#am i even using this term correctly? idk

[cinematicexcursions]

not me giggling, kicking my feet and twirling my hair when i found out snape is the new headmaster of hogwarts

[undistortedworld]

been stuck on this one fucking animatic frame for multiple days now omg help

[plaidos]

wait sorry just to be clear, the post abt 'calling a transmasc a bitch isn't misgendering even if he says it is' is just mockery of the transmisogynistic people who go like 'all i said was 'dude come on', i use the word dude like that all the time, even with cis women, it's not a gendered term, i wasn't even addressing you directly it's just a general term people use in casual conversation, it's not like i referred to you as 'A dude' i just said 'dude' generally so it's not misgendering lololol get over it'. right? not smth you actually believe? i'm assuming it is a joke bc it's exactly the same argument those idiots make just with the genders swapped. i'm just quite bad at detecting sarcasm so i wanted to make sure. i know assholes like to 'discourse' (read: be transmisogynistic) any time the 'dude' thing gets brought up so if u don't want to answer directly it's fine if u jsut make a post along the lines of like 'anon, you are correct/not correct'. since just anon is kinda vague maybe like (thinks of a random animal) 'dolphin anon'. or idk 'anon #123'. i'd be a bit troubled if u actually believe what u said but it's also not the hugest deal, i'd find it kinda gross that ur comfortable doing that with someone who specifically asks u not to use a 'gendered but sometimes used neutrally' term w them. i'd ask u to consider that the word bitch in the way u described functions p much exactly the same as the way ppl often use the term dude, and just bc it's not 'intended' to be gendered doesnt make it not misgendering. like it's as disingenuous as the argument ppl make about the word dude. but tbh even tho i think believing that sucks it's also not like as serious as the dude thing bc it's not like there's a bunch of ppl calling transmascs 'bitch' specifically to harass them. misgendering a transmasc is still rude but it's not as bad as insane transmisogyny lol. obviously if it was a joke/mockery then u already know all this sorry. anyways yeah sorry i have no interest in 'starting shit' or w/e i'm just trying to confirm if it was a joke or not bc my gut says it is, but it's also something that's not impossible for someone to believe and i tend to be bad at discerning these things correctly so i wanted to check. regardless, thanks for ur time and have a nice day.

let me make this perfectly clear:

i think it is noble & honourable to be compared to a woman, and disgusting and abhorrent to be compared to a man.

slightly more serious answer: the word “bitch” is a misogynistic insult. the word “dude” is a masculine word that is not an insult. in general, men are upset at being called “bitch” because it is considered degrading for a man to be like a woman. women are upset at being called “dude” because it asserts that male is the gender neutral default. i am not actually trying to say that bitch is a totally genderless word, that would be nonsensical. but we are not asserting that women are the default when we use “bitch” in a gender-neutral way, are we? there’s an obvious difference here.

similarly, i will — and have — bend to any and every transmascs’ requests to not call them “girl” the way i do everybody — “hey girl” “be serious with me girl”, but i won’t bend to their requests to not refer to a group of people as “ladies” or “girls” (no matter if there are any girls there or not, the way people say “guys” or “men”). you can say “And Coleman” if you care that much and i’ll even affirm it for you. And Coleman. I respect you.

i’m gonna finish this off with: this relationship between transmascs and transfems is not equal as it stands. the english language is already leaning more towards you than us. you’re going to have to put up with us demanding more space. after all, you’re taking up ours.

[grif-hawaiian-rolls]

@leonardalphachurch ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE (in reference to this post)

Donut thinks his fursona is a red wolf, all handsome charm and roguish double’o’donut vibe but NO he’s a collie to me, specifically a rough/scots collie— he’s pretty he’s fluffy, he does good work but theres nothing behind those eyes affectionately. Also he likes to be told when he’s a good boy DOING A GOOD JOB

Grif… would not make a fursona for himself, but I think Kai makes one for him a-la garfield (fat orange cat) and he appreciates the Iconic humor of it at least and u know what i do think kai is right in the cat aspect but more maine coon less garfield (still fat tho /pos)- the kind of big lazy cat that make you do a double take bc like is that a big house cat or a bobcat, ya know?

Simmons does not Want a Fursona thank you very much he’s not Weird (tm) I'm telling you, he is a chihuahua. Puntsized ball of anxiety that bites and thinks its meaner than he is(but still pretty capable of being a mean little bastard, just,, not as big of one as he thinks)

Sarge Knows his fursona is a bald eagle. Bc its American. Patriotic! Sounds like a red hawk! Even better! He’s a pitbull— big brick of a head, mean reputation, but he’s a protective kind of caring at heart and u know he’s got that Iconic pittie grin

Lopez is hard, honestly, and if you asked him youd either get No Answer, or something thrown at you i think but like his fursona is like transformer mech bullshit that no one ever wants to draw and if you commissioned it you get like 20+ complex design additional charges because the rivets have to be 100% accurate and if they arent he would Know, its not even a fursona really at this point its just a cool mech body he wont ever build bc he doesnt trust anyone else to not fucking break it but emotionally its his fursona - the fursona I assign him is a remote control warthog, bc im sorry dude but i cannot give you a proper fursona to save my life my brain just refuses to do it so, goofy shit it is

