#species sociology

[projectgalaxyfae]

Personal Expression & Gender - Pixiula Ecology & Sociology

Personal Identity & Expression:

For Pixiula figuring out ones own personal identity is something that is is seen as quite impotent to ones own development and is very much tied to there values of individuality. it is typically expected for a Pixiula to have mostly figured out there gender identity by there mid to late 20s.

The ways that Pixiula expresses there own identity is via a few ways that are often used in tandem, with them being through ether: self-referential language (Honorifics & Pronouns), Fashion & Clothing, Hairstyle, Way of Speaking (tone and pitch), & Body Language (Walking Posture, Sitting Posture, ect) 

Sex vs Gender:

Since Pixiula do not develop any type of Reproductive Organs or Genitalia until they become adults, it meany they are Sexless until they reach full maturity. Pixiula hold the belief that sex is only important in the case of reproduction and that it should have no other impact in ones day to day life or that of larger society. 

Due to them being sexless in there early life Pixiula don't think that Gender is tied to ones Sex or Genitalia at all and is instead an expression of ones own deeper mind and there soul.

Gender development:

Pixiula on average start to go through there development and discovery of there own gender identity at about age 14 with landing on what they feel fits a bit after they become an adult.

The gender development of a Pixiula is often happens with a mix of exploring ones own mind and the experimentation of ones own appearance and scenes of style, as well as what one would like to be refers to in terms of Honorifics and pronouns.

Gender Identity Terminology:

Anam - a term that loosely means "expression of a sole" and is the Pixiula word equivalent of gender identity.

Anam-aeth - a term used for those who have yet to discover and identifies there gender identity, often used for children but is also used by adults who are still unsure of there own gender.

Ain-Anam - a gender identity characterized by: soft & ethereal appearance, a demure, nurturing, and kind demeanor, a calm mid tone pitch voice, and is accosted with the deity of the Shining Moon & the motion element Water

lle-Anam - a gender identity characterized by: elegant & graceful appearance, a generous, trustful, and loyal demeanor, a calm high pitch voice, and is accosted with the deity of the Setting Moon & the still element Crystal

Thu-Anam - a gender identity characterized by: flamboyant & bold appearance, a creative, humorous, and sincerer demeanor, a bold high pitch voice, and is accosted with the deity of the Setting Sun & the motion element Electricity

Niu-Anam - a gender identity characterized by: stoic & hardy appearance, a honest, calm, and dependable demeanor, a calm low pitch voice, and is accosted with the deity of the Dawing Moon & the still element Metal

Bre-Anam - a gender identity characterized by: cute & playful appearance , a compassionate, forgiving and friendly demeanor, a energetic high pitch voice, and is accosted with the deity of the Dawing Sun & the motion element Wind

Cin-Anam - a gender identity characterized by: charming & alluring appearance, a confident, assertive, and passionate demeanor, a bold mid tone pitch voice, and is accosted with the deity of the Hidden Moon & the the motion element Fire

Lef-Anam - a gender identity characterized by: dapper & classy appearance, a patient, diligent, and knowledgeable demeanor, a bold low pitch voice, and is accosted with the deity of the Hidden Sun & the still element Wood

Ral-Anam - a gender identity characterized by: wild & tough appearance, a determined, ambitious, and courageous demeanor, a energetic low pitch voice, and is accosted with the deity of the Shining Sun & the still element Rock

Aet-Anam - someone who identifies as having no gender

Tuu-Anam - someone who identifies as ether: two genders at once, a mix of two genders, or who's identity fluctuates between two genders

Pronouns & Honorifics:  - wip

sorry i still need to work on this soo i'll update it later : b

[whatifsandspheres]

Conform to MY STANDARDS. You've been POISONED! BRAINWASHED!

NATURE IS A WHORE!

Oh, Jesus. No. 🫢 Act appropriate... As if it isn't the expectation in a functional society to act appropriately to anyone you're attracted to-- mob or state sanctioned or not? The Madonna/Whore dichotomy and contradiction of conserving puritanical and social class divisions. "Girls Don't Fart." "But if any girl does find herself farting, it's not her fault and she's the victim of the devil himself, his male self, astral projecting his bowels into hers by means of remote possession." The infantilization of literal adults in the comments... Wow. Holy pious shit.

This isn't even my fight to be speaking up about! There should be dignified and respectable droves of women and psychologists speaking out against this no-nuance-November nonsense. There isn't because it favors the establishment to dumb down social norms of respectability, and shame is a powerful tool to coerce conformity. Hell, even the pedophiles that aren't in jail could be taking up the cause if they could articulate the facts but they're probably too busy learning how to blend in as teachers, priests, and policemen. In biological terms, most teenagers have likely begun or are at the beginning of puberty. That doesn't make them adults, but that doesn't make them children. The human ape is not some divine being crafted to conform to the standards it declares for itself. The variation and diversity is an evolutionary advantage, not a defect. Younger and younger individuals beginning puberty is not some pedophile conspiracy, its a sign of a larger and more representative sample of the diversity in our genome both in healthy and unhealthy environments. You apes aren't special! For fuck's sake, you're animals and no lie or opinion spoken loudly, parroted repeatedly, or enforced violently suddenly becomes fact-- and no fact, no matter how quietly whispered or hidden and left unspoken suddenly ceases to be fact. Being animals and accepting it as fact doesn't excuse unethical or dysfunctional behaviors-- but at least it can explain them beyond the superstitious and mystical elitism of crowd shepherds and mob wranglers. Legal definition is a consideration, to allow for development, and all these people speaking this shit are using it as a crutch to prolong infantilization instead! That's not what that legal framework is there for, you idiots! It's there as a grace period to allow for enough of the stragglers to develop and catch up to the average expectations for that age. It seems as though you've never experienced the drag of exceeding expectations and having to wait for the rest to catch up even though you already know what you're doing. Others including myself have had to deal with this not just physically, which seems to be the obsession so many of you have, but cognitively/intellectually, emotionally, and even in terms of labor and work ethic. I was over 6 feet tall before my 13th birthday. I excelled in study and my teacher's assessment standards of comprehension. I could afford to pay my own rent before my 17th birthday. Being forced to wait for my peers to catch up was boring. All the legal age did for some was to grant them something that, to myself and many others--- they never really earned. @eatpastaraw You're completely correct! If I recall correctly from my youth, Stacy's Mom DID HAVE IT GOING ON. And she still does! The legal age is not a biological definition, it's a legal one. A paraphilia is a classification that requires adhering to biological definitions to a high degree. Science, not bureaucratic ink. The onset of puberty is the literal onset of adulthood. It's not overnight and it's not absolute. adolescence, young adult, all these are important distinctions. Apart from avoiding my girlfriends Christian/Catholic shame for them spending so many nights humping their pillows to band posters of musicians four times their age-- it helps raise the standards in society of how much critical thinking and real maturity is enforced. It also allows us to show kindness and consideration for those who aren't as developed or who suffer from an inability to develop-- not that many badges of adulthood are really all that significant besides status or appealing to others. These capitalist pedophile standards spoken about, are they the ones convincing small-breasted women no real men will ever want them without a breast augmentation-- only pedophiles could ever look at them with attraction?

