#with the cultural communities i’m a part of enforcing this idea

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Christina Buttons

Few topics are more politically volatile right now than trans issues. Matters such as pediatric medical transition and questions about access to and the purpose of women's sports and spaces are complex debates that require nuance and time. Unfortunately, discussions of these issues are generally dominated by extreme, intolerant ideologues who fail to distinguish between ideas and people. As someone deeply concerned about some aspects of trans ideology, it pains me that the discussion of these delicate issues more often resembles a Jerry Springer marathon than a meaningful public policy debate.

The currently dominant, no-holds-barred strain of trans activism has spawned a right-wing backlash that has troubling implications for the broader gay, lesbian, and bisexual communities. During Pride month, this became even more evident. The right led boycotts against stores with Pride displays, leveraged the excesses of trans activism to give new life to old arguments — that the legalization of same-sex marriage was a “slippery slope” — and broadcast alarmist warnings about “state-enforced homosexuality.” This has emboldened religious fundamentalists and opportunistic provocateurs eager to seize this opportunity to propagate homophobic messages. The backlash has sent the right veering ever further towards extremism that may have the political result of curtailing the hard-earned basic rights of gay, lesbian, and bisexual people.

Pushback against the more extreme aspects of the transgender movement is absolutely warranted, but it isn't a partisan issue, despite how frequently the political left and right portray it as such. Like so many issues that get caught in the warring political tribes dynamic, we should refrain from seeing ourselves in an existential fight against evil, irredeemable forces. The fact remains that most people across society are good and have good intentions — even those who disagree with you politically. Those of us who are critical of the excesses of trans activism need to raise awareness and a better understanding of the actual issues. And currently, it is the left that will require the most persuasion from us.

The stakes are too high to take the wrong approach. Pediatric gender medicine needs to be subjected to systematic evidence reviews. The widespread implementation of “gender-affirming care” — a dangerously broad medical model supported by weak evidence — is a genuine cause for alarm. If we do not want the left to dismiss our valid concerns as mere bigotry, we must approach these matters judiciously. Otherwise, US-based medical organizations will continue to dismiss even the most reasonable calls to reconsider their treatment protocols as simply part of a right-wing moral panic.

It is natural to feel frustrated and angry in the face of what many of us sincerely believe to be an unfolding medical scandal — but we must redirect this energy into constructive dialogue and strategic action rather than resorting to counterproductive hyperbole. People’s beliefs can change with exposure to new information. I’m living proof: I used to be a so-called “social justice warrior”, but I changed my own views on “gender medicine” (and other important issues dumbed down by the culture wars) after discussing the issue with people who presented compelling evidence and reasoned arguments, rather than inflammatory rhetoric.

Our best chance of facilitating positive change is to try to gain a deeper understanding of the issues involved, learn how to communicate more effectively, base our arguments on credible evidence, avoid taking part in online pile-ons, and employ precise, careful language that addresses beliefs or specific policies — not individuals. The first step is understanding the beliefs and policies involved. Conversations about transgender issues can be difficult because there are so many different interpretations of the relevant terminology. Even the basic definition of what it means to be trans is a subject of intense debate.

Many people on the political left insist that everyone possesses an innate and immutable “gender identity” present from birth, which can be known from a very young age, and rarely, if ever, changes. In this view, being transgender is an inborn trait (like sexual orientation) rather than a choice: people are born that way, and they have no say in the matter. For many, to question these views is to attack the very existence of trans people.

This belief is sincere, but it is not accurate. The empirical evidence does not support the idea of an inherent, hardwired “gender identity.” There is currently no objective test — neither neurological nor of any other kind — that can differentiate between an individual who identifies as trans and one who does not, especially when we control for confounding factors like sexual orientation. Even most definitions of gender and “gender identity”, increasingly cemented into law and public policy, are circular and self-referential.

However, there is a wealth of evidence that gender nonconformity — encompassing preferences, behaviors, traits, and presentations that deviate from the norm associated with one's biological sex — is a natural part of human variation, influenced in part by prenatal testosterone exposure. Gender nonconformity is strongly associated with homosexuality and is particularly prevalent among those with autism. Prior to 2006, gay male children dominated pediatric gender clinic referrals. That has changed dramatically in recent years. Nowadays, adolescent females, many of whom are autistic, make up the majority lining up at gender clinics. For activists, this apparently doesn’t even raise an eyebrow. It is simply a sign of greater societal acceptance. For me and many others,  given the permanent impacts of gender medicine, such a rapid flipping of demographics warrants, at a minimum, closer inspection. Up to 35% of adolescents referred to the largest gender clinic in the UK displayed "moderate to severe autistic traits", with some pediatric gender programs reporting that approximately half of the youth in their studies are autistic. Shouldn’t that set off alarm bells?

People are born with various inherent traits, such as gender nonconformity, sexual orientation, and neurological differences like autism. Additionally, some individuals may be born predisposed to psychiatric conditions, which may include gender dysphoria — the significant and persistent distress with one's biological sex. However, a predisposition towards gender dysphoria does not guarantee a transgender outcome. In fact, the vast majority of children who experience gender dysphoria do not identify as transgender into adulthood. Most of them simply end up as homosexual adults.

Many scientific and civil rights organizations, however, have begun broadening the definition of “transgender” to encompass all instances of gender nonconformity. According to this wide classification, if a person's behavior or gender expression doesn’t align with traditional expectations for their sex, they are transgender. This expanded definition, a symptom of concept creep, is likely playing a large role in the rapidly escalating rates of people identifying as trans. Certain individuals who are born gender-nonconforming may interpret their sex-atypical traits and behaviors (including same-sex attractions), along with any distress their gender-nonconformity may cause them, as evidence that they have a "gender identity" mismatched from their body. As a result, they may wish to identify as transgender, be acknowledged as the opposite sex, and seek medical procedures that they believe will bring their bodies into alignment with their perceived sense of self.

Worryingly, many well-respected medical organizations and healthcare officials in the US are perpetuating this confusion. Informed by a misguided and imprudent model, they are prematurely “affirming” newly-adopted cross-sex identities by psychosocial, chemical, and surgical means without sufficiently investigating the root causes of the individual's gender-related distress. Meanwhile, the “Dutch Protocol” which guided, inspired, and justified the establishment of current American gender care standards, involved extensive counseling and other safeguards — safeguards which now have been largely removed in the US.

Most people are not aware of any of this. When this information is presented to them in alarmist language that suggests the speaker is primarily motivated by partisan scaremongering, they are less receptive to it and may even feel attacked. But if we present the facts calmly, people are reachable. By fostering sincere and compassionate communication, we can also assist those who might regret transitioning in the future to make informed decisions while still respecting the choices of adults who wish to maintain their trans identity.

Those of us who are critical of some aspects of trans ideology often point to the importance of social influence when we talk about people adopting transgender identities. But we forget that we can exert an influence on the behavior of people in our own peer groups too and that we therefore have a duty to model reasoned discourse if we don’t want the entire debate to descend into frenzied partisanship.

It can be reassuring to find a community of like-minded individuals online, especially if you have to self-censor in real life — as is the case with many who hold gender-critical views. It’s tempting to focus on winning allies among your new in-group, and one cheap and easy way to garner online popularity is to deride members of the outgroup. But it’s important to resist the influence of groupthink, or we can quickly end up in an echo chamber in which our opinions are never challenged.

These polarized environments inherently reward extreme views and penalize moderation. Online interactions make individuals more likely to engage in antisocial behaviors due to factors like anonymity, reduced accountability, and a mistaken feeling that what we do online doesn’t matter in the “real” world. In one particularly disturbing new example of this phenomenon, people in the gender-critical camp have been using the unfalsifiable claim that “being kind is what got us here” — a form of slippery slope fallacy — as a license to now be wantonly vindictive and cruel. And while it's true that the notion of kindness was too often misused by trans activists to shut down debate and critical thinking, disparaging people now won't win us any allies. For better or worse, a person’s sex cannot truly be changed, but insulting people who think otherwise will not change their minds.

This underscores the importance of setting boundaries — establishing limits on what is acceptable or tolerable behavior from others. Boundaries allow you to protect your values from being compromised by external influences. If someone oversteps a limit you've set, you have the right to voice your disagreement or distance yourself from that individual or organization. Remember, you can always opt out of group membership and still continue to fight for what you believe in.

Online tribalism is also heightened by algorithmic bias, which fills our timelines with outlier events presented as if they were the norm. In gender-critical discourse, our social media feeds often amplify the worst and most extreme examples the transgender community has to offer. Of course, nothing we see on these platforms is an accurate, representative sample of the millions of trans people globally.

Like all groups of people, those who identify as transgender or transsexual (as some prefer to be called) are not a monolith. There are many ways of being trans. Most trans people are not interested in erasing sex-based legal rights: they are simply trying to live their lives as an integrated part of society. And, as we know from the growing prevalence of detransitioners, trans-identity is not always permanent.

We should differentiate between the broader population of trans people and the social media activists who promote radical ideologies — many of whom are not themselves trans. Our criticism should target ideological beliefs about gender and the specific actions of individual activists — not trans people as a whole.

People on both the left and right tend to become emotionally invested in their beliefs and may find ingenious ways to rationalize them. Leftists are often highly skeptical of the right and of anything that challenges dominant left-wing narratives. This makes them more resistant to changing their minds on this issue. It can be a very disorienting experience — it was for me — to realize that the sources you’ve come to trust are wrong about trans issues and could therefore be wrong about other things, too.

It’s especially difficult to admit that you might have been wrong if you have already taken drastic and irreversible steps to medically transition yourself or to allow your child to medically transition or if you are a healthcare professional who has facilitated the medical transitions of your patients. That’s why it’s so important to approach this topic sensitively and refrain from catastrophizing. Detransitioners have frequently pointed this out, requesting not to be referred to as “mutilated” or “ruined” — descriptions that insinuate that they are damaged beyond repair.

Many people grappling with gender-related distress are in genuine pain. They are struggling to reconcile fundamental human needs of identity and belonging. They deserve our compassion and understanding, even as we critique the ideologies and practices that we believe are causing so much harm.

I am firmly convinced that those of us who are critical of trans ideology possess the best evidence and the most compelling arguments. We need to take the ethical high ground. Some socially conservative commentators seem primarily focused on gaining popularity by publicly dunking on their opponents. But genuine persuasion isn't about who can land the most devastating verbal blow. Civility and decorum are themselves conservative values, and we demean ourselves and our cause when we forsake them in favor of mudslinging. 

Now, more than ever, we need open and constructive dialogue with people of different viewpoints, especially those from the left. If we want to convince people, we need to learn to communicate more effectively, and that means challenging beliefs without alienating people. We can do so only by making calm arguments supported by evidence from reputable sources. We're unlikely to see a dramatic shift in public opinion overnight, but each respectful interaction we foster brings us closer to achieving public awareness of these issues and ultimately, more informed and evidence-based policies.

==

Same principle as criticizing Islam.

#Christina Buttons #genderwang #gender ideology #queer theory #gender identity #gender cult #medical scandal #medical malpractice #criticism of ideas #sex trait modification #religion is a mental illness

[mizgrownnonsense]

I have no children yet, but here’s what I’m thinking about kids and media:

0-5ish: No media, unless it’s together or a trusted adult is helping them pick and keeping an eye on duration. Maybe they have a little mp3 player for their favorite songs (music should be a human right)

Justification: I’ve watched so many toddlers fall down unboxing video rabbit holes on YouTube and it freaks me OUT. I want media to be part of our shared family culture, not a way to check out and go numb. I’m aware that this is a lot more work, and plan to put that work in.

5ish-8ish: There is now an iPad, with some age-appropriate streaming services for movies and shows and some (offline, obv) games Maybe some pre-downloaded favourites and home movies, too. No YouTube at all. The iPad does not have a passcode or time lock, so it isn’t a scarce resource, but we keep an eye on usage and encourage alternatives if they start zombie-ing.

Justification: At 5, kiddo should be able to practice regulating their own attention span and explore media choices more autonomously—within certain parameters. The kid-eating YouTube algorithm is still hard-banned, and there are no messaging/social media/online gaming options. This is about them exploring media independently from us, but not using technology as a conduit to other people just yet.

8-12ish: kiddo gets a phone for direct messaging/calling with friends and family ONLY. The older and dumber the phone the better. Some closed-circle social medias (like Marco Polo) ok. This phone will be checked by parents periodically (sorry) but always with advanced notice and a conversation about what we might be looking for and why.

Justification: This is a good age for texts from grandma/cousins and the ability for them to explore the world and be able to text/call back for help. Obviously, they’ll want to send goofy messages to their friends, too, and that’s great. However, I don’t want them to develop an “audience” yet, so social media is out, and I still want to keep an eye out on how people interact with them, working together to recognise and set boundaries around this kind of communication. Checking their phone is mainly to enforce which apps they use, since they’ll be encountering more social pressure to join social media (and defy rules) around that age. I won’t read my kid’s messages unless I have a concern about their or one of their contacts’ behavior, and if it comes to that, looking at their messages is something I’ll do WITH THEM. We’ll have a conversation about my concerns, what I’m looking for, and what to do about it together.

10-12ish: Some multiplayer games okay, but with oversight around who they interact with and guidance about how to navigate uncomfortable interactions. YouTube is finally available, but with conversation about the ideas they encounter there. I won’t like this, but I can’t keep them off Minecraft forever.

13 ish-17ish: Parental controls off their tech, and a baseline of phone autonomy: no check-ins unless something seems seriously wrong; all check-ins with conversation. Encourage kiddo to manage screentime within other responsibilities and goals, check in if screens become a numbing reflex. Only big rule: MAINTAIN ANONYMITY (no real name, selfies/ vlogging, or identifying details) in any open-form social media. Advise them to be aware of social media that gives them a sense of an “audience” and council them to set boundaries with how they interact with that idea (ie: you don’t owe strangers interactions or energy, you are allowed to make mistakes, you are allowed to change your mind, grow, and change. You do not need to have an opinion on everything, especially if you haven’t had time to think it over, and you can/should block anyone who makes you feel unsafe). Here, I’ll also inform them about para-social relationships and how to navigate those.

Justification: god, I wish the adults in my life at that age told me the same. I cannot tell you how I wince when my full name still pulls up deviant art posts from my teen years on google searches. I have become so much kinder to myself since I let go the idea that I owe a vague internet audience my take on every new thing. Even if the internet wasn’t full of people who could exploit your personal information to harm you (for whatever reason), it does you no service whatsoever to put your most vulnerable developmental years under a public spotlight.

18: Full technology autonomy. Hopefully I’ve prepared kiddo to navigate it well, and left the door open to come to me if they ever need more help/guidance. Good luck, kiddo.

Posting for peer review: what do y’all think?

#kids #technology #parenting

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Tomorrow (May 22), I’m keynoting Public Knowledge’s Emerging Tech conference in DC.

On Tuesday (May 23), I’ll be in TORONTO for a book launch for Red Team Blues that’s part of WEPFest, a benefit for the West End Phoenix, onstage with Dave Bidini (The Rheostatics), Ron Diebert (Citizen Lab) and the whistleblower Dr Nancy Olivieri.

