie I use more of social media than before. That way I feel more sociable without physically being around people. - KathyHoh Since I live alone, I’ve been reaching out more often than usual, to a lot more people. I’ve had conversations with friends that I haven’t seen in years, just to check up on each other and see how we’re all doing. The silver lining of this time has definitely been being able to reconnect with others. It hasn’t been easy, and I force myself to do it most days since I know it’ll be worse if I don’t, but it has been nice to chat with old friends again. - Christa I haven’t really changed an awful lot. I’m in contact with my friends online more often, but that’s because we don’t see each other at school anymore.
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I am making more effort to text and call my family because we live in different time zones and that has always been the excuse to not keep up with each other’s lives. - Sunnyside Watched more movies with my dad and got to talk more about lots of things with him - Anthony I spent more time with my family a little. I held my Mum’s hands and hugged her more. I started living with my Mum after the shutdown started, not seeing my Dad at all when I use to see him week on week off. It freaked me out, because he lived closer to the city, and he falls asleep at the drop of the hat but is hard to wake up, so he might miss something important, but I was freaking out and he couldn’t help me with that when he was sleeping all day. I went on a few more walks with my Mum, spent most of the day following her around when I wasn’t schooling. It’s something I miss, now I think of it. I miss the closeness that lessened as the lock down did. - B’Elanna My family and I are now annoyed with each other because we are all introverts and have to constantly be around each other, so I think we’re trying to do the opposite lol. The discord server that my friends and I have has seen way more usage though, and we’ve used Zoom occasionally (which we never did before). - Anonymous
DO YOU THINK YOU WILL HAVE TO CHANGE HOW YOU CELEBRATE AUTUMN AND WINTER HOLIDAYS? IF SO, HOW WOULD IT BE DIFFERENT? I cannot plan any trip for this year’s holidays for sure. Nobody from outside the Country can plan a visit either. Last year my sister visited from Europe. But now visitors are not allowed in
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the Country for unprecedented amount of time. - KathyHoh I was going to do a summer holiday to USA but instead will hopefully be visiting family. I have no idea about winter, I guess if we end up in another lockdown where we are encouraged not to travel then hopefully my local extended family will reach out but since they haven’t so far I don’t know... - Anonymous I probably will have to depending on what the situation looks like. What is likely to happen is I’ll head home and celebrate with my immediate family instead of a big gathering. My family is large, and we try to get together whenever possible, so it will be a change. But we’ve already done multiple family Zoom calls, so I’m sure that I’ll be able to see them all regardless. - Christa My eighteenth birthday is coming up. It’s a big birthday, in winter. My family usually meets up for big birthdays at a restaurant or something. Not this year. I think we’re back to ten people to a space here, so no big parties. It stops me from connecting with my relatives who live closer towards the city, hours away from where I live with my Mum. I might still be able to get together with my friends, if it doesn’t get worse. I’ve treasured them a bit more since we went back to school, so that would be different. I usually don’t have big parties anyway, but now I feel like my time with them should have more value. You never know what will happen tomorrow. That’s probably the hardest part to this pandemic, after all. - B’Elanna No. My family is fairly splintered. We don’t talk to my brother (for the best all around - he was acephobic) and so it’s just me, Mum and Dad. I live with them anyway (despite being 24, I have no interest in leaving the family bubble), so holidays have always been just us. We spend them at home, so lockdown or no lockdown, we will be fine. - Anonymous Probably, but I don’t know how. I think it’s going to be tricky because my family is pretty conservative and a bit skeptical of
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the lockdown, so I’m guessing that they will be wanting to be closer to normal than I would prefer. So, figuring out how to navigate that, both keeping them healthy and not avoiding their company, might be tricky. Also it’s the first holiday season I’ll have after getting married, so figuring out how to balance family and in-laws will be new as well. - Anonymous I think so. Covid already changed the way I celebrated Passover, as we had to get creative and do a Seder over Zoom. High Holiday services in the fall will likely be entirely live-streamed, so that will be a change. - Kat My college hasn’t been super clear with the current plans for spring semester, so I don’t know if I’m going to have to selfisolate at the end of my winter break. Also, there’s likely not going to be any church attendance for Christmas (but that’s been on and off the past few years anyway). - Anonymous I would think so, Halloween is probably going to be canceled, or at least as a family group. Thanksgiving and Christmas might still happen, my extended family is big on coming together for holidays. - Luna Evers
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OPEN MIC IN MY HEAD BY RENE’ ROSE
Chains are around my lips, What even are relationships? The beginning is fine, but over time, I just seem to be walking the line. I love and hate, it’s all the same, So why am I to blame? Why do I feel shame? I close my doors and block them out, what’s all that about? Why am I filled with doubt? I am who I am and I love who I am That’s why I’m in a therapy program The issue set forth, is about my inner discourse Sexual attraction is weird, that’s why it’s kinda feared I just want someone to hold, someone so I won’t be alone I don’t want sex, I think it’s all mess, S hort S tory C orner
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but maybe it’s for the best? Maybe I’m thinking too much, but then why do I get worried about touch? I’m done, I’m done, there’s so much sound, my head is starting to pound, it’s all too loud. Thank you for reading, I hope I haven’t been misleading. I love who I’ve become I just kinda get in a slum.