Grow the fuck up. You're holding the rest of us back. I will have to block to avoid drama. Thanks for putting your post out into the commons for a civil discourse in this free-for-all internet era. Forgive me if it seems counterproductive.

it is not normal for grown men to find teenage girls sexually attractive. in fact, the older you get, the less attractive teenagers should become. i cannot believe people are arguing about this

[delcat177]

None of the idiots who push and push and push for an explanation are actually ready to respond to one.

--Hideo Kojima

[delcat177]

Etymology[edit] The term thagomizer was coined by Gary Larson in jest. In a 1982 The Far Side comic, a group of cavemen are taught by a caveman lecturer that the spikes on a stegosaur's tail were named "after the late Thag Simmons".[3] The term was picked up initially by Kenneth Carpenter, then a paleontologist at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, who used the term when describing a fossil at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Annual Meeting in 1993.[4] Thagomizer has since been adopted as an informal anatomical term[5] and is used by the Smithsonian Institution,[4][6] the Dinosaur National Monument, the book The Complete Dinosaur[7] and the BBC documentary series Planet Dinosaur.[8] The term has also appeared in some technical papers describing stegosaurs and related dinosaurs.[9][10]

It used to take twelve years for a meme to get into circulation is what I'm reading here

Thagomizer

[reasonsforhope]

"Despite the Central Appalachia ecosystem being historically famous as coal country, under this diverse broadleaf canopy lies a rich, biodiverse world of native plants helping to fill North America’s medicinal herb cabinet.

And it turns out that the very communities once reliant on the coalfields are now bringing this botanical diversity to the country.

“Many different Appalachian people, stretching from pre-colonization to today, have tended, harvested, sold, and used a vast number of forest botanicals like American ginseng, ramps, black cohosh, and goldenseal,” said Shannon Bell, Virginia Tech professor in the Dept. of Sociology. “These plants have long been integral to many Appalachians’ livelihoods and traditions.”

50% of the medicinal herbs, roots, and barks in the North American herbal supply chain are native to the Appalachian Mountains, and the bulk of these species are harvested or grown in Central Appalachia, which includes southern West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, far-southwest Virginia, and east Tennessee.

The United Plant Savers, a nonprofit with a focus on native medicinal plants and their habitats, has identified many of the most popular forest medicinals as species of concern due to their declining populations.

Along with the herbal supply chain being largely native to Appalachia, the herb gatherers themselves are also native [to Appalachia, not Native American specifically], but because processing into medicine and seasonings takes place outside the region, the majority of the profits from the industry do too.

In a press release on Bell’s superb research and advocacy work within Appalachia’s botanical communities, she refers back to the moment that her interest in the industry and the region sprouted; when like many of us, she was out in a nearby woods waiting out the pandemic.

“My family and I spent a lot of time in the woods behind our house during quarantine,” Bell said. “We observed the emergence of all the spring ephemerals in the forest understory – hepatica, spring beauty, bloodroot, trillium, mayapple. I came to appreciate the importance of the region’s botanical biodiversity more than ever, and realized I wanted to incorporate this new part of my life into my research.”

With co-investigator, John Munsell at VA Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment, Bell’s project sought to identify ways that Central Appalachian communities could retain more of the profits from the herbal industry while simultaneously ensuring that populations of at-risk forest botanicals not only survive, but thrive and expand in the region.

Bell conducted participant observation and interviews with wild harvesters and is currently working on a mail survey with local herb buyers. She also piloted a ginseng seed distribution program, and helped a wild harvester write a grant proposal to start a forest farm.

“Economic development in post-coal communities often focuses on other types of energy development, like fracking and natural gas pipelines, or on building prisons and landfills. Central Appalachia is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. I think that placing a greater value on this biodiversity is key to promoting a more sustainable future for the region,” Bell told VA Tech press.

Armed with a planning grant of nearly half a million dollars, Bell and collaborators are specifically targeting forest farming as a way to achieve that sustainable future.

Finally, enlisting support from the nonprofit organization Appalachian Sustainable Development, Virginia Tech, the City of Norton, a sculpture artist team, and various forest botanicals practitioners in her rolodex, Bell organized the creation of a ‘living monument’ along Flag Rock Recreation Area in Norton, Virginia.

An interpretive trail, the monument tells the story of the historic uses that these wild botanicals had for the various societies that have inhabited Appalachia, and the contemporary value they still hold for people today."

-via Good News Network, September 12, 2024

[makingqueerhistory]

Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality

Eliot Schrefer with Jules Zuckerberg

This groundbreaking illustrated YA nonfiction title from two-time National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestselling author Eliot Schrefer is a well-researched and teen-friendly exploration of the gamut of queer behaviors observed in animals. A quiet revolution has been underway in recent years, with study after study revealing substantial same-sex sexual behavior in animals. Join celebrated author Eliot Schrefer on an exploration of queer behavior in the animal world—from albatrosses to bonobos to clownfish to doodlebugs.

