#gender theft in progress

[newwave-confessions]

[soul-controller]

Patreon Update (May ‘23)

Hello there everyone, hope everyone is doing well and are having a good summer so far. Here’s a quick little summary of the stuff I’ve released over on my Patreon over the past month. If any of the following stories intrigue you, please feel free to click on the title so you can sign up for the appropriate tier to read it! I’d love to have you join my Patreon and my Discord community, where you can view exclusive photo captions.

Method Acting: The Obese Loner (Part I)

This vault story was originally released in February 2022 for the Clarke tier. After a year of exclusivity, it's now become a $5 story. I hope you enjoy this little blast from the past!

After helping an elderly woman, Chris is gifted with the ability to steal the physiques of anyone he gets intimate with. With this ability, he's able to create a career as a hunky model.  But as Chris decides to leave modeling and move into acting, he decides to search for the perfect swap target to help him nail an audition for a film in search of the world's best method actor.

While this would mean sacrificing his model physique to become the overweight loser perfect for the role, he's willing to do anything to get as rich and famous as possible!

Tags: Muscle Theft, Weight Gain, Physique Swap

Revenge of the Nerd (Part III)

Upon finding herself transformed into a muscular jock, Britney Farmer though the worst of her troubles was over. Unfortunately for her, Mitchell's plan for revenge involves a special surprise that will make her physique even more bulky...

Then after a few weeks since the transformation occurred, Mitchell finds himself delighted to realize the brand new relationship that is forming between himself and his former tormentor.

Tags: Female to Male, Gender Swap, Weight Gain, Punishment, Revenge

Sauna Swap (Part III)

One week after exchanging bodies, both Alek and Paul are having very different feelings over what has occurred to them. This is especially true for Alek as the hunky personal trainer finds himself with a middle-aged obese body. Unfortunately for him, the fun isn’t completely over as both men soon discover that more than simply their bodies have been changed...

Tags: Age Progression, Physique Swap, Weight Gain, Muscle Theft, Mental Changes, Reality Shift

The Leader of Talokan (Part II)

Upon being blessed with a gift that gives him the hunky body of a superhero, Henry opts to follow the Talokanil back to their home as they offer him a potion that will allow him to be the best possible leader of the aquatic empire. Upon drinking the potion though, Henry's personality and memories are altered to turn him into the perfect warrior and king Namor. Once this is complete, the literal god heads out to address his subjects and share his plans for the kingdom...

Tags: Racial Change, Superhero, Mental Changes, Marvel, Fan Fiction 

S-C Escapes: Austria (Part II)

After taking a dip in a hidden Austrian lake and finding himself turned into a 50-year-old hunk, Luke flees the serene area in hopes of finding safety in numbers. To his surprise, he quickly finds more than that as a poolside hunk likes what he sees and convinces Luke to join him in the pool.

Although Luke was quite excited about the prospect of this burgeoning relationship, he soon finds himself distracted by the realization that more changes are happening to help the brand new DILF accept his new identity...

Tags: Age Progression, Reality Shift, Mental Changes, Post-Transformation

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

Is there anything support the populat interpretation that old valriya and valryians in general are more feminist, and progressive than the rest in Asoiaf?

Anon, thank you! I've been wanting to address this for awhile, so I'm going to actually answer this really fully, with as many receipts as I can provide (this ended up being more of an essay than I intended, but hopefully it helps)

I think there's in fact plenty of evidence to suggest that Valyria and the Valyrians in general were anything but progressive. Valyria was an expansive empire with a robust slave trade that practiced incest based on the idea of blood supremacy/blood purity. All of these things are absolutely antithetical to progressivism. There is no way any empire practicing slavery can ever be called progressive. Now, the Targaryens of Dragonstone have since given up the practice of slavery, but they certainly still believe in the supremacy of Valyrian blood.

And I'll see the argument, well what's wrong with believing your blood is special if your blood really is special and magic? Which is just-- if anyone catches themselves thinking this, and you sincerely believe that GRRM intended to create a magically superior master race of hot blondes who deserve to rule over all other backwards races by virtue of their superior breeding which is reinforced through brother-sister incest, and you've convinced yourself this represents progressive values, then you might want to step away from the computer for a bit and do a bit of self reflection.

And remember-- what is special about this special blood? It gives the bearers the ability to wield sentient weapons of mass destruction. It's also likely, according to the most popular theories, the result of blood magic involving human sacrifice. So there is a terrible price to pay for this so-called supremacy. Would any of us line up to be sacrificed to the Fourteen Flames so that the Valyrians can have nukes?

And if you are tempted by the idea that a woman who rides a dragon must inherently have some sort of power-- that is true. A woman who rides a dragon is more powerful than a woman who does not ride a dragon, and in some cases, more powerful than a man who does not ride a dragon, but that does not make her more powerful than a man who also rides a dragon. Dragonriding remained a carefully guarded privilege, and Targaryen women who might otherwise become dragonriders were routinely denied the privilege (despite the oft repeated "you cannot steal a dragon," when Saera Targaryen attempted to claim a dragon from the dragonpit, she was thrown into a cell for the attempted "theft,"words used by Jaehaerys). The dragonkeepers were established explicitly to keep anyone, even those of Targaryen blood, from taking them without permission. Any "liberation" that she has achieved is an illusion. What she has gained is the ability to enact violence upon others who are less privileged, and this ability does not save her from being the victim of gender based violence herself.

Politically speaking, it is also true that Valyria was a "freehold," in that they did not have a hereditary monarchy, but instead had a political structure akin to Ancient Athens (which was itself democratic, but not at all progressive or feminist). Landholding citizens could vote on laws and on temporary leaders, Archons. Were any of the lords freeholder women? We don't know. If we take Volantis as an example, the free city that seems to consider itself the successor to Valyria, the party of merchants, the elephants, had several female leaders three hundred years ago, but the party of the aristocracy, the tigers, the party made up of Valyrian Old Blood nobility, has never had a female leader. Lys, the other free city, is known for it's pleasure houses, which mainly employ women kidnapped into sexual slavery (as well as some young men). It is ruled by a group of magisters, who are chosen from among the wealthiest and noblest men in the city, not women. There does not seem to be a tradition of female leadership among Valyrians, and that's reflected by Aegon I himself, who becomes king, rather than his older sister-wife, Visenya. And although there have been girls named heir, temporarily, among the pre-Dance Targaryens, none were named heir above a trueborn brother aside from Rhaenyra, a choice that sparked a civil war. In this sense, the Targaryens are no different from the rest of Westeros.

As for feminism or sexual liberation, there's just no evidence to support it. We know that polygamy was not common, but it was also not entirely unheard of, but incest, to keep the bloodlines "pure," was common. Incest and polygamy are certainly sexual taboos, both in the real world and in Westeros, that the Valyrians violated, but the violation of sexual taboos is not automatically sexually liberated or feminist. Polygamy, when it is exclusively practiced by men and polyandry is forbidden (and we have no examples of Valyrian women taking multiple husbands, outside of fanfic), is often abusive to young women. Incest leads to an erosion of family relationships and abusive grooming situations are inevitable. King Jaehaerys' daughters are an excellent case study, and the stories of Saera and Viserra are particularly heartbreaking. Both women were punished severely for "sexual liberation," Viserra for getting drunk and slipping into her brother Baelon's bed at age fifteen, in an attempt to avoid an unwanted marriage to an old man. She was not punished because she was sister attempting to sleep with a brother, but because she was the wrong sister. Her mother, the queen had already chosen another sister for Baelon, and believed her own teenage daughter was seducing her brother for nefarious reasons. As a sister, Viserra should have been able to look to her brother for protection, but as the product of an incestuous family, Viserra could only conceive of that protection in terms of giving herself over to him sexually.

Beyond that, sexual slavery was also common in ancient Valyria, a practice that persisted in Lys and Volantis, with women (and young men) trafficked from other conquered and raided nations. Any culture that is built on a foundation of slavery and which considers sexual slavery to be normal and permissible, is a culture of normalized rape. Not feminist, not progressive.

I think we get the picture! so where did this idea that Valyrians are more progressive come from? I think there are two reasons. One, the fandom has a bit of a tendency to imagine Valyrians and their traditions in opposition to Westerosi Sevenism, and if Sevenism is fantasy Catholicism, and the fantasy Catholics also hate the Valyrian ways, they must hate them because those annoying uptight religious freaks just hate everything fun and cool, right? They hate revealing clothing, hate pornographic tapestries, hate sex outside of marriage, hate bastards. So being on Sevenism's shit-list must be a mark of honor, a sign of progressive values? But it's such a surface level reading, and a real misunderstanding of the medieval Catholic church, and a conflating of that church with the later Puritan values that many of us in the Anglosphere associate with being "devout." For most of European history, the Catholic church was simply The Church, and the church was, ironically, where you would find the material actions which most closely align with modern progressive values. The church cared for lepers, provided educations for women, took care of orphans, and fed the poor. In GRRM's world, which is admittedly more secular than the actual medieval world, Sevenism nevertheless has basically the same function, feeding the poor instead of, you know, enslaving them.

