#naturally we tend towards diversity

[spending-life-pretending]

Every day I think about the fact that I was only studying for a genetics degree for about 2.5 years of my life, all things considered, but in that time I learned so many things about animal biology and evolution that break heteronormative notions of what it is ‘natural’ in humans. Like, it just takes one or two advanced biology classes. It’s not a secret. It’s not locked deep inside some sort of ancient library of knowledge. You don’t have to dedicate your life to it to learn that biology is not usually on the side of bigotry. I just think about that a lot.

[genderqueerdykes]

What's a dyke

you know i get this question a lot and i don't get sick of answering is, so thanks for asking!

a dyke can be a lot of things. the term "dyke" is a slur that is thrown around in North America, primarily the United States and Canada as well as certain other English speaking countries that is generally directed at masculine or androgynous women (usually cis women and AFAB people). it is intended to be lesbophobic in nature. it is meant to be used in a way to imply that other person is a lesbian, and in a very bad way.

however, because a lot of people have a bad read on what a lesbian is, they often times misdirect it towards other people that they consider lesbians and thus dykes. if 2 women are close friends no matter how they express it they can be affected by the slur as well, no matter what their orientation is. other than lesbians, cis masc, androgynous, gender non conforming women and fem women who spend a lot of time around other women, regardless of their actual identity, people who get called dykes the most tend to be:

transfeminine people

trans women

intersex people

transmasculine people

trans men

butch people

bisexual, pansexual, polysexual & omnisexual women

multspectrum lesbians

non binary, genderqueer, and genderfluid people

two spirit people

multigender people

bisexual women & people

... a lot of other queer people

dyke is a slur that affects a really broad range of people due to the complexity and diversity that comes with both womanhood and transness. both trans men and trans women are affected by this a lot more than people want to talk about. if a woman or woman adjacent person reads as masculine, they very well can get called a dyke by someone hateful who is angry. the slur dyke is associated with AFAB bodied people and women, but there are a lot of transfem people who are targeted by this slur due to them not fitting inside of a restrictive binary of what can be a woman in someone else's mind.

this affects women, people assigned female at birth, transfem and transmasc people, genderqueer people, enbies and so on who express attraction to women. bisexual women have this directed toward them all the time. women who come out as bi, pan and/or polysexual get told they're dykes just for being attracted to women. any mention of sapphic attraction and you're a dyke. no matter if you're cis, trans, perisex, intersex, if you clock to them as a woman, they will call you a dyke for being attracted to women. even spending a lot of time with women can get this directed toward you

it affects trans men like crazy. most trans men and mascs are called this term throughout their childhood and early lives. if they aren't they're getting called a tomboy or something else of that nature. a lot of transmascs reclaim the slur because it's so heavily associated with antimasculism and transandrophobia. not every single transmasc and/or trans man will experience this but it's super common especially if you're butch and dress masc.

it affects trans women and transfems who don't "pass perfectly" in certain people's eyes. if we're attracted to other women, if we're hairy or have bulkier bodies or filled out jaws, deep voices or whatever else, we get called dykes. if trans women DO pass we still get called dykes, especially for spending a lot of time with other women of any identity. people are so emotionally charged about who women and femmes spend their time with that this affects trans women and femmes way more than people realize. it's transmisogynistic on top of everything else

it's racist in nature as well because any traits that are associated with masculinity present will also be targeted by this slur. women and people of color may get targeted and called dykes by cishet white racists due to the fact that they have different "beauty standards" and don't see certain traits as "feminine" or "womanly" enough. it disproportionally affects people of color, regardless of identity.

it's a slur that's layered with misogyny and antimasculism, intersexism and exorsexism, bio and gender essentialsm, transmisogyny and transandrophobia. it's lesbophobic, butchphobic and anti sapphic. it's racist. it's a slur that affects a really broad range of people and i like when people ask this question because i get to down the misconception that the slur only affects cis women who are lesbians. that's just not the case, it affects so many trans and queer people. intersex people are a large portion of the people affected by this slur and no one ever wants to talk about it.

the reason so many people reclaim it is because it affects so many parts of our identities and how other people view us. it's a very powerful slur to reclaim and it's very healing to do so, because other people use it so flippantly. even other queers will gladly call someone a dyke if they're upset. no matter what it's always waiting to be used against us, especially if we're trans men and women, intersex, people of color, and/or disabled.

it's a very powerful thing to reclaim because people seem to have zero hestitation to hit people with it no matter what. and it's important to take the power back from those people, so a lot of people choose to use it casually. it's something that i believe should be used proudly if so many people are going to judge our lives and how we should live them.

sure, maybe i am a dyke. maybe we're in agreement.

It's Mr. Dyke to you.

so thank you for asking! i hope this helps. feel free to ask, let me know if you have any other questions!

[agnesandhilda]

I think the reason this is getting to me so bad is because it betrays such a fundamental misunderstanding of the source material. "the new x men has characters of color/prominent women/queer people!" what the fuck did you think the "bigotry is bad" comic book series was about

"I can't believe they made x men woke" okay? fork found in kitchen

[nothorses]

a transmasc only discord server is kind of fucking weird tbh. you call transfems seperationists for voicing their unique oppressions and then get pissy and make a server where you can just circle jerk and pat each other on the back, never questioning your transmisogyny? i think people can see who the true “seperationists” are.

About a year ago the queer black woman leading the organization we were working to start asked me and the other white people working with her to lead an affinity group that white families joining the org would be required to participate in, and which would read and discuss anti-racist/anti-white supremacist literature together, as a way of protecting space for black & brown staff, families, and program participants.

She stressed that it was important for this to be specific to white people, and explained that she wanted to start a parallel one for people of color involved in the org, because those conversations are really different between those groups. Importantly, the kind of honesty and vulnerability required to effectively unpack white supremacy culture is, well, generally not safe (or often possible) for people of color to embody in a space where white people are unpacking their own white supremacist ways of thinking and acting- even if they're doing it in an explicitly anti-racist context.

This is derived from the idea of "affinity groups", often specifically "identity affinity groups", which are commonly used in activist spaces and workplaces seeking to dismantle oppressive systems and culture from within. The idea is that creating spaces specific to identities allows for conversations about personal experiences with oppression that would be difficult to hold otherwise; both for those who have been harmed, and those who have done harm. It's not an end-all be-all kind of tool, but it can definitely be helpful.

In the context of marginalized identities, these kinds of spaces can also be a really great way of facilitating community-building, especially where there is a capacity for establishing positive cultural norms in the process (like not tolerating certain kinds of bigotry, especially if you also make space to express, challenge, and unpack bigoted ideas).

Transmascs, as a group, historically struggle to connect with community. Invisibility coupled with the isolating nature of queerness (as a marginalized identity that emerges later in life, and generally not through genetics), and in particular the way transness tends to funnel into a desire to "pass" & further isolates folks by preventing them from even identifying one another, contributes to this naturally. There's also a phenomena in which feminist and queer community spaces tend to be hostile towards anyone they perceive as "masculine", and therefore threatening. This includes transmascs (esp. those who are or have transitioned) and transfems (esp. those who are pre-transition/non-transitioning or butch), along with plenty of other groups (black people especially).

