#i am not a very good source on this as I am white and cis

[floating-plants]

https://transgriot.com/recent-news/dey-dem-a-black-exclusive-pronoun/

https://pronomen.net/er%26dey

https://www.reddit.com/r/NonBinary/comments/108wz5e/german_nonbinary_pronouns/

https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/world-57172398

https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/world-57174684

https://pronoun.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000000040264

Please do not reblog my links without my tags as context! Thanks

going to someones blog and they have their pronouns listed as "dey/dem" and youre like "oh ok neopronouns i havent heard of before" but then you start scrolling through deir blog and dey exclusively post in an exaggerated mafia goon voice and now you're genuinely unsure if dey use they/them but spelled it funny as part of the bit or if dey use neopronouns which are an extension of the bit

[dalishious]

Hi, hope you're doing well!

I had to unfollow you/block a lpt of tags for a while until I beat datv but I'm so happy to be back. You're one of the first da blogs I followed, and I see you've gotten a lot of argumentative people at the moment, but I just want to say I think that you're great, and I appreciate the candid way you answer people.

Just a quick question, you said Taash's rivaini route had a lot of bullshit? I've just beaten the game for the first time and that was the route I chose so I was wondering if you could elaborate?

Thank you!

Disclaimer: A lot of this is written from a personal place. In no way am I trying to discredit anyone who feels differently. That even includes Trick Weekes, when it comes to the gender stuff at least. And please keep hatred of Taash out of this post; as I say in the end, I do still really enjoy Taash as a character!

The player first meets Taash when still identifying as a woman. However, Taash soon comes to realize they are not a woman; they are non-binary. While most of this answer will be quite critical of Taash’s story, there are positives I would like to acknowledge first. For example, I do think that the dialogue options surrounding the acceptance of Taash’s gender is fairly good. I like that you can be encouraging but not pushy about them exploring their identity further, when the topic first comes up. If you play as a non-binary character yourself, you are able to relate to Taash on a personal level, and provide them with a sense of kinship outside that which they seek from the Shadow Dragons, (who apparently double as both abolitionists and queer support group?) The game makes it clear that Taash’s gender is not just player-reactive; if the player chooses to avoid Taash’s personal questline, Taash still later on announces they are non-binary and use they/them pronouns now, with a game notification letting you know they went and embraced that with the help of Neve and Harding. And while some people have criticized the use of terms like non-binary as “not being fantasy enough” for their tastes, I personally think it’s perfectly fine to be overt like that, instead of dancing around the topic. I saw a post on a recommended Facebook page from some cis person who said they learned a lot about gender diversity because the game went out of the way to be so blatantly inclusive. Yes, there are a moments I can agree are kind of cringe, but lord knows there’s plenty of cringe in other regards as well with the writing, so it’s not like it’s exclusive to Taash’s gender writing. Overall, I think it’s a good exploration about someone stepping outside of a binary view of gender, except for one glaring problem: It is so very, very, white.

Trick Weekes, Taash’s writer, is non-binary themself, but they are also a settler living in the colonial project known as Canada. And that has very clearly influenced their perspective on how they think gender and culture works. With Taash’s writing for the Rivaini route, Weekes paints a picture that their gender journey must come at the sacrifice of their cultural identity, as if the two must be distinctive, separate things. What’s worse, is how binary the cultural identity aspect to Taash’s story is; ironic for a character who is supposed to be about stepping outside a box like that!

Not once, not twice, but three times, Rook is forced to choose to convince Taash if they should be Rivaini or Qunari. The first time, there is an option to say “why not both?” But that option is not present the second or third time the dialogue prompt comes up. The one that hurt me the most is when Taash is clearly having a breakdown over who they want to be vs. who they were raised to be, and the only way to try and console them is to make them pick a singular thing to identify as.

I also think it was a hugely missed opportunity, in choosing to have a bunch of Tevinter humans be Taash’s only source of learning about gender diversity. We know from codex entries that they talk to the Shadow Dragons about that topic, but apparently no one else? Why not have Taash consult a Rivaini Seer for advice, or hell, how about adding more qunari characters who aren’t just standard brutes to mash buttons against in a fight? So, in limiting the scope of this knowledge to just Tevinter humans, Taash is only getting more reinforcement that gender comes before any other cultural identity.

As a Two-Spirit person, I cannot stress enough that gender and culture do not exist in two separate vacuums. They can overlap and/or can be essentially under the same umbrella. So, when Weekes writes about Taash struggling with cultural identity and gender identity at the same time, I can understand that feeling so well. But I cannot understand the written approach Weekes takes. The message I received was “your gender is more important than your culture.” Which again, I must stress is such a white colonial idea of queerness.

I do really like Taash despite these shortcomings from Weekes, though. Just like how I really like Sera despite Kristjanson’s bullshit in Inquisition. I’m not about to hate on a character just because there are certain parts of their writing that I think should have been handled better, when there are more parts that are really fun about Taash. They are so refreshingly autistic-coded in a way that doesn’t punish them for being so, for example.

[ros-sauce]

Oughg my god Speaking of Mizuki Regularly Getting The Trans Flag Glued To Her Forehead. Today I am thinking about Solitus Utopia. Big yap session ahead

In terms of cards, it's probably The bluntest example of aforementioned trans flag forehead gluing; pink, blue, and white take center stage. And ouughhh. OUGHHGH. The placement of those colors is making me absolutely crazy

Her outfit has a similar deal to her first casual outfit. Lot of blue and white happening with the clothes, and then her hair and eyes are the pink needed to complete the set. To me, what that says is "This character is a walking trans flag, and she herself is the pink. The Girl Color. The girl!"

I've always felt that pink being the only one of those three colors to be Attached To Her was significant, but it's only now that I'm realizing that the clothing has significance too... I'm feeling two meanings from it:

It signifies the importance of cute clothing in Mizuki's transition. Being as cutesy as possible and altering her silhouette are some of her main tools in the way of passing as cis. (The former being a source of joy and the latter being a dysphoria alleviator also deserve mentioning!!). Her clothes complete the trans flag that her Girl Color Hair started; her clothes build up the road she took on the journey that her Girl Color Very Being started. ... And on a less positive note, I think there is also some significance to the fact that the trans flag color palette is only all there when something is Applied To Her. Without her outfit, she's just Girl Color. When the outfit is put on her, the Girl Color is made to be a part of something else, The Trans Colors. Your first thought is no longer "That's a girl and she happens to be Girl Color. Neat!", but "That's a trans girl and she happens to be Trans Colors. Neat!". I feel like there are parallels between that and how much she hates being labelled Different. This is crude, but it's how the words want to come out of my mouth. Sorry: Because Society Says So, you don't need to wear clothes at home, but you do in public. Because Society Says So, Mizuki can exist as Just A Girl when she's at home. She can be Just Pink. "Her home" means two things here. Firstly, Literally Her House, with Yuuki "Ally 9000" Akiyama & her supportive-enough-I-guess parents being the only people who she interacts with. To them, she's just a girl, and they're not weird about it. They know she's trans, but they don't act any particular way because of that. Her other home is Nightcord, at least before Niigo started meeting up in person. As Amia, she was assumed to be a cis girl, and there was no risk (in their pre-mainstory days) of Niigo ever finding out otherwise. While being presumed cis isn't quite as close to "Girl With No Modifiers" as living with an unfathomably based family, it still didn't carry the Othering that she's used to accompanying her status as a trans girl. If she wants to exit her home, she has to put on the clothes, has to put on the label that is made when the color palette is completed, and go from "Girl" to "Girl And By The Way Did You Know She's Trans?". And that makes everyone and their mother feel like it's fine to treat her weird. The pitying and resentment that she fears so much at best, and "HEY DID YOU KNOW SHE'S NOT NORMAL? ISN'T THAT WEIRD? AGREE WITH ME NOW OR YOU'RE WEIRD TOO" to anyone who'll listen at worst. With a million billion other forms of othering in between. (Hm. Suddenly I'm thinking about blue's absence from her 3rd anni casual outfit. She's no longer a walking trans flag, and is way pinker than before. Because it's a marketable game with marketable characters, we always had good reason to expect Niigo to be normal about her when the secret came out. But still, I feel like having Even More Girl Color glued to her forehead in Trans Palette's place could be considered some kind of foreshadowing for Niigo being normal... BUT ANYWAY this is not a post about the most incredible pants this world has ever seen, this is a post about Solitus Utopia, so I'll get back to that now.)