Finally, I blame the shows. While Valyrians weren't a progressive culture, Daenerys Targaryen herself held relatively progressive individual values by a medieval metric. She is a slavery abolitionist, she elevates women within her ranks, and she takes control of her own sexuality (after breaking free from her Targaryen brother). But Daenerys wasn't raised as a Targaryen. She grew up an orphan in exile, hearing stories of her illustrious ancestors from her brother, who of the two did absorb a bit of that culture, and is not coincidentally, fucked up, abusive, and misogynistic. He feels a sexual ownership over his sister, arranges a marriage for her, and even after her marriage, feels entitled to make decisions on her behalf. It is only after breaking away from Viserys that Dany comes into her own values. Having once been a mere object without agency of her own, she determines to save others from that fate and becomes an abolitionist. But because Game of Thrones gave viewers very little exposure to Targaryens aside from Daenerys, House Targaryen, in the eyes of most show watchers, is most closely associated with Dany and her freedom-fighter values. And as for Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon, being a female heir does not make her feminist or progressive, although it is tempting to view her that way when she is juxtaposed against Aegon II. Her "sexual liberation" was a lesson given to her by her uncle Daemon, a man who had an express interest in "liberating" her so that she would sleep with him, it was not a value she was raised with. In fact, she was very nearly disinherited for it, and was forced into a marriage with a gay man as a result of said "liberation." She had no interest in changing succession laws to allow absolute primogeniture, no interest in changing laws or norms around bastardy despite having bastards; she simply viewed herself as an exception. Rhaenyra's entire justification for her claim is not the desire to uplift women, bring peace and stability to Westeros, or even to keep her brother off the throne, it is simply that she believes she deserves it because her father is the king and he told her she could have it, despite all tradition and norms, and in spite of the near certain succession crisis it will cause. Whether she is right or wrong, absolutism is not progressive.

And let me just say, none of this means that you can't enjoy the Valyrians or think that they're fun or be a fan of house Targaryen. This insistence that Targaryens are the progressive, feminist (read: morally good) house seems by connected to the need of some fans to make their favorite characters unproblematic. If the Valyrians are "bad," does that make you a bad person for enjoying them? Of course not. But let's stop the moral grandstanding about the "feminist" and "progressive" Valyrians in a series that is an analogue for medieval feudalism. Neither of those things can exist under the systems in place in Westeros, nor could they have existed in the slavery based empire of conquest that was old Valyria.

[darkesttiimelines]

Throughout history, women have left an undeniable impact on society with their hard work, creativity, and dedication to progress. Unfortunately, their accomplishments have often gone unnoticed, been undervalued, or even stolen. Despite these challenges, brave women of today continue to push boundaries, break barriers, and pave the way for a more fair and equal world. It's our duty to keep going, so that future generations of women can inherit a kinder, more just, and supportive world. By following in the footsteps of the incredible women who came before us, we can create a world where every woman can flourish and succeed, and where their contributions are recognized and celebrated.

Joan of Arc is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War. Claiming to be acting under divine guidance, she became a military leader who transcended gender roles and gained recognition as a savior of France. She was put on trial by Bishop Pierre Cauchon on accusations of heresy, which included blaspheming by wearing men's clothes, acting upon visions that were demonic, and refusing to submit her words and deeds to the judgment of the church. She was declared guilty and burned at the stake on 30 May 1431, aged about nineteen.

Rani Lakshmibai was the Maharani consort of the princely state of Jhansi from 1843 to 1853. She was one of the leading figures in the Indian Rebellion of 1857 became a symbol of resistance to the British rule in India for Indian nationalists. When the Maharaja died in 1853, the British East India Company under Governor-General Lord Dalhousie refused to recognize the claim of his adpoted heir and annexed Jhansi under the Doctrine of Lapse. She rode into battle with her infant son strapped to her back, and died in June 1858 after being mortally wounded during the British counterattack at Gwalior.

Rosalind Franklin was a British chemist and X-ray crystallographer whose work was instrumental in the discovery of the structure of DNA. Her contributions were largely overlooked by her male colleagues, James Watson and Francis Crick, who used her data without her permission or acknowledgement. This theft of her intellectual property and erasure of her contributions is a prime example of the systemic sexism that has historically plagued the scientific community.

Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor who co-invented a frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology during World War II that was used to guide torpedoes. However, her contributions were largely ignored and dismissed by male engineers and the military at the time. It was only later in life that she received recognition for her scientific achievements.

Emma Weyant is an American competitive swimmer. She was the US national champion at the individual medley. She qualified for the 2020 Olympic Games in the 400m individual medley and won the silver medal in this event. Weyant finished second in the 500-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. She was beaten by William (Lia) Thomas, a fetishist, who when competing as a member of the Penn men's team, which was 2018-19, ranked 554th in the 200 freestyle, 65th in the 500 freestyle and 32nd in the 1650 freestyle. Weyant is the fastest swimmer in the 500-yard freestyle and had her position stolen by a man.

Maryna Viazovska is a Ukrainian mathematician who made a breakthrough in sphere packing, solving the centuries-old mathematical problem known as the densest packing of spheres in dimensions 8 and 24. She was awarded the Fields Medal in July 2022, making her the second woman (after Maryam Mirzakhani), the second person born in the Ukrainian SSR and the first with a degree from a Ukrainian university to ever receive it.

Hannie Schaft was a Dutch resistance fighter during World War II who played a crucial role in the resistance movement against Nazi occupation. Schaft was a former university student who dropped out because she refused to sign a pledge of loyalty to Germany. Nazis arrested and killed her in 1945, just three weeks before the war ended in Europe. According to lore, Schaft’s last words were, “I’m a better shot,” after initially only being wounded by her executioner.

Shakuntala Devi was an Indian mathematician and mental calculator who was known as the "Human Computer" for her exceptional ability to perform complex mathematical calculations in her head. Her extraordinary abilities earned her a place in the 1982 Guinness Book of Records. Her lesser known achievement is that in 1977 she wrote what is considered to be the first book in India on homosexuality titled “The World of Homosexuals.”  

J. K. Rowling is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote Harry Potter, a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. Known for her philanthropy, she was doxxed and harassed after coming out with support for women's and gay rights in 2020. Rowling secretly donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to save 100 female lawyers and their families facing murder in Afghanistan. In 2022, she funded a women's only rape shelter in Edinburgh.

[destined-if]

You and your family moved to Glove City. However, the house caught fire, and you're the sole survivor. Oh, but that was two years ago... you're not still stuck up on that... are you?

After your family died, being 20 with no job or nearby family, you had to live in alleyways, sleep on park benches, and steal food from vendors... until you met them. They hesitantly welcomed you into their little group after you saved their asses, and you've stuck with them ever since. One day, you got commissioned to steal a necklace from a family in the rich part of town for a hefty price, so obviously, your group accepted and prepared for the trip. What you didn't expect is that the family you're stealing from might not be as innocent and powerless as you thought.

Trigger warnings: Violence, drug intake of minor characters, alcohol of main characters (Optional for MC), violence, death, theft, and slight mention of animal cruelty. This list will be updated as the story progresses.

NOTES: Romance options have a ♡ next to their name. Melody is male or female. Optional Polyarmous Route with Melody and Elias. I'll go into more detail with their personalities (As well as appearances) in their character profiles, I've started on them, but they most likely won't come out for a couple days.

Ian/Ivy ♡; A street rat the moment they were born. Kinda a jackass, but they keep you and their friends out of harm's way, so are they really as cold as they pretend to be? Possible Tropes: Opposites Attract, Found Family, Slowburn. Isla "Wren" Hill ♡; Best thief you know. The first time you met, she stole your packet of gum without you ever finding out until a year later when she told you. She's playful, affectionate, and a little bit of a smartass. [Healing Mage.] Possible Tropes: Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Found Family. Valerie "Val" Hill; The little sister of Isla. You think it’s nice how she steals for others free of charge, but don’t understand why. She’s sarcastic, bold, and surprisingly attentive. Oh, and also a bit of a smartass. Trope: Found Family. [Made by @dvoilds] Elias "Eli" Wynn ♡; His life before he met you guys is a blur, or at least what he says, but you don't really think that's true. Other than that, he's as sweet as a thief can be. He's caring and considerate of other's feelings, and your group's peacemaker. Will you get him to uncover his secrets? [Water Mage.] Possible Tropes: Mutual Pining, "You came?" "You called." Melody "Mel" Rose ♡; They got tangled up in this mess, and you're not quite sure how it happened. As far as you can make out, they're actually pretty understanding. It's kinda freaky how nice they are to you guys, even after you got them knee-deep in all this shit. You think they're here to stay, but it's not like they have a choice. Do they have an alternative motive, or are they just this kind-hearted? Possible Tropes: Frenemies to Lovers, Love at First Sight (More like Attraction), Strangers to Lovers. Casper Vespertine ♡; The son of the family you stole from and the man you're running away from. He scares you shitless, and it doesn't help that he talks like a robot. Will you outrun him, or will you let him catch you? Possible Tropes: Rivals to Lovers, Slowburn, Right Person, Wrong Time.

and more!

Customize your MC. Choose your gender, personality, pronouns, assets, appearance, name, and sexuality.

Decide how your MC feels about stealing and how they deal with their family being... dead.

Be a mage or a human.

Run from your problems!

Found family <3

Cute stray animals.

Create close bonds, or break them.

A fully platonic route for those who don't wanna romance anyone!

LINKS; Demo [TBA], Pinterest, Playlist, Character Profiles, Mage Profiles

posted july 19, 2023

[ink-flavored]

HI IM HERE ITS GO TIME FOR SPACE CRUISE WIP LEGGOOOO!!!!!

📅🤔✊😎👾😲

it's TIME!!!!

since this wip is such a baby i'm going to be thinking about a lot of these things for the first time let's do it

📅 How far in the future is your WIP set? Is it a “near” or “distant” future?

It is quite a distant future! It takes place 400-ish years from our present day—we aren't quite ancient history, but it's long enough ago that people don't really consider the 21st century in their daily lives. You learn about it in school and then promptly forget it all

🤔What kind of technology is still being developed in your WIP? What’s something they’re still trying to figure out?

The brain is a fickle little meat sack, and there is no "true" mental hook-up microchip or anything like that. The things you can do to the outside of your body are very impressive, and medical technology has improved a lot of technologies that are inside your body for medical purposes (like pacemakers and stuff), but you can't send/receive text messages with your mind. yet!

✊What is the social climate of your setting? Has society progressed towards equality or regressed? Has it stayed mostly the same?