Thus, a transmasc-specific server serves a few purposes:

It acts as a space for transmascs to discuss our unique experiences with lessened anxiety around accidentally phrasing something in a way that does harm to others in the space

It acts as a space for transmascs to challenge one another on bigoted or harmful ideas, which may be better received coming from someone who shares some of those personal experiences- and is often easier given from a person who is not personally hurt by what was said/done.

It acts as a space for transmascs to build community with other transmascs

It establishes positive community norms early in that process, which often carry outside of that space and into others.

Among lots of other things!

Identity affinity groups aren't the end-all be-all; it's important for folks to interact, connect, and build community with people from a diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. That's how we grow, and it's part of how we make sure the ideas we have about the world include and account for everyone.

Trans experiences have been absent from a huge portion of feminist theory; earlier theory especially. That- and the exclusion of black & brown experiences- is how we got radfeminism. Also known as second wave feminism, which preceded the inclusion of intersectionality that defined the third wave.

Transmasc experiences have been absent from a huge portion of trans theory; this isn't a conspiracy or anything, it's something Julia Serano acknowledges in the opening pages of Whipping Girl (even though she also goes on to make assumptions about experiences not her own anyway).

My opinion is that community-building is an essential step in promoting the inclusion of transmasc perspectives on a larger scale: it gives transmascs a space to identify patterns in their experiences. We can then take our observations into diverse communities, where we can identify similarities and differences in how others are treated, learn from one another, and cultivate a more complete understanding of oppression across all demographics.

Your ask makes me think you're not really interested in all of this- and you were instead just looking to make me feel or look bad (or perhaps just make yourself feel good)- but maybe I'm wrong! I would love to be wrong. Or maybe someone else will learn from this instead.

[tossawary]

I wish we saw more casual diversity among Vulcans in regards to... well, everything: fashion, art, history, geography, language, religion and philosophy, occupations, familial units, and logical styles and emotional management, and so on. The monoculture that "Star Trek" tends towards is both unrealistic and kind of boring.

(I think that my ideal "Star Trek" show would have a minimum of two matching non-humans in the main crew who are from opposite sides of their planet; these two alien coworkers have almost NOTHING in common. It immediately creates compelling character dynamics.)

Anyway, even within the specific Surakian Logic sect that Spock and his family seem to belong to, there's still opportunity for fun, divisive hobbies among this particular group of Vulcans. We can have judgey Vulcans looking at other Vulcans' weird, harmless antics and saying, "What illogical behavior," while the other Vulcans are judging them back for being illogical in their own opinion. Let Vulcans be REAL nerds: I think that pre-Surak historical reenactment is not an uncommon hobby, both casual LARPing and hardcore reenactment.

It's educational to spin and weave and sew your own pre-Surakian garments! It's educational to forge your own weaponry! It's grounding, like meditation! It is humbling to truly realize the complicated labor involved in fabrication. Even when they were surrendering to their emotional urges, you know, Vulcan ancestors were not completely illogical: they knew how to fashion a comfortable garment well-suited to the desert. Camping in the wilderness and foraging for food connects oneself to nature, teaches about history, and settles oneself in the present.

Also, it's good physical exercise and emotionally cathartic to beat the shit out of each other with foam-wrapped lirpa, screaming at the top of your lungs. It's very logical. There's a medical team on standby, reading on their pads and drinking tea.

You beam down in the wrong part of the desert at the right time and find a bunch of scantily-clad Vulcan warriors (outfits depend on the chosen time period and location) (of all genders) shrieking and rolling in the dirt, until a timer goes off, and then the scheduled mock-battle is over and everyone helps each other up. (Depends how hardcore the group is, of course.) (Also, yeah, obviously, some of these groups have a hook-up culture attached / embedded.) Two bleeding guys who were previously punching each other in the face salute each other and part ways, one to go write a new archeological paper based on his findings here ("Fascinating") and the other to his low-level government desk job ("Most invigorating exercise").

If this happens anywhere near where people live, then the neighbors are shaking their heads and saying to each other, "I don't know how anyone could come to their conclusions and call it logical. Their foundational premises must be flawed." 😐 Some of them while closely watching the entire scandalous affair through binoculars and telescopes, of course. 🤔

[togglesbloggle]

Evolution, Metaphor, and the Meaning of Gay Alligators

A few times recently, I’ve run across discussions about animal sex that are wrong in interesting ways.  I don’t want to derail those conversations, and I certainly don’t want to call out anybody in particular, so I’m branching off here- but the most recent one was in the notes about the discovery (original paper) that most alligator sex is between two males.

Anyway, a not-uncommon element of these discussions is for somebody to frame animal homosexuality as ‘confusion’, particularly with simpler animals.  The idea behind this isn’t too tricky: it proposes that the animal’s sexual instinct is functionally oriented towards (or intended for) heterosexual coupling and reproduction, but that the perceptions and processing power of the animal’s brain are too limited to reliably distinguish between the sexes.  As a result, simpler animals of the same sex may occasionally copulate with one another by accident, as one of the failure modes along the way to biological reproduction.

If you are a card-carrying member of the Tumblrati, the word ‘heteronormative’ might well be in your brain already, and fast approaching your tongue.  You might be building an argument about how sexuality has social as well as reproductive functions, that a lack of human imagination doesn’t prevent evolution from building towards homosexuality for its own reasons, and anyway human sociolinguistic concepts are a lousy fit for animal behavior.  These are pretty good arguments, but I’m asking you to pause that line of thought briefly; it’s not where I’m going.

Animals confound us in an interesting way: their agency is without question, but their sapience is limited, and we struggle to imagine ‘what it’s like to be an alligator’ for that reason.  What is it like, after all, to be conscious but not self-aware?  So when we ask ourselves why an animal does what it does, we tend to use evolution as a way to paper over that gap, and say “well, the alligators must be having sex in order to reproduce and succeed as organisms.”  Persistently, in odd and elaborate ways, we make this assumption that animals are themselves pursuing adaptive fitness in a way that’s much more direct than humans do, as if natural selection were a motive for animal behavior and not just an explanation for it.

This is the deeper and more interesting error that I’m trying to chew on.  The ‘mistake’ theory of animal homosexuality assumes that animals are motivated to pursue biological reproduction, not because of what we know about them as individuals or as a species, but because of what we know about the forces that produced them.  This assumption gets silently made in the case of alligator sex in part because we often make this assumption, it’s nearly our default way of thinking about these things.  

I’m very sympathetic to this error!  Biology and especially anatomy is our go-to example of purpose in nature; questions like “what are your lungs for?” have obvious (if surprisingly sophisticated) answers.  Behavioral instincts are a little more complicated, but it’s still kind of the same thing- we can cogently talk about the reasons why we shiver when we’re cold, for example.  And every time we have this conversation, natural selection is looking over our shoulder waggling its eyebrows at us.  This kind of language can be very, very misleading, inviting a slip from “we <are born with an involuntary reflex to> shiver in the cold because it helps us survive,” to “we <agentically prefer or choose to> shiver in the cold because it helps us survive.”  It’s practically designed to trip us up like this.

I think this happened in our language because of the theological fights around evolution in the early days of its discovery.  You know how it was- Darwin, the monkey trials, all that nonsense.  Natural selection accounts for biological diversity and the seeming-purpose of natural forms in a way that requires no conscious designer (or Designer), and so what might have been a purely scientific discovery also ended up blowing a hole in the social and religious functions that that sense of purpose provided- and was called upon, in some ways, to fill that hole again.  Evolution got smooshed into a sort of theological shape, and now we have the sort of culture where the phrase “evolutionary imperative” feels like it makes sense to us instead of being an obvious contradiction in terms.