SHEILA is, wonderfully, a sea turtle. Specifically i’m partial to a leatherback for her just for the scale factor alone but just the vibe in general of just,, seat turtle fits her idk how to describe it. In character, i do think she would misunderstand the assignment and just be like “oh! Im a Scorpion” bc thats the casual term for the M808B main battle tank in halo

Church(A), like simmons, REFUSES to even Consider it (epsilon considers it a Lot okay, theta’s got some cool design concepts but keep it on the dl bud) but i think he’s gotta be idog from the early 2000s. But like an edgy one the kind that were born of 12 yearolds traced over google images of the normal ones and recolored into Original Characters (i think their shape is based on beagles iirc??? Or labs), but yeah those things. If pressed, epsilon auto answers wolf but in that asshole way that sounds like he’s being a dick about it but no thats his actual answer

Caboose is a great dane. He’s just Great like that!! Yay! Friend shaped, really not used to being uhh mindful of his size and strength but loyal and protective ya know?? He's the only one who i think would correctly clock his own fursona on the first try

Tex would claim something badass like a tiger or something, but she’s like,,, a mockingbird :) i mean it IS the state bird of texas, and well... shes not a mockery of anything but she isnt the og either, ya know

Tucker claims a fox, because he’s sly and bitches Love foxes but to me?? Bluejay. Brightly colored, loud, mean little corvid asshole. Too damn clever for his own good- i would also maybe give him peacock or kingfisher if feeling more like,, flamboyant but he just feels very jay to me. maybe its the corvid bastard thing, or the bluejay in my backyard choosing the tree by my window as prime screaming spot for 6 am yelling for like a month but the vibe is there

Kai has so many furry characters. With the worst application of color theory known to man but somehow it works for her brand??? Sparkle dogs man, the woman is made for making sparkle dogs!! If i assign her cat to match grif, it'd specifically the kind of like bengal, this cat climbs walls kind of cat you know?? Zoomies all day every day! BUt i think more accurately to Kai as a person? Raccoon. Mischief and little grabby bastard hands and she would love it

Washington, if asked would shrug and say probably a cat bc u know, nine lives and all that- no. Im sorry cat wash truthers I respect cat wash, but nah Washington is a dog boy to me im sorry and specifically he’s a little Jack Russell terrier thats fast and vicious but man sometimes u gotta remember he’s like,,, he’s smaller than a cat man you gotta give him some help ya know?? Dont make him do it alone!!!

.......Or a horse i dont know how to elaborate on that one just,,, trust me

Carolina is oblivious to the concept of fursonas almost entirely, but she’s a greyhound and you know im right

Locus is genuinely the hardest one to place and i dont think he’d come up with a fursona for himself, but he gets assigned wolf by Donut i feel it, the whole lone wolf thing he has going and all during his redemption! Which honestly???? Maybe yeah? An argument could be made for another working dog (HELLO German Shepards my god) (context here: i had a german shepard/corgi mix, he was my lil guy, he was too damn smart for his own good and patrolled the back yard fence up until he couldnt keep his hips underneath himself anymore and then! He! kept! trying! So yes that does influence my input on german shepard locus) i just struggle to see locus as a dog???? Dogs are very high energy which -gestures to red team- but locus rarely has that same baseline energy i associate with dogs??? He’s hard to pin down and i’ve yet to manage it but im partial to something arboreal,,, the first thing that comes to mind on that train of thought is a binturong and i lost it imagining that so sure we'll go with that i have a lot of thoughts about locus

Felix wouldve loved the energy of being like the lucky cat with nine lives. I personally dont care for felix, but he would be that guy with like, its not a proper fursona bc he wouldnt b caught dead calling it that, but he has a fursona for scamming people and driving up the prices on auctions for no reason other than to fuck with people when he's bored. I subscribe to weasel/ferret Felix personally, specifically a yellow bellied weasel bc theres just,, honestly the name amuses me with the implications. He’s difficult to catch and handle, energetic and gets into shit no one wants him getting to. It fits

Doyle is a mouse, maybe MAYBE a rabbit, he doesnt know what fursonas are either but he just checks the mouse box for me personally,, very holdable, but skittish and might still bite you if u scare him bad enough

Dr Emily Grey does not have a fursona but she does think theyre neat and has let her patients all give her one, tho none of them agree on what she is. I think she's a shrike, specifically a great grey shrike! they're VICIOUS little birds, who dont look like much but they regularly hunt shit twice their size and are also known for impaling bugs on thorns and like, barbed wire?? theyre neat, and technically i think they count as corvids? clever little hunting machines

Kimball is definitely a german shepard tho like while im on the fence about it for Locus, there is no question about it for her she checks the boxes fits the vibe right down to the way she guards the new republic and chorus with her heart just under her sleeve

Sharkface. Shark. I mean….really. SPECIFICALLY THO a tiger shark tho, and he would absolutely be a dick if you implied a great white or a megalodon would be “better” bc no tiger sharks are exactly the kind of shark he should be thank you VERY much

thats everyone i have STRONG fursona assignment feelings for, and some are more flexible than others or more solid in some cases but YEAH! i think about this shit. a lot sidebar: i think the chorusans who know and are open about fursonas would probably use weird alien animals from chorus when picking them which makes this harder for them specifically bc the ones who would have fursonas arent limited to earth animals

all images are from the wiki pages for the animals! except for lopez. thats from the amazon page for the warthog

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for pretending my original fictional characters are my "friends" for the purpose of asking questions online?