Progressed in some ways, languished in others.

Since the entire concept of Space Colonialism relies on the idea that planets are big blank slates waiting for Civilization to extract resources and set up tourist traps or whatever, there is still a lot of class disparity and plenty of wealth disparity. Countries and companies can send a "pre-colony" of laborers to terraform a planet and then essentially evict them from the place(s) they built to sell the land to permanent residents. None of the money from that sale touches the pockets of the people who built it, of course, and Space Wage Theft is rampant among these operations.

And of course since colonialism inherently needs to "other" anyone or anything that was already living in the place it colonizes, that also happens quite a bit. Especially when humanity made first contact with aliens who were doing their own space colonialism.

Also Space Cops exist. There are space cops who do predictable cop things. Also robocops (they're not sapient or anything, it's basically a surveillance camera roomba that can call for back-up) are wandering around at most, if not all, space stations, and even some spaceships if you're very important or rich.

Depending on how I structure the rest of the history on the Humans Get To Space Timeline, I will probably be able to add quite a few more to this unfortunate list, but now the good stuff.

Gender is DEAD, being gay is ALIVE, and polyamory is THRIVING!!! Obviously, this varies from planet to planet and country to country, but in the story I'll be telling, it is the case that all of these things are fine and accepted.

Gender first: HRT is so advanced that it can get you all the results in under a year, depending on the dose/method of delivery, and you can get it at any pharmacy. People can transition for a couple years, detransition just as easily, and then switch back! Whatever!

Surgeries are much easier to perform and produce more consistent results across the board, and we ARE at the stage where things like uterus transplants are a thing—either from another person or from a lab-grown organ. They aren't as "versatile" as HRT, in that you can't get your junk swapped in a single day and swap it back the next, but it's easier to customize the results.

Socially, the ease with which transition can occur means that people are more relaxed about the fact that it happens. Especially because it's so easy, it's kind of impossible to ever predict if someone you're talking to is trans unless they tell you (like in real life too but you get it), so everyone is encouraged to just roll with whatever presentation and pronoun combination they're handed by someone. Space bureaucracy means it can be kind of annoying to change your legal name, but there's no such thing as a "legal sex" or "legal gender" anymore, you put your pronouns on your ID instead.

Sexuality next: when people can bang aliens, being gay doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Whether or not banging aliens is in the cards for any given person, experimenting with whoever is normalized. If it turns you gay, people just go "yeah, that'll happen," and move on. Not having any particular label is unremarkable too, because when aliens are in the picture, it's just a lot easier to have a "case by case" sexuality. Humans who exclusively (or almost exclusively) bang other humans do tend to stick with human labels for sexuality for communication's sake.

Polyamory: What with all the experimentation with gender and sexuality, it would be foolish for relationships not to get their own turn in the lab. There are a lot of ways relationships just... work differently, when it comes to existing across the vast distance of space. If you travel a lot, if you're constantly going between the planet and the space station, if you split your life between two different planets, having an open or polyamorous relationship—or to never settle down for a long-term relationship at all—just makes sense for a lot of people. Monogamy still exists, but it's not considered the default state for all relationships ever.

Even with faster-than-light travel, trips through space can take a LONG time, and people can form a lot of really close relationships on those trips. When they inevitably have to leave the ship and go their separate ways, some people stay connected. It's more or less accepted that basically everyone has a "spaceship-ship", either exclusive to that trip or lasting far beyond it. This is foreshadowing for later.

Also, marriage isn't limited to two people anymore. Some people even have a partner on Planet 1 and another on Planet 2, and they're only married on those planets.

And again, when I have better fleshed out this world, I'll have more for the good stuff too.

😎Are there any famous (or infamous) planets known for a particular cultural or material export? What is it? Are the planet’s residents annoyed or proud of this notoriety?

Our protagonist Kavi comes from a Famous Planet (that doesn't have a name, I'm working on it), and they are personally extremely annoyed when it's the first thing people bring up.

Kavi's planet is known as the Pleasure Planet, it's where you go if you want a vacation on a tropical beach, perfect weather year-round, and sex. A lot of sex, from all the not just "legal" sex work, but privatized sex work with franchised brothels. It is the place you go to pay someone to match your freak, and while the population is mostly human, aliens live, visit, and work there too.

The particular area where this tourist hotbed is located is in a single city-state on the other side of the continent where Kavi was born and raised, but nobody really knows, cares, or would want to visit those other places (the ocean geysers can be deadly there), so they are resigned to sighing heavily every time they bring up where they're from. People also tend to assume that people from the Pleasure Planet are just as ready to put out as someone who's getting paid for it, which they also hate.

Outside of Kavi, it's a mixed bag. The people from the Pleasure City can be very proud of their culture's sexual freedom of expression, annoyed at the constant influx of tourists all over the place, or actively hostile toward not just the tourism, but the concept of the city itself. It's a lot less rosy than depicted on the outside, and the sex workers who actually have to serve tourist clients have some... grievances.

👾How many different kinds of aliens are there in your WIP? Describe them!

There will be more than one kind!! But I only have one to describe right now!!

One of the aliens that will be a main focus in this WIP is... a species that doesn't have a name yet, but they're basically crocodile people with neck frills that change color based on their feelings. Their planet has a dense oxygen atmosphere and a slightly lighter gravity than Earth, so they can get up to nine feet (that's 274cm) at the tallest, but tend to hover around 7-8ft (213-243cm) tall on average. They're cold-blooded like IRL reptiles, and don't wear much in the way of clothes because they have to bask (in the sun or under a lamp) regularly to function. They're also obligate carnivores, with like 70-80% of their diets being meat.

They tend to be long and rectangular in body shape, with comparatively short limbs considering how tall they are. They have HUGE TAILS FOR WHACKING!!!! And for swimming, they spend half-and-half of their lives in land and water basically right down the middle. They have the long snouts with lots of teeth, but also they have the single weakness of not being able to open their jaws if literally anything is holding it closed. Their rougher armored scales are on the back and the soft ones are on their bellies, and they can vary in color and pattern based on where they're from. Mostly greens, browns, blacks, and sandy yellows and oranges. Sometimes a splash of red if they're feeling spicy. They live in both fresh and saltwater climates, though the freshwater aliens can't automatically filter salt like the saltwater aliens do (they have the salt-filtering gland, but it's not "active." It can be activated, but it's nasty because they have to drink saltwater).

Their frill colors are a semi-voluntary expression of emotion. Like how humans can force a smile when they're pissed, these croc aliens can force a happy color when they're pissed. However, it is harder to hide, since usually their "true colors" will show for a bit, or start to creep in along the sides. Because their frills are, in a lot of cases, reflective of their True And Real Emotions, trying to hide them on purpose is considered untrustworthy. If an alien keeps their frills closed all or most of the time, other aliens will look at them funny, or consider them closed off and unfriendly.

I'm taking inspiration from a lot of different animals for this bit, but these aliens are capable of randomly transing their gender at any time. The main alien in this story, Zyg, was hatched female along with all of his sisters. As he started to grow up, though, biology randomly assigned him transgender to balance the population of his family, and he transitioned to male over several years—completely out of his control. This happens all the time, throughout the species.

Now, the most important part: what are their sex organs like? I'm glad you asked.

Like most reptiles, all their sex organs are internal and contained in a cloaca. Males have hemi-penes which basically means they have two dicks that drop down from internal sheathes during sex time, and females have two clitorises up there (hemi-clitoris. that's what I call it). They also have scent glands that secrete body oils when they're mating/aroused, both in the cloaca and on the sides of their jaw (real crocs also have these). They lay 5-12 eggs in a clutch, including when the eggs aren't fertilized. It's common to eat unfertilized eggs, it's not considered cannibalism, but it is bad luck to eat your own unfertilized eggs—people trade clutches sometimes. Even when the eggs are fertilized, though, the embryos don't always survive. Those eggs are not eaten, and are treated sort of like a miscarriage. These aliens can also be intersex but I haven't 100% figured out all that stuff yet

The other types of aliens are gonna include at least one other mammal species, and maybe something fish-related? Still deciding.

😲Are there any human customs that the aliens find strange, offensive, gross, or confusing? Which ones?

When it comes to crocodile aliens, they are super weirded out by species that don't swim all the time. Some of them are convinced humans can't swim at all, and many of them consider humans less civilized for this.

Also, the fact that humans have to... choose? To trans themselves? Just move to a new city. What do you mean, you can't just do it on your own? Why are you doing injections? What do you mean surgery????

On a similar note, these croc aliens also have a mating season, and their libidos basically go dormant when it's over. The fact that humans don't have one can lead them in one of two directions: humans exclusively have sex to reproduce and barely enjoy it (how sad), or humans are SEX CRAZED, ALL THE TIME (HORRIFYING).

Those are the funniest ones I can think of. They're not really customs, but whatever

[try out my sci-fi worldbuilding ask game]

[utilitycaster]

Does Dock Town only have two bars and are they both named after animals? Discuss.

Companion quests! I mean this in complete seriousness: I know that failure to do companion quests doesn't just mean your party is less bonded and leveled up and happy but also literally the problems you didn't deal with come back to bite and kill you. Which is why it is kind of awesome that Taash's quests have thus been "how do I fit into my culture and my home and my gender and my mother's expectations" because like, not to get too deep but in real life you're way more likely to encounter that being a risk to someone's life and well-being than, say, a blood mage who tortured them for a year in an underwater prison and was also sleeping with their sketchy cousin.

It's been a hot minute since 10th Grade Honors English but I think that Lucanis and Emmrich's companion quests are like, each at one polar extreme of what is technically covered by Gothic Horror. Lucanis is the psychosexual blood-soaked betrayal kind in a setting that makes "Hellfire" from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame look Lutheran; Emmrich's is in a haunted house. This sounds like I'm dunking on Emmrich's quest and I'm not. Johanna is incredible. I'm obsessed.

