BabyVi
Minds are already the primary movers and shakers of Culture society, they don't need to take over, the status quo has already been aligned with their interests. Minds are created by other Minds performing essentially mental eugenics, the desire to dominate others would be a dangerous trait for them to let slip into the population.
No single Mind has dictatorial authority over the Culture though. I could see an argument for it being oligarchal or even a caste society. But I'm not following your reasoning on the enlightened dictatorship part. Could you elaborate?
Who's the eternal benevolent dictator of the Culture?
"Don't fuck with the Culture. "
The cope is strong with that one.
The feminine urge to crush a cis man's skull with your bare hands as an example to the rest of them.
For sure transitioning will not cure your other mental health issues, you kinda need to work on those separately when you get to a place that you're able to do so. Despite advances in information and medical tech, right now is the roughest its ever been to transition due to the political situation. I transitioned back before cis people were really aware that trans folk exist outside of being made fun of in the media. Even back then, the first few years of my transition were the most dysphoria ridden. If you go for years trying to suppress dysphoria and suddenly you're confronting it daily, that's gonna hurt more than it did when you were just coping. I used to feel like an imposter in queer/women's spaces, I remember feeling really dysphoric and unsure of myself, over time that's changed. Finding a solid IRL friend-group of other trans people can be transformative. If I could give my younger self any advice it would be to seek that out. Not only is there support to be found but also safety in numbers. Its so important to find a group that will accept you 100% without judgement, having time to just chill out as yourself among other humans without fear can really help your nervous system adapt. Hopefully some of this is helpful. I've been on this road awhile (11 years HRT) and while I'm no longer dealing with dysphoria anymore I'm still figuring out life. If you have any questions I'll do my best to answer or elaborate as I find time.
I was in a game where a PC hooked up with an NPC and got her pregnant, resulting in a ton of problems for that character. It was quite funny when one of the other players noticed an unused sheep-skin condom listed on that character's sheet. Turns out, they'd looted a condom from a fallen baddie during a previous session but forgot about it.
My child-self would have died from pure excitement at the mere prospect of getting their hands on a RPi filled with emulators/games. Now I'm just an old fart and cant appreciate shit anymore.
It would certainly be more convenient if they/them became a generic pronoun for everyone regardless of gender. But at the moment it's not nessararily polite to use it that way in all circumstances. There are people that only use gendered pronouns to refer to themselves, to the exclusion of neutral pronouns like they/them. Generally if there's any uncertainty about someone else's preferred pronouns you can just ask. If you wanna skirt around it you can introduce yourself including your pronouns which will give others a safe opportunity to do the same. Messing up someones pronouns can be embarrassing but it's not the same as dropping a slur. (Though it can still be very hurtful to those involved.)
Eberron too please!