Alright, so hear me out: I'm a writing hobbyist, I run a long-term D&D campaign, I like writing characters a lot and sometimes do it even outside of any stories, you could even say that it's my passion. Whenever I create a character that would have experience with something that I don't, I try to experience that thing myself, or if I can't, I ask others online about their experiences to make sure I can write my character accurately.

Here's the problem: back when I used to ask questions online from a writing/creative perspective, I felt like a lot of them concerning more controversial topics were getting dismissed and I got a lot of unsolicited writing advice unrelated to the original question. The most infuriating were always "You shouldn't write a character like that." or "You should change this integral part of the character to remove the issue that you're having."

Now, you can have whatever opinions you want about writing certain aspects of characters, but I would kindly ask you to shove them up your ass. I firmly believe that you can't judge a character accurately merely by their character traits written down in a vacuum, the execution is what really matters. One trait that could be seen as problematic when written badly can really enhance the character, story and it's themes if incorporated correctly. I'm not going to remove integral story-relevant characteristics of my OCs, and I sure as hell am not gonna delete them entirely just because an internet rando didn't believe that I could do them justice. Literally the entire reason why I'm asking these questions in the first place is because I'm trying to be as respectful/accurate to your culture/ethnicity/sexuality/gender/religion/disability/anything else. I GENUINELY want to learn and understand, so why don't you at least try to give me the benefit of the doubt instead of assuming it'll be done terribly?

Anyway, to give some examples of the questions that I've asked that were met with this kind of response:

"How would you write an autistic character who uses ASL but doesn't like to emote with their face?" (Was told to simply "make" the character like using their face even though it would go against how their other symptoms interact with each other, plus it would change how other characters view them and thus the story itself)

"What kind of slang would a black character raised in Brooklyn use?" (Was told to not write a black character using slang as a white person.)

"How would a Muslim character go about leaving their religion after losing their faith?" (Was told that the mere idea of an ex-muslim person was offensive)

I don't know if other writers also struggle with this, or if I'm just the unluckiest and always attract those kinds of people somehow, but after having to deal with it way too much I simply started lying and pretending that my characters are real so people would stop questioning my writing choices and just focus on answering my actual questions. For example, instead of the three questions above nowadays I would ask:

"Me and my Autistic friend are learning ASL together, but she doesn't like making expressions for sensory reasons. Is there anything else she can do?"

"What are some examples of actual slang used by black people in Brooklyn? My friend is from there but he likes to mess with me by coming up with fake words and pretending like they're slang, at this point idk what to believe."

"My friend lost their faith and is planning on leaving Islam. They don't have access to internet due to their parents so they wanted me to ask about what could be the possible consequences and how go about the process, or even where to start."

Also, obviously, I do way more research than just these questions, but I also really want to know the opinion of people in these communities about these topics and the discussion that develops from it. That's not something that simply reading a book or an article on a topic can give you and I believe that interacting with the community itself is an important part of properly portraying characters that belong to them as well. Still, a few of my friends told me that it's kinda shitty of me to lie in this way, especially when the end goal is to be respectful about certain traits yet me lying to these people is a sign of disrespect in their opinion. Personally I don't see it that way, I simply want people answering my questions to treat them seriously and if presenting them as real scenarios is what gets them to do it I feel like I have no choice, it has nothing to do with the respect I have for the communities in question.

Also, if this matters at all: 90% of my writing is entirely personal and will never be published in any way at all, the other 10% being the writing that I do for my D&D campaign which only my players get to witness.

So, with all of that out of the way, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[sextuspompey]

top 5 (or 10) coins!!!! 👁️👁️

LOVE THIS QUESTION THANK YOU XUAN!! i apologize in advance for the severe bias based on. gestures vaguely at my url. and also for my lack of knowledge regarding non-roman coinage. putting the list under a cut because i'm adding pics :)

would you believe it: sextus pompey's aureus (42bc?)

extremely predictable first choice but i genuinely feel that we don't talk about this coin enough (plus it was gnaeus week so. here he is.)!! this pic is in my files under the title "CRIPSY COIN" because look at that quality and also i wanna eat it. there are so many things here that feel (are?) innovative for a roman coin but also.....the ghosts.... he really said me and my family :D #decapitation tw.

additional fun detail: the full ass praefectus title given to him by a senate who no longer exists. which is haunted but also a really funny fuck you gesture towards the triumvirate.

2. antigonus ii gonatas's pan coinage (from 271bc on?)

obsessed with the visuals of this coin (which i got to see!!!!!) for some reason. the observe bears a portrait of pan (or of antigonus as pan, i'm actually unclear on that because i've seen both versions) in the middle of a macedonian shield ; antigonus is apparently the only hellenistic monarch to have chosen pan as a patron deity. idk i'm just Looking at whatever's going on there. is that a little ufo.

