#sorry for doing fantasy race science

[cypress-punk]

In a fantasy setting where humans and elves have significantly different lifespans and rates of maturing, such that, for example, a 20 year old human is an adult while a 20 year old elf is still a child, and the two races are capable of interbreeding, producing a viable hybrid (we'll assume Half Elves are not mules for the sake of argument) and the half elves have yet another different rate of maturity, such that a 20 year old half elf is perhaps, an adolescent but not yet an adult, then it implies a possible situation where heavy interbreeding of the two peoples, with many generations of people with at least some elf or some human blood interbreeding could create a society in which the rate at which a child matures is largely random. The more expressive their human heritage, the faster they grow and the more expressive their elven heritage, the slower they grow, with potentially serious consequences for overall life spans as well. What if the genetic lottery lands you with a human maturity rate an elvish life span? hot diggity! but then the opposite could also occur, an elven rate of development with a human life span, such that you don't reach full physical maturity until something like 40 or 50, and only live to about 90?

Now lets throw some other fantasy races into the genepool just to piss everyone off. Some sources purport orcs to be even faster to maturity than humans, reaching full adulthood within about 15 years, but typically living only to about 60.

So now we have a population of half elves and half orcs interbreeding for many generations to produce a population that is largely homogenous, mixing the traits of elves, humans, and orcs more or less evenly, with wildly different rates of development depending on the predominance of certain genes.

Lets then say, for the sake of argument, that this population has certain genes expressed more commonly than others, specifically, the genes controlling rate of maturity will likely favor the human and orc maturation rates, as individuals with those traits will reach adulthood sooner and have a better chance of reproducing, reinforcing the presence of those genes in the population, such that within an arbitrary number of generations we basically stabilize the rates of maration to something like 15-20 years to full adulthood. But, crucially, the elvish traits are still present in this population, and as such it is possible that occasionally, a child will be born who expresses the slower rate of maturation. You then basically have these forever children living among a people that are aging at basically a normal human rate (their maximum lifespan might be longer than a normal human's depending on how the genes for long life faired in the face of selective pressures). this presents a very real possibility of children who will not be adults until their parents are becoming geriatric.

Now, i know you've sat through this pointless treatise about fantasy race mixing but here's the thing that interests me. In these communities, how would these forever children, or perhaps "elf children" if the cause for their long childhoods is known, how will they be perceived by the people? Many factors might effect their perception and treatment, but I feel that ultimately such a person might be seen as a disabled, as they are simply developing so much slower than anyone would expect, both physically and mentally. It might take them an entire decade before they can locomote and speak, and another before they're at the level of say, a 10 year old. How would this elf child feel seeing their own peers literally outgrowing them and moving on while they remain frustratingly locked at a specific level of development?

And then when they finally do reach adulthood, and potentially face a very long life, do they remain in their community and become a fixture of it, decades of immense dependency giving way to a great strength in their long youth and experience of long years? You can see the potential value of someone who will live over a hundred years and yet remain young, the ways in which they can preserve knowledge and pass it on? Maybe these elf bloods would represent a core of elders and leaders in these communities, and the question of what becomes of elf children is answered in that elf blooded look after them, as they are well suited to the care of a child who will grow at the rate they did.

But their condition might also serve as a terrible source of alienation. Imagine if your childhood best friend grew up and had kids while you were still in the second grade, and then his son was also your classmate in the second grade? and then by the time you're in highschool his grandson is your classmate? that would be a bizarre experience. It would cut you off from the other people in the community in a lot of ways. A typical conundrum of immortality and watching those you love grow old around you, but you're only a child and frustratingly, you remain a child for so, so long.

Maybe they isolate themselves in adulthood and basically become a separate caste of society, maybe some misguided law forbids them to interbreed with the general populace for fear of making more elf children to burden the community. Maybe they choose to avoid the interbreeding not due to some law or taboo but out of pragmatism. You can easily see them growing apart form others.

but of course none of these pressures would prevent, with perfect efficacy, an elf blood from having a child with a normal person, and even if it did, the elvish genes would still exist throughout this local population and could reassert themselves at random without it. So you would always have some elf children popping up.

Anyway im pondering this mainly because of this little comic strip from Dungeon Meshi where Marcille is 13 years old and is still a toddler. Marcille is a half elf and is clearly an adult by the time the story of Dungeon Meshi takes place, by which point she is 50 years old. Her father, a human, is 82 by that point. Also while looking up her canon age i learned her last name is Donato so she's Italian? fucked up.

[chevelleneech]

I hope non-Black and non-Asian fans who might also ship Reylo quickly come to understand that while Reylo did get a lot of push back for both valid and bullshit reasons… Oshamir shippers do in fact get to celebrate some of the hypocritical arguments working on our favor, because Black/bi-racial femme presenting and Asian male actors are almost never the leads in popular television and film.

They are either paired off with a white partner or they themselves are the sidekick to a white lead, and usually only date people within their ethnicity. The latter of which is neither bad nor wrong, but adds to the misguided belief that Black women and femmes and Asian men are not bankable or attractive outside their own demographic.

So I’m sorry to say, but if you are a Reylo shipper who feels slighted or even frustrated, that’s fine. Feel how you feel, I’m not saying you can’t or shouldn’t make posts about it, but white people being in corruption arc romances or etl is not a rare occasion. Meaning, when yet another one exhibits traits that are toxic or not so great, it is fine for people to not like it. It’s fine for people to call it annoying or repetitive, because it is. When it comes to non-white characters who either match ethnicities or are in an interracial relationship without a white partner, it automatically becomes something new.

Why? Because we do not often see it play out that way on screen. And no, Osha won’t be dealing with anti-Blackness or misogynoir on screen nor will Qimir deal with Asian stereotyping, because race and ethnicity aren’t played the same in Star Wars as far as I know, but that doesn’t mean their casting matters less in reality. At the end of the day, it’s all fiction, but that doesn’t change the fact that Black people and Asian (Filipino men to be exact) people shouldn’t be allowed this opportunity to seem ourselves reflected back on screen in the same genre based shows white people get.

Star Wars, science fiction, and fantasy in general is so overwhelmingly white and creatured/alien, that people don’t even realize how uncommon the tropes and cliches they’re tired of seeing, really are. Osha and Qimir would kikeky still work yet not be as thrilling if either one of them were white, because a white woman being corrupted by the evil man of color has very racist connotations, and a woman of color being corrupted by a misunderstood white man is very common on screen. And if they’re both white… then it’s just a Reylo do over, isn’t it?

So like I said, I understand people will be frustrated and want to know how Oshamir is different regarding the character journeys themselves, but it’s not always just about what’s on the written page. The Acolyte needs fine tuning in terms of the writing, but it’s not the worst show on tv by far. And the fact that Oshamir is interracial and non-white in the classic sense, is a huge part of why they work and why people are more interested than what may have been for Reylo.

[rjmhereunderprotest]

Only Human: Species Bias in Fantasy/Science-Fiction

Let's get the premise for this little essay out of the way now: Humans are Boring. They are the most overused, overemphasized, overdone, overrated race in any fantasy/sci-fi setting. And I'm honestly SO tired of it. And by that I mean, humans, and human-like races, are consistently the primary characters of any story. Dwarves, Elves, Halflings, they're all overdone to death, but Humans? Those other races are generally just derivatives of them anyway and they are constantly placed into the primary focus of any story. Often to its detriment in my mind. We always complain about how we want other perspectives, different heroes, different narratives, but we always default to humans and frankly its gotten stale. For me, it's become even more so the longer this has gone on. So in a follow-up to my entry about Monster-Narratives with Sarah Kerrigan, let's talk about humans and why they're so goddamn boring.

Disclaimer First

I am not saying ALL human characters and ALL human centric stories are boring. I can name many a human character who is compelling and interesting and deep. My problem isn't humans as a central POV, my problem is when given the option in a setting to do ANYTHING and be ANYONE... a story will default to human. Every. Single. Time. And worse yet, they'll even make Non-Human races more human like.

Besides the aforementioned Dwarves, Elves and Hobbits, a lot of alien or fantasy races can end up just being humans with a slightly different coat of paint. You don't need to look any further than a lot of monster girl fiction, which has universally decided that you can just have any human woman put on cat ears or pop out a fox tail or grow some wings and presto chango they're a monster now I guess. It's cosplay, nothing more. No one actually has the dragon BE a dragon i full. They have to look like a human somehow.

And let's be clear here, the reason for this is obvious. Write what you know. Everyone knows how to be human, so it's easier to just WRITE a human. The perspective will ring more true if you know what a human is and can properly depict them. And since everyone is human, everyone at least has an idea of how they're supposed to be. I'm not blaming anyone for going to the default option on this, it makes sense.

But all across media there exists multiple opportunities to actually present a perspective or allow someone to step into the shoes of something that isn't human. That isn't just a derivative of humanity. That is truly foreign to them. Sadly they rarely take the chance and when they do... well, a lot of the times it falls into some bad writing clichés. Before we get into some of the main offenders, let's address one of said clichés of the bat to better understand why human centrism in genre fiction can lead to some terrible ideas.

Planet of Hats

The Planet of Hats is the well-worn concept that alien/fantasy races are monoliths. That every member of a species thinks like each other, acts like each other, builds their society around a singular concept, is entirely devoted to that particular concept, and is forever entrenched in that one state of mind forever. That is the Planet of Hats. You see it manifested in every Warrior Culture or Pacifist Society or Amazon Island or Gangster Planet. An entire people bent to serve a singular overriding "Problem of the Week" scenario to comment on a singular issue. Mostly by going completely overboard with it. And if you want to know the biggest offender of this... well, all those examples I listed come from one single IP who has done at least one iteration of those worlds over its very long life-span.

Sorry guys, it's true and you know it. For all the good Star Trek portends to be, all the progressive ideas it puts forward, for all the social commentary it has added to zeitgeist, one place it consistently falls short in is depicting alien races. How you ask? How is one of the most socially conscious and ethnically diverse franchises in history failing in this regard? Especially considering it has spawned some of the most iconic alien races in all of fiction?

Because as I just pointed out, a lot of their alien races are basically just one note stereotypes. Built around a single idea to create a "Problem of the Week" episode. This has been true as far back as the original series. Which was completely episodic and rarely if ever revisited alien races it ran across. Now of course there are mainstays and they've been fleshed out over the decades, but a lot of that fleshing out has been a result of Star Trek trying to push back on the Planet of Hats problem. And they still don't really address the crux of it.

The best way to explain Star Trek's problem lies in how one alien race was introduced to us, the Ferengi. You know them, the big eared hyper-capitalists who are best known for being the franchise's greedy assholes/Comic Relief. And boy, was their introduction a MESS.

It's fair to say the first two seasons of "The Next Generation" were... bad. As in... awful. "The Last Outpost" is one of those awful episodes where the Ferengi first showed up. Roddenberry, Star Trek's creator, wanted to evolve a lot of the concepts from the original series. The problem was he didn't have anyone to tell him "This doesn't work" The Ferengi were made to replace the dated "America vs Soviets" allegory that a lot of Trek's previous antagonist aliens represented. For Roddenberry, the real danger was unfettered capitalism. Hard to argue with that, problem was the Ferengi weren't a threat.

"The Last Outpost" presents the Ferengi less as an alien race and more like farcical clowns who basically exist to make the Federation (Humanity) look better by comparison. The Ferengi run around the entire episode, acting like unhinged monkeys, while Commander Riker struts about with his superior moral values and beliefs. At no point do the Ferengi resemble a legitimate threat to humanity. They're buffoons, made to present less a commentary on hyper-capitalism and more of a mockery of it. As a result, none of the Ferengi come off as characters, they're caricatures. Silly, nonsensical, idiots who are there to make Picard look righteous and humanity as more evolved.

Now let's not act like Roddenberry was supposed to be fair to the alien race he created to represent the things he hated. But he was supposed to make them a culture and not just strawmen he could beat up for an hour. Hell, decades earlier, he had bothered to give the Nazi Planet more nuance! And that was a planet, as stated, full of Nazis! But even that felt more like a culture than the Ferengi running around like baboons, hooting and hollering as they unconvincingly tried to pull one over on the natives they intended to exploit. Natives that the oh so perfect Federation, embodied by Commander Riker, easily protected by simple human fortitude and stalwart moral fiber.

Of course, years down the line, the Ferengi were finally developed into something that resembled a real civilization instead of punching bag. They actually had a degree of morals, not like the Federation, but they weren't entirely monstrous. Characters like Quark helped immensely in rehabilitating the image of the Ferengi without completely discarding their original characterization. But Star Trek has never really completely abandoned it's human centrism. Nor it's tendency to portray humanity in general as the "Better Way/Only Way."

