C.E. Dorsett's Blog

How Trust and Reciprocity Can Heal Our World

When I think about the root of what’s wrong with our society, not just on the surface, but deep down at the foundation, I keep returning to a single, stubborn word: reciprocity. We’ve lost the thread of it. Somewhere along the way, reciprocity was redefined, stripped down, and warped into something transactional, something that fits into the machinery of markets and contracts. But to me, reciprocity isn’t about exchange. It’s about living in right relationship with others, with the world, and with ourselves.

The False Promise of Transaction

We’re trained, almost from birth, to think of every interaction in terms of a ledger: I give, you owe. You help, I pay. This is the logic of the market: relentless, cold, and isolating. It’s the logic that underpins so many of the breakdowns in our communities and our sense of belonging. When reciprocity becomes a transaction, trust starts to decay. The question becomes, “What’s in it for me?” rather than, “How are we connected? How can we support each other?”

This misunderstanding, this flattening of reciprocity into a market exchange, has hollowed out our relationships and our communities. It’s not just about material goods or favors. It’s about emotional labor, attention, care, and presence. We don’t give these things freely anymore; we weigh them on invisible scales, expecting something back. And when the scales don’t balance, we pull back, we wall ourselves off, and trust withers.

The Cycle of Giving and Receiving

True reciprocity isn’t transactional; it’s a cycle, a flow. It’s not about giving with the expectation of return, but about being in a genuine relationship where the giving and receiving are part of a living, breathing cycle. Sometimes you’re the one who has abundance, and you give. Sometimes you’re the one in need, and you receive. That’s not a failure or a debt. It’s the way things are meant to be.

In the best communities, human and more-than-human, this is how it works. There’s a deep knowing that we are all dependent on each other, that there are times when we can carry others and times when we need to be carried. It’s not about keeping score. It’s about being present and attentive to the needs and gifts of the whole.

Rebuilding Trust: From the Self Outward

How do we rebuild trust and foster a culture of real reciprocity? It starts at the root, which is always the self. Trusting others is impossible if we don’t trust ourselves, if we don’t know and honor our own needs, limits, and gifts. Self-trust is the soil from which communal trust grows.

This isn’t about self-reliance in the rugged individualist sense; it’s about knowing yourself as part of an interdependent web. When we understand our own boundaries and capacities, we can show up more honestly and sustainably for others. We can give freely, not out of obligation or expectation, but out of genuine care. And we can receive without shame, knowing that to need is not to be deficient: it is to be human.

It also means learning how to say no. True reciprocity isn’t about endless self-sacrifice or martyrdom. It’s about honest boundaries. If I give beyond what I can, the cycle is broken. If I never allow myself to receive, I deny others the gift of giving. It is in the dance of giving and receiving, of yes and no, that trust is woven.

The Interrelationship of All Things

Reciprocity isn’t just about humans. It’s about our relationship with the land, with animals, with technology, with the more-than-human world. Everything is interconnected, every action ripples outward. When we lose sight of this, we fall into exploitation and extraction. When we remember it, we find our way back to reverence and responsibility.

This interrelationship is not abstract or distant. It’s immediate and practical. The food we eat, the air we breathe, the tools we use, the networks we rely on. These are all part of a web of reciprocity that we are constantly taking part in, whether we realize it or not.

To experience and nurture this interrelationship, we can start with practices of attention and gratitude. Pause to notice the sources of your nourishment, the unseen labor and life that makes your day possible. When we attune to these threads, we begin to see ourselves as part of a greater whole, not just consumers or producers, but participants in a living system.

Restoring the Practice of Truth

There’s another fracture at the heart of our broken systems of trust and reciprocity: the loss of a shared sense of truth. The idea that truth is either purely objective (a cold, hard fact) or purely relative (just my opinion or perspective) misses something vital. Truth is a relationship: a dynamic negotiation between the self and the world, between my experience and yours, between what is and what could be.

