Dystopian Fiction - Tumblr Posts

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it a thousand more times: No piece of dystopian fiction has ever been a prediction of the future. They are observations and criticisms of the present. 

Just finished reading tender is the flesh and I just want to say... Jasmine deserves the world and I hope the rest ESPECIALLY Marcos a very happy die.

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it a thousand more times: No piece of dystopian fiction has ever been a prediction of the future. They are observations and criticisms of the present. 

Let's talk about Eiko 🥀🌂

Hello there! I just thought I'd start introducing my OCs, since they have been and will continue to be the subjects of most of my drawings. And we're beginning with the protagonist, Eiko. :)

[For context, the PCD (Paranormal Containment Division) is a law enforcement organ that specializes in investigating and eliminating paranormal entities in the fictional country this story takes place in.]

Eiko is a 19-year-old PCD agent. She presents herself as a stoic, reserved and polite kind of person, but deep down, she's quite distrustful and hot-headed. Still, and even though she does have a really bad temper, I think Eiko tries her hardest to be as well-mannered as possible, because that's just how she was raised. Thing is, she's polite to the point of coming off as robotic and unnerving, when most of the time she's just trying to make it as clear as possible that she respects the other person.

The greatest source of her stress and frustration, at least before the plot kicks off, is her job and her superiors, but since she is well aware she can't afford to lash out at them (since she likes having a roof over her head), she just bottles everything up. Not a great idea considering she's been bottling up resentment since she was a child, but she was never taught any healthy ways to handle her anger.

She does take her job very seriously; the problem is that she herself is not taken very seriously there. The PCD is basically the elite of society, and the high rank agents are highly respected and affluent citizens. Eiko is a low rank agent, though, so this doesn't really apply to her in practice. She's far from being wealthy. And she's basically at the bottom of the food chain in the PCD.

She's willing to do almost anything to achieve her goals, but she struggles to accept that she might not be as morally good as she would like.

About the art: the drawing in the background is a lot more recent than the full body and her design has changed slightly, so that's why she looks a little different. The outfit (which is her work uniform) is still the same though.

For now, that's all I'll share. There's more to her character, but this will do for her introduction. I frankly doubt anyone will read all of this, but if you have, thank you so much! It means the world. ❤️

Where is the slated fandom?

....are you sure that's n o t big brother watching and scrutinising your every move???

So one of the people on my street works for Sky TV and drives one of their vans. It has hannibal painted on one side which to be honest sets me on edge a little. It parks outside my house regularly as i don’t drive so don’t use that spot. 

When i come down for work at 5am i usually open the curtains to see what the weather is like. Some days im open them to see the house across the road. Others i open them to see this particular van outside with Hannibal staring into my living room. Sometimes i forget to close the curtains at night and when i come down for work at 5am i see this.

It is terrifying and you can’t escape it. You either have to live in the dark or live with this staring at you while you try to watch TV.

I go to make a brew and it follows me. I watch TV and its there. I close the curtains and my dog cries because she wants to sit on the windowsill and stare at it. 

I mean, is it reasonable to ask Sky to repaint a van because Mads Mikkelsen is staring me down when i try to eat my cornflakes?

I have to stop reading dystopian literature and watching dystopian stories (I won't) because here's a list of things that I've done reading Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel) and watching the HBO/Max series adaptation.

cried. so many gods be damned times

wanted to throw the book against the wall (and resisted)

wanted to cuss out the author

...cussed out the author

snapped the book shut and swore

...swore

made two playlists to fit the vibes

fainted

read fix-it fics because i was mad about a very clever narrative choice

dedicated nine songs to the universe

literally been so wrapped up in the universe i spilt milk down my shirt

screamed into a pillow

read it four times in three weeks

wanted to punch several characters

planned a new tattoo

had several flashbacks and moments of panic

related to the villain

related to the main characters

questioned my life in great detail

panicked over whether the Georgia Flu could ever happen

researched spread of viruses (again)

got distracted and tried to replicate the Georgia Flu in plague.inc

regretted ever reading the book

wished i could read it again for the first time

cried some more.

whispered 'im never going to finish this series' before binging another six episodes while drawing and crying because they changed the story for the better.

...anyway, thanks. Emily. You did a good job.