Because let's be honest here, the Federation is just humanity. Sure other races are in there, work with them, and we are TOLD their customs and beliefs are respected, but be honest. How often have you seen an alien on Star Trek in a Command position? How often are aliens in Star Trek the central character? Has any captain or lead character in any Trek show ever not been a human?

You may point out Spock or Worf, and fair, but Spock is half-human and Worf was raised by humans. They're also not the Captain of the ship of their respective series. Even then, Vulcans and Klingons don't get off so easily. How many times have the Vulcans and their reliance on logic being criticized because they don't express outward emotion like humans? How many times have the Klingons had their culture scrutinized as purely violent? Yes, they've always come back around to highlight the value of their differing perspectives, how their voices at the table are worth listening to, and how there is more to them than just the warrior and hyper-logical. But ultimately, a lot of Star Trek comes back to how each of these alien races REALLY should become more human. Oh the Federation won't FORCE it on them, but they'll just kinda neg them on it. You should really show more emotion, Spock. You should really stop being so war-like, Worf. Be more human, be more sensible, conform! Why don't you conform already?

You might argue that's not the case, but it kinda is. Star Trek will always come around to how if a lot of these alien races were more like the Federation's ideal of humanity, they'd all be much better off. And it all stems from the Planet of the Hats cliché. Which purely exists to give the Federation some problem to preach about and argue against. The Federation won't conquer you to be like them, but they will kinda pressure you to change. And sure, a lot of these cultures could do with reform. But a planet existing purely to be used as a soap box isn't a culture, it's just the Ferengi of "The Last Outpost" again.

I'll sum this section up in terms that were expressed by Chuck Sonnenberg of SFDebris. Star Trek's tendency to put alien races in a box is detrimental to its world building. If Germany was a fictional race in Star Trek, it would be defined by industrial power, a love of war, and expansionist foreign policy coached in racial purity. That even after being defeated, said society would constantly be trying to claw back to its perceived glory days, never changing, just constantly being stuck in its singular mindset for all eternity. The only thing keeping them in check being the Federation of United Planets, mostly dominated by humans, who shake their heads at how awful Germans are for refusing to change and be more like them.

Doesn't that sound stupid? And if the Federation of Star Trek, the epitome of Optimistic Science Fiction, can make such a mistake, how do franchises that aren't so hopeful and cheer faire? Star Trek is an incredibly influential series in genre fiction. It informs a lot about how its done even today. If it can't help but put humans on a pedestal, even though it shouldn't because that's antithetical to its own world-building, how have other IPs faired in that regard?

Well... not good. Not good at all.

Center of Everything

I could list so many examples of humans being positioned as the most important element of any fantasy or sci-fi story. It almost feels redundant. Star Wars generally has humans as its main protagonists. A good deal of Lord of the Rings involves the nations of men being the main bulwark against the forces of Mordor. Earth is basically the most important planet in both Marvel and DC and humanity is the most special of all races out there. How many humans get to be a part of the Green Lantern Corps? Overall, humans are going to be the focus of any story. Even if they exist in a setting where they aren't the only sapient race out there. Humans get to take center stage and lead the plot. Even if they really shouldn't and they aren't supposed to and you know where this going...

I think this is probably the best example I can use to point out how Human Centrism can be a problem. Because I think enough people at this point recognize what went wrong with the live-action Transformers movies. Yeah, I know some folks keep trying to rehabilitate them, I don't care. I'm dying on this hill! They were never that good!

A movie about the Transformers should not be so reliant on the squishy humans that no one ever cared about. A series of dynamic characters who, at the point of the first Bay Movie's premiere, had carried several stories on their own despite not being human! A race of alien robots with intriguing inter-cultural dynamics, opinions, philosophies, so much character and complexity. Sure they were toy commercials at the end of the day, but no one who watched Dinobot's sacrifice in Beast Wars' "Code of a Hero" would be able to deny that the series could not transcend that stigma! The Transformers were always meant to be the center of their franchise, as they rightly should be because they can carry it just fine on their own.

Then Michael Bay showed up and decided to turn the whole series into an extended US Army Recruitment Commercial instead. I think we can all agree Military-Industrial Complex Propaganda is far worse than making kids want to bug their parents for toys. But that's neither here nor there, even if Bay hadn't been jerking off to the US Military in these movies, the problem with them was apparent from moment one. When the films became more about Shia LeBeouf wanting to get laid than the alien robots. The films excessively/progressively revolved around humans and their interactions with the Transformers. They became the primary focus more and more until they essentially took over huge swaths of the plot and narrative. Autobots and Decepticons alike, no matter how important, iconic or well-known, were very casually tossed aside and killed off over the various sequels. And no one really cared because the Transformers on both sides became so highly interchangeable and forgettable that sometimes you could blink and miss them. Remember Arcee? Prominent female autobot? Strangely split into three motocycles for some reason? Murdered to death! With only one line of dialogue!

Oh sure, Optimus and Bumblebee got to be front and center, but mostly because they got to be colors that were just a mess of greys, browns and blacks. That and Optimus is by far the most popular of all the Transformers and the face of the franchise. But if you want an example of humans taking over a narrative to its detriment, Michael Bay's Transformers movies are the singular defining example of just such a problem. And you probably heard the defenses, it gave audiences a anchor point, a relatable view, something they could connect with.

Strange, none of the fans over the years needed humans to help them connect to any of the alien robots that were the main narrative focus of countless tv shows and comics. But I suppose Hollywood Executives know better. When have they ever been wrong, right?

To be honest though, this is nothing new. Science-Fiction especially has always had a problem with positioning humans as ultra-super special. And some people could recognize it for the dangerous prospect of what it was. Issac Asimov noted John W. Campbell's tendency to position humans as the most important or superior race as opposed to others it encountered in fiction. And to Asimov, that also appeared to extend to the smaller scale of reality and Campbell's... well, let's say belief in American Exceptionalism. Asimov didn't like arguing with Campbell, so he tried to avoid using aliens too much.

You can see the problem though, insisting on the exceptionalism of humanity often denotes a general sense of racial/national superiority. There's nothing wrong with rooting for the home team, but not everything should be a competition and humans shouldn't take over every story for themselves. Especially if it isn't their own, like the Transformers. Their franchise is proof enough that humans don't have to be central element to be successful. And yet, until now, most theatrical films felt the need to involve humans in some aspect. And sadly, because of "Transformers One's" not so stellar box office performance, that belief might persist. And it will continue to hamstring the Transformers property like it does with other stories in genre fiction.

Illusion of Choice

Even if this mindset doesn't inherently compromise a story's narrative, it can still kneecap it. The best example of how involves gaming, specifically RPGs. Despite portending that our "choices matter", so often in games they do not. Because, here again, too many franchises decide that the only perspective that matters is one that looks similar to you.

Discounting the many video games that might allow you to be an alien, monster or even just an animal, because they are out there, I feel far too many RPGs can be very limiting. Does Fallout let you pick if you want to be a Ghoul or Super Mutant? No. That's only been a recent development and only for one game and its an MMO. Video games in general, when set in a fantasy or sci-fi world will default to one of the pre-approved human or human-like races, if they present the choice at all. Dragon Age 2 famously hard locked you into being a human despite the last game letting you pick your race. Now you can say that's because they had a set story to tell that needed the characters to be human. But it's still jarring.

And I think there's one instance where BioWare itself had a huge opportunity to change things... but decided they were just going to play it safe.

After three games of playing Commander Shepard, who had to be human because that made the most sense for the story they were telling, BioWare had an opportunity to shake things up. They had a whole new story, not tied to Shepard. A whole new galaxy, again, not tied to Shepard or humanity itself. And they decided to just go with another human character... again. Mass Effect has probably some of the most diverse alien races out there and even now, you can still only play them through multiplayer. The main games? Stuck with human protagonists.

I'll freely admit I probably defend Andromeda more than most Mass Effect fans. Not completely, because it does have a lot of problems, but I admire it for what it was TRYING to do. What I can't forgive is what it didn't even attempt. It could've easily crafted a story that enabled the player to pick whatever race they wanted to play as. Turian, Asari, Salarian or Krogan! Quarians! They could've let us be quarians, but NO! We are always stuck as humans, never given the opportunity to experience this galaxy through any other eyes but human ones! Even when given the perfect opportunity to do so, Andromeda chickens out and just sticks us as an ordinary human again.

It's so painfully sad. And while being given the option to be something other than a human probably wouldn't have fixed the game's other problems, at the very least it would've been looked at as some admirable. As something that tried to expand Mass Effect's unique setting and give more dimension to the aliens it had crafted.

Humans are simply the safe option. Safe to animate, safe to draw, safe to craft stories for, safe to empathize with. The second you have to do it for something that is properly alien or decisively not human, that's when you run into trouble. Because if you can't get the audience to connect with a character, it's over. And that becomes harder if the alien or fantasy creature does not share something in common with us.

It's kinda sad honestly that the biggest departure from human-based races that Dragon Age has even done is qunari. And they're technically just horned giant people. They're not exactly inhuman enough, hell if character creation teases are anything to go by, they've actually tried to make them MORE human looking for the next game.

Which brings us to a whole other issue that is pushing us further down this hole within the confines of gaming itself. For far too long now, the gaming industry has become increasingly obsessed with hyper-realism, both in graphics and design. Unique artistic styles and aesthetics have slowly been eroded away by an obsession among developers and publishers alike. A need to force characters and games themselves to be grounded in the real, no matter how fantastical the setting is.

lately, people have often complained about how the faces of game characters have gotten "ugly" over the years. The stupid among these people think its a conspiracy to get rid of sexy ladies in video games and alter beauty standards in the mainstream for some agenda. The reality is known to the smarter set of folks, who have seen the industry cultivate motion capture technology to reduce their reliance on artists to craft characters for them. Just get a recognizable face or literally anyone you can find and make them act out the lines while wearing a facial capture rig. You wanna blame anyone for making women in gaming less sexy? Blame LA Noire for proving the viability of facial animation capturing, not some evil conspiracy of developers obsessed with some innocuous message.

As a result, gaming has emphasized realism more and more in its aesthetic design philosophy. Particularly among the Triple A Games, where they seem to think that if the characters don't look real, gamers will feel that things look too old and ugly. There's no room for artistic interpretation, that costs money. No, slap a rig on some actor's face and make them do all the work. You wanna know why MJ in the second Spider-Man game looked off to you? Well that's because the actress is a real person and faces don't always stay the same and alterations to a face scan can potentially mess things up even more.

She also suffered a car accident that required doctors to reconstruct her face, but that's probably only a minimal issue since she you can't really tell the difference as I understand it.

The point is, hyper-realism has damaged gaming to an insane degree artistically and further harmed non-human characters. Because in order to get that hyper-realistic look, games have compromised themselves. Now the qunari look even more like SyFy channel aliens than ever. The boundless creativity of CG reduced to what can be produced on a budget within the make-up chair.

And I don't expect Mass Effect's eventual fifth entry to be much better. If BioWare is still this scared about letting us play something truly non-human in a fantasy setting, then they're not even going to try to let you build your own turian in Mass Effect Beyond or whatever generic subtitle they shove onto it.

And yet its doable, they can let you craft an non-human character to be the main hero. The fact Elder Scrolls was letting you do this for years is proof enough of that. Baldur's Gate 3 revealing I could be a Dragonborn was enough to convince me to pick it up eventually. Admittedly, any game that lets me be a lizard or reptile of some kind instantly has my attention if not purchase. Purely for this very essay's stated hypothesis, it's almost impossible to find any game that will let me play as something that isn't human. Because far too many games and stories prefer to just fallback on boring humans.

And yet, nothing I've mentioned so far is the worst example of this problem.

Ultrabores in the Grimbore Future

I'm not going to mix words here. The Imperium of Man of Warhammer 40k is boring. There I said it. And it's this feeling that is impetus for this entire little article of mine. In the lead up to the release of Space Marine 2, and looking further into the lore of 40k itself, I came across two inescapable truths for me.

1: Every other race in the setting was 10x more interesting and compelling, both character and lore wise.

2: Every Imperium of Man Fanboy is an Insufferable Douche Canoe of the Highest Order.

I might be overstating that last point, but it's hard to be subtle about this because I don't think anyone is going to listen otherwise. The Imperium fucking sucks! And I don't mean as characters, I don't mean as a faction gameplay wise, I mean in-universe it SUCKS. There is NOTHING admirable about this future human civilization or anything they stand for. They're objectively fucking horrible and Games Workshop itself has admitted this. And yet, despite this fact that even the most ardent hobbyist of this tabletop will admit to, you still will find more than enough Stans of the God-Emperor of Mankind who will INSIST they are the good guys. Or at the very least, necessary for the survival of humankind.

