#tumblr does social science experiments

[edenfalling]

Interesting!

I suspect people may be seeing 1 or 10 and thinking it's a default rather than their actual result, and therefore rolling again -- that's what I did at first before I came back to the poll and clicked the link again to double-check my initial reaction.

[treesah]

My mom is in a science writing course and needs responses to a questionnaire about experiences with acne and acne treatments. If you could comment, reblog, or send me your responses in an ask, I would appreciate it very much!

First Name: (Feel free to make up a first name; I just need something other than your Tumblr username so I don’t have to explain to my mom how I got in touch with someone named ghostpenis or whatever)

Occupation:

1. What changes to your lifestyle and/or routine have you made due to acne, if any?

2. Does acne negatively impact your life, and in what way(s)? What would you gain if your acne were improved or eliminated (eg in terms of time, money, health, social, professional, or other considerations)?

3. What skincare products, medications, or other remedies do you currently use for acne? Where do you get these remedies from (brick-and-mortar store, online, prescription, etc)?

4. What skincare products, medications, or other remedies for acne have you tried in the past? Why did you stop using them? Are there any skincare products, medications, or other remedies that you know of that you’d like to try in the future?

5. Are you satisfied with the remedies you are currently using to manage your acne? If so, what do you like about the products you are using? If not, what improvements or changes would you like to see in those products?

6. What kind of promises about results, safety, ease of use, etc would get you to try a new acne product or treatment?

[the-s1lly-corner]

JONATHAN AND GN!READER AND THEIR ANTICS !!!!!!!

Antics w/ Jonathan and Reader!

I did a similar post yesterday!! (Linked at the end, hopefully, I'm mobile and sometimes tumblr can be weird)

I'm so so sorry it took my so long to get this request <\\3 I was trying to come up with new ideas so it could be different than the other ask <\3, which I highly recommend checking out! Imma be real I'm not totally confident in how this one turned out so that second post can be like an extra/make up <\3

I wasnt sure if you wanted this to be platonic or have them dating so!! It's mostly written as vague in that department!!

Jonathan doesn't strike me as the person who goes out and does things a lot

Just. Wake up, work, home, sleep, repeat.. he'll sometimes send texts to friends and family to schedule a lunch here and there but

That's about it, hes not very social

So a lot of these antics are really going to be made through you making the plans; with the shenanigans really being unplanned byproducts

Honestly I can totally see Jonathan starting shit with someone, be it accident or on purpose, prompting both of yall having to hightail it out of the area

Reminds me of that part from one of the diary of a wimpy kid movies, where greg n rodrick do that fake puke prank on the guy and have to make a run for it

Actually I can totally see yall subtly being menaces and fucking with people

Maybe not a fake puke prank persay but

Yk?

No crime stuff; I only really see that becoming a thing after he becomes Spot! Both from how he worded his whole "turning to a life of crime" thing and the fact he just

Lacks the experience and confidence

Moving on

Maybe it's just my "let's get silly with the writing" part of me, or it's my need for chaos (arguably the same thing), but

I feel like

Somehow, you guys would accidentally probably maybe kinda sorta

Wreak havoc in ways spot could only dream of (before doing the whole. Bouncing across the multiverse thing)

Yall could probably start the day wanting to go to some food truck and

End it by spending a night in jail

Neither of you are allowed anywhere near food trucks after that /j

No but serious note, Jonathan is basically a hermit, he doesnt like leaving his apartment unless he has to; people are just, so

Eeuuughchk!

So when you two hang out it's either his place or yours

But that's not to say it isnt fun!

Hes got normal stuff people have in their homes, like board games and consoles

And also science doohickies

Yeah people have that in their houses, that's a normal thing

Ngl if you give him any ideas for machines or whatnot hes totally going to give it a try

See previous post with a trans s/o, he would make the transgenderinator if you asked him to

Well now hes just turning into doof

Ykw

I feel like he'd take you to alchemax to show off stuff but like

If you asked nicely

How can he say no to that face?

And also he has no backbone

That's not to say you would pressure him, though! Because that's not cool, dont pressure people. But like, he would cave in the way of "I know it's not that serious and I know they'll probably understand if I say no, but I don't want to ever risk disappointing them ever in my life, so I'm gonna say yes!" Kind of way

He just like me frfr

And this is assuming you even know about alchemax

Which personally, unless you're in some way associated with it, I'm p sure be would have a strong boundary to keep you out of it

This is really just turning into a general ramble <\3

Anyways

I dont have many ideas since I struggle with general hcs like this but!! Yeah!! Definitely recommend the linked post for a better more cohesive (?) List of ideas and hcs!! This post kinda

Made me realize I dont have many hcs for Jonathan outside of making his personality a smart pathetic science man

Gotta fix that , give him some hobbies n stuff in the future

Link to a similar post!

[whump-on-a-string]

△ Elliott, how did you get turned?

3/10 - It's not a fond memory and still quite fresh but, it is what it is I suppose.

"My original plan that evening was to attend a dinner party at my friend Frederick's home. He'd invited me to his last two get togethers, and my invitation was likely...misplaced.

When I arrived no one answered the door. Likely too occupied by the festivities of the evening which is understandable.

I waited a bit at the door, and even saw Frederick through the window in the middle of what was likely a highly interesting conversation, but it was getting late so I left to have a drink elsewhere and not be tempted by the wine I had brought for the party.

I had a few drinks and left for home, though it was a bit later in the evening than I had realized and the call of that particular wine bottle was too strong for me not to have a little bit on my way home."

TW: Whump, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Vampire Bite wounds.

Please be safe about your Tumblr and online experience! :D

"I never did get another invitation for any social gatherings from Frederick again, unfortunately. It's been tough trying to find a new crowd when you can't go out in broad daylight."

It was entirely an accident, that hungry vampire thought he'd drained them dead and left a corpse behind. Elliot does not know this. I only added that last comment in the 3rd page to help the reader.

Does Elliot know they were accidentally turned into a vampire? - NOPE. As far as they're aware: "I got bit by a vampire and that's why I am one now." But that is not the case.

Their corpse just laid there undisturbed with enough of a trickle of vampire blood in their body to keep it up long enough to regenerate a bunch of new vampire blood. So they woke up a few hours later as a brand new very confused vampire with no mentor to tell them how ANY of this works so they have NO idea how this shit happened. Just that it did. :) Also what little tiny bits of their original blood left on their shirt collar from that vampire drinking it smelled AWFUL tasty when they woke up.

Did I bullshit vampire lore into existence just for this ask? Hell yes.

Did I intend to draw a 3 page comic? No.

Have I been working on it since the day I got this ask about Elliot? Absolutely.

Being bitten by a vampire and surviving is not enough to be turned.

Generally one of the most common/main methods is to transfuse or ingest the blood of a vampire and hope it takes (extremely rare) it has like a 1% success rate to be turned JUST by ingesting the blood of a vampire.

For a much more successful turning, do the above process but ALSO be bitten by the vampire that was the source of the blood, and that is the most common and effective way to turn someone. This knowledge is kept quite secret even among vampires. A majority of those turned may not even know how it worked or were made to forget it.