#15yrsago Cisco internal memo: Chinese censorship and surveillance are “opportunities” https://www.wired.com/2008/05/leaked-cisco-do/

#15yrsago EFF forces Lockheed to withdraw trademark claim on B-24 bomber https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/b-24-liberated

#15yrsago Open Source Embroidery and the “gendered gift economy” https://web.archive.org/web/20080525221524/http://speakdiapsalmata.blogspot.com/2008/05/open-source-embroidery-interview-with.html

#15yrsago RIP, Robert Asprin https://web.archive.org/web/20080723110304/http://www.mythadventures.net/

#15yrsago Structures of Participation in Digital Culture — free download scholarly essay https://web.archive.org/web/20080517105428/https://www.ssrc.org/blogs/books/2007/12/31/structures-of-participation-in-digital-culture/

#10yrsago Privacy, public health and the moral hazard of surveillance https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/may/21/privacy-public-health-surveillance

#10yrsago Perils of smart cities https://web.archive.org/web/20130607204221/https://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2013/05/18/the-too-smart-city/q87J17qCLwrN90amZ5CoLI/story.html

#10yrsago Chronology of the Canadian Conservative government’s war on science https://scienceblogs.com/confessions/2013/05/20/the-canadian-war-on-science-a-long-unexaggerated-devastating-chronological-indictment

#5yrsago Two sitting Senators were among the people whose identities were stolen in FCC comments from anti-Net Neutrality bots https://www.vice.com/en/article/8xeqqz/two-senators-say-their-identities-were-stolen-during-net-neutrality-repeal

#5yrsago The military sysadmins in charge of Trump’s cellphones can’t get him to give up wildly insecure practices https://www.politico.com/story/2018/05/21/trump-phone-security-risk-hackers-601903

#5yrsago Amazon has been quietly selling its facial recognition system to US police forces, marketing it for bodycam use https://web.archive.org/web/20180522231513/https://www.aclu.org/blog/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/amazon-teams-law-enforcement-deploy-dangerous-new?redirect=blog/amazon-teams-law-enforcement-deploy-dangerous-new-facial-recognition-technology

#5yrsago Mur Lafferty wrote a science fiction story about the DMCA to help EFF’s fair use for vidders campaign https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/05/eff-presents-mur-laffertys-science-fiction-story-about-our-fair-use-petition

#5yrsago The paperback of Walkaway is out today, along with reissues of all my adult novels in matching covers! https://memex.craphound.com/2018/05/22/the-paperback-of-walkaway-is-out-today-along-with-reissues-of-all-my-adult-novels-in-matching-covers/

#5yrsago The emerging split in modern trustbusting: Alexander Hamilton’s Fully Automated Luxury Communism vs Thomas Jefferson’s Redecentralization https://memex.craphound.com/2018/05/22/the-emerging-split-in-modern-trustbusting-alexander-hamiltons-fully-automated-luxury-communism-vs-thomas-jeffersons-redecentralization/

#5yrsago 84K: A grim meathook future novel of exterminism, with a theory of change and a glimmer of hope in its centre https://memex.craphound.com/2018/05/22/84k-a-grim-meathook-future-novel-of-exterminism-with-a-theory-of-change-and-a-glimmer-of-hope-in-its-centre/

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in DC, Toronto, Hay, Oxford, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

#pluralistic

[crvvys]

I think a more bold move from women who call themselves feminists is to uplift lesbians and separatist ideas. to seek out lesbian opinions and not say that we can’t comment on their relationships (which affect us and the women around them) I’m a firm believer in separatist spaces increasing community and politics. you have to be away from the oppressor to develop some kind of solution that doesn’t become diluted by the oppressor’s presence. and women need to know that they aren’t crazy or doomed to endure these circumstances bc nothing else has been offered to them. it doesn’t mean every single woman must be a separatist in all areas of her life but to at least understand the usefulness of it.

it doesn’t make sense to pressure lesbians to support the “majority” when the majority can’t let go of their ideas of what womanhood is to them. what use is feminism if it’s led by and defined by women who do not think lesbians face similar issues to hetero and bi women by being women who are also targeted and policed by men (and often other women) on top of the lack of community lesbians have from being women who will always say no to male access.

straight women often don’t realise the support systems they have access to or help to strengthen that really ultimately serve them and are often part of the “coming of age” process for women. bonding over the miseries they’re given from men. if most women are under the impression that all women have to on some level endure (but not enjoy) romantic relationships with men bc that’s what a woman’s lot is in life then that framework that they cultivate and live in effects their perspective, their politics and how they enforce culture and how they treat women that do not agree or live that way. it strengthens heterosexual supremacy. what weakens that is taking actions to give women alternatives and separate outlets away from men.

how free are straight women to choose the men they partner with if everything they’re taught is telling them to rely on him and this is how you become an adult woman. heterosexual women have a world that pressures them not to be independent but to be the other half of a man. BUT at the same time many of them find community with each other and do not seek to dismantle that or even to ally with lesbians who live in the same world as they do and face the same pressures but fight to say no to male access. which is ultimately what should be fought for hardest. the power to deny male access to women.

straight/bi women just reshape their existence within that societal pressure and enforce a culture that pressures other girls and women to participate in the misery that is believing a man completes you.

many things have to be attacked to bring this shit down but straight women have to examine their heterosexist beliefs first. feminism will not help every woman if it’s led by women who center womanhood around heterosexuality. the majority have to take it upon themselves to shift the culture away from heterosexism bc most of them are the ones enforcing the bad ideas.

[bcitisthelight]

So.Where to begin.

What you should know is, this isn’t my fault. It’s @misskirby who is to blame for this. She has this AMAZING fic, it’s called Benediction. I like to read it weekly, for sustenance. Go read that first if you want...literally any of this to make sense.  So there’s this passage which stole every marble I had, wherein Anakin is explaining the etymology of the Huttese he uses to refer to his children (with a really thorough explanation on Luke’s name. 

Anakin scrubbed the back of his neck. “Huttese doesn’t have—words of love. It doesn’t have… benedictions. It’s kind of a cruel language. There’s a whole case for groveling and then—there’s really only the word for love.”

“And that’s abiya?” Obi-Wan said.

Anakin’s grin was crooked. “No. That’s luke. In the Tatooine dialect, at least, it’s luke. We used—things, mostly, to—you know.”

“Luke,” Obi-Wan said, tasting the word, looking down at the sleeping child he’d just been holding, one who carried his parents’ love for him in his name. For the first time in all his life, he wondered what his own name meant, and who it was who had given it to him.

“Abiya is the milk from a flowering cactus,” Anakin said. “It’s very sweet. And rare. I only ever had it once, with my—my mother.”

Obi-Wan turned to look at Anakin again. The expression on Anakin’s face was raw, intense, but Obi-Wan forced himself to look at it, out of respect for the memories of a woman he owed all of Anakin to; the one who had protected him, loved him, when Obi-Wan hadn’t known he had existed at all.

“It also means the morning rain,” Anakin said, waving a hand. “A lot of words in Huttese have many definitions. Abiya, though—it’s a relief. A respite. Pure joy.”

Obi-Wan swallowed around the burning in his throat. “I see,” he said, strangled.

Anakin looked away, his throat bobbing. “Luke only has the one definition, though. There’s only one word derived from it, too, lukkali. Noun and a verb. A krayt dragon whelp, or—krayt dragons, the mothers, their carry their whelps in their mouths, because there’s no place on Tatooine that’s safer, so it’s also the act of doing that.”

I LOVE this passage. I love all of the work it does emotionally, narratively, etc. It’s the best. And yesterday morning, I zeroed in on a specific line. “In the Tatooine dialect” Except hold on, I thought to myself. Anakin was born a slave. What if, when he says the Tatooine dialect, what he means is...the dialect of the slave class? 

So here’s the thing. The Hutt society is based on the idea that the Hutts are the prime race, there was the whole Hutt empire thing, I mean the holiday the Boonta Eve Classic is supposed to commemorate is literal holiday that commemorates a Hutt ascending to godhood, during the process of which all of his slaves renew their vows of fealty. It’s not just a class system, where you can you know, in theory move between classes. This is a strict caste system, which you are born into or are captured into. Which got me thinking - what if the language of Huttese has a dialect system...based on caste? We see examples of this sort of socio-linguistic pattern in actual real life!! Tamil and Arabic are some pretty famous examples where certain historical societies who use that language break down that language based on caste, with their different varieties having all sorts of different meanings and cultural connotations, but there’s a ton of them. And in fact, there’s tons of societies which base their dialects on social or other cultural factors.

There’s even a name for it: diglossia, where a society as a whole uses one language but different parts use radically different dialects and forms of that language in different circumstances. Now, strictly historically, how diglossia typically works is that one dialect is seen as a low (L) dialect and one is seen as a high (H) dialect. And get this - in diglossic societies which also contain really severe social inequality - in some cases the dialects can seem almost unintelligible to those who speak the opposite dialect And then based on that passage I posted above, I thought...what if the unintelligibility in this certain case, specifically the unintelligibility between “high” huttese and the dialect spoken by slaves wasn’t surrounding the actual words or structure...what if it was /context/.

So basically in the last thirty six hours I’ve....I’ve made an entire headcanon on Huttese as a trifold diglossic dialect system. I’m putting it under the cut because God its, its a lot guys. Its a lot. Also? It’s written as though its an entry in sociolinguistic glossary of sort, because of course it is. Who wrote that glossary? Space nerds. Nerds in space. Nerds in space from Coruscant University who need research credits for their space masters degrees. 

For the purposes of this glossary, the modern caste system of the Hutt Clan has been recorded below. 1. Masters 2. Servants* 3. Slaves The reader should be aware that there is technically a high caste called “Grand Masters”, which historically was comprised of members of the Grand Hutt Council and their families. This caste used a dialect usually referred to as “Archaic Huttese”, and is the source dialect of Huttese, originally developed on the Hutt home planet of Nal Hutta. However, this language has long fallen out of common use.  The reader should also note that belonging to the Servant caste does not imply any quality of servitude per se. Rather, this is the caste of all ordinary free people who live under Hutt Rule. This designation is believed to have originated in the understanding within the ancient Hutt empire that any being who lived under Hutt dominion was by rights a servant to any Hutt who should need them.  The dialects of the castes are as follows.  1. The dialect of the master class is also known as “High Huttese”. The common dialect of all high-born Hutts, and widely adopted by non-Hutts who own slaves or hold positions of authority within Hutt society. This dialect is used in all interactions involving a master, whether between a group of masters or a master and a lower-caste member. With Hutt families whose bloodlines have been regarded as a part of the master class for several centuries, there is a curious strain of monolinguism in an otherwise highly polylinguistic society, with many high born Hutt families refusing to learn even the fundamentals of standard Basic. The reasoning for this seems to be a cultural belief held by the masters that any person of a lower caste bends to the needs of the masters, rather than the other way around. The historical risk of a master’s displeasure upon improper address has led to this dialect becoming the default in conversation unless you are absolutely sure of another person’s caste, since historically the risk of offense should you choose wrong was often very high. There are at least three different cases of blood feuds between members of Hutt Master families which involved the use of a lower caste dialect as a cause of offense. 

This default status of this dialect means that when a person in the Republic references “Huttese”, they are almost always referencing the master dialect. The master dialect is what is taught in the schools of the Republic. This has led to a sort of self-perpetuating cycle. As interactions with the rest of the galaxy have shifted to singular dialect, the use of the master dialect has become more solidified within common Hutt Society, even when the speaker is aware that Low Huttese would be acceptable. 

It should be noted that this exception applies only to free people. Slaves are required by Hutt law to use this dialect when speaking Huttese to any non-slave they interact with, even if that person does not belong to the Hutt caste system. The Hutt law imposing this requirement famously reads, “Because all beings are above a slave, a slave should speak to every being in the tongue of their masters.” The penalty for a slave addressing a master in anything but the high dialect is often some sort of physical punishment. A rather gruesome tradition which is kept in force to this day.  2. The servant dialect is also called “Low Huttese”. While originally it was relatively distinct from both the dialect spoken by the masters and the dialect spoken by the slaves of Hutt Society, it has since suffered a bit of stagnation. There are many factors which could cause this to occur. As the Republic opened up more and more channels of commerce to Hutt Space, and the Master dialect has become the norm outside of Hutt Society, true enforcement of the linguistic standard for non-enslaved beings has fallen much to the wayside in the last two standard centuries or so. Modern Low Huttese dialect is thus mostly similar to the Master dialect in grammar and generally accepted vocabulary. However, a remaining diversion exists which is based on pronunciation, and a significant reliance on rather course slang on the part of those who speak Low Huttese. It has been said by Huttese linguistic scholars that while High Huttese is a an excellent dialect for threats, Low Huttese is an excellent dialect for swearing.  3.  The slave dialect has no name in any official Hutt or Republic record. It is not recognized by any authority in either written or spoken form. In fact, generally the only beings who know or speak the slave dialect are those who are or who once were enslaved, and their loved ones. The dialect differs rather severely from high huttese - though primarily through meaning and cultural context, rather than actual structure. 

It seems that this “hidden” diversion was born of necessity, rather than choice. The masters didn’t like the idea of their slaves having a way of communication the masters were not privy to, and so would punish any slave caught speaking a dialect which was immediately recognizable as being outside of the master dialect. The slave class in the ancient Hutt empire adapted to this by taking the dialect forced upon them, and manipulating a large portion of it for their use. Rather ingeniously, they seem to have developed an entire dialect specifically ordered so that they could express themselves freely without being automatically targeted by a passing master or authority figure. This is the vital distinction: words in the master dialect often have vastly different or even opposite meanings when used in the slave dialect. Added to this complexity are the wide range of connotations and contexts for each word. An interesting note to the slave dialect is that generally, the more abstract a word is, the fewer meanings or connotations it has, whereas often the most culturally impactful words and concepts are taken from simple or every day words. There is only one word for love in the slave dialect - “Luke” - because it is seen as pure, and when given, unconditional. When this word is used, there is no linguistic distinction between platonic or romantic love - the slave class instead relies on idioms or proverbs to express the difference in feeling. In direct contrast, there are nine different ways a person can use the verb which means “to attach”, ranging from the mundane (“Attach these two machine parts together”) to the taboo (“to cause another person to be enslaved”) There are some words which are unique to this dialect, however. One example is the word for “freedom”, which in the slave dialect is “telena”. 

The master dialect’s word for freedom is the same as their word for authoritarian power. Freedom within the master caste, then, was specifically associated with the ability to exercise dominion over the world around them. Members of the slave class, as individuals who constantly suffered under that same authoritarian power, showed a collective repugnance for the association between freedom and the very dehumanization they themselves suffered. Drawing from the use of the anakin plant as one of the most culturally and spiritually significant symbols in the caste (See entry on Anakin, a flowering plant which originated in the deserts of Tatooine but which has since been domesticated throughout the Outer Rim) they instead chose to develop a word based off the Hutt verb “to bloom” One common expression amongst the slave class is “Telena telen ali anakin” - “Freedom blooms with the anakin” Those interested in the study of this dialect, then, are well warned that they should take great care in attempting to communicate in this dialect (if they can find a teacher, that is - many slaves or even those who were formally enslaved are understandably reluctant to give up what is likely one of the only means of expression of not only agency, but of caste solidarity. I have seen two former slaves go from total strangers to kindred spirits in the space of five minutes, upon discovering by means of dialect each others mutual experience.)

#I made an entire headcanon on Huttese as a trifold diglossic dialect system #she said #like a LOSER #do you ever write a sentence so insane it immediately deals you psychic damage #and what makes it worse is that #this is something i did in my free time today #this is what i do for FUN #anyways #I will be writing more to come lmao #Huttese #star wars #conlang #sociolinguistics #but you know #in space #please don't take the actual structure too seriously i am strictly here for the social connotations #i dont know linguistics #and frankly #i dont care

[agermanadventurer]

A start

Let’s start somewhere shall we?

The German language is generally considered quite hard because of it’s grammar - which is understandable. If you are a monoligual English speaker you have never encountered the different complexities that are going to show up. But have no fear-! All of these things have been learned before and can be learned by you if you aspire to. I am not going to make this blog a step-by-step blog to learn German - I simply don’t have neither the time nor the patience to do that. But I will guide you to some free sources to get started to be able to follow along with other things I’ll be talking about in the future, and these are both things I’ve come across in my studying and also things I wish I had found earlier.