My answer to that is no. Very emphatically, NO. The Imperium of Man is not neccessary, at least it didn't have to be. It did not have to be this cruel, this dogmatic, this blindly loyal, this xenocidal and racist. It did not have to be at all like what it is, but because of the choices of Emperor himself, it is now! And it probably can't unfuck itself, because it's already fucked over so many other people within and outside its realm of control. It does emphasize the good things about humanity, it's oozes all the worst aspects of it. That's its point. That's why this universe is Grimdark. That's why it's not a good thing that humanity has become what it is in this future.

And yet, Imperium fanboys will refuse to budge. Insistent that the Emperor did everything right and it was only everyone else not just laying down and dying that screwed anything up, if at all. And while Games Workshop itself has stated the opposite, explained in detail that this franchise is satire, that you should not take the actions of the Imperium of Man as a lesson for how to run a civilization or your life... guess what the biggest seller and face of 40k franchise is?

Yep, humans.

You might think that's a contradiction, but it makes sense you realize those are the figures that sell the most. Therefore, the Imperium gets the most books, the most lore, the most focus on media outside the main tabletop. Sure they've made games where you play as the xeno factions and books with aliens as protagonists. But the majority of 40k lore is all about Humanity and it's really affected how this franchise is viewed at this point.

You see it doesn't matter how often you say something is satire or that it's aspirational. If you place the spotlight on it long enough, people start to gravitate towards it. The Imperium of Man, being the most popular of 40k's factions, is a victim of its own success in this regard. It has become increasingly difficult to separate the satirical dark comedy of the Imperium from the lore's various attempts to make them the most badass of all badasses. People like watching struggles for survival, conflict of epic scale, heroic sacrifices, it makes for really compelling drama. It also more often than not whitewashes all the bad things the Imperium does if you overly focus on all the cool shit the Space Marine chapters pull off.

You tend to forget that the only reason anyone survived the Fall of Cadia is because a bunch of Eldar showed up to help evacuate humans. Or that Cadia only stayed standing for so long because a Nekron helped out. You ignore the pointless war that turned Kreig into a wasteland, when all anyone talks about is how the Death Corps can take down Tau with a shovel. You can point out how the Emperor is in fact, for all intents and purposes, fucking dead, but when it's coming out of the mouth of a dude who's following a sadistic murder god, it's not very convincing. People always come back to this when the Imperium is involved. "So what if they suck, they're humanity's best and only option at survival. And they're fucking badass!" And Games Workshop doesn't push back on this, mostly to not piss off its fans, generally though because tried to do that once before and it backfired.

The Tau Empire used to be an up and coming foil to the Imperium in many ways. They were ruled by reason and science, not blind dogmatic faith and religious zealotry. They believed in harmony among the races, not genocide and supremacy. They had an optimistic and hopeful view of the galaxy, as opposed to the fatalistic one the Imperium had. As it stood, they were the most heroic out of all the 40k races... and a bunch of fans, mostly Imperium as I understand it, hated them. They felt they ruined the grimdark setting by being too goody good.

So Games Workshop eventually just gave in and decided to change the lore. The Tau were only like that because their leadership was essentially mind controlling them. Great, so they're no better than anyone else in this future. Wonderful. Can't have an opposing view from the Emperor's that might turn out to be a better path forward. Nah, turn them into a brainwashed cult essentially to further justify the existence of the Imperium. Forget that an earnestly good society in a galaxy that is probably fucked beyond repair is probably sufficiently grimdark since they're such a young race but probably equally doomed. We need to make EVERYTHING in this setting so completely utterly hopeless, because anything less means the Emperor is wrong for creating the circumstances that made everything worse.

And as a result, the Imperium of Man is the one major roadblock for me getting into this franchise. Now, don't misunderstand, there are things about the Imperium I like and find interesting. Like many, I like Captain/Lieutenant Titus, because he's not a dogmatic sycophant who acts like a religious zealot. I do actually like the Death Corps of Kreig if only from a history buff perspective because I'm into the WWI Aesthetic they have going on. And of course there are the Salamanders, the only Space Marines I will ever consider truly heroic because they give a shit about things besides duty and honor, as well as possess some degree of empathy for other lifeforms. I enjoyed the first Space Marine game a lot! It's why I picked up the sequel.

However, all of these points have asterisks next to them. The Death Corps of Kreig are cool VILLAINS to an extent. I don't think you can ever present them as heroes given their mindset or origins. That's true of a lot of things within the Imperium. The Salamanders are still beholden to the dogma that has consumed a good deal of the Imperium and they are not really going to do anything to break off from it. And while I enjoyed the first Space Marine game and had fun with Boltgun, let's just admit something right now... half the enjoyment of the original Space Marine Game came from this dude.

Grimskull was probably the most fun antagonist to go up against in any game. Him just yelling "Space Marine!" in his ridiculous Cockney accent always made me smile. Titus, as badass as he is, lacks quite a bit in the personality department. The sequel doesn't do much better, even if his character arc is at least serviceably good in that game. But he remains stoic and loyal, he isn't exactly a dynamic figure like Grimskull was. And be honest with yourself, that first game got real boring after you killed the Warboss.

That's the problem I have with 40k. There are so many more interesting, compelling, fascinating alien races. Sure, none of them are perfect good guys and a lot of them are downright evil... but they're at least unique! I had a lot more fun learning about the Orks honestly than I did listening to the one hundredth iteration of something super epic and cool an Ultramarine did. We get it, they're Master Chief and Doomguy on Steroids! Do they do anything else besides pontificate about how awesome the Emperor is and go on about duty and honor more than Zuko in season one? The Orks might be idiot rampaging soccer hooligans, but at least they're funny.

And yet there are far fewer Ork, Eldar and especially Tau related books and media than the plethora of Imperium related works that have overstuffed everything. And if you admit to liking anything other than the Imperium of Man, especially the Tau, you are instantly ridiculed. I would honestly pay way more money just to play as Commander Farsight than Titus. Because Farsight feels like a natural progression for Titus to take, but never will. He just can't. While Farsight will leave his government behind and strike out on a new path to pursue the Greater Good as he now sees it, Titus can't, because that would only be seen as heresy, both by fans and in-universe.

Imperium Stans will look at this picture and honestly claim this fucking sucks without hesitation. That's the degree of brainrot they give off. Calling some of the coolest looking shit lame.

I just instantly felt Farsight is a more compelling and complex character by default because of his arc. Whereas Titus will never really change much beyond what he is, a reasonable enough Ultramarine in a sea of equally super serial hardasses that aren't much different from him. He just thinks a bit more for himself.

Farsight's crew of mech piloting badasses at least have variety. But to my surprise, so many others didn't agree, annoyed apparently that Farsight was able to resist corruption of demons, baffled at how it was possible because he lacked faith in the glorious God-Emperor of Man! None of them considered that maybe, just maybe, Farsight was able to resist corruption because he's not governed by religious dogma at all. Maybe his open-mindedness and ability to reason protected him just fine! But can't have that I guess, humans have to remain special after all.

Despite everything going for him, actually retaining a proper sense of heroism, being a truly good person who wants to do the right thing even in a universe full of shit, I still saw Imperium fans giving Farsight shit over the stupidest of things. I found a video on YouTube not long ago concerning how Farsight rightfully pointed out the weaknesses of the Imperium Titan Mecha. Oversized bulky machines that are millennia old. But while scary, Farsight noted how they can be defeated and are not as efficient or effective as the Space Marines were. The comments were FILLED with Imperium stans laughing at this bit of lore, calling Farsight names and declaring that the Titans were older than his whole civilization as if that was some kind of gotcha.

Everything the Imperium uses is older than shit though, that doesn't make it better. The reason it's so old is because the Imperium does not know how to make this shit anymore. They lost the knowledge when they rejected science in favor of their stupid religious dogma. Now their old as fuck spaceships are finite, same as their Titans. The Tau can replace their losses, the Imperium ultimately cannot. And yet here were the fanboys, praising how cool and awesome the Titans were, ignoring Farsight beat one easily, had video to prove it and that they essentially sound like those weirdos who jerkoff constantly about how awesome the Tiger Tank was. Despite it being an overly expensive over-designed mistake. One that both the Americans and Russians put to bed because their tanks didn't need special parts to function or guzzled up fuel like a thirsty pig.

Treating Titans as superior because they are older than the Tau is like arguing a Trebuchet is better than an Abrams Tank. Sure, one is way older than the nation that created the other. Doesn't mean its going to last very long in a one on one fight. But because humans have to be super special and awesome in 40k, we can never point out how their various systems, beliefs and strategies are outdated and costly.

Frankly, I'm more interested in Warhammer Fantasy by default by this point. Not just because they have a full faction of lizard people, although that is a plus. But because the factions of that universe are more diverse, interesting and not as mired in adherence to the grimdark lore mindset. Even the human civilizations are more compelling because they're not all one singular entity and have differing ideologies and strategies. I'll take that over being expected to look at the Ultramarines in awe simply because they do something badass every Tuesday which will get them six more books whereas Farsight still only has two.

And I don't think I need to point out what this has resulted in. As Asimov feared, placing humans on the superiority pedestal has emboldened that very sentiment in reality. Look no further than the current fervor over the existence of a Black Space Marine and a female guardsman officer in Space Marine 2. Even with fans pointing out how both of those things are both perfectly fine in canon, it doesn't change just how much 40k has attracted a lot of racists over the years. So much so they had to change tournament rules to prevent people from wearing actual Nazi uniforms to events because one asshole did so.

If there is any franchise that truly showcases the dangers of humancentric narratives it's Warhammer 40k. Because we are hardwired to root for the home team and we've also proven that we're incapable of reading satire. Creating the perfect storm of events that leads to far too many people stanning a literal Fascist-Dogmatic Forever War Machine. And while Games Workshop has tried to get the other factions more time in the sun, I'm not sure they can ever manage to get them up to the same level of prestige as the Imperium if they keep holding themselves back from just giving the Space Marines a damn rest for a second.

Room on the Party Wagon

I don't want to make it seem like it's all so hopeless. That there's no way for mainstream audiences to overlook their inherent human bias. I do believe it is possible for non-human protagonists to take center stage in a property and remain there. I believe that because I've seen it done before. In fact, I was quite literally there.

If there is any more miraculous franchise than the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I don't know of it. There should be no reality where two guys making a sketch of a nunchucking turtle for funsies in an apartment while chowing down on pizza could launch something this everlasting. And yet they did it. Ninja Turtles, 40 years later, is still going strong. And all with a lead cast made of decidedly non-human lead heroes. Better yet, it didn't stop with Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey. Over the years, countless heroes and villains have been added to the mythos. A good number of them fellow mutated animals, all with distinct personalities, motivations and interpretations over countless adaptations and timelines. It is truly astonishing to have been there from the start of Turtle Mania and to have never had them go away for very long.

And again, all with primary character who aren't human. How? Simple enough, people gravitated to the Ninja Turtles. They had distinct vibrant personalities. They were fun and colorful and different. They connected you to them by getting you to recognize their relatability.

There is still an interest in non-human protagonists, and not just dwarves or elves. I'm not alone in my desire to have something other than my own species take the spotlight now and then. Wings of Fire is fairly popular series that stars no humans at all for the most part. In fact they rarely show up. The real stars of the franchise are dragons, big fire-breathing dragons who all have unique cultures and perspectives that incredibly well-fleshed out and intricate. They're also not entirely humanized either, as dragons have very different morality and cultural cues from humans.

Another interesting take on things can be found in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Which, despite having him out for most of the runtime, was all about Rocket. He was an absent protagonist, but he was the primary because everything revolved around his story and towards him finally accepting his species' name and moving past his survivor's guilt. Rocket is probably the most prominent non-human hero in the entirety of the MCU as a result and that's a big deal.

What I'm saying ultimately is that there is room for multiple perspectives. Not just the ones we're the most comfortable with. Because if we only accept the experiences of those we consider familiar, we will never understand those that are other. The road to a society like the Imperium of Man is based in one of mistrust, fear and prejudice. To avoid that, we must be willing to look through the eyes of others and learn about the human experience from something that is not. That is what the best of science-fiction and fantasy can allow for.

If such genres are meant to be an escape, what greater escape can be found but one that is outside our limited human experience. We can never know it is like to fly, or swim deep beneath the sea, or see from a dozen eyes or just one. But we can imagine ourselves in that role and empathize with that which is alien to us. If we limit our fantasies then we limit ourselves, our imagination, our ability to connect. If all you desire in your sci-fi or fantasy is for some big burly human with a sword, regular steel or chainsaw, to murder orks and aliens, then that's fine. But there are others among us who don't want such arbitrary limitations. Humans are not boring by nature, but picking the same old fantasies and escapes IS boring. We could do with changing things up more.