3. vercingetorix's stater (52bc)

i didn't even know vercingetorix had minted coins until like. a month ago. if i've understood correctly, the figure portrayed here is that of the god lugus (a celtic equivalent of apollo). these coins are vercingetorix's only direct historical testimony, that's fucked uppp.

4. sextus pompey's scylla coin (42bc)

obviously iconic coin and first ever use of scylla on roman coinage!!! hi girl can yuo strike that rudder down on me. minted after sextus's victory against salvidienus rufus, which to me is always funny like. none of the commanders in that battle were older than 25? also scholars are struggling to identify the statue at the top of the pharos (pompey?? neptune?? both?? sextus himself??). we love an ambiguous king.

5. pompey's triumphal aureus (?????)

okay this one is not necessarily very impressive in terms of iconography but i am in fact a little obsessed with it :) the linked post even needs to be updated because i now have a total of 7 possible dates of mint, and this is what i like most about this coin i think? we kind of don't know exactly what pompey was going for?? it has even been suggested that the coin was minted by cato and scipio?? and it has baby gnaeus riding a horse look at him GO.

6. paullus's perseus coin (62bc)

this one is in my queue so it's gonna pop up soon BUT it was minted by lepidus's brother paullus (although there is a clone of it minted by trajan?? i think???) and represents his ancestor aemilius paullus and his victory over perseus (macedonia's last king). two things: 1) the choice of concordia was apparently motivated by catilina's conspiracy and cicero's consulship. so catilina haunts coinage. to me. 2) kinda fucked up to include perseus's children there given that their presence at aemilius's triumph famously saddened the crowds according to plutarch. to be fair. people always get sad at triumphs. #catharsis.

7. tiberius's coinage of drusus's twin boys (19 ad?)

nothing to say about this one it's just funny as hell. you've got twins? put them in cornucopias. no prablem.

8. julia domna's very bad not good family life (c. 198 ad)

you ever look at a coin and just go "oh man :/". julia domna on the observe and julia surrounded by geta and caracalla on the reverse! sure hope nothing bad will happen to those three. it gets even more ://// when you look at the evolution of coinage from severus to caracalla's reign.

9. caracalla's funky architectural coin (198-217 ad)

saw this one at the bnf and kinda fell in love with it tbh. the reverse shows the temple of zeus aetophoros (the little statue within it is not very visible but i swear it's there) above two other temples. not the only coin with architectural elements obviously but i'm extremely fond of the perspectives here?? it's just very cute?? need a coin with a little village. for my health.

10. brutus's eid mar coin (43-42bc)

which has its own wiki page, hello!! obviously i'm not gonna write much about this one because it's famous as hell but i just wanna point out that i'm very normal about the detail of the two daggers having different handles. this too is yuri???

honorable mentions: nvm my list got so long i had to delete everything rip. walks out of this post covered in blood with my pockets suspiciously full and clinking.

[olderthannetfic]

It's very exhausting seeing people in my fandom get angry that an author deleted his work prior to committing suicide. Everyone's sad they don't get to read the story. I have not seen a single person even pretend to dislike the fact that a person is dead. I have seen two people say, respectively, "he could've at least given us a content drop first, end on a high note" and "content creators who don't at least leave the content up shouldn't post".

And I know, I know, fandom olds: it is parasocial and toxic and bad to expect anyone online to dislike the death of another person, I'm a Gen Z snowflake, I need to grow up, etc. In my defense, I am neurodivergent and probably not seeing this correctly. But as an admittedly fucked up person... I kind of don't like 1. the fact that a human being died 2. no one even saying "oh that's sad" or feigning valuing human life 3. everyone referring to him not as an author but as a content creator and 4. the only thing I've seen people discuss is wanting content.

I don't really vibe with the concept that people in fandom are just content mills that exist to hand us content day in and day out and that's all that matters. This dude had whole conversations with people in the comments, he was really nice and gave people encouragement, commented on his readers' fics, and he never had an unkind word to say about anyone. He answered questions on his tumblr and always had funny, weirdly specific memes for everything. And some of the same super-distinct usernames I remember him interacting with are the ones complaining about content. Not writing, just content, that demeaning internet term that also applies to AI.

He was the one who inspired me to start writing and now I don't know if I want to post. I don't want to be seen as a content mill, a bot who spits out something to be consumed that's seen as more important than a person. I don't want to contribute to this weird culture where fiction matters more than reality.

Again: I know. Snowflake, Gen Z bad, fandom olds unbothered and cool, etc. But I never claimed to be cool. I just claim this is not how fandom should be. We should be hanging out, talking to and supporting each other. You don't have to be friends, but you should aim to not see art in terms of content creation and consumption.

IDK, I don't really think I'm explaining this clearly. I just feel like we should try to not be assholes.

--

Uh... that's not what parasocial means, you weirdo, and no fandom olds think it's in good taste to whine about somebody who committed suicide not going out on a high note.

Don't be an ageist twit when you're just repeating what anyone older would say.

I assume people are reacting this way because 1. people are jerks, duh and 2. they probably don't pay attention to internet acquaintances' "suicides" after way too many fake ones.

[broken-dollhouse]

No dividers bc Idk

ANyways! We did wanna slightly talk abt something we see

Note ; this isn't an attack on anyone , don't treat it as one. I also ask if you do reply not to be a dick , seriously its not worth it and won't change anything.

