Hiria Dunning
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hiriadunning.com
Hiria Dunning
@hiriadunning.com
Claire Hiria Ahuriri-Dunning (she/her/they/them/ia)
Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Raukawa, Pākehā
Author, poet, game writer, playwright
Find my work here: hiriadunning.com
Host of #pretendpanel, a weekend writing prompt
This all happens a long time after a short story I wrote in the same universe where two scientists, a human and a Veridian, fall in love. Their story is nothing but sweet, and I imagine no one will suspect that, in my mind, their attempts to have a child leads to all of this mess...
January 13, 2026 at 3:07 AM
Then a subsequent experiment resulted in a pathogen that lead to a stronger genome in the next generation but wiped a lot of incompatible people out, leading to a civil war.

And then the super deep lore that I will probably never say anywhere but here...?
January 13, 2026 at 3:07 AM
Saying this out of context doesn't have the full impact of when she finds out, but her species is in fact a hybrid of humanity and a plant-based alien species. The initial experiment produced a genetic pool vunerable to certain diseases, birth defects, and long-term health conditions.
January 13, 2026 at 3:07 AM
Ahahaha... spoilers in next posts 🤫
January 13, 2026 at 3:07 AM
Yay progress 🙌 but also yay for you interpreting that distaste as meaning there's room to grow, rather than letting it dissuade you (as it has dissuaded me many times 😬)
January 12, 2026 at 1:14 AM
It can be such a tricky balance!
January 12, 2026 at 1:11 AM
Hooray spitefic 😆
January 12, 2026 at 1:11 AM