The blood reproduces quickly to replace the victims original blood type. It's extremely rare to survive a vampire attack like Elliot did. They're very lucky. It also contributes to how vampires can heal and regenerate much faster than a human.

~ Being bitten by a vampire and surviving would make a LOT of vampires and what if the vampire is nice and doesn't want to kill a human or end up with a competitor for food? Bam. funky vampire lore to solve the problem. Don't ask me the science behind it. I don't know. Maybe you know more than I do frankly. (Although Remus would LOVE to.)

[edenfalling]

I have access to a fairly good bus system, as US bus systems go! However, I have not used it since I bought a car, because bluntly, the bus is not flexible and I was tired of having to either get up ridiculously early in order to catch a bus that would take me to where I could catch another bus, or get up early so I could walk a mile into town to catch that second bus. And that's a with a GOOD bus system.

I would cheerfully pay into some kind of annual "support the bus system" program though, because when I was too poor to have a car, the bus was an absolute life-saver -- especially after my neighborhood grocery store closed.

Please re-blog to widen the data sample! I might use this for my statistics project at the end of the semester, and every answer is a great help :).

Please share in the tags what you picked and why if you're so inclined.

[aweirdlisa]

My Big Boi Genloss Theory

Hello! Those who follow me on twitter know I've released a rather long theory document, over 12 pages long I believe, doing a pretty deep dive into all the genloss lore and how I believe most of it connects and plays out!

Those who wish to read the full doc are more than welcome to do so here, though I'll be making a revised and summarized (as much as i can) version for the tumblr folks right here!

So take my hand and follow me below!

Welcome to the Multiverse

We've all seen a certain red orb by now which first appeared on the generation loss website in the game centered around the Hero, a while before the Social Experiments were released.

As the Hero interacts with the orb behind the dumpster, we see visual glitches and suddenly find ourselves in a red tinted, damaged version of the world we were just in.

Well, next time we see this orb is around November 24th when the 2nd chapter of The Founder's Game (TFG) is released. Those who paid attention will have noticed it was hidden in the site's source code back when we encounter it.

The person we're controlling touches the orb and much like before, they wake up in a red tinted world, similar to the one they were in before touching the orb.

Now this red tint I keep bringing up may not have actually been there for the people in question, but it's a good way of conveying to us, the audience, that a change has occurred.

So how different-yet-the-same are these worlds? Well in TFG we're walking in a set of hallways with metal doors pre-orb, but a specific mention of posters of school clubs and teams let's us draw a similarity between this and the post-orb world. Even more specifically, the posters are "more worn than you remember", which makes the connection even less doubtful.

As Ben wakes up in LF High and wanders the hallways, we note that the environment is familiar to him, with the same type of school posters lining the walls alongside lockers.

So what does the orb have to do with the multiverse then?

Ben dies a lot in TFG, each time he wakes up again, the school is a little bit different. The changes become more surreal the more Ben comes to die. Lockers change colours, but then hallways physically twist and gravity acts strangely.

It's easy to brush things off as "part of the game", with Ben dying and resetting just being a mechanic. But we are clever enough to realise that whatever Showfall presents us is actually happening to someone, somewhere.

Another hint awaits us in the science lab in TFG, where we find a book titled "String Theory and Parallel Universes"

In an earlier theory I posted here on tumblr I already brought up a possible multiverse theory when we were repeatedly confronted with the "tunnels" in the genloss videos, but I will get back to this later.

If all these schools are supposed to be parallel universes, why do they differ SO much by the time Ben died a couple times? It could be happenstance that the changes get worse over time instead of random levels of chaotic. However the fact that the strange shifts happen so chronologically tells me that it's something else.

Now what could we possibly call a phenomenon where something gets progressively worse each time it undergoes a certain process?

It's Generation Loss Babyyyyy

The Generation Loss we often thought was solely connected to the VHS tapes has a much greater scope!

However it occurs, it definitely has something to do with the orb's influence or power, causing whoever touches it to relive a part of their world over and over (maybe within a pocket dimension?), until the generation loss sets in each time they die.

To tie it back to the Founder and TSE, it's interesting to look at the orb's possible influence in the earlier timeline as well.

At first I thought the rewinding of the Founder's Cut tapes was causing the Hero to relive their nightmare over and over, but now it seems like the tapes and VCR controls may just be that - controls to let the Founder use the orb and make people relive things until everything is to their wishes.

With how limited Ben's world felt, it's possible there are certain parameters set up by either the orb's limitations or the Founder, to create a controlled environment.

To me it feels like the generation loss is a symptom of the orb, either deliberately used by the Founder, or a side effect they can't quite control.

The Orb

Yes that red thing again. I believe it may be the centerpiece of our story, with the genloss symbol itself - however iconic and ever present - being more of an assist.

The orb is very dangerous, especially if it's a tool the Founder is using to create their "perfect stories". The effect of the orb affects many, and I believe it's possible it may have affected the very Founder themselves too, though I'm keeping that open for another time.

What we do know of the orb so far is that by touching it, you undergo its influence and "enter its world", however it's also possible to find the orb yet again within this world, which to me indicates touching the orb may provide an exit to whoever is under its effects. This may be the only way out for Ben, unfortunately I doubt his physical changes will revert.

Back in TFG, we're shown many mutations of Ben over time as he looks into the mirror.

Now there's plenty of people who have drawn the parallels already between Ben's unravelling and the robotic creature we saw back in chapter 2 in the holding cell.

As the multiverse and parallel universe theories go, there's a lot of different, but also similarities present between them. One such consistent theme is that of Ben's association with robots.

Each time he awakens in the class room, the class's subject changes, but his sketchbook doodles do not: There's always one of a robot.

Other details that follow this theme is when Ben is strangled with electrical wires by the creature roaming the halls and gets a computer screen thrown at him.

It's entirely possible Ben is undergoing something that the wire-creature from the holding cell has gone through before. It wouldn't surprise me if this was one of the many ways the Founder uses the orb.

The Founder and Showfall Media

We know very little of the Founder and Showfall, but by going through tweets, videos and any piece of context we get, we can try to figure some things out.

One thing that stood out to me for a long time was the special keynote we got in  “Announcement” over on youtube. A representative of Showfall tells us that they have been providing entertainment for families around this world and that they now have connected with a new frontier to which they want to bring their influence with a new live experience which ends up being the Social Experiments.

The wording is so specific and was some of the first near-solid proof to me that there’s something multiversal going on.

Even when referring to the Founder’s cut in the video "Again", there is the specific mention that it is the “first, a test of what is possible with infinity”, which at first sounded like a tape-rewinding situation, but now with the orb involved may mean literal universal infinity. A sort of disclaimer at the start of "Coming_Soon" also mentions that what wer're about to see actually happend, just not here.

At some point Showfall connected to a new frontier (our world) to show us TSE and “bring their influence” to us. Which might mean that Showfall (and the Founder) have plans to change or influence our world with their “entertainment” too.

In any case, we learn a bit more about this and the Founder’s behavior towards the matter of these stories and frontiers when we receive a letter from the Founder’s desk. It is encoded in what we’ve come to call the Founder’s Cipher, and was addressed to a certain “you”.