& yes we know other intersex systems don't care but we very much do , esp bc of our own lived experiences.

So we've seen a bit abt this 'intersex innerworld but perisex bodily'

which , as an intersex system [bodily] is something that makes us wildly uncomfortable , you are not intersex innerworld unless you are also bodily intersex. You are born intersex , you cannot just id as it unless you are [eg. someone born with an intersex condition can id as intersex as they are but someone without cannot as they do not have said condition]

We are mildly begging yall to use altersex or any other term but intersex. Like alters cannot have a disorder the body doesn't , an alter can't be intersex unless the body is , or hell an alter cannot be a different ethnicity from the body [eg. an alter in an Irish system , is Irish regardless of how they present]

& before anyone tries to tell us 'its the only word i'm comfortable with' , I don't care personally bc Intersex isn't simply 'bc you're comfortable with it' [unless you are bodily intersex] , its something that for so many people is extremely traumatizing and also not something they can simply just choose to be on a whim

I am aware of system complexities , but the brain can only technically create what it knows [hence why even if an alter presents with a disorder , unless the body has it , the alter does not. Those traits can be gotten elsewhere such as other disorders or being around someone with said disorder if I can remember correctly] , basically meaning the brain cannot create an "intersex alter" in a perisex body without pulling from stereotypes / assumptions , 9 times out of 10

I hope this makes sense , we've just seen it a handful of times now and it does make us rather uncomfortable as a system who has a lot of trauma around being Intersex

[wheelie-sick]

thoughts on some of the disability zeitgeist words? like “tism��� “spoonie” “audhd” “potsie” etc?

personally they frustrate me bc it feels like only a narrow section of the disabled community uses those words but they’ve become more pervasive than they need to be and so ppl assume we all like those words. but also i think all disabilities need to become more culturally-known-about so idk

I personally see most of them as neutral in and of themselves. I think they can be used in helpful ways and I don't think people who like the words should be shamed (not saying you believe this, I just know some people do)

I think some of the terms can be helpful for defining communities or intersections of communities (like "spoonie" and "auDHD") while I'm not a huge fan of either community those communities do exist and it's a lot easier to say "the spoonie community" than refer to... I don't even know how to refer to that specific subsection of the broader chronic illness community. I also think in the case of "auDHD" it's helpful not just for defining a community but also defining the overlap of two conditions that frequently go hand in hand. I think it gets misused but, like, it can be used correctly. I know there are other similar terms for other overlaps of conditions & communities like "schizotism" for schizophrenia & autism. (another two conditions that have a lot of symptom overlap) I see them as just abbreviated ways to say "this and also this" because typing out "comorbid ADHD and autism" or "the overlap between ADHD and autism" or even just "ADHD and autism" over and over again gets exhausting.

with others I definitely look at them and go "hmm, I'm not a fan" but I don't think they're harmful except for when they're applied to people who don't want to use that term. I am not personally someone who wants most of those terms applied to me and it certainly bothers me when people say that I "have the 'tism" just like it bothers me when people say I'm "on the spectrum" it feels like a way to dance around the term "autistic." I am just autistic.

sometimes it also seems to try to make the term more cutesy for lack of a better way of phrasing that. I don't have a problem with people seeing their conditions neutrally or positively and even wanting to share that opinion with the world. again, I think if someone wants to identify with those terms for themself there is no issue. if someone wants to call themself "POTSie" etc. because they view their own condition as a neutral or positive or quirky thing I don't really care, it's their condition and I'm not living their life. I do care when they try to make those community wide terms. I do not view my conditions as fun or positive (I don't count Deafness as a condition for the record) community terms like that essentially force that belief as the standard when that is so very not the case.

I also think there's something to be said for the fact that these terms tend to become identity terms. I don't mind it if someone's condition is part of their identity, hell, many of my conditions are part of my identity. not everyone wants to be defined by their condition, though. in fact, there's an entire movement of people begging to stop being defined by their disability and I think it's unfair to try to override their own activism asking for abled people to see them as people not just walking (or rolling) medical conditions. some people will say "well they're just experiencing internalized ableism!" and to me it shows they are very out of touch with that side of the community (and usually the experiences driving that viewpoint) activism for disabled people can't just steamroll other disabled people's activism with the excuse of "well they're just internally ableist"

so to sum up the last several paragraphs they're fine as individual terms but need to stop being treated like terms that describe the entire community

[widebrimmedhatsblog]

Have you read any of Rachel Gillig's books? I just finished The Knight and the Moth and idk why but I am so curious what you think about it (and/or the Shepard king duology if you've read that)

Funnily enough, I finished The Knight and The Moth yesterday! I thought that writing was significantly better than anything else out in the romantasy genre right now, which was absolutely refreshing! I did dislike how frequently Gillig used sentence fragments, but that’s a personal preference as she was clearly doing it on purpose. I also disliked how often the phase “taking up the mantle” was used, especially since it didn’t 100% seem like it was being used correctly? Still, I thought her side characters were incredibly well fleshed out, and the gargoyle redeemed familiars for me. I also really liked how often it was emphasized that Sybil was physically strong, and the age diversity across the main gang. In terms of romance, I liked a lot of the bits and pieces of interactions between the leads (subtle wax play, anyone ?) but Rory was a tad bit too nice for me? At times? I’m not sure nice is the correct word, but, again, personal issue, LOL. Overall, it’s somewhere between a 3.5 and a 3.75 ⭐️ for me, but it might get higher as it marinates. Without spoiling it for anyone else, the trope that concludes the text is probably my least favorite ending trope ever, which dropped my rating a bit in the immediate aftermath.