That theological shape comes back again and again when we try to speak poetically about natural selection, because it’s always lurking very shallowly under the surface.  In these failure modes, we talk about natural selection in almost filial terms, a generative entity that hangs out in a workshop occasionally holding up new animals for our perusal; it’s hiding behind Kipling’s ‘gods of the copybook headings’, NRx’s ‘gnon’, Scott’s ‘Goddess of Cancer,’ and so many others.  I did it a little bit myself, not three paragraphs ago!  I called evolution “a force that produced them,” like it was some sort of creator-deity sculpting gay alligators out of clay.  Like “what evolution wants” is something that a person can talk about…

Metaphors and language are hard, but I’ve been trying to think a lot lately about how to build a story about evolution in my head that doesn’t have this problem.  Something passive, you know?  Something that doesn’t have the property of being a designer, doesn’t tempt us into treating ourselves and the organisms sharing our world as if we were all agents of some Lovecraftian entity.

I’m not entirely satisfied with my answer just yet, but for now, I’m trying to let evolution be a labyrinth.  It’s filled with twisting corridors and strange rooms, dead ends and loops, and terrible, deadly traps.  It’s unfathomably large, and mostly empty- even though trillions and trillions of us have explored this maze, we’ve only really seen a small part of it, and out beyond the edges of our knowledge, there’s still mile after endless mile of quiet, dark corridors that have never known a footfall.  

It’s not a comforting place, and even though we were born here, it’s not really home; it’s not something built for us, or one that’s especially concerned with our wellbeing.  But the thing about this labyrinth is that most of the rooms have prisoners in them, strange and unfamiliar beings held in stasis and waiting for the door to open so they can spring into life and begin their own wandering.  And this is a treasure of a kind, if you want to see it that way; not wooden chests full of gold coins, perhaps, but something new and beautiful all the same.  And if that’s not reason enough to explore the maze, to go out beyond the relative safety of the room you were born in- then, well, there’s always the rumors that there’s a real exit, hidden somewhere among the twisting corridors.

It’s… not bad, I guess?  The metaphor has its uses.  

I think it does a decent job of capturing and illuminating lots of our moral intuitions; bioconservatism (and to a lesser extent, social conservatism) as a refusal to explore the maze, rejecting the insane dangers of exploration and the questionable rewards of the search and instead preferring to stay at home in the room where we were born– still trapped in the labyrinth, but at least alive, at least for a while.  It shadows that position with the correct amount of irony, reminding us that human existence follows from a four-billion-year history of discovery, adaptation, and mutation by nonhuman organisms; it reminds us that the discovery of human beings came at a terrible cost for those who came before us.  And importantly, it allows any given organism to be a thing-in-itself.  Sure, life originates in certain places and certain patterns according to the latent shape of the labyrinth (though my metaphor isn’t very good at describing that shape…), but it’s free to act as it prefers, and live or die by those choices.

My hope, anyway, is that by dwelling on this metaphor, and stepping back from all the talk about creators and purposes and imperatives, you’ll find it easier to see what ought to have been fairly obvious to us: alligators have gay sex because they think the other alligators are sexy, and they want to have sex about it.

The questions that follow after, like “why do alligators find each other sexy?,” are also important!  It is vital to learn as much about the shape of this labyrinth as we can, the better to traverse it safely, to explore it comprehensively, and maybe even to find the exit.  But those are different questions, and conflating them can only lead to confusion.  We must begin by acknowledging that we and our fellow-travelers on Earth do not exist for the sake of natural selection, and that any willful concessions to it are strategic, not moral.  The creatures all around us- human and otherwise- carry their own motives and their own reasons within themselves.  To live in the world as it is, we have to confront that radical pluralism head on, and not try to wipe it away by pretending these are all just masks over some domineering force of nature puppetting them towards inscrutable ends.

[lunarlianna]

Planets in retrograde in natal chart

Planets in retrograde in natal chart and what they mean. Now you need to take into consideration and in which house this planet reside and also what aspects are being made. One thing I may need to clarify in astrology the Moon and the Sun never go into retrograde motion. Some of us have more planets retrograde, others a few and some none of them. When planets are in retrograde in the natal chart, they shouldn't be stigmatized but more to understand where we may face difficulties in some shape or form also, I’ll be talking a bit about karma and the retrogrades in the natal chart. Retrograde planets turn energies inward, leading to a slower external manifestation. Those with retrograde planets tend to deeply contemplate these energies, a trait associated with geniuses and leaders. I may make a different post on the big asteroid in retrograde as well, comment if you want to see that.

Mercury retrograde turns inward, urging revisits and intuitive learning. Born during this, you're bright and adaptive, excelling in communication. Relationships embrace diverse views, but overthinking occurs; seek enriching connections, travel. Those with Mercury retrograde unconsciously access collective wisdom, sometimes facing communication struggles. Finding solace in non-verbal forms like music and art resonates with Mercury retrogrades—imagine musical geniuses. Past-life whispers sway relationships, seeing others as echoes of bygone connections.

Venus retrograde suggests challenges in freely sharing affection due to a sense of emotional scarcity. Life events can be filtered through a longing for love, often internalizing and magnifying hurts in relationships. This may stem from past-life pain, leading to a fear of vulnerability and difficulty fully embracing love. This retrograde can manifest as shyness and fear of intimacy, needing trust, or even as self-centeredness, requiring self-love and healthy affection expression. You possess a passion for pleasure, creativity, and visual arts. Adept in hosting, fashion, decor, and cooking, making everything delightful.

Mars retrograde guides your energy inward, sparking introspection into past moments and affecting how you perceive current connections. Prioritizing spiritual desires may unintentionally overshadow physical well-being; focusing on your holistic growth is important. While intimate experiences might differ due to internalized energy, nurturing, deep bonds can bring forth a more natural expression. Mars retrograde karma hints at efforts to reenact moments from the past, attempting unspoken wishes and sometimes reacting strongly to unmet hopes. Embracing self-assertion and risk-taking, despite challenges, forms a vital part of your journey towards self-discovery and empowerment.

Jupiter retrograde directs expansion inward, fostering profound inner growth, often through spiritual studies. There's a tendency to over-plan, leading to inaction at times. Embracing a spiritual path offers fulfilment, but mundane pursuits might leave you unsatisfied. Deja-vu experiences are common, and you're drawn to guiding others through counselling, teaching, or the law. While generous and hopeful, avoid over-giving or idealizing situations. Late-life marriage or parenthood is possible; be cautious of seeking to "fix" partners.

Saturn acts as a guide through challenges and life lessons, ultimately granting wisdom and compassion. Saturn retrograde signals a chance to revisit life, feeling the weight of two lifetimes simultaneously. Doubts about self-worth and capabilities arise, but you've grown through past struggles. Embracing Saturn's discipline leads to tapping into vast wisdom. Born during this phase, you're diligent, precise, and skilled, yet remember not to be overly critical. In relationships, avoid co-dependency and prioritize healthy boundaries, understanding you're not accountable for others' actions.