Within the text, looking back on it with the multiversal theory in mind, many sentences stand out like:

“There were many like you, but I knew you were special.”

“There is more beyond what I watch.”

“I can create anything.”

“I will create something perfect.”

It’s possible the Founder will use the orb and many more innocent victims to manipulate worlds and people to turn them into a perfect story. The precise motive as to why this is all happening is unclear, but we've been given some vague hints through a certain character Ben meets along his way.

It’s a bit too vague right now to be entirely certain, but when Ben encounters the Fortune Teller and presses its button, we are treated to some deliciously vague allusions of an internal struggle:

“You know this will kill you, you’re chasing someone else’s dream. You are losing everything in the process. What is it all for? The hope of salvation? The hope to do what you believe you are meant to be doing? What is it that you even want anymore? Is this even for you? Who is this even for? Answer me, please.”

We’re told that this audio occurs as the Fortune Teller’s mouth opens after Ben presses the button, so it’s easy to assume this is directed at Ben, which it might as well be, though if we were to assume it’s directed at someone else, like the Founder, the meaning of the text becomes very interesting.

What if the Founder is chasing someone else’s dream? Perhaps someone they looked up to? Someone they lost? This could be grounds for a motive on why they’re desperately forming perfect stories, testing what is possible with infinity, maybe to regain something or someone? Maybe out of revenge? Out of love? Out of spite?

Whatever it is, it has gone wrong and has cost them everything, to the point they may not even know themselves what it’s all for. Perhaps the Founder, through their research and endless experiments, has lost themselves to generation loss too, losing their humanity and everything else along with it. Maybe even more?

Sadly we can only speculate on who it addresses and what it precisely means, but the Fortune Teller has definitely peaked my interest.

Infinitely so (hah) when Ben encounters the machine again in a circus in chapter 6. Here, when we choose not to press the button, the Fortune Teller shows possible awareness of the fourth wall, of us being in control, as he says he’s glad we “explored our options”, but then ends up speaking without the button even being pressed. He even directly responds to the text we see on our screen where we claim to “not have time for this”, as he responds with “I think you do”.

The second time we hear the Fortune Teller speak, however, it’s specified that it is in a different voice:

“He is the end and the beginning, do you ever wonder why everything is happening like this? Or why this damn thing keeps appearing every single time? Or why everyone, everyone but me, seems to just ignore this? It’s not just that, it was never just that. You don’t get it, this isn’t for me. Or for you. It is for everyone here. This is important. What I do.. is finally important.”

The Fortune Teller then tells us it’s almost like “we were meant to see this” in his regular voice.

Now this second text reads as a recording of part of a conversation between two or more people. Someone is telling someone else that “he” is the beginning. So who is talking to who? And who is “he”?

If we are to assume the “he” is the Founder, then it sounds like this is a conversation between two coworkers who maybe work for the Founder, talking about possibly the orb appearing in places, and how it’s “for everyone”.

Though if we assume the person speaking is the Founder, then it may just be that the Founder was looking up to someone who started the work, and ended up finishing it for some reason, feeling like their work is important and impacts many. Though the first assumption feels more obvious.

It’s also fun to note that “beginning” was the password to the Founder’s Game website the first time we found it through the VHS tapes of the Founder’s Cut. However no fitting password has yet been found to the computer.

The Generation and Screens

Probably one of my favourite chapters in my big boy theory.

To look at the bigger picture of it all, what once may have been a simple timeline of literal generations, could now turn into a mess of universes and time periods that all come together to show us the true extent of the Founder’s influence.

I’ve mentioned this before, but another great visual marker of the bridging between “generations” is the text in the corner of several genloss videos, showing us when we’re dealing with generation 0 or generation 1. Much like a camcorder has the date in the corner of the screen, we see the generation something was recorded in. This goes hand in hand with the "tunnels" I've mentioned before.

Whenever we seem to move to Generation 1 we go forward through the tunnel, yet backwards when dealing with Generation 0.

At first I thought this meant time travel or a multiversal scenario, now I'm definitely more inclined to choose the latter. The tunnels appear to work as divides between the worlds, possibly using the orb to cross them.

Once again red is a prevalent colour, much like the red orb, the red tinted worlds, the generation loss symbol and the red square associated with the Founder.

Where do we stand in all this? Well mostly every form of visuals we’ve seen from Showfall or the Founder has been through a screen, be it the VHS tapes people bought, the Social Experiments through twitch, or the games through a literal monitor on the website which doubles up with out own phones/computers/devices we access the site through. It’s always screens (which honestly also really lends itself well for the “careful what media you consume” or “all media is influenced somehow” allegories throughout genloss).

(This post continues in part 2)

[gingerylangylang1979]

Can we not be so hostile about how people write their fics?

This is partly a love letter to A03 which is being maliciously attacked.

Constructive criticism is good. But I have to say one of the things I love most about A03 is that it is such a supportive space for writers to write and share without pressure. I was a bit taken aback that there generally isn’t negative feedback. At first, I thought the glowing praise was maybe coddling and not helpful in pushing people to be better. But I was thinking from my perspective as someone who does professional writing in another capacity and is in an information science field.

But then, I realized fanfic isn’t that type of environment and A03 is the warm embrace of safety and encouragement for people to create at whatever level they are at and readers will meet them there. No, I’m not going to get the structured critique of an editor or a writing workshop instructor. But it isn’t the platform for that. And now I appreciate that. I do writing workshops when I want to fine tune a skill or learn a new approach and want the insights of other writers. But I like that my writing in social media spaces doesn’t have to be polished and perfect. I misspell things. My grammar is bad. Sometimes my flow and continuity is off. But it also yields great work because my mind is free to play without rules.

But one thing I’m noticing not on A03, but on Tumblr, is criticism of how people are writing fic for The Bear. Whether it be who are the main characters in the fic, how aligned characterizations are to canon, how people choose to describe characters emotionally or physically, what perspective someone expresses desire from, fantasizing about a character, living through a character, etc., etc.

Now, I’m not going to say some writers may not know things that are sensitive to others. Correction may be ok, but can the knowledge sharing please be less hostile? If someone is trying to write for your fave from an earnest, positive place, it’s a bit unkind to then scold about them not getting something right. Teach but don’t reprimand. Show examples of alternatives. Or hey, write from your perspective, your lived experience. That’s the best example.

For example, I got tired of never reading Sydney give a blowjob (she’s not too precious), and her never teasing Carmy about being white, and no other characters ever bringing up race aside from a side comment. I also wanted to explore Carmy’s faith tradition since we share it. But, instead of chastising other writers for not doing that, I fucking wrote it.

A03 is pretty low stakes. So there is a lot of material to read. Not all of it is going to be high quality, TO YOU. But guess what, you can read something else, you can write something else. Just try to be kind. Kindness builds community.

[reisolate]

100Kano autism headcanons

I initially wrote this post on Reddit a few months back, but I thought it we could fit better on Tumblr instead, so that's what I will do.