I got about five pages into the text before deciding to prioritize the Shepherd King duology on my TBR, so hopefully I get to them soon! I actually had been originally turned off of them because I learned the male lead in One Dark Window was not actually the monster in her head, and I was a bit disappointed, LMAO. I definitely think it’ll be worth it to power through anyway now, though, even though I’m not sure I’ll read book 2 of this series after that damn trope.

[just-a-carrot]

Okay so I just realised something about the order of the arcs and which character is the focal point/sorta love interest in each of then(excluding arc 5). The first route isn’t really focused on anyone in particular, but Genzou meets a horrific fate via Orlam(ie nearly boiled alive and left to die alone and in pain). So. Arc 2 focuses mainly on Genzou, Iggy’s deja vu/vague memories of the past loop driving him on a desperate attempt to save him. Only to swap places with him, and have, well, Orlam die. Which then prompts an entire loop of trying to understand and console Orlam because then, maybe then, if he “fixes” the both of them then tragedy can be avoided. And then Arc 3 is the first arc where Gidget dies by HIS hands(if I remember correctly). So. It would then make sense that Arc 4 focuses on them. While also throughout all of this the background realisation of Bucks/everyone being the root of the cause slowly builds up until Arc 5. Idk I feel like I’m rambling and not really making sense but oh well. Im not all that clear on the rest but atleast arcs 1-3 feel intentional in that way? Like at first Iggy realises that okay Genzou’s cruelty and carelessness led him to provoke Orlam into doing that, so maybe if he shows him compassion and becomes something he can care about then maybe that can soften him and his crudeness(and it partially does), but then HE becomes the object of Orlam’s cruelty because, suprise suprise, Orlam’s still a wreck and still hurting and wanting vengeance thus leading to Arc 3 where Iggy attempts to console him too, only to go too far into trying to understand him and falls right beside him into cruel monarchy. Also I secretly think Orlam used Iggy to make Genzou suffer in Arc 2 because he felt truly abandoned by Iggy in that Arc, as hinted by him saying stuff like “you know it’s a shame Iggy I really liked you” or something like that in Arc 1.

Mannn I really am making no sense right now mb enjoy the word vomit i guess

oh this is interesting

tbh i hadn't thought about the order in these terms before. much of the order simply developed because the characters have always weirdly stood in that "standard order" in my head, even whenever i think about them, whenever i tag them in stuff, it's always in that order 🤣

when i first started working on the game (and the first couple of releases too) the idea was that you'd be able to play the "middle arcs" in any order you wanted. the choice screen asking who to call would have all three names and you'd be able to choose whichever order you wanted to go through them in. i guess because in the beginning i had thought they'd be a bit more self-contained and static?? unsure. but starting from work on arc 3 and getting even more intense with work on arc 4, i realized that that just wouldn't work. the narrative only works in this order, like, just the structure of the game in general, the structure of iggy's relationships, and even from a narrative viewpoint, each arc gets more intense and builds more on the previous ones, so it just didn't make sense any more for someone to be able to play arc 4 before playing, say, arc 2. (can you even imagine??? LOL) some of this is probably because of how much the chars and story grew as i was working on them, too. like arc 4 in particular veered on in wild directions different from how i'd first imagined it and with all sorts of new ideas and complicated dynamics getting woven into it based on where i'd taken the earlier arcs

all of this is just to say that it's interesting reading this, as the order of the arcs was both originally Just Because but also then because of the story beats and evolution became Very Important over time, and there are probably many ways that the inter-arc stuff connects to show interesting dynamics that i never even planned for or saw myself

[caramello-koalas-for-feminism]

Okay so I was sent a list of questions by an 'anon' (I do know who you are though lmao). But I've put it in this format so that I can put it under a cut, otherwise it would be.... very long lol. So be warned this is possibly my longest post on this account hehe ty for the questions 'anon' <3

cherry - what is your sexuality?

I have a rather complex relationship with my sexuality and I don't really like labels, so I usually just say I'm queer :) I know I like the same gender and everything else is pretty confusing, so I like who I like and anyone who doesn't like that can suck my dick. I have said I'm bisexual at times, just for the palatability of whoever I'm around and I am okay with that label, I just don't feel like it entirely fits me.

lollipop - favorite makeup products?

Cutesy story for a very long time I refused to wear make up because I associated it with femininity (I was kind of a pick me ngl, but I think it definitely went deeper than that). So it's only rather recently that I even started wearing makeup at all, and I keep it very minimal anyway. I do love experimenting with cool eye-liner though, and it's really good to use to draw on your body with!

daydreams - if you could be anything or anyone, who would you be?

A genderfluid fairy living in magical castle (oddly specific but two specific people will get it)

october - what month were you born in?