When truth is only about facts that can be measured or about personal feelings that can’t be questioned, we lose the possibility of building trust. If I can’t trust that you’re telling me the truth, or at least your best understanding of it, how can I trust you at all? And if I can’t be honest with myself about what’s true for me, how can I show up honestly in relationship with you?

Reclaiming truth as a relational practice is essential for rebuilding trust and, in turn, reciprocity. It means being willing to negotiate, to listen, to admit when we’re wrong, to learn and to grow. It’s not about imposing our truth on others or collapsing into silence to avoid conflict. It’s about the ongoing, sometimes messy, always human process of making meaning together.

Practical Steps Toward Reciprocity and Trust

This isn’t just theory. There are concrete steps we can take, practices that can help us rebuild reciprocity and trust in our daily lives:

Start with self-reflection. What are your real needs, boundaries, and gifts? Where do you feel lack, and where do you feel abundance? What do you find difficult to give, and what do you find difficult to receive?

Practice saying no with kindness and clarity. Refusing what you cannot give is a form of honesty that builds trust.

Notice the webs of interrelationship around you. Take time each day to appreciate the people, non-human beings, and systems that support your life. Express gratitude, silently or aloud.

Be generous with attention. Sometimes what others need is not a solution or material help, but presence: someone to witness, to listen, to care.

Embrace mutual aid, not charity. When you give, do so as a fellow participant in the web, not as a benefactor above others. When you receive, do so with out shame, knowing that you contribute what you can, not always in kind.

Acknowledge and repair harm. When trust is broken, admit it, apologize, and work toward restoration.

Engage in community dialogues about truth. Be willing to share your perspective and hear others’. Recognize that truth emerges in relationship, not in isolation.

Sovereignty and Anarchism: Reciprocity as Resistance

For me, reciprocity is also a political act. It’s the foundation of my anarchistic ideas. To live in true sovereignty, to stand in right relationship with others, is to resist unjust hierarchies. It is a refusal to participate in systems that thrive on exploitation, extraction, and domination. When we practice reciprocity, we reclaim agency over our lives and create spaces where genuine freedom and equality can take root.

Reciprocity is not just a feel-good concept, it’s a way of surviving and thriving outside of systems that are not made for us, or that actively work against us. When we create communities rooted in trust, truth, and mutual care, we build the kind of world that’s worth living in.

Returning to the Root

All of this brings me back to the root: living in right relationship. Reciprocity isn’t about keeping score, or about making sure every exchange is fair and equal in some abstract sense. It’s about recognizing the profound, messy, beautiful interdependence that is at the heart of existence. It’s about giving what we can, receiving what we need, and trusting that when the cycle is healthy, everyone is nourished.

The path forward isn’t easy. There are a lot of wounds to heal, and a lot of habits to unlearn. But I believe it starts with a simple, radical act: to show up, honestly and openly, in relationship with ourselves, each other, and the world. To reclaim reciprocity, not as a transaction, but as a living, sacred cycle.

Let’s begin there. And let’s see what grows.

The Eye of Justice

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedPrisoners stand in a sign of distress.The Eye sees. Truth remembers.Children die from a vanished disease.The Eye sees. Truth remembers.Billionaires toast their stolen prize.The Eye sees. Truth remembers.People freeze beneath roaring lies.The Eye sees. Truth remembers.Justice lives in our flesh.Freedom lives in our blood.Hope lives in our bones.Memory lives in our breath.We will not fall like the American chestnut.We rise in defiance, wind-borne like dandelion seed.We root in the cracks they forgot to seal.We bloom in the ruins they tried to erase.We are legion of leaf and thorn—Soft, fierce, unyielding.The Eye opens.Truth burns lies.We remember.We endure.We rise.

The Fight I Am Called To

I stood in the Hall of Remembrance at the National Holocaust Museum.
It was the mid-90s and the Museum had just opened.