Uranus retrograde can make it challenging to fully embrace and express your unique self, sometimes leading to a reconnection with ideas from the past. Feeling a strong responsibility for personal growth, you're a visionary deeply attuned to life's complexities. Your authenticity is precious; it urges you to explore the uncharted and share your ideas, even if they're not easily understood. Karmic ties to family and society can bring struggles, reshaping your unconscious. In relationships, your inner conflicts might create turbulence; focusing on intuitive wisdom over emotional turmoil can guide you. It can lead to a fear of change or a longing for the familiar. Remember, you're not alone in this journey.

With Neptune retrograde in your chart, your imagination is vibrant, leading you to seek solace in dreams. Deep spirituality resides within, though expressing it can be a journey. At times, these struggles could lead you towards challenging paths, such as wrestling with addiction or assuming the role of a martyr. On a brighter note, this retrograde might bestow upon you finely tuned psychic sensitivities, allowing you to glimpse beyond the veil. However, your heightened emotional sensitivity can render you vulnerable to negativity, emphasizing your need for regular solitary moments to rejuvenate and shield your emotional sanctuary.

For those with Pluto retrograde, its transformative force delves deeply within, illuminating your inner world ahead of its outer expression. Past-life psychic abilities are present, meant for positive impact. You sense humanity's struggles within, embracing responsibility for collective awakening. Karmically, you owe humanity from a particular era, repaid through selfless service, offering the chance for profound spiritual growth and liberation from rebirth. Pluto's inner battle involves suppressed anger and control issues, concealing a powerful potential for profound transformation and insight. Handle with care, as betrayals can ignite their intensity.

[schizoidvision]

5 Reasons Why Schizoids May View Emotional Vulnerability as Weakness

Emotional vulnerability is often seen as a strength in many contexts, yet for individuals with schizoid traits, it can evoke a different response. Many schizoids may view displays of emotional vulnerability as weakness. This perspective is rooted in our internal dynamics, past experiences, and unique coping mechanisms. Here are five reasons why this perception might develop...

Emphasis on Emotional Independence:

Schizoids tend to prioritize emotional self-sufficiency. For many of us, emotional independence provides a sense of control and stability in an otherwise unpredictable world. Vulnerability, with its reliance on others for emotional support, might be perceived as a loss of this autonomy, leading to an internal judgment of it as a form of weakness.

2. Early Experiences of Emotional Invalidity:

Many schizoids have histories of emotional neglect or invalidation. Growing up in environments where emotions were dismissed, overwhelming, or weaponized can lead to a subconscious belief that vulnerability is dangerous or unwise. This internalized view may make emotional openness seem impractical or even harmful.

3. Preference for Rational Over Emotional Processing:

Schizoids often lean toward intellectual and logical modes of understanding the world. Emotional expressions, which can appear unpredictable or unstructured, may conflict with this preference. As a result, emotional vulnerability might be devalued or misunderstood, reinforcing the perception that it lacks utility or strength.

4. Fear of Emotional Overwhelm:

For some schizoids, the ability to remain detached is a protective mechanism against feelings of overwhelm or emotional pain. Witnessing others openly express vulnerability might trigger discomfort or even anxiety, as it confronts them with emotions they’ve worked hard to suppress. This fear can result in labeling vulnerability as weakness rather than facing its implications.

5. Misinterpretation of Strength in Vulnerability:

The schizoid need for emotional distance can create a limited perspective on what constitutes strength. Vulnerability, which requires courage and trust in others, may be misinterpreted as dependency or fragility. However, this view often overlooks the resilience required to be open and authentic in the face of uncertainty or potential rejection.

Reevaluating Perceptions of Vulnerability...

While it’s natural for us to perceive vulnerability through the lens of our own experiences, this perception is not necessarily fixed. By exploring the origins of our beliefs and recognizing the diverse ways strength manifests, we can cultivate a broader understanding of emotional dynamics. This doesn’t mean abandoning our preference for detachment but rather giving consideration to a more nuanced perspective.

[yaltghoul]

This is not written with any hatred nor criticism, which I will get into more in a bit, but I feel like, among the three daughters, Penelope is the most like Portia.

Prudence and Phillipa are dense. There is no kind way to word that. They lack both emotional and intellectual quotients. There is no street nor book smarts. On top of that, they both are, especially this season, intentionally cruel to Penelope.

Portia tends to also say cruel things to Pen, but they seem to be based on a jaded perspective rather than being malicious. Like saying she shouldn’t expect to find a marriage in her third year on the Mart and that True Love is fictitious, or even scolding her for reading. Those statements were not said to hurt Penelope’s feelings, rather to advise her based on her own experiences not only as a past debutante, who we all know did not marry for love, but also as a mother who has now had to shepherd three daughters simultaneously through the Mart and hear the gossip that is said against all the girls. She always speaks with good intention, but we all know that those pave the path to Hell.

No, Portia isn’t deliberately mean. She is a huge gossip, cunning, steadfast in her convictions, a great liar and schemer, witty, and truly devoted to those she cares about. Every action throughout the series has been to assure the comfort and security of her daughters. Again, good intentions and all that.

Who else have we seen in this series who is witty, cunning, a great schemer, a huge gossip, and truly devoted to those she cares about?

Penelope.

Penelope, who is cunning and scheming enough, not only to have her own business, but to keep it a secret. A business that relies on her using her wit to spread gossip. When she opens up to someone, when she begins to care about them, that wit and cunning come out in such a force that it is only matched by her devotion to them.

Like Portia, she has good intentions when she schemes. Such as revealing Marina’s pregnancy or divulging Eloise’s unchaperoned trips to the printer. She doesn’t do both of those to be cruel or malicious. She does it to ensure the Bridgertons, namely Colin and Eloise, are safe. Safe from entrapment, in the case with Colin, and safe from the Queen’s unjustified wrath, as was the case with Eloise.

You see a lot once Penelope comes out of her shell in S3 pt1 that she matches her mom’s sharp tongue in their interactions. Squares off to her. The apple truly didn’t fall far from the tree.

But despite her cunning and scheming, she is also naturally more kind and soft than her family, which is where the Bridgertons come in. The Bridgertons are the Featherington’s Foil. Without them, Penelope would no doubt turn into Portia; unhappy, unkind, and ruthless. But her relationship with Eloise and Colin steer her toward a life of love and happiness.

Portia never cried after stabbing the young Lord Featherington in the back. She never wracked her hands over the forgery of George’s note to Marina. We never see the guilt. But Penelope… We see her sob and run to Eloise after writing about Marina. We see her break her quill after writing about Eloise. We see the grief, the shame, the guilt that she is wracked with, feelings which are only made possible by her relationships with The Bridgertons. With the love and kindness that they all exude.

This is what makes Penelope such a rich, dynamic, complex character that I love. She is flawed. She is diverse. She makes mistakes, lies, schemes, and loves with all her heart. She pines and frets. The complexity of her character is what makes her relationship with her mother feel real; makes it feel tangible, like I could grab it with my hands. It makes her relationship with the Bridgertons all the more sweet.

