It’s a Strange Universe
Greetings beautiful strangers and welcome!
As your not so humble storyteller, Lord Strange feels the need to properly introduce you all to quite possibly the most important character who will feature in every single story this one writes. The Strange Universe itself. Therefore this one invites you to delve into a universe not unlike the one you live in now but one in which there are some very profound differences, some subtle and others not so much.
The denizens of the Strange Universe are at least subconsciously aware that reality is merely an illusion. This is because the separation between the worlds that exist here and the spiritual and divine realms is a very thin veil, indeed. The result is that the things you may find shocking in your world have a very different effect on those who live here. In fact the biggest surprise to many is their openness to new experiences. They tend to live in the moment rather than worrying about what might happen tomorrow. Sure, they’re aware that their actions may have unintended consequences, but they also realize that by worrying too much about what might happen later, life will simply pass them by. No one wants to look back at the end of their days only to realize they spent their lives paralyzed by fear. So they live their lives dealing with everyone and everything in this now moment.
Consequently things tend to escalate quickly in the Strange Universe. People make connections with one another and relationships evolve rapidly. Some are volatile, some are peaceful, some are chaotic and others violent. The best ones, in the not so humble opinion of your storyteller, are erotic. Conflict, drama, and thrilling adventure exist around every corner and you can bet that anyone you might speak with will have heard about or even know someone who was present for one exciting event or another. It’s a small world after all!
Here the lines between myth and legend aren’t just blurred, there are none. The supernatural is real. Extra-Terrestrials are real. All manner of creatures exist in the Strange Universe. Some remain isolated from and others co-exist within the human world. Individual BEings have their own ideals and agendas be they human or otherwise. Good and Evil exist only in the hearts of the individual but no one is inherently either. I’ll clarify for those who might need it.. Good and Evil exists in the Strange Universe but only in the hearts of individuals. Every barrel has a few bad apples, as they say, but that doesn’t make the entire barrel bad.
Society in the Strange Universe, similarly to your world, has deemed certain things as moral and others as immoral. Sexuality is not as stigmatized here as it is in your world. In fact sex work is an entirely legal and honorable profession here. It is commonplace for fathers to take their sons to a professional when they come of age. The only real stigmas left around sexuality are concerned with the taboos around interspecies and intrafamilial relations. These stigmas are highly frowned upon in society to be sure but they are not generally punishable by law. That said there are laws here just as in your society. One of the differences is that here punishments fit the crime. Depending on the severity of the crime the punishments can be quite literal. For instance, those convicted of human trafficking are sentenced to perform the same job their victims were forced to endure. So if they trafficked in sex slaves, they would be sentenced to do sex work within the prison where they’re serving out their sentence. It’s not perfect because the convict is actually provided with medical care and protection by the prison staff whereas their victims often endured far worse conditions. Still, they cannot refuse a request for sex from anyone at the facility including the prison staff. Some might say that Strange Universe kind of got it right.
Everything that happens, happens for a reason. There are no coincidences, one thing always leads to another. There are stories within stories and each of them will often have lasting effects on the people living through them. Welcome to the Strange Universe. We do hope you enjoy your stay with us and perhaps we’ll rub off on you a little. Perhaps you’ll learn there is no shame in embracing every aspect of yourself, even those parts often frowned upon by societal norms and conditioning. Let go of fear and dare to BE!