I can’t describe the feelings coursing through me.
The person I was paired with, the name on my card, didn’t survive.
I thought I knew the horrors of the Holocaust, but I wasn’t prepared for standing in that train car… the room with all the shoes…

Nothing could, or should, have prepared me for the weight of what happened.
I thought I understood, but I didn’t.
I couldn’t.
It was too much.

I was shaking when I finished the tour.
Never again.
The words resonated within me.
Never again.

I sat in the Hall of Remembrance crying, chanting never again like a mantra.

Never again.
The words rang through me like a bell.
They still resonate.
They carry so much meaning.

Of course, I was thinking about the Holocaust in all its terror and loss, but all that death and suffering didn’t happen in a vacuum.
Never again means everything that led up to that moment.
It means never allowing camps again.
Never allowing authoritarianism again.
Never allowing bigotry and prejudice to wield power again.
Never following a charismatic leader again.

We are failing at so many of those.

I am failing at stopping so many of those.
While I have never bowed the knee to a charismatic leader, our country has.
And not just with Trump, we did it with Obama and George W. Bush too.
Too many people allowed themselves to believe that the Great Man would save us.
I failed to stop that.
We failed and allowed that.

We are failing to stop bigotry and prejudice from wielding power again.
Our country has failed that throughout its history.
We weaponized bigotry through the Patriot Act, with Freedom Fries, with Abu Ghraib.
Now we are banning drag shows, attacking trans people, and deporting refugees without due process.

We are failing to stop authoritarianism.
The authoritarians set their plans in motion in the 1970s.
Too many expected a fast, violent coup, not a slow power creep, incrementally taking over the courts and establishing their power structures over time.
We watched their TV shows and movies and made them into heroes: the billionaires, the authoritarians, the violent.

I failed to keep my promise.
Never again.

We are here again.
But there is still time to push back, to make changes, to stop us from going to the next step.
The genocide has already started, but we can stop it.

It’s been hard to speak up because so many already are.
I don’t just want to repeat what others are saying just to be heard.
I don’t want to react to the news, because that isn’t good for any of our mental health.
It has been difficult to find my voice and figure out what I can, and should, be doing.

Never again means never again.

I am a storyteller, a philosopher, and a mystic.
My work is to tell stories, celebrate victories and good things, and to work on what we could and should be doing to make the world a better place.

None of us should feel guilty for celebrating, even in these dark times.
Celebration emboldens our resistance.
The goal of authoritarians is to make us all depressed and afraid, so broken down that they can walk over us.

That fight, the fight for joy, hope, and endurance, is the one I am called to.
This is the work I am going to do.

Building When Giants Walked

Why I Need This World

I'm exhausted. For too long, I've been struggling against autistic burnout—feeling drained and disconnected, my creativity stifled by the relentless pressure to produce content that fits neatly into commercial boxes. Writing became something manufactured, shaped by reviews and expectations rather than genuine self-expression. It turned my passion into a wearying chore, leaving me disconnected from the very stories I wanted to tell.

But storytelling should be an act of joy, not a production line. I need a refuge, a space where creativity can breathe without the weight of commercial expectations or critical judgments. Perfection isn't the goal here; authenticity is.

When Giants Walked is my personal creative playground, inspired by the magical realism that first sparked my imagination years ago. It blends the enchanting nostalgia of Miyazaki films, the heartwarming magic of Practical Magic, the playful mysteries of Charmed, the whimsy of Saturday morning cartoons, and the liberating wonder of magic realism. It’s a world where I can indulge freely in my special interests and reconnect with the joy of creation.

What I Hope to Find

I'm looking for feeling again—for delight, whimsy, and curiosity. Writing has become so serious, so work-like, that I've nearly forgotten how it felt to lose myself in imagination purely for its own sake. When Giants Walked is my chance to reclaim that joy.

Here, stories won't be confined by tropes or traditional expectations. Instead, they will be rich in love, community, and the quiet magic found in ordinary, overlooked moments. No epic battles or tired clichés—just characters who are wanderers, outcasts, passionate eccentrics, all searching for their place and purpose. It’s a deeply personal reflection space, where healing, love, and community are central themes.

