I don’t really talk much about being asexual, mainly because it is such a non-issue in my life. But, I read a lot of fanfiction (like, a lot), and I really like reading ace fic. (And a lot of other kinds of fics.)

I read the first fic below, and I thought it was the best ace fic I’ve read. There are so many stories out there that are full of asexual angst: mostly the person is convinced they are broken until they find the ‘asexual’ label (and their tru wuv). Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy reading those fics, but even if I identify with certain aspects of the character, the angst just never resonates with my experience.

This Tony still doesn’t feel exactly the way I feel, but I love the way sexuality is approached here with humor. I love Tony’s disbelief and the way there is no huge earth-shattering, life-changing revelation.

The second fic is just as good, if not better. Where the first fic is short and sweet and mostly humor, the second is longer and much deeper. I love the story itself: the plot, the characters, the relationships. But in there is some great discussions about different types of attraction and different types of relationships (the big one is in chapter 16). In this chapter, Tony gets a bunch of the other characters together to try to help him understand different kinds of attraction. There’s a point in that conversation when Tony says “I’ve made more progress in the last fifteen minutes [of conversation] than I have in the six hours of research that I did yesterday”.

That echos a truth, that conversation, analogies, and stories speak to us in a way simple definitions and descriptions don’t.

(Did I mention that I figured out that I’m aromantic? It’s a label I’ve been playing around with for a while now, but this fic helped me settle it.)

But what even is sexual attraction? (1797 words) by TenSpencerRiedPlease
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Characters: Thor (Marvel), Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton, James “Rhodey” Rhodes, Steve Rogers
Additional Tags: Asexual Tony Stark, Humor, Confused Steve Rogers, Clueless Tony, Crack Treated Seriously, Alternate Universe – Crack
Series: Part 1 of What’d I Miss?
Summary:

Bruce sighs, “Everyone who experiences sexual attraction hands up,” he says and everyone in the room raises their hands.

“No, that’s not right,” Tony says, “I thought this was a joke or something, sexual attraction isn’t even a thing, it’s like a Hollywood invention or something, like Valentine’s Day. This… no, sexual attraction was invented by capitalism and patriarchy to exploit women and make money,” he says, flapping his hands around.

Steve pats his shoulder, “Tony no, sexual attraction was not invented by capitalism,” he says, laughing at Tony’s confusion.

For a Good Time Call… (98955 words) by TenSpencerRiedPlease
Chapters: 19/19
Fandom: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James “Bucky” Barnes/Natasha Romanov
Characters: Tony Stark, Peter Quill, James “Bucky” Barnes, James “Rhodey” Rhodes, Pepper Potts, Gamora (Marvel), Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanov, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Other Marvel Characters
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe – Modern Setting, Alternate Universe – College/University, Tropes, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Fluff and Humor, Love at First Sight, Basically, Artist Steve Rogers, Tags May Change, Protective Bucky Barnes, Natasha Is a Good Bro, not realistic, Aromantic Tony Stark, queer platonic relationship, Platonic Romance, if that makes sense
Summary:

Tony has always wanted to try calling a number on the inside of a bathroom stall, just to see what happened. So when he sees ‘for a good time call…’ followed by a number while taking a shit he figures why the hell not? It wasn’t like he was known for being the most… rational person on the planet.

“Hello?” the voice on the other end says. Tony stares at it for a second in shock, “hello?” the person asks again.

“Uh, not gunna lie, I wasn’t expecting to get this far,” Tony says.