What I'm saying is, it would not hurt anyone if they just did one Triple A Title in the style of the Space Marine games but for Farsight instead. We don't always have to be the Space Marine. Notif we've be okay being a Ninja Turtle. There's room for all perspectives, human or otherwise, in genre fiction. We should be doing more to open up the gates for those experiences. Sooner rather than later.

[gatheringbones]

i have a question that I've been trying to puzzle out the answer for -- I've noticed that some speculative fiction takes a queer is normal approach because "in the future or since there's aliens! and werewolves! who has the time to question gender?" kind of mindset. as much as I treasure the thought of a future where different phobias aren't a thing, and I don't want to be someone who take too much pride and ego in the suffering (perhaps not the right word) I've been through and survived, it also makes me feel strange in that kind of mindset that, of course there's lesbians and trans people in space! without any homophobia whatsoever. my question is, do you think queernorm is possible in a good way in speculative fiction in a setting where it's so far in the future where idk. teleportation or cloning or body modification or cyborgs exist? regency/historical/fantasy novels tend to be set "in the past" and erasing the colonialism, the racism/xenophobia, not questioning why it's ok to murder orcs/an acceptable group of people, and then suddenly having Gays Are Perfectly Fine and Acceptable is definitely weird, considering all these other biases. But what of scifi? Sorry I'm not as concise and cohesive as I wish I was. I'm in a spot where I do read these and I do think it's fun, but it bothers me as someone whose race/transgender/homosexuality/background as an immigrant has informed so much of me that reading these things has been a war of "I should be happy for others that they imagine this future for themselves and it's all just fun imagination anyways!" vs. "this is not the future I'm sure that I want but I'm worried that I'm too attached to my identity and that's why I'm not considering this other possibility of what science fiction or speculative fiction could imagine for me"

that’s it exactly isn’t it— what’s “normal” when we’re in a speculative world where we’ve supposedly transcended all forms of normal? what’s normal in a future we haven’t seen yet?

answering that would mean looking at the quality of the relationships and the dynamics between the people inside of them and seeing how they connect to present day conceptions of normative behavior. You would have to look at how this comforting speculative world arranges power and the relationships between people with various forms of power.

in assimilationist fiction, queer people assume very specific positions in the story. Their existence summons and soothes specific anxieties crucial to the assimilationist mind— will my straight parents accept me? will my straight friends and acquaintances accept me? am I normal? is the way I love valid? Do I have to change anything about myself just because I’m (cringe) queer? can I go on about my life as a normal person who just happens to be (cringe) queer? will I be able to achieve the standard and normal markers of success for a white, upper-to-middle class, able-bodied person even though I’m (cringe) queer?

the assimilationist story will take these anxieties in hand and address them with the goal of seamlessly incorporating queerness into a heteronormative story structure with functionally no difference between queer and straight (which has the effect of making everyone seem incredibly straight).

I hear you on the taking too much pride and ego in suffering, but I want to poke at that as well— is queer difference really rooted in suffering? are our identities nothing more than wound sites? what IS queer difference and how and why must it be assimilated into heteronormativity and its stranglehold on culture? how does heteronormativity manifest in queer works and what needs does it fill for the queer creator manifesting it? what is it about heteronormativity that feels so so reassuring and interesting and good for queer writers?

it all depends on what the werewolves and aliens in your sci fi are doing, in other words— and who they’re doing it to and why. It depends on what anxieties are present in the text and how the text itself chooses to address them. It depends on the author’s relationship to queer culture and how they relate to cultural norms to begin with, because there won’t be anything like our set of norms in a speculative futuristic world, so the whole question revolves around what is purported to be normal and how the people in that world are meant to relate to that paradigm.

it’s tricky! I don’t have answers, just a whole heap of books written by queer authors who just want to fit in and make money you couldn’t pay me to read.

[kpop-stories-21]

Lobby - Introduction

Group: ATEEZ

Pairing: ATEEZ x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 2.1k

Rating: 18-21+

Genres, Themes & AUs: Non-Idol AU, Sci-fi, Horror, History, Mystery/Crime, Fantasy, Adventure, Supernatural themes and creatures, aliens, vampires, gladiators, detectives, criminals, Dark & Light fae, princes, princesses, treasure hunters, monsters, demons

Content & Trigger Warnings: Strong language, Explicit sexual content(Minors DNI), themes of science fiction, horror, history, mystery, fantasy, adventure and the supernatural

Summary: After losing your job, you fear you won't be able to continue supporting your mother. Then you hear about the Library of Illusion and the fabled treasure housed within. Perhaps this is your lucky break.

Tags: @kpop---scenarios @stardragongalaxy @jeonrose @skittlez-area512 @mybiasisexo @skeletor-ify @biaswreckingfics @anyamaris @liliesofdreamsskz @rdiamond2727 @naturalogre @thelargefrye @yoonguurt

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Event Masterlist || Main Masterlist

The ringing of your phone ripped you from your sleep, the shreds of a nightmare still clinging to your sweaty skin. You couldn't recall what the nightmare had been about, but an overwhelming feeling of terror lingered even now. Shaking your head to clear the cobwebs from your brain, you reached for your phone and answered the incoming call.

"Hello?"

"Y/N, where the hell are you?! You're 45 minutes late for your shift and Mr. Lee is losing his shit. You need to get over here as fast as you can!"

Looking at the time on your phone had your eyes in disbelief. How in the world had you slept this long? "Fuck, I'm so sorry. I'll be right over."

Cursing under your breath, you leap from bed and yank your uniform out of the closet. As you slapped on some makeup and dragged a brush through your hair, you prayed that your boss would be understanding and give you another chance. Throwing your phone in your bag and grabbing your keys, you raced out the door.

On the way to the restaurant you forced yourself to drive the speed limit, even though you wanted to go faster. Getting pulled over would just make you even later and that was the last thing you wanted.

Upon arriving you snatched up your things and ran across the parking lot to the back door. Flinging it open, you stepped in and were immediately greeted with Mr. Lee's bright red face. Freezing in place, you watched as a fat finger came up to wave in front of your face.

"I've had just about all I'm gonna take, young lady! I gave you this job because I'm a family friend and I felt bad for the position you've been put in. But compassion can only go so far, and I've given you too many second chances.

"At the end of the day, I have a business to run and it's not fair to me, the customers, or the other wait staff if someone has to cover your ass every time you oversleep. I really hate to do this, but today will be your last day working here."

You bit your lip to keep it from trembling as you watched him walk away. Deep down you knew he was right, and you felt incredibly guilty for disappointing someone who had been like a father to you. Taking a deep breath, you willed yourself to remain calm. The tears could come later, once you were alone. Right now you had a job to do, and you owed it to Mr. Lee to make your last day count.

As soon as you finished your shift, you headed to Mr. Lee's office to collect your final payment and turn in your name tag. The envelope he handed you was thicker than you'd expected, and you looked at him in confusion.

He smiled sympathetically. "Just because I fired you doesn't mean I stopped caring. I know things are hard right now, so I gave you a little extra to help hold you over until you find a new job."

You blinked, suddenly swallowing around a lump of tears. "T-Thank you Mr. Lee. I'm sorry things had to turn out this way."

Mr. Lee stood and hugged you tightly. "Me too. I'll still be checking in on you, so keep your chin up kiddo. Things will turn around one day."

Nodding, you thanked him once more and left the restaurant.

Back in your car now, you made the drive you've been making every evening for the last year and a half. After parking outside the hospital, you walked in and took the elevator to the cancer wing. You greeted the nurse at the nurse's station with a smile, after your many visits she had become something of a friend to you.

"She's in her room, having her dinner. She's expecting you."

You smiled at the nurse and walked down the left hallway. You'd memorised the room number by now. Pushing the door open, you smiled at the slight woman sitting upright in the bed eating her dinner from a tray.

“Hi Mom.” You said with a soft smile as you closed the door behind you.

Your mom looked up as you entered, her entire face lighting up at the sight of you.

"Y/N, my little dove, I was hoping you'd turn up soon! Have you eaten yet?"

You shook your head as you sat down in the chair situated next to her bed. "I came here straight after work, like always. I'll eat when I get back home." Reaching out to take her thin hand in your own, you changed the subject. "So, how was your day today?"

A grim look crossed your mom's pale features. "Dr. Kwang visited me this morning. He said the current course of treatment has stopped working, so they're going to have to start doing chemotherapy."

You felt your heart sink into your stomach. The chemo was going to be so much more expensive, and with you now out of a job there was no way you could pay for her to continue getting treated. Then you remembered the envelope in your purse with your wages plus the extra from Mr. Lee. You could keep a little out for yourself and give the rest to pay as much of the chemo as you could.

You spent some more time with your mom, then left to go find Dr. Kwang. He was in his office, probably expecting a visit from you due to the change in treatment.

“Ah, Y/N. I trust your mother told you about the chemo?”

You nodded and he continued.

“As we discussed previously, the chemo will cost more. Are you still able to support your mother's treatment?"

Taking the envelope from your purse, you flipped through the bills within, doing some quick maths in your head. Keeping back enough for you to get by for a little bit, you handed over the rest.

"This should be a good starting place until I can get ahold of some more."

Dr. Kwang smiled at you as he took the money. "I admire your drive, young lady. Most young people these days would just throw their parents in a home and never look back."

You blushed a little, unused to such praise. "She sacrificed so much to raise me all on her own, it's the least I can do."

"She must be so proud to have you as her daughter."

You blushed a little deeper, then put the envelope back in your purse and stood. "I'm proud to have her as my mother. Thank you for taking care of her when I could not. Good evening Dr. Kwang." You nodded to him once more and exited his office.

As you walked back to your car you ended up behind two young women not much older than you and happened to hear a part of their conversation.

"Have you heard that rumour about the Library of Illusion and the treasure that supposedly resides within?"

"I have actually. Isn't it supposed to be in the woods around the town?"

"Yeah it is! Maeri said she wanted to see what it was all about, so we're going up there this weekend to check it out."

Intrigued and wanting to find out more on your own, you stepped around the women and hurried to your car. On the drive home all you could think about was the "treasure" and how much it would help your mom with her treatment if you could get ahold of it.

Once you had returned home, changed into comfortable clothes, and eaten some food you booted up your laptop and Googled "Library of Illusion". The first result that popped up was a Wikipedia page containing the location, along with the sparse information known by the general public. Plugging the location into the GPS on your phone revealed that the Library was a good ways away from where your apartment was.

The town you lived in was in a bowl-like valley surrounded by mountains except for the cutout where the road was. The Library was nestled on a perfectly-sized plateau halfway up the tallest mountain in the eastern range, which put it out of reach for all but the most determined.

You hadn't been mountain climbing since your mom was first diagnosed with cancer, so you were rusty at best. But you'd do almost anything at this point to ensure your mom had the best possible chance of surviving. So you researched what gear you would need for such an arduous climb, then used the money from Mr. Lee plus some of what you had in savings to purchase everything.

It took several days for everything to arrive, but once the last package was delivered you began to pack things up and plan when you would begin your journey. You decided that the sooner you left, the sooner you'd be able to return. So you made plans to leave the following day as early as you could manage.

Your mind firmly made up, you went to bed earlier than usual. Tomorrow you would get that treasure and then you would be able to fully support your mom.

You woke the next day to the ear-splitting crash of thunder as rain pounded on the roof like it was trying to get inside.

"What a lovely day for mountain climbing." You muttered to yourself as you slipped from under the warm blankets to begin getting ready.

You dressed warmly to combat the cold rain and had a quick breakfast before grabbing your phone, gear and keys and heading out.

Twenty minutes later you arrived at the base of the mountain you would be climbing. Parking under a handy overhang of trees laden with thick ivy, you got out and began to gear up. By the time you were ready to start climbing, the rain had subsided and the sun was making its way out from behind the clouds. A smile rose to your face as you placed your hands upon the mountain and began to climb.

The next three days were a constant cycle of climb until dark, find a flat enough place to set up your tent, sleep until morning, then eat and begin the routine again. By the afternoon of day three you were starting to lose hope, thinking maybe this was all a dream and there was no library way up in the mountains.

Then you came to a flat place that seemed the biggest one you'd encountered yet, and your heart soared. Pulling your weary body up onto solid ground, you found yourself in front of a huge building that looked centuries older than it probably was. After a short rest and some food, you walked closer as a storm brewed overhead.

Ivy covered the majority of the brick walls, the gold on the door handles dim and tarnished. Taking a deep breath, you pushed them open and stepped inside.