I envision this setting as distinctly gothic, celebrating the beauty found in decay, shadows, and forgotten corners—not in gloom, but with the whimsical, macabre warmth of The Addams Family, wrapped in the comforting nostalgia of Saturday morning cartoons crafted thoughtfully for adults. Here, melancholy isn't tragic but poetic, and darkness holds a quiet, hopeful beauty.

The Heart of the World

At the heart of When Giants Walked are towering giants inspired by Kathy Mar's poignant music—compassionate beings who rescue the lost, broken, and misunderstood. They gather these souls into welcoming communities where voluntary associations, consensus decision-making, and authentic democratic processes reign. It's a queer, anarchistic space where authority must constantly justify itself, kings are villains, and chosen family thrives freely.

This is a world crafted with a queer, metamodern sensibility—part Addams Family macabre warmth, part whimsical Saturday Morning nostalgia, but unmistakably grown-up. Here, gothic charm meets cozy intimacy, inviting readers to pause, breathe, and rediscover the magic in melancholy and the beauty hidden within life's shadows.

When Giants Walked is more than just storytelling—it’s my safe haven, a sanctuary for everyone who feels beautifully strange.

To whom it may concern

Don’t worry if you are excited for any of my other projects. They are still in the pipeline. The game is in play testing. The novel is in edits. This is a project to fuel me and all my other work, I just thought I would share it with you all.

What are y’all working on?

An Update on Fate's Hunter

February 5th of last year, I announced I was working on a table top roleplaying game.

I am happy to let you all know that the first draft of the game is out to alpha testers.

Step into the mystical world of Fate’s Hunter, a solo tabletop RPG set in the rich, magipunk-infused universe of Barren’s End. As a new initiate of the Ifreann Tan, you must navigate the trials of fate, decipher the will of the Twin Sisters of Destiny, and determine whether to align with or defy the threads woven before you. Blending deep narrative exploration with an intuitive solo play system, Fate’s Hunter challenges you to uncover hidden truths, embrace your role as an agent of fate, and shape the galaxy’s future. Are you ready to seek the path laid before you—or forge your own?

The game is finally ready for full testing. It was created with the Cypher System Open License.

Players are given the option of building a character with either the Shorts Method or the Full Version. I created:

6 playable species (descriptors)

4 new Flavors for the Basic Types

7 NPCs (The Masters of the Academy)

20 Original Creatures for the Bestiary

25 Gods of the Phersu

25 Artifacts

To open the game up to solo play, I needed to create a few new systems for:

Fate Readings

Fate Levels

Marks of Fate

Fate Intrusions

The Harrowing

Solo Play elements

Map Generator

NPC Interactions

NPC Combat System

After this initial round of testing, v2 will be made available to paid subscribers to test, as will all subsequent versions of the game.

I am so excited to get to this point. This game is a fulfillment of a dream. I started creating this setting at Oakland Wondercon in April 2002 with the intent of making a game. Six published books and all these years later, I finished a version of the game I can share with others. Words fail to express how happy I am to reach this point. I can’t wait to share more details with you.

Have I forgotten how to write?

Ever had that feeling you forgot how to write? I don't mean to put one word after another, but to tell a story that you want to tell. Not a story you want to sell, but tell. We may have forgotten the difference between those words.

I started thinking about this when I realized I don't know how to sketch anymore. I haven't forgotten how to make art or images, but I have done graphic design for so long that when I tried to sketch the other day, I couldn't figure out where to start. How did I use to draw without a commission?

I am having the same problem writing. I set up a new world on @worldanvil.com for me to just write stories for me, and then my mind went blank. I know the kind of stories I want to write, but the words are frozen. They will not come out.

Is it fear? I don't think so. I really don't care what people think about my fiction. It isn't fear. It is paralysis.