August :)

caress - do you like to snuggle?

Yess with the right people

ivory - describe your pajamas?

Bro idk, I usually just chuck on comfortable clothes. But I do have some cool plaid pajyama pants I'm going to diy pockets onto :3

golden - favorite stationary product?

PENS I LOVE COOL PENS OMG. I love drawing and doodling so pens are just. So cool

freckles - most-worn article of clothing?

This ridiculous old shirt I got that says 'drama queen' amid sparkles that have now fallen off. It was gifted to me when I first joined theatre and I love it to bits lmao.

twilight - best friend?

Probably you @snek-of-eden and obviously an honourable mention for @lil-physco-moon because we're close too <3 and I just made a new good friend at school as well!! Excited to see how that develops

silk - what's your favourite music genre?

Idk... I listen more to songs than specific genres or artists. Probably musicals honestly 🤷‍♂️

poppy - favorite pastel color?

Green, or yellow!

dimples - most attractive features of a person’s face?

Oml eyes. PEOPLE'S EYES I love them so much, I have never met a person that doesn't have pretty eyes. You reading this ☝️ you have BEAUTIFUL, fascinating, magnificent eyes. Honourable mention for FRECKLES too omg I love freckles

sunkissed - autumn or spring?

Autumn :) spring just gets hot

buttery - favorite snack?

This will sound bizarre but ice. No not meth but actual ice cronchy

whisper - how much sleep do you get?

5-7 hours usually. I am trying to improve though

pencil - do you own a journal?

I own SO MANY and I'm scared to use a decent few and 'ruin them'

cupcake - are you a good cook? (Side note mild allusion to disordered eating here if you need to skip it!!)

I like to think so. I enjoy it at least and that's the main thing. Honestly cooking food helps me to feel more okay eating it sometimes, makes me think I 'deserve' to eat (but remember kids food is always allowed, you don't have to win it <3)

honey - favorite term of endearment?

Probably 'ml'. I use it quite a bit and it just... tickles my brain correctly? Idk honestly.

velvet - who was your first crush?

Okay so I didn't know it at the time, but I'm pretty sure I had a crush on my best friend in sixth grade. We're sadly not in contact anymore but she remains one of the coolest people I've ever met and I really hope she's doing well.

paper - favorite children’s book?

Window by Jeannie Baker :) no words but it holds a special place in my heart

peaches - do you have a skincare routine?

Lmao no. I can't shower half the time, trying to maintain a skincare routine would break me. I out on moisturiser and sunscreen as needed if that counts

mochi - favorite studio ghibli film?

PONYO hehehe love ponyo

backyard - did you ever have an imaginary friend?

Many, but none that stand out

strawberry - favorite fruit?

WATERMELON 😈 was obsessed with it so long I still get watermelon-themed presents regularly. Not complaining though

kiss - have you ever kissed a friend? would you?

No I haven't. I wouldn't be opposed to doing as such, dependent ofc on the friend

nightlight - do you read before bed?

Usually! Trying to do it more

aphrodite - favorite actress/actor?

Hailee Steinfield my goddess 🙏

cuddles - do you have any pets?

Yeah!! A beautiful cat I love her so much but she is also dumb as a post

lace - if you own any dresses, which is your favorite?

I dont wear dresses often, but i have one that has sunflowers on it that I actually really like!

sheets - an obscure song you love?

Sigh the fine print by the stupendium - idk how obscure it is but yk. Apparently it's based on a video game but I've never played it. The song just makes my brain happy

sapphos - favorite poet?

Probably Emily Dickinson!! Honourable mentions to edgar Allan poe and Alberto Rìos

plush - how many stuffed animals do you still own?

Many! They make me happy. More than ten

sunset - what is your favorite outfit?

Anything with jeans and my converse :) makes me feel happy, safe, and relatively less dysphoric

TYSM FOR THE QUESTIONS 'ANON' THIS WAS FUN TO ANSWER ❤️

If you actually read this far; well done & thank you :) please go drink water if you haven't recently!!

[bouquetface]

Hey

I would like to participate in your destiny of matrix chart reading. My initials are cmps. I am she/her. Below is my chart.

Then my favorite song is Deja vu by txt. My celebrity crush would be Mat Barzal. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I don’t know whether I will be picked but looking forward to it.

Thank you!!💜

Hii

Your heart line combination 6-21-15 shows:

The world and The lovers together shows a deeply passionate and fulfilling relationship. Your partner may be from a past life (if you believe in past lives) or you two become very in-tune with one another very quickly. You will be very attracted to one another - not just physically.

There is such a close bond - you should be cautious of codependency issues. With the devil card present, you two can use your bond to help one another reach their truest desires - romantic, physical intimacy and even other physical desires such homes, vehicles, jewellery/watches - not saying these are the exact desires just examples of physical desires.

Your partner may be well traveled or cultured. They may be older, come from a different culture or just know a lot about different cultures due to their hobbies. For example: Someone who likes manga and knows a lot about the origins of manga in Japan. This is simply an example tho not the exact scenario.

Your partner will be someone open to new experiences too. They are a stable person who isn’t completely rigid or stubborn. They have found a balance between stability and flexibility/adaptability. This makes them a great person for a long term partnership.