[probablyasocialecologist]

What differentiates the fragile and polluting farm economy we have today from one that regenerates the land while producing a diversity of food in an unstable climate? The fundamental difference between these two farm economies is that one is capital-intensive, while the other is management-intensive. A management-intensive operation is one in which the primary asset of the agricultural operation is the observation, engagement and intervention by farm workers.7 A management-intensive operation simply has far more farm worker engagement per acre than a capital-intensive operation. In a capital-intensive operation, the primary assets are capital investments acquired using loans from a bank, which are then utilized to operate at the greatest scale possible using as little labor as possible, with the goal of reducing production costs and maximizing profit through the achievement of economies of scale. Both management- and capital-intensive operations utilize labor and capital to achieve a yield. What differentiates them is the balance between labor and capital. Management-intensive farms tend to be smaller, as the importance of human observation and engagement acts as a natural barrier to developing scale. These smaller farms also tend to be more diverse, as crop rotation and the inclusion of animals are prioritized in order to maximize ecosystem health and to reduce inputs. A system of small, management-intensive farms working in a decentralized self-organizing network would mirror the resilience, productivity and diversity of an ecosystem that has been freed from industrial disturbance. What a healthy ecosystem demonstrates is that the most efficient means of cycling energy within a system is through a complex network of relationships between mutually beneficial organisms. It is resilient not just because it is diverse, but because it is a decentralized self-organizing system, wherein portions of the system are capable of functioning on their own should they be severed from the larger network. These are the features that we should be trying to replicate as we design a new agricultural economy. By orienting ourselves towards management-intensive operations, we would be doing just that.

[watsername]

honestly i love mcc i love competitive minecraft but the game just isn’t fun for anyone anymore. lots of players have dropped out are talking of dropping out or go on stream saying things like ‘this is the first mcc i’ve actually enjoyed in a while’ . like. thats not the sign that an event is successful . and i don’t really think that’s scott’s or the developers faults but it’s more so the culture around mcc that has changed drastically in the past year or so.

when i first started watching it, mcc was about cc’s learning to work together and competing in a fun event where there was no real stakes except the winners got a fun little token. mccs rise in popularity has snowballed a little to develop this culture of expectancy . as with all fanbases, some fans become a little too engrossed in the content and become a little overbearing about it creating this toxic culture of criticism under the guise of analysis . this isn’t to say that all mcc analysts are toxic or that the concept of vod reviewing and analysing a players performance is bad- but the attitude that a lot of the more vocal fans have been taking towards this has been .mm . not the best .

forcing players into rigid boxes based on their performance records and dogpiling them if they undeperform or over glorifying a players for performing above their average etc, it creates a competitive culture amongst fans trying to prove who suppprts the better player . very much ‘my dad is stronger than your dad’ kind of vibe.

this whole attitude also makes it less enjoyable for the players who may now feel a lot of pressure to conform to the expectations of their fans- of course everyone tries their best every event but if someone’s having a bad performance they’re more likely to experience genuine discomfort and self confidence issues continuing in the event because they know what people are expecting of them . even for lower ranking players it can affect self confidence because nobody expects anything of them .

its marketed deeply throughout the fandom as a for fun event with people who are naturally competitive being shunned for their competitive attitude but logging online and seeing people hating some people winning, hating on other teams for knocking their team out of top 2, refusing to congratulate the winners, even complaining over and over again that some aspects of the event like pvp and parkour are unfair to their streamer because their streamer ain’t good at them to the point where pvp and parkour games had their coin distribution rules changed . that doesn’t scream for fun behaviour .

that’s another thing . random changes to games that don’t necessarily need to be changed . the buildmart changes were good it make it easier to navigate and allowed people to move between sections faster and featured some new builds, the sky battle coin distribution prioritising the amount of time you survive over kills actually undermines the point of the game as a pvp heavy event . instead of fighting people you can get away with playing more defensively . we already have survival games for survivability . same goes for remixes i don’t think they typically go down well . some might but majority don’t tend to have a good reception .

even within the players themselves, there’s because quite a cliquey kind of dynamic where if the team with the most support doesn’t win, the winners are not congratulated. take last night for example . ponk and gumi scored their first wins, ponk being the first black person and as far as i can remember gumi being the second woc and first asian woman to win an mcc . let’s not even get into the diversity of mcc right now but only two people came into the voice call which lasted a while after the event to congratulate the team, only sylvee and scott and a few replies on twitter . ‘oh but the captain’ idc . i love him too but he didn’t win and it was a big day for the team that did with 50% of the team getting their first win and they played really well together. looking again at fan behaviour towards creators some players have felt unwelcome by the pressure of the competitive dynamic called bad sports for being upset with their own underperforming and alienated by the community for having multiple wins or because they just don’t want them in the event . that doesn’t scream for fun . and that in itself is really bad sportsmanship .

i think overall what started to kill mcc was it’s pandering really. i’ve fully done research on how scott puts together teams before but i still believe a lot of what goes into a team is how well it will be received. it doesn’t really force creators to get to know each other and work with each other it just takes groups of people who already know each other have relationships with each other and have relationships that are recognisable to the fanbase . this doesn’t allow people to meet and find new creators they might enjoy to watch and it prioritises some teams as the Ones To Watch because of certain dynamics pres t which undermines any smaller creators trying to make their way into the event . the insistence on changing games based on viewer complaints as opposed to suggestions from players themselves on how things can be improved is just odd to me too .

idk man mcc just isn’t what it used to be and a lot of people are becoming way too entitled over what they want to see there

[earthstellar]

A lot of mini-bots (and quite a few other bots) have what might be considered neurodivergent traits (or have been confirmed as such), and I wonder if certain frame types or classes --or Cybertronians in general-- might have physically type-specific processor structures which allow for greater diversity of thought, and if some frame types or spark types might be more or less likely to have or develop neurodivergent traits

We know the Quintessons fucked with the Well of All Sparks in the Aligned Continuity which had unknown effects, and in IDW 1 given the spark as the core of a person's individual spirit (for lack of any better phrasing), it would make sense for Cybertronian sparks to imbue individual personality etc. while the processors are physical hardware with software flexibility to permit and adapt to those unique aspects of self

For example, in the continuities where spark development influences protoform development and therefore what type of frame a bot might ultimately have, it is still simultaneously possible to alter a frame to some degree with armour changes, mass manipulation, etc. (and in most continuities, alt-modes can be altered as well, to at least some degree within the range of someone's core specs)

But the processor and spark are the two things that generally (although we have seen some exceptions to this) cannot be physically altered without incurring significant damage-- Making them some of the few constant components in a species designed to physically change

Sparks have significant individual variation in terms of the personality etc. that evolves from each unique spark, so perhaps processors have some physical elements designed to best accommodate a certain frame type, while also allowing for individual experiences and perception etc. to form unique thought pathways for each individual -- This would allow for any Quintesson or Functionism-related frame alterations or requirements, while also still enabling a spark to produce a unique person as it forms and as experiences accumulate

Sort of like genetics vs epigenetics in human beings; Some things are physical and structural, but some things are informed by environment, experience, etc.

It's interesting that we do seem to see a lot of mini-bots specifically who might fall into a neurodivergent category or exhibit behaviours or thought process that might reasonably fall under the category, but of course it's not universal so there is still greater variation

Although characterisation varies from series to series, here's a couple examples:

Cliffjumper tends to have impulse control problems that are sometimes similar to ADHD impulse control problems, and he sometimes has difficulty prioritising or hyperfixates on one aspect of a situation, leading him to reach the wrong conclusion or focusing on the slightly wrong thing; He also struggles to manage frustration. This could all be related to something similar to executive dysfunction, as it commonly manifests in humans with ADHD.