With the clothing out of the way, I'd like to move on to the rest of the card. This card is from late 2022, when Mizuki's transness was not quite as obvious ("a few inches away" levels of in-your-face as opposed to the more "you are a school principal at a fundraiser and her transness is a cream pie" level we are at now). This makes me extra ready to take this card as an unspoken "To be clear yes she is a trans girl".

The background walls and furniture are largely blue, and the decor is largely pink and white (and purple. Hi, Niigo!). The former is something that's hard to alter or move or acquire more of, whereas it's pretty easy with the latter. If you have walls or furniture that you hate, you can make it look more palatable by decorating it with things you like, with relative ease. Mizuki did that! The background is covered in all manner of fashion-related pink things, and the pink sewing machine and other supplies carry the implication that she made them herself. They do a great job carrying out their purpose, popping so much in comparison to the blue walls that said walls appear more grey than anything else. And also, you don't really feel like looking at the walls, because all that decor makes them Not Really A Point Of Interest.

To me, that sounds a whole lot like transitioning. There's an unfortunate status that's pretty hard to get rid of, both legally and socially, because Government and People just love to obsess over what you were assigned at birth. But changing the way you appear helps make things more bearable for you, both because you're happier looking a certain way, and because the public is slightly less awful to you when you look a certain way.

Cycling back to the "you focus on the pink things more than anything" point, I feel like the most significant pink thing is Mizuki herself. And I think that is also very nice!! Her pinkness is at the very center of the card. It is the heart of the card! Pink!! Girl color!! Heart!! Mizuki's heart is girl color!! Woah!!

(Obligatory "I do not speak Japanese and I do not live there, so I could be wrong", but I think "I was born with an [insert gender] body, but my heart is [insert other gender]" is a fairly popular way of describing being transgender in Japan? I feel like that phrasing has been losing popularity in English, but I still hear it fairly often in Japanese LGBT+ circles on social media and stuff. If I'm right, then that adds a few more significance points to the Pink Center Of Card thing)

Neat card. I love this pink girl a lot

[ocean-sunfish-hater]

The Real Life Biology of the Three Body Problem Series

In the first book of Liu Ci Xin's Three Body Problem series, we are introduced to our main antagonists, the Trisolarans. Whilst we never get to see them directly, we are shown some of their biology via the game that our protagonist plays.

ID: A grand domed palace in a chinese style sits in the background of the image. The foreground has hundreds of ancient Chinese soldiers holding white placards on sticks. Two people dressed in Chinese armour can be seen riding horses towards the palace.

In the game it is revealed that Trisolaris, the planet in the Alpha Centauri system on which the aliens reside, revolves around not one, but three suns. As such, the system is subject to the classic physics conundrum of the three body problem (after which the first book in the series is named), which states that for most initial conditions the trajectories of three celestial bodies is chaotic and difficult to predict.

This means that Trisolaris experiences very extreme, unpredictable conditions, divided into "stable eras" and "chaotic eras". Stable eras come about when Trisolaris settles into orbit around one of its three suns, bringing relative prosperity to the planet. However, chaotic eras result in disasters, such as extreme droughts, seemingly endless nights, and even changes in gravity. The first novel partially revolves around the Trisolarans attempting to see if humans could collectively solve the three body problem and bring some level of predictability to their planet.

During the course of the game, it is revealed to the protagonist (and us, the readers), that in order to cope with the devastation and unpredictability of chaotic eras, the Trisolarans can dehydrate themselves and enter a spore-like state, hibernating until the next stable era comes. This allows them to bypass some of the extreme conditions and ensures the survival of the species as a whole.

Believe it or not, we have our very own Trisolarans here on Earth. In fact, there's loads of examples, from bacteria to triops, to my favourite of the bunch, Bdelloid Rotifers.

ID: An electron micrograph of some Bdelloid Rotifers and their mouthparts. They are long and slender, with a distinct mouth and tail section. Their mouthparts look like two semicircles lined with a comb-like structure.

These microscopic animals look freaky, because they are. If you've got any media literacy you've probably picked up by now that I am segueing here because they are somewhat similar to the aliens in the Three Body Problem, except this time they are very much real. Like the Trisolarans, Bdelloids live in very ephemeral environments: their usual haunts are the very thin film of water on moss and lichen. As you can imagine, these do not last all that long, and thus when they dry up, so do the Bdelloid Rotifers; in biology, we call this process anhydrobiosis.

"Ok, that's all well and good Ocean Sunfish Hater, but why do you like these guys more than the other anhydrobiotic creatures that roam our good, green Earth?" I hear you ask.

So you know how things that reproduce asexually don't have all that much genetic variation, and how sexual reproduction gives you an edge over asexual populations since you can keep that genetic variation fun and funky fresh, and how that has been the cornerstone for eukaryotic reproduction? Well. Well. Just like me, Bdelloid Rotifers have been completely celibate for 35-40 million years, with some people even bringing that number up to 100 million years, when they diverged from their sister clade. So how do these turbo-virgins not go extinct, racking up tonnes of deleterious mutations, not having any advantageous innovations, and eventually exploding into a genetic soup?

The secret lies in their ability to dehydrate. Not only is it a really handy dandy way to stay alive when your only source of water is gone, it literally rips apart their cells and genes! And why! Why the fuck does that help? It sounds like the opposite of helping!

ID: An electron micrograph of the foot of a Bdelloid Rotifer. It has been shaded a light green. The structure looks almost like a face, with a smile and two stalk-like structures that could be mistaken for eyes. But this is not a face.

Having this mild-to-moderate level of cell membrane and chromosomal damage enables the Bdelloids to take up genetic material from their environment, mostly via their digestive systems, where their last meals are slowly being broken down to reveal that juicy DNA inside. When the water returns and the Bdelloids rehydrate, this genetic material gets incorporated into their chromosomes as their cells get back to work repairing themselves. And they sure ain't picky. In fact, it has been shown that in some species of Bdelloids, up to 8% of their genetic material has non-animal origins. How cool is that?

This is probably what has allowed them to continue adapting and evolving, even when they have been reproducing asexually for so long. This strategy has been so successful that the Bdelloids have managed to diversify into over 450 species. Pretty impressive for a class of animals that haven't had sex in over 40 million years.

Perhaps the Trisolarans might have a similar mechanism as part of their biology (even if they do reproduce sexually as stated in the book). Maybe they've managed to survive for this long because they have been able to absorb useful genes from their home planet, just like Bdelloids have been doing here on Earth. I don't know if these are what Liu Ci Xin had in mind when he wrote the Three Body Problem, but they sure were what I was thinking of when I read the book.

If you're still here, thanks for reading! I know this was a bit of a longer post, but I just wanted to use the new Netflix show to talk about one of my favourite books and one of the weirdest, most underappreciated animals.

[blue-orange-pancakes]

Okay, I've had some time to think on the new Jason Todd comic and this is how I ended up:

- allegedly, Loeb was going to kill a batfam member in his stupid H2SH (forgot the source). For obvious reasons, we now know that Jason and Helena are surviving Loeb's, one of my terrible enemies, return to mainline bat comics.