In sharp and witty prose—aided by humorous comics from artist Jules Zuckerberg—Schrefer uses science, history, anthropology, and sociology to illustrate the diversity of sexual behavior in the animal world. Interviews with researchers in the field offer additional insights for readers and aspiring scientists.

Queer behavior in animals is as diverse and complex—and as natural—as it is in our own species. It doesn’t set us apart from animals—it bonds us even closer to our animal selves.

[screamingatmyfandom]

"Anakin repeatedly losing/breaking his lightsaber in a world where “your lightsaber is your life” is not a casual act."

good lord, that hit like a bantha to the face. Yikes. You are not wrong, and yet nobody who was training him noticed. Like yes, I understand everyone was stressed and in some cases grieving, but all jedi who were raised as one likely know the culture and near-religion surrounding a lightsaber, a kyber crystal, and its wielder. At the very least they should have done a check up due to the constant resource drain!

The reverence Luke has for his first lightsaber is so funny in retrospect, as if that wasn't his father's twenty-seventh lightsaber after breaking or losing all the ones before (we won't even get into the fact it's also the Youngling Slayer 9000), and kept it safe for over three years as his most sacred object.

Meanwhile, Anakin is just:

[projectgalaxyfae]

Family & Childcare - Pixiula Ecology & Sociology

Family Unit:

Pixiula form family units are normally made up of 2 generations, the heads of the family and there partners are the first generation, with the second generation including all the young children and children who are adults but have yet to form a partnership with someone.

Family Hierarchy:

The oldest members / set of twins out of the original Partnership are the head of the family, with the rest of the members / set of twins of the original partnership being second to them. other members / set of twins who became part of the partnership are ranked in order of joining. 

As for the children the order is based on age with the oldest having a say in choices made and being the responsible one, and as they get younger there is less responsible and have less of say in the family.

In case of family gatherings and other such things ware non-immediate family is involved it is ether the ones who own / live in the house who are in charge OR is the oldest member / set of twins of the entire family (usually a grate-grate grandparents.)

Roles & Expectations

A role that everyone is expected to fulfill is to care and aid ones own twin as Pixiula see that ones twin is ones most precious family member and that one must show the most care to there twin.

All members of the partnership are expected to look after, teach and raise all the children in the family group even the ones that do not have any blood relation, as part of forming a partnership it to aid each other and to care for any children of the members of the partnership. It is also expected all members of a partnership to take turns caring for and protecting any eggs that are currently developing.

The oldest children are expected to some what aid in the care of there younger siblings and also to aid in larger family matters if they are of adult age. regardless of the age of children they are expected to show gratitude to there parents, thought it is not expected a child to follow all order a parent gives and that it is normal for children to be rebellious in some way. 

Kinship Terminology

Twu-Cara - One's own Twin sibling

Tul-Carant - One's own Birth / Hatching Parents (Biological Parents)

Sep-Carant - One's own Care / Foster Parents (the partners of one's biological Parents who are not the biological parents said person / aka step-parents) 

Eld-Cara - One's older Sibling (used for both biological and non biological siblings)

Noe-Cara - One's younger Sibling (used for both biological and non biological siblings) 

Tul-Clann - One's own children

Tuo-Carant - One's parent's Twin Sibling (close auntie / uncle)

Tou-Cara - the child of One's Parents Twin Sibling (Sibling cousin)

Oth-Carant - one's parents non-twin siblings (distant auntie / uncle)

Oth-Cara - one's own cousins 

Eld-Carant - one's own grandparents

Eldeld-Carant - one's own grate grandparents (add and extra eld for each grate)

Noenoe-Clann -  one's own grate grandchildren (add an extra noe for each grate)

Family Closeness

Immediate family is made up of ones own: twin / Twu-Cara, Tul-Carant (bio parents), Sep-Carant (care / step parents), Siblings / Eld-Cara / Noe-Cara, Tuo-Carant (closes auntie / uncle), Tou-Cara, Tul-Clann (children)

non-immediate Family is made up of ones own: Oth-Carant (didtent auntie / uncle), Oth-Cara (cousins), Eld-Carant (grandparents), Noe-Clann (grandchildern)

Pixiula Contents Page / Index

[alienpreg]

Agents arrived at a hotel to discover two women who were recruited for modeling gigs that soon turned to porn. Despite this, both women seemed perfectly content with their fertile forms. The women in question, Mitsuko(Left) and Kiko(Right) respectively, revealed that while they had been impregnated two years prior for the initial modeling gig they had very little symptoms. In fact, despite their rapid growth, they had not once even had an inkling that they'd go into labor.

After retrieval and interview, the duo were able to enlighten researchers on the arrangements they were under during their career. Each was willingly carrying an alien offspring and being paid far more than they were initially told for the additional work with the caveat they can never return home or to their old lives again. Something which they at first were hesitant to accept. Mitsuko had hoped to finish her college career, her master's degree in sociology seeming near pointless in comparison to the money she would be making.

Kiko on the other hand had been a party girl. As a high school drop out, she had been couch surfing for longer than she'd like to admit. Trading sexual favors left and right for everything she needed. Now, she was able to pay for everything herself! No concerns about who would be plowing her in exchange for a meal or who much dick she'd be sucking to keep a roof over her head. Kiko saw this as an ideal situation the moment the monetary gain increased.

Researchers have taken them in for examination for more information on the aliens they are harboring. They appear to be the same species, harboring an incredibly long gestation that seems near permanent. However, testing has revealed that labor can be induced externally under conditions of extreme arousal. However such states are not natural in humans and thus would only ever been possible through medicinal means. Studies will continue to properly classify these creatures going forward.

[techramonic]

The Culture in Morality: Dylan Klebold Journal Analysis, 2.

Below is a quote from Dylan's journal that stands out to me. The first part: the evidence of desperation to cleanse impurities. With this, I can garner that Dylan seems to have a deluded sense of morality. Second: It looks like he is trying to blend in with the general population. It’s not only him who thinks this way, so do other individuals. It’s as if he is trying to attain unity or solidarity from the act of “cleansing himself morally”. Moreso, attempting to be "human". 