BOOKS (pdfs)

german language course - Simply named German Language Course is a pdf book that is written by several collaborating authors in an effort to create a beginner’s guide to the German language. It’s constantly being improved but the newer version here is lacking a bit and the original release from 2006 linked above is a bit more put together but choose from your own accord.

basic german - Basic German, a text/work book for grammar! Really- there’s a lot of grammar in there but it’s quite easy to navigate and can be useful for anyone learning the language or the grammar. 

mein-deutschbuch.de - Mein Deutschbuch is technically a website but nevermind that. It offers lists of different grammar rules and gives you excercises to practice your grammar. The only downside is that everything is in german. It’s great for more advanced learners though.

pdfdrive.com/german-language-books - And here’s a link to many other free books that can be downloaded.  

YOUTUBE CHANNELS (for language learning)

Get Germanized - A youtube channel dedicated to teaching it’s viewers German and also about the German culture. There are full course German videos only focusing on exposing and teaching as well as shorter videos with cultural comparisons and entertainment. 

Easy German - Easy German publish videos for both advanced learners and beginners. They focus much on teaching spoken German but also talks about grammar,  and they offer new vocabulary. 

Learn German - A channel that uses a simple artstyle to explain different parts of the German language. The channel also sorts their videos after language level so even for someone in level C1 might find something useful in there.   

Learn German with Herr Antrim - Herr Antrim wants to teach you German for free. His videos brings up grammar, pronounciation, and tak about the German culture.

Besides these channels you also have plenty of videos repeating german phrases and vocabulary for when you sleep (can’t really recommend to sleep while you listen to them) and you can sit down and take a few notes from those too if you want to become familiar with the sounds and some of the phrases.

YOUTUBE CHANNELS (for entertainment and exposure)

Hi From Hamburg - Lila is an american who moved to Hamburg and is making videos talking about her experience with it and she makes a lot of videos for simple entertainment. Her channel is one of the few English ones I’m going to include in this list. 

Dinge Erklärt - Kurzgesagt -  Kurzgesagt is a channel with pretty animation explaining different concepts, ideas, and myths in our modern society today. They talk about philosophy, science, religious ideas, psychology, and more.

maiLab - MaiLab is a scientific channel in German. In their videos they talk about various topics within biology, chemistry, psychology, or of different concepts and myths in society today.

Related to maiLab are also channels like Quarks and MrWissen2go.

100SekundenPhysik - For those who are into physics, this one can be intresting for you. 100SekundenPhysik brings up and explains physics, but in German and in short comprehensible videos. 

Dagi Bee - For those not as interested in science, here’s an entertainment channel (and a few more after this). Dagi Bee is a channel created for entertainment, she features music videos, make up and hair turtorials, reaction videos, vlogs and more.

Marvyn Macnificent - Marvyn makes entertainment and vlog videos; challenges, make up tutorials and reviews, collaborations (and videos with friends), and also different types of discussions of other social media figures.

Alycia Marie - This channel is for any make up and cosplay fan. Alycia’s channel is made up of make up tutorials, make up reviews and comparisons, as well as cosplay displays. She also have a second channel for her music.

Other channels like Dagi Bee and Alycia Marie is for example Luisa Crashion and Jasmin Azizam

DoctorBenx - A look into the gaming part of youtube and we have DoctorBenx as a prominent figure on the list. His videos consist of him playin games such as Minecraft and Roblox but also GTA5 and simulator/indie games. He works closely with the youtuber AwesomeElina.

Vlesk - If anyone’s still into Among Us you’ll want to check out Vlesk who almost exclusively makes videos of said game at the moment. His channel is rather young still but the older videos are him playing TTT in Garry’s Mod. 

Zombey - For those more intrested in playthroughs, Zombey is more appropriate. His channel features many different games such as Demon’s Soul and Fall Guys. 

APPS

Duolingo - Duolingo is always mentioned when it comes to these things, but it’s a good app. It provides a simple, almost game-like, format that helps you practice different concepts in your target language.

Memrise - Can’t forget Memrise on this list. Memrise uses video clips of real life people using the language to get you to associate the phrases with the situation and to get you to immerse yourself with the language. 

Drops - Drops focuses on visual learning, getting your brain to associate the vocabulary you’re exposed to with the pictures and symbols on the screen. The app is great for learning new vocabulary and you can choose yourself which topic to start with.

Wordbit German - WordBit German is useful for vocabulary exposure. You download it and every time you open your phone a German word is shown on the screen and you can mark different word by familiarity.

HelloTalk - This app helps you to reach out to native speakers of your target language and you can also help others seeking to learn your language. You can send voice messages, make corrections and translate the messages directly. The app can be used for free, but there are many functions that are limited without paying. Other similar apps are also available (often with lower quality but they are free). 

PODCASTS (language learning)

Slow German - The journalist Annik Rubens talks about everyday topics and phenomenons in the german culture and society in short recordings. Perfect to practice your listening comprehension as a beginner and get used to the new parts of the phonology - and it’s available on Spotify. 

Easy German - They also have a podcast! They also talk about the german culture but also topics relevant to the rest of the world, though in a bit more natural speed and with a bit more relaxed manner. (Available on Spotify)

Radio D - Unfortunately not available on Spotify but it is easily found with just a google search (and by the attached link). The podcast is made for complete beginners, guiding you throughout different scenarios and settings and building up your understanding and basic knowledge of the language. Transscripts are also available for download.

Coffee Break German - A series of lessons where the listener, together with the English speaking host Mark, gets to learn German phrases and vocabulary from scratch with the help of Thomas. Each episode is between 20 to 30 minutes so get your pen and paper out to take effective notes. (Available on Spotify)

 You will come across many other podcasts, these are just a good place to start.

PODCASTS (for entertainment)

Eine Stunde History - With new episodes every Friday this podcast takes events throughout history and compare their relevance to today and the future. Perfect for those who have an interest in history. (Available on Spotify)

ZEIT WISSEN - Woher weißt Du dass? - The central theme being science, this podcast gives you a scientific perspective on a new question that is being explored every week. You want to know if humans can hybernate or what the consequenses of having sex with the neanderthals were? Not necessarily! But now you can! (Available on Spotify)

Verbrechen - This podcast features true crime, being led by Andreas Sentker and Sabine Rückert. Sabine is the one talking about the cases she’s been met with throughout her career in law enforcement. (Available on Spotify)

Biologie Passion Podcast - If you have a biology test coming up, if you want to repeat some long lost knowledge from school, or maybe you just have a passion for biology - then this is a good podcast for you. Christian Schweda is happy to teach (or reteach) you some biology. (Available on Spotify)

Eli’s Abitur Crashkurs - For those of you who are study freaks in general, you can visit Eli on Spotify! She has made a podcast on everything she has to study for during her Abitur. And the best thing is - they only come in 10-20 min episodes. But be aware for speedy speech. (Available on Spotify)

Die Copycats - Both on Youtube and on Spotify these guys talk about all sorts of nerdy things from video games to bad music and give their opinions on many other things. They’re quite small so go and give them a bit of love. (Available on Spotify)

#QueerAsBerlin - Not available on Spotify unfortunately. But as the title suggests is this podcast a commentary, interviews and a view on different aspects of social problems through the lens of the LGBTQ+ community in Berlin.  

Bin ich Süßsauer? - For my fellow asian LGBTQ+ people out there; this underrated podcast features an asian host in Germany, talking about different parts of LGBTQ (from what I understand the host themselves are trans and therefore the general theme) with different guests. Of course this can be enjoyed by anyone, just a small shout out for diversity. (Available on Spotify)

Schnapsidee - der Podcast über Liebe, Love & sexy sein - From the name alone you are most likely able to deduse the theme of this podcast. Anna and Paula talks about their love life, relationships, and sex! Their content is lighthearted and enjoyable to listen to. (Available on Spotify)

Dick und Doof - Without any real theme to their podcast, the two friends Sandra and Luca is having a great time, and we get to listen to their conversations about anything and everything. The both of them focus mostly on humour, sprinkled with an insight in their private lives. (Available on Spotify)

Alliteration am Arsch - Or AAA in foreshortening, features Bastian Bielendorfer and Reinhard Remfort who found themselves as friends after realizing the things they had in common and now we get to listen as the both of them discuss anything and everything through the lens of comedy. (Available on Spotify)

#deutsch #deutsch lernen #vokabeln #german #learning german #german vocabulary #german sources

[aceofbooksandtea]

ATLA headcanon

so i was reading a fanfic the other day that mentioned in an author’s note how the author views zuko as a representation of the world out of balance. i can’t do the explanation justice, so check it out here.

but anyway, that got me thinking... that’s actually true about all the main characters. they each represent part of the war-torn world.

aang represents the lost histories of the world. the lost realities of the air nomads to propaganda and time. the lost cultural things like dancing in the fire nation or thriving water tribe societies filled with bending knowledge. he’s the representation of peace, of communication, of empathy and ambassadorial duties--all things lost to a world-wide war.

katara represents the hope the world has for victory and peace. ea ch nation obviously has a different idea of what that would look like, but they all want it. she also represents the people who try to help in the little ways, the tiny moments of charity and compassion that make life worth living even in the worst times (like song and haru and piandao, all willing to take in strangers even when it would logically make no sense to trust them).

sokka represents the strategists, the tacticians, the battles won and lost. he is the representation of a hundred years of brilliant and stupid ideas, moments of pure desperation, and the willingness to put yourself in harms way to see your plan achieved and your people safe. he is the representation of feeling fear and doubt and doing what you need to do anyway.

toph represents the rules enforced to theoretically bring safety but that really just limit potential. for example, ba sing se’s rule about not talking about the war, even though that limits how many people might be able to help bc they’re too afraid of getting in trouble. or the northern water tribe’s insistence that women not learn combat bending, even though it effectively halves their potential fighting force*. she’s also the representation of the underdog, the knife in the dark that you don’t expect. she’s every person who’s been told no, only to prove them wrong (she shares this with katara, but it’s more thematically similar the other things she represents than it is to the things katara does.)

and zuko represents the harm the war has done. both as the harmer (when he chased the gaang around the world, being raised the son of an imperial conqueror, etc.) and the harmed (the agni kai, the propaganda he was raised with, and his time as a fugitive). he represents the struggle to learn to listen to people you once considered enemies, you once thought mistaken. he represents the bitterness, the anger, the need for justice and revenge.

obviously, each character has moments where they are examples of one of the other’s aspects, but i’m basing these off the main themes and developmental arcs that they deal with.

(* i know there’s some cultural stuff there that might have real-world equivalents, so i’m sorry if i got something wrong. but why wouldn’t you at least teach them self defense?)

#atla #meta #character analysis #aang #katara #sokka #toph #zuko

[madalice31]

I may run this tumblr anonymously, but believe me when I say I am a grown ass and very proud BLACK WOMAN. I do NOT have an issue with how Awkwafina sounds. Just like I don’t have an issue with the way Angus Cloud aka Fezco from Euphoria sounds. Which by the way, nobody is dragging him through the mud for his “blaccent.” We may not get the respect and justice that we deserve as a community, but there’s no denying that black culture is the backbone of mainstream entertainment. Hell pop culture as a whole including food, fashion, and all around art. We influence EVERYONE. Period. And no doubt, there are people who use our style, our culture, and how some of us speak to gain advantage or momentum in their careers. You know, like Miley Cyrus and Machine Gun Kelly. Again, no one seems to be all that upset at them.

What we don’t get, though, is there are people who may not be originally from our heritage but pretty much spend their whole life hanging around people like us. If you know anything about, oh just being human, you would know that the more time you spend with a person or group of people, you take on their traits. That’s why they tell you birds of a feather flock together or the idea of nature versus nurture.

Angus is from Oakland, also known as the Bay Area. If you know anything you know that’s a predominately black part of California. His accent is not an act, it’s how he was raised. Awkwafina grew up in Queens! As in the same Queens Nicki Minaj is from. And your surprised that she sounds like she has black siblings? Nothing about her accent is an act or ploy to advance her career. It’s just how she was raised. It’s just where she’s from. It’s just how she talks. And it saddens me that she has to apologize for that just because she doesn’t fit the “look” of who “should” sound the way she sounds. News flash, I’m black and I don’t talk like that. So let’s get rid of the stereotype first and foremost instead of enforcing this idea that all black people have all the same interests, the same backgrounds, and the same experiences. But that’s a whole different topic.

It saddens me that this is the type of stuff the black community wants to get upset about. Like Awkwafina changing the way she talks is going to advance us in anyway. Meanwhile y’all asses still sitting in that Chick Fil A drive thru, even tho they publicly supported trump and gave money to his campaign. That chicken biscuit sure does taste good tho huh so you not going to cancel Chick Fil A. 🙄Awkwafina probably been around more black people than Megan Markle but y’all claim her as y’all black princess 🙄 man please. Don’t let me get started. As far as I’m concerned Awkwafina is still invited to the cookout.

If you’re black and you’re upset about this, you might want to think about some reeducation. We live in a world where we are all in constant exchange of culture. If you grew up in the UK and gained a British accent, does that mean you’re in the wrong for being black and sounding like Harry Potter? Not the last time I checked. So exactly what is the big deal? Fuck out of here. There are more important things to worry about.

#awkwafina #fezco #fezco euphoria #jmo #entertainment #hypocritical #blaccent #personal blog #black culture

[suspiciouscatastrophe]

The Forgotten Folk: All Things Gnome (2)

A few Dungeons and Dragons species inspire so much interest in me as gnomes. They’re small, secretive, seen as universally annoying – relatable, really. I’ve been daydreaming about the gnomekind for some time now and I want to write down my views on it in details!

This series of loredump + headcanon posts will both incorporate and discard lore bits taken from all editions of DnD. When the Forgotten Realms Wiki can do it, so can I. (Forgotten Realms Wiki, unironically my beloved) Speaking of Forgotten Realms, that is the setting I have most in mind while writing this but I’m sure you can modify it for usage with any gnomes in your mind!

In this post I will only cover surface gnomes in traditional communities. No svirfneblin (yet!), no Feydark gnomes (yet!), no Lantan (although most of this will probably apply to them, too).

For additional flavor, I’ve decided to try to write this series in character. I have a gnome wizard OC named Glim Waywocket, who grew up in a traditional gnome commune. At the time he’s writing this, he’s a young apprentice at the Blackstaff Academy in Waterdeep.

Part 2: Gnomish hierarchy and authorities

Author’s note: Don’t be shocked by the change of perspective, dear reader. After I pointed out several glaring errors in the work of prof. A., he told me to “kindly continue the essays myself”. Well, don’t mind if I do! It makes perfect sense. From whom else would you learn about gnomes? Mordenkainen?

Gnomes and hierarchy

To better understand the gnomish view of hierarchy and authorities, we must examine their cultural values. I will summarize them into three main points.

Curiosity. As one of our sayings goes, “pity the confused who don’t ask ‘what’, pity more the ignorant who don’t ask ‘why’”, being inquisitive and nosy is considered a sign of being alive and bright. Following commands without understanding the reasoning behind them is foolish to a gnome.

Positivity. The stereotype of the jolly gnome who can’t be moved by anything and stays disgustingly happy and giggles through everything is just that: a stereotype. But presuming it popped in people’s heads out of the thin air is giving their creativity too much credit. It stems from a basic misunderstanding of gnomish all-time favorite coping mechanism, humor. For a gnome laughter is preferable to crying, and it’s also our way of delivering criticism and commentary to each other. Authority figures can be absolutely hilarious to us.