Introduction

We all know that Rentaro's girlfriends are all pretty eccentric in some manner, with all sorts of unique traits, so naturally (heh) some of them might exhibit characteristics associated with autism. So I thought I'd make one post discussing them. Full disclaimer, these are observations I make based on personal experience (I'm autistic and know a bunch of autistic people), and you may have differing opinions.

I'm going to go through the girlfriends that I think demonstrate autistic traits. I'll give my first impression, discuss traits that I've observed, and state whether I think they're autistic. So, let's begin!

Shizuka

Our cute book-loving cinnamon roll. Not sure about her without thinking about it, because her cuteness is so distracting.

Autistic traits

Special interest in books and literature, to the point she's memorized the locations and pages of particular phrases in her favourite books

Selective mutism, as she doesn't speak unless it's absolutely necessary or if she's singing karaoke

Is she autistic?

Maybe. While she does show some traits of autism, I find it hard to make a judgement. You could see her as autistic if you wanted to, but you could also see her as someone who only has social anxiety (though being able to memorize locations of certain phrases in books tilts things towards the former too).

Nano

The intelligent and efficient paragon of beauty. She seems pretty obvious because of everything about her.

Autistic traits

High level of intelligence

High degree of skill in various tasks

Memorization of various pieces of knowledge

Monotone speaking voice

Stimming (reciting the digits of pi whenever faced with uncertainty)

Focus on efficiency can be seen as rigidity

Social difficulties, partially due to her limited regard of social conventions and initially not seeing the purpose of friendship

Compared to an alien, which is a thing that happens with some autistic people

Is she autistic?

Definitely. Her traits definitely fit the classic image of being the straightforward autistic genius that we often see in media. I'd be more surprised if she wasn't.

Kusuri

Our age-shifting drug addict. A bit hard to tell at first glance because of how chaotic she is. Then again...

Autistic traits

Intense special interest in chemistry and making drugs

A prodigy in chemistry, to the point where she has been courted by at least 2 drug labs over the course of the story

Verbal tic of saying "nanoda" could count as a stim, potentially

Intense focus when developing drugs or doing anything related to them.

Infodumping about various drugs during the shopping trip chapter

Is she autistic?

Definitely. Her infodumping was what solidified it for me. In fact, I'd go farther and say she has ADHD too, given how she focuses on developing drugs so much she doesn't even go to the bathroom, as well as seeing how energetic she gets. Probably doesn't help that she has to switch between a child and teenager form too.

Meme

Our shy beauty. She just seems socially anxious, but...

Autistic traits

Shown to be very skilled at knitting, could be a special interest

Incredibly shy (this needs no explanation)

Is she autistic?

Maybe. She definitely has severe social anxiety, which I personally lean towards, but she also can be interpreted as autistic, particularly with her knitting skills, which is why I mention her. I will make no comment on her disappearing abilities as they are far beyond the bounds of neuroscience (or physical science, for that matter).

Chiyo

The order-obsessed younger cousin. She seems like she could be.

Autistic traits

An extremely strong desire for things to be orderly

Has that "rrrgh" grumble when she sees something out of order, which could be a stim

Has rigid moral principles

Melts down when she doesn't have her glasses

Is she autistic?

Likely. Given how much she focuses on things being orderly, as well as her personal sense of justice, it does seem like it. However, there's also the argument that her personality is partially like this due to losing her mother so young. However, given her other personal quirks, my judgement leads me to believe she's on the spectrum. OCD is also likely for her, though to what extent I'm not sure.

Momiji

Our masseuse and soft things enthusiast. I didn't think of her at first, honestly.

Autistic traits

Special interest in massaging and soft things

Able to assess the body muscles of a person on sight

Near-perpetual flat expression on her face, with her lips curled up

Has a more subdued style of talking, and the way she starts her phrases with a mumble makes it seem like it's a stim

Enjoys the sensation of soft things in general, women's bodies in particular, which is an attraction to certain textures

Has a certain disregard for normal social expectations as she regularly gropes others with no concept of boundaries, and doesn't realize how others feel about it

Is she autistic?

Definitely. Now that I think about it, that would explain a lot of Momiji's eccentricity, particularly her enjoyment of soft things and her disregard for personal boundaries. It just makes sense. I really wish she would get more development and story focus.

Suu

The foremost fan of numbers. The fan reaction when she was introduced speaks for itself.

Autistic traits

Has a highly intense special interest in numbers, to the point where her personality dramatically changes when they come up

Socially isolated because no one understands her love for numbers, and she finds it hard to communicate

Usually has a flat expression until numbers come up, at which point her face can be the most adorable thing ever

Is she autistic?

Obviously. Given that she was called "the autism GF" by many when she was introduced, it's quite a no-brainer. She really emphasizes the social struggles autistic people have when others can't comprehend their interests the way they do. In fact, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that if you disagree with this, you’re just plain wrong.

A concluding note on Rentaro

Doing this list and noting these things down just further made me appreciate how devoted, caring, and understanding of a character Rentaro really is. Finding a partner who gets you is hard enough, and it's even harder if you're autistic. The way Rentaro is in tune with the emotions of all his girlfriends, even those harder to understand, just goes to show what an absolutely overpowered character he is.

And that's all. I spent way too much time on this.

[edenfalling]

I want to note that my answer is valid ONLY if I am interlacing my fingers. If I'm keeping all fingers together as a unit, then my left thumb will be on top (and I am still right handed).

[chrisairgames]

A Year in Retrospect

The social media diaspora began a year ago, and I've been neglecting Tumblr. Trying to come back, slowly, so here's what I've been up to since November 2022.

Bio-Drones & Cryo-Clones

From November to February 1st, 2022, I worked on my Zine Month campaign, a Kickstarter for my first ttrpg zine, a Sleeper Crew Adventure for Mothership RPG called Bio-Drones & Cryo-Clones.

I was blown away by the immense show of support. The crowd-funding allowed me to pay for even more art, better and bigger maps, development and editing, and professional layout. I got to make the zine into the amazing package I'd dreamed up.

The zines were sent off to the fulfillment center last Friday! A ton of my ttrpg work time was spent on what's in these boxes, and it's pretty scary to see it go off into a truck. That does mean the zines will be available at retailers soon, though, which just feels nuts to me.

The Unseen City

I also wrote The Unseen City, the first 3pp setting and adventure for Cloud Empress, the ecological science fantasy RPG, the successful Mothership hack from Worlds by Watt.

I go into depth about how this 20pg zine turned evolved from the "Pamphlet Duet" I originally conceived in my most recent newsletter. A lot of struggles, gained some killer art from HodagRPG, and all for a game I'm really quite happy with. I do plan to return to writing more adventures for The Unseen City as well!

Mitosis, Escape from STAR Station

Last year, RV Games published my Mothership pamphlet series The Cerdo Cycle (that was my last Tumblr post!). Shortly after the campaign, Violet asked me to write a giant 8x16 inch pamphlet adventure for RV Games' upcoming in-universe Mothership board game, Mitosis.