Hossberg Wetlands update: solved two more creepy wet mysteries. In one, the person was dead (and the new doctor is nonbinary which was actually hilarious because you ALSO do Taash's realization of their gender in the Hossberg Wetlands. Literally that and Antoine and Evka only things going for it). In the other, two wardens were dead and the third so wracked by near suicidal survivor's guilt that Antoine and Evka sent him to the Free Marches. I get the Wardens are facing existential dread with the theft of the griffons and the fall of Weisshaupt and *gestures around at everything* and their whole deal is fighting the blight but I cannot imagine Lavendel: Come for the Seasonal Depression, Stay Because You Died is helping morale.

GOT HARDING HER TREE AT THE BLACK EMPORIUM. I've gifted everyone everything.

I still have a bunch of sidequests but I have learned from the fucking necropolis dragon; I'm going to progress along a bit further. I think I heard the reviews of YOU CAN GET LOCKED OUT OF SIDEQUESTS and swung too far in the other direction.

I accidentally stumbled on further music room puzzles and now the second door in the library is 2/3rds open. RIP Solas you would have loved Myst. Speaking of I still need to talk about the Crossroads.

There's certainly criticism to be had about some of the writing but I have actually been impressed at how...natural the companions feel? Like, the banter changes notably after Weisshaupt, and further after companion quests! The conversations back at the lighthouse that you can eavesdrop on do as well! Neve actively becomes more emotive and relaxed and sociable after the Cobbled Swan case if you prove to her that you didn't abandon Dock Town, just made an impossible call and couldn't be in two places at once; she is also a shipper on deck for Taash and Harding and she's NOT subtle. Davrin and Lucanis visit each others' rooms and don't kill each other!

Speaking of: Lucanis and Neve flirting is like tell me of your childhood and your deepest fears and your love for your home and rage for the people trying to destroy it and your hopes and dreams. Harding and Taash flirting is, and I'm only barely paraphrasing, "are you looking at my legs?" "yes, you are like 3 feet taller than I am, they're all I can see," "you know they go all the way up?" "*flustered giggling*" Lucanis and Davrin doing whatever the fuck they are doing is like "I would never kill you. No one would take a contract out on you and you're not the type of Warden to take a contract out on yourself." "I'd kill you over Spite but I have been convinced to get the approval of at least two other team members first."

Taash called Emmrich a skullfucker which was funny as hell honestly. I'm playing a Mourn Watcher and the dialogue gets a little wonky due to my not being a mage sometimes (Taash: your necromancy is fine it's spirits not corpses. Reaper Warrior Watcher Rook Ingellvar: bestie I just do necrotic damage when I throw my shield. why is THAT not a dialogue option) but like. honestly an extremely funny conversation. Emmrich has NEVER fucked a skull, he's too professional and not attracted to the dead sexually, but also, Taash you think this man is a top? where is THAT dialogue option. I mean I wouldn't say it because my Rook is like BE NICE NECROMANCY IS NORMAL AND CHILL but like, for other people.

[yanderes-galore]

hiiii! what about goth! michael x reader headcanons?

i in love with him

Attempt 2 at this as I accidentally closed all my tabs -_- Aged up au after high school. There's not much on him that I could find so it is a bit short.

Yandere! Tall Goth/Michael Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Poor family life, Stalking, Secret photo taking, Michael struggles with love, Kidnapping, Murder/violence, Jealousy, Forced relationship, Breaking and entering, Arson, Theft, Smoking.

Michael would struggle with having a crush on his darling.

He isn't entirely sure if he believes in love due to his home life with his parents.

He'd probably like his darling if they didn't try to change him like his parents tried to when he was younger and maybe you even understand him.

Michael is conflicted as you seem like a ray of light compared to him.

Your words don't hurt him and you honestly talk to him like he would with someone from his group.

He... appreciates it.

Michael wants to call you a friend but anything more and he gets hesitant.

Love never worked out for his parents, why would it work with him?

Despite his worries... he still finds himself adoring you.

Michael doesn't mind doing illegal tasks to pursue his darling.

It starts with stalking.

Talking with you and taking the occasional picture of you placates his obsession for the time being.

He doesn't want to lose what he has with you... but knows it'll happen at some point.

He keeps photos of you with him and often looks at them when no one is around.

Michael likes to watch you from afar within his group of goths.

But when he isn't with them then he'll follow you, being careful to not be caught.

Michael will move onto more major crimes to pursue this obsession he has.

His feelings grow within him the more he talks with you.

Soon he's breaking into your house to see where you live.

Then he's remembering your route/routine around South Park.

He knows you'd hate him for this.

However... he also knows at some point you'd hate him anyway and call him a monster... so why does it matter?

Michael keeps an eye on who you talk to.

Past crushes, exes, friends, etc....

He doesn't mind doing horrible things to them.

He may even get the goths in on it if he can convince them.

Michael doesn't mind attempting murder and he's already tried kidnapping before.

He tries to be patient with you as he feels you deserve that much.

But... murders and burning houses get suspicious over time.

The theft from your house doesn't help his case either.

Michael can't believe he's going this far for someone who isn't even a goth....

Michael's final progression of his obsession will involve him kidnapping you.

This time he's actually successful in a kidnapping.

You'll awake to your goth friend staring at you in his basement, smoking while leaning on the wall.

He isn't entirely sure how this love thing works yet he thinks you'll help him figure it out.

His way is certainly not the classic way... he's aware of that.

In fact, Michael is a very self-aware yandere.

Which may make things scarier.

Michael is aware that he's killed/injured people, Michael is aware he's done arson, Michael is even aware that this is probably not how you love someone.

Yet Michael loves you.

He's willing to accept these destructive feelings of adoration for you as his own form of love.

So even though you cry and call him a monster, he disregards what you say.

He already knows he's a monster.

Michael doesn't mind inflicting horrible crimes and acts upon this world...

As long as it means he's doing it for you.

[nightsdreamgates]

NiGHTS Into Dreamgates — Ask Blog focused on NiD content * .

" Welcome dreamer, I am your main host and owner of this blog, Tyloon, but you can call me shortly as Ty. My purpose is to bring your dreams to truth, answering requests from my ask box, posting headcanons and unique characters from my still work in progress Alternative Universe called NiGHTS Into Dreamgates (NiDG); With more I can give, such as drawings, doodles to the most detailed and colourized ones. But for your dreams to be fulfilled, I require your attention to conduct this blog's Terms of Service, like rules of what you can and what not. Please take this seriously, if none of the details from it does not satisfy your desires, then I reccomend for you to leave and even block me. Nonetheless, make it fair for both of us, as well for fun. Let's start this with a small Introduction, you can skip it anytime you wish. "

Quick Intro. 🌙

• Host's Personal Info:

— Name & Alias: Tyloon, Ty and Tyla;

– Age: 19 years old;

— Gender & Pronouns: Cisgender . She/Her;

– Nationality: Brazillian;

— Hobbies: Digital Art, Writting and Singer;

– Favorite Characters: Reala, NiGHTS, Claris, Elliot, Wizeman and Puffy.

Terms of Service (ToS). 🎶

[1]. Theft V.S Inspiration:

• I do not consent by the idea or the action of having my ideas, requests and drawings taken — even if is a repost, with no credits — without my awareness.

• Rather choose having my posts kept in my blog, reblogs and notes are always welcomed, what I do not accept is people taking my artwork and writting as their property; If I find any residues of you using my work for their own benefits, you'll be instantly blocked and reported.

• About taking inspiration about my artworks and writtings, I am fine with it, and no need to ask for it, just by you crediting or mentioning me, already satisfies me.

[2]. NSFW & Illegal Content or Demeanor:

• The highest I will settle my content is 16+ only. There won't be hardcore smut written fanfiction or headcanons about explicit scenarios of each characters. For I create a 18+ only content, I might create a separated blog for it, making this blog more open for everyone.

• What's gonna be in the 16+ content will surround more graphic details that people around this age range and older can tolerate; Such as violence, angst, serious topics (with content warning obviously) and spicy scenarios with no explicit details into it.

• I want to keep my blog safe and comfortable for people around that age range (or even less), I will not accept sensitive topics such as: Non-Con, S_uicide, P_edophilia, C_aniballism and other heavy topics.

• Please be respectful and mindful about this, I will ignore any ask requests or even uncomfortable comments about the characters. This is supposed to be a safe haven for all users who wants to interact and make questions from this fun content. Anyone who tries to enforce this behaviour onto me will be blocked and reported.

[3]. Drama, Harassment & Awareness:

• I ain't no saint, as I myself ended up reblogging and ending up spreading some drama over my blog, but it was never for a stupid reason. Is not even drama from the context behind it, as my behaviour and intentions always surrounded in confronting the user.

• It will not be repeated, not even encouraged or accepted in my blog; Do not send hateful comments towards anyone from my personal space or trying to bring myself into trouble. This can include with people who wants to confront me for any reason.

• My goal is to focus in writting and sharing my fixation over this blog, anyone who want to condone this behaviour here, will be blocked and reported for their actions.

• Now what I will mainly do is tag some posts that is in or out of the topic or from this fandom to spread awareness; Either being about problematic users to posts to help people from their situations.

[4]. Opinions V.S Critics V.S Suggestions:

• I've never really cared about small opinions or share of different views; I'm a open minded person, even if I disagree I will still take little time to read and look into your perspective.

• My breaking point is when people reach to criticize me, invalidate my own views and opinions, also wanting to enforce their beliefs onto my headcanons and work. I appreaciate sharing ideas, but now wanting to assume what's right or wrong (especially if I made clear in my explanations) what I should do on my works, all because I identify a character differently from yours, is getting too far.