Writing connects me to my deepest self, and I am not ready or willing to feel the pain and loss haunting the halls of my mind. I've been told so much over my lifetime how useless I am as a person, and writing or drawing for myself feels like admitting the futility of my existence. It shouldn't, but it does.

I don't think I am alone in equating happiness with selfishness, but we need to kill off that shit. We have to crawl out of our shells and find out loud and proud voices. Unfortunately, for now, my voice just sounds like screaming.

I should be writing right now.

I should be writing right now, and I suppose I am since I am writing this, but this isn’t the creative outlet I really need at the moment.

Why am I not writing creatively? Stress. I know what’s new. Stress is a creativity killer, but the stress I have had lately is more akin to existential dread than it is to anything else.

Every day and night when I think about telling a story, I find myself worrying if I am doing enough to help my LGBTQIA siblings, sisters, and brothers. With the rise of anti-queer fascism, I fear for the future of my community and myself.

Everything feels so frivolous these days. Just having a moment of joy or happiness leads to worries about the future and whether we have one.

I know how dark that sounds, and I wish I didn’t feel like that, but wishing doesn’t make it so.

The truth is, defiantly working on our art and living our best life is an act of protest in this world. Yelling our stories and making our art is an act of defiance.

If only knowing a thing caused us to do that thing, but it is a cudgel to beat those dark thoughts back.

So it is time for me to smack a fear in the face and do something I actually want to do and not what I feel like I have to do. I invite you to do the same.

The Secret Blog

I’ve missed just blogging at the end of my day, or even throughout the day to get my thoughts out to connect to others. I don’t know why I stopped, but I know why I haven’t done it on Substack.

Since Substack sends out newsletters when I post, I felt like everything I posted needed to be important enough to send out an email. The thing is, I can choose not to send an email. So that is what I am doing with this post.

Things have been hard for me lately. I’ve been under a lot of pressure, and I’ve started feeling like the people who know me best don’t actually know me at all.

Like too many people, I curate the parts of me I share and hide bits that I want to keep private. The result is, there are only five people who really know me, and I only get to talk to two of them on a regular basis.

This is completely my fault. I don’t like how people treat me when they know how bad I feel all the time, and most of my friends don’t share my interests.

So here I am on the internet telling complete strangers some, but still not all of it.

I have so many thoughts trapped in my head, and this is why I have decided to start blogging again, like I used to back in the day.

For the first time in a long time, I feel like it is ok for me to be me online again. I am curious to see how this experiment will go.

I can’t wait to chat with you all in the comments. Later.

Let's Talk about Our Solemn Hour

In this episode, Charlie, a non-binary sci-fi fantasy writer, introduces a new focus on sharing detailed stories and ongoing projects. Joined by their husband Brian, they discuss their work on a tabletop RPG called 'Fate's Hunter,' which ties into a sci-fi fantasy book series, Mask of the Gods. The game offers both group play and solo experiences using the Cypher system. Charlie also talks about their involvement in Worldbuilding Summer Camp, upcoming short stories to be published on Substack, and the challenges and excitement of their creative process.

Support us on or buy me a Coffee:  https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett

Become a patron of the arts patreon.com/cedorsett

Find my world building at: https://www.worldanvil.com/author/ced... 

Read my stories on: https://reamstories.com/cedorsett

00:00 Introduction and New Direction

01:03 Meet the Author: Charlie's Sci-Fi Fantasy World

02:12 Project Updates: Published Works and Support

03:13 Deep Dive: Our Solemn Hour and Tabletop RPGs

04:51 Game Mechanics: Designing the Fates Hunter Game

16:31 World-Building and Future Plans

18:45 Bob and Superheroes

19:21 World Building Updates

19:46 New Short Stories

21:17 Publishing Plans and Platforms

23:04 World Anvil and Timelines

24:37 Mapping the Galaxy

27:52 Complex World Building

31:44 Podcasting and Future Projects

34:17 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

Support us on or buy me a Coffee:  https://ko-fi.com/cedorsett

Become a patron of the arts patreon.com/cedorsett

Find my world building at: https://www.worldanvil.com/author/ced... 