I wrote Escape from STAR Station, a gonzo adventure about a Prison Break amidst two warring factions: Cyberviral Pirate Goons & STARS Staff Brainiacs. Both sides are infected by experiments with the Mitosis board game microorganisms. It's a crazy lil adventure with awesome art by Sigmacastell. You can pick up an abridged print-at-home version for free on my itch page, even.

5 Million Worlds RPG

For the One-Page Game Jam this past summer, I submitted a pocketzine Space Adventure hack of Mothership, called 5MW RPG: Avatar Basics.

In this little A4/US Letter space, I've designed two main pulls away from sci-fi horror to space adventure. The first are Push Tables. Similar to the end of act in a Star Trek episode, these tables push the conflict in new and unexpected directions.

The second is a switch from Stress into Limit. Limit is your PC's XP, used to improve Stats/Saves, build towards projects, etc. Notably, instead of a Panic Table, 5MW has two tables: a Break Down table (similar to Panic), and a Limit Break table (like in FF).

When characters are in the shit, and they have to roll a Limit Check, the players can decide whether to spend their XP and do some cool shit to overcome the circumstances, or accept the Break Down. Good ol' @christiansorrell even did a TikTok video discussing the game, if you wanna check that out.

I'm very excited to continue to pursue creating a player's handbook, 5MW RPG: Avatar Primer. If you download the game on itch, I'll keep y'all apprised of substantial updates. Next up is developing the chargen, and reconfiguring the pocketzine as an A6 booklet: 5MW RPG: Avatar Basics+.

Outer Rim Uprising

I was extremely honored to join 11 other designers to create pieces of the Outer Rim Uprising Megabundle, spearheaded by our intrepid leader, Iko of The Lost Bay Studio.

Several months of brainstorming and collaboration went into this 20+ piece bundle. I contributed two pieces for this bundle. The first is a 12pg adventure module Rusted to the Core. Androids aboard an aerostat station floating in a gas giant's clouds have gone on strike. Can the PCs resolve the issues before the Rust overtakes the station?

The second is the more "experimental" Bones on the Ground. Bones is a bifold adventure into an android museum-prison, paired with three diegetic fliers supporting the ARA, the Android Rights Association (or Android Rebel Alliance, depending on who you ask!). Pieces of the three flyers contain clues for PCs who join the ARA to better succeed when they begin their museum infiltration.

A Buncha Spaceship Deckplans

So I have ADHD, and experience bouts of summer mania. Spaceshiptember rolled around, and I thought, "Hey it'd be no problemo to write 30 deckplans and release them this month, while I'm also trying to print BioCryo, promote ORU, starting a newsletter, and finishing up The Unseen City." Totally sane decision, right?

Well, I got through half the month. And I sketched out a third week's worth of ships on paper too. One of those sketches caught Adam STATION's eye, even, and he asked me to join An Infinity of Ships to turn it into a micro-adventure!

As long as this quick-n-dirty zine remains unfinished, it'll be free on itch.io. Again, if you'd like, follow along and I'll send out dev updates when new pages are added!

the dying tides

Another Jam entry, this time for The Lost Bay Studio's system agnostic fantasy setting + coloring book, SKYREALMS.

I made the dying tides as a short, lightweight fantasy adventure to venture among wavebros and squidillies. The art is based on my 4 yo daughter's paintings. Since she loved coloring the SKYREALMS books so much, I figured it was a poetic homage to the kind and mysterious heart of this game.

An Interactive Terminal Network

Last but not least, I smashed my skull against Twine on and off for six months to create a unified Interactive Terminal Network for my Mothership adventure, Bio-Drones & Cryo Clones.

The terminal is absolutely free to play on itch.io. Though passwords that can be found in the zine lock off a few areas. That said, I'm sure many folk could dig out the passwords without the zine. I don't know how to do that stuff. The fact that I even MADE this thing is a miracle to me, hahaha.

Goal for 2023

Talk about this stuff as it's happening so I don't infodump on people like this, haha.

What I'm working on now:

Twisting Unseen

Untitled Liminal Horror adventure

Provisional sketches, for the artist/layout designer.

Also, if you made it this far, thanks.

-Chris Air

[christopherleesgloriousasshole]

so i’m trying to cultivate my dash because i’ve been away for a whole ass decade almost, and so far the only content i actually enjoy that i see is neil gain content, which is great, but i’m just scrolling through liking all of neil gaiman’s stuff.

how do i get more lotr? how do i get back to the science side of tumblr? how about maths, or doctor who?

is superwholock even a thing anymore? the president’s shoe laces? cole sprouse’s social experiment? does anyone even remember the social experiment?

[vile-wizard]

Kay!!!! Dashes into here!!!! Does Kay have any original characters that he loves dearly I would LOVE to hear about them ✨💫💫 Or any current blorbos!! That would also be lovely hehe <33

This is a very difficult ask to answer because there's years of information to tell. I used to play a lot of TTRPGs and on top of making my player character I'd make their friends and enemies and parents and coworkers etc etc etc. I've got some old art of my old OCs floating around in my drawing posting tag. I've also mentioned Jethro here. I also have Tumblr blogs for a lot of them just sitting around gathering dust...

It's a little hard for me to think about Jethro now bc the campaign he was in fell apart but he's still my special little guy. Here are some drawings I did of him from HS, College and current (He's 27 but he acts like a grandpa. It doesn't help that he starts greying VERY early.) As you can see he liked horror films and theatre. Also he is Transgender. Just thought I should mention that.

His whole deal was that he's a Private Investigator looking for his Dad who went missing several years ago. His dad was a PI who did a bunch of dangerous magical cases (did I mention this is a magical world) and Jethro is trying desperately to follow in his footsteps. Jethro has questionable social skills but he watched a ton of movies growing up so he's molded himself after those old timey noire detectives.

At the start of the campaign Jethro is living in his dad's old office (don't worry there's a bathroom attachment). He's making some money taking financial and insurance fraud cases on a freelance basis and..... Well....here are my notes actually:

(His dad and mom were tragically separated before his birth and then his mom got sick but 12 year old Jethro used his burgeoning detective skills and the power of library internet access to find his dad and take a Greyhound bus him)

Anyway. In the campaign the town of Portage (and most of the world) is overrun by Magical Mutated Monsters called Slashers. No one knows how they form or what causes the mutations. There's a science research team looking into it but they keep going missing. Jethro's first task was to find out what happened to one of the missing researchers.

The game was kind of separated into arcs where Jethro and his ragtag team of misfit friends would fight a slasher all while trying to figure out the Truth behind what's going on. Jethro's character build (this game is Urban Shadows btw) is called The Sworn and it basically means he's a fighter for a kind of God. Because this is a horror game the God type thing that Jethro is affiliated with is called The Chorus the Angel of War, Justice, Revenge and Protection. It talks to him sparingly through other things. Fortunately I wrote a disco elysium style thing about Jethro's first interaction with it after his first fight with a Slasher:

Anyway, he starts hearing Voices and despite his Catholic upbringing he's still more than a little freaked by it especially since they're telling him to avenge the dead and stuff. There are more gods in the same and I made a Pinterest for them here. Jethro questions his sanity, humanity and has general existential dread about the whole thing. It's kinda an issue for him because he ALSO experiences hallucinations due to his poor life choices. He self medicates with a variety of sleeping pills throughout the game, something that his friends can't really do anything about because they've all got their own traumas (horror game).