Humanity: Ethics and Morality

According to Emile Durkheim, one of the founding fathers of sociology, morality reflects the organization of society and binds it together. It serves as an agent that bridges the divide between individuals. Morality, in essence, consists of principles distinguishing between good and bad.

Charles Darwin’s "The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex," published in 1871, asserts:

“I fully subscribe to the judgment of those writers who maintain that of all the differences between man and the lower animals the moral sense or conscience is by far the most important.”

Since then, an influx of questions has arisen regarding the relative importance of culture and biology in determining morality. Whether the moral sense is derived from either of two aspects:

the moral rules humans accept as behavioral guides (assessing right or wrong); or

the biological basis of ethics (consciousness of actions and consequences)

Ethics has an established difference from morality. It is the notion of doing a rather practical or pragmatic action, while morality is the idea of being driven to do good. An ethical code does not have to be moral to be justified, but must be feasible or convenient. This means that as long as an idea is practical, whether it is considered to be good or bad, it is ethical.

In an essay by Francisco J. Ayala titled "The Difference of Being Human: Morality," he proposes that the capacity for ethics is a necessary attribute of human nature, while moral codes are products of cultural evolution. Ethical behavior is a byproduct of man's intellectual prowess—a nurtured quality fostered by natural selection. Morality did not emerge as an adaptation but as an exaptation, developing into a function different from its original purpose. This is explained by the presence of three biological conditions for ethical behavior that allow humans to have a moral sense: ability to anticipate the consequences of one’s actions, to make value judgments, and to choose between alternative courses of action.

Moral codes, compared to Ethical codes, are outcomes of cultural evolution, accounting for the diversity of cultural norms among populations and their evolution over time. People accept standards according to which their conduct is judged as either right or wrong, good or evil. These norms vary, however, some norms, such as do not kill, are widespread and perhaps universal. This explanation suggests that while it is inherent to be ethical, morality arises from cultural and sociological factors created out of normative behavior. From this, we can assert that humans all inherently have the ethics that guide them throughout their lives. What makes them interconnected however is the presence of morality that acts as a framework to keep them bonded together and functioning.

Moral Exclusion

With that, it is easy to say that humans are human because of biological factors that distinguish them from the animalia kingdom. However, we can also observe that humans also deny others of the capability of being human even if we are from the same species. Time and time again, we can observe that humans are susceptible to dehumanizing others. So really, why is that?

Most cases, we confer personhood upon each other when we criticize others using a sort of check-list: morality. It is technically a learned culture that allows us to be bonded together and function as an entire whole. What I do, you do, and vice-versa. However, not always can it unite us because other times it can also alienate others. Sometimes, distorting morality itself by using it as a tool to exclude those who do not fit into certain categories of moral preference.

Since it is a culture that evolves through time, there are aspects of it that are different from individual to individual and culture to culture. This means that what can be bad can also be good to others and vice-versa. Not everything is in one standard that's applicable to all because not everything is practical for everyone. Ethically speaking, when we acknowledge other people’s complexities outside the standard black-and-white "good or bad " spectrum, we feel more connected. We realize that we are human because we have the ability to rationalize and do what is pragmatic.

Dylan’s Difference and Indifference

Dylan believed he was outside the norm, devoid of humanity, and different from everyone else. He was ethical in the sense that he understood the consequences of his actions and could make determinations about them. He knew the consequences of taking lives and taking his own life. With this, it is already enough to consider him as human. He could rationalize, therefore he is human.

One of the reasons why he does not feel that he is human is because he lacks the connection others have. Morality being a culture has brought people together and as I have previously stated, also excludes others. I believe that he subscribed to the belief that to be human, one must be moral so they could fit in with society. This creates an internal conflict. Humans are no strangers to latching unto vices because to them, it is pragmatic. We smoke, we drink, and we do things others consider immoral because we think it helps us.

With morality, a tangible framework is provided for achieving a purpose. It is an established system that offers a good reason to quit vices in exchange for acceptance. Dylan sees this difference as a weapon hindering him from being included. He acts like others to be accepted and, supposedly, be happy with this acceptance.

[twsted-kinks]

Biology Nerd (Malleus X Yuu/Reader)

>minors and ageless dni<

MC/Reader goes by Yuu and gender neutral and fat (I don't really mention that but this is self indulgent and I'm fat so reader is fat)

Something kinda fluffy for once with a bit of spice and a dash of angst

Content Warning: cultural and biological differences, Yuu not knowing about cultural differences and doing romantic and sexual things with others, Malleus letting Yuu touch him inappropriately but Yuu doesn't understand that touching him like that is very intimate and/or sexual for fae/dragons, Malleus being absolutely smitten, some slight Malleus angst about him being lonely, Grim being scared, dragon cuddles

(I'm probably gonna write more spec biology stuff with twst but idk)

Yuu will be the first to say that suddenly being ripped from your home and put into a completely different world where everything you know no longer exists or applies to reality fucking sucks. But, Yuu will also admit that they love having a whole new world to learn about. Learning the basics of a whole knew evolutionary and sociological history with multiple sapient species that are both human and non human while having access to a full college library? Sign them the FUCK up! Crowley was thankful for Yuu's enthusiasm. Simply allowing full access to the library appeased them. Grim did not have fun at first, but having a human look at him in awe helped. Yuu was so curious about his ability to speak and his connection to fire magic. They would not stop asking him so many questions!

Yuu went around learning with wide eyes like a toddler. They at least knew not to just randomly touch people and that it's inappropriate to ask in the first place, but still, they would not stop staring. Leona, Ruggie, and Jack can constantly feel Yuu's eyes on their ears and tails. Leona gets annoyed and snaps at Yuu usually while Ruggie will let Yuu touch then in exchange for either money or food. Jack doesn't comment on it while Yuu does nothing to try to touch him, and Jack is happy to keep it that way.