• A good example I can give, from NiGHTS fandom, is the gender debate about the characters, here's a note: NiGHTS and Reala are both genderless creatures, including the rest of the nightmarens and other dream creatures, despite that they are aware what gender is, they all are featured by "default", so viewers can have their own perspectives on the characters in game.

• I am open for suggestions and opinions that are REALLY necessary for my AU, writting and drawing improvement. Any "critical constructive opinions" about my work as a way to mock or enforce your headcanons onto mine, will be ignored. Please be respectful.

[5]. Racism, Xenophibia and Transphobia:

• This should be a common sense, don't be racist, xenophobic or transphobic in my asks OR posts. And if you want to become political, please at least be political to share awareness (re-read rule #3) about serious circumstances, not because I interpretate NiGHTS as a androgynous guy and Reala as a buff masculine leaned woman.

[6]. All my work is FICTIONAL and FANMADE:

• Obviously not going to write bad down horrid topics because I am against of it, I am putting this here to make it clear that my own interpretations, my own beliefs/headcanons put around characters and AU and everything I do with the characters are FAN-MADE and FICTIONAL.

• Do not associate my work, especially if I share content warning that relate to some realistic topics such as war or violence, with the real world or my own behaviour; All I do about it is to bring reflection, depth and a philosophy behind. If I do end up getting inspired by real events, I always make sure to not base it disrespectfully and making it unique yet meaningful.

• Also what I write about the characters, headcanons or those about my AU, majority of them are fanmade, not canonical, so please check and don't use my artistic interpretations as a wikipedia of informations about the character that are not identified or confirmed as canon.

[7]. Mutuals, Collaboration & Share:

• As a human being myself, I have my own life and group of friends; I am fine into making new friends, create mutuals or equals.

• Collabs, either art or writting, I am totally down to it! So if you're looking for someone to write with or draw, please ask me.

• I am fine if we share stories together or ideas, debating and talking about theories are always fun and I want to put this here to acknowledge that is fine if you want to talk about it on asks.

• Now my DMs are open to only those I follow, if you want to talk with me, please make sure to ask and wait patiently while I think about it.

ASK General Info. 🔮

[1]. Crossovers

• The fandoms I am open to do Crossovers with NiGHTS Into Dreams are BWW, Kirby or any popular midia that I am in; Besides that, if I don't know about the midia you're asking to do crossover with NiD/JoD then I will reject it and let you know about it.

[2]. NiGHTS Content ONLY

• Will not write headcanons for other fandoms singularly, at maximum, only do crossovers with NiGHTS Into Dreams; I'll not make exceptions.

[3]. Open Requests for OCS

• Writting and drawing requests are open for now, I can write content for your OCs, such as OC x Canon, quick ideas or headcanons for your OCS (from the information you share to me about your character) and I can draw them if you'd wish, but do not expect super detailed or a quick answer for these requests.

[4]. AU Content

• My most popular AU content from my blog is Swap!NiD AU and NiDG, a AU that explores the worldbuilding of Nightopia and Nightmera along with a deeper story and navigation within the knowledge about human's conscience, inconscience and dreams. I will write and draw contents of my AU along with my original characters.

[5]. NxR shipp & Others

• Okay, this one will be bit long and taken bit personally, but I will be clear; I don't care really if you do not see as siblings or as siblings, to me, in both contexts, NiGHTS and Reala will ever be rivals and twin-complex characters. The whole excuse that they are created to serve by a deity as powerful beings and not to be created as children to them, sound pretty vague to me as I view they see eachother as extreme opposite counterparts that always end up in a certain conflict or misunderstanding. Either way so, I will not attend requests for NiGHTS x Reala content, please respect this. This also includes any other shipp like Wizeman x NiGHTS or Reala, NiGHTS or Reala x Visitors, etc...

Extra / Others. 💜

[1]. NFT and AI content

• To make it very clear, I am against any AI content that involves stealing data and artistic styles and identity from other artists without consent; This includes users of NFT (which I am surprised they still exist) stealing other people art's to send as NFT merchandise. Do not take my art or use my content for AI test and generation for your own benefits.

[2]. Scam or Baits

• Using my content or posts to promote suspicious links or works, you'll be reported. Very simple. I will make sure to spread awareness to my viewers if anyone tries to scam me or others from Tumblr.

[3]. Don't be afraid

• Despite the rules and everything here, if scared you, don't worry, as long you just want to ask something silly or pretty safe, you'll fine to go! I made these rules and fixed everything so I can make my blog updated and more organized.

⭐`. * —

* . • ° . , ' Thank you for reading — For any questions or doubt please send me a ask °. * , `

[worriedvision]

Cyno with a reader that is in a long distance relationship with him? I know there was one kinda like that with Tighnari but how about one where it's someone from Mondstadt who becomes penpals with him through work, and it starts to grow into a more personal relationship. Maybe Kaeya is the wingman and he tells the reader he won't tell the acting grandmaster about your less than professional letters if you agree to go along to see him when you have your days off.

Oh okay! Nice idea, at least nobody else is being the dick in this prompt and it's a more fluffy idea than most of mine lol. Gender neutral reader.

--

It started with a case in Sumeru where an individual from Mondstadt had been stealing identities to gain access to information they were not qualified to read into. Being the main person for evidence, he writes to you. Attached is also a picture someone managed to snap, most likely Cyno based on how good quality it was, and he requested for any information. The only lead he had that this person came from Mondstadt was the times they slipped up with conversations by ending conversations with 'Let the wind lead', only to backtrack and explain they were intending on travelling to Mondstadt.

Turns out, it didn't take long for you to find out who this person was. A former knight that had been struck off after being caught taking bribes from treasure hoarders to give false information, as well as stirring up trouble in various groups by giving false identities.

This was not an isolated case, you found when you were investigating said individual. They had a small yet sizeable group with them, working with each other to make lucrative and comfortable lives through identity theft and selling confidential information. You disclosed these individuals as well, giving the mugshots that were taken when they were busted as well, explaining to the General Mahamatra that you thought there was a chance these individuals may be pulling similar stunts. This ultimately led to the conviction of not only the individual Cyno asked about, but about everyone who worked alongside them. Turns out, all of them were poorly disguised as researchers, it was just easier to identify the initial suspect.

After that, you found at least once a week, the General Mahamatra wrote to you without fail. At first, it was sprinkled in questions that could come across as him trying to find out when you were available for a work meeting, but they started to progress into the obvious personal questions that only penpals would write. In your letters, you didn't try to hide your friendly responses. In turn, he started writing more of his dad jokes.

His way of confessing to you was in the form of many puns. You discovered after reading all the sentences that the first letters of every sentence were an admission of him gaining romantic feelings for you, despite only knowing you by word. In response, you put effort into writing a confession in return, as well as pressing a Mondstadt specialty into the paper.

"So, who's this Cyno you keep writing to?" Kaeya teases, you covering the paper with your hands in shock. "Don't worry, I won't tell. However, I have a condition." He walks in, closing the door as he reads the letter Cyno wrote in the hopes of finding his address. "You have to visit him when you are next available."

"But he's always on the move, how will I find him?" You ask.

"Your specialty is digging up evidence. I'm sure you have safe and logical methods to do so." Kaeya shrugs, leaning on the desk. "This Cyno certainly has some...interesting jokes." Kaeya winces as he reads a particularly horrendous pun that didn't translate to pen and paper at all. Reading on, he lets out an audible 'aww' when he realises Cyno's been writing sweet love notes to you in hilichurlian. As odd as it was, he found it endearing that the man had found a way to flirt - even if it was incredibly strange.

"What kind of methods would I use?" You ask, your head resting on your hand as you hum to yourself. "All I know is he's always stationed in Sumeru..."

"You're using one right now." Kaeya chuckles, lifting himself off the desk and walking out. "If you don't do this, I'll tell the Acting Grandmaster about these letters. I mean that." He threatens lightly.

--

"Excuse me?" You call out to a forest ranger, letter for Cyno in hand. "Excuse me?"

"I heard you the first time, give me a moment." The forest ranger responds. He finishes writing his conclusions to a test on a clipboard, getting up and facing you. "How may I help you? Are you lost?"

"Well, I'm looking for someone." You begin. "Specifically, I'm looking for the General Mahamatra."

"...One moment, please." The man hesitates, running towards a building. A second later, he emerges with the forest watcher. "Master Tighnari will be able to assist you with this better than I could wish to."

"Ahh, are you _?" Tighnari catches on, your eyes widening. "Cyno doesn't stop talking about the letters you send at the dinner table."

"Well, I was hoping to deliver this letter myself. That way, we'd both be able to see each other in person for the first time." You explain, looking to Tighnari for some advice.

"Tonight I'll be meeting up with the General Mahamatra as well as some other friends. I suppose you can come along as well as you're well behaved and you know how to play-"

"Genius Invokation TCG? Love that game!" You cut Tighnari off, the man in front of you wincing as he realises you are somewhat similar to Cyno.

--

That night, you and Tighnari were sat at the table.

"Good evening, Tighnari." Cyno nods, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. Looking over, he doesn't recognise you. "Is this a friend of yours?"

"Not exactly..." Tighnari pauses, looking at you. He realises you're nervous, to the point you can't speak. "This is your penpal."

"Oh, it's nice to finally meet you. Your evidence has certainly helped with many cases in Sumeru, I must thank you for your assistance." Cyno nods, the faintest hint of a smile crossing his face.

"And it's nice to meet you to. Uhh, I mean it's nice to know what you look like. Not that I thought you were going to be ugly, but...oh no." You ramble out, digging a deeper hole with every word.

"Hey guys, how- oh, who is this beautiful stranger?" Kaveh asks, Alhaitham nudging him in the side as he catches onto Cyno's glare. Alhaitham looks around, realising there was only one free seat, and this seat is quickly taken by Kaveh. "Looks like there isn't enough room for everyone."