- this comic is going to be written by a trans woman. Good!! We need more diversity in comic writers and it also shows that dc is maybe finally picking up that continuously hiring exclusively white cis men might be a bad idea. iirc there's also another trans person on the creative team. That's a win for sure.

- the interior art preview looks good. No Tim Drake: Robin mishaps with the art here.

- I did however not see any christian symbolsism on Helena's suit, which, gotta say, very disappointing. C'mon DC you've had her for ages let's not go down this path.

- It looks like Jason's finally getting out of Gotham, which is great!! That's what I wanted, actually. Not sure why they stuck him in New Orleans of all places but I'm not American and my only experience with New Orleans is the animated princess and the frog movie so maybe I'm missing some cultural context here or smth.

- on that note, I'm not entirely sure why Helena is in New Orleans. She's very Gotham based when she's not with BOP and I like her that way. What's she doing over there and how can I get her back.

- Jason's also getting a suit upgrade. Neat. How far we've come since pillhead Jason...

- It's not gonna be copaganda!! The author has previously expressed anti-cop or cop-critical sentiments and the current Nightwing run and Far Sector have proven that DC isn't against publishing cop-critical stuff. That's good because most of Dc's cop stories are kinda bad (current NW and Far Sector excluded, obligatory everyone go read Far Sector mention)

- I am kinda worried what DC is doing with Helena. My girl deserves to be in BOP. At first I feared Kelly Thompson (obligatory everyone go read Absolute Wonder Woman mention) couldn't get her because Loeb was gonna kill her off, which is obviously not a valid concern anymore. But if Thompson couldn't get her because Helena is going to be in this run, I'm still mad. Helena can star in two comics at one time without letting the universe explode, I'm sure. Dick Grayson at least seems to manage fine appearing in like 6 comics simultaneously so I'm sure Helena can too.

- which brings me to the most worrisome thing, which is the blatant foreshadowing of a Helena/Jason romance. Which I do not want. Which nobody needs. We've seen what happened to Kory (pre flashpoint kory you'll literally always be missed) and Roy when they were forced to be Jason's friends.

Also, I'm not really sure Jason and Helena's policies are actually that similar? Look I hate every aspect of fanon JT but canon JT is not without his merits. They're few and far in between but he can be a decent character when he isn't busy being an asshole I can't stand. Anyway, I think that while yes, they do both kill that doesn't mean they're like immediately compatible. Add that to the uncomfortable history of women being flattened into cardboard cutouts to prop up men in comics (even recent ones!!) I'm not happy that a Helena/Jason romance is what they're doing. But hey maybe they'll handle it good and will treat Helena with respect! Like... it's... a... possibility... right?

yeah I think that was everything. We'll just have to wait and see but I'm like 60% sure this comic is gonna be a good Jason comic and I'm 20% sure it's gonna be good for Helena. My girl you deserve a solo or at least a BOP membership. If they won't give her to Thompson... Rucka's doing a Cheshire/Cheetah mini so I'm sure DC can get another Huntress maxi out of him. Ivory Maddison would be good too. Not sure what she's up to these days though. And I'm still holding out hope for a Tamaki Huntress ongoing. But this is maybe a good step in the right direction.

[dailyanarchistposts]

To become what we need to each other, and to find power in friendship, is to become dangerous.

—anonymous[41]

I have a circle of friends and family with whom I am radically vulnerable and trust deeply—we call it coevolution through friendship.

—adrienne maree brown[42]

The urgency of making kin[43]

Empire works in part by constantly attenuating and poisoning relationships. Kinship has been enclosed within the nuclear family, freedom within the individual, and values within morality. Together, these enclosures sap relationships of their intensity and their transformative potential. If relationships are what compose the world and our lives, then the “free individual” of modern, Western capitalism (an implicitly straight, white, able-bodied, cis-gendered, property-owning man) is a sad and lonely vision: a strange fiction invented by a violent and fearful society, walled in by morality and self-interest. This is an uprooted being who sees his rootlessness—his very incapacity to make and sustain transformative connections—as a feat of excellence.

We suggest that Empire’s grip on relationships is being broken by new and resurgent forms of intimacy through which people come to depend on each other, defend each other, and become dangerous together. Friendship as freedom, in this story, names interdependent relationships as a source of collective power, a dangerous closeness that Empire works to eradicate through relentless violence, division, competition, management, and incitements to see ourselves as isolated individuals or nuclear family units.

Spinoza helps us dissolve the fiction of the modern Western individual—and its oscillation between self-interest and morality—into a relational ethics. A lot of people already navigate their everyday lives in this way, attuned and responsive to their own situations and relationships. Along these lines, we draw on a minor current of anarchism associated with Gustav Landauer and others that centers relationships as the basis of resistance and movement. We bring these currents into conversation with Indigenous worldviews and practices, along with the ethical questions that are being asked and answered in a multiplicity of ways, in different places, around decolonizing relationships between settlers and Indigenous people. This conversation always includes questions of how to sever harmful relationships. Freedom, in this sense, is not just the capacity to generate “good” relationships, but also to draw lines in the sand and fight.

[buriedyou]

𝐄𝐃𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍.

previously found at: masocholyism, brandofhercin, etc.

I have been writing Edward for a long time. I have a very specific interpretation of him and I often draw on many other media when it comes to his characterization. I often compare him to both Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, as well as the Horatio Alger myth, among other stories and legends. Additionally, I draw on a variety of sources when it comes to vampire lore, including Stoker’s Dracula, the Blade comics, Anne Rice’s vampire compendium, the Castlevania animated series and video game, and others. This portrayal does not see Edward as a misogynistic ass, nor is he a virgin or entirely inexperienced when it comes to relationships. In fact, he dated several celebrities prior to Bella, who he will not namedrop, and had a boyfriend for a brief time in the 90s. Also, he doesn’t fucking sparkle.

FULL NAME: Edward Anthony Masen Cullen NICKNAME: None that he approves of GENDER: Cis-male SPECIES: Vampire HEIGHT: 6’4” AGE: Old BIRTHDAY: June 2, 1901 SPOKEN LANGUAGES: Many, including several dialects of sign language

HAIR: Light auburn, almost bronze in appearance. Styled well EYES: Dependent on hunger and diet. Gold when satiated. Black when ravenous. Red when dining on human blood. SKIN TONE: Pale, nearly ghastly white in some instances. No signs of flush. Any visible veins appear grey. BODY TYPE: Tall and long-limbed. Not at all brawny, but there is strength to his stature in subtle ways. Broad shoulders. Large hands. ACCENT: Chicago (x and x, singing voice x) VOICE: Soft and lilting. In some ways seductive. Enticing. You want to hear more of it. You’re drawn in. Vulnerable. DOMINANT HAND: Ambidextrous SCARS: All healed after his transformation NOTABLE FEATURE(S): His striking eyes. The Hair™. His height.

HOBBIES: Music: listening to it, writing it, playing it, performing it. Flying, planes, and jets. Cars and bikes. His family. Education. Baseball. MENTAL ILLNESSES: Depression. PHYSICAL ILLNESSES: None (vampirism) ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good VULNERABILITIES: His hatred for himself. Direct sunlight.

CURRENTLY.

Professor at Dartmouth. PRESENT DAY. Edward begins research on vampire history and folklore. He pursues this information via personal and academic routes, as well as via Carlisle and various other covens and vampires he meets over the years. Edward is compiling a bestiary of sorts and traveling to obtain information with which to fill it.

QUICK FACTS

he still loves bella 

he is not presently living with his family members 

carlisle and esme remain in washington, but have relocated to seattle 

he is in regular contact with everyone except bella, who he has agreed to let dictate their communication (which is at least monthly, though sometimes less) 

i write chronologically, so my edward is set present day as in this year. currently, he is a history professor at dartmouth. however, i am not opposed to writing previous years; i only require some plotting beforehand. 

no sparkles. your muse CAN’T know he’s a vampire unless they themselves are of supernatural origins or ability, or if edward has told them (which he most likely would not have prior to plotting or interactions). your muse CAN be suspicious of any characteristics or actions of him though.