LOCKDOWN MEETS BY EUTIERRIA
Meetups moved online they did, When a pandemic hit us global, Thinking up things to try, With the aces who are local. One whole year we went out, Usually on a monthly basis, Changed to weekly meets online, Where we saw our 2D faces. A chat and a smile, A “Today, how are you?”, An unsaid commitment, To pull each other through. At first, two pilots, To run all our checks, Camera, mics and, All peripheral tech. Skribbl.io we played, Attempting to draw, Because meeting in groups, Would’ve been against the law. P ainting G allery
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Fortunate we are, Our very own musician, Hopeful piano keys, Become our new tradition. An evening of Netflix, A film that was streamed, Individual cinemas, We wouldn’t have dreamed. We spent one session, Talking about books, The quotes that we love, And how we got hooked. For another, we had, A Quiz Master assigned, A mixture of questions, Left no one behind. Bring Your Own Dinner, Or “B.Y.O.D”, Restaurants we missed, And some yet to see. One passion project PowerPoint, A presentation we did hold, Engineering terminology, Was learned from what we were taught and told. All such events, Involved those from Aberdeen, Though we also had a Scotland meet, With karaoke in between. Arts & Crafts was offered, As another potential theme, Our friend joined from Italy, Their knitting became live-streamed. Lockdown affected most our minds, Of that we can’t deny, P oetry P odium
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A mental health workshop was ran, By a psychotherapist nearby. When restrictions started to relax, A few of us walked along the beach, But a full group meet was unfortunately, Still very much out of reach. Our one-year anniversary fell, On July 27th with emotion, The original plan was of course, To go have cake by the ocean. Parks and gardens we did visit, A coffee shop impromptu, One mid-week geo-cache, And a UK wide conference too! “Lockdown Meets” © Eutierria 2020
MY OTHER HALF BY MILANA LATTIN
I don’t like the notion of finding “My other half.” I’m a whole person on my own. Love isn’t fifty-fifty. It doesn’t work like that. I don’t have “Another half.” I am me. I am complete. I don’t need another person to make Me feel whole. I’m not someone’s “Other half.” Sometimes people help me feel More fulfilled, but that doesn’t mean I’m half empty when I’m alone. “My Other Half” copyright Milana Lattin 2018
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ACE LION BY ARYANA S
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PAN ACE DRAGON BY PROXYOVERRIDE
Have something creative that you want to see in our Open Mic section? Send it to us! https://forms.gle/45XDSSHT8sboqYLy9
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MEMBER HIGHLIGHT: Una Salus Victus INTERVIEW BY: scarletlatitude
scarletlatitude: What is your favorite part of AVEN? Una Salus Victus: Chat's always had that special place in my heart SL: This issue is about living through covid-19. How has your life changed since the pandemic started? USV: There were a few bands I wanted to go see, and got cancelled, and there were a lot of venues that were shut for a short period there. It's starting to slowly open back up again since our cases have been pretty good. Other than that, managed to get a new job in the midst of it, which is a nice positive SL: In your offline life, what do you do for fun? USV: I game a bit, don't mind catching up for drinks with mates now and again, and I've been starting to get into gaming a bit more lately SL: Do you have any special plans for the holidays? USV: Christmas is still a fair way away, all I know is that we get the usual 2 weeks off for it SL: Cats or dogs? USV: I've had both, and I like both
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ASEXY PUZZLE – MAZE OF PANDEMIC CONFUSIONS
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ACE SPOTLIGHT AVEN is not affiliated with or responsible for other websites listed here
“SIP, SOY ASEXUAL” (YUP, I’M ASEXUAL) A tumblr for all Spanish speaking aces to feel welcomed and loved! https://adivinaquienesasexual.tumblr.com/
KITTEN KOMFORTS - LGBTQIA+ SOAPS For every ace flag bar of soap sold, we’re donating $1 to ace organizations! This includes AVEN, Asexual Outreach, and local groups. On top of that, for every aro themed bar of of sold, we’re donating $1 to an aro organization called AUREA. I can ship to North America and Europe right now. If you want to order soap and don’t see your country listed as an option, get in touch with Heart via PM on AVEN or use the “Contact Us” page on the website and I’ll figure it out! https://kittenforts.square.site/shop/lgbtqia-/6
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2021 will mark 20 years since AVEN was founded. Our next issue will celebrate the anniversary of AVEN! How has asexual awareness impacted you? Fill out our question of the month form here: https://forms.gle/GNEazADqBCTw4xjB7
REMEMBER,WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR ARTICLES AND ARTWORK TO ADD TO AVENUES! • To submit creative works, please go here: https://goo.gl/forms/QQqfdfOR69niJFoP2 • All creative works also need to be submitted through our copyrights form: https://goo.gl/forms/ciEyCwNew5wjuzVg1 • Send us your asexy jokes and puns here: https://goo.gl/forms/Rg4vlY6XZ7c17bNJ3 • You may also send a private message to any of the AVENues staff on AVEN
REMEMBER THAT WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO JOIN OUR TEAM! SEND ONE OF US A MESSAGE ON AVEN FOR MORE INFO!