Floyd and Jade find Yuu's reactions to them to be greatly entertaining. During their first interaction, all of Yuu's friends immediately ran, but Yuu stayed, just staring up at the twins.

"I like y'all's teeth." And with a few simple words, the tweels were glued to Yuu. Yuu is always excited to see their mer form, but will gladly settle on hanging out with the tweels when they got legs. Yuu also enjoys being on teeth cleaning duty. They get to look at cool sharp teeth and a second jaw. They also get free food from the twins, and all they got to do is clean some teeth? Hell yeah! Azul could inform Yuu about what Floyd and Jade opening their mouths means for eel mer culture, but this little arrangement keeps the two out of trouble. Plus, Azul is afraid Yuu will go on a question asking tangent and will ask about Azul's mer form, and he does not want to deal with that.

The species and cultures Yuu knows the least about is the fae. Yuu honestly didn't even notice that fae were a thing until Ace pointed out the ppinty ears, and Yuu just went :o "Holy shit" :D "That's so cool!" Then there was Yuu's first time meeting Malleus. Should Yuu be more concerned about a stranger just wandering around outside their dorm? Yes, but he has HORNS! The first words spoken between the dragon fae and little magicless human were:

"Wow, your horns are pretty."

Malleus was taken aback by this human, just talking to him casually, complimenting his horns, and smiling at him with so much wonder. Even though Malleus never gave his name, his friendship with the human grew fast. Yuu came up with a multitude of names for Malleus, having a new one each time they met. Horton, Sir Hornington, Goth Babe, Briar Boy, Fae Bae, and more, but a few reoccurring ones Malleus adores. Malmal is the most recent iteration of his name that has stuck around the longest. But,, whenever Malleus visits Yuu upset, Yuu always calls him sweetie and tries to comfort him. It's gotten to a point that the Yuu always keeps a tub of ice cream in their freezer specifically for when Malleus is upset.

Malleus always knew Yuu had an interest in the different cultures and species of the Twisted Wonderland, but he didn't understand just how fascinated you were until the time for Halloween came and Yuu saw Malleus's tail for the first time. Malleus remembers it clearly. Yuu stopped a couple feet away from him, gasped, and then screamed "CHONKY TAIL!!!" The human immediately went behind Malleus, started admiring his tail, and asked so many questions. One of them being if they can touch it, and he let you, much to the dismay of Sebek who was trying to get Yuu to be more respectful. Lilia was the only one to pick up on the blush on Malleus's ears. Yuu did mistake Malleus's tail as a part of the costume, not realising it was actually a part of him at first, and apologized, but Malleus assured you it was alright and that the can keep touching his tail. He didn't mind at all.

Now, Malleus almost abuses the admiration Yuu has for his tail. Lilia, Sebek, and Silver absolutely notice his tendency to approach them and, if they were focusing on something that isn't him, Malleus will fwip out his tail and Yuu would become entranced. Yuu just adores Malleus's tail and, whenever given the chance, will touch it, pet it, even just hold it. Malleus finds it endearing and adorable.

And well, Yuu already has permission to touch his tail, why not ask Malleus if they can learn more about his anatomy? Yuu asks to touch Malleus's horns one day. Yuu’s already stepped over the line with touching his tail, so why not let Yuu touch his horns? Malleus has now turned into Yuu's personal lapcat much to Grim’s dismay. Malleus has gifted the human with a kit for horn cleaning and visits Ramshackle regularly so he can rest his head in Yuu’s lap and have them clean his horns. Yuu is pretty sure Malleus dirties his horns on purpose just so they wil clean them, but they don't mind.

One day though, during the weekend, Yuu invites Malleus over for a full-blown sleepover. Malleus is ecstatic and quickly informs his entourage. Sebek is fully against it while Lilia and Silver think this wil be good for Malleus, though Silver wants the three of them to tag along as well. It takes some convincing, but Lilia convinces the other to let Malleus have his alone time with the child of man. Malleus packs his essentials and teleports to Ramshackle to find the prefect and Grim gathering pillows and blankets, getting materials ready to build a pillow fort.

Malleus has an absolute blast. Such simple games and activities he’s never experienced before, Malleus enjoys it all. Everything is going smoothly, Malleus is relaxing, face cuddled into Yuu’s chest. A moving picture plays on the human’s little screen device while Grim snores as he sleeps on a pillow twice his size. Yuu is petting Malleus's hair, running their fingers through it when they pause at his bangs. They shift the hair covering his forehead and gasps.

“You got scales there?” Yuu says in astonishment as they study the black scales on Malleus's forehead.

“Hm? Have you not seen them before now?” Malleus asks.

“I guess I haven't.” Yuu runs their fingers across the scales. “They're pretty. I'm surprised you don't have more scattered around.”

“Oh, I do, but I find others are less intimidated when they're hidden. My clothing preferences hide a majority, but I also utilize magic to hide some of the more obvious ones.”

“But they're so pretty!” Yuu whines but then backpedals. “I mean- If you feel more comfortable hiding them then go ahead, but I bet they're very pretty.”

“Glamor is common among the fae. Changing my skin takes little effort and is of little consequence.”

“You mean your makeup?”

“It is similar to that, yes.”

“Huh, well it's your face.” Yuu shrugs. “You can do want you want, but I bet you look cute with your scales out.”

And with that, the fae leans up and parts of his face shift, revealing small scales around his outer eyes, below and behind his ears, and along the back and sides of his neck. Yuu stares at Malleus, making the fae worry for a moment, until, suddenly, the human’s hands are on Malleus's cheeks.

“Holy shit!” Yuu squees as they look over Malleus's face. “How the fuck did you make yourself prettier!”

The dragon fae’s eyes are wide for a moment, the tips of his ears a light pink, and then he chuckles. “You are truly unique, child of man.”

“Me?” Yuu laughs. “You're the one with scales here! Just- look at how the light refracts off of them! They look black, but then the light bounces off and parts of them look purple!”

“Oh?” Malleus has never noticed that before.