MISC HCS:

Edward is very much so an empathetic man. This is most certainly due to his telepathy, but he is also incredibly emotionally driven. Though he mercifully remembers very little of his human life prior to being turned, his biological father had fostered toxic masculinity and aggression in the Masen household. However, what was driven into him as a boy growing up human very quickly was replaced by the gentle and sensitive nature that Carlisle exuded and passed onto Edward as he grew as both a vampire and man. So much of who Edward is, is thanks to Carlisle and, later, Esme.

He is a certified pilot. He has his private pilot license, which he obtained in the 90s. He owns a Cessna 172 in a privately owned hangar. He doesn’t talk about this too much, but if one were to find out and ask about it, he could talk about flying for hours.

EDWARD CULLEN’S NET WORTH ( WHICH INCLUDES : 2 homes, 5 cars, various personal investments, business interest, investment accounts, and personal property, BUT DOES NOT INCLUDE : his inheritance ): $12,212,209,782on top of this: Edward Cullen inherits the Masen family fortune every 10 years, which is approximately 620,000 USD. He donates more than half of it anonymously to various charities and whichever hospital Carlisle is working at the year he receives the money.

ALT VERSES TBD...

[the-bah-commune]

hihihi!!!

so this one is a doozy but!! we’re (aka I, ana, resident catgirl) trying to flesh out some of our new headmates but am REALLY struggling,,, could you maybe do a level 5 pack for these two folks?? more below-

Person A

Name: Imogen (Lanesse or Avril also work)

Pronouns: she/it/star/lun

Gender: Lumicattic Lunaecoric

Age: ??? 12-16 ?? all we know is ageslider

Sexuality: ??? sapphic of some sort

Species: devil cat human hybrid

Role: embracer, enabler, persecutor (semi)

Aesthetic/Theme: starry purple galaxies, thunder through the windows during a storm, emo/alt

she has some mild tics, can be a bit bratty and bossy but has good intentions, ruthlessly defends one of the system’s persecutors (Annalisa, a catgirl angel hybrid, who is obsessed with anything cute or pink and online discourse)

Person B

Name: Lestari

Nicknames: Leshi, Less, open to more

Gender: Cassgender

Pronouns: they/it/rot

Species: cryptid / human

Age: 29

Sexuality: ?? Aromantic?

Roles: unsure, some sort of suppressor who spirits people away into dormancy

Aesthetic/Theme: woods at night, foggy forest, murderous stalker in the woods, cryptid

it’s a bit of a freak and really interested in gory things like horror movies, mortuary services, taxidermy, etc. sort of a loner? a spiritual opposite of the most popular alter in our system (Aspen, they/them, light woods theme) and we think they’re close bc Aspen keeps disappearing lately… but they always come back so we just don’t Know

I know it’s a big ask qmq…. I just!! Want them to be more alive than what they are cus they feel so Stagnant rn

— @thebetterbee

no paras or trans/cisIDs for either of them, as requested in follow-up

a new flower has blossomed! 🌹

alt + purple theme & cryptidcore loner ... [LVL 5 PACK x2]

══════════════════

name(s) ;; imogen, lanesse, avril, [if you want some more ...] helen, victoria, nyx, mallory

pronoun(s) ;; she/her, it/its, star/stars, lun/lunar, [if you want some more ...] ⭐/⭐self, blink/blinks

age ;; 12 - 16 (ageslider)

species ;; devil/cat/human hybrid

gender(s) ;; lumicattic, lunaecoric, [if you want some more ...] maegender, aestheticwikigender

orientation(s) ;; asexual, lesbian, polyamorous

role(s) ;; embracer, enabler, bee persecutor [my own take on what you meant by "semi"]

source ;; brainmade

sign-off(s) ;; 🟪🐱, 🐱⭐

══════════════════

appearance ;; light skin covered in freckles. long wavy hair, with colours similar to a calico maine coon (ginger, brown, white, and black streaks). brown eyes, gingery cat ears, septum ring. dresses in an alternative style inspired by emo and e-girl fashion. sharp claw-like nails. see below for picrew.

personality ;; she's bossy, and can be a bit of a brat, but has good intentions. known to be a little sarcastic, with a dry sense of humour. star is extremely loyal, and while it takes star time to warm up to people, they will be very devoted to those that they are close with. they have an energy similar to the role big sisters play in media targeted towards young girls (bossy, caring, tough).

══════════════════

likes ;; cats, stargazing, standing up for her friends, making collages & moodboards, wiki surfing, pop punk, sour candy

dislikes ;; having tics (insecurity), strong smells (eg perfumes), exercising, being told what to do, rain

possible front triggers ;; listening to pop punk music, getting caught in the rain (neg.), defending annalisa

══════════════════

cisid(s) ;; n/a

transid(s) ;; n/a

kink/fetish/para(s) ;; n/a

══════════════════

moodboard ;; found here

playlist ;; "girlfriend" - avril lavigne / "misery business" - paramore / "all i wanted" - paramore / "p.u.n.k girl" - heavenly / "sweet cis teen" - dazey and the scouts

kinlist ;; maine coon therian / gerry keay (the magnus archives) / clawdeen wolf (monster high) / jackie fierro (welcome to night vale), ghostkin

extra ;; typing quirk ( all sentences end with 2 periods, regardless of tone.. ), some form of tics

══════════════════

name(s) ;; lestari, leshi, less, [if you want some more ...] star, virginia, casey, reed

pronouns ;; they/them, it/its, rot/rots [if you want some more ...] xe/xem, moth/moths, dark/darks

age ;; 29

species ;; shapeshifter (mothperson / human)

gender(s) ;; cassgender

orientation(s) ;; pansexual, aromantic, conceptum

role(s) ;; dvalen, pseudogatekeeper, imprisoner

source ;; brainmade

sign-off(s) ;; 🌲🔍

══════════════════

appearance ;; pale skinned. black shaggy hair. glowing red eyes. when in moth form, antennae grow from head, dark moth wings grow from back, black speckles appear on cheeks. covered in injuries from running around in the forest. dresses kind of ratty, with a signature pair of beat up red converse. masc-neutral presenting. see below for picrew.

personality ;; they're relatively introverted, but not entirely asocial. their interests are niche and a little spooky, which can drive people away from them. it's soft-spoken, and somewhat of a gentle giant (or at least that's how they look to outsiders). they have a complex inner self, with several trains of thought running at once.