"Good, at least I can leave without an-"

"_, sit on my lap." Cyno suggests.

"Are you sure? I don't want to crush you!" You ask, Cyno waving you to take a seat on his lap as Alhaitham begrudgingly takes a seat.

"See?" Cyno purrs into your ear, you now sitting comfortably on his lap. "I'm stronger than I look."

"Get a room, you two." Tighnari rolls his eyes, pulling out his deck of cards as he prepares to duel against Cyno.

"Let's continue this later." You whisper, Tighnari's ear twitching in response to hearing this.

"I've got sensitive ears. Be careful what you say to each other." Tighnari huffs out.

"Wait, what did they...Nevermind." Kaveh stops, Tighnari shaking his head disapprovingly at the question.

[onecornerface]

Are libertarian scholars shills and useful idiots for the rich?

Are libertarian scholars shills and useful idiots for the interests of the rich? Many people are saying this. My take:

Big financial interests, such as Koch funding, are responsible for some growing hazards to the integrity and quality of some academic professions such as philosophy. My own academic philosophy department (BGSU) received Koch funding several years ago, which has been a catalyst for endless insanely complex controversies.

There is some scholarly work which is bad or flawed, but which financial interests cause to either (A) wrongly come into existence in the first place, or (B) attain a degree of high status and influence disproportionate to its objective value.

This adds to an already considerable pile of non-value-tracking biases which wrongly influence the status of many scholarly works—such as the Matthew Effect, various careerist biases, barriers to access stemming from systemic oppressions such as classism, ableism, sexism, racism, and transphobia, as well as social trend feedback cycles (e.g. many philosophers write about X because a bunch of *other* philosophers are writing about it, even if X’s objective importance is questionable), and the fact that many philosophers believe X or work on X because their department mentors or peers do, etc.

As one possible example: Why are there so many capitalist libertarian philosophers? Sometimes philosophers disproportionately support a minority viewpoint because the viewpoint has serious intellectual merit which the general public irrationally fails to recognize. For instance, I think there are a lot of philosophers who support ethical vegetarianism because the arguments for ethical vegetarianism are objectively very strong-- despite widespread popular disagreement by people who irrationally fail to recognize the strength of the case for vegetarianism. Is libertarianism like this? No, I think it is questionable whether libertarianism is objectively strong enough to merit this degree of philosopher support on intellectual grounds.

On the one hand, I think a lot of libertarian scholars have done good work—often they have noticed many flaws in popular and scholarly pro-redistribution (and pro-regulation) arguments, and a lot of them have made important contributions to critiquing drug prohibition, immigration restrictions, and anti-sex-work laws, and they’ve advocated for Universal Basic Income. Sometimes they have noticed evidence for significant downsides to economic and business regulations, which progressives ignored. Robert Nozick, Michael Huemer, and other right-libertarians have shown that redistributionist arguments tend to be sloppy and badly oversimplified. Bleeding heart libertarians of the Steiner-Vallentyne school have made powerful contributions to the case for Universal Basic Income and other good ideas, and have built on the legacy of classical liberalism e.g. by exploring the implications of the "Lockean proviso" (which sets limits on traditional capitalist assumptions). Many progressives have failed to give credit to the diversity and sophistication of the capitalist libertarian tradition.

Rightwing and leftwing capitalist libertarians have also inspired progressive scholars such as GA Cohen (analytical Marxist) to develop improved arguments for redistribution. I want to give serious credit for this, similarly to how I give some gender critical feminists serious credit (despite the evils of their ideas) for inspiring trans rights advocates to improve their arguments for pro-trans advocacy.

On the other hand, libertarianism is a weird and sectarian school of thought, in some ways quite fringe, with a strong connection to insane beliefs like “taxation is wrongful theft.” In fact, it is very obvious that the horrors of poverty are much more severe and vastly more important than the mild badness of stealing from the rich.

...No, seriously, give me a break. Why does the stupid contrary view hold so much influence despite its being manifestly stupid? Overall, stealing from the rich to give to the poor is blatantly good, cool, and based. Who could disagree?

It is highly plausible that libertarianism is so high-profile in large part because a lot of rich people see it as supporting their interests.

Now, are all libertarian ideas pro-rich? Are they all anti-poor? No, that is a common uncharitable misperception. Some libertarian scholars, even some right-libertarians, have been at pains to show that many of their ideas would support the poor and not the rich. I think libertarians support a cluster of policies--some of which would benefit the rich, and some of which would harm the rich.

If libertarians were to win totally (i.e. make all their policy ideas into a reality), it might or might not overall benefit the rich, and it may even harm them—such as by allowing more small businesses to fairly compete in the market, and by ending government subsidies (corporate welfare) for (or deals with) vicious and mass murderous industries like coal companies, the war profiteering industry, the various prison profiteering industries, some surveillance industries, and animal factory farms.

Total libertarianism would also plausibly benefit the poor in many ways, such as by drastically curtailing the power of police over marginalized poor people, cutting off support to various prison industries, combating conservative and progressive forms of puritanism and paternalism, and ending the terror of deportation and associated abuses that hang over the heads of many migrants. It may also end some forms of day-to-day terror against homeless people, sex workers, and some other groups.

However, this may depend on how much power it hands to big business, and on how much of an interest big businesses have in screwing over marginalized people. Such matters could be highly context-sensitive. For instance, some "hostile architecture" (e.g anti-homeless spikes on places to potentially rest in public) are created by private industry, some by government. If libertarianism wins, will there be more or fewer anti-homeless spikes than before? Well, I don't know. Still, there is a good chance that libertarian polices would overall help the poor a lot.

There is also the problem of many, many high-profile libertarian crackpots—such as Walter Block (of the Mises Institute) who has argued in favor of legalizing workplace sexual assault, and Murray Rothbard who has argued in favor of legalizing the right of parents to starve their children to death (although his views on adoption rights may complicate this reading of his view).

Moreover, many lay non-scholarly libertarians are also insane crackpots, such as the “Mises Caucus” people who have apparently taken over the US Libertarian Party (although most libertarian scholars condemn them). The one anarcho-capitalist who has gained power, Javier Milei, is also probably a crackpot who seems on track to reinforce authoritarianism e.g. by strengthening the power of police to crack down on protestors (despite this move’s obvious incompatibility with libertarian principles). Such issues present a serious black mark on the record of libertarianism as a movement, and strengthen the case for thinking that libertarianism as a movement is unable to improve the world (despite the fact that many individual libertarians have good intentions and actively promote good ideas).

Nevertheless, many libertarians are immensely more principled and clear-cut in their stances on immigration, drugs, and sex work than are many liberals and progressives, and they should be praised for this. For instance, many libertarians explicitly support open borders, while many liberals waffle on whether to condemn the Biden administration’s treatment of immigrants. There may also be some underappreciated convergence between libertarians and leftists in critiquing the corporate capture of government. For instance, I wonder if there’s room for more cooperation between Marxian ideological critics and public choice theorists.

All that said, plausibly some rich people see the advocacy of libertarianism as overall beneficial to themselves and their financial interests in actual practice—perhaps because they think that libertarians tend to succeed in implementing their helpful-to-the-rich ideas but fail to implement their harmful-to-the-rich ideas. This may explain why rich people tend to support libertarianism. And there may be some evidence for this combination of trends.

For instance, over the last few decades, libertarians & libertarian-adjacent scholars (such as Milton Friedman) succeeded in advocating some kinds of big business deregulation, tax cuts for the rich, and welfare-cuts (which helped the rich and hurt the poor), but failed in their advocacy of open immigration, medication patent reform (to lower drug prices), residential zoning reform (to lower housing prices), and the legalization of drugs and sex work—all of which would help the poor, and harm at least some of the rich, helping fewer of the rich. Much of this combination of libertarian success and libertarian failure constitutes what is commonly called "neoliberalism," which in practice consistently benefits (most of) the rich while hurting (at least many of) the poor.

Many of the global poor have also benefited from neoliberal globalization. If this is their best option, then it's a good thing overall, since we should aim to help the global poor the most. However, I wonder if better options (such as international unions, raising the floor of the race the bottom) may have been unduly closed off, to the benefit of the rich. Some comparatively good-for-the-poor deals may also have been implemented alongside bad-for-the-poor deal such as international debt traps. I'm not sure of the best empirical evidence on a lot of this and need to research it more.

I’m oversimplifying, but something like this overall view does seem likely to be a common pattern and plausible hypothesis. Libertarians have also failed in their mild advocacy for polyamorous marriage or civil unions (despite some version of this being obviously the correct position—anti-polyamory views are blatant bigotry), possibly because there aren't enough rich people who’d benefit from it.

Progressives have been uncharitable and mistaken in their view of libertarianism as a whole. However, progressives have been largely correct in their view of what effects libertarianism as a movement has caused. And, in some ways, this is more important than the nature of libertarianism as a whole. If libertarians resent being so negatively and unfairly judged, they should aim to improve the actual effects of their movement.

Here's what I suspect is really happening: Libertarians promote a combination of good ideas and bad ideas. In the real world, their bad ideas (the ones which only help the rich) are the ones that win—and the rich know this, and this is why the rich support libertarians. The rich have little to fear from libertarians’ harmful-to-the-rich ideas, because they can ensure these ideas won’t win. The rich can happily fund libertarian scholars to promote welfare cuts & deregulation and zoning reform & cutting subsidies to evil industries—perfectly content in the knowledge that the welfare cuts & deregulation will win, and that the zoning reforms & subsidy-cuts will lose.

(The zoning reforms, or immigration reforms, or whatever, may win if the economic situation changes so that these reforms will help the rich enough, but not otherwise—unless the poor can overcome their collective action problems and successfully fight for their interests and rights, which the rich want to use their power to prevent.)