“You even got little ones here too!” One of Yuu’s hands moves to Malleus's ear, fingers tracing the shell.

Malleus freezes then gulps. Yuu’s fingers run up the edge of his ear, pauses at the top, then runs back down to his lobe. Malleus buries his face back into Yuu’s chest. The tips of Malleus's ears burn red, he hopes Yuu doesn't notice.

“Ah, shit.” Yuu pulls their hand away. “Do you have sensitive ears? I should've asked.”

“It’s alright.” Malleus pulls away slightly and murmurs. “It felt nice. I do not mind you touching my ears.”

“You sure?”

“I would like for you to continue.” Malleus says with a thump coming after when his tail hits the floor.

“What? Want me to massage your ears and tail?” Yuu asks with a chuckle. “Need me to get your back too?”

“Yes, that should be adequate.”

Yuu laughs, brings both of their hands to Malleus's ears, and begins to rub them. Malleus lets out a deep sigh as he practically melts under the human’s touch. Yuu continues rubbing the dragon falls ears and and coos "If you want me to get your back, you're gonna need to move."

"No." Malleus hums into Yuu's chest. "Ears now. Focus on my ears."

"Alright, alright." Yuu chuckles. What Yuu doesn't know is just how intimate this is for fae. Touching a fae's ears is considered a very intimate activity done between mates because their ears are a major erogenous zone. At this point, Malleus isn't sure about his relationship with Yuu, but Yuu touching his ears feels right to him. The fae's eyes dilate as his breathing becomes heavier the more Yuu touches his ears. The end of Malleus's tails lightly thumps onto the floor again and again.

"I don't get it." Yuu moves one of their hands into Malleus's hair and runs their fingers down to feel the scales on his neck. "I don't get how people can be so scared of you when you're basically an oversized puppy but reptilian."

A deep vibration grumbles from Malleus's chest and he lifts himself up, facing Yuu. The whites of his eyes have turned a glowing green and more scales have appeared encasing most of his neck and shoulders. The thin tips of a forked tongue poke out from and slip back into his mouth.

Yuu cups both of Malleus's cheeks in their hands and smiles. "Just a big adorable boy."

The sound of ripping fabric startles Yuu for a moment as black wings begin to tear their way from the back of Malleus's night shirt and spread open. Yuu looks at them, eyes wide, as they reach out and touch the leathery skin.

"You are truly extraordinary, child of man."

"Says the man who just sprouted wings in front of me."

"But you do not look at me with fear. You do not look at me with an otherworldly reverence. When you look at me you..." Malleus rests his hand over the one against his cheek.

"Malmal." Yuu's face shifts to a look of worry. "You okay? You can talk to me if you want."

Malleus gazes at Yuu. There' so much he wants to say, but he hesitates.

"But-" Yuu adds. "If you don't feel like talking now, we can just keep cuddling, or do you want me to massage your tail? Or maybe your wings?"

Malleus smiles. "I would enjoy that."

~~Meanwhile~~

"Hornton is gonna kill my henchman!" Grim runs on all four into the Diasomnia dorm, screaming at the top of his lungs. He quickly gains the attention of some dorm members including Sebek and Lilia (who drags a sleeping Silver behind him).

"How dare you use such a name for the Young Master!" Sebek is screaming back. Silver finally wakes up from all of the screaming, so him and Lilia get Grim and Sebek to stop screaming and have Grim finally explain why he's there.

"I heard a ripping sound and woke up to see big wings and a pair of glowing eyes on top of my henchman. That prince of yours is going to eat them!"

"Oh?" Lilia coos with a smirk. "I don't think that will be happening, at least not the type you're thinking. Still, I have not had the talk yet with that boy, so maybe we should drop by before we're stuck with a political crisis."

With a quick teleportation spell, all four are just outside the Ramshackle Dorm. The door is slammed open to reveal a dragon (that is way too big to be in the common area) curled up, sleeping like a cat, with a little human laying across his snout and forehead, passed out with a smile on their face.

[literary-illuminati]

An Arbitrary Collection of Book Recommendations

(put together for a friend out of SFF I've read over the last couple of years)

Cli-Fi

Tusks of Extinction and/or The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. They’re pretty different books in a lot of ways – one is a novel about discovering a certain species of squid in the Pacific might have developed symbolic language and writing, the other a novella about a de-extinction initiative to restore mammoths to the Siberian taiga – but they share a pretty huge overlap in setting, tone and themes. Specifically, a deep and passionate preoccupation with animal conservation (and a rather despairing perspective on it), as well as a fascination with transhumanism and how technology can affect the nature of consciousness. Mountain is his first work, and far more substantial, but I’d call it a bit of a noble failure in achieving what it tries for. Tusks is much more limited and contained, but manages what it’s going for.

A Half-Built Garden by Ruthanna Emrys. In a post-post-apocalyptic world that’s just about figured out how to rebuild itself from the climate disasters of the 21st century (but that’s still very much a work in progress), aliens descend from the sky and make First Contact. They’re a symbiotic civilization, and they’re overjoyed at the chance to welcome a third species into their little interstellar community – and consider it a mission of mercy besides, since every other species they’ve ever encountered destroyed themselves and their planet before escaping it. Awkwardly, our heroine and her whole society are actually pretty invested in Earth and the restoration thereof – and worried that a) the alien’s rescue effort might not care about their opinions and b) that other interest groups on earth might be more willing to give the hyper-advanced space-dwelling aliens the answers they want to hear. Basically 100% sociological worldbuilding and political intrigue, so take that as you will.

Throwback Sci Fi

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky is possibly the only thing I’ve read published in decades to take the old cliche of ‘this generic-seeming fantasy world is actually the wreckage of a ruined space age civilization, and ‘magic’ and ‘monsters’ are the remnants of the technology’ and play it entirely straight. Specifically, it’s a two-POV novella, where half the story is told from the perspective of a runaway princess beseeching the ancient wizard who helped found her dynasty for help against a magical threat, and half is from the perspective form the last surviving member of a xeno-anthropology mission woken out of stasis by the consequences of the last time he broke the Prime Directive knocking on his ship tower door and asking for help. Generally just incredible fun.

Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh is, I think, the only thing on this list written before the turn of the millennium. It’s proper space opera, about a habitat orbiting an immensely valuable living world that’s the lynchpin of logistics for the functionally rogue Earth Fleet’s attempt to hold off or defeat rebelling and somewhat alien colonies further out. The plot is honestly hard to summarize, except that it captures the feel of being history better than very nearly any other spec fic I’ve ever read – a massive cast, none of them with a clear idea of what’s going on, clashing and contradictory agendas, random chance and communications delays playing key roles, lots of messy ending, not a single world-shaking heroes or satanic masterminds deforming the shape of things with their narrative gravity to be seen. Somewhat dated, but it all very impressively well done.

Pulpy Gay Urban Fantasy Period Piece Detective Stories Where Angels Play a Prominent Role

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark stars Fatma el-Sha’arawi, the youngest woman working for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities in Cairo, a couple of decades after magic returned to the world and entirely derailed the course of Victorian imperialism. There’s djinn and angels and crocodile gods, and also an impossible murder that needs solving! The mystery isn’t exactly intellectually taxing, but this is a very fun tropey whodunnit whose finale involves a giant robot.

Even Though I Knew The End by C. L. Polk is significantly more restrained and grounded in its urban fantasy. It’s early 20th century Chicago, and a PI is doing one last job to top off the nest egg she’s leaving her girlfriend before the debt on her deal with the devil comes due. By what may or may not be coincidence, she stumbles across a particularly gruesome crime scene – and is offered a deal to earn back her soul by solving the mystery behind it. Very noir detective, with a setting that just oozes care and research and a satisfyingly tight plot.

High Concept Stuff That Loves Playing around With Format and the Idea of Narratives

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente is a story about a famous documentarian vanishing on shoot amid mysterious and suspicious circumstances, as told by the recovered scraps of the footage she was filming, and different drafts of her (famous director) father’s attempt to dramatize the events as a memorial to her. It’s set in a solar system where every planet is habitable and most were colonized in the 19th century, and culturally humanity coasts on in an eternal Belle Epoque and (more importantly) Golden Age of Hollywood. Something like half the book is written as scripts and transcripts. This description should by now either have sold you or put you off entirely.

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez is the only classic-style epic fantasy on this list, I believe? The emperor and his three demigod sons hold subjugated in terror, but things are changing. The emperor, terrified of death, has ordered a great fleet assembled to carry him across the sea in pursuit of immortality. The day before he sets out on his grand pilgrimage to the coast, a guilt-ridden guard helps the goddess of the moon escape her binding beneath the palace. From there, things spiral rapidly out of anyone’s control. The story’s told through two or three (depending( different layers of narrative framing devices, and has immense amounts of fun playing with perspective and format and ideas about storytelling and legacy.

I Couldn’t Think of Any Categories That Included More Than One of These

All The Names They Used For God by Anjali Sachdeva is a collection of short stories, and probably the most literary thing on this list? The stories range wildly across setting and genre, but are each more or less about the intrusion of the numinous or transcendent or divine into a world that cracks and breaks trying to contain it. It is very easily the most artistically coherent short story collection I’ve ever read, which I found pretty fascinating to read – but honestly I’m mostly just including this on the strength of Killer of Kings, a story about an angel sent down to be John Milton’s muse as he writes Paradise Lost which is probably one of the best things I read last year period.

Last Exit by Max Gladstone – the Three Parts Dead and How You Lose the Time War guy – could be described as a deconstruction of ‘a bunch of teenagers/college kids discover magic and quest to save the world!’ stories, but honestly I’d say that obscures more than it reveals. Still, the story is set with that having happened a decade in the past, and the kids in question have thoroughly fucked up. Zelda, the protagonist, is kept from suicide by survivor’s guilt as much as anything, and now travels across America working poverty jobs and sleeping in her car as she hunts the monsters leaking in through the edges of a country rotting at the seams. Then there’s a monster growing in the cracks of the liberty bell, an in putting it down she gets a vision of someone she thought was dead is just trapped – or maybe changed. So it’s time to get the gang together again and save the world! This one’s hard to rec without spoiling a lot, but the prose and characterization are all just sublime. Oddly in conversation with the whole Delta Green cosmic horror monster hunting subgenre for a story with nothing to do with Lovecraft.

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh is a story about aliens destroying the earth, and growing up in the pseudo-fascist asteroid survivalist compound of the last bits of the human military that never surrendered. It stars a heroine whose genuinely indoctrinated for the first chunk of the book and just deeply endearing terrible and awful to interact with, and also has a plot that’s effectively impossible to describe without spoiling the big twist at the end of the first act. Possibly the only book I read last year which I actively wish was longer – which is both compliment and genuine complaint, for the record, the ending’s a bit messy. Still, genuinely meaty Big Ideas space opera with very well-done characterization and a plot that does hold together. 

[taylor-titmouse]

can gnomes be trans??

i mean.

okay. look. the gnomes are first and foremost speculative bio, so their sociology is not the priority of developing them as a species. they are not meant to map to human ideas of gender and sex, because they don't experience those. you're essentially asking can bees be trans.

i would posit gnomes don't really know what trans is, because to them, there are queens and breeding males, and then there's everyone else and the babies. there is no functional difference between non-breeding males and females until males go into rut, and then you're a breeding male and you leave and you're not a real part of society. an afab gnome is not going to transition into a breeding male because that's not physically possible outside of extremely rare intersex cases, and there is no social gender to transition across anyway. you could castrate a breeding male/pre-rut male and he would be no different from a non-breeding female, but that's still not a transition, that's more just a perpetual prepubesence. there Is probably a cultural tradition of doing this to males who would be more useful to the colony if they stuck around, but i wouldn't consider them transgender anymore than i would consider a eunuch transgender.

basically no, gnomes can't be trans.