Distance. Or, in other words, the ability to not interfere. I have a mental exercise for you, dear reader! Give me the names of 3 gnomes that meddled in the geo-political situation of Faerûn, or anywhere, really. It’s just three names, you can do that, right? No, you can’t. The push to stay away and let others make the mistakes is deeply ingrained in our culture. It’s simply seen as a taboo to wrestle for control.

These ideas reach far beyond the burrows. Gnomes that travel or have found their home in settlements dominated by other cultures are unlikely to revere the local powers that be or be politically active themselves. According to law enforcement, gnomes tend to commit “crimes”1 such as unlicensed magic practice, unregistered trade, use of illegal recreational substances, and mockery of the Lord/Lady.

1 I can have little quotation marks as a treat. Nothing political, I assure you!

In spite of that, the gnome cultural mentality makes us gravitate slightly more to the Law than to the Chaos in relation to the planar conceptions of those terms, though it’s not possible to place our society fully in either.

The spirit of laws is important to gnomes. For example, theft is wrong not because it’s prohibited, or because it’s taking something that doesn’t belong to you, but because you’re depriving someone else of that something. A law-abiding gnome will therefore not steal, but not be against taking an abandoned item on the street even in areas where that’s considered theft by law.

Speaking of gnomes who have integrated themselves into multicultural societies, even though we are often labeled as troubling elements, the gnomish presence is rarely a threat to the establishment. Gnomes take badly to anybody trying to impose their authority over them, but their solution is a retreat, not an uprising. Many of us believe that it’s not our fight nor our place to overthrow tyrants, no matter how terrible they may be.

But what about communities where it’s all gnomes? Who rules there?

If you approach a gnome commune (under the rare pretense it lets you) and ask for their leader, the most likely answer you get is giggles, the gnomes pointing at each other, and amused quips. We aren’t leaderless in the traditional sense, but rather lack the cultural notion of a leadership position.

When the commune needs to make a decision, they gather and everyone with an opinion (including children) says their piece. Then, if no option goes uncontested, they vote. For issues that concern one group more than everyone else, votes of the gnomes most affected have more power. In the case of a tie, the gathering ends, everybody grabs something to eat, goes on a walk, and the next day the process repeats.

This approach to governing is yet another reason why gnomes in general shun the idea of forming their own nations. If we lived in greater numbers, we would have to sacrifice this practice in favor of building a swifter, more robust structure that would inevitably congregate the power on one or a few individuals.

At this point you may be asking, “What does a gnome commune do when they need to decide at the moment of notice?”

scatters

Well, in that case, they follow whoever has the most expertise – usually one of the elder members, but anyone who proposes any sensible course of action and has enough natural authority is likely to be listened to. That’s what we mean when we say that we’re not leaderless. We have a leader! It’s just most of the time all of us… and sometimes it’s a surprise.

Even though it’s viewed as a virtue of our society by gnomes themselves, other more expansive forces note it as one of the most easily exploitable gnomish weaknesses, and their strategists go to great lengths to make the attack as chaotic as possible to take advantage of the gnomes potentially getting into disagreements and dividing. Or would go to great lengths, if someone cared enough to devote any bigger effort to hunt for gnomish settlements. Some such as bandit groups, gnolls and drow sometimes do, but it’s extremely hard to discover a gnome burrow in the first place, and the potential loot most often just doesn’t justify the effort.

Hiding and avoiding conflict simply by the virtue of the aggressors forgetting about our existence has been integral to our survival ever since our history remembers, and so has been the importance we place on equality and respect for each and every individual. The latter is something many other races could learn from us; the former is a source of unending debates among the gnomekind.

“There has never been a war between the Forgotten Folk.”

But is that enough in a world where so many think that might makes right and are so ready to oppress others? And we don’t have to storm into conflicts spell-slinging and kneecaps-taking, we have the voices that we choose not to use for the fear of meddling too much. Have we became so fixated on never being the “bully” and evading fighting at all costs that we often turn our backs on other vulnerable people instead of joining forces and defending?

I will be a professional and not tell you which side of this debate I am on. Oh, this definitely wasn’t a hidden call to action for every gnome who reads it, why?

#the forgotten folk: all things gnome #rock gnome #dnd gnome #dnd #forgotten realms #longpost #lore #dnd oc #oc #forest gnome #headcanon #dungeons and dragons

[symptoms-syndrome]

Alters and Race in White-Bodied Systems

I said I was going to write something up, so I’m going to try. I will try to make this as easily understandable as possible, so please let me know if parts are unclear. This will be a little long because it’s a complex topic, but I hope you try to read it if you can. I’ve broken things up into chunks and made the text large for each header so that it is more ADHD-friendly, and tried to use layman’s terms whenever possible.

Things I’m going to be talking about in this post will be:

What is race?

What are the types of racial oppression?

How do people in DID communities/spaces perpetuate racism?

How can I check myself and avoid perpetuating racism?

Final notes

When I can, I will link to sources. For transparency, I am a nonblack/indigenous, Korean-American mixed race person with diagnosed DID. When I use the term “DID” in this post I am referring to both DID and OSDD.

#1: What is Race?

Race is a social construct, created by white people. It is not based in any science, as science has disproven there are significant genetic markers that differ between different races. “Whiteness,“ especially, has been an idea that has changed wildly over time. (A good book to read about this is called How The Irish Became White.)

Socially, people are divided along lines of race, which are blurry at best. Things like “the one drop rule“ make it so that no person of color (POC, a noun not an adjective) can fully claim whiteness. Whiteness is primarily defined by “not being a POC.”

‘Whiteness,’  like ‘colour' and ‘Blackness,' are essentially social constructs  applied to human beings rather than veritable truths that have universal  validity. The power of Whiteness, however, is manifested by the ways in  which racialized Whiteness becomes transformed into social, political,  economic, and cultural behaviour. White culture, norms, and values in  all these areas become normative natural. They become the standard  against which all other cultures, groups, and individuals are measured  and usually found to be inferior (Henry & Tator, 2006, p. 46-47).

(In layman’s terms: Whiteness is created by society, and is now defined as “normal” and “default,” while actively oppressing people of color. People of color, by not being white, are seen as inferior. It’s a catch 22 of not being enough, and when you ARE enough, you’re not considered a person of color anymore, which is exactly what happened to the Irish.)

#2: What is Racial Oppression?

“Oppression” is a word a lot of folks throw around these days, and is commonly defined by what are called the “four Is of oppression.” These four Is are:

Internalized: This is oppression instilled in POC. Thoughts like “if I am more like my white peers, I will be more respected,” “I’m not like those people of color,” and pitting different POC against each other are all examples of internalized racism.

Interpersonal: This is oppression that is between individuals, and the most recognized form of racism. Interpersonal racism can look like calling people slurs, expecting POC to conform to stereotypes, etc.

Institutional: This is oppression built into the society and systems we live in. It can look like schools with higher percentages of POC getting less funding, differing descriptions for the same behavior (hyperactive white children being described as “outgoing” while a child of color is described as “disruptive”,) income inequality, and police brutality.

Ideological: Probably the hardest for people to recognize, ideological racism exists within our very thought processes. White people are told, directly and indirectly, that they are harder working, more deserving, more capable, more advanced, and so on. The inverse is applied to POC. A good example of this is the idea of “welfare queens,” or the idea that someone only got to where they are “by playing the race card.”

All of these interact with each other. Ideological racism is the basis of institutional racism, institutional racism is enforced by interpersonal racism, and progress towards liberation is inhibited by internalized racism, which is instilled in us by all of the above. Oftentimes, these are perpetuated in ways white folks don’t even notice or intend. Offhand comments and other microaggressions (more about those here, in a 2 minute video) can reinforce racism in ways that seem small or insignificant.

Now, onto the part folks are most likely here for:

#3: How Does This Relate to DID?

In DID, alters form for all sorts of reasons, and can look like anything. From demons to angels, fictional characters to animals or objects, the ways parts form can tell someone a lot about that parts beliefs, particularly when they differ from the body. In The Haunted Self, an example is given of a part that believes they are Superman because they cannot be hurt.

When race is involved with this, ideological biases come into play. Though you may not consciously make the decision to have an alter appear a certain way, ultimately, an alter is created by your brain and your brain alone (apart from, of course, the society that your brain/body exist in.) When you are a white person, and your brain creates an alter that appears to be of color, there is a reason. Even “positive” reasons can carry racism, such as splitting an Asian-appearing alter to help with schoolwork. Oftentimes, even without knowing, that reason is due to biases regarding race.

When an alter is created, it does not magically gain the experiences of someone who would actually live in that body. An alter that appears to be a POC has no idea what it’s actually like to be a POC, has no experience with racism, and does not experience any racism. Any racial experiences they may seem to carry with them are a white person’s perception of them, it’s a lot like claiming you know a show because you watched it through a neighbor’s window.

#4: How Can I Check Myself?

So, how do you never do anything racist ever again?

I’m sorry to say, but it just isn’t possible to be 100% non-racist. Even POC cannot be 100% non-racist or anti-racist, because we unfortunately live in a society that is constantly upholding white supremacy and white supremacist beliefs.

However, the next best step is being an anti-racist! Checking yourself for biases you’re upholding or racism you’re perpetuating is an important first step. This is an often uncomfortable and confronting process, and one that never has an end, but an important one. There are a LOT of ways you can do this, but I’ll just list a few that are relevant to DID.

Familiarize yourself with common stereotypes.

The easiest way to find where your internalized biases are with alters that appear to be a different race is familiarizing yourself with common stereotypes and ideas that our society has about POC. These are often tied to things like violence, hypersexualization, drug use, and other negative attributes, but can also be things that on the surface appear to be positive, such as being studious, people-pleasing, or frugal. Regardless of whether the stereotype seems positive or negative, either way it’s still perpetuating racism.

Ask yourself: Is my POC-appearing alter more sexual than others? Are they aggressive? Is my POC-appearing alter a monster (such as a demon or a zombie,) or otherwise less human, like an animal?

Keep an eye on your language

Obviously, if you follow my blog, I don’t support talking negatively about my parts. But in addition to this, when race is involved, it’s even more important. Words like “feral,” “aggressive,“ “sassy,” “soft,” and others can have a more racist impact when used on POC than when used on white folks. Additionally, your POC-appearing alter is not an actual person of color, so avoiding language like “my Asian alter”  and replacing it with (when race is relevant,) “my alter that appears Asian” can be also a helpful change. Lastly, and I would hope this goes without saying, but language like AAVE, slurs, and “broken” English are not yours to use if you have a white body. If you wouldn’t let a white person say it, you should not let an alter in a white body say it.

Ask yourself: Would I use this word if this alter appeared white? If I saw another white person talking like this, would I be okay with that?

Avoid cultural appropriation, be aware of culture

A lot of this may seem obvious, such as not wearing native regalia if you are not native, but other aspects of cultural appropriation may not be as obvious. Asian names, for example, are both incredibly personal, important, and significant in Asian culture, and stigmatized against in white society. I don’t know of any Asian folks who do not have a white name they used in school because teachers literally refuse to try and learn our real names. The issue of cultural appropriation is, at its core, that white people are treated differently for doing the same things that POC do, even when it’s originally something that POC created.

Ask yourself: Would someone of x race be treated differently from me doing this? Is this something that POC have been told they cannot do, even though I can?

#5: Final Notes

As I say whenever I do equity workshops, learning does not end here. I encourage you, if possible, to do more research on your own about racial equity! Clicking the links I’ve included throughout my writing would be a good start, and those links may lead you to others. Getting involved with local activism groups, meeting diverse groups of people with varying ideas, and reading would also be excellent ways to further your learning at your own pace.

Reading this may have made you uncomfortable. You might’ve read something and cringed, thinking to yourself “oh no, I do/did that!” in which case, forgive yourself. Learning is always a process, and no one is ever perfect. As long as you keep in mind what you’ve learned going forward, you are not a bad person for having done something racist in the past. We live in a society that at best doesn’t punish, and at worst rewards upholding the racist beliefs we all live with. Discomfort is a part of learning, and if you were uncomfortable and kept reading, I commend you. That’s hard.

This is all written by one person, with one experience and one life story. You may at some point in time talk to someone with an entirely different experience who may say totally different things than me. Use your best judgement.

If you read all the way through and found something useful, and you can spare any change, my cashapp is $beepollen98. Money would be used to prepare for my upcoming gender surgery! Obviously no pressure, I hope you learned something and feel a little more educated, and maybe even enjoyed reading!

As always, my DMs and asks are open if you found anything confusing, and/or have suggestions/questions.

#actuallydid #actuallyosdd #did/osdd #dissociative identity disorder #other specified dissociative disorder #actuallydissociative #did #osdd #race and DID

[tuber-culosis]

I've been reading through a lot of radfem blogs and posts lately. and gotta say, i'm leaning a lot towards radical feminism. And im definitely gender critical.

but one topic I want to talk about in particular is the criticism of Islam.

Which I feel is totally valid considering the current state of mainstream islam and Muslims.

Mainstream Islam (is what you see on all social media, seemingly practised by a lot of Muslims) IS sexist. And homophobic. There's no use denying it, neither do I think I'm a bad Muslim for not supposedly defending my own religion. You have to recognise the flaws in your own system to improve and progress.

Then arises the question why am I still Muslim then/ why do I still practise Islam? If I recognise the way it is practised is sexist and homophobic, which are things I'm against?

The difference lies in my belief that "mainstream Islam" is much different from the root of Islam.

Many (read: a LOT, not all) modern Muslims have been influenced by ultra conservative movements that want to return Islam to the way they believe was practised during the time of the Prophet (pbuh), ie; some centuries back. This is propagated by the ideas of Salafism and Wahhabism that frankly, prevent progress, reform or any sort of growth in Muslim communities.

I personally have witnessed this in my own country, India, where women are increasingly wearing the hijab and even full body covering purdahs, not talking to the opposite gender, men not looking a woman other than their wives in the eye, etc compared to when my mother was a child, when almost all Muslim women dressed in normal comfortable clothes and there were no much gender segregations. (Gender segregation still existed to a certain degree due to conservative Indian culture ofc)

This radicalisation led to the development of ultra conservative Muslims who enforce sexist, homophobic and separatist policies in the name of God.

They claim to want to return to "true Islam" but they add so many unnecessary rules and regulations you have to follow in order to be a "true Muslim" that are almost so impossible to follow I can vouch I have unconciously broken like 50 of them in one day maybe. These "laws" are derived from:

1. The hadith

2. Arab culture

3. Poor translation of the Quran to fit these radical ideals.

Explaining each of these in a little more detail,

1. A lot of practising Muslims might come at me for this one, but I feel that considering the hadith to be a holy source of guidance and believing everything in the Hadith when there are so many contradictions and logical fallacies, is foolish.

For those who have no clue what the hadith is, Islam basically has the Qur'an, which is, as we believe, a holy book revealed by God to the Prophet (pbuh), which acts as divine guidance on how to live life as a good person. It has rules, suggestions, and guidance to take desicions on a lot of everyday matters we face. It was a godsend (hehe pun fully intended) to women, who weren't even allowed to own property back then. Muslims believe that the Quran is guaranteed againt corruption by God, as revealed in one of the verses. Therefore, to a believer, it is THE book to consult, and the verses will never change, no matter how many years pass. There's actually a really interesting way the Quran is coded, so people can know if it has been tampered with or not, if anyone is interested. But the bottom line is, for a Muslim, the verses of Quran cannot be challenged. There are various INTERPRETATIONS of said verses, but the core Arabic text is the same.

