how i discovered that my enderman kintype was from the warped forest biome

Anonymous asked:

hello! fellow endermankin here i was wondering like how you specifically knew you came from the nether and the warped forest? im trying to figure out where i come from but im not certain i think maybe from the overworld? i dont have many memories and only a few noemata (still figuring out stuff beyond just being an enderman) but i also feel a connection to the end in a way i cant describe i dont know its that i lived there and then moved to the overworld or if its like an ancestral pull or like what the situation is and im not sure if any of these details are even accurate and i was just hoping maybe hearing how another figured it out might help? idk sorry /nfta

Answered by @talon-dragonbeast:

oh, a fellow enderman! its so rare to find one of us on the wild, hello!! o/

for me, when they added the warped forests to Minecraft (i was like 14 at the time) and i saw them for the first time, it felt like coming home in a way. i hadnt saw anything like that before, but deep inside i knew that not only had i seen a warped forest before, but i had been inside one. i recognized those trees. i knew what stepping on that grass felt like. that color palette was familiar to me. i was seeing pixels on a screen, but my brain was reacting as if i was there.

i read somewhere that your sense of smell is where your deepest memories reside. it has something to do with brain anatomy i think, your olfactory center is very close to the part of your brain that processes long-term memory, so when you smell something that is familiar to you, your brain reacts showing you the memorie(s) associated with it. it works in reverse too; when you remember something intensely, it feels like you can smell it too. or something. idk i only studied neuroanatomy for like a year. with my hearthomes, its a bit like that. even though i have never been in a warped forest before (as its kinda impossible, it being a videogame and all), my brain reacts as though it has been there before, and tries to pull the memories from it. except there arent actually any memories, so it just makes things up. and what is the easiest information to fabricate for the brain? smells and feelings.

for example, i remember the smell of sulfur on the back of my throat, the constant taste in my tongue that was both sweet and smoky. i remember the air being so hot and humid all the time, like a thick coat surrounding me from all sides. i remember the ground being soft, spongy and a bit wet, like moss. it gave in when you stepped on it. and i remember the Warped Forests as the only bearable region of the Nether for us endermen, because the mushroom-trees cooled the air and helped it stay in circulation, unlike in other biomes where the air was so still it felt suffocating.

i dont think its necessary to have memories about your hearthome. it isnt necessary to have noemata either, or even a hearthome! its possible to have multiple too; even though i come from the Nether (born and raised there, and i follow the Nether culture and behaviors more), like all endermen i share a deep connection with the End, as thats where i believe my species comes from.

if you feel like you come from the Overworld but still feel connected to the End, thats perfectly normal and okay! your alterhumanity is yours to define, not anyone elses. being nonhuman is all about internal feelings and subjective experiences, so you dont need definite “proof” of anything (be it noemata or hearthomes or whatever). theres no “alterhuman police” to stop you if you get something wrong. if something feels right, its right.