The interior was far more well kept than outside, and if you didn't know better you'd have a hard time believing this was the same building.

The first thing that caught your eye was the front desk, or more accurately, the handsome man seated behind it. Feeling suddenly shy, you slowly approached him.

He was much more good-looking up close, bordering more towards beautiful than handsome. His hair was cotton candy pink, and slicked back stylishly. Chocolate brown eyes glanced up suddenly, amused at having caught you staring.

"May I help you?" His voice, almost as deep as the thunder roaring outside, jerked you back to the present moment.

"M-My name is Y/N, I heard about the treasure a-and…."

"And you wanted to see if the rumours were true?"

You nodded.

"Well, Miss Y/N, my name is Seonghwa and I am the Keeper of The Keys here in the Library. The rumours you've heard are more or less true. There is treasure here, but it is housed in the Restricted Section and requires several keys to access it."

Hope flared in your heart, and you leaned forward a bit. "How do I get those keys?"

"You must get them from the Guardians of the main sections within this library: Science Fiction, Horror, History, Mystery, Fantasy and Adventure."

"And how does that work exactly?"

"In each section there will be a special book that will send you into a dream-like state and transport you to wherever the Guardian is. The first time or two you might be somewhat aware that your surroundings are fabricated, but the deeper in you go the more real things will feel. Once you have obtained all the keys, bring them back to me and we can proceed from there."

Seonghwa led you over to a set of double doors and pulled them open. Inside you could see plaques announcing the many different sections. Determined, you stepped forward, deciding to go for the Mystery section first.

"I wish you luck Y/N." Seonghwa said as he closed the doors behind you.

[kunavi]

hi! ive been waiting for you to turn asks back on. lol

i was wondering, can you please describe what a therian is more in depth?

i think i might be one but i don't know how to really tell :(

thanks for your time!

Hi! Sorry for that, I might have disabled them before going on a hiatus, and forgot about it..^^

Therian description? It's kinda hard to describe it in one way, it's one of those things where you ask ten people and you get eleven answers - everyone experiences it differently. But it has a common base: identifying as a nonhuman animal.

A very long answer under cut! Really, it's very long! :D

The following answer is my own perspective, it's not a general rule, not the only truth etc. You can agree with me, you can not c:

Therianthropy, is a word for human-to-animal transformation definition. Fantasy, fairytales, myths, all those stories there humans transform into animals, get it? Greek word 'Theria' means 'wild beast' as in animal. 'Anthropos' - Greek word for a human. Together they are 'animal-human'.

In the modern sense. What does it mean to me? It's like werewolves irl!

Think of fantasy werewolves (those who transform into regular four-legged wolf, not the monstrous bipedal hybrid) Ordinary humans by day, wolves at full moon night. Simple. You won't call them humans as such, they are this 'animal-human' race, if you get what I mean. Even when they are in their human form, they have this animal part in them.

Therians in modern sense. The same were'animals' (not only wolves), but minus fantasy body shapeshifting part, real life science hasn't invented it yet :) Reminding you of this sentence: even when they are in their human form, they have this animal part in them. Therians, having this animal part in them. The equivalent of a fullmoon wolf-is-out thing to therians are shifts, read about them here. Though not everyone experiences them, so don't think hard about shifts.

If you wonder if you're a therian, ask yourself this. Do you feel like such an 'animal-human' race? Do you have this animalistic part in you, that you're not a pure human, but with some animal part? Maybe, if you were in a fantasy setting, you'd be this were'animal in a second. Keep in mind, that it's often not the sapient anthropomorphic animal, but a regular looking animal living by instincts.

Or if you'd like some lighter version, think of anime catgirls. They may be classified as therians too c:

Both human and animal. Sometimes human mind, sometimes animal mind. Both parts at once, a balance.

...

Or one can be nonhuman. This term rejects human identity part, only animal remains. These are animals inside, not humans.

That is easier to describe with "animal stuck in a human body" thing. Animal operating a human costume. Animal under a human look disguise.

Like you wouldn't call a ftm trans man, a "woman with a male identity", a trans man is a man. Nonhumans are nonhumans, please respect.

...

Conclusion

Often this feeling exists inside the mind before learning about these words. Not necessarily from birth, just someway earlier. When the animalistic identity appears the second after learning the word (but you didn't feel this before), it may be mind tricks (may, not definitely are). Like when reading about medical symptoms and then you feel them on yourself right after - thinking you have this condition, despite never having the symptoms earlier. A medical student's disease, you may read on it here. Therianthropy has its own analogy, the shifter's disease.

To move out the possibility of shifter's disease, think about your past and your present life. Analyze, remember times when you felt animalistic throughout time.

Did you have animalistic thoughts like months before learning the word? Did the usual kid animal-play-pretend last into your older years instead of stopping?

Though don't confuse it with this - after learning about the label, your animalistic feelings may become much stronger. And it could feel like you got this feeling right after learning the label. But it's just from joy of finding a fitting word for yourself c: As long as you've had some hints from earlier, you're free from the shifter's disease c:

Were you obsessed with human-to-animal transfromation stories? I was and am :D Would you love to do it too with your inner animal? Do you feel like a animal-human, mental were'animal in your mind? Keeping a balance between human and animal? Not in a furry hybrid mix up way, but human and animal. Then welcome to a therian party!

Do you think you're an animal/othercreature stuck in human body? While you may respect (or not) humanity, you yourself don't feel like a human at all? Welcome to a nonhuman party!

I had these animalistic thoughts since childhood, through teen years til now. I learned about these words in adult age, and everything became clear - that's what I was and am now!

I hope I've written it clear, I'm not English native speaker ^^ Thanks for reading!

[redrocketpanda]

Thanks for answering my ask before. If you don't mind me asking (again), can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......

Hello again - thanks so much for all of these questions!

Hmmmm, I have so many favourite things across so many different forms of media that choosing a top 7/10 is super hard. I've gone with my gut of the first things I thought of that I love, but the list could easily be wayyyyyy longer. I'm sorry - I tried to keep this as short as I could... In no particular order:

My Hero Academia (anime + manga) MHA is the first anime that I think I ever really properly enjoyed. I watched it in 2021/2022, immediately fell in love with it, and proceeded to devour both the anime and almost all of the manga. I obviously adore all of the characters, but I also love the way that MHA portrays superpowers - both in terms of how they function (w/ there being unique limitations to them) as well as how it depicts/explores superhero society. I don't normally go in for superhero type media anymore, but the combination of all of the above (plus literally the sickest soundtrack from Yuki Hayashi) easily makes it one of my fave ever things

The Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers (books) I could write an entire dissertation on why this is one of my favourite series of all time, and why Becky Chambers is one of my favourite authors. But the shorter answer is: literally everything about them. Chambers' writing is beautiful, her narratives are full of love, hope and community, and her characters are incredibly diverse and well written. My fave book from the series is Record of a Spaceborn Few.

Dragon Age series (video games) I first came across Dragon Age at a fan convention back in 2016/2017 during a panel on queer media (I think). In addition to the panel discussing the general queer relationships/characters in the series, they specifically highlighted Dorian and Krem in DA: Inquisition. The following day I went out, purchased all the games, and then played them through from the first game. IThe games are super fun to play, the writing is *chefs kiss*, and I love the themes that the games explore. I love them so much I've even written an article and done a podcast episode about them!

Jurassic Park franchise (films, books, games) Jurassic Park is one of the franchises that I was raised on (along with Star Wars) and I have been obsessed with it ever since. I've seen all the films (up to Jurassic World), read the books, own books about JP, played a bunch of the games, and even have a poster map of Isla Nublar on my wall. Dinosaurs are one of the big reasons I love them, but also I think the films have always been very interesting to me for how they give us a lens in which to think about animal rights + conservation in a science fictional setting (something else I have also done a paper on!)

Final Fantasy XV (video game) I'll keep this one short and sweet: best boys on a roadtrip that will both make your heart full of joy but will ultimately leave you a sobbing mess on the floor (Honestly I didn't play FFXV until the end of 2022 and I am still !!!!!!! over it)

Haikyuu!! (anime) sksalkkljsa. I don't even know what to say about this. HQ is just the fucking best.

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (video game) I don't talk about it so much anymore, but Exocolonist is still one of my favourite games and it makes my heart feel so much whenever I think about it. I love the entire aesthetic of it. I love how impactful your choices feel and how many different routes you can go down. I love how inclusive the game is, not just in terms of gender, race and sexuality but also with polyamoury + family/community dynamics. The worldbuilding is beautiful, the soundtrack is *cries*. Just...it's such a wonderful game.

Manic (film) There are a lot of films I could choose for this list, but if I can only choose one (bc space) then I think Manic is a good pick. It's the 2001 indie film with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Don Cheadle, etc, and is set in an adolescent psychiatric ward. This film means a lot to me personally, I'll just leave it at that.

Xandri Corelel series (books) I spoke a bit about why I love the series so much in response to your favourite characters question but to summarise: cool as fuck science fiction series where cool as fuck autistic bisexual polyam protagonist, Xandri, is the head of the xeno-liaisons team. It's got stellar worldbuilding, excellent characters, and explores lots of interesting issues. Also, my favourite book is Tone of Voice (2nd in the series) partly bc its got space whales in it.

Mass Effect (video games) I think by now its pretty clear I love science fiction, so Mass Effect was always gonna be a big hit with me. I actually played Dragon Age first, and then a friend told me I had to play ME. The entire series is just sooooo good for very similar reasons to a lot of my other favourites: well-written, beloved characters, cool ass narrative/s, choice-based, fun FPS moments, cool worldbuilding, sick soundtrack!

[wispstalk]

Asking very earnestly - in your opinion at least, how do you think TES creators should approach the inherent racism with the Dunmer and Azura’s curse, if someone was wanting to fix it? Because it does make me really uncomfortable yet I’m not sure how to approach it in a better way. My first thought was to have it so the Velothi had always had grey skin, and Azura only cursed them with the red eyes. But then theres Vivec and Almalexia whose designs are very distinct and predicated on the complete or partial golden skintone (and obviously reworking that iconic gold skintone into like, not a past skintone, but a mark of divinity of some kind would still carry colorist connotations), and also the whole Velothi backstory with having been Aldmer. Theres so many contingencies that it leaves me feeling like there IS no good way to fix the situation? So then, is the best call to just acknowledge and condemn the racism of the Dunmer curse and leave it? And work within canon improving Dunmer lore in other ways? Sorry for the long ask, I have been having this conversation with myself all day since reading your post and I am very frustrated that Tes is so flagrantly racist like this (and this is just one thing on top of soooo much else) and with Tes being my ultimate special interest I can’t help but want to fix all its problems if only in my own fanworks and not perpetuate its bullshit wherever possible

I feel you anon -- closing our eyes to the racist canon does no one any favors but it's so deeply embedded that reinterpretation is a truly mammoth task. The answer ultimately ends up being individual: what purpose does my reinterpretation serve?

I won't get into all my complicated family shit but I would be remiss not to mention that while many of my blood relatives have been the targets of racism, I have not; I move through the world as a white person. There are issues I can speak to from direct experience and issues I can't, so part of the work is sorting out where the limits of my knowledge lie.

That being the case, I, Ray Wispstalk, wouldn't undertake an effort to reimagine the Dunmer origin story. This isn't to say that I'll avoid the subject entirely -- it's necessary to actively betray the institution of whiteness at every opportunity -- but ultimately any condemnation in my writing is just words. Not worth a lot to begin with, so it's extra-important that I don't cause anyone pain with my shallow understanding of colorism.

Putting aside my personal lens, it's also a matter of time and effort! Azura's curse is such a central piece of lore and once you start tinkering it'll ripple out into everything else. But tinkering is good and the more people do it the closer we get to a world where the fantasy genre doesn't lean so heavily on race science. Brainstorm and fuck around and eventually you'll find the shape of what you want to say and have a clearer picture of how to execute it.