I'm currently reading Julia (the 2023 retelling from Julia's perspective) and it's AWESOME

"Urban decacy proves a pervasive motif in 1984" you mean, the make-up brand? damn, I didn't know Winston was a drag queen

I PUT AN AUDIOBOOK (Brave New World) ON AND I GOT HIT WITH THE BARNEY THEME

The PURPLE DINOSAUR theme

This is exactly why using people's personal recordings of novels is so hit or miss 😭 but also so amusing

Not sure if I shared this already, but this is pretty much just a reblog if I did :p

Anyways, this is actually a drawing I'm not afraid to shared!

It's from a old unfinished dystopia in which Cassie (left) has the ability to shape reality. Curil (right) ends up involved by a means he doesn't fully know or understand.

Neither of the two get why they were chosen after the world essentially ended, but their journey should answer some questions.

Best thing about this is the fact that the lack of color work here. When I was writing this story, it appeared in black and white or monotone for one reason or another.

Last read:

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Number of Pages: 374

Rating: ★★★☆☆

First published: September 14, 2008

Read: April 19, 2022 - May 12, 2022

Thoughts:

First of all, I have to say the first chapter decidedly is not an inducement to keep reading the novel. It seemed like a first draft that the author or the editor forgot to come back to and fix. It feel different than the subsequent chapters. Why the editor didn’t correct it or ask the author to rewrite it? I think that does a disservice to Suzanne Collins since I liked her novel, however because of this I didn’t continue with the book when I first tried it years ago.

I liked very much the reflection of how much planning, effort, work and time goes into obtain food and the mention of how much free time one has to do other things when one has the privilege no to worry about hunting, harvest, gather, clean, etc.

Another aspect that I appreciated was that it was pointed out that people don’t have much time to consider about how a despot government manipulates history because the primordial concern is to get water, food, medicaments and protection from the cold. Nevertheless, it didn’t passed unnoticed that in the school the children were only taught political propaganda.

It was great of the author to highlight that the districts didn’t have communication between them and that was a way to prevent the people from unite and remove the regime.

Katniss is an inspiring protagonist. It was fascinating watching her being the caretaker of her family, then Rue and then Peeta. I like the way she thinks and solves her problems; I admire her compassion and I felt moved by her grieves, like the lost of her parents.

I’m intrigued by Haymitch and I expect to learn more about him in the next couple of novels.

My only other complain is the insistence of Katniss of being oblivious to Peeta’s feelings for her. That’s way too cliché in young adult fiction, as well as the love triangle for wich I never care for.

It isn't a Success story, it's a Survivor's story.

And it isn't over. ~Pricilla ♡

Dystopian fiction stuff just for funsies

The Surface. A place once filled with life, water and all the right temperatures.

Until the Disaster struck.

Within seconds, all life on the Surface was totally wiped out. Except for one little Group, safely hiding Underground. This Group expanded and formed an entire Colony under the Surface. Now, it's our home. Where everything is powered by the Core. Our "sun", if you will. Everything is safe, warm and protected against whatever ghastly threats lie on the Surface.

They give us Tagged bracelets as children to keep an eye on us so we don't go too near to the Surface--or anywhere dangerous, for that matter--and at the age of twenty, the Tag is replaced with a Chip for our identification, and you are officially considered fully Integrated into the Colony.

At the age of twenty, during said Integration, everyone is sorted into specific Categories with respective Roles to serve the Colony. The Category you get sorted into becomes your second name; a Surname. Your Category basically becomes your "family", in pre-Disaster speak. All these Roles go into upkeeping the Colony, and ultimately the Core; and, in the unlikely worst-case-scenario, prevent the Core from burning out. Or even exploding. Which will never happen, by the way, so don't you dare dwell on that definitely-never-gonna-happen scenario. Ever.

Every Batch of babies is genetically engineered to have the most optimal thriving traits, before they are all Inducted into the Colony. And no, they don't live inside women's bellies, or whatever they did back in the pre-Disaster days. The Genes that go into producing each baby are arranged and re-ordered ever so meticulously, as to ensure the best results for a healthy baby.

The Induction is basically a welcoming ceremony for these babies. It is where the babies--1,000,000 per Batch--are "born", so to speak in pre-Disaster vocabulary, as well as given a Name from the Naming Cycle. Every Century, the Naming Cycle undergoes a Rotation. So every individual has a Namesake from every previous Century. A Newborn baby is Inducted; 20 years later, they get Integrated.

My name is Cordelia, and soon, I will be fully Integrated, with my very own Role in the Colony.

