Read on Twitter
Read this whole thread, but also I'm going to talk about my story Genesis and how this and other readings of genetics affects my thought process, how I write, and what I aim to achieve. https://twitter.com/DungeonCommandr/status/1254470227695263749
You can start readin Genesis here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/genesis-chapter-32076484
The point of Genesis is that people have to work together to create worlds. The major theme of the book is about the creation of worlds, identities, cultures, and the like.
It's first and foremost, a romance story tho.
The point of Genesis is that people have to work together to create worlds. The major theme of the book is about the creation of worlds, identities, cultures, and the like.
It's first and foremost, a romance story tho.
The balance between these two is a little tricky, but much more tricky than that is the legacy of Tolkien, the concept of fantasy races, and how all that plays together.
None of the three major protagonists of Genesis have the same species.
None of the three major protagonists of Genesis have the same species.
And because they are all from different mythological inspirations you can definitely read that as them not having the same race.
Race is a fake construct, whereas species is a real one. But we don't live in a world with multiple sapient species.
Race is a fake construct, whereas species is a real one. But we don't live in a world with multiple sapient species.
So there is a level of parallelism that you must always be cognizant of and careful with. I'm going to address Tariq and Makoto's race and species issues at the end of this thread, but let's focus on the most important and the most similar to the #DnD #Orc discourse.
Mild Spoilers for Genesis Follow
Caitlin is a Fomorian. She calls herself a troll throughout the early part of the book because that is another inspiration for her fantasy species and in-story it is the slur that elves use to refer to Fomorians.
Fomorians are different species from her (adoptive) parents, elves
Fomorians are different species from her (adoptive) parents, elves
What's important hear is that Fomorians could be read as a real world racial group, even though that's not my intention. If they come across that way, you can be sure I will be going back to amend my story in the future.
Fomorians are *not* a racial group though.
Fomorians are *not* a racial group though.
Fomorians are meant to be read as a parallel to people with different thought patterns and desires than the main populous. A mixed metaphor between kinksters and neurodivergent people, of which I am both.
Fomorians come from the same culture as elves, this is why they're not a race. They speak the same language, they have nearly the same practices, but they're differentiated by different internal drives.
Unfortunately, this is where the metaphor can go sour.
Unfortunately, this is where the metaphor can go sour.
It's something I'm paying attention to as I write it, but may very well fuck up. Different racial groups do not have different drives, they are all humans and humans want and need similar things.
The things Fomorians need are similar to drives neurodivergent people have.
The things Fomorians need are similar to drives neurodivergent people have.
Formians mark their territory by scratching trees. They need to scratch or else they feel uncomfortable. They also have specific sensory needs and reactions to stimuli when it comes to being around people and intimacy.
They also experience some radical body changes late in life.
They also experience some radical body changes late in life.
I hope it's obvious that this transformation is meant to be a parallel to trans people, queer people, kinksters, and anyone else who needs to have a coming-out experience that results in changing their presentation.
But! This involves trolls becoming big, sharp, and dangerous.
But! This involves trolls becoming big, sharp, and dangerous.
This could be read poorly! I'm still working on making sure it isn't. Specifically, as a racial analog, it would fucking suck. The idea that like, when black boys hit puberty they're immediately men pervades are media and FUCKING SUCKS.
The basic way I've tried to combat this is with Makoto and Tariq's stories. Makoto is a human, and Tariq is a human-djinn hybrid. In Makoto's world there are three major racial groups, humans, elves and oni. These are all meant to be racial groups.
As such, a lot of Makoto learning about elves from Caitlin's world compared to elves from her own world (which is desolated save for two countries) is realizing the elves are not inherently the way she thinks they are. Caitlin and Makoto's world's elves are the same species.
But they have radically different cultures. There is nothing inherent to the elf 'race'. There isn't even anything that really makes elves a separate species. The same is true for Oni, who can be read as a foil. They are not inherently evil or anger or any of that nonsense.
Tariq's world goes hardest on racial themes, because it features six racial groups. They are portrayed in some ways as different species, but they're not really as Tariq shows by having dual heritage himself.
Even the 'inherent magic' is subverted.
Even the 'inherent magic' is subverted.
In Tariq's world magic is a limited pool that is tied to an outside source. Each of the racial groups became racialized based on their ties to the different 'pools' of magic. So magic *seems* inherited to some people.
But this will be addressed later in the book.
But this will be addressed later in the book.
Magic is a limit pool for each of the six elements. To humans 'all Djinn are magical' is a result of there being few djinn but the same sized pool. The same number of djinn, humans, angels, demons, garuda, and naga have access to magic.
But humans outnumber everyone else by 10 to 1. So it seems to them like all other people are magical in one way or another because of the resource disparity. Later on, we will see what the means for the fate of Tariq's world.
But I hope this gives an example of how you can make interesting use of race/species tropes without dipping into real-world racism. And I hope this all reads well. If you have any questions or criticisms, feel free to leave a reply to DM.