══════════════════

likes ;; horror movies, mortuary sciences, taxidermy, true crime, ghost hunting shows, hiking, cannabis (if applicable to body/sys)

dislikes ;; bright lights, humidity, children, vegan/vegetarian food

possible front triggers ;; consuming true crime media

══════════════════

cisid(s) ;; n/a

transid(s) ;; n/a

kink/fetish/para(s) ;; voyeurism, exhibitionism

══════════════════

moodboard ;; found here

playlist ;; "who is she ?" - i monster / "vampire empire" - big thief / "abbey" - mitski / "no surprises" - radiohead / "my girlfriend is a witch" - october country

kinlist ;; daggerkin (objectkin), raven therian, beelzebub (good omens)

extra ;; n/a

disclaimer: headmates/alters may not turn up exactly as specified, and that's okay ♡

[murdcrofcrows]

behind my eyelids are islands of violence my mind's shipwrecked, this is the only land my mind could find, i did not know it was such a violent island full of tidal waves, suicidal crazed lions. they're trying to eat me, blood running down their chin and I know that i can fight or i can let the lion win i begin to assemble what weapons i can find 'cause sometimes to stay alive you gotta kill your mind. am i the only one i know? waging my wars behind my face and above my throat shadows will scream that I'm alone but I know we've made it this far, kid

inspo ・ visuals ・ threads・ wcs ・ playlist ・ pinterest 

( general stats. )

— name : finnegan patrick o’brien — nickname(s) : finn, fifi or finny if you want to die, boss — date of birth :  august 10th ( 40 years old ) — occupation : boss ( shamrocks ) ・ owner ( hell's gate ) — nationality : east atlantean — ethnicity : irish—white — religion : an atheist until he realized he's god — residence : burnington  — gender : cis man ( he / him ) — orientation : bisexual— ( kinsey scale 4 ) ・ homoromantic — status : single and sleeping around

( physical & mental characteristics. )

— voiceclaim / accent : boyd holbrook + irish mixed with east coast  — height :  6’2” / 188 cm — body type : broad, muscular — hair colour : sandy blonde — eye colour : luminescent blue — dominant hand : right — tattoos : too many to list, see pinterest for inspo — piercings : right ear — physical health : average, he hasn’t gone to the doctor in a long time, he certainly doesn’t treat his body well, drinks too much and smokes even more, he spent half his life in a very bad environment and has been participating in violent interactions since a young child. he’s honestly surprised any day he wakes up. — scars : too many to list, significant ones are the large lash marks on his back made from a belt, eyebrow slit where hair doesn’t grow unsure of source, and several cigarette burns on his arms, many of the others are weaved into his tattoos.  — style : he dons suits on occasion but also can be seen in a leather jacket, t-shirts, jeans, button up short sleeves, and sleeveless shirts, depending on the day.  — conditions : c-ptsd ( undiagnosed ) ・ night terrors

( personality stats. )

— qualities : loyal ・ hardworking ・ protective ・ strong ・ observant — flaws : aggressive ・ callous ・ ruthless ・ stubborn ・ detached — mbti : entj — moral alignment : neutral evil — temperament : choleric — enneagram : 7w8— the opportunist — zodiac :  leo sun ・ capricorn  moon ・ scorpio rising

( background check. )

— birthplace : side of the road in eastern atlantic  — intelligence : average— high in street smarts / hustling, but didn’t go to any schooling past elementary level — education : primary school education  — skills : fighting ・ exceptional aim ・ manipulation ・ leadership ・ explosives  — likes : irish whiskey ・ alcohol ・ smoking ・ casual sex ・ nice cars ・ violence ・ when people do stuff for him ・ good food ・ success ・ pain ・ honesty — dislikes :  long conversations about nothing ・ committed relationships ・ fruity drinks ・ reading ・ dogs ・ cats ・ most animals / pets ・ most hard drugs ・ doctors ・ hospitals ・ being touched ・ fathers ・ being lied to  — languages : english, some irish

( facts. )

he can find you pretty much whatever you need with his large network of ties across the world. network contacts were both made by him and previous leadership, or other ranks.

most of his business is done by him coming to you ( if a lower rank doesn’t do it ) or at hell’s gate, though he does have a place in lost angeles for business needing to be done there. 

under finn’s leadership he made sure to secure the spot on the board of directors for afterglow even though they’ve worked with them long before finn was alive, they’d never had an on paper voting stake in the megacorporation. however an associate sits in it to limit connection visibility to the public. 

has a drinking problem but since he is functional with it 9/10 he doesn’t see it as a problem. he’s also a stubborn asshole, that always thinks he’s right ( even when he knows he’s not )

[velvetvexations]

so as full disclosure: cis bi man here

But since I’ve been having a lot of your posts on trandadrophobia poping up on my dash lately and it sorta brushed along this subject.

It’s been reminding me of a lot of my issues with how people interact with the concept of (cis) make privilege. It’s not to say that there is none, but the way people tend to view it is that if cis men have privilege based on gender, they therefore can’t face any issues based on gender, at least not unless they’re indirect misogyny. However a very quick look at things like rape definitions by legal and academic bodies in the UK and US, or responses to missing and murdered Indigenous men in Canada, or a number of other issues, poke a hole in that framework, especially because much of this (like other social issues) is contributed to by multiple sources, including conservative and progressive ideologies.

But because people have that established framework, they a) try to white wash their or their communities own contribution to the issues (in this case, something like claiming that feminist never harmed male rape victims when Mary Koss is right there) and b) deny any of the issues happening

but as you keep denying and white washing, it means you keep having to expand the net to maintain your worldview. Which means for many, things like transandrophobia can’t be accepted, because it’s too close to accepting a more complicated view of male privilege, even when realistically transadrophobia doesn’t inherently relate to any kind of cis male issues (I would argue personally that both transmisogyny and transandrophobia relate to misogyny and misandry depending on the context-as well as the unique dimension of transphobia)

I should add that I am aware this isn’t how many trans people, men, women, masc, femme, nb, etc, view this, and that this is just me talking out of my ass, so I hope this isn’t taken as a “this is what transandrophobia is” sort of thing by anyone. Very much a my personal observations relating to a broader topic

I think this was all very well-reasoned and well-said, though I'm not transmasc myself either, of course <3

People do need to stop obsessively hating men in general, honestly. So much of it is just that radfem shit updated to drop sex as defining characteristics and as I've said before being trans exclusionary was never the original source of wrongness with radical feminism, radical feminism was always bad for a variety of reasons and trans exclusion was a bonus, you can't take the trans exclusion out and be like "guys look I fixed that squeaky wheel it's all good now".

[maulfucker]

I saw you had a post where you thought abt Dathomirian culture and I was wondering if you had any thoughts on how specifically Dathomirian queer culture manifests. I'd like to come up with things myself but I don't actually know a lot in general abt Dathomir yet, so I want other opinions. I've got two ideas tho

-Dathomirian queer ppl call each other "family" like some queer ppl did in our world

-Trans men might like earn their horns thru hunting and using animal bones and stuff as their horns? Idk like I said I don't know much

Good question! I haven't actually thought that much about queer culture in Dathomir despite having a gay nightbrother oc,,

I think the calling each other family thing probably wouldn't work very well since they already treat their clan as family and call each other brother and sister even without blood relation, but I love the idea of trans nightbrothers earning their horns! Dathomirians as a whole seem to be pretty open to body modifications, with tattoos being so natural in their culture, so hunting animals to use their bones or teeth or something to produce "prosthetic" horns sounds very fitting. It could be a whole thing for both trans and cis nightbrothers, using the extra horns as a way to show off their strength. plus it opens up the possibility of nightbrothers implanting horns in whimsical shapes such as smiley faces, stars or penises

I think as a people composed of multiple isolated communities, there's probably not a uniform queer culture across the planet. But also as people who tend to live in single-sex communities they are likely far more queer on average than what we see in the rest of the galaxy, like how cowboys were famously queer. They supposedly spend most of their lives around the same gender, so it wouldn't be unusual for that to be the gender they express attraction to more often. Though, much like how cowboys have been "reinterpreted" as a symbol of straight white masculinity, there's probably also a popular misconstruction of their culture as extremely straight, and/or extremely celibate. The "Nightsisters rule over Nightbrothers" reading of their culture is very obviously meant to show them as a reverse-sexist society, making the nightsisters a sort of "girl power" icon — they are strong independent women who can pick any man they want (implying that they do want men), which is like saying cowboys are strong fearless men who woo every damsel that crosses their path. which. sure, cowboys did have sex with women. sure, nightsisters do have sex with men. but more often than not they will be around other nightsisters, so they will more often than not have relationships with women (even if they're not really gay).

but I am not usamerican and my brain has the consistency of molten ice cream, so my knowledge of american cowboy culture is. basically just that. (the brazilian cowboy culture is quite different, especially considering there's like three distinct cowboy "sub"cultures, each with their different history, territory, and associations) So that's as far as I can take the cowboy comparison, but cowboys can be a pretty good source of inspiration I think. maybe look into that?

