I love it whenever someone shows off their furry form or some other furry form they identify with. It's like they're saying "This is ME -- far closer than my meatsack and interests in worldly things"
Here's the real kicker: This is all in a world where we can't just shift our shape on a whim. What if we could? If it happened right now, it would feel *freeing* (and terrifying -- what shapes are others choosing?), but if we grew up with that, meh.
If we always were in a world where shapeshifting were common, the ability to *not* shapeshift would seem like a crippling disadvantage. "You can't shift? I'm so sorry. :( I can barely even imagine. I won't bring it up again, promise."
@Ulfra_Wolfe The real question to this is, would the shapeshifter remember what form they began as to change back into their original image? Thus, a shapeshifter, while seeing a non shapeshifter, might indeed see the lack of shifting as a disadvantage but also envy that very concept.
@Zaiaku Now there's an angle I wasn't looking at. Very interesting perspective. Once you add limitations, things get interesting.
@Ulfra_Wolfe Wait, I can expand on this even more.
Assume the shifter does indeed remember their original form. How long would it take before they start to question is it is indeed the original and not something they decided on.
@Zaiaku I was faced with that quandary and I decided it didn't matter. If it resonated with me and it was fun to experience and I felt free with it, it didn't matter.
@Ulfra_Wolfe True true. I was just mentioning the possible moral/personal dilemma that might occur.
@Zaiaku I don't wish to brush aside the quandary because I found my own personal answer, mind! It's actually a very interesting quandary to consider.
"What did I used to be?" is an interesting question for a soul to ask, and I feel like Salvia has given me some idea.
@Ulfra_Wolfe
Don't worry about it, I know you went just brushing it aside.
In thoughts like that, I turn to "The meaning of life is 42" from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Concept applies to everything not just life. "Existence is about...42" "What is happy" 42.
Which, once you understand why the answer is 42, makes all the sense in the world.
@Zaiaku I think the best part of that whole story was that massive civilizations put their all into the answer instead of just living.
@Zaiaku At the same time? There's something about Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy that feels enjoyable. Like it's a world that wouldn't be *fun* to be in, necessarily, but I mean I *did* play an Interactive Fiction game to be there. I'd even go there as a 3D self, just as long as I never ended up in a moment of being tortured.
@Zaiaku It makes me think. What if this world were a gameified thing we wanted experience with? "Pain is HILARIOUS!"
@Ulfra_Wolfe Yep, at the same time. That's the beauty of 42. I can explain it if you want.
Agreed, it would be interesting to go their but not to stay. VR might be able to make that a reality one of these days.
As for the gameified experience...I know another story that relates to that. >.> its kinda messed up and enlightening at the same time.
@Zaiaku I'd love to hear your take on 42, yus!
@Ulfra_Wolfe Ok. So in Hitchhikers, 42 was the answer to an unknown question about life, the universe and everything that was pondered on by the supercomputer Deep Thought for 7.5 million years. (Yes this is important)
Now because this is a computer, it thinks like a computer. There's a thing called the "American Standard Code for Information Interchange" or ASCII. In ASCII, 42 translates into an asterisk (*). In computer coding, an * is a wildcard that means "Anything"
@Zaiaku Well, that explains it.
@Ulfra_Wolfe It does. So when someone asks me about life or something in it that cant really be explained or has no logical answer, the answer is 42.
@Zaiaku "Kinda messed up and enlightening" is Salvia, I think I can handle it haha.
@Ulfra_Wolfe Ok.
A man dies of old age, in the "aferlife" he meets someone. He beleaves its god at first. This someone informs him that he is not god. He proceades to tell the man that the earth was created just for him and him alone. Puzzled, the man asks who the others were. Not-god says that they were all him in different forms.
Taken back, the man says "So you mean I was Buddha, Gandhi and Lincoln?"
"Yes"
"...But that also means I was Hitler and Manson..."
"Yes"
"Why?"
(Cont)
@Ulfra_Wolfe
"For you to experience all there is to experience. From every conceivable vantage point."
The man was in shock at hearing all he had done, not to other people, but to himself. His only response is "What happens now..."
"Now, you go back and learn it all again until you are ready to join us."
At that, the man starts to fade to black, pleading with the fading light until he is reborn anew to experience all over again.
(Take note, this is a very butchered version XD)
@Zaiaku That reminds me of that one youtube Salvia trip relay. "Thank you for letting me be him."
THank you for letting me have this experience as a human in this life.
@Zaiaku (The extra level of thinking is "What is happy? Existence is about just feeling happy, or else there'd be no pain", but I'm losing myself in my thoughts again)