Now there is a secondary source of guidance in the form of Hadith, which is literature that claims to record things the Prophet (pbuh) has said in his lifetime. The problem I find, along with other hadith critics, is that it was compiled much later after the death of the Prophet. Muslims argue that these hadiths were passed down in a proper recorded chain of transmitters that can assure the message hasn't been altered or tampered with. The problem is, that the standard used then was just how reliable was a person's memory and how trustworthy they were, and they did not actually judge the actual content of the hadith. So even if a hadith hypothetically said "Kill all the disbelievers", (which, fyi, it does NOT) and it had a reliable chain of recorders, it would be accepted as "sahih" (trustworthy) hadith, even though it clearly goes against the guidelines of the Quran, where it says there shall be no compulsion in religion (which implies you cannot just murder anyone who refuses to believe/ believes another religion). If one actually examined the content of this imaginary hadith, it would be easy to see it's tampered with by people with or without malicious intent (for eg, it might've actually been "You can kill the disbelievers ONLY if they attack you and will not leave you and your family alone") or some may not even remotely be the words of the Prophet, as he only followed the Quran.

Also, the integrity of the Hadith isn't guaranteed by God anywhere in the Quran. To know more about this, I suggest you read this link , and this one.

So yeah, I take hadith with a (large) grain of salt. So I will not be including them in my discussion obviously.

Now a lot of these hadith have been fabricated, as established, or reflect something that was applicable specifically in that time and setting, seeing that the Prophet was an ordinary man who couldn't predict the future or know about all the different cultures of the world.

So even if the headscarf was a part of Arabian attire, that doesn't mean it has to be assimilated into our cultures now. Just because prostitutes used to pluck all their eyebrows out to signify that they are prostitutes (sex work is forbidden in Islam, because of the negative impact on women and society), doesn't mean that women are not allowed to pluck their eyebrows now.

Following these hadith blindly without considering for a moment that hey, these might be outdated, seeing it isn't meant for all time periods like the Quran, and half of these contradict themselves, maybe we shouldn't consider this as an authority on rules in Islam. Personally, I don't believe anything is forbidden that is mentioned as such solely in the Hadith, and not in the Quran.

But the staunch belief in all of these Hadith leads to micromanaging of women, and literally everyone else. Few ridiculous examples include:

women can't pluck their eyebrows

men can't wear silk or gold, and they need to grow beards

music and dance is forbidden (seriously???)

the Prophet married a literal child of nine years (no do not try to justify it as "it was acceptable back then". According to the Qur'an it wasn't. Girls had to be mature enough to reject or agree to marriages and literal children can't do that. There is plenty of research to prove that Aisha (ra), his wife, was at the very least 19 or 20. Again a case of unreliable and maybe purposefully manipulated Hadith. Scholars and people who uphold the theory that Aisha was 9, and hence, child marriage is legal are pedophiles through and through)

I feel that if anything, hadith should be considered with the authority of historical commentary, giving us more context to the times, and should never be blindly trusted just because a lot of scholars say it is a "sahih" (trusted) hadith.

Also a main feature of Islam is that you don't need an extra priest (no offence to religions who have priests) or a scholar to tell you things and intervene with God for you. You have a holy book, your own common sense and humanity, and you pray to establish a connection with God. Scholars are secondary OPINIONS who can provide insight from their knowledge and research to people who want it, but by no means any authority on things, just like hadith.

2. Arab culture and society, especially back the times that radicals want to emulate, was heavily patriarchal. Islam gave women rights and protection, but they were still limited by the cultural norms of that era.

What these people actually want is to return society to Arabic culture in that time period. (Exhibit A: the abaya/purdah for women and khandoorah for men. exhibit B: sex-segregated spaces)

Back then, women were expected to be caretakers and mothers, and men were expected to be the strong masculine protector.

Enforcing said cultural norms into modern day Islam is ridiculous. Saying that women rarely left the house back then, hence women shouldn't leave their houses now is the same as saying there weren't phones back then, so I shouldn't use one now. Would you ever give up your phones? So how about we do the same to women's autonomy and freedom? Adapt to modern times like regular humans?

If women were meant to stay at home, and meant to just rear children, and never meant to be seen in public, and never meant to be seen by the opposite sex, as extremists say "is God's will", then why is none of this found in the Quran? Do you seriously believe that God, describe multiple times as All-forgiving and generous and kind, would ever persecute women to such a fate? If you do believe that, then maybe you need to re-examine in the nature of God that you believe in. Also if you tell me the "it's for their safety" gimmick, I will flip out. It has been proved multiple times that a woman's dressing has nothing whatsoever to do with why men rape.

Sure, Islam advocates for modesty in dressing, for both sexes. Both are called to not stare rudely (many Muslim men seem to forget that part of the verse, strangely), both are advised to dress in modest, comfortable, clean and practical attire. Never once is anything remotely like "YOU'LL GO TO HELL IF YOU EXPOSE YOUR ELBOW, WOMAN". But the way modern Muslims enforce the dress code (some even going to the lengths of saying women shouldn't wear BRIGHT COLOURED CLOTHES, so as to not attract attention!!! I'm looking at you, Mufti Menk), you'd think that God says something much worse than that. Infact God pulls out Uno reverse, and encourages us to dress as beautifully as we want, especially when visiting the mosque.

3. A lot of English translations of the Quran come from Saudi Arabia. A country famous for its conservative practise of Islam. While the original Arabic text cannot be changed, a lot of these translations include information in parantheses that add "rules" based on the above mentioned factors, that a casual reader or a new Muslim who doesn't know Arabic will consider to be authentic rules of the Quran, extrapolated from the verse, and not extra additions that are often derived from hadith. A very good example of this is the headcover verse, which you can see in this link.

Even all the hostility surrounding homosexual people has been derived from cultural influences and one set of verses. From around 6000 verses, just a single set passingly mention homosexuality. Don't you think that if it truly were such a great sin, God would have explicitly forbidden it? Also why would he create such a natural variation in sexuality and then forbid it? Why isn't it forbidden for animals then? Is all-loving God that cruel to create this natural and healthy attraction in them and then explicitly forbid it when straight people get to marry and live life in bliss? (Please don't say that "God also created pedophilia, and that's natural, so by this logic shouldn't we allow that too?" because pedophilia IS NOT HEALTHY, AT ALL. IT'S IS A DISORDER. Unlike homosexuality) I'm also not picking and choosing things to fit my lifestyle, as some might say, as I am straight, and the only reason I support the LGBT community because I have basic humanity?? And they're humans who deserve rights and joy and freedom and acceptance just like the rest of us.

There have been reformed translations of Quran which examine the verse without prior bias against LGBT people, and they have presented an alternate translation, that the verse condemns sexual assault, which happened to be homosexual in the particular story. Check out this link too, which explains how closely examining the words used could change the meaning from one thing to another.

What I attempted to prove in this extremely long post is that the practise of a religion isn't necessarily the reflection of its true nature.

There are progressive open-minded people who believe in Islam because it gives them hope and solace. People who believe because core beliefs of Islam aligned with their own views and simple logic.

NOT to say there aren't religious bigots who will totally use religion to manipulate people into oppressing themselves or other people. There are, there are a LOT of people like that who call themselves "scholars". And there are a lot of people who follow these extremely harmful regressive version of Islam without critically thinking about what they are following.

I've seen a post discussing the meaning of the word Islam, which means submission to God. It said that it implies total submission, without questioning what we believe.

That is an argument used by both religious extremists to further their beliefs, and by the opposite side, who say the religion is oppressive.

I wish to present a view that Islam itself tells us to think critically, to use our brains to question everything and anything we believe. And then to arrive at our own conclusions. And if you're a decent, kind human, those beliefs maybe align with Islam (not saying that if you're not Muslim, you're horrible, that is not what I meant at all). And if the opinion between people differs, there's always logic and reasoning behind every rule that is presented in the Quran. Don't believe me? Here's the verse that tells people not to blindly follow their parents' religion. And here's a list of verses about critical thinking.

The reason we (atleast reformist Muslims) submit to God is because we questioned it, we came to the conclusion that Hey! This is right. I can submit to my Creator by, who is basically the consciousness that created everything and is the source of all goodness, love and strength, because the rules mentioned here make sense and they privde a moral framework for me to base important desicions on. They feel right. And there is logic behind everything written in this.

I don't mean to present Islam as an all-perfect amazing religion everyone should believe and that I'm right, everyone else, especially those liberal atheists who criticise my religion are wrong and WILL BURN IN HELL. I consider Islam a perfect moral framework, and that's my business only. Anyone can follow what they want and it's none of my business. In fact there is no compulsion in religion at all, and people who say Muslim or go to hell are wrong imo.

What I intended was to paint a picture of reformist Muslims who are still out there, who follow the religion because they questioned it. And not the religion as this stringent rule book we all have to follow down to a t, micromanaging every aspect of our lives and living in perpetual fear of hell, but rather this basic moral guide that teaches us tact, compassion and justice, to bring us closer to God spiritually. I wanted to show that the majority isn't always reflective of what I think is the true core of Islam.

I feel that many practises in the name of Islam are highly questionable and should be criticized, but I also want people to know that the people who seemingly represent the religion, are not representative of the entire mass of believers. That sometimes the practises you might criticize might have nothing to do with the actual religion, atleast according to some of us. It was also for fellow Muslims who might be in the same place I was a few years ago, questioning everything I had learnt was part of my religion.

This is also NOT to undermine struggles of people forced to follow Islam and its seeming requirements like hijab. This is not to claim that nope, every Muslim is fine and ok, and we're all peaceful progressive people. In fact I wish to do the exact opposite, to show that people who enforce oppressive policies in the name of Islam aren't actually backed by the religion and neither should they be backed by other Muslims. I'm also not trying to say no one should criticize Islam. Criticism helps us grow. Criticism is necessary to uncover oppression and eradicate it. So by all means, criticize.

I'm so glad I found the subreddit r/progressive_Islam when I did because it helped me a lot, and opened me to other like-minded progressive Muslims, who actively hope to counter the negative effects of Salafism and conservatism that is overtaking Islam.

So yeah, I think I covered almost everything I wanted to talk about and here's a final link that pretty much just states my position on things.

PS idk why this thingy is in different colours it just seemed cooler and less boring to read

#religion #islamicpost #radfem #gender critical #muslim #progressive #change #critical thinking #sexism #feminism #feminist #allies #humanity #extremism #womenempowerment #freewomen #headcovering #mine

[notable-phlyarologist]

Okay so a little while back my friend @inklesspen shared a chat we had in which I explained a bit of my homestuck quadrant romance headcanons. Given that I am now attempting a tumblr, I figured it was as good a time as any to elaborate on those. Feel free to remix as you please.

So okay to start I'm going to address why I find quadrants useful. I see people sometimes say things like, "As humans we just aren't fundamentally able to understand kismesisitude," or "Quadrants were concieved of as a joke and shouldn't be taken seriously," but I personally find them an interesting and helpful way of categorizing and referring to different kinds of love, at least with other homestuck people. Given how often our media presents things that seem like kismesisitudes, or how they've cropped up within my own life, I think it's nice to have language to refer specifically to those sorts of things.

However, I do think that, talking from an in-universe standpoint, there are a lot of aspects of the quadrant system as its presented to us that are heavily colored by the whole fascist alien empire deal. So one of the things I do with regards to my headcanon-ing of quadrants is I try to pick apart what seems fundamental and emotional, what differences and similarities there are between the quadrants, and what seems like an enforced aspect or something tacked on culturally or systemically. That's how I came upon my auspictism headcanon.

Within the English language, we only have the one word for love, which we use for romantic love, platonic love, familial love, etc etc etc, and it carries certain connotations along with it when we use it. This all-encompassing nature of the term love in English is part of why I break from the explicit description of the quadrant system-- love in English does not just refer to matespritship. You can love your best friend, you can love your rival, you can love the gang of dumbasses you roll with to play dnd. So that's my starting point-- the quadrants are not distinct from the human concepts of love but rather a specific categorization of largely universal feelings.

Now, as it is presented to us quadrants are divided along two axes. Sexual and nonsexual, and loving and hateful. Troll society in general seems to romanticise hatred and violence in a big way, emphasizing the importance of black romance in doing so, but I don't think these terms are exactly right, even just with regards to what we see within the story's canon (especially john's hatecrush on terezi). See, the connotations of hate or enmity in english imply things like wanting to not interact with the other party, wanting to tear them down, and i feel like thats not a useful way to refer to kismesisitude because while there is rivalry there you don't want them dead and you don't want to stop interacting with them.

Rather, you want to compete, there's a sort of passionate drive within a rivalry to show what you can do, to tease and rile up so you're both actively doing. This is how I prefer to think of the red-black axis-- rather than love or hate, red is about passivity and black is about activity, red is about contentment and comfort while black is about passion and striving for more. That's not to say either of these are exclusive to any particular quadrants, nor that you need to do kismesisitude One Particular Way or it doesnt count, relationships and emotions aren't clear cut! These are general categorizations to give you an idea of what a relationship is like, not titles a relationship gains when you prune it to look just right.

The idea that blackrom has to specifically be hatred falls within that same headcanon of cultural bleed that permeates my auspictism headcanon. It's a romaticization, a mutation of the idea over milennia of fascist propaganda and rule. The same can be said for the idea that you can only have one relationship of each quadrant, and you want to fill all four-- again, relationships are fluid and dynamic, and as a poly gal myself i find the idea of having, say, three moirails and zero kismesises a perfectly valid and fulfilling experience as one of each.

All that im mind, here at the specific thoughts I have about each quadrant.

Matespritship ❤: A matespritship is a sexual relationship defined by contentment and safety-- the kind of partner you'd want to spend all day in bed with, make meals together with, whose arms you fall into after a long day of work for quiet calming cuddles. That sweet, lovey-dovey, everlasting honeymoon phase kind of feeling, defined by kindness and support.

Moirailship ♦️: A moirailship is a nonsexual relationship defined by contentment and emotional needs being met. The kind of person you can always vent to, chatter to, always find an open ear with or be an open ear for. Moirailship is defined by communication and openness, activities together with a moirail often being secondary to simply being with them and talking with them.

Kismesisitude ♠️: A sexual relationship defined by passion and action. The kind of person who drives you to act, to better yourself, who you in turn tease and encourage even as seeing them succeed spurs you onward as well. The kind of person you wrestle with in the grass, who drives you a little bit crazy but you can't get enough of it. If it sours it can turn to hate, sure, but its not about hating your partner its about wanting to chase each other.

Auspictism ♣️: A nonsexual relationship between three people defined by action and social needs being met. I've talked about this in the text post, it's the sort of those-three-people relationship where you're scheming together, cracking jokes together, doing things together, always in motion. Usually there's one person who's ostensibly the leader, but that's not the crux of the relationship.

Thus concludes all of my thoughts on quadrants as far as I can remember at the moment. Drop me a line if you want clarification or smth, haha.

#homestuck #homestuck quadrants #matespritship #kismessitude #moiraillegiance #auspisticism #headcanon #long post

[howtofightwrite]

Q&A: America, Right Now

I’m wondering if you have some follow up to Michi’s amazing post from 2015 about revolution, guerrilla warfare and terrorism? It’s impossible to analyse the current protests in real time but it seems police are escalating the violence and trying to bait civilians into fights they can’t win. Also, civil disobedience and direct action are more confrontational than what we are taught about non-violent resistance.

The problem is, you’re looking at the behavior before the event, rather than once it’s up and going. As of June 2020, the US is not currently facing an armed insurrection.

The behavior of police, right now, is publicly displaying what some have known for decades: Law Enforcement in the United States is an inherently racist and oppressive system, designed to create self-fulfilling prophecies.

There’s a number of factors here that have exposed this.