Bumblebee seems to be conflict-avoidant to some degree in most continuities, and aside from that being part of his friendly nature and kind disposition, it might also hint at something similar to rejection sensitive dysphoria, or a greater sensitivity and emotional response to perceived interpersonal conflict or perceived failure. Some versions of Bumblebee have particularly struggled when faced with high stakes/high risk of failure scenarios, and he has a tendency to internalise blame, directing it towards himself even when a failure is not necessarily his fault or even truly a failed mission. This is often comorbid with Autism and ADHD in humans, but it can also exist on its own.

It's not just mini-bots; Misfire canonically has ADHD in IDW 1, Geomotus in IDW 2 is Autistic and his neurodivergency is even highlighted by other characters, and so on.

So all of this (and how it might work) varies from continuity to continuity, but I just like thinking about how neurodivergent bots do exist, and how that happens and how it manifests and how it is perceived by others and by society at large is interesting

In IDW 2, neurodivergency seems to be viewed in a more understanding and positive light. But in IDW 1, neurodivergency may be viewed in a more ableist way under the Functionist system, and in the Aligned Continuity, perhaps neurodivergency is seen as a potential indication of Quintesson alteration of the Well or of the individual themselves (this would depend on a bot's age).

We don't have too many details on Cybertronian medicine in general, but it's interesting to think about!

It's 8 AM I'm gonna go have a tea now lol

[rabbitcruiser]

Appreciate A Dragon Day

Dragons, the magical scaly creature born from fire, have existed throughout mythology since the times of the Romans and Egyptians. Dragons, with their celestial ways and otherworldly presence, make our lives a lot more interesting, and never cease to amaze people.

Appreciate a Dragon Day is a day dedicated to learning about dragons and sharing your love for these creatures! 

History of Appreciate a Dragon Day 

Appreciate a Dragon Day began when Donita K. Paul wanted to celebrate the publishing of her first fantasy novel “Dragonspell”, part of the five-volume series, The DragonKeeper Chronicles.

Dragons have always been popular, existing in the mythology of cultures from all over the world. Dragons inspire us and fill us with fear at the same time. Western dragons have always been depicted as fearsome creatures to either overcome or have a kinship with, while eastern dragons were typically equated with the royalty and heavenly forces, depending on the culture.

Nevertheless, dragons also tend to represent the conquering of the spiritual soul, as they are related to many of the human emotions that block the way to enlightenment. Dragons in modern culture have always been a place of fascination for them, as many authors and filmmakers have helped transform the image of a dragon to something people can admire.  

Some of the most famous stories to depict dragons are seen in Tolkien, Ursula, and J.K. Rowling’s novels. In films, movies and TV shows such as How to Raise a Dragon, Game of Thrones, and Eragon have helped shape the way people see dragons and ultimately fall in love with them. Dragons have existed since the earliest parts of history and have appeared in many different forms with many different alignments of good and evil.

The depictions of dragons tend to differ by culture. In ancient times, most societies had an ambivalent view of dragons. Like any other creature, these giant flying serpents had both a good side and a bad one. 

In the West, however, attitudes towards dragons changed with the advent of Christianity in the late Roman era. Suddenly, dragons became associated with evil because of their serpentine nature and needed vanquishing. Some people believed that dragons were a real phenomenon and created stories about how great warriors had to go out into the wilderness to defeat them. The tale of St. George and the dragon is likely a direct descendent of this thinking.

When you think about it in more detail, you can understand why people thought dragons were real. Remember, in ancient times, there was no explanation for giant bones. Nobody had a clue what dinosaurs were, or that fossilized bones were millions of years old. For all they knew, these creatures perished recently and could live beyond the horizon. Believing in “dragons” was logical and perhaps necessary to protect yourself.

The old ideas weren’t far off eighteenth- and nineteenth-century discoveries in paleontology. Once the dinosaur age took off, it became clear that there really were giant serpent-like creatures who roamed the Earth millions of years ago, firing the public imagination.

The diversity of dragons is considerable, and one of the main motivations for Appreciate A Dragon Day. The fire-breathing variety is the most famous, but there are others too. Some are like gargoyles found in medieval churches. Others are many-headed hydras that pop out of the ocean. Some even depict them as wyverns, basilisks, and other mythical creatures with loose connections to the real world. 

Folklore experts like Carol Rose point out that dragons are essentially “composite creatures.” We tend to think of them as highly-stylized, as depicted in films like The Hobbit. But Rose notes that they can have really unusual features, including elephant trunks. 

Ultimately, the idea of dragons interacting with humans fills our mind with awe and inspires us to delight our minds with fancy. Appreciate a Dragon Day asks people to share what their favorite dragon is in popular culture and tell people why they love dragons.  

How to Celebrate Appreciate a Dragon Day 

When it comes to celebrating Appreciate a Dragon Day, you have a lot of options. 

Draw, sketch, or color in pictures of dragons. Watch your favorite dragon-themed movie with friends. Read fantasy novels about dragons, including The DragonKeeper Series. Buy or sew a stuffed dragon for you or a friend you know – it’s all totally kosher!

If you love art, you can print out a dragon coloring page. Or you can attempt to paint a picture of one of these mythical beasts from scratch if you’re feeling brave. 

Another popular idea is to use the day to cook a meal fit for a dragon. What, precisely, this entails is anyone’s guess. But heavy charring is clearly an option here. You want something that involves a little fire and passion!

Another thing you can do is learn to write in Dragonese. For those of you who don’t know, this is the language that dragons speak in the film How to Train Your Dragon. The scriptwriters created an entire universe of words, waiting for you to explore them. 

You can also indulge yourself in other ways. How about collecting books and movies related to dragons and starting a dragon collection? Or what about creating a dragon mosaic, hosting a puppet show, or doing all kinds of things you can think of related to dragons?

Once you start talking about dragons, you’ll be amazed by how many people love them. Don’t keep Appreciate a Dragon Day to yourself! Share this holiday with your friends and spread your love for dragons! 

[eldritch-spouse]

Good morning!! I’m just thinking about your demons again. I ADORE the new additions. 💕

What kind of traits do demons typically find appealing romantically? Like, I know how to woo these folks for the most part, but what passive traits do they find impressive?

Like, I know they’re diverse and no two people like the same thing. Just wondering about “beauty” standards in the circles (not beauty, we know about beauty, I can’t think of the right word). Like, I assume gluttons would appreciate other big eaters, or good cooks, and concubi can appreciate promiscuity of all sorts, or on the flip side, find purity appealing and/or cute.

(I especially would love to know what pride demons typically find attractive.)

[Thenk you! <:7]

That's a little bit vague, I'm not too sure where to go from here, so I'm kind of going to ramble. Not that it's hard to guess. I'll stray from physical descriptions.

There's a trick to this I'll explain at the end.

Wrath demons tend to romanticize hard-headed bulls who never back down from a challenge, as you might imagine. People who stick by their values and exude determination, not easily swayed. People hardened by time and their environment, who rise from the lowest lows to the highest of platforms with grace and respect.