More dystopian just-for-funsies stuff cuz I'm bored

Cordelia runs for her life in utter terror when she sees the barbaric procedure of Chipping, an integral part of the Integration. It involves a lobotomy, with that section of the brain responsible for making autonomous decisions being replaced with the Chip; ostensibly for identification purposes, the Chip is actually meant to monitor your every thought, and serve as a system override should you even entertain the mere notion of rebelling or anything remotely un-Colony-like.

So this is the price of Integration.

She chillingly remembers all the times she and her Batch-mates Misbehaved*, and the Caretakers took on a robotic gaze, eyes blank and unfeeling, as they reprimanded them in an uncanny, robotic tone. Those blank stares, those blank scoldings, the kind that deterred her and her Batch-mates from their prying curiosity with their inexplicable creepiness; they were all the same. Did their own minds even belong to them anymore?

Cordelia escapes, unwittingly to the Surface, where she finds that not everything was what she was taught it would be.

POV

I see a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Strange, how this exact same sentence is used to describe one's last moments in pre-Disaster literature. I shield my eyes from this strange, new sun and...

"Whoa."

*Misbehaved = not referring to mischief in general, but to "Untrustworthy" behaviour indicating distrust of the Colony or outright rebellion

Dystopian world-building for funsies cuz why not

Cordelia and her Batch-mates were raised by Caretakers after they were Produced by the Producers. They have no parents, no family. Just the Caretakers and each other.

When they are old enough, they are brought to the Academy as Students. Cordelia is especially fascinated by Pre-Disaster Studies, a subject taught in the Academy.

All babies, both boys and girls, have been pre-conditioned during their Production (as zygotes, during their gene arrangements) to have only straight hair, never curly. Girls wear their hair down, nice and straight, with no tying or accessorising. Boys are expected to keep their hair trimmed short and tidy, but with no curls or styling.

Dystopian fiction stuff just for funsies, based on the Hunger Games "Hanging Tree" song cuz I was inspired by the different renditions of this song on Tiktok hahaha don't mind me cuz I'm boooooooooorrrrrrrrrreeedddddddd

This song is about a tree with birdcages on its branches. Cordelia encounters this tree during her time on the Surface. The tree with its birdcages look like a tree bearing fruits--except in this case, the "fruits" are the birds trapped in the cages; hence, the name "Birding Tree".

POV (Jasper taking Cordelia to the Birding Tree)

"I...I'm so sorry. About your gram'ma," I managed.

Jasper smiled as we continued treading through the grass. "Thanks...there was this lullaby she used to sing me. When I--when she passed, that lullaby, that was the first thing that came to mind. Funny, isn't it? I'd totally forgotten about it. It'd been years since she last sang it to me."

"Sorry, what--lala...bye?"

"Lull-a-by," he enunciated. "It's a bedtime song. Well, I don't know if it's actually written to be a lullaby, but she sang that to me at night."

"I didn't know you could sing someone to sleep." I probably sounded stupid saying that. He laughed.

"You learn something new everyday, huh?"

"When you've lived under the Surface, or 'under a rock', as you say, as long as I have, there's only so much you know," I quipped. "So, how did this...lull-a-by go?"

"Pardon?"

"Do you think you could...sing it to me? If you don't mind, of course."

He hesitated, looking around for a bit. "I guess I could. Since it's just you and me." He winked, and I could have sworn I almost tripped on air.

Are you...are you...

Comin' to the tree

We struck down a birdie

Singing in the breeze

Strange things have happened here,

No stranger would it be,

If we took...this birdie...

To the Birding Tree

Are you...are you...

Comin' to the tree

Hear a choir of birdsong

Raging to be free

Strange things have happened here

No stranger would it be,

If we took...these birdies...

To the Birding Tree

Are you...are you...

Comin' to the tree

Build a nest in this cage

Side by side with me

Strange things have happened here

No stranger would it be,

If Birdie stays awhile,

Here in the Birding Tree

We reached the top of the hill, and there was the tree. It had round little birdcages, hanging on its branches, like striped, hollowed-out apples. Each birdcage housed a little bird, tweeting away, looking around from its little abode.

"And, here we have it. The Birding Tree. Ta-daaaa...", he introduced lamely on purpose, and I laughed.

Dystopian fiction stuff just for funsies. Do whatever you want with them (as long as you credit me even tho I'm just another amateur hehe), I'm just throwing out ideas here and there. Cuz I'm bored.