First is the increased communication technology. Police haven’t really kept up with the times on this front. They still seem to think that, if they catch someone recording them when they’re over the line, it’s easy enough to destroy the evidence, before anyone can see it. This would have been true 15 years ago, but today, someone with a cell phone camera can stream directly to the internet, with that broadcast being recorded, and watched by thousands of people.

Second is decades of of legal protection. One form of this is the police unions, which have gained an unhealthy amount of political influence. Their protection of criminal cops is such that it is nearly impossible to fire an officer no matter how egregious their behavior. Should they manage to be fired, they can easily find work with another law enforcement organization. Prosecution almost never occurs because it would result in the police unions coming down hard on the DA, and pouring money into a friendlier candidate’s campaign during the next election cycle.

For two specific examples of how extreme this is: the Minneapolis PD only punished officers in ~1.5% of cases where complaints were brought against them. The national average is ~2.5%. Many of these high profile slayings in recent years have been from officers with a history of complaints filed against them, which kind of undercuts the idea that all these claims are baseless, or retribution.

It’s being reported that Derek Chauvin will probably be able to collect his police pension as Minnesota state law does not prohibit convicted felons from claiming state pensions. Any civil suit against Chauvin will be paid by the city of Minneapolis. Meaning, ultimately, tax payers pay for the murder of George Floyd while Chauvin pays nothing, and collects a paycheck for the rest of his life, potentially as soon as 2026, (assuming state law doesn’t change before then.)

When you consider this environment, it’s not hard to see where you’d get cops that don’t feel accountable.

The third major element is popular culture. This may sound a little tenious, and I’ll probably revisit this in depth if anyone’s curious, however, yes, popular media does affect how people view the world.

We have nearly a century of video media presenting police as, “the good guys.” Some of this goes back to The Motion Picture Production Code in the 1930s, which had a very simplistic, and absolute, set of rules regarding the presentation of crime and law enforcement. However, even after the Production Code’s demise, we still have a lot of media which presents police as unambiguous heroes.

At this point, as a nation, we have two separate police forces. The one that exists in the real world, and a fictionalized version that doesn’t. If you rarely, or never, interact with the real thing, it’s easy to fill in the blanks from the fiction. The danger is, if you are part of the real thing, it’s easy to self-justify using that same fiction.

(If you’re not from the States, it’s probably worth noting that the real US law enforcement is broken up between City, County, State, and Federal agencies. There’s a lot of moving pieces. When, I’m saying, “there’s one,” I’m referring to the idea that there is the real gestalt of “American Law Enforcement.”)

With exception of shows like The Shield, the norm in American media is hero cops. Doesn’t matter if it’s Dragnet, Law & Order, CSI or hundreds of other shows and films. This creates real problems. In particular, CSI is a headache for prosecutors and defense attorneys as it has created an unrealistic expectation for, and faith in forensic evidence among juries.

The problem is that, “every good story needs a bad guy.” I’d quibble over this point, and have, but in the genre of the cop shows it is expected. Cops chase criminals, and before the hour is up, “they’ll have their man.”

The consequence of this is that police are trusted far more by the court and juries. In most cases, those juries are going to be made up of people who don’t interact with police on a regular basis. The inverse is also true, if the police said you did something, you have a much harder time convincing convincing a jury that it’s not true.

The knock on effects are legion. Judges are more often to sign off on warrants, or excuse officer’s misconduct.

For a horrifying example of this, look at the execution of Breonna Taylor by the Louisville Metro PD. The officers wouldn’t have charged Kennith Walker with attempted murder of a police officer if they didn’t believe they could act with complete impunity. I’ll remind you, the LMPD broke into a home without announcing themselves, and then opened fire indiscriminately. They also chose not to use body cameras to maintain a record of events. Again, because they had reason to believe they would not be punished.

When we look back to pop culture, we also see the other side, officers who have been primed to justify their own actions, because they see themselves as “the good guys,” without really thinking about their behavior, or the consequences of what they’re doing. They need to stop, “the bad guys.”

Now, I’m making this sound very simple; it’s not. I am putting it in the simplest terms possible, because when you step back from that fantasy and look at the actual behavior, this is really messed up.

So let’s talk about Daryl Gates. Gates served in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Like a lot of World War II vets, he eventually mustered out and rejoined civilian life. In 1949, Gate joined the LAPD. By 1978 he’d risen to Chief of Police. Gates had a very militaristic outlook. This tracks with someone who’d served, and then tried to bring the military home after the war. This is someone who, in 1990 advocated for the summary execution of casual drug users while testifying before congress, comparing it to treason. While I’m painting him with a broad brush, he believed “the war on drugs,” was a war. Intentionally or not, Gates was one of the architects police militarization in the United States.

The biggest, and most successful thing Gates spearheaded was the introduction of the SWAT Teams. He was also responsible for CRASH. This was ostensibly an anti-gang unit, though extensive corruption was later discovered during the Rampart scandal. If you’ve never read up on it, this was a mess. Stolen drugs, an undercover officer killing a CRASH officer in self defense, more stolen drugs. Worth reading. This was the basis for The Shield, if you’ve ever wondered.

The idea behind SWAT was to create tactical teams who could operate like a paramilitary unit for the police. There’s a narrow range of situations where teams like that would be valuable. However, SWAT has expanded massively in the last 50 years.

So, it’s 2020, Gates has been dead for 10 years. Why am I talking about him? Because soldiers make shitty cops.

A soldier can muster out, and then go into law enforcement and execute their job admirably. There’s nothing wrong with this. They stopped being a soldier, and became a cop. Hell, I have a good friend who followed this path. He left the army, and went into the police.

Someone who is a soldier is tasked with fighting the enemy. A peace officer is tasked with protecting their community. It may sound like these are compatible, but they’re not. If you are a soldier, the foes you face are other. You cannot be a good cop and view your community as other.

So, we loop back to the pop culture thing. We have police officers who are cosplaying as soldiers. They pick up the philosophical outlook of finding and eliminating “the enemy,” whoever that may be.

You’ll notice I said, “the enemy.” For police the job should be to find, “criminals.” But, for these “cops” with surplus military hardware it’s about taking down anyone who threatens them. When that fails, it’s about making a show of dealing with, “the enemy.”

Now, we are talking about adults, not children. At least some of them understand that if they simply open fire on protesters with the cameras rolling, it will not end well for them. So, they’re looking for a pretext. They want a riot. They view the protesters as other. Their community is each other. It’s not about guerrilla warfare, it’s about the junior members of a militant organization getting bored. wanting to crack some skulls, and leadership that is either complicit, or not about to rein them in.

Let’s loop back to the ugly side of popular culture for a second. Policing in the United States is racist. That doesn’t mean that every police officer is, however while the structures in place are designed to appear racially agnostic, but they are not.

Let’s start with a simple one, if police designate more patrols to a, “high crime,” area, they will ensure that more, “crime,” is found. On the surface, this may sound reasonable, if there’s more crime, there’s more policing to do. However, this means that minor crimes in a low crime area are more likely to be ignored. Petty theft may be reported, but it’s less likely you’ll have multiple patrols able to respond quickly. Simple traffic violations are more likely to go unpunished. In short, crime exists, but it’s more likely to be ignored. Let’s focus on traffic violations for a moment.

In a lightly patrolled area, you can get away with behavior behind the wheel that would have a cop on your ass in a “high crime neighborhood.” I’m talking about things like pushing red lights, blowing through stop signs, speeding. While it’s not a moving violation, vehicle B&Es in low crime areas are also less likely to be detected by police.

Traffic stops are an opportunity for an officer to go fishing, and they do. “Unidentified white powder on the floorboard?” You bet they’re going to be pulling a field kit and testing that, even knowing those field kits have absolutely terrible reliability. (Both for false negatives and false positives.) This can (and has) resulted in people being arrested, losing their job, their home, and their car, because they lived in a high crime neighborhood, and had a crushed aspirin in their vehicle’s upholstery.

Now, in case you missed this, the logic is circular, “this is a high crime neighborhood, so needs to be patrolled more heavily,” will inflate the crime rate, reinforcing the idea that it’s a “high crime area.” The racism comes in when you look at the areas that are designated as high crime.

And, all of this happens because a racist picked that neighborhood 70 or 80 years ago.

Generational over-policing also results in impeded economic growth. If you’re living in an area where police are scrutinizing everything you do, there’s a much higher risk you’ll get picked up for trivial crimes when you’re younger, in turn missing out on educational and job opportunities later in life. This can easily lead to situations where the only legitimate employment open to you is entry level. If police view any acquisition of wealth as evidence of criminal enterprise, it also means you may come under increased scrutiny if you find legitimate success. Individually it is possible to escape this, but, “the deck is stacked against you.”

Another factor that comes into this is, court is expensive. Yes, you have the right to a public defender if you cannot afford an attorney. I have a lot of sympathy for public defenders, but you kinda get what you pay for. Public defenders are incredibly overworked, and you’re not going to get the best representation. I’ve seen way too many cases over the years where the public defender completely dropped the ball.

So, two completely different scenarios.

You’re from a middle class family, you get pulled over and your friend has an unlicensed firearm on their person. You might not get arrested at all. However, if you are, chances are you, or your family can post bail. For the time being, your car is in police impound, but you’re free. You can continue working at your job for the next couple months while the case is pending. You can hire an attorney who is probably aware enough to point out that you didn’t know about the gun, and had no criminal intent. Your bail money is refunded to you assuming you make your court appearances, and depending on the circumstances, you’ve got a reasonable chance of getting out of this intact, without a criminal record, and $20-30k poorer.

Second scenario:

You’re from a rough part of town. You get pulled over and your friend has an unlicensed firearm on their person. You will probably get arrested unless you make a very good showing for yourself. Your car will be impounded. You probably won’t have the money to make bail. Because you’re from, “a bad part of town,” your bail will probably be higher than in the other scenario. If you can’t make bail, you may be able to get a bail bondsman to cover your bail, however in that case, the portion of the bail you pay is straight up gone, no matter how the case works out. Given you probably can’t make bail at all, you lose your home, and your job. You have no income. You have a public defender who is also working a double digit case load, and you’re lucky if they can remember your name, much less that you were charged with a crime you didn’t even know about. If you manage to get an acquittal, you come out with any economic progress you were making zeroed out. Your car is gone, and as a result, you’re in an even worse situation than you were. If you were still paying off your car, congrats, you’re going to be expected to continue paying your loan on a car that you do not have, and can’t collect insurance on. If you’re convicted, then you spend time in prison. It’s several years later, you now have a criminal record that will bar you from employment (if you got convicted of a felony, a lot of places will turn you away), and even when you do get out on probation, you’re going to be handing a large cut of your diminished income over to the court until you complete probation.

The system is not overtly racist, however, it creates structural racism. The second case is far more likely to occur, because of over-policing, and ensures that you will not advance economically. All of this because 70 or 80 years ago, a racist pointed to a map and said, “that’s a high crime neighborhood.”

Today, we have militarized police who are looking for, “the bad guys.” They have a map drawn up during segregation that says, “this is a bad neighborhood, because this has always been a bad neighborhood.” And we have a white cop murder a black man over $20.

We have the LMPD treating the west end like it’s the set of a goddamn action movie.

Everyone is fucking tired of this.

We’ve been told, “it’s a few bad apples,” as if that excuses the rest of the aphorism. “A few bad apples spoil the bunch.” And I’d be more forgiving of the, “not all cops,” line if Police Unions didn’t have an amazing capacity for propelling the most vile and rotting, cores to the top. Today, the Chicago Police Union President holds the distinction of having more complaints filed against him than any other member of the CPD. This is the same police force that got dinged for running their own “black site,” in Homan Square (A term from the intelligence community for a covert prison used to outright disappear people.)

And, today, I’m hopeful.

Iowa just passed legislation that further restricts the use of choke holds in arrests, and barred law enforcement agencies in the state from hiring officers who’ve been fired in disciplinary actions.

It’s not much. It’s not enough.

Minneapolis has committed to completely reworking the entire concept of policing in the city. We don’t know what it will look like next year, but it’s not going to be a simple reform that changes nothing.

If this stopped at Minneapolis, it wouldn’t be enough. But it isn’t stopping there. If you’d told me four weeks ago that we’d be discussing defunding the police on a national scale today, I probably would have laughed. However, the world we’re in today has a far greater potential for positive change.

There are a lot of deeply rooted problems in American law enforcement. The death of George Floyd was the step too far. What we’re seeing from police right now are the death rattles of a horrific creature. We’re witness to bullies and their accomplices, who have been dragged into public view. For the first time in far too long, people were actually watching. And now, the only road out they can find is by provoking further violence. Problem is, everyone’s watching.

I’m hopeful because I can believe that tomorrow will not be the same as today. These are painful and frightening times, but, it has started a conversation that was long overdue.

-Starke

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Q&A: America, Right Now was originally published on How to Fight Write.

#America #fightwrite answers #George Floyd #Law enforcement #police #racism #Starke answers

[ineffablebuddies]

Star Trek paints a really interesting moral dilemma between objective and subjective morality via the prime directive. Like I do tend to take the view that if you have the ability to help and you don’t, then in many ways you are responsible for the suffering that occurs, but obviously that has to be considered within the long term, and you must let people develop their own morality and allow them to be independent from outside influences first. But what’s the limit of how much you can interfere - if people are dying from a plague that you can cure, must you interfere? Or must you allow them to find their own cure? What if you just tell them how to cure it?

I always lean towards subjective morality - every situation is unique, and though there are general moral principles that should be followed, sometimes a situation requires you to compromise those principles. I don’t think moral action is about following these principles blindly; rather, you must engage and consider them within the context of the situation and reach a moral conclusion that way.

And I do not consider inaction a neutral choice. If you choose not to help, you have chosen to hurt.

But the idea behind the prime directive is that interference in other cultures has historically lead to disastrous results. And I do recognise that perhaps being from the UK, I have been more exposed to propaganda of “we must interfere as the morally superior culture in order to help” and that may influence my thinking. And I recognise that change must come from within. I also recognise that the few tribes that exist whom contact with is prohibited should keep that protection, and that arguments of “yes but what if we just gave them medicine and let them know about the outside world” would ultimately create a slippery slope of interference that would soon become exploitation and decay of their way of life if left unchecked. Though part of me still questions whether we have the right to make that decision for them.

And I recognise that we should not enforce our own understanding of morality upon others. But within that, surely we must agree that some rights must be universal - the right to autonomy and freedom, for example, cannot be disregarded as a simply cultural norm.

There’s also the issue with the prime directive of who we consider less developed. It’s one thing for a society that knows nothing about outside worlds, but quite another for a society that has space travel and communication with the federation to be denied that outside help. I don’t believe the prime directive should be in play when a society has the means and ability to reach out and actively uses that to request help. And when looking at development, are we looking at moral, social, political, and technological development?

One of the ideas in Star Trek is that humans had issues in the 20th/21st century because they developed faster on a technological basis than they did on a moral level, which is why there’s a big argument in universe about not giving access to technology to societies that haven’t passed a certain level of morality by themselves. But who gets to judge that? And isn’t that still applying our own moral ideas to them?

But I do feel like the prime directive is there to prevent a slippery slope of exploitation, rather than being a moral absolute. I get that if you allow a small bit of interference for altruistic means, then it becomes easier for others to use that to interfere in a significant and explorative manner.

Yet I feel part of it is because it’s being produced by America, where the level of interference in other societies is large and explorative and often disguised under this concept of morality. So maybe it’s hard to imagine any world where altruistic interference can remain free from exploitation?

I don’t have a conclusion for this, but I do like that it’s more than just rules vs. morality, because I get both points. And I like that the conflict comes up a lot, and I find it quite interesting that it’s usually the doctors that disagree about the prime directive. There are times where I am just like “fuck the prime directive, that’s so stupid, just help them oh my god”, but when they take the time to explain why the prime directive is being respected, you can see that it has its importance.