[iamchernika]

9 people you want to get to know better tag

thanks for tagging me, @paperlovesadness 💚🫂

fav colour: actually, I have a few :)

• when people ask you your favorite color, you often choose one color. for me it was green. it still my beloved. but now it's a certain shade – british racing grean. but more blueish you know

• vinous

• and sometimes purple. but I'm not quite sure. 'cause I definitely like the first two, and this one is just a mood, I think.

currently reading: the fault in our stars by john green. I've been recommended to read this book for a long time, but I'm more into fantasy, science fiction, detective and horror.

last song: today I'm in the mood to listen to russian pop rock, so kazhetsya by uma2rman

last series: good omens season 2 ✌🏻🥲 no comments))

last movie: oppenheimer

currently working on: I'm learning to edit videos in after effects program on pc, it takes a very long time, 'cause there are so many functions that you can just get lost. I still can't figure out how to do color correction correctly (the way I want it to look). I also play cyberpunk 2077 (yeah, it's like a mission, don't judge me too much)

I'm gonna tag people that I know more or less (so if you've already done this 'challenge' stuff or just don't want to, I'm sorry x)

@thelastfingerpuppets @the-thing-about-life-is @joshus-lobster @freakykeypad @alexturne @homoirrealis @hellcatsandcars @maybemoonout @bandomgay

[graftisms]

JOSH & MILES & JUDE & JENNY — DAY FORTY

location :   party boat / bar area

featuring :   @heatwayve & @gotatext & @blondcs

MILES

"so, odds are, if there are aliens out there, they already walk among us," miles explains, sitting down to slide josh another beer. "and if that's the case, then statistically, someone here is a bona fide extraterrestrial. or maybe even someones." 

JOSHUA

"based on what statistic?" he huffs out a laugh, immediately taking a swig of the beer. "you think one in..." he looks around the boat, trying to see if he can count heads, "—like, twenty people could be an alien? if i was gonna bet on anyone, it'd be frankie." but then again, she is just from florida.

MILES

"science. the vast, unending possibilities of space, perhaps?" miles jokes, following josh's line of sight around the villa. "aw, don't say that," he groans, "already fancy the pants off her, i don't need you putting these fantasies in my head."

JOSHUA

"that's not statistics," he points out, a smile on his lips. it doesn't disappear at the mention of miles fancying frankie, though it does make his eyes roll good-naturedly. "oh please. you'd let her probe you any day."

MILES

"math and science are best buds, they go hand in hand. like beer 'n pizza," he argues. josh's eyeroll just makes his smile press into his cheeks harder. "realistically, alien medical tech is probably more legit than that," realistically, he says. "but that's not a mental image i'm hating, feel free to keep going. she looks fit tonight, huh?" it's barely a question, but now his eyes are wandering the room.

JOSHUA

"still not hearing any numbers," he points out, leaning back in his seat. "oh, i'm sorry, i didn't realize you were an expert on alien medical tech." josh takes a swig of his beer, used to conversations like this with miles. "she looks... fine. why's she wearing that giant ass jacket?" she'd look better with less clothes on, josh thinks. platonically. "you still have her in the doghouse?"

MILES

"at least one-in-fifteen chance someone's an alien on this boat. that's the drake equation, bitch," that's definitely not the drake equation. but close enough. "not an expert. just a...scholar," miles delineates. or a guy that's seen too many episodes of star trek. "'cause she's got that tiny skirt on. it's called balance," miles nods, as if he's also a scholar of fashion. frankie's legs are just about his favorite part anyway, plus he thinks she looks cool, like a fast and furious character or something. "nah, it's not like that. we're just not, like, all in committed or anything. has she been talking to anyone else?"

JOSHUA

"did drake make that up, seriously?" he actually has no idea what miles is saying, but he'll go along with it anyway. "i don't know, she looks like she took a wrong turn to go to a formula 1 race. but yeah, she's hot." because duh, frankie's a hot girl. "bro, who else would she be talking to?" josh asks, with a laugh. "c'mon, we both know that's not what's going on here. you're exploring your options, which you're well in your right to do, and she's waiting for you to make up your mind. am i wrong?"

MILES

"yeah, right after he wrote marvin's room," miles jokes, because he's sure josh was also kidding. "well, she can wave my flag any time," he says, far too confidently for an innuendo that makes no fucking sense. "shit, i don't know. at least half the villa's into her. but yeah, i kind of...am just curious to know if she meant it, when she said she felt sure about me," he explains. "so, yeah. i'm still 'exploring my options'," he adds, drawing air quotes around the words with a wide grin.

JOSHUA

he laughs because he probably understands a drake reference, even though his writer clearly does not. josh almost makes a reference about frankie being the one in the driver's seat, but he realizes that for once she's actually not. he'd be lying if he said he didn't get some entertainment out of their relationship, finding couple drama so much more interesting when it's not his. "half the villa is into her?" josh laughs loudly. "what villa are you in? who is into her? victoria? that girl wouldn't be caught dead dating someone from florida." she actually seems more uppity than naomi, but maybe he's biased. "how's exploring your options going, anyway? i saw you and eden yesterday."

MILES

"well, i thought eden was more into frankie than me up until yesterday, to be honest," miles admits. "our date was all friend vibes, and she asked frankie if she was open without asking me anything like that. so, i figured..." he shrugs, though his grin turns slightly sly, "but i guess i was wrong. and i'm not mad about it, she's really cool. knows all these weird facts about animals and shit. and she's proper fit...i'll probably pull her in a moment."

JOSHUA

"and you guys aren't friend vibes now, are you?" he asks, though it's mostly just egging —because again, he'd seen them kiss by the pool. "look at you and all these blondes," he laughs, bumping his shoulders. "you gonna go for jenny next? if so, i wish you luck."

MILES

"obviously not," miles grin widens at that, can't help himself. "what, you think i'd have a shot?" also obviously not.

JOSHUA

"yeah, totally," he lies. "i mean, as long as jude isn't around, because he'll try to kick your ass. actually, better yet... give it a go, why not?"

MILES

"if you think jude could kick my ass, i'm not listening to any of your advice ever again. that's way off," miles shakes his head, though he's grinning. granted, jude seems like the kind of guy to have a knife in his shoe or something.

JOSHUA

"i didn't say that," he laughs, "i said try. we all know you could take him." well, maybe not jude. or jenny, if the dick's that good to be delusional.

MILES

"okay, well...i could do try. about time someone besides you got in a brawl, right? gotta keep it interesting." miles sits up a little straighter, shouting across the deck, "oi, jude! got a question!" 

JUDE

jude's on the dancefloor, shamelessly body popping, when he hears his name, suddenly high alert, ears pricking like a doberman. turning, he focuses his attention on miles, "you what, mate?" asked as he ambles over towards him and josh. "sorry, lad. couldn't hear you over the fuckin' cure." he's not big into that rock shit, really. would prefer some edm or deep house he can two-step to, but he'll take what he's fucking given and be grateful for it.

MILES

"that's okay, we were just discussing," miles interjects. "if i hit on jenny, would you bust my dial right here?"

JUDE

jude's eyes narrow, crease appearing between his eyebrows as he scans from miles to josh and back again, trying to work out if this is a bit. "'bust your dial'?" what does that even mean? "mate, am not tommy fookin' shelby." (he does the brummy accent, anyway.) "do what you want, pal." jude says, shrugging despite a face like thunder — he's so not bothered! /j. "if you're gonna graft her, then all i'll say's good luck to ya." because honestly, he doesn't think miles has a chance. "but don't expect me to be mates wiv' ya no more, alright?"

MILES

he cracks up laughing at how pinched-up jude's face immediately gets. "i'm only joking, 'm not about to nick your bird," he laughs. though it's sort of disappointing to him that jude wouldn't want to have a brawl over it. "don't worry, judey, i'd rather be your mate," miles' grin is wide and cheesy. yeah, right, dude.

JUDE

jude's expression doesn't soften at the insinuation miles is only joking. like jokes don't hold some truth. a drunk mind, sober thoughts, or whatever. "you better be," is all he says, grabbing him in a one-armed headlock and rubbing his knuckles against his skull as he drops down into the seat beside him. "you're not her type, anyway. you're too soft in the head. she likes someone who's a bit of a dick an' that." why the fuck's he giving miles pointers? "haven't you got your hands full, anyway?" in other words, back off, pal.

JOSHUA

he's snickering as he watches this, but making little notes to himself that jude is too fucking easy to rile up. "right, because you're so hardcore, dude." the sarcasm drips from his tone. he won't say it, but he's pretty sure men is just jenny's type. "c'mon, do you think you could actually take miles in a fight? look at the guy." now he's just egging this on.

JUDE

"i wouldn't need to fight him," jude counters, chewing off the bite that josh's offering him. "my skull's proper hard, man. one smack of my head against his and he'd be out like a light."

JOSHUA

"i would like to see that, personally." it's not a punch, it can't be against the rules, right?

MILES

he basically headbutts for a living, so this also makes him laugh. honestly, he's just been sat here giggling and he thinks jude must be messing around too at this point, hence the noogie. "no fuckin' way, instant KO?" miles asks. "you're so full of shit."

JUDE

honestly, the fact the miles is laughing kinda makes jude even more irritable, head shaking as he starts fiddling in his pocket for a cig. "why you sayin' this shit for? alloooooow that." jude kisses his teeth, pissed. "you guys are tapped in the head, bruv." and he knows the group chat are pissing themselves right now, because this is exactly what it's like with scotty and gaz. "fuck sake, man."

JOSHUA

they've reached the part of this programming where josh no longer knows what the fuck jude is saying. "then prove it, dude."

MILES

for a second there's a look at josh like ??? but then he shrugs. "okay, yeah," he hops off the stool and spreads his arms out, "come at me."

JUDE

eyes are rolling as he rolls his cig, sifting his baccy along the thin lip of paper. "nah, fuck this. i'm not biting. you guys do your dick measuring contest some place else, bro. i am over it." he's being so mature about this!!!! someone give him a prize!!! 

JOSHUA

"i told you," he laughs in miles' direction, giving him a nod.

MILES

tbh if jude went for it, he would've given him a hug. which probably would've riled him more, so it's for the best. he sits back down, laughing. "the court rules..." miles bangs on the table, "he's full of shit." he reaches for his pint, "honestly, good shout not to set the precedent or you'd have to have a go at that 6-foot adonis over there, too." santiago, he means.

JUDE

"jesus christ. i'm six foot fucking one, mate!" jude counters, standing now, his pint almost spilled as he slams it down against the table. he knows that's not the point. santiago's still like seven foot or something, but if anyone here's short, it's fucking miles. "what are you, like five six? shut up! i'm not gonna hit a little guy." he's not gonna hit anyone, if he can help it.

MILES

"i'm six feet tall?" clutches his chest. "this is discrimination. you won't smack me because i'm shorter than you?"

JENNY

she was hoping to overhear some juicy locker room talk, especially with the voices coming into focus, but no such luck. she hangs back a minute anyway, listening in with increasing annoyance before the lights glinting off her dress can signal her arrival, rounding the bend. “what are we talking about, gentlemen?” she greets loudly, all accusing brows and narrowed eyes.

JOSHUA

his smile widens at the sight of jenny. "oh, nothing. jude's out here defending your honor. miles is looking to graft you."

MILES

"just wondering if jude could kick my ass. said he wouldn't anyways 'cause i'm hobbit-sized compared to–" there's a narrow-eyed glance at josh's estimation, but then he shrugs, owning it playfully, "oh, yeah. was just about to start pulling some moves. you come here often, jen?"

JENNY

she glances between them, josh’s wolfish grin, the shared look between him and miles, jude’s balled up fists and his drink still sloshing where he slammed it down on the bar. the whole scene is shady as hell and with their expectant attention suddenly turned on her, she feels like she’s about to be sucked into one of their games next. she doesn’t like this josh. at all. her eyes linger on jude’s, trying to decipher if he’s donning his usual tough guy bravado or if they’re pushing him too far. “why?” she says off-handedly, finally tossing her stony glare toward miles. “frankie wake up and realize you’re actually a huge asshole?”

MILES

his brow furrows, unsure where this is coming from. he's been pretty bad at reading the room up until this point, but this evil glare jenny's wearing is kinda unmistakeable. "what?" he's confused, "do you...have a problem with me or something?" feels like they should talk about it if so.

JOSHUA

and here comes jenny, ruining the good time with her own drama, per usual. he doesn't bother to hide an offhand roll of his eyes, reaching for his drink. he glances at jude expectantly, waiting for him to do something.

JENNY

“yeah, you guys are being dicks.” she’s not in the business of mincing words, shrugging combatively. “you’re pushing him. like, for what? a reaction? to piss him off?” her eyes roll. “it was the same shit when we were all downstairs before. like, the two of you guys together are just really fucking annoying, whispering and giggling and shit. you feed off each other and now you’re turning this nasty high school jock villain bullshit on jude and it’s kinda gross. sorry.”

MILES

there's a reason he's never actually been into jenny, and it's this – she makes him feel bad. his stomach twists, uncomfortable with this narrative that his intentions have been so horrible when he just considers jude a friend, and honestly, he thought he was friends with jenny, too. obviously he wouldn't have wanted to make jude feel shitty, and it stresses him out a bit to come across that way, especially when jenny puts it like that. miles has been the punching bag for 'high school jock villain' bullshit in some sinister ways, nearly career-ending. he'd never want anyone to feel the way he did back then. "what? no, i'm sorry, i thought...y'know, i called him over, asked what he thought since it came up, and he ragged on me that i wasn't your type and i'm all soft-headed and short," miles cracks a small smile at that, 'cause he thought it was funny at the time, though it fades quickly now. "so, i thought it was chill, y'know, banter." he glances over at jude sincerely, "but i'm sorry if it was fucking with you, i really didn't mean it like that." he doesn't think he's gonna be able to feel so relaxed around jude again, though.