A quick look into medieval monasteries (another famously gender-segregated culture) says they were also pretty gay. And that the sexual persecution that is so commonplace in christianity today was not really a thing yet back then, which is also something to consider when trying to conceive the queer culture of a people who have nothing to do with our modern (overwhelmingly christian) society — do they have a reason to reject queer people and relationships, or are we just projecting our own worldviews and experiences onto a people who have none of the sociohistorical context that shaped our experiences?

I think homosexual/romantic and even polyamorous relationships would be pretty normalized, since there's not really any reason to only accept hetero relationships if they rarely ever live in mixed-sex communities. That said, there's probably still some expectation of heterosexual activity, in the form of the Selection and its implied procreation purposes. Dathomir is a very isolationist world, so to keep their population stable they need to procreate, even if it "goes against" an individual's sexuality. And this is where I think polyamorous relationships have reason to be encouraged: if a nightsister or nightbrother who already has a partner takes part in a Selection, why not bring their partner(s) into the relationship as well and increase the likelihood of producing offsprings?

As for the gender side of queerness.... well that's probably A Lot more complicated than I have time to discuss here. The gender binary seems pretty enforced in their culture from what little we see, and their sexual dimorphism probably makes trans and/or intersex people stand out A Lot more

I've mentioned this before, but I headcanon that the skin color difference is not a sex-chromosome-bound characteristic, but instead a sex-hormone-related expression of pigmentation, like in some birds such as peacocks. Both males and females are shown to have a range of skin tones, but in females it manifests as grayscale while in males it manifests as a color scale from red to yellow. So intersex people might have colors that are in-between, or that don't "match" their apparent sex, and trans people who undergo their equivalent of hrt might slowly change skin colors over time.

As for how nonbinary people work.... well as someone who is from a latin american country and speaks a romance language, I would like to imagine their "nonbinary" is a lot like ours — there is no "neutral" gender, they simply play with their presentation to be between one and the other, leaning towards whichever one might be considered more "transgressive" at the moment.

I don't think trans people would be forced out of their clans for being a different gender than everyone else, but it's possible their role in the clan might change to something more "befitting" of their new gender I also think there's probably a lot more contact between different clans than just the Selection, so it's possible for people who decide to start over as a new gender to take one of these moments of contact as an opportunity to "visit" another clan and never come back.

..... aaand it's almost 2 am so I gotta hit post

[inchidentally]

@watehry asked for me to a carlando zodiac analysis like my landoscar one <3 (reminder I am not Lando levels of expert at astrology so this is me taking from a bunch of sources)

this one got kind of weird for me though bc the astrology is crazy black and white simple and gave maybe a little too much insight for comfort?? anyway proceed if you still want but also skip past if the parasocial stuff is too weird (it rly kind of was for me in places)

Scorpio and Virgo are a slam dunk as a match in friendship. simple as. Scorpio is ambitious with highly changeable super-charged moods and pretty damn needy. Virgo is all about "optimization" of themselves but extremely forgiving towards other and so self-reliant that it's easy for others to rely on them (sometimes more than they should).

this worked out perfectly for them bc Lando has had so many different needs throughout his career: an extremely young rookie needing a strong leader, a struggling teammate who needed someone to provide all the fun and reassurance, then no longer a teammate who needs a friendship that fits around his crazy schedule and existing friends, and a competitor who would honestly be a lil devastated if Carlos didn't still try and look out for him on the track. Carlos has been able to cater to all of those different things without ever losing himself. he finds Lando fascinating and fun no matter what.

honestly with Scorpio being a Fire sign and Virgo being an Earth sign there doesn't need to be much digging beyond that. their equal passions balance out beautifully and has strong enduring power.

Scorpio's birthstone is Topaz and gemstone is Citrine. Virgo's are Blue Sapphire and Topaz respectively.

a lot of the usual Virgo traits don't uhhh rly apply to Carlos as a beautiful cis man born of extraordinary privilege who has a rarefied hyper masculine sport as his job (he is never 'in his own head' and never over-intellectualizes lmao) he wants? he gets.

Carlos is a solid extrovert with a seemingly undrainable social battery which also counteracts more stereotypical Virgo qualities. but he is also an extremely hard worker who shows intense focus and mastery over whatever he pursues. very very Virgo.

he's also endlessly curious which makes him a great people person as well as a student of his sport and nothing is more attractive to him than someone who is fully open and vulnerable. he would have absolutely no idea what to do with an Oscar for example. they'd both be very happy and respectful in each other's company but only if someone else provides a common topic. otherwise it would be radio silence.

but little rookie Lando Norris who has been starved of the superstar attention he had in his junior career while he toddled around after Fernando? he and Carlos fit together like chicken and breading.

"Virgo wants order while Scorpio wants power" says a whole lot about how compatible they are. they want the same things but in completely different ways. it's why Carlos can factor in helping Lando get a podium and Lando has no problem admitting that Carlos helped him get there.

pitfalls of their relationship are down to the fact that they are so complimentary yet both are strong-willed. Virgo thinks far more logically and doesn't want to compromise by factoring in Scorpio's ever-shifting ambitions and emotions. it's honestly a very good thing that they've chosen friendship/bromance over anything else. they can keep that sweet aspect of romance but without having to suffer the restrictions and complications of a romantic relationship.

and um it might also explain why Carlos was the one to push Lando into finally having a girlfriend. from what I vaguely know Carlos himself had a longtermish gf ? for his McLaren years ?? and he'll have found it easier to deal with Lando's neediness with a gf for Lando to focus on.

not to get too parasocial about real life stuff here but we can all kind of agree that Max F's girlfriends have to accept that his friendship with Lando comes first. or at least equal to them. that's because once Leos find someone happy under their control and protection it's an absolute lock for life. Scorpio Lando wants attention and reassurance, Leo Max wants to be the leader and the rock. Scorpio needs to be in their feelings at will and Leo loves living in the moment. they sort of already found their person in each other oops. but since cis straight people relationships already center around ferda culture it works just fine.

by contrast, Carlos as a Virgo would have his own strict ideas of what his relationships should look like and I'm gonna take a wild guess that his family have inscribed ideals of wives and babies and being a provider into his DNA. when Carlos gets married it's going to have to be Lando who works around the schedule and makes good friends with Carlos' wife. fortunately he seems to be able to do that just fine with Max's partners so I don't see any issue there. (this is what I mean when I said this got very weirdly intuitive about real people)

as long as the Scorpio/Virgo friendship is free and easy for each party to come and go as they need to, they'll literally be bonded as family til they die. I can't read Lando's actual feelings well enough bc he uses so much deflective sarcasm but Carlos and his family absolutely adopted him as one of their own. Lando might take a little bit more of Carlos' generosity than he gives back but that's just their way. I'd say Max F is the bff who will always be there and Carlos is the bff that Lando can meet after months apart and it'll be as if it was just yesterday.

as Lando said they're much better off not being on the same team because they were juuuust on the cusp of the teammate rivalry not being fun anymore. I miss the challenges together but we'll always get carlando content anyway and won't have to see their relationship erode, fail and then heal but never be quite the same again (sorry but like w Daniel). it's also why the landoscar astrology reinforced everything we feel about Oscar being tailor made for Lando as a teammate.

ship/fic-centric stuff

let's get the rough stuff out of the way first: long term romance between Scorpio and Virgo is… tricky. especially both of them being men. I'll go ahead and say that they're much better off having a steamy hot affair for a while but then letting it settle into platonic but extremely deep friendship. you could easily have Lando's main love interest having to accept that Carlos has the same role w Lando that Lando does w Max F.

that being said! the sex is fire. Virgo Carlos would be a confirmed masc top (literally wants to do "power play") bc a feeling of control is so fundamental for him. Scorpio Lando would be raw arousal and want someone he could fully trust. he'd be over the moon to do anything and get as kinky as Virgo wanted.