Create your own world on World Anvil: (aff link) https://worldanvil.pxf.io/DVM9ay

Read my stories on: https://reamstories.com/cedorsett

Publish your stories on Ream (aff link) https://reamstories.com/create/ps

Plottr Pro (aff link) http://plottr.com/?ref=277

Check out my other podcasts at www.projectshadow.com

My Music Channel  @Project: Shadow   

My Mysticism Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkZa...

Writing books, Building a world, and Making a game, Oh My!

Long time no see. Well, sort of. While I’ve been busy with streams and other projects, I’ve been absent from making videos. There are a multitude of reasons for that which I’m excited to share with you. But first, let me reintroduce myself.

Hello again. My name is Charlie, a non-binary sci-fi fantasy writer. It’s been a while since I’ve posted a video, and for those who have been following my YouTube channel, the format of this video might feel both new and old. It’s reminiscent of my old audio vlogs.

Where Have I Been and What Have I Been Up To?

If you’ve seen the title of this post, then you’ve got an inkling of what’s coming. Long story short, I surprisingly fell into a job. Not something I intended, but it happened, and it took up much of my time. The complexity of the job left me with little room for my creative endeavors. However, I’ve recently found more free time and I’m eager to reconnect with all of you and return to doing what I love.

In the background, my creativity never ceased. I continued world building, writing stories, and even though I couldn’t invest as much time as I desired, I never stopped. One significant project I started is my Ream account. Ream is a platform where you can support your favorite writers and get stories in return. Some of my older books are available there for free—well, technically free—you just need to follow me.

Mask of the Gods and My Tabletop Role-Playing Game Dream

For longtime followers, you might remember my Mask of the Gods series. I’ve been obsessively working on it and I'm excited to share more soon. Additionally, a dream of mine, dating back to 2000 at a comic con in Oakland, California, is coming to fruition—I’ve been creating a tabletop role-playing game set in one of my settings.

I was inspired after a chat with Ryan Dacey from Wizards of the Coast about the OGL license for D&D 3rd Edition. Though I was initially overwhelmed by the task of simultaneous world building and game mechanic creation, this dream never died. One of my earliest videos even talks about my wildest publishing dreams, which included developing games.

Introducing Fates Hunter: My New Solo RPG

Quietly (or not so quietly, if you’ve been watching the live streams), I’ve been working on a tabletop RPG called Fates Hunter. Developed using the Cypher system, this game allows players to experience the same world building joys that I do. It’s a solo RPG but can also be played with a group, providing flexibility depending on your preference.

Set in the same universe as the Mask of the Gods series, Fates Hunter lets players engage with fate and the goddesses of the world in fascinating ways. The game is almost ready for beta testers, and I can't wait to share it with you all. For more details, you can check out Monty Cook Games where the Cypher system is detailed.

Balancing Creativity and Livelihood

In addition to Fates Hunter, my journey has led me to battle the challenges of making a living as a creative. This includes my music project under Project Shadow, available on streaming platforms. The reality of streaming revenue requires a massive audience for substantial income, prompting me to explore multiple creative avenues.

I’m still writing stories, making music, producing videos, and doing podcasts. My goal is to bring joy amidst these dark times by sharing my creative works with you all. To support these endeavors, you can follow and interact with my projects on platforms such as Ream, Ko-fi, and my personal site, ProjectShadow.com.

Building a Community Together

I’m back and enthused about sharing upcoming releases—including both my book and my new game—with you. I aim to foster a relationship with my audience, sharing insights on writing, the creative process, and even the learning curves associated with these platforms.

If there’s any specific content you’d like to see from me, please let me know in the comments. Your input will help shape the kind of content I produce. This journey is not just about me, but about us.

So yes, I’m back and there’s much to look forward to. Magic is on the horizon, and we’re about to embark on our solemn hour together. If you’re eager to delve deeper, check out my World Anvil to explore the world building archives already available.