In fairness, a similar pattern may apply elsewhere too. For instance, maybe bad (authoritarian) leftisms tend to win and defeat the good (non-authoritarian) leftisms, because e.g. (1) authoritarian leftists tend to be willing to screw over the non-authoritarian leftists (their former allies) after the Revolution (e.g. in the USSR), and (2) authoritarian leftist leaders may tend to more successfully prevent counterrevolution and/or imperialist regime-change, compared to non-authoritarian leftist leaders, via repression or suchlike. So maybe leftists, like libertarians, may also face a serious puzzle of how to raise the probability that their *good* versions, rather than *bad* versions, are the ones that will win—yet find that the bad versions have distinctive features which give them strategic advantages over the good versions.

I should also note that not all Koch-funded projects benefit the rich, some leftwing projects are also funded by billionaires (whether Koch or others, such as Soros), and it is disputable whether people should always turn down Koch or billionaire money when it is on offer, especially when other funding sources are scarce. Some people erroneously accuse Koch-funded projects of being objectionable even when they aren’t. For instance, Mich Ciurria insinuated that the Koch-funded project on “Grandstanding” (aka virtue-signaling) by Brandon Warmke and Justin Tosi was biased against leftwing radicals, and I argue she is badly mistaken. In several ways, Ciurria’s description of the “Grandstanding” book is misleading. I defend the Warmke-Tosi “Grandstanding” work as important, even valuable for progressive advocacy.

However, the broader system of funding by rich people in general is an enormous hazard. Rich people have the morally least important needs, and they are the fewest in number. For this reason, their interests are objectively the least important. But they are immensely more powerful than all the non-rich people combined, in most cases. This situation is egregiously unjust. The rich people fund scholarship, in philosophy and elsewhere, largely in order to serve their financial interests—even if not all these projects in fact serve their financial interests.

The rich diversify their investments, and presumably some of their investments don’t pay off for them. The rich may also finance some projects which aren't expected to serve their financial interests, for reasons such as to improve their public image. In light of such facts, I say not all recipients of rich people (e.g. Koch or Soros) funding should be assumed to be shills or useful idiots. Also, on the grounds of my actual engagement with the relevant scholarship, I assert that Brandon Warmke & Justin Tosi’s “Grandstanding” work will not likely function to discredit the viewpoints and advocacy of marginalized people or their allies (even though Brandon and Justin are conservatives), contrary to common allegations. Again, some leftwing scholarship is also funded by billionaires such as Soros, but this does not necessarily discredit it.

All that said, on the whole and in general, the rich are our enemy and we must fight against them. We should take a critical eye toward scholarship that they have an interest in funding.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: William Deresiewicz

Published: Nov 21, 2024

The politics of the academy have been defeated. Its ideas, its assumptions, its opinions and positions — as expressed in official statements, embodied in policies and practices, established in centers and offices, and espoused and taught by large and leading portions of the professoriate — have been rejected. This was already evident before November 5. It can now no longer be denied.

Some data points: A post-election survey from Blueprint, a Democratic polling firm, discovered that, among reasons not to vote for the Democratic presidential nominee, “Kamala Harris is focused more on cultural issues like transgender issues than helping the middle class” ranked third, after only inflation and illegal immigration. Among swing voters, it ranked first. California approved a ballot measure to stiffen penalties for theft and drug crimes by a margin of 69-31. Los Angeles elected a former Republican as district attorney over the progressive incumbent by 61-38. Alameda County, which covers most of the East Bay including Berkeley, recalled its progressive DA by 63-37. Portland, Ore., elected a former businessman as mayor over the leading progressive candidate by 18 points.

We’ve seen comparable results in recent years. In 2020, California rejected affirmative action by 57-43. In 2021, Seattle elected a Republican city attorney over a police abolitionist, New York City elected Mayor Eric Adams — despite his manifest deficiencies — on a law-and-order platform, and Buffalo, N.Y., reelected its mayor as a write-in candidate by 19 points over the socialist to whom he had lost in the Democratic primary. In 2022, San Francisco recalled three progressive members of its Board of Education by lopsided margins, then recalled its progressive DA.

Survey findings tell the same broad story. A Marist poll this year revealed that 57 percent of Latinos surveyed are in favor of deporting all illegal immigrants. A Pew poll showed that 75 percent of Black respondents and 85 percent of Latinos are in favor of voter ID laws. After the Supreme Court banned affirmative action in college admissions, Gallup found that 52 percent of Black and 68 percent of Latino adults supported the decision. Another Pew poll, consistent with earlier findings, showed that only 4 percent of Latinos use “Latinx,” and that of those who have heard of the term, the vast majority reject it. And then there are perhaps the most important data points of all. Donald Trump increased his support among Black, Latino, and Asian voters from 2016 to 2020, then increased it again from 2020 to 2024 (he also got a majority of the Native American vote). The light was blinking. Now it’s solid red.

Over the last 10 years or so, a cultural revolution has been imposed on this country from the top down. Its ideas originated in the academy, and it’s been carried out of the academy by elite-educated activists and journalists and academics. (As has been said, we’re all on campus now.) Its agenda includes decriminalization or nonprosecution of property and drug crimes and, ultimately, the abolition of police and prisons; open borders, effectively if not explicitly; the suppression of speech that is judged to be harmful to disadvantaged groups; “affirmative” care for gender-dysphoric youth (puberty blockers followed by cross-sex hormones followed, in some cases, by mastectomies) and the inclusion of natal males in girls’ and women’s sports; and the replacement of equality by equity — of equal opportunity for individuals by equal outcomes for designated demographic groups — as the goal of social policy.

It insists that the state is evil, that the nuclear family is evil, that something called “whiteness” is evil, that the sex binary, which is core to human biology, is a social construct. It is responsible for the DEI regimes, the training and minders and guidelines, that have blighted American workplaces, including academic ones. It has promulgated an ever-shifting array of rebarbative neologisms whose purpose often seems to be no more than its own enforcement: POC (now BIPOC), AAPI (now AANHPI), LGBTQ (now LGBTQIA2S+), “pregnant people,” “menstruators,” “front hole,” “chest feeding,” and, yes, “Latinx.” It is joyless, vengeful, and tyrannical. It is purist and totalistic. It demands affirmative, continuous, and enthusiastic consent.

People are fed up, and I don’t just mean people who voted for Trump. A few days after the election, I was listening to The Brian Lehrer Show on New York Public Radio, which was broadcasting one of those endless postmortems that the media has been conducting, when another listener called in. She identified herself as Black, a Berkeley grad, “super liberal,” and a resident of Brownsville, a largely Black neighborhood. Referring to the burden that the influx of asylum-seekers has placed on the city’s resources and therefore on people’s lives (“I’m talking about Black people here, at the lower end of the economic spectrum”), and how you weren’t supposed to talk about it, how if you did talk about it you were accused of being racist, how you weren’t even supposed to notice it, how people were being asked “to engage in a cognitive dissonance that is literally not possible,” she finally said, with beautiful succinctness, “When did liberalism mean no common sense?” It’s clear that many Democrats have been wondering the same thing.

How did things get to this pass? And how did the academy, the school and citadel and engine of this revolution, become so desperately out of touch with reality, including the reality of people’s lives outside the liberal elite, their needs and beliefs and experiences? One answer is that academics tend to live inside a bubble. They socialize with other academics; far more than used to be the case, they marry other academics; and, of course, they work with other academics. When groups whose members are broadly similar in outlook are isolated from external influences, two things happen: Their opinions become more homogeneous, and their opinions become more extreme. Which is exactly what’s been taking place in the academy in recent decades. The ratio of liberals to conservatives has soared, and more of those who identify as left identify as far left. And both of those trends are more pronounced in the fields and institutions that are leading the revolution: the humanities, the social sciences exclusive of economics, the “studies” programs and departments, the schools of education and social work, the elite universities, and the liberal-arts colleges.

The reason that these disciplines can drift so far from reality is that they are not answerable to reality.

Those fields have another thing in common: They are intellectually corrupt. You know what I’m talking about. Any fool idea passes muster, no matter how preposterous, as long as it conforms to prevailing theoretical trends and preferred ideological positions. Nobody wants to make waves: to speak up at a conference, to undermine a colleague or colleague’s student, to invite examination of their own research. Data is massaged; texts are squeezed or bound and gagged. Jargon helps to paper over cracks in logic; countervailing evidence is tucked under the cushions. Standards are ignored to the point where no one can even recall what they are anymore. It’s no wonder that the social sciences are suffering a replication crisis. In the humanities, there is no crisis, because there is no replication to begin with, no factual claims to reproduce, only “readings,” “interventions,” “Theory.”

The reason that these disciplines can drift so far from reality is that they are not answerable to reality. If an engineer miscalculates an equation, the building falls down. But what would accountability to reality even mean in the humanities, given that their findings are never applied? It’s not like there are going to be consequences for saying something stupid about Shakespeare. In the social sciences, and, less often, in the hybrid “studies” fields, findings are applied, but it isn’t clear that there’s much of a feedback loop there either. How many hypotheses in psychology have been abandoned because they led to bad educational policy? How many gender-studies scholars have rethought their suppositions in the face of the calamity of gender youth medicine? The more a field becomes beholden to theory, or Theory, the further it floats away from empirical observation and therefore correction. The enterprise becomes entirely self-referential, words built on words, a kind of intellectual Ponzi scheme.

So how are academics going to respond to their political repudiation? One alternative — the likeliest one — will be to stay the course. The people have spoken, but the people are wrong. They’ve been misinformed and disinformed. They are victims of false consciousness, too benighted to understand their own interests. They are racist, sexist, xenophobic, yearning for a strongman. The attitude reminds me of the few American Communists who were still around when I was young — scientifically certain of everything as they headed ineluctably toward political extinction.