Carlos would want to shower Lando with gifts and big expressions of love and adoration. while Lando would eat all of that up he wouldn't see it as the same as spending quality time together and sharing the same bed etc. definitely would need to be a chapter dedicated to communicating of needs etc.

Carlos would break very quickly in a secret relationship. it would sap him of everything he wants to bring and receive in a relationship. Lando wouldn't last much longer because his partner denying him romantic love in public would eat away at him. it would either end them or be a catalyst for deciding to be open and damn the consequences.

carlando angst is a whole other level because of how much they both want to remain bonded together. but there's also plenty of juicy fodder: miscommunication (Carlos' fault) jealousy (Lando's) possessiveness (Lando's) a need to be in charge (Carlos) lying for the other's protection (Carlos) wanting more freedom (Lando) caving to societal/familial pressure (Carlos) cheating born of passion or dissatisfaction (Lando) silent treatment (Lando) dismissal of feelings (Carlos) angry words that they wish they could unsay (both)

or the most complicated of all which would be Carlos VERY likely assigning Lando the "woman" role and being unable to have a romantic relationship not based on heterosexuality. don't worry he'd gay sex it up bc sex is His Thing but there'd be specific no-go things for him in bed. this is because of the whole rules obsession and occasional lack of emotional connection problems. this could go really sweet and involve negotiation and self-exploration or it could just be super kinky or it could be really angsty and lead to Carlos almost losing Lando entirely. just know that it'll need solid work shown to bring Carlos out of mainstream gender norms if he even does. he will resist efforts made to rattle the world he's built for himself. if it's dark fic that features social homophobia/internalized homophobia then it could be left as is rather than trying to fix it (as in, they're fighting for their lives or live in constant peril so their relationship doesn't get the attention it needs)

the power balance will always be in favor of Carlos so you'll need to take very good care of Lando and stay in his head most of the time for him not to lose himself completely. think of how Lando always mirrors the vibes of the men he is with at the moment and that a lot of carlando is Lando following Carlos like a puppy.

Carlos will never back down and won't have the capability to deal with fights but he will never EVER reject Lando. if he needs to walk away from a fight he'll state the fact first and do it as a way to clear his head. but he'll always come back. literally Lando could have walked away from him and married someone else but it would just take Carlos seeing his number calling for him to drop everything and be there for Lando like nothing had happened.

Carlos may need to hold all the cards but life without Lando is impossible for him. they'll either be intensely loyal friends in a multiship fic or on a steady track to Carlos putting a ring worth the gross national product of a small country on Lando's finger.

[princehendir]

ashland please i cannot get into marvel conversations in this day and age. anyway the reason i don't think the thor movies actually resonated with the greater fandom is NOT because it tried to take itself seriously but because (and i'm sourcing this from the grown ass men in my life so yes I am assigning this to the white cis men portion of the MCU fandom) because they found Thor so much harder to project on/see themselves in (soldier? sure! intelligent suave inventor? sure! a god? pshh forget it)

also i think the Thor movies actually had quite a few more tender moments based on the idea of family bonds and finding common ground with people unlike you (see: thor 1) that i don't think people just... enjoyed it as much? like the main plot of thor 1 wasn't "ooh evil villain must be STOPPED with my SUPER STRENGTH" but instead it was more of a character-driven story with Thor learning humility and forming real bonds with people and Loki being such a background schemer (true to his nature) rather than being in your face about "ooh i hate you i'm gonna destroy you" etc etc.

like i haven't watched a marvel movie in years but i always loved the Thor movies the most because i felt like those movies allowed Thor to not take himself so seriously all of the time--

i'm stopping. i'm stopping. i'm so stopping.

Mm yeah definitely the whole god thing broke suspension of disbelief for some people, and that is an issue that's kind of inherent to the concept unfortunately (even though I feel like it shouldn't personally. idk it's been some years but I remember it being very well handled and established that Asgardians are really more aliens than Gods in the setting)

But yes on the second paragraph. I'm glad you said it first because I literally just drafted a post that was like "maybe the issue was just that the Tony Stark Era was simply not a good place for male protags like Thor to exist in". Like, yeah, probably "stop being such a little frat boy and start caring about other people" as a character arc didn't hit so well among guys who were endlessly quoting "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" at each other. Also in general the Thor movies were just a lot more earnest than the others. Not self conscious All sorts of things that Those Guys™ are/were generally not into.

[sagemonsters]

August 2023 Monthly Review

I'm trying to make a habit of writing a post to cover the events of the past month. Here is this one!

Gentle Reader

August has been a month of trial. I returned to campus to continue my undergrad degree, as well as wrote more than a dozen Monster Match commissions on Tumblr in an effort to cover the cost of one particularly expensive textbook for an art history class. I also drew and painted two large maps for my fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign, which has made me really think about the use of maps as storytelling tools. 

WIP Updates

The nameless centaur x human novelette is continuing apace (see my last update about this project). I’m picking my way through the first draft and am about 1/3 of the way toward the finish line. Taji, the nonbinary human protagonist, has just beaten back a horde of ghosts through the power of song! …And Cimitrius, their centaur love interest, is definitely appreciative of that.

This story was inspired by the Nabatean episode of the Fall of Civilizations podcast (listen to it on YouTube or Spotify). I had initially struggled to make myself interested in a Western European-inspired medieval fantasy world, but found myself much more enthused when I relocated the plot and characters into something more inspired by the Classical-era Middle East and northern Africa.

The 1812 CYOA (choose your own adventure) trio of monster romance stories whose outcomes will be decided via Tumblr polls are still in the research phase. Truth be told, it’s only the gender neutral reader story that needs more research than a cursory glance through various online sources; I’m debating the addition of indigenous North American characters in that particular story, a matter which needs to be handled delicately. 

I don’t want to unintentionally fetishize or appropriate from those cultures (I would be creating some original characters who belong to the Seneca people of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy). I will never portray creatures from Native American folklore in my fantasy romance fiction, since I am white; that leads into cultural appropriation far too easily. These (human) characters would—as narrative tools—be meant to educate the reader about how the War of 1812 had a large part to do with white encroachment onto indigenous lands. I want to add some donation links to that story thread that lead to organizations helping preserve Iroquoian languages, but that will come at a much later stage of the writing process.

The prehistoric fantasy CYOA monster romance story is quickly taking shape. Because this is fantasy rather than anything strictly historical, I don’t need to do much research and so can write as the muse takes me. This is my first proper CYOA, and it’s a big one! There are three love interests that the reader-protagonist can choose from, as well as (because I have some background as a hobbyist TTRPG writer) four items of “starting equipment” that can help or hinder certain outcomes depending on how/if the reader-protagonist chooses to use them. 

I’m using Scapple, a mind-mapping software from Literature & Latte, to plan this CYOA and its network of branching story paths. So far I’ve finished about 1/6 of the story, and I’m really enjoying the creative challenge of writing a “true” CYOA (as opposed to only having to create the path decided via the votes on a Tumblr poll, as the 1812 CYOA will be); it’s very intricate and puzzle-like. I’d love to get into LitRPGs as well, but a cursory glance across the genre’s top picks on Kindle shows a very cis-male-dominated space that doesn’t really offer much to queer people like myself; I’m not sure I want to dip my toes into that particular pool. 