Still I’d love a story where someone from a planet where the prime directive is in place is just like “nope, I’m gonna go explore space now” and just stumbles there way into starfleet lol.

#Star Trek #Star Trek tos #star trek tng #honestly this is why I’m having trouble liking Picard cos I’m like stop following the rules just do the moral thing #but now I’m nearer the end of season 1 they’re taking the time to explain why he is following the rules and I appreciate it #still I yell at him a lot

[littlesystems]

For the people who are out there “fighting the good fight” and “trying to make fandom a better place,” I have two important questions for you:

1. Is the author dead? x

2. Is your baby in the bathwater? x

What do I mean by those things? Let’s start with #1. The Death of the Author is a type of literary criticism, the extreme cliff notes version of which is that art exists outside of the creator’s life, personal background, and even intentions. I’m using it slightly differently than Barthes intended, but that’s okay, because the author is dead and I’m interpreting his work through my own lens.

In fandom, the author is dead. In fact, the author was never alive in the first place, not really. The author has only ever been the idea of a person, because unlike published fiction, the only thing we know about a fanfic author is that which they choose to tell us about themselves.

Why is that important?

Because it might not be true. Hell, that happens in real life with published authors, who have SSN’s on file with their publishers, who pay taxes on the works they create and have researchable pasts. If the author of A Million Little Pieces could fake everything, why can’t I? Why can’t you? Why can’t the writer of your favorite fic in the whole wide world?

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: “you can only write about [sensitive subject] if [sensitive subject] has happened to you personally, otherwise you’re a disgusting monster that deserves to die!!” Or maybe “you can only write [x racial or ethnic group] characters if you’re [x racial or ethnic group] otherwise you’re racist/fetishizing/colonizing!”

You can play this game with any sensitive subject you can come up with. I’ve seen them all before, on a sliding scale of slightly chastising to literal death threats.

Now, I could tell you that I’m a white-passing Latina whose grandmother was an anchor baby. I could tell you that I speak only English because my family never taught me to speak Spanish, something which I’ve been told is common in the Cuban community, though I only know my own lived experience. I could tell you that I’m mostly neurotypical. I could tell you that I’m covered in surgical scars. I could tell you lots of things.

Are any of these true? Maybe! I could tell you that my brother has severe mental development problems, so uncommon that they’ve never been properly diagnosed, and that he will live the rest of his life in a group home with 24-hour care. Is that true? Am I allowed to write about families struggling with America’s piss-poor services for the handicapped now?

Am I allowed to write about being Cuban? After all, I did just say that I’m Cuban. But is it true? Can I instead write a character that’s Panamanian? Maybe I really am Panamanian, not Cuban. Maybe I’m both. Maybe I’m neither. Maybe I’m really French Canadian. Should we require people to post regular selfies? I can’t count the number of times I’ve had someone come up to me speaking Arabic, and I’ve been told that I look Syrian. What’s stopping me from making a blog that claims that I am Syrian? Can you even really tell someone’s race and ethnicity from a photo?

Am I allowed to write about being a teenager? Am I allowed to write about being a college student? Am I allowed to write about being an “adulty” adult? Can I write a character who’s 40? 50? 60? How old am I?

All of this is to say: you can’t base what someone is or is not “allowed” to write about on a background that may or may not be real. No matter how good your intentions. And I get it - this usually comes from a place of well-meaning. You’re trying to protect marginalized groups by stopping privileged people from trampling all over experiences that they haven’t suffered. I get that. It’s a very noble thought. But you can’t require a background check for every fic that you don’t like.

If you say “you can only write about rape if you’re a rape victim,” then one of three things will happen:

Real survivors will have to supply intimate details of their own violations to prevent harassment

Real survivors will refuse to engage and will then have to deal with death threats and people telling them to kill themselves for daring to write about their own experiences

People who aren’t survivors will say “yeah sure this happened to me” just to get people to shut up

Has that helped anyone? I mean really - anyone??

So now let’s get to point #2: is your baby in the bathwater?

If your intention is to protect marginalized people from being trampled upon, stop and assess if your boot is the one that’s now stamping on their face. Find your baby! Is your baby in the bathwater? Which is to say: find the goal that you’re advocating for. Now assess. Are you making the problem worse for the people you’re trying to protect? Does that rape victim really feel better, now that you’ve harassed and stalked them in the name of making rape victims feel safe?

Let’s say you read a fic that contains explicit sex between a 16 year old and a 17 year old. Is this okay? Would it be okay if the writer was 15? 16? 17? Should teenagers be barred from writing about their own lives, and should teenagers be banned from exploring sexuality in a fictional bubble, instead of hookup culture? Is it okay for a 20 year old to write about their experiences as a teenager? Is it okay for a 20 year old to write about being raped at a party as a teenager? Is it okay for a 30 year old? How about a 40 year old? Is it okay so long as it isn’t titillating? Is it okay if taking control of the narrative allows the writer to re-conceptualize their trauma as something they have control over? Is it okay if their therapist told them that writing is a safe creative outlet?

Is your author dead?

Is your baby in the bathwater?

Now let’s take a hardline approach: no fanfiction with characters who are under 18 years old. None. Is the 16 year old who really loves Harry Potter and wants to read/write about characters their own age better off? Should they be banned from writing? Should they be forced to exclusively read and write (adult) experiences that they haven’t lived? Will they write about teens anyway? Should they have to share it in secret? Should 16 year olds be ashamed of themselves? Should we just throw in with the evangelicals and say that the only answer is abstinence, both real and fictional?

Let’s say that no rape is allowed in fiction, at all. None. What happens to all the hurt/comfort fics where a character is raped and then receives the support and love that they deserve, slowly heal, and by the end have found themselves again? Are you helping rape victims by banning these stories? Are you helping rape victims by stripping their agency away, by telling them that their wants and their consent doesn’t matter?

Is your baby in the bathwater?

Fandom is currently being split in two: on one side, the people who want to make fandom a “safer” place by any means necessary, even if that means throwing out all of the marginalized groups they say they want to protect - and on the other, people who are saying “if you throw out that bathwater, you’re throwing the baby out too.”

The whole point of fandom is to be able to explore all kinds of ideas from the safety and comfort of a computer screen. You can read/write things that fascinate you, disgust you, titillate you, or make your heart feel warm. This is true of all fiction. People who want to read about rape and incest and extreme violence and torture can go pick up a copy of Game of Thrones from the bookstore whenever they want. Sanitizing fandom just means holding a community of people who are primarily not male, not straight, not cis, or some combination of those three, to higher and stricter standards than straight white cis male authors and creators all over the world.

There is nothing you can find on AO3 that you can’t find in a bookstore. Any teenager can go check out Lolita, or ASOIAF, or Flowers in the Attic, or Stephen King's It, or Speak, or hundreds of other books that have adult themes or gratuitous violence or graphic sex. The difference is that AO3 has warnings and tags and allows people to interact only with the types of work that they want to, and allows people to curate their experiences.

Are these themes eligible to be explored, but only in the setting of something produced/published? Books, movies, television, studio art, music - all of these fields have huge barriers to entry, and they’re largely controlled by wealthy cishet white men. Is it better to say that only those who have the right connections to “make it” in these industries should be allowed to explore violence or sexuality or any other so-called “adult” theme?

Does banning women from writing MLM erotica make fan culture a better place?

Does banning queer people from writing about queer experiences make fan culture a better place?

Is M/M fic okay, but only if the author is male? What if he’s a trans man? What if they’re NB? Who should get to draw those lines? Should TERFs get a vote? What if the author is a woman who feels more comfortable writing from a male character’s perspective because she’s grown up with male stories her whole life, or because she identifies more with male characters? What about all the trans men who discovered themselves, in part, by writing fanfiction, and realized that their desires to write male characters stemmed from something they hadn’t yet realized about themselves?

How can we ever be sure that the author is who they say they are?

Who is allowed to write these stories? How do we enforce it?

Is it better for none of these stories to ever exist at all?

Have you killed your author?

Have you thrown out your baby with the bathwater?

#the discourse

[starlight-starwrites]

to be loved and to be lost

Part One  mandalorian/din djarin x female reader wc: 5.4k summary: for most of your life, you’ve served a lord of your home planet with diligence. when he decides a traitor should be hunted for sport, hunters are invited to the palace, and you are expected to serve your guest’s every desire. you may have been surprised at the presence of a mandalorian, but the truth is, you have no idea what is about to happen. warning: SMUT! smut is happening so be warned. just a bj but things will get more wild in the future. also ridiculous softness, and inexperienced (not a virgin) din, and reader is essentially a sex worker but is not allowed to leave. note: okay finally. i have been planning this for way too long and i’ve finally worked it out. i cannot promise when the next part will be up, but know this project is dear to my heart and i have no intentions of giving up! please tell me anything and everything you think about this!

Your feet made no sound as you walked the hall. The thin slippers you wore ensured that—the only sound you made was the faint tinkling of the chain that dangled from your collar to the metal belt at your waist, and finally to the tight bracelets that always adorned your wrists. They were delicate and gold, purely decorative, but they served their purpose well enough. A constant reminder of your enslavement, no matter how well you were dressed up.

You could feel the cold of the polished stone through your shoes as you approached the assigned room. This hall was lined with rooms given to guests of your master, each of which you were familiar with. You were often sent to serve guests at their pleasure, overseeing that the quarters were as pristine and extravagant as the rest of the palace. And, of course, any personal needs a guest may require.

Your current assignment was expected to arrive this afternoon, after he had been given the arrangements by your master. The servants shuffled about now, preparing the rooms, the food, the bath. You gave orders where needed, but they were efficient. Soon enough you stood alone, waiting at the entrance with a hot bath, soft bed, and table laden with food behind you. For whoever walked through the door, every possible desire would be met. You were used to catering to the desires both professional and primal, of dignitaries, bounty hunters, and anyone in between.

But when a Mandalorian walked through the doors, stopping at a distance, you couldn’t hide the flicker of surprise in your face. You recovered well, as always was required, bowed, and offered introduction.

“Are you the contact?” His voice is gruff, and he speaks curtly, as though he has no interest in what you have to say unless it is about the job for which he is here.

You’re surprised again, first by his manner alone, then by that fact that upon seeing you, dressed as you are and surrounded by so many lavish comforts, he assumed you were the contact.

You bow again slightly, as you were taught, and explain. “I am here to serve at your pleasure, Mandalorian. My lord and master has ensured that all will be provided for you. Tonight, he entreats you to rest and prepare for the coming morning. The details of your task will be given by your contact then, as per the arrangement.”

You do your best to speak delicately, aware that many bounty hunters—the less refined guests of your master—are equipped not only with the temper of any man, but with weapons as well. You had only been the target of such violence twice during your servitude, but it was a terror you never intended to experience again. Though this Mandalorian did not seem ready to attack, you knew the type of man that wanted nothing more than to get to business. With Lord Tyrr as your master, such men were easily irritated.

Your master was more fond of entertainment, the pleasures that would only be found by those with pockets that ran deeper than their egos, than any business he concocted and insisted any guest of his would partake. Though not a particularly cruel man, Lord Tyrr knew there were punishments beyond the physical and delighted in dancing along the line between revelry and torture.

The Mandalorian before you was surely interested in little you had to offer, but he confirmed any suspicion with his next words.

“I’m here for the job. I have no intentions on waiting another day.”

It was another game of your master’s. While the job was most definitely real, if he could not get some enjoyment out of it, he found the whole matter tedious. Most around him found the game to be tedious. The poor bounty hunter was only another pawn, an unwitting player. You knew some of the legends behind the Mandalorian culture just by word of mouth, but they were so few, so fictionalized you could not tell what was true.

You spoke again, resigned to enforcing your master’s demands. “The contact will only speak with you tomorrow, and the job will commence. For now, the baths have been prepared and a meal will be served. Then you may rest or have entertainment.” You could tell from his posture he was unimpressed.

Before he has a chance to respond, you sidle up to him, a pleasant expression on your face, and take his arm in yours. “Please, Mandalorian, allow me to do my job for tonight, and then you may do yours. I assure you, you will only benefit under my care.” You let your hands wander to his bicep, feeling his muscle flex.

He sighs deeply and turns his head away before speaking. “I don’t have time for this.”

You notice he hasn’t pulled his arm away, still stands with you, only turns to gaze down. You wonder if he is glaring under the helmet.

“I understand your frustration,” you think honesty would better put him at ease. “Really, I do.” You sigh too and move your hands so instead of holding onto him, one rests gently at his elbow, the other on the belt over his hip. “My master…this hunt is entertainment for him. That is all I know. I am sorry I cannot do more.”

The arm that you touch moves slowly, his hand coming to rest under your own elbow. Your words have a favorable effect on him, and you think he appreciates the effort. The touch is so gentle you want to melt into it.

Before you get a chance to, he pulls back. “What will happen tomorrow?” As he asks, he pulls the long rifle from over his shoulder and rests it against the table behind the two of you.

Relieved he seems to have accepted the conditions, you don’t hesitate to tell him. “The location of the target will be revealed. You will be expected to find them within the day.”

“The target is here?”

You don’t think his questions are unjust. But he is prying, and you have a job to do.

“I do not have any more information.” You try not to leave room for argument, but you can see it in his body language he still intends to try. You run your hand on his belt to his other hip, pleased with the way he straightens, appearing to be distracted for the moment. “But perhaps I can make it up to you,” you say with a smirk, and your hand runs over his abdomen. He tenses under the touch, bringing his hand back up to brush your elbow, and you find yourself intoxicated with even the subtlest of his reactions.

For a man dedicated to wearing the mask, there’s something about him that makes him easy to read. Perhaps a lifetime of relying on such communication alone makes him so expressive, or perhaps you manage to rile him up too easily. You wonder which is the truth, and the truth of his culture. You want to ask, but you will not go beyond your place.

Instead, you find another way to push a boundary.

“I really must insist that a bath would be in your best interest.” You tell him as kindly as you can. But really, the man does smell beneath the armor. Seeing him in a state of undress at this point is just to satisfy your curiosity.

He’s surprisingly easy to convince. He must know how he appears, the call of hot water and the feeling of being clean too strong for his own internal battle. There is still a resolute stubbornness to him, and you respect it. You allow him in the room alone, let him have his moment, as you retrieve the cloths you promised to bring when he was ready.

You wait a moment after announcing yourself for his permission to enter. You know that everything is prepared, and when you do enter, you are surprised to see him already submerged in the bath, completely bare except for his helmet.

He sinks at the sight of you, subtle enough that you think is trying to avoid your attention. He looks smaller here, under the tall ceilings, no longer covered in layers of armor and weapons. You notice the blaster in its holster within reach of where he sits.

You hope you haven’t overstepped or caused disrespect, still ignorant as to why he would wear his mask even when he wears nothing else. Your attention is fixed on him, and you rest the towels to the side before taking another cloth and wetting it with soap. Your eyes roam him, taking in the marks and scars, the red spreading from his neck to his chest.

He shifts, and your view is limited to his upper half until you walk forward and step into the water to join him. His visor has been fixed on you the entire time, wary, yet seemingly aware of what your next move would be. The thin slippers you wear are meant for getting wet, your clothes so thin that the water makes them cling to you like a second skin. The only thing that moves as though it is not a part of you are the thin chains that still adorn your body.

The Mandalorian shifts at your approach, perhaps embarrassed, but you reach out with reassuring touch to his shoulder to still him.

“Allow me,” you bring the cloth to the same shoulder, following the path your other hand makes, “I promised I would make it up to you.”