Sorry there's a lot of stuff here and I'm getting ahead of myself. Uhhh personality wise Jethro is very altruistic and sometimes stupidly kind but he also has a deep rooted hero complex. He keeps things to himself and wants to handle matters on his own, which causes a lot of issues.

TLDR; I have so so so so many original characters and there's too much to say. I'm also running out of time to write this because I have a stupid timer on to limit my Tumblr usage lmao BUT YEAH. There's so much thanks for asking

[firefly-fez]

I remember once reading an analyis of Jesus’ ‘turn the other cheeck’ command on tumblr, providing lots of information about the historial context of Roman society and how actually, every example Jesus mentioned was a way of subverting cruel or unjust authority, not tolerating it as most people assume.

Being a tumblr post, I was like, ‘that’s an interesting perspective, but I generally distrust social media as a source of information and I will not incorporate it into my personal belief or understanding of theology.’

...Then I saw a sermon at my church where the pastor speaking - who is very well-versed in biblicak knowlege and hostorical context of the bible - made the exact same case in his exegesis of that very passage.

We joke about tumblr being a ‘net zero information’ site given how unreliable the unreliablility of information is here, but I think the various pieces of information I learn on here generally hold up to be true. Even if they were shared through the supernatural meme.

Sorry, Elon, but I think tumblr’s got you beat.

The accuracy

[geonppangi]

zb1 as ontario universities + programs

yes this is an incredibly niche topic but this has now become my chosen coping mechanism for uni decisions

sung hanbin - queens health science

such a pretty campus

a lot of historic buildings and freshly manicured lawns that i think would fit hanbin perfectly

and like imagine him with soft academia

it’s just a really nice school and its health sci program is one of the best in ontario

like it’s very neutral good

and he feels like he would make a really good doctor, like pov sung hanbin is your family doctor LMFAO

and like i think he’d do a great job, probably has the prettiest notes and always does his part during group projects

zhang hao - queens commerce

ofc i had to keep haobin together

but dw neither is sacrificing their education for the other person (remember kids the only person who can get you your degree is you)

queens commerce is also one of the best business schools in ontario

ik that zhang hao is a music kid but that felt like cheating so this is an alternative!

out of all of zb1 he feels like the most business type person?

like he’s so smart and always plans ahead

so i feel like he could be successful in anything he tried but especially business because it’s so lucrative and opens the door to so many paths

like hanbin i think he suits the clean and historic school vibes

they both have a very curated?? for lack of better word image and i think they’d look like they were in a photoshoot every time they step out on campus

park gunwook - uoft criminology, law and society

university of toronto!!

i’m just saying, debate is literally the gateway to law

and i’d be willing to bet that he has done or considered mock trial so i think this would fit super well

he knows a lot about history and philosophy, so i can see him being interested in studying a humanity

in canada, you need to get a bachelors before going to law school, so a lot of people do something related

this is basically as good as you can get

i also think gunwook would do well in uoft

it can be a kind of isolating experience because the school is so big and a lot of people commute so there isn’t much of a social scene

but as the resident social butterfly, i feel like gunwook would be able to establish a good circle

and also i think he would like the energy of the city

there’s always something to do and both city hall and parliament are literally right next to the campus

alternatively, i considered university of ottawa, which is good for its social science since you know, it’s literally in the capital city of canada so its law program is really good

but honestly there’s not much undergrad wise

i could see him going for graduate school though

i don’t know lawyer gunwook just feels right

he’s good at making decisions, works well under pressure, has the fundamentals down, and is a hard worker so i can definitely see him making it into law school

kim taerae - waterloo computer science

listen

listen

i know that taerae isn’t that genre of nerd

but the glasses

him being losercore

like you can’t tell me he wouldn’t go to the most loser of all loser schools in ontario

(btw waterloo is not bad, it’s actually really good for engineering and comp sci but also everybody there has no life hence the loser allegations)

(also because if you do eng or comp sci you are inherently a loser i’m so sorry pls continue to run tumblr though)

but yeah i can definitely see him doing comp sci maybe like ui ux stuff

actually the more i think about it the more it makes sense for me

he’s also the only thinking (mbti) in zb1 and his fashion sense would fit in perfectly with the rest of the department

seok matthew - mcmaster nursing

like hanbin, i really do see him doing something healthcare related

mcmaster is second for nursing, after uoft, but i don’t think matthew would like toronto as much

from what i’ve heard, vancouver is a lot greener, more laid back, and hiking culture is big there

toronto kind of offers none of that, with the addition of pretty bad air quality comparatively (still pretty good though because canada’s pretty sparsely populated)

mcmaster though is in a smaller town that’s essentially just a university town and also has a trail literally right on campus

it’s a smaller, more tight knit community and nursing is a pretty small program so it’d be even closer

i think he would have a really good time with mcmaster’s social scene

it’s also right by lake ontario and has pretty decent weather

ricky shen - uoft rotman

another business student, are we surprised?

i also considered art but our only really good art school is ocad and as far as i know it doesn’t focus on traditional art as much

so anyways mr young and rich tall and handsome is going to go the business route

uoft is really international student friendly, mostly because they accept a lot of international students and because toronto is also pretty diverse

like you can truly get any type of cuisine here and we have a really big asian population too

so as a person who also immigrated here, i’d say it’s not a terrible transition

definitely the most diverse of any of the ontario schools

once again, the social life at uoft is not great but usually the business schools are better

han yujin - still in high school

han yujin - university of guelph kinesiology

since yujin’s currently studying dance at his school, i thought that kinesiology would be a good fit

for those who don’t know, it’s essentially like sports science?? or studying the way people move and so forth

he also plays soccer and just gives off like sporty vibes?

like the quiet kid who is surprisingly the fastest on the team

once again, uoft is technically the best for this, but it’s kind of a scary place to go into alone so i can see yujin choosing a quieter school

i’d say guelph is even more closely knit than mcmaster by virtue of it being a smaller city and a smaller school

they have a solid health science program though and good student support too, which i think he’d benefit from

kim jiwoong - uoft english literature

so

i know that he is an actor

and i considered having him go the performing arts route

however, i know nothing about those schools and once again i think it’d be too easy

so to make my life harder, instead of having jiwoong perform shakespeare plays, i’m making him read and analyze them instead

he gives off like that one english teacher you had who changed your life and helped you rekindle your love of reading after your gifted burnout yknow

but yeah i see him going into english lit to go be a teacher

and uoft would be perfect for that because it not only has i believe one of the largest libraries in north america, but also a really big teachers college once he’s done getting his bachelors

he also seems like he would be able to fit in in any environment, so i don’t see uoft’s size or atmosphere being a problem for him

kim gyuvin - toronto metropolitan university performance: acting

i saved the best for last

ik i literally just said that i wasn’t going to do performing arts for jiwoong but this is different

something about his performance during the musical segment of boys planet changed the way i viewed him forever

like??????? how is he that good for like the most random challenge ever

i think he’d be really good at acting seriously so anyways!

also tmu (formerly known as ryerson) is just a very fun vibe

it’s in the more downtown area of toronto compared to uoft and right by the entertainment district

the nightlife is so good and gyuvin would probably be the life of the party

tmu’s also like uoft’s funkier younger cousin so i think that fits his vibe well

[yourbutcboyfriend]

Exploring Xeno-Identity and Neo-Identity: Expanding the Horizons of Personal Identity

In our rapidly evolving world, identity is one of the most complex and personal aspects of human experience. Our understanding of it is ever-expanding, especially with the rise of digital platforms and new terminologies. Two such concepts that have emerged within this expansive realm are xeno-identity and neo-identity. These concepts push the boundaries of traditional identity categories, introducing us to deeper, more fluid interpretations of self.