JOSHUA

"we didn't even do anything downstairs with you, jesus. all we did was tell you to stick around. we were trying to be nice. none of this has anything to do with you, so why don't you just—" fuck off, he wants to say, but stops himself in the nick of time. josh shakes his head. "yeah, sorry. i didn't realize we were being bullies, and you needed your mommy to stick up for you," he tells jude, and he wants to walk away so bad but i'll let nora react since she's asleep before he does that.

JUDE

oh shit. jenny's here. on the one hand, it's cute as fuck to see her trying to stand up for him, a barking little chihuahua against a german shepherd and a newfoundland. (that probably makes jude like a whippet or some shit) but on the other hand, he can't help but feel like jenny's presence always makes shit escalate. the fact that she's even here sobers him somewhat, takes his pressure meter down a couple of pegs. "no, jen, it's... don't even worry about it, it's just messing," jude attempts, scratching at the back of his head. his hand moves to catch her wrist, thumb rubbing over her pulse point, a silent plea for her not to make a scene out of this. he doesn't want to lose the boys just when he's started feeling like he's one of them. "they didn't mean nowt by it, just lads being lads, innit." fuck sake. he should've just headbutted miles and this would all be done with by now. "you really don't need to apologise," he tells miles, alarmed and rendered sheepish by his sudden sincerity, embarrassed at his own reaction.  "i just got a bit het up is all, it's literally fine." or at least it is until josh has to comment, jude's eyes rolling as he kisses his teeth. "don't call her my mum, bro. that's proper grim, actually... she just... fuck. it doesn't matter. can we just leave our mums out of this?"

JENNY

there’s no part of her that wants to backpedal, even if it’s obvious she flung her insult at the wrong target. miles looks wholly sincere in his apology, enough that jenny thinks she might’ve read the entire situation wrong, though how wrong could she have been when jude was clearly riled and they were the ones pushing him? does intention really matter? but with josh looking at her like she just up and ruined all his fun, lashing out like a kid being sent to time out, she can’t help but feel like she read him, at least, exactly right. she’ll give miles the benefit of the doubt for now. meanwhile, jude is thrumming with embarrassment just beside her. she can feel it in the heat of his hands, see it in the slight flush of his cheeks, the bow of his head. she’s not gonna cause a scene… but… maybe she can get away with it if the argument doesn’t force him onto center stage. “why don’t i just what, josh?” she counters, pros and cons haphazardly weighed, then swiftly ignored. when he goes low, she’ll go lower. “there’s something seriously fucking wrong with you.”

JOSHUA

"something wrong with me?" he laughs. "you're the one making shit out of nothing. what, jude can't speak for himself, you need to grab him by the balls and pull at them like he's a puppet? grow up." the longer he stays here, the more he's sure he's dodged a bullet. he's got nothing against jude, but it seems doubtful the chance to ever have a friendship with him when jenny's in the mix. taking the rest of his drink, he rises to his feet, giving miles a nod. "i'm gonna go find naomi, if you wanna come. wouldn't wanna hurt anyone else's feelings."

JENNY

that shuts her up for a minute, a nervous glance over to jude. is that how he feels? emasculated? “no, i— what? no, josh.” a shake of her head to clear it. he’s wrong, not her. “no. people stand up for the people they care about. period. they show up. they sure as fuck don’t make plans to fuck someone else in the event the person they ‘care about’ and ‘trust’ screws up.” pretty bold statement from a cheater herself, but she’d always admired that when she was with josh they never really spoke about naomi, ill or otherwise. the idea that he was doing that with adela or that he could’ve been ragging on her with naomi this whole time is icky. “whatever, josh.” she’s tempted to say ‘run along to mommy,’ but she squeezes jude’s hand instead, mouth pinched in a hard line.

JOSHUA

"yeah, you'd all know about fucking someone else, huh?" he can't help himself.

MILES

he makes brief, sympathetic eye contact with jude, a nod of his head. he feels bad for the guy, watching jenny and josh have a go in front of him. there's a brief finger gun to say 'we're cool' as he quietly gets up out of his chair to sneak off.

JOSHUA

he leaves with miles. <3

[luciddaydreamsstuff]

Okay so Ima just post this before I chicken out and forget.

I like stories and I like writing stories. I tend to practice with storytelling and worldbuilding with AUs and What-Ifs, since it's easier to write about something already established. I've had this story idea bouncing around for a while and I kinda just wanna get it out there cause why not and I think anyone who finds this might find the idea interesting.

I'd like to preface by say that this idea came to me in a dream, and while the events are a bit foggy (mostly dialogue) it did give me and idea of characters, settings, relationships and plot, along with other things.

This is Science-Fantasy since it leans more towards Fantasy than Fiction along with most of the mechanics being either science-based or fantasy-based. Y'all get to hear my rambles and word vomit and I'm not sorry.

The only reason for the cut is because it is pure rambling from here on out and I don’t want this mess of thoughts to block other things, so

Story Idea: A lonely demon wishes for some company. 7 people (it technically ends up being 6, each from different time periods) come into contact with this demon. They each make a contract that gives them powers but also binds them to the demon. The demon originally creates the contract to create an army, but gets attached to each person.

Interesting Ideas: The demon travels to different places, not often but enough to be noticed by the group.

The group travels to different time periods

Travel to different dimensions/worlds

Different places/countries

This next part is gonna be confusing cause it includes character names (most of whom I'm updating their refs) I won't do characters here, they'll each get their own post explaining them but I need to explain to world (how I wrote it in my doc) so,

Some Rules of the Story:

It is agreed upon in the group that nobody ask directly about why they joined, everyone is entitled to their privacy

In order to persuade people to join, Balthazar created the promise of a power to anyone willing to join, when Owen accepted Balthazar held up his end and granted Owen powers

The powers are mainly what Balthazar thought would be best based on answers given to him (i.e. the power to protect others, the power to see my creativity to life, the power to understand others, etc.)

Each person has a bracelet of their preferred colour and style that allows them to use their power, contact the others, and store items

After jumping, the group usually sets up shop in a way that will allow them to be inconspicuous and gather information

Each 'episode' would follow 1-3 people at a time, whatever happens during the adventure is important

World Setup:

In this world, races refers to the deficient species of humanoids (vampires, elfs, dwarfs, humans, etc.)

Angels and demons are seen as myths as the two have their own world that they inhabit. (Demons are from Phobos, Angels from Lotis)

Demons, devils, and tieflings have their own dimension/plane that they live on. (Angels are the same)

The Earth equivalent (Giea) holds the more human-looking races (vampires, elfs, dwarfs, humans, etc.)

The world is D&D but more modern (so D&D plot in a modern setting)

Different races have eras in which they were more prominent (Victorian Era = Vampires, Hippie Era = Elfs, Industrial Revolution = Dwarves/Androids, etc.)

Coffee Talk like setting (fantasy creatures in the modern era)

Magic is something that is not seen in the modern day, something that was eventually turned into “fantasy”

Demons and Angels are the only races to have innate magic, with higher-up demons and angels have more complex magic like dimension hopping and time magic

Giea is the Earth adjacent where the more human-looking races inhabit (elfs, humans, vampires, etc.)

Phobos is where the demon races mostly resided (with a Helluva Boss/Hazbin Hotel-like hierarchy)

Lotis is where the angel races reside (having an almost utopian setting)

Iyama is a jungle-like planet with animal shifters and anthropomorphic animals, the only transportation being either on foot or with a car/plane like vehicle

This is such a mess oh dear, but when I post more of this world I'll probably try to use drawings to explain it since I'm shit at verbally explaining things.

But yea, this is a story that I had an idea for, put down for some time, then came back to it as it sorta overtook my mind with new ideas.

This story doesn't really have a name, at least not one that I've been drawn to, so at the moment it's called Contractual Obligations

[kayla-kai]

Spec fic scales

I hate the way that fantasy seems to have one scale and sci-fi has another and they’re always treated like two entirely different scales. I get that the high fantasy—low fantasy scale and the hard sci-fi—low sci-fi have different  purposes and intentions as far as grouping and identifying media goes but I just. I feel like only having one scale is limiting. Thus, I propose we start using a cardinal graph to describe speculative fiction. 

For clarity, the high-low scale refers to how entrenched a world is in fantasy elements. High fantasy will have a unique world, races that aren’t human, and lots and lots of magic. The hard-soft scale refers to how well fantastical elements are grounded in reality, how plausible they are, and how well they’re explained. 

To this end I’ve tried including some examples of where I would put certain media on this scale. I wanted to include LotR and Frankenstein, since they’re often cited as the creators of the fantasy and sci-fi genres as we know them today. Funnily enough, Frankenstein in particular doesn’t actually EXPLAIN shit, to the point where it became understood that ol’ Vicky used electricity, when if you read the book it’s almost more implied that he used chemicals and potions. Meanwhile LotR goes into ample detail about how the races work, the society, the implications of magic and monsters, etc. it may not be grounded in reality, but it is an otherwise incredibly hard piece of media. Fantasy gets the association of being soft and unexplainable while sci-fi is more associated with realism. So it’s funny to me that the creators of the genres weren’t bound by those kinds of assumptions. 

I included my favorite webcomic ever, Sluggy Freelance, to show that a given series isn’t necessarily beholden to one spot on the scale. Sluggy uses both fantasy and sci-fi elements, and the level of realism or detail given changes element to element or arc to arc. Magic is almost given more rules than some of the science, and both can interact with each other in unexpected ways (there’s a system of fate that can only be tampered with using magic…and sometimes unexpected science, too.). The comic has like, six different types of zombies, ranging from ‘kids in makeup’ to ‘brainwashing’ to ‘magic curse’ to ‘demonic plant infesting people’ and more. Each version has its own level of realism and explanation. Meanwhile some arcs are set in realistic New Jersey, and others are set in other dimensions full of demons or time travel with deities or both with an evil corporation that can keep people alive forever and try to brainwash them to prevent uprising. This turned into me gushing about my favorite comic, I’m sorry, I digress

Anyway the last thing I found interesting was how most of my examples follow a line going from soft-low to hard-high. Is this the nature of modern media? Or is it just my preferences when I consume media? The two outliers seem to be Star Wars, a series I watched but didn’t particularly enjoy (it’s fine, just not my thing), and the Martian, which I have actually never read or watched but had to look up for something to put in that corner (other than a meme)

Anyway, if anyone wants to use this or add examples, please do! I’m interested if other media shows the pattern I’ve started or if it’s just me. I might make one for my wips as well, so if you’re a writer, put your wips on the graph too!

[maguro13-2]

Darkness Reborn ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Final Chapter Finale (5/10) ~

[Kinght's Passage - Jun Senoue, Yutaka Minobe]

*BOOST!*

Tails (via communicator) : Sonic, come in! There's something wrong with this picture! It's a giant tree that is coming from the Earth's core!

Sonic : I know it, it's the legacy belonging to that Chao named Shinra. Where'd have I seen it before! I bet nobody had summoned it like this before!

Knuckles (via communicator) : So that's why Soul Eater existed within the real world, huh? Who knew that it was inside the earth's core?

Shadow (via communicator) : What a bunch of teenage scumbags, the weapons and meisters have been tools to Shotaro the Dokeshi all along, the Men of Shinra's influence had the nerves and his balls to keep the truth out of the public eye. I guess that Shinigami person was nothing more than a faker that I pressumed.

Silver (via communicator) : So...Not the brightest Idea of hiding a giant tree that was inside the planet just to be spreading the influence from Shinra Kusakabe, not the company from Final Fantasy VII! I don't know how to say this, Maka Albarn had felt like an idiot for being the under the influence to Shinra's will, just a puppet on a string. She must've wasted her own life to be the hero of a crazy manga story that was only made for money!

Knuckles (via communicator) : It's what money comes out of his pocket, that author of their world is such weird man and a complete idiot!

Tails (via communicator) : It's no wonder why the author had to go make up the lies for his own characters, just to be thrown out like garbage!

Sonic : Guess we were all wrong. But Japan isn't stupid enought to make a bunch of crazy stories that were nothing cosmic horrors and make believes!

Amy (communicator) : Just before you know it! There's bunch of heartless and ghosts from the Evershade valley! It's a crazy party for 2013!