Others may enjoy someone whose fury is subtle yet extremely well calculated, strategized, flawless. Of course, many of them fetishize murderers, violent miscreants of all kinds, serial killers and the aggressively insane;

Greed demons will naturally flock to anyone who's financially "abundant". People who spend carelessly because they earn carelessly. Though many of them will also keep a sharp eye on stingy people who count everything down to the last penny. Sometimes saving a huge chunk of money by executing a series of cheap and clever exploits is enough to have these demons fanning themselves;

Many other greedy demons have fallen for notorious heist authors, prolific robbers, successful scammers, and all sorts of scummy people;

Gluttons do gravitate towards chefs, big eaters and those who own large chains of food, maybe well-known restaurants or even some brands of snacks that they really like. It varies. Those who are always hungry are obviously picked sooner, followed by those with a variety of eating disorders;

Although not as common, some more well-off gluttons pick partners who are extremely thin or otherwise unable to satiate their hunger due to a less genuine drive to "fix" that, or somehow captivate that person by letting them overindulge;

Envy demons tend to hover around those with great social influence. People that fawn attention, people who can start shit in public and get away with it. Celebrities, moles, those who spread their roots everywhere and have way too many connections. A good ability to adapt socially in short spans of time is also extremely coveted in partners;

Likewise, those at the very bottom of the latter, practically foaming at the mouth with their jealousy, ready to perform the most heinous of acts to attain even a crumb of their desires, are also appealing to these demons. The perfect cup-sized storm ready to burst;

Discussed plenty already, concubi are lovers of shameless sensuality and high-libidos. People who control chunks of the porn industry are highly sought after, those who own sex shops, who design the toys they use and abuse, those who write eroticas or administer large kink communities. Where perverts gather so do they, always ready to pick and pluck their favorite heathens;

Still, the fantasy of purity and corruption is very present in many concubi alike, which is what leads them to infiltrate communities of sexually frustrated people and drive them insane with want. Many go a step further and seek to scandalize people of faith, engaging is rancid displays inside sacred locations because the thrill of getting someone so disciplined to give in makes their heads spin with pleasure;

Sloth demons are into soft-spoken people. Those who live very comforted lives with little to get in the way and all the pleasures they could wish for at the tip of their fingers. Those whose hands are uncalloused because they've never had to work for anything in their lives, who might even take it all for granted;

In stark contrast, many will also seek people who are exhausted in all senses of the word. Who can never seem to get enough rest, who work themselves to the bone, frail and weathered and so chewed up inside, the plight for a break present in those heavy bags under their sunken eyes;

Pride demons covet the image of perfection. Whether or not that immaculate presentation is true or not matters none so long as it appears that way outwardly. They seek someone who can elevate them, someone who usually has others trailing after them, people with titles and so much arrogance it might physically hurt to be near them for long periods of time;

Many are also opportunistic however, willing to pick a partner who is down in the slums, dirty and ridden of all dignity. Someone who can't afford to say no to them, can't leave them, will see them as very center of the universe because what would they be without that demon? Nothing. The truest form of adoration for them, total worship, total dependence.

As you might have already guessed, there's contradictions here. The reason why is simple.

Demons of lower rank will usually choose those who are more true and successful representations/reminders of their sin. Because they have a lot to gain from pairing with them.

Demons of higher rank are already after those who desperately need their services, who covet what the sins can offer. Because people in their service and debt make for good lovers, in their eyes.

Mid rankers are a bit of a toss up.

This is not to say that there aren't exceptions to these tendencies, or that they can't exhibit completely opposite tastes, it's the general rule, the norm so to say.

[alpaca-clouds]

Solarpunk and Religious Diversity

Okay, let me talk about the probably most contentious issue about diversity in the Solarpunk space: Religion.

So far I have again and again noticed, how a lot of Solarpunks tend to be very anti-religion, only maybe making an exception for spiritual religions like Shinto (often without even understanding, what Shinto actually entails).

Reason of this is partly the awareness, no doubt, of religion again and again being used to suppress minorities. Both Christianity and Islam are fairly well known for how they suppress both women and queer folks - and of course in the past religion has been used for example to justify slavery and other attrocities.

As someone, who has been active in atheistic circles for a couple of years in his early 20s, I am very well aware of the usual "You cannot choose your sexuality, but you can choose your religion" argumentation going on. Which is of course... wrong

Now, obviously nobody chooses their sexuality, but.. most people do not choose their religion either. Not only that most people are in fact raised within their religion, but... I know a lot of SciFi folks hate to hear this, but we are actually not really this reasonable, rational species, you know? Our brains are made for pattern recognition. Our brains are, in fact, kinda made for seeing intent, where there is none. And because of this... we are religious.

And let me make one thing clear: A lot of self-proclaimed atheists still believe in a lot of patterns, that are not there. A big eample is the "invisible hand of the free market".

So, no, people do not choose their religion. They either are raised within a religion or find a religion, that is especially good at making their brain go "brrz!". Do you really believe people would follow a religion in a country, where that religion is outlawed under the panelty of death, if it was their free choice? Probably not.

And it is because of that, that we just gotta learn to arrange ourselves with the religions. Instead of hating all of Christianity or Islam because there are those that use those religions for hate, hate those people, not the religion.

Atheism and "science" (that is not really science) has been used for hate, too. Just look at Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins and how they act about transgender people. Heck, most queer folks and women and otherwise marginalized folks like me, left the atheist sphere because it was so hateful towards us.

So, no. It is not the religion that makes the people hateful. Rather hateful people will use religion to propagate their hate towards more people.

Discrimating against religious people, will not stop discrimination against other groups. Most religions actually do have a rather solid moral framework. Of helping others and especially the poor, about protecting nature and so on. So rather build on that, than expecting people to not follow their religion anymore.

And for those, who think Shinto is so amazing: Be aware that for a long, long time human sacrifice happened as part of Shinto.

And I like the Shinto religion. But... I do not overidealize it. Like all religious frameworks, it has its flaws and has been used to justify bad things.

So just... be accepting. At least of those who want to use their religion for good.

[five-rivers]

Seascape Chapter 1

AO3

Same kind of premise as Baroque and Turpentine, but AU to them. I'm going to do this one in chapters.

.

After they finished sparring, and Danny was laying in the snow, trying to get his energy back, Frostbite floated several feet overhead, looking at something down past the edge of the island.  

“Are you, um,” said Danny, breathing hard even though breathing was at least somewhat optional for him, “are you looking for something?”

“Not precisely,” said Frostbite.  “More… examining something.  I believe your color vision is better than mine.  Would you mind checking something for me?”

Danny peeled himself out of the very comfortable snowbank and flew up to hover next to Frostbite.  “What is it?”

“There,” said Frostbite, pointing.  “Do you detect any difference in color in that direction?”

“Um,” said Danny, blinking, squinting, and tilting his head to one side.  “It’s a little bluer than usual, maybe?”  He turned to look in other directions for comparison.  “Yeah, it’s bluer.  Kind of that sea-blue-green whatever color.  Is that a bad thing, or…?”

“Oh,” said Frostbite, beaming.  “No, no, it’s excellent.  Excellent news.  I thought I might be deluding myself.”

“So… what does it mean?”

Frostbite blinked at Danny for a moment.  “Ah, yes, I forget that you are young enough that you have never seen the turning of the age.”

“Uh, yeah.  Yep.  I can confirm that I do not know what that is.”

Frostbite nodded.  “It is… something like changing seasons, only less predictable.”

Less predictable did sound like the Ghost Zone.  

“So, is it going to be, like, green-blue season or something?”

“To be entirely proper, it is a cyan age,” said Frostbite.  “Although some people also call it a blue age.”

“And things will just be… cyan?”

Frostbite chuckled.  “There are a great many more changes than that.  I think you will like this age.  Cyan ages tend to be… peaceful.”