But academics have another option. They can entertain the possibility that they’ve been wrong, about a lot of things and for a long time. They can consider that the notion that Harris lost because of racism and sexism is belied by the fact that we have already elected a Black president; that Harris received a larger share of the white vote than Joe Biden; that a female presidential candidate has already won the popular vote; that the nation, far from distrusting women with executive office, has elected 44 female governors in 31 states; that 16 of those governors have been Republicans, which means that most Republicans supported them; that those states include not only blue or purple ones but Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and South Dakota; that Kansas and Texas have actually elected Democratic women governors; and that while there are surely people in this country who wouldn’t vote for a woman or nonwhite presidential candidate, they also surely wouldn’t vote for any Democrat. That Harris lost for other reasons altogether.

Trump is appalling, evil, criminal. But the worse he is, the worse the liberal elite must be, if so many prefer him to them.

They might further consider that the majority of Black, Latino, and Asian Americans do not share their politics or ideology; that the people who speak for those communities in elite liberal spaces — not only colleges and universities but the media, the arts, the nonprofits — share the politics and points of view not of those communities but of other liberal elites and therefore do not, in the simplest and most important sense, represent them; that progressives have been promulgating policies in the names of those communities that they reject — for Blacks, police defunding and abolition; for Latinos, lax immigration and border enforcement — and that they reject them for good reasons. That identity is not a very useful way of understanding people’s motivations.

Finally, they might consider that to say that certain people “vote against their interests” is not only condescending but wrong. People know what their interests are. They know it much better than you do. Their interests are the same as everybody else’s: public safety, economic security and opportunity, and on top of that a little dignity, a little respect. And while Trump is hardly likely to advance those goals, the 80 percent of the country that lies below the upper middle class is perfectly justified in doubting whether the Democratic Party, and the elites that run and influence it, will do so either, because for decades they have not. Yes, Trump is appalling, evil, criminal. But the worse he is, the worse the liberal elite must be, if so many prefer him to them.

Ten years ago, I published a book, Excellent Sheep, that argued that the meritocratic elite, which includes the professoriate as well as the academy’s administrative class, had become self-serving, self-perpetuating, and, as leaders of our most important institutions, incompetent. It had lost its authority. It had lost its legitimacy. The time had come for it to step aside in favor of a new, more democratic dispensation. Nine months after the book came out, the rough beast glided down his gilded escalator. A few months after that, a wild-haired septuagenarian socialist almost single-handedly destroyed the Clinton-Obama establishment. One would think the message would’ve been received by now. The message is you failed. Sit down, be humble, and listen and learn.

[talebytale]

richard madden, pansexual, cismale + he/him → isn’t that robert fitztooth? i hear that they're robin hood from robin hood. i hear they’re 36. they seem to be altruistic & adroit, but also brazen & recalcitrant. their aesthetics include a green bycocket with a red feather, one eye closed as an arm draws an arrow back, and warm conversation by the fire as he and his merry men celebrate another theft.

Basics

Name: Robert Fitztooth

Nicknames: Robin Hood

Age: 36

Gender: CisMale

Orientation: Pansexual

Species: Were-Fox

Occupation: Outlaw, Leader of the Merry Men

Physical

Hair: Reddish Brown, though he has a grey streak

Eye Color: Blue

Height: 5'10

Personal

Sexual Preference: Versatile

Biography

One would be surprised to learn that Robin Hood, the outlaw that steals from the rich to give to the poor, had actually been born among the elite as a nobleman. Born Robert Fitztooth, the were-fox had grown up watching as the rich and noble used their status and their wealth as an excuse to be rude to those that were less fortunate, and he thought that it was absolutely ridiculous that they treated them like they were lesser simply because they were dealt a lesser hand. Though his father was rude to his servants, his mother taught Robert to treat his servants with kindness and dignity, and so Robert always did - to the point where he wouldn't finish his food so that he could make sure that the servants children could eat as well.

Of course, he was still a kid - and a fox kit at that - and so he did have a bit of a habit with sticky fingers. It started as stealing a couple of eggs from the chicken coop to give to some of the servants' kids and it progressed to seeing if he could pickpocket some of his fathers' wealthy friends... And he found that he was good at it. But he didn't need the gold that he stole, so he would always make sure to hand his prizes to the servants to ensure that their lives would be better - so that they didn't have to endure the torment of some of the more cruel and pretentious of the elite.

Realizing that he was good at stealing, Robert decided that when it was time, he would use what he was good at to benefit others - not himself - and so, when he was old enough, he spat on his father's name and legacy and began to travel to various towns to steal from the wealthy to give to those that needed it. Sometimes he gave to individuals, sometimes to orphanages, and even still, sometimes he would throw the money in the streets for anyone to grab. Soon enough, he began to be known as "Robin", given the fact that he was robbing people, and it was a name that he wore proudly.

For years, Robert continued to steal from the rich to give to the poor, and over time, he wound up getting a lot of people to follow him. People from the towns that he had gone to and targeted would lie to the authorities to protect him, other men began to join him and learned not only how to fight - in case they got into it with the law - and Robert easily gave into his persona of Robin Hood and with his followers, the merry men, they were quickly changing the way that things worked. He even wound up finding love, something he didn't think he would find.

When he received the invitations from the more affluent individuals of other realms, Robin saw it as an opportunity to try and help the less fortunate of other places - knowing that the discrepancy between wealthy and poor wasn't unique to his own realm - and decided to head there.

[weirdoonskateboard]

More than anything from GTA VI, I want it to make me cry. I want it to be emotional, to be warm and humane even under all the cynical humor and innuendos and snide jabs about our culture. Rockstar has said in interviews that they don't want to punch down with their satire. They even removed a transphobic random encounter in the current gen versions of GTA 5. Also imagine his gta could work in representation in the game.

Imagine if we got a drag bar with IRL Florida drag queens. They gave Non-Binary pop artist Arca a radio station for gta online called Motomami(With Latin pop star Rosalia,great music set by the way, IT FUCKING SLAPS, I'LL REBLOG IT). Imagine maybe giving Lucia and Jason the opportunity to be more openly romantic. Remember Bully let you kiss boys, Jimmy Hopkins is canonically bisexual. I know people who were introduced to being bi through this game. And while GTA 4: The Ballad of Gay Tony evidently a bunch of straight guys idea of what queer culture is. It's still nice to sorta be seen by the series. And the characters that are openly homophobic are the antagonists you have to work with to deal with the club's debt.

Plus I have seen queer characters in these games being positively seen. Two character Bernie Crane in GTA 4, Reni Wassulmier in Liberty City and Vice City Stories are iffy depictions of queer people. Reni Claims to be "A little bit of everything, I'm universal" who is canonically gender fluid. I know people who resonate with these characters. There are a lot of good fan artists on tumblr who love Bernie. Also there's a shit ton of Luis Lopez X "Gay Tony" Prince.

There are spouts of Transphobia in the games, admittedly. There's a really bad radio as in San Andreas IYKYK. GTA is to many generations, their Mad Magazine. The edgy rebellious piece of art you know your parents didn't want you playing. They could be juvenile, clunky, gross, or just too edgy for its own good. But it introduced a lot of people to good music, films, shows, and subcultures)

I believe Rockstar has it in them to do better. To mature. To keep being the center of attention, to keep fighting the tainted ads and broken promises of the American Dream. To be heartfelt and show that even amidst the pain and suffering of living in America. That people find ways to keep fighting in the bizarre state of America right now. Maybe I'm too forgiving too these games due to nostalgia but I do believe that there is an art to these games.

PS, The Criminal Historian, the person who made the trans rep video has recently come out and is getting a lot of transphobic hate. If you could all counter that it would be greaaat.

[thequeenreaders]

T h e D e c r e e 🧧

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[calicohyde]

WIP Intro: Curse The Messenger

Eddie Alfaro has night terror premonitions in which she experiences the death of another person as if it’s her own. She and her sibling Fred, both clairvoyants of different kinds, run a private investigation business. They primarily do the typical theft and infidelity cases for other witches who hear about them through word of mouth. But then secular (non-witch) Jessica brings them a murder case, desperate for someone to investigate after the police refuse to believe it ever happened despite the gory crime scene.

Details

Genres: gothic horror, crime noir, urban fantasy, erotic horror

Tropes: Magical Realism, Occult Detective, Police Are Useless, Who Watches the Watchmen?, Serial Killer, Doppleganger, Scenery Porn, Unreliable Narrator

Themes: bodily autonomy, stages of grief, gender equality, punk

E/NC-17 for death, suicide, gore, and explicit sex

3rd person limited present

set in St. Louis, Missouri USA in 1994

Most Important Characters

Eddie Alfaro: protagonist, she/her, lesbian, Latine, Clairvoyant (Seer), XIII. Death

Fred Alfaro: deuteragonist, xe/xem, aroace agender, Latine, Clairvoyant (Scryer), VIII. Strength

Jessica Hase: love interest, she/her, trans lesbian, Black, secular (non-witch), XIX. The Sun

Lily Lowether: antagonist, she/her, Naturalist (Stranger), XVI. The Tower

Maddie Ward: first girl, she/her, pansexual, Naturalist (Emenant), Page of Swords

Associated Tarot Card Each book and character in the Stranger series has an associated tarot card that hints at their plot, themes, or characteristics.

Eight of Wands

Eight of Wands signifies immediate, fast change after a period of struggle. It’s an encouragement to allow this change to happen. Things may be hectic or even frightening, but they’re inevitable - and probably for the best. Resisting will only make the transition harder. Reversed, it signifies that one is planted in the past and allowing tradition or old hurts get in the way of their progress.

UQuizzes: Which character are you? What witch type are you?* *The witch type quiz has a link to a sub-type quiz in the result!

Sign up to be tagged when I post about this project, read more about it in the tag, or buddy me on nanowrimo.org to follow along with its progress.