Currently Reading

I’m currently reading The Pixie’s Queen by S. J. Sanders. It’s a wild ride of a novella and I am here for it. No joke, the pixies produce glittery, gold precum; it’s absolutely mind-boggling and unexpected in the very best way. And we love a good polyamorous romance in this house! One moment I’m grinning at the absurdity of Orenda’s situation and the way she approaches problem-solving, the next moment I’m super concerned and all but biting my nails at the gravity of the male pixies’ predicament and how they might lose everything they’ve worked for as a hive. It’s definitely a fun romance!

I’m also currently reading Healing the Orc’s Heart by Lyonne Riley. Full disclosure, I obtained an ARC of this book after asking the author if I could have a free copy for review purposes. So far, I’m really loving it! The language barrier is really interesting to me, and I can’t wait to see more of the story unfold and find out what trouble our two protagonists will get into.

You can check out this book on StoryGraph.

Storyteller’s Thoughts

As I mentioned in the introduction to this newsletter, I’ve been thinking about maps lately. Maps define things, whether by stating precisely where the border of an area is or even just attaching a name to a place. Sometimes this is good—few people want to be lost, after all—but other times it takes away from the mythic aura of a setting.

If you go back far enough, there are no maps and no ways of measuring distance. I’m thinking of the Planegea setting for D&D 5e, which (although it does have a map for the DM’s private use) explicitly states that landmarks move around and the world is constantly shifting due to its youthful, primordial nature. I’m also thinking of a quote from the 2003 movie Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: “You’re off the edge of the map, mate. Here there be monsters.” 

Maps make the world small and approachable with their scales and compass roses and labels. They remove mystery and awe and replace them with “mere” geography. They’re tools of colonialism and imperialism—they dictate who the land belongs to, and the blank areas of real-world historical maps no doubt offered enticement to would-be conquistadors. So, does your world have an accompanying map? Do you as a writer want to have a map of your world—moreover, would it be appropriate for your world to have a map, and if so what kind of map would it be? I would love to hear your thoughts; please do send me a message on the subject if you feel inspired.

[roleplayhonestybox]

Hey, I'm the "there's a right and wrong way to do diversity anon" here (https://www.tumblr.com/roleplayhonestybox/779201073743331328/responding-to-the-discourse-around-people-who?source=share)where I was talking about POC OCs.I'm pretty sure this post (https://www.tumblr.com/roleplayhonestybox/779254556518465536/that-post-complaining-about-ppl-wanting-diversity?source=share) is replying to me so I wanted to clarify- I was the only one that mentioned I was concerned about stereotypes and that's the focal point of this post.

Hi. I feel there's been some misunderstanding on what I was saying. I am not afraid of writing a stereotype and that's why I made it a point to say I have many POC characters I have lovingly created for many of my stories. Role-playing is a very personal hobby for me and I choose to role-play things I have lived and experienced OR pure fantasy. I do have POC characters in complete fantasy settings I RP but at the heart of most of my RPs I am using it as a venting tool. I dont think anyone is entitled to tell other's how they should RP but I'll tell you this: My OCs are personal punching bags about discrimination and abuse I've faced.

I was never intending to "complain" about those who want more diversity in OCs- that's an absolutely valid point. My position is somewhere in the middle. The statement I was trying to make is insisting *everyone* writes for minority characters could cause more harm than good. There's dozens of examples of white cis men writing for queer, fem, disabled, and other diverse characters and absolutely butchering it. We should always push for more inclusion but look around you. The RP community is not professional. The honesty box exists because it's filled with insensitive assholes. I speak as someone who modded a fandom community that had a canon POC character that all boiled down to horrendous and stereotyped portrayals. But I could say the same for the queer and mentally ill characters. There is definitely a wrong and a right way.

I dont think anyone has the right to tell other's what characters they should RP, but I do believe we should be very aware that there are harmful ways people can portray other's in RP.

I've never seen a role-player who only has straight/cis characters (or able-bodied/mentally well) and became angry I wasnt included. I dont think that's what this hobby is about. (And for context, that's what was implied in the first post I replied to).

.

[knightroid]

1. this was a post with reblogs turned off (as it was me, with zero sources to concrete my claims, only musing upon what ive heard and seen) & zero relevant tags - only me extending my thoughts within. where did u find this are you just scouring tags for 1 note posts....

2. I am effectively a trans man, even if I say and do identify as non binary (& more complex than this, but agender within if i had to put a label). I aspire to look like a man or else masculine enough that passerbies would think im that first over a woman, am afab, and taking testosterone (not that these make you a man by default, this is my very personal pov). I navigate through this world as what is, again, effectively a trans man. I have never once felt threatened in my status, and have easily been able to attain HRT in both states ive lived in (WA and NM). I do not feel particularly under threat. Am I perfectly safe? Fuck no, transphobia is a thing. I would be willfully obtuse to say that I am not a footnote within this crusade, though, because that is the truth. First and foremost, this is targeting trans women & their perceived threat upon the delicate biological female.

I can agree with you that, while still encompassing trans women, the third of these orders surrounding elimination of children transitioning is much more broad. This is just transphobia and ties back into coddling this supposed ontolologically delicate (white) female perfection that is tarnished so much by transgender women and those sad confused trans men. But like... 2 out of 3 of these (and maybe there's more) are DIRECTLY about trans women. I've seen campaign ads in my state, a supposedly progressive one, targeting TRANS WOMEN and them alone (irt athletes).

Like, do you see this...!? You have to admit that, like, you're A LITTLE LESS of the target in this crusade, right???

3. I am not intersex, I did extend this in my tags where I emphasized that as someone afab & therefore TME, white, non intersex, I am treated marginally different than someone who is any of those, especially if trans. I am coddled as a (white) teenage girl because I do not look like an adult. If this is about that too, then I'd love to hear an elaboration on this.

Intersex women and women of color (especially black women) are consistently degendered in this crusade. Athletes seem like the hottest topic here, and both are scrutinized in surveilled in similar, if not the same, ways. We saw this with Imane Khelif, denied her womanhood on account of also being intersex, and having every little thing about her in this pseudoscience of biological sex analyzed. Because she threatened the sanctity of a white (cis) woman. Multiple more occasions specifically targetting black women, which I'm unsure if this would also intersect with intersexism or if this condition is something seperate from that? Nonetheless:

Women who are entirely perisex and non hyperandrogenous being subjected to the same thing simply for being black:

& very concisely put in that last paragraph: "racism and transphobia and intersex phobia are kind of inseparable."

The white perisex trans man/transmasc is not going to be as directly under threat in this crusade as is a person of color, especially if intersex, or a trans woman (especially if in tandem with those other two, and ESPECIALLY especially if the person of color is black). It boils down, I think, to trying to protect this ontological purity white cis women have (obviously, bullshit and white supremacist to its core). Anyone seen as a threat to this must be a Male (evil, unless they're the good ones protecting the frail white woman - also obviously bullshit, and a savior complex that also services white supremacy as its harbinger - the white man), no matter if they aren't (none of these make you a man, all of these are targetting people who identify as women, whether cis or trans). I think the transphobia I would face falls into that I need to be protected from this sinful fruit of transsexualism, that I'm just a frail little girl (afforded to me as someone white and perisex) who doesn't know any better. Which is like... I think I'd be treated MUCH differently than someone who is the opposite of all of these. I am the one that needs to be protected, the prey, not The Predator that's forced upon so many women (trans) for existing (again, obviously this is fucking stupid).

4. As an anonymous message, I doubt you're going to see this at all. With the ask on top, I think I'm obviously being baited into an argument with someone insistent upon transandrophobia and denying that women face infinitely more scrutiny for being trans than men do. With the bottom, I am like, genuinely open to hear you out.

5. this is once again going to be a reblogs off post that's not tagged with shit i for real don't know how you're finding this and if you are, like, actually lurking for any mention of anything on these topics to send people anons to & not someone that follows me - of which, why not DM me instead if you were q,q - that's like... kind of sad. go play a game or take a walk or something instead