This Tumblr post will explore xeno-identity and neo-identity, discuss their differences and overlaps, and examine how they can deepen our understanding of personal identity, inviting us to think beyond the binaries and conventional markers that have often constrained identity discourse.

Xeno-Identity: Alien and Otherworldly Self-Expression

Xeno-identities represent an entirely different paradigm of identity exploration. The term “xeno” stems from the Greek word for “stranger” or “foreigner.” As applied to identity, it references the experience of aligning oneself with something that feels alien, otherworldly, or entirely outside the scope of conventional human experiences.

What Is Xeno-Identity?

Xeno-identities emerge from the idea that certain individuals might not feel aligned with traditional human categories such as gender, species, or even planetary origin. Instead, they identify with concepts, energies, or entities that are alien or unfamiliar to human frameworks. These identities often draw from mythological, science fiction, or speculative worldviews.

For example, a person who identifies as a starseed may feel a deep connection to the idea that their soul or essence originates from an extraterrestrial race, while others may feel connected to supernatural beings, such as dragons, elves, or spirits from alternate dimensions.

Xeno-identities can extend beyond physical or fantastical beings to more abstract experiences, such as feeling connected to a specific emotion, element, or energy. Someone may identify as an emotion-being, experiencing their identity primarily through specific emotional states or energies, such as love, rage, or serenity, rather than through material or biological markers.

Why Does Xeno-Identity Matter?

Xeno-identities challenge the deeply ingrained assumption that identity must be tethered to physical reality or existing societal categories. These identities allow people to embrace the unknown and the other as valid expressions of self.

Xeno-identities often emerge from a deep sense of alienation or otherness that people feel within the frameworks of human society. For some, mainstream identity categories like gender or species simply do not resonate. Xeno-identity offers a path of self-expression for those who might otherwise feel lost or invisible.

In terms of its cultural and psychological relevance, xeno-identity expands our conception of self to include realms we previously thought of as purely fictional or symbolic. It can offer a sense of belonging to individuals who feel disconnected from the typical frameworks of identity, helping them find or create community in places that once seemed impossible.

Neo-Identity: Reinventing and Reinterpreting Identity

On the other hand, neo-identity focuses on newly created identities that reinterpret existing frameworks or arise from modern cultural and social changes. “Neo” derives from the Greek word for “new,” and within the context of identity, it signifies the creation of novel categories or hybrids that reflect contemporary understanding and experiences of identity.

What Is Neo-Identity?

Neo-identities often evolve from traditional identity labels but break away from historical or normative expectations. For example, while traditional gender categories were once limited to male and female, neo-identities introduce terms like nonbinary, genderfluid, demigender, and agender, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of gender that goes beyond binary definitions.

Neo-identities also include those identities that are created in response to modern experiences of intersectionality, which is the understanding that multiple aspects of identity—such as race, gender, class, and sexuality—overlap and interact. For example, a Black queer person may identify with a neo-identity label that reflects the distinct combination of their cultural, racial, and sexual experiences.

Moreover, neo-identities can emerge in response to technological advancements and digital environments. Terms such as digisexual or technogender represent identities shaped by relationships with technology, virtual worlds, or artificial intelligence. As the internet increasingly becomes a primary arena for social interaction, these identities signal the ongoing evolution of the human self in response to changing environments.

The Importance of Neo-Identities

Neo-identities are essential for several reasons. Firstly, they reflect the growing need for more precise labels to describe the complex ways people experience the world. As society progresses and becomes more inclusive of diverse experiences, language itself must evolve to match that inclusivity. Neo-identities offer more precise articulation for individuals whose experiences were previously misunderstood or left out of traditional frameworks.

Secondly, neo-identities challenge the idea that identity is fixed or stable. Instead, they invite us to consider identity as dynamic, fluid, and adaptable to changes in both individual self-understanding and societal context. They ask us to be open to the idea that our language and categories of identity will continue to expand, reflecting the continuous evolution of humanity.

Finally, neo-identities affirm the importance of self-determination and self-naming. In a world where oppressive structures have historically imposed categories on individuals based on race, gender, or class, neo-identities represent a reclaiming of power. They offer a way for people to assert control over how they are seen and understood.

Expanding Our Understanding of Personal Identity

Both xeno-identities and neo-identities invite us to think about identity as far more complex and multifaceted than we might have previously considered. They challenge the assumption that identity must always be rooted in physical, societal, or biological realities, opening up space for abstract, fictional, and emergent forms of self-understanding.

At their core, both identity types broaden our view of what it means to be human, or perhaps even what it means to exist as a conscious being. They also reveal that identity is not just about fitting into predefined categories but can be a process of creation, exploration, and imagination.

Xeno and Neo: Common Ground and Differences

While xeno-identities and neo-identities share the common goal of expanding the boundaries of self-expression, they differ in their origins. Xeno-identities often involve aligning oneself with external or unfamiliar concepts, such as otherworldly beings or energies. In contrast, neo-identities typically arise from reinterpreting existing frameworks and building new categories based on modern cultural experiences.

Nevertheless, both concepts emphasize the fluidity of identity and the importance of self-determination. They empower individuals to define themselves on their own terms, outside of society’s traditional expectations.

Conclusion

Xeno-identity and neo-identity represent crucial developments in the ongoing conversation about what it means to have an identity. They push the limits of traditional categories, opening up new avenues for self-expression, self-discovery, and community-building. By embracing these identities, we allow ourselves to imagine a more inclusive world where people are free to explore and define themselves beyond the limitations of biological, cultural, or societal norms.

In many ways, xeno-identities and neo-identities remind us that identity is not only about fitting into boxes but about creating spaces where we feel truly seen and understood. As our world continues to change, so too will our understanding of identity, and these new forms of self-expression are essential in helping us navigate that evolution.

[spiderfreedom]

stop being obtuse about female people in technology

While trying to find one of my own posts (tumblr search is dire), I stumbled upon a critique of the American Anthropological Association and Canadian Anthropology Society session that was meant to discuss the importance of biological sex in anthropology. The critique asserted that the conference was anti-trans hate. But this segment caught my attention:

Why is this poster so convinced that the number of trans women in IT is not 'statistically significant'? As far as I know, there are no academic studies on this. Kathleen Richardson's session didn't go through so we don't know if she had data on trans women in IT that OP does not!