He takes a deep breath, and you watch the movement of his chest. He gives a slight nod, letting you into his space. You find a tension of your own is relieved, that you aren’t an intruder, that you haven’t disrespected him. You move freely now, dragging the cloth across the skin of his back as you move to sit behind him and begin to wipe the sweat and the stress from his body.

His muscles are tight as you rub the pads of your fingers into them. You think it is the manner of his work, danger at any corner, the constant movement of that life, some unknown trouble that makes him unable to relax. You want to take it from him, the burden he seems to carry, if just for a few moments.

You don’t know what prompted you to do it—maybe it was the fact that he seemed so human without the armor, or maybe it was the flush of his chest before he even stepped foot into the hot water—but you leaned into him as your hands roamed, massaging sore muscles, and pressed a light kiss to the nape of his neck.

“You can relax,” you whisper into his skin. “You will be safe here and cared for tonight. It is my duty. Work will wait until morning.”

You continue on your quest, the cloth in one hand wiping away any grime from his journey here and the second hand smooth along his skin, attempting to soothe the aches of his body. Instead, you feel him tense again from where you sit behind him. You wonder if he is so unaccustomed to this type of attention, worry that perhaps, even as you do your job, you make him uncomfortable.

“Tell me,” you say, voice soft, “if you want me to stop. I will leave, you only need to say the word.” Your hand slides around to rest on his chest. Even from where it lies, over his left breastbone, you can feel his heartbeat. “You need not worry about offense. I serve, or don’t serve, at your pleasure.”

His breath hitches, heartbeat increasing, and he reaches up a hand to yours, fingers curling around your wrist. You think he means to pull you away, to dismiss you, but he keeps you there, only stopping you from moving further. He sighs from beneath his helmet, and you think perhaps he can’t find it in himself to speak. It’s after another moment passes, when you go to move away, sure that he just doesn’t know how to reject you, that he finally speaks.

His hand on yours grips tighter, keeping you there. “Don’t stop.” His voice is hoarse, but you’re not certain if it is just the helmet. You don’t often want to sleep with the guests you entertain, but there is something so different about this one, about him, that makes you want more.

You move your hand again, and this time he lets you move. You continue to wash him, to explore him really, and finally he begins to relax. It isn’t until you finish with his upper half, reaching down to where he is most sensitive, that he tenses again.

The cloth is between your skin and his, but even still he reacts quickly, hand coming back to wrap around your wrist. Again, he stops you but doesn’t pull you away. You’ve drifted around to his side now, and he turns his head toward you. You meet the eyes of his visor, curious as to what he is thinking. He is tense, maybe unsure of himself, so you move to soothe him again, set on turning him to putty in your hands.

With one hand between his legs, the other reaches up to caress the skin of his shoulder. You stare where you think his eyes would be. “Let me take care of you.”

You say it so sweetly, so sincerely, that he has no choice but to let you go.

With his hand gone, reaching to grip the edge of the bath, you continue to move, washing as your primary goal, your second hand moving from his shoulder to his chest, down to touch the muscles of his abdomen. He was already half hard in your hand before, but as you move on to wash his thighs, his length now curls up to rest on his belly.

He lets out a grunt as you move away, practically torturing him. His head bows, refusing to meet your gaze, and you wonder if he feels embarrassed. You can’t help but smirk as your gauzy clothes drift against him in the water where you stand between his legs, but his reaction prods you to work faster, no longer so intent on doing such a thorough job but just to get done.

You wonder if he notices your change in pace before you let the cloth drift away and take your hands to feel him again. You let your hands rest first on his knees, submerged beneath the warm water. He’s wound like a spring, subtly shifting in attempt to relieve some tension, but ultimately waiting for your move.

Slowly, you drag your hands toward him, feeling the skin and scar tissue and the muscle underneath. It pulls you forward, closer to him as he gazes at your form. The water has made your thin clothes cling to you, the chains on your body reflecting light. You should be cold above the water, but he’s warm and you can’t deny the flush of your body as you reach for him.

Your hands now rest at his hips, still under water, and your thumb brushes his inner thigh. He shudders, fist curling at his side. You can’t help but be amused at his hesitance. Lifting a hand, you trail your fingers over his chest, water droplets rolling down to join the water again. His chest heaves faster now, almost panting with impatience, and you decide to have mercy on him.

You reach lower, fingers curling into the hair between his legs, scratching for a moment, then you’re wrapping a hand around his base. He almost pitches forward, and you smile at him, watching the rise and fall of his chest.

You keep your voice low, seductive, and you find yourself leaning forward, lips hovering over the curve of his collar bone. “Is this alright?” You ask.

“Yes!” His answer is quick, eager. You smile before pressing a kiss to his throat as he rushes to collect himself. “Yes.” He lets out a deep sigh, repeating himself in a more practiced voice.

You keep your face close to him, pressing kisses down the column of his throat to his chest, as you keep your hand wrapped tight around him, pumping him slowly under the water. He’s panting in earnest now, tensing when you swipe your thumb over the head of his cock.

His knee lifts and bumps into your hip. You let it pull you closer, nearly laying atop his chest as you suck a mark underneath his collarbone. You increase your pace, teasing his tip, and he lifts his hips with a groan. The man still has yet to touch you, but as you drag a hand over him, reaching with your other to cup his balls, you feel your own want grow within you.

The water of the bath laps on the sides of the pool as you work him, and you finally lift your head from where you’ve left a line of bruises on his chest to see his hands gripping the edge, knuckles nearly white. The sight of his hands, the deepening desire as you manage to pull a moan from him, has you chasing your own pleasure. You lift a leg to place your knee on the same ledge he sits on, straddling his submerged thigh. You’ve gone past the point of caring whether or not you should be doing this.

You lean into him more, not satisfied with the touch you give him. You want to taste him, to feel all of him. You want him closer, and you crave his touch on you. Straddling his leg seemed to be the touch that finally breaks his resolve, and you feel his hand touching light on your lower back, abandoning its anchoring grip on the ledge. It’s then you lean forward, your chests touching, that your head gently bumps his helmet—an accident, but when he nudges you back, practically nuzzling into the side of your face you believe it to be the best thing you could do.

You sigh into him, going to press more kisses into his neck, when he bucks his hips in your hands. Your touch becomes rougher, feeling his velvety head, stroking the protruding vein on his length before squeezing gently. You had been thinking of how much more you wanted, that you didn’t realize just more he needed.

You’re quick to please him, stroking him again before pushing your forehead into the side of his helmet. It’s not enough to be here in the water. You want to see all of him, want the room to really take care of him. For the first time since you started, your hands leave him to slip under his legs and raise them slightly.

“Up,” you rasp to him, lifting more to encourage him.

His hand leaves your back to return to the edge of the tub, scrambling to do as you order. You think that as you hold him in your hands, you could make him do anything. You keep your grip on his legs, moving with him and climbing up the ledge, watching his hardened cock, the flexing of his muscles, as you attempt to tame your want for him.  

He sits up out of the water now, and you rise in front of him, water streaming down your body as you emerge to follow him. You don’t bother to stand, just come to your knees and crawl over his lower half as he scoots back from the bath. Your sheer clothes stick to you, hiding nothing, and the chains from your wrists dangle over his bare legs. You push his knee away to slip back between his legs and take his hips in your hands, easing him over as he moves with you. Eager to please, to find your touch again.

Both of you are breathing heavily, his hand finding a place as he takes your arm, pulling you with him as he lies on the floor and you follow, hovering over him. Your one hand never leaves his length as you settle on the wet marble. It’s cold, a jarring difference from the warm water, but you’re only focused on one thing. The warmth from the man beneath you. You use your other hand to pull his thighs apart, finally settling between his legs. He opens easily despite his earlier hesitation.

He holds your one arm in a tight grip, and you wish he would just pull you closer. But there is a reason you brought him out of the bath, and you haven’t forgotten it. He’s hard and throbbing in your hand and you want to take a moment to appreciate his size, how nice he looks spread out before you, but it’s not enough. It wasn’t before, and certainly not now. Your need grows stronger as you take him in, and you press your legs together with hope of relieving tension. You take your hand up his thigh over his abdomen to his chest and push. He lies back against the floor with a groan, hips automatically bucking closer to you and find your own legs trembling.

He is so willing, so good for you. You swear you’ve never wanted someone like you’ve wanted him. Part of you thinks it is the mystery, the pushing of boundaries between what is allowed and what is forbidden. Another part of you just takes a look at the cock hot in your hand, the hard muscles so easily moved by you, and think that the man they belong to has treated you more decently than any you’ve known.

Water drips from him, across his skin, down his legs to pool beneath the two of you. But now you can fully see him, you see the precum from his tip, enough for a bead to roll down his length. You don’t stop to think. Your head dips and you lick it from him, coming to his head and sucking gently.

He shouts.

You don’t remember anyone as vocal as he has been. He may not have spoken a word besides the array of curses, but every sigh, groan, and moan has gone straight to that spot pulsing with need between your thighs. You want to give him more, you want to serve him, if just for a night. You want to hear every sound he has to make, to make him feel safe and relaxed and filled with pleasure. You briefly wonder whether you should draw it out or give him what he needs. Both of your desperation wins out.

Your mouth doesn’t leave him, tongue swirling his tip as his hips jerk under your steady hand. You give him a moment, moving from his head to lick down to his base, hand following and pumping steadily as you take his balls into your mouth. His leg comes up and nearly hits you in the face. You hear another muffled moan as you take both hands to pin his hips to the floor and you look up to his helmet briefly.

“Stay down for me, hmm?”

His hands had left you, searching randomly for something to grasp. They went briefly to his head as though to grab his hair, before finding the helmet. He groans in frustration, and you bring your hand up his body taking every opportunity to feel his skin. One of his quickly follows your movements, taking yours in his much larger hand, and your fingers entwine atop his stomach. Your other hand wraps around his base again, and you’re taking him in your mouth, this time refusing to move your gaze from his visor. His head is lifted from the floor, watching you as you take him as deep as you can and bob slowly.

He speaks now, saying something in a language you don’t understand. You think it’s a curse when he says it again but louder. You continue to fuck him with your mouth, swirling your tongue on him as your hand reaches to fondle him. You have to lean a shoulder onto his thigh to stop his thrusts into you, to control the pace as you work him faster.

He’s close, you can tell, his swears increasing in volume and color. You recognize some of the words. The hand you hold on his chest tightens its grip, and you think if he breaks your fingers it would be a worthy sacrifice. His other hand gives up from his restraint and reaches to your hair. It’s surprisingly gentle. He doesn’t pull your hair or force your movements. His fingers slip into your carefully fashioned hair, following as your head moves up and down on him. You think he just needs the security of touch as he nears his release, and you revel in it, the careful affection of this man.

You can feel him twitch in your mouth, closer now, and you find yourself seeking his pleasure as though it were your own. You try to change pace, first taking him deeper, then faster. Increasing your pace makes him more frantic—his hand fists in your hair, his hips are nearly vibrating, his voice calls out a string of curses. You realize just how slick you have become, the clenching of your thighs the only pressure you can find. You don’t think anymore, just take him in and let the obscene sounds you both make guide you.

You watch the rapid rise and fall of his chest, turned on by the gasps he makes as you suck him in your mouth. His release surprises him with its force, making him throw his head back, and you hear the metal clang on the marble as his cum hits the back of your throat. His knees have lifted in defense from where they were spread, and the strangled gasp he gives makes you wetter by the second. You don’t stop even as you taste him, swallow his cum, clean him thoroughly with your mouth. Both his hands are now in your hair, and you didn’t even realize when he had released your hand.

He pulls gently, a silent plea for you to release him, let him recover from the intensity of feeling you around him, pulling him through his high. Your freed hand trails back to his hip, caressing along his side as you slow, licking the last of his release from his skin and letting him fall from your mouth. He shudders as your heat leaves, a hand disappears from your hair, the other still there and soft, and you feel his thumb gently trace your hairline. He is still trying to catch his breath, and the sound that comes from him as he trembles does nothing to alleviate your arousal. You think you could come from a single touch from him alone.

He lies there on the floor for another moment, and from where you kneel above him, you think he looks like art. His skin is covered in a layer of sweat, from the heat of the room or your acts, and you seek a peek of the underside of his jaw from this angle. You think you can see dark hairs from underneath his helmet and wonder if you should feel ashamed for staring. Your gaze quickly moves to the darkened marks along his collarbone and make a line down his sternum. You glance down more and trace your thumbs over two more marks, one on each hipbone, that you don’t even remember making. He is art, and you had a hand in making him like this. As you still sit above him, in the few precious seconds before he recovers, you think he is beautiful.

And you have yet to even see his face.

Before his hand leaves the side of your face, you lean forward to place a gentle kiss on his chest, right over one of your marks, where underneath his heart beats strong. He lifts his other hand to your face, pulling you back slightly as he sits up. You allow him to move you, feeling a sudden longing as he cups your face in his hands and holds you there, close, yet not close enough. You open your mouth to speak when he drops his head slightly, moving his visor from your eyes, but bringing his forehead to yours.

It’s a gentle gesture, one with care and thanks in it, and you wonder what he intends next. You both close your eyes for a moment, content to share the quiet, not ready for the apprehension that comes later. You think of the heat between your own legs, your own arousal calling you to act, but your professionalism preventing you from moving again.

You wonder what he is thinking.

You’re still kneeling between his legs as you both sit on the floor, and he begins to pull away with a deep breath you can hear through the helm. It feels like a goodbye. You don’t let it stop you from speaking.

“Tell me what you need,” you whisper. The room is still besides the two of you, and the sound carries, buoyed by the water. It might have been spoken quietly, but it is loud enough to break the calm.

He shifts, you see a tension beginning again in his shoulders, and a hand leaves your face to touch the edge of his helmet.

“I—I should…” He trails off and you realize he is pulling away. He remembers your purpose here, what stands between you. He needs his privacy, and you have outstayed your welcome. You bite down a sting of disappointment and give a sweet smile. You won’t let him push you away, and instead you offer your absence.

The smile never leaves your face as you lean closer to him. You recognized him as a man of honor—a rarity in life, you’ve found—and you can see in him a determination, a strength, that will bring him to do something great. You wonder if that’s why you press your lips to the face of his helmet, right where you imagine his lips to be. Or maybe it is just the fact that you found a temporary home in his gentleness, stared at his scarred skin and made a dent in his armor that is deeper than the metal plates that rest to your side.

Or maybe you took what you want and laid it on him. Chosen him as a vessel for your own fantasy. After all, even as your fingers trace the curve of the helmet, he is still a mystery.

“I will leave you,” you say, no longer whispering. “I’ll leave your meal in your room while you are here. Should you want, the doors can be locked so no one will disturb your privacy. You may rest safely there. I will be nearby if there is anything else you need.”

It’s easy to say it like a dismissal. You will see him again in the morning. You think of the tension already returning to him and accept there is nothing more you can do. He may be the same man who walked through the door tomorrow, or he may be the man underneath you, the one who allowed himself to give and feel affection. You hope he does not resent this moment, but as you move away, you remember how he held your hand, touched his forehead to yours. No, you don’t think he will resent you.

You both came to stand, and before you left you made sure to wrap a towel around his waist and trailed your fingers down his arm in what you hoped was a comforting touch. The marble floors felt even colder under your wet feet, but you were too distracted by what was to come to notice. Tonight, you had insisted the Mandalorian should rest and prepare. Now, it was your turn to get to work.

The hunt may start only when your master allowed it, but there was always information to be found, of challenges as dangerous as they were meant to be entertaining. It would ensure winners as there were losers. And you were going to make sure your Mandalorian won.

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#the mandalorian x reader #mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian #the mandalorian fic #din djarin x reader #din djarin #din djarin fic #star wars