Cordelia gets to the Surface, and during her stay there, she learns that a group of Surface-dwellers, the Rebels, are planning to overthrow the Underground Colony she came from, due to the Colony leeching off resources from the Surface. Cordelia feels guilty that she implicitly gave the Surface-dwellers information about the Core.

Earlier, Cordelia saw some of the Surface-dwellers in poverty and desolation, with some even fighting each other for food. She briefly considered bringing them back to the Colony for a better quality of life, despite having seen the Chipping procedure that takes away one's free will. A trade-off, basically. Trade in your free will for a roof over your head and a decent meal.

Cordelia feels torn. She's thinking of staying at the Surface to help improve the Surface-dwellers' way of life, but she's also worried that the uprising against the Colony would cause chaos, and in her worst-case-scenario imagination, possibly even destroy the Core and wipe out all life, both on the Surface and in the Underground ("which is NEVER gonna happen so STOP thinking about it," she scolds herself).

Cordelia had been taught, during her childhood Underground, that there was nothing good on the Surface. That it was literally uninhabitable; totally unfit for any and all life. As it turns out, there actually have been people living on the Surface. Now, she's just trying to keep everyone safe. She doesn't want to be caught in the crossfire. She doesn't want to have to take sides. She never wanted to betray the Colony, either. She just wanted to escape getting Chipped.

Cordelia had learned about this topic called "families" in her Pre-Disaster Studies. Where there was such a thing as a "mother" and a "father", instead of just Caretakers. Where there were "brothers" and "sisters" instead of just Batch-mates. Where this thing called "love" was supposed to thrive. She sometimes wondered what it would be like to be part of a family, instead of just being one of the 1,000,000 Batch babies looked after by Caretakers. She sometimes wondered if her Batch-mates could be considered "brothers" and "sisters". Some of her Batch-mates shared that sentiment, but were quickly shut down when their Caretakers reprimanded them with that creepy robotic tone. Other Batch members laughed at the mere idea.

When Cordelia went to the Surface, she saw how some of the Surface families behaved. She saw the loving and affectionate families and felt a sense of loss in herself, for something she had never had. She saw the cold and distant families and was reminded of her own Care Unit (a group made of Caretakers and their respective Batch members). She thought that their reasons of their aloofness were the same as those of the Care Units in the Underground Colony; that is, to avoid any attachment, especially love, that may be a detriment to the collective wellbeing of the Colony, or in this case, the rest of the Surface-dwellers' society. Still then, there were downright cruel and abusive families, making her perplexed about the complexity of families.

Random dystopian fiction lore just for funsies

Cordelia learned about her Namesake from the previous century. Past-Cordelia had a rebellious streak. She was very carefree.

Past-Cordelia actually came from the Surface, but was curious and inquisitive. She saw a curious-looking manhole (the same one that Present-Cordelia crawled out of when she escaped) and crawled in.

Past-Cordelia's presence in the Colony caused quite the outrage. The Colony authorities could not afford to let slip that an Outsider had crawled in, lest the rest of the Colony realise that there were indeed people dwelling on the Surface and that everything that they had been taught was a lie.

Unbeknownst to the Underground, Past-Cordelia was actually a spy sent to the Underground.

More dystopian fiction lore just for funsies (and I'm sorry for the inaccuracies and not-very-knowledgeable Geography stuff and continuity issues. This is just me having fun with fiction so do with it as you will as long as you credit me for it hahahahaha yes I know I'm an amateur but I'm just expanding this lore for funsies)

Cordelia was actually a perfect clone of Past-Cordelia. Present-Cordelia is actually Cordelia II. Cordelia I (the original from the Surface) was genetically engineered in a lab on the Surface, so the first Cordelia also didn't have parents. She was literally created to be a child soldier. This leads Cordelia II to feel like she has no identity at all ("I mean, none of us in the Colony ever had an identity of our own to begin with," she recalls.)

When the very first Colonists dug Underground, they used their advanced technologies to push back the magma so there would be more space Underground to build their Colony. This led to the Core overheating, which could possibly cause it to explode, so they quickly had to construct some tunnels leading away from the Core to certain parts of the Surface. This led to lava leaks on the Surface in those areas, creating more volcanoes and volcanic eruptions in the process.

This led to the Surface becoming more dangerous than it already was. Jasper still feels bitter towards the Underground for having endangered his home and his family. When the Colonists had started pushing back the magma, it led to the Surface getting colder, with occasional startling bouts of lava spurts. Therefore, the temperature on the Surface became more unstable than it already was.