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Willkommen!

The Ariel Series is a contemporary love story about a Deaf queer couple learning, growing, and creating the meaning of family together. This couple is Maya (she/her) and Cecilia (they/them) Ariel. Cecilia usually goes by “C3”.  C3 and Maya both started The Ariel Series in August 2020. C3 is the primary writer and content creator while Maya is what we like to call the backstage manager! Also, C3 wrote a book in November 2022. You can check it out here.

Now, how did our little unit begin?

Five summers ago, C3 and Maya attended a wedding in the Adirondacks in New York, not knowing of one another’s existence. Maya went as the guest of the bride. C3 went as a “plus-one” date with a guest of the groom. The evening before the wedding, C3 was lounging by the shoreline of a lake when they turned around to see Maya for the first time. She was prancing down the hill in a floral, summer dress, with a relaxed grin on her face. Almost instantly, C3 was intrigued by her earthy, spirited essence. They felt a sense of excitement as they noticed Maya coming toward them. Confidently, Maya stuck out her hand and introduced herself in sign language, “Hi! I’m Maya. And you’re C3, yes? Someone told me about you so I was eager to meet you.”

Needless to say, C3 was gripped right there and then. That night, they exchanged phone numbers and three days later, C3 moved to the Midwest for graduate school. After nearly a year of getting to know one another and Maya visiting C3 multiple times, C3 travelled to Washington, D.C. for a visit. The night C3 arrived, they signed a song in American Sign Language by Jason Mraz, “I’m Yours” to Maya. From that moment on, they entered an exclusive relationship.

For the next year and a half, they enjoyed seeing one once a month throughout long distance until C3 graduated. A month later, C3 moved to the District. Since then, the couple got hitched during the pandemic, moved to a suburban neighborhood along the outskirts of the city as first-time homeowners, got pregnant, and brought their lil CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), Peri Scott, into the world!

We don’t know who is on the other side or what you are thinking but we’re sure you’re a lovely stranger (or friend, hello!). As strong advocates of American Sign Language, we create content about being a family that uses ASL. We also share a bit here and there in narrative and video form about raising our CODA gender creatively. Finally, we wish to emulate what it is like to be Deaf and queer parents. If you’re here because you’re hoping to find content to learn from, we hope we can provide you with a few useful takeaways. If you are here because you can relate, here’s a high five and we’re glad you’re here. If you’re here because you know us, we’re so glad to know you and have your support. If you have any questions or would like to chat, please do contact us at thearielseries@gmail.com!

Shalom.