Sonic : Ghosts of Evershade Valley? Wait a second, that wouldn't happened to be Luigi's Mansion 2, right?

Amy (communicator) : I'm afraid so. These ghosts we called inhabitants of Evershade Valley were once peceaful ghosts that have a good side due to the powers of the Dark Moon's appearance, until Luigi's arch enemy, King Boo, destroyed the moon into five pieces, causing the Evershade Ghosts to go berserk and turned wickedly insane, making a huge mess on Professor Egadd's science work.

Sonic : Good thing that he made it safely to the bunker, looks like Luigi's gonna have to save Mario instead of Death the Kid.

Espio (via communicator) : Don't worry about that guy, he has nothing to do with anything to do necessarily for his life, not even he can protect the legacy from his grandfather! Guess all people to be needed their lessons learned about monopolizing political power. It's not wonder that the school itself was not created to maintain the public order, just the monopolization of political refugees.

Vector (via communicator) : Now let's give that Ohkubo a piece of his own mind!

Charmy (via communicator) : That's what he get for bringing weridness into our world!

Sonic : Roger that, guys! I won't forget!

Nozomi : Hey, Sonic! Long time no see! Sorry about the delays back there! I heard that you were awesome of saving 2011 from the clutches of Dr. Eggman's wicked schemes back there! Your old friend has came back to see you again!

[Free by Crush 40 plays]

Sonic : Nozomi Kaminashi! (see Nozomi on the original Blue Star board) What's up, old friend? So how was the race of the New Ex World Grand Prix.

Nozomi : About the Ex World Grand Prix? I'm still living it to that dream on saving Keijo about 7 years ago when I first met you during my Age progression while being nine years old. So when I finally realized that I finally get to save Keijo, my friends won the Ex World Grand Prix to find all the prizes locked away and discovered that we found a race of aliens that has the power of colors.

Sonic : race of aliens thas the power of colors? (realizing) The Wisps! Nozomi, you're a genius! We can use the wisp and take down the super baddie once and for all! Think we can handle this, partner?

Nozomi : You betcha!

Sonic : Let's speed things up a notch!

Nozomi : Roger that!

*WHOOSH X2*

"Meanwhile..."

[Navigation - Fumie Kumatani]

Eve : Well, Seto. I was right, guess that Death the Kid fella was not only made by Shotaro the Dokeshi himself, but I know who helped him to create the Death the Kid, the second of the Kusakabe Family tree. Who else but his older brother, gues he's part of the tree as well.

Seto : Hello! Anybody here? I'm Seto the Deathless, the newly elected Shinigami, I came here to find who really modeled Death the Kid, the one who was modeled after his Grandfather. You see, he has been under the influence of his grandfather's legacy and the men of his influence had been hiding the truth.

Cruz/Yamada : I don't know guys. But, there's no one here but besides us.

Shotaro : You wanna know why you guys are here? Well, guess, you finally craked the case, newly elected Shinigami.

Kuchinashi : Hold on, you are...

Seto : Shotaro the Dokeshi, so this is Shinigami's real self. A human form of a yokai called a Kyokotsu?

Eve : Well, I'll be a son of a gun! You're just a kid that eats a lot of bones that are animal-related like drumsticks and of course Roast chicken and Fried turkeys for Thanksgiving! So this is what have you been hidden from the public so that you would be Shinigami!

Shotaro the Dokeshi : You knew that it was me all along! Of course I was the so-called God of Death. Yohei told me that so I would become part of the Shinigami Council. Easy enough for you to be fooled by one individual that is a kid. I'd still get all the glory and I even made fake-money from Shinra's son!

Eve : So you fooled Maka and everyone that easily because you wanted to become Shinigami so that you could get all the glory you wanted to become part of the Shinigami council. Guess what, Skull for brains? Botan, Ichigo, and Ryuk gave Seto this permission after Ichigo heard that Death was actually the man-made son of Shinra and realized that the school you created was about protecting humanity nor peace. It was created about bringing power and monopolization to all of humanity and bringing wars across the globe.

Shotaro the Dokeshi : So what? I said I was sorry! I didn't know that I was fooled by the likes of Shinra Kusakabe, his influence wanted to spread even further and then I got Ashley's people involved to thinking that they were the enemies that wrecked the earth clean with magic, and of course the heartless as well. Soon as I about to overthrow the Kasugatani Family tree and the heartless their selves, I will pay you all to the world!

[Team Chaotx by Gunnar Nelson]

Adam Blade : So, kid. We heard the whole thing. You were so lucky that you tricked a girl for being a stubborn loser. taht you are

Setsuna : You were behind all of this? Heh, what a scumbag you are.

Teruyama : We should've known a kid like you is doing something stupid like this!

Kuchinashi : We've been had it by one of your tricks!

Solva : You can't fool us anymore! It's payback time, motherf**ker!

Shotaro the Dokeshi : Hey, look! I can make this a big deal! We all wanted to open our eyes to the truth and seek for it! All of that was to over Shinra's legacy and not mine. (bumps into someone that is a little pink-haired ribbon, apparently, Mio) What do you want little girl? You got something for me or what? I got no milk, cookies, or have any candy for you.

Mio : I'm not here for the sweets, I'm here to teach you lesson for being so stubborn! So take this, you fake Shinigami! You're gonna be bad to the bones!

Shotaro the Dokeshi : Oh yeah, I am definitely boned.

(sounds of Shotaro get beaten by the Needless Cast while scene goes pitchblack)

Shotaro the Dokeshi : (screams in pain) WHY DID I DESERVE THIIIIIIIS!?!

"Nobody steals the title Shinigami from me, Seto the Deathless."

"A girl who works with a group of seinen superheroes called Needless is what we exist in Real World AU."

"This is a future that I have to protect."

"The Ohkuboverse is nothing compared to Real World AU itself!"

"That is the universe that we truly lived in!"

~ 110th Scene : The True Shinigami ~

[gaykarstaagforever]

I've spent 20 years developing languages and histories for this campaign setting. 20 years.

"I WANT TO BE A VIKING NAMED LARS!"

No. There are no vikings named Lars on goddman Vuthain.

"YOU NEED TO LET PLAYERS MAKE THEIR OWN CHARACTERS!"

You need to shut up. This isn't Spelljammer.

You pick from the goddamn list.

They're also mad because there aren't wandering packs of goblins they can level up on, and I won't let them cast fireballs at everything and then magic-heal after they tank axe damage.

This is a historical universe. Magic is only real because people don't know what science is and don't understand how chemistry works. And there are like 20 factions of human enemies wandering this ruined Empire to beat up. Sorry I didn't provide enough boilerplate Tolkien shit for you.

I fucking told them I'm not running a standard campaign. You are going to have to think about behavior and politics and not solve problems with fantasy cheats. I fucking told them. This isn't a video game.

They're also whining because a major race is Black-skinned, and they have to play as that if they want to do the specific character build they want.

"IT'S NOT RACISM! I SHOULD GET TO BE WHATEVER COLOR I WANT!"

Yeah. Like "white." Like you do all the time.

Odd how that looks.

God I fucking hate nerds. You get rid of Sexy Blonde Elves and they start crying.

[treeofnonsense]

15 Questions

Got tagged by @deathicus-sling, ty!

Are you named after anyone?

Not unless we count the fantasy book character I was supposedly named after.

2. When was the last time you cried?

About a week and a half ago? Somebody pissed me off enough that I angry-cried a bit while ranting about it.

3. Do you have kids?

Nope.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

No idea what you're talking about buddy. Never heard of this thing you speak of.

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

Depends what you count as a sport - I pretty much only like physical activity if it's related to water. I sailed a regatta once (boat race) so I guess that probably counts.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Probably the general emotional vibes they're giving off. For whatever reason my brain picks up on especially negative emotions very fast.

7. What's your eye color?

Blue, but there's some hazel mixed in there so they'll appear green or brown in different lighting or when I wear certain color clothes.

8. Scary movie of happy ending?

I HATE scary movies so happy ending.

9. Any special talents?

I read really well, I write pretty good, and I know how boats work.

10. Where were you born?

Not answering that on the internet, sorry.

11. What are your hobbies?

Drawing, writing, water sports, way too many video games. Occasionally getting curious and falling down a Google search hole.

12. Do you have pets?

Not anymore sadly. My black cat passed away a few years ago and I still miss him :(

13. How tall are you?

5'4''

14. Favorite subject in school?

Science especially chemistry for the actual subject matter, art class for the fact that it let me chill and chat with friends every day.

15. Dream job?

Engineer on an offshore wind farm or a hydroelectric dam or something. Water + science + clean energy. Yes, I might be crazy.

I'm too lazy to tag people and I think everyone has already been tagged anyways, so if you see this feel free to join the train.

[mudrocksys]

AW was never diagnosed and never wanted a diagnosis. Their dumb asses never were EVEN pathologized to begin with when DID was misrepresented often as a spiritual phenomenon or LITERAL FANTASY MAKE-BELIEVE, they very blatantly hated – and still hate! – psychiatry and want it dead in the water, simple as. Just like scaryarcade and other grifters they pretend to be against "an institution" but the moment you give them any form of bait– they'll reveal how staunchly anti-science (and yes, they wanted the ENTIRE FIELD OF RESEARCH GONE) they are. Just go scrolling through AW today where they claim medicating kids for anything is abuse, which you clearly haven't despite totally being here since before the dinosaurs, we get it, you're a fossil. Endos existed before empowered multiples, you don't need to subscribe to the ableists to prove your validity

I thought the community's interpretation of the label doesn't matter? We don't trust anti-endos when they say they're not the same anti-endos from the 90s, why should we trust the endos who say they're not the same endos from the 90s? Oh right, because endos are an oppressed race and anti-endos are slaver nazis, totally, thanks, i missed the memo. Anyway, peace offering not accepted, because your community loves pretending empowered multiples never happened or was just "questionable takes" and "weird opinions". You don't let your racist uncle come to the barbecue because "he just has questionable takes", and since you insist on doing it, we're no longer letting you come to the barbecue.

yes, it is eugenics to want to remove the diagnosis and eventually ban psychiatry – the field of studying mental illnesses – altogether, which was AW's goal to anyone who doesn't have the mental capacity of a large slab of foam. "Societal assistance and programs will help you!" Doesn't fucking work for DID systems who are formed by these """"""support systems"""""" being fucking dogshit to the point of severe repeated trauma. Guess what, medication RELIES on pathology to even exist, numbnuts, otherwise how will you even tell what's a negative effect and what isn't? When even doctors make so many fucking prescription errors it's a literal cliche among us pharmacists, asking us to trust you uneducated laymen is fucking hilarious. We should just be giving lithium to people haphazardly! Quick, get this guy some hydralazine for the dissociation– sorry i mean Very Normal State of Mind Indistinguishable from Other States of Mind!

Some people. As in not all. As in we shouldn't remove the diagnosis from the fucking DSM because there are still people who need it. You really just followed them blindly and don't wanna admit it, huh? It's okay if you were 10 yourself and really were wowed by the big strong mysterious geocities site run by the larping anarchists weaponizing abuse responses as praxis. They did want to remove the fucking diagnosis, and no amount of "well a doctor was awful to me" excuses wanting to destroy an entire support system and drag everyone screaming with you to the pits of unregulated philanthropy-run psych wards, where more children get tortured and killed on the daily than any hospital. shitty doctor? Get them FUCKING FIRED instead of attacking the vulnerable because you can't get your hands on the head honcho. Subjecting the innocent to trauma responses isn't vigilante justice, it's just abusive.

Maybe you shouldn't have been "fighting" with your eyes closed and head wedged firmly up your ass.

"Read and learn" hey bud? Yeah so I was/am friends with several people who were in the community thirty years ago, I've read their blog posts from the Era, and while it is not free of ableism I need you to understand that

1. MPD pathologized ALL plurality/multiplicity. All of it. The fact that some systems didn't wish to be pathologized is not ableism. Again, I can tell you about the ableism; it was definitely there.

2. I was there several years before the -genic labels were created, the term endogenic was meant to be a peace offering to the DID community who took offense at the old terms.

3. Eugenicist?????? Huh?????? Even given the most uncharitable interpretation of EM's intentions how the fuck is it eugenicist? Do you know what that means??????

4. Abuse at the hands of psychiatrists was a real thing, especially in the 90s, when every therapist and psychologist and their mother wanted to get a fucking book deal and exploit trauma survivors for money. Given the history of sensationalizing and selling of the narrative of MPD in the past, I can understand why certain people rejected their diagnoses--especially if every single case of multiplicty/plurality was seen as inherently mentally ill, and the patients had other ideas and wanted to define themselves.

5. Dude. Of course I have already seen this shit. I've been fighting in these fucking trenches for 12 years.