I looked up this quote to see if there was any more information about this canceled panel, and found this hacker news thread with both an appalling lack of understanding of what biological sex (hint: it is not your phenotype) is and this argument for why trans women should count as women in IT:

Let’s suppose the motive of wanting more women in tech is to rally against historic prejudices and institutional biases, in order to assist an otherwise marginalised group towards a more equal footing with the traditional power brokers, men. If you can’t see how this extends to trans women, a group that is almost inarguably as oppressed as cis women, regardless of whether you view them as ‘true’ women, then I can only assume bad faith.

Looks like we have to explain why you cannot treat trans women and cis women interchangeably, and why doing so is harmful.

The stereotype of the "trans girl programmer" exists for a reason. If you find someone in ROM hacking or Linux development identifying as a woman, there is a very high chance that this person will be a trans woman. There is also a very high chance that this person presented as a man most of their life and transitioned late. In other words, they gained their experience in tech while other people (correctly) assumed they were biologically male, and treated them as men.

Undoubtedly their situation changes once they come out as trans. They may not be as respected anymore by predominantly male community members. And if they pass as women, then they likely do experience misogyny. If they transition early, like pediatric transitioner Kim Petras, then they will also face very different struggles from late transitioners. Do you think that a pediatric transitioner entering the IT field as someone who's been socialized as female since 16 and a late transitioner who entered the field as a man and transitioned at 40 will have had the same experience in tech?

Understanding this is key to understanding why "including trans women as women in IT" with no distinction by demographic may not actually be helping. Treating 'trans women' as a monolith is not helpful to anyone - not to cis women, not to female people, and certainly not to trans women.

Let's use an example: Lynn Conway. Lynn Conway is a famous trans woman in computer science. Lynn transitioned in 1968, at age 33, and then went 'stealth' for the rest of her career, only coming out in 1999 at age 61. Being that there are no reports of Conway being 'outed', I can believe that from 33 to 61, Conway's coworkers simply believed that she was a cis woman, and assumed that she was female, and so she would have been subject to misogynistic assumptions about female people's capabilities in technology. I can imagine that Conway may have been harassed or sexualized or belittled because other people viewed her as a female, with no knowledge of her male past.

However, it is worth pointing out that for 33 years of her life, Lynn Conway lived as a man. Because Lynn Conway is male, she would have been socialized and raised as a boy.

Because Lynn Conway did not make an effort to appear as a female person for 33 years of her life (with the exception of one year 1957-58 with a 'failed medical transition', which is left unclear), this means that when Lynn Conway went to MIT, when Lynn Conway worked as an electronics technician, when Lynn Conway studied engineering at Columbia university, and when Lynn Conway was hired at IBM, Lynn Conway was presenting as a man, was viewed as a male person by the people hiring and educating her, and therefore socially benefitted from not being of the female sex.

Lynn Conway would not have been told for those 33 years of her life that technology was "for boys" and therefore she should not engage in it. Lynn Conway would not have been told that being at a computer would "make her ugly and undesirable to men." Lynn Conway would not have had to worry about being sexually harassed by boys, or even being raped and impregnated. Lynn Conway had two children, who she did not have to carry to term, because she had no eggs or uterus but a penis and sperm. As the impregnating partner, Lynn Conway's career did not suffer from discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. Conway did not have to deal with pregnancy and the trauma of birth and recovery in a society that heavily coerced mothers into giving up their careers once they had children.

In fact, being male allowed Lynn Conway to study at Columbia university, because Columbia university did not accept female students until 1983.

Lynn Conway began her career as a 33-year old "woman in tech" with advantages that no other 33-year old female person at the time could have had. Not being sexualized, not being told that females are stupider than males, being allowed to enroll normally at Columbia University. While her accomplishments as a stealth, cis-presenting trans woman in technology should actually inspire women, in so far as they show that it is possible for someone presenting as female to succeed in technology, it would be irresponsible to ignore that Lynn Conway had multiple advantages on account of being male.

This is not to say that Lynn Conway or other late-transitioners do not suffer. Lynn Conway appeared to have suffered from depression due to dysphoria. I have no doubt that Conway's mental health suffered for those 33 years because of dysphoria. After transitioning, she was not allowed to see her kids anymore on the basis that it would have been a 'bad influence' to have a 'transsexual' near them. After going stealth, she was basically unable to talk about her past at all, which is isolating and scary.

But we must recognize that lack of privilege in one area (being trans) does not mean that one does not experience privilege in another (being a male person). Whether the ledger of benefits versus penalties adds up to a positive or negative sum does not change that the benefits of being male happened.

So here's a question - if we know that female people face special challenges compared to male people in general, that female people are sexualized by male people, that female people are presumed incompetent and unintelligent by male people on account of their female biology and 'female brains', and that trans women are only oppressed on the basis of misogyny when other people mistake them as females...

How will it help female people overcome socialization and societal barriers by showing them male people who had most of their education and experience in technology as males, and only transitioned once their careers were more secure? The answer is it doesn't. Frankly it doesn't even help trans women who transition early!

Once again, this does not mean that trans women don't face problems, barriers, and even misogyny. Even late-transitioning trans women in tech face barriers to their career once they come out. Tech bros are hardly the most welcoming people to gender non-conforming people.

But it means our problems are very different. When someone says that we should not hire women because they get pregnant and leave, a trans woman can always say that she is incapable of becoming pregnant because she has no uterus or eggs, and is thus a more desirable worker. When someone says that female brains are inferior to male brains, less prone to genius, and less interested in technical development, how does that apply to trans women, especially ones who transitioned late in their lives and therefore weren't even on HRT for most of their critical development?

there are literally already jokes online about trans women being better at technology, math, and science than cis women (female people).

So frankly, Kathleen Richardson's research on this topic would have been fascinating to hear. How many trans women are there in programming? When do they transition? Did they gain their prominence in STEM before or after transitioning to feminine?

There's very little data about this. Anecdata suggest that some communities (ROM hacking and Linux kernel, as mentioned above) have very high numbers of trans women as opposed to cis women. And statistical data on Haskell programmers suggests that the ratio of trans to cis women is 1:1. In other words, 3% of Haskell programmers are women-identified, but only half of them are female. (link)

If your only concern is whether people presenting as women are succeeding in STEM, then maybe you don't really care about this! But I care about female people because I know being female comes with significant challenges, and I think having data on this matters! If there has been a huge jump in the number of women in programming, but that jump comes entirely from previously male programmers transitioning to female, then all that means is that people whose careers were secure changed their gender marker! No actual advances were made for female people!

Nothing about this topic is anti-trans. You can discuss dysphoria, transphobia, transmisogyny, the mental health impact of going stealth, the (mis)treatment of trans women in technology, the challenges of coming out as a late-career professional, the challenges of entering a career as a trans woman, perfectly well.

You can also do that while acknowledging that there is a difference between presenting/being read as female and having a female body, being raised and socialized as a female person, and dealing with the unique challenges of being a female person in technology.

In fact, we need to both if we have a commitment to social justice. If you don't care about the struggles of female people and the way data on our experiences can be obscured by collating trans women with us, then I'm not sure you have a commitment to social justice or feminism.