Danny tried to imagine a color change making any of the ghosts he knew less violent, and failed miserably.  “How’s that?”

“It’s, hm.”  Frostbite scratched his chin.  “It can be a little difficult to explain all at once.  I believe we managed to retain some sculptures and murals from the last cyan age that you can see.  In the meantime, I will do my best to explain as we return.”

“Sure,” said Danny, with a shrug, starting towards the village at a sedate pace.  He was trying to be, well, cool, but his curiosity was well and truly piqued.  

“An age,” said Frostbite, after a moment, “is like a season.  But it is also a change to how the Realms work, how they are structured, how they behave.  The ambient ectoplasm color is something of an indicator, showing the character of the age we are turning to long before any major changes.  Green ages, of any shade, tend towards the chaotic, diverse, and individualistic.  Some would call them natural.  Others say they are merely anarchic.”

That did match more or less with what Danny had observed of the Ghost Zone and the ghosts.

“You mean, it’s not always people wanting to fight all the time?” asked Danny.  

“Well,” said Frostbite, scratching the back of his neck, a character tic he’d picked up from Danny, “not all the time, Great One.  But, yes, the turning of the age comes with altered appearances and instincts for most ghosts, and although the core of who we are does not change, much else does.  For example, red ages engender very hierarchical, stratified societies with a great emphasis on obedience.”

“That doesn’t sound great,” said Danny.  

“Red ages aren’t all bad,” said Frostbite.  “But I imagine that going from a green age to a red age would be quite a shock, especially for you.”

“What?  Why?”

“Because despite the nature of green ages, you tend towards attempts to be social, even to fit in, to some degree.”

“So… a red age would make me, what, more social?”

“You might find it difficult to resist the instincts of your new form, yes,” said Frostbite.  

Danny grimaced at the reminder that, somehow, they were going to get new forms.  Whatever that meant.  “But what about blue ages?  Cyan ages, I mean,” he corrected himself, wanting to use the right words.  “What do they do?”

“Specifically with regards to society… City states and democracies are very common.  But with regards to everything else…”  He paused, thinking.  “Most ages align with one or more, how should I put this, human conceptions of the otherworld.  To fantasies.  Red ages tend to appear hell-like, to use it as an example again.  One persistent fantasy is that of a world under water.”

“Like the Drowned Quarter.”

“Very like the Drowned Quarter,” agreed Frostbite.  “But vast.  An ocean that encompasses all the Realms.”

Danny… wasn’t sure how that would work.  “So, kind of like it is now, but… wetter?  Floating in water instead of in the air?”

“No,” said Frostbite.  “There is a reason I wanted to show you the murals.”  They had reached the village again.  “Come, Great One.”

They entered the cave complex that also hosted the Infi-Map and a number of other artifacts the Far Frozen protected, but peeled off the main tunnel, taking a smaller one that Danny had never been down before.  There was a square cave at the end of the tunnel with a statue in the center, each of the cave’s three uninterrupted walls covered by a large mural made of gold, ice, and stone.  

“Here we are,” said Frostbite.  “These were made in the last cyan age, which was quite some time ago.”

“Huh,” said Danny, walking around the statue.  It was made of ice and a bit bigger than Frostbite, with wide, flipper-like paws and a substantial tail.  It looked a lot like a cross between a polar bear and a sea lion… and maybe… Danny glanced back at Frostbite before turning to the murals.  

All three were seascapes, icy ones, with huge glaciers both above and below the water.  Beings like the one in the statue swam through waves, but they weren’t alone.  Mermaids and mermen with seal-like tails and strange patterns on their torsos swam alongside them.  Overhead…

“Is that another ocean in the sky?” asked Danny, who was half sure he was interpreting the picture correctly.  

“It is,” said Frostbite.  “It is not a constant feature, but it is quite common in cyan ages.”

“Right, right.  Um, are these…?”  He hesitantly pointed at the polar-bear-sea-lion beings.  

Frostbite chuckled.  “Yes, that is what we yetis become.  In fact, our tribe’s history indicates that we were first founded in a cyan age, which is perhaps why we enjoy them so much.”  He sighed, happily.  “Ah, and it may be of more interest to you to note that those are halfas.”

“Wait, what?” asked Danny, head whipping back and forth between Frostbite and the mermaids - merpeople? - Frostbite was pointing at.  “Really?  How?”

“Halfas are much more common in cyan ages,” said Frostbite.  “For one, natural portals in the ocean become much more common, and historically sailors–”

“I get it, I get it,” said Danny, quickly.  “But… you said for one?  Are there other reasons?”

Frostbite nodded.  “Many halfas born in cyan ages do not remain in contact with the Realms when the age changes.  They, ah, in cyan ages the transformation halfas use is changed quite a bit.  So, when the age changes, they can choose to stay human.  Most do.  But when the age changes back, their descendants tend to return, called back by the water.  I do hope they do this time as well.  It has been a long time indeed, and I think it would be good for you.”

“Uh huh,” said Danny, who, if Frostbite hadn’t said something super concerning, would probably be asking dozens of questions about the families.  “But what do you mean my transformation is going to change?  Am I going to be stuck?”

“Not at all!  Not at all!” said Frostbite, reassuringly.  He patted Danny’s back.  “The ones I knew transformed by removing their skin.”

“What,” said Danny, not at all reassured.  

“Their- Not in the way you are thinking, Great One.  They would have a sort of garment, usually a coat, which they would put on when they wished to transform.  It would… meld with their skin and change them to the form you see here.”  He pointed at the murals again.  “Then, to become human again, they would take it off.”

That sounded awfully familiar.  Something Sam mentioned, maybe?  Something to do with seals…  He shuffled through his eclectic mythological knowledge.  “Selkies,” he said, finally.  “That’s what you’re talking about, isn’t it?”

“That was one word that was used,” agreed Frostbite.  “But you can see why it would be very easy for them to simply… not wear their coats again.”

“Because they didn’t want to be changed.”

Frostbite nodded.  

“That’s, um.  That’s.  That’s a lot,” said Danny, looking at the murals.  He… genuinely didn’t know how he felt about all this.  He wasn’t sure if he could say he liked the Ghost Zone as it was, but it was familiar, at this point, and…  “Frostbite, how is that going to happen for me?  I mean, am I just going to transform one day, and then I’ll have, like, a sealskin coat flop off of me?”

“I confess, I’m unsure,” said Frostbite.  “As I said, few halfas ever stayed through the end of the age.”

“Cool,” said Danny.  “That’s… cool.”  Maybe he’d just have his suit be his ‘coat’ or something.  Hopefully.  He could be lucky sometimes.

“But as a positive for you,” said Frostbite, clearly sensing Danny’s lack of enthusiasm.  “You won’t have to deal with ghost attacks anymore, yes?”

“I mean, the portal is still going to be there, so…”

“Very few will go through it,” said Frostbite, confidently.  “In addition to no longer being able to fly–”

“Wait, what?” asked Danny, that little casual piece of information much more upsetting to him than the skin thing.  “I won’t be able to fly?”

“Many powers are altered in these changes,” said Frostbite, apologetically.  “But, again, as ghost becomes mer, attacks on your town should stop.  Very few of us can stand to be on dry land during cyan ages.”

“But I won’t be able to fly?”

Frostbite gave him a cautious pat.  “I’m afraid not, Great One, but swimming is very similar.”

Danny, somehow, had doubts.