[f4unlette]

𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑝𝑖𝑒𝑑

⌗ bake for other people, like family, friends, colleagues

⌗ watch mukbang videos, informative documentaries about internet phenomenons, history (political, fashion) crime or strange occurrences

⌗ listen to new music and learn more about the artist or the band itself, make new playlists

⌗ watch a gameplay on youtube or play childhood nostalgic video games

⌗ learn new makeup styles, hairstyles and build outfits based off of different fashion styles

⌗ get a homemade manicure

⌗ create your own website (ex. carrd)

⌗ deep cleaning: making your bed, doing laundry, going through a pile of clothing, throwing away old/expired makeup products, de-cluttering, cleaning the bathroom, deep cleaning the kitchen and the pantry by throwing away expired products, cleaning bags, boxes, wallets and pencil cases, changing the aesthetic of your bedroom

⌗ gardening or taking care of house plants

⌗ learn more about certain species of flowers, animals, subjects (like astronomy, philosophy, sociology, biology) and take notes

⌗ make a shopping list for necessities (food, cleaning supplies, hygiene necessities) and wishes (makeup, clothing, collectibles) on paper and by making pinterest boards and sections

⌗ re-watch old nostalgic movies or series (comedy anime like azumanga daioh, lucky star, nichijou, gakuen handsome and saiki k, horror/thriller and comedy movies, novelas)

⌗ read a book, whether it’s classic literature or a comic book

⌗ studying: watching videos, taking notes, reciting out loud

⌗ take an everything shower with music playing. from skincare, to hair care, brushing teeth and body care

⌗ skincare: do a face mask and a gua sha massage, learn more about your skin type and how to take care of it

⌗ make handmade gifts:

customized cds/playlists

paper crafts: stickers, bookmarks, collages, keychains with shrink paper, decorated envelopes (drawings, glitter, paint, gluing things like buttons and lace, 3d open envelope drawings), scenery stands, fake food and objects, strings, drawing posters, paper stars, paper crowns, flower bouquets, realistic camera;

clay crafts: vases, boxes, plates, bowls, spoons, jewelry holders, cups and mugs, charms, rings, playhouses, paint palettes, animal sculptures, candle and incense stands, lighter cases;

crocheting and sewing: hats, gloves, scarves, plushies, keychains, pillow covers/pillows, bags, cup stands, book cases, water bottle bags, pencil cases, creating new clothes out of old ones, mixed/leftover fabric rugs or blankets.

bracelets: patterned, beaded, with a string and buttons;

other: door handle hangers, painted wooden spoons, painted tiles, painted tea bags, pins, painted rocks, decorated journal cases, soap making, altoid wallets, decorate your phone case, hair wraps, decorate a photo frame, recycle an old candle (seashell and can candles), flags, window beads, hair accessories (decorated headbands, hairpins), decorated sunglasses, soda tab friend, bleached t-shirts, surfboard necklace, washi tape, gift baskets.

gift ideas

diy ideas when you’re bored

clay crafts ideas

cinnamon roll trinket box (just really wanted to share this one, it’s absoluty adorable ♡)

⌗ try out a new sport: ex. badminton, volleyball, dance, swimming, tennis, basketball, martial arts, athletics.

⌗ do pilates or a 1980s workout, play just dance or do a karaoke session

⌗ play a board/card game (monopoly, trivial pursuit, uno, cluedo, guess who)

⌗ take a walk and explore your surroundings

⌗ write down new recipes you haven’t tried yet including the necessary steps to make them and make a grocery shopping list of everything you need

[hrrtshape]

this isn’t a question i just want to yap bc u sound like u would like to hear about this stuff

but naturally as someone with higher intelligence i like to think about things a lot and ask questions and form my own opinions and theories about things regarding research and such

and i’ve come to the conclusion that people who disregard shifting as false or mental illness are of lower intelligence and have no sense of self. they disregard philosophy, neuroscience, sociology, and other forms of science because shifting/manifesting goes against the idea that their logic is always correct and never flawed (in that sense, they are right— one who says they will shift, will, and one who says they won’t shift, won’t, to put it simply). but with the logic they are using, they are condemning themselves to an existence of suffering

these people are content with being cogs in a corporate machine. even if they are creative or imaginative, they still hold a standard of mental health criteria that directly relates to how people function under intense capitalism and oligarchy. they think they’re normal because they get up and work their 9-5 and feed their families and repeat the same thing every day. they can’t imagine even having a sense of control over any aspect of their lives.

i think it’s anti human to disregard shifting, among other things. as intelligent creatures compared to other species (who are no less deserving of respect despite, might i clarify), we are naturally curious. we want to build and create and nourish ourselves, both mentally and physically. we want life and community and love and food and to have fun and enjoy ourselves. in current societal structure, that is flattened, nuked, obliterated. anything that isn’t contributing to an oligarchs income is disregarded, because the art, philosophy, music, and culture of working regular people isn’t important to them. and unfortunately, many working people are so affected by propaganda and the belief that rich people are better and stronger is enough to paralyze them. and therefore, we’re turned enemies with the ordinary people, and seen as crazy for even thinking of something that doesn’t align with a capitalist lifestyle because this society is so focused on toppling each other just for a chance to get to the top. there’s no community, no understanding, no gentle or kind nature. we have completely disregarded the power of our own minds as humans, and these people have therefore lost their humanity.

they don’t even know what happens after they die, so how can they know all that happens when they live if they don’t even try to think of anything else?

just wanted to share. :P

you're so right !!!! imagine living in a world where human innovation has birthed quantum mechanics, existentialist philosophy, surrealist art, and entire simulated realities. but you draw the line at moving your consciousness somewhere else. be serious.

your take on capitalism hijacking imagination is so painfully true it makes me want to eat drywall. like yeah, of course, society doesn’t want people believing they have infinite power. how else do you get them to clock in at target for 8 bucks an hour? we’ve literally been gaslit out of our own potential.

also "they don’t even know what happens after they die, so how can they know all that happens when they live" is some next-level, put-it-on-a-plaque, tattoo-it-on-my-rib energy. 10/10. keep thinking. keep yapping !!!!!