Fantasy, sci-fi, and speculative fiction in the West emphasize the importance of world-building in order for the story to “work.” The writer plays god, mapping the land, territories, and histories of their characters’ respective cultures and races as sites of discovery and conflict. World-building is an inherently colonial narrative position, which gives the author full omnipotence and control, not only as a god who creates the world in his image but as the single source of the story, the mind of the universe, and therefore the arbiter of what is “universal.” Fantasy, sci-fi, and speculative fiction satisfy the imperial urge for full control of a world narrative and its interpretation, making the text the sole source of accurate lore and the devout reader the ultimate authority on the world’s “canon.” This empowers the phallogocentric reading we see in (often white, male) fans who self-deputize as authorities and police the laws of the world by restricting its interpretations as canon, non-canon, retcon, and headcanon.

stop!!! my brain is breaking? the implications of this recontextualization?? i'm losing my mind