This person is likely an earth sign. Physically, they may have a relaxed somewhat lazy look. An attractive person who doesn’t put too much effort into their appearance. Might have thick or darker hair as well. Darker or bold coloured eyes. Idk why but I feel like Lennon Gallagher energy (like Mar Barzal if he was a artsy guy instead of an athlete lol)- like maybe a taurus rising. But ofc this is wayyy too specific but it is the energy i’m getting from these 3 cards together.

Keep in mind: I don’t personally rely too much on destiny matrix. I find it can be hit or miss. I suggest looking at your vedic chart for more accurate info. I think I have read your chart before so I’d probably compare it to that reading.

Feedback would be greatly appreciated. And thank you for correctly following the submission post !! 💗

[thevalleyoftriumph]

Helloo o/ I'm the anon from earlier who sent you many many questions about your system chosen Very glad that my ask wasn't overwhelming because I approach with yet more questions >:] get ready Does Dark know Chosen is a system? Or a part of a system? Unsure of the correct way to call it. What does he think of each of them if yes? I can see Dark talking excitedly about a shared interest with Killer, Dark loves Chosen dearly but its. Difficult. To get a bit of emotion out of him. Killer though? Once they feel comfortable around him I can see them allowing themselves to become more expressive/ easily excited "Beast had sorta filed them away as one of the very few ""trustworthy"" sticks" <- quote from the answer you gave to my first ask. I'm guessing Dark was also in this list yes? Beast was co-conscious during AVA3 if i remember correctly and so saw Dark was willing to help and defend. Even if Beast didn't trust them 100% it didn't think of them as a threat right? Maybe even considered him an ally And if yes, Dark was on the Trustworthy list, what about the virabot thing made Beast decide "Hmmm no he's an enemy actually"? I wonder how Killer unmasking around Dark for the first time went, and whether that's how Dark found out his brother is a system Has Killer ever jumped 10ft in the air because they were startled by the toaster? And if yes, how long did it take for Dark to stop laughing Has Beast ever come out mid spar? Realises they're mid combat so rushes out to protect and- And Dark realises he's not fighting who he was before, Chosen doesn't look at him with infinite distrust. Killer doesn't stand both ready for combat and to flee at a moments notice (Beast wouldn't flee, but despite that, I think its always ready to). Dark just backs away slowly I think, lowering his hands and doing everything possible to communicate he's not a threat. This allows Beast a bit of extra time to take in what's around, just incase its missed something in its initial assessment and. And they're both wearing handwraps, Dark's taken their bracelet off and whoever was here before Beast tied their jacket round their waist. Beast doesn't need to protect here, but it does now need to apologise I'm guessing Beast remembers it can speak while fronting from time to time right? Even if it feels Odd. I've got the mental image of Dark cooking something for himself, except Beast ALSO likes it alot alot and Dark just hears "Please." from behind him. Turns around to see Beast staring at him like its trying to beam the thought directly into Darks mind. They understand, and Dark maybe even gets a "Thank You" after the foods made. Idk, I like small things like that, if Dark doesn't know Chosen's a system then its just a small couple What-If's or What-Could-Have-Been's Also, what is a Singlet? I cant remember where you used the word but I am unfamiliar with it Also also, VERY happy that my terminology is correct, that whole ask I was terrified that I was aggressively wrong about something and was going to end up being incredibly rude Also ALSO also, I am giving Beast a mug of hot chocolate and a weighted blanket. It deserves to relax Breaking this up into more than one ask because tumblr is angry with me

WOW. HI!!!! OH MY GOD. HELLO. you are literally the most bestest person ever for being so curious and allowing me to speak so much WOW okay let me break all this down.

putting everything once more under a cut, but a breakdown here is i FIRST go through unrelated things such as helping a bit with your confusion on terms and meanings, before getting into the actual AVA stuff, so if anyone wants to skip that, there Is gonna be a linebreak ^_^ a lot of it is just definition talk so its probably boring if you already know this stuff lol. if youve come just for the headcanon, feel free to skip down to it! <3

FIRST ! since you were a bit confused, i would like to say; DID specifically stands for "Dissociative Identity Disorder." It is probably the most well known of the disorders that would constitute as being a "system" disorder, if you will. In the past it has been referred to by other things such as MPD, or multiple personality disorder, but that is since considered inaccurate and incredibly out of date.

OSDD, or Other Specified Dissociative Disorder, is another dissociative disorder as the name implies. In one specific case, is similar to DID in that a major symptom is the forming of distinctive parts - or alters - but has enough differences that it's been classified as it's own thing [though iirc, some professionals are debating if the distinction is necessary? Honestly I'm not a psychologist so I can't really comment on that part, but I felt it was worth noting that this was brought up once or twice.]

The distinction here is this; DID is usually diagnosed when there are at Least two distinct "parts" to a person, often being two [or more] entirely seperate people, and is paired with amnesia. This is not at all everything to do with the disorder, as it's a massively complex disorder with plenty of symptoms, but it is this specific symptom set in its most basic explanation. OSDD however can vary! OSDD-1 is specifically defined by wikipedia as when one is experiencing a "sub thresh-hold" to DID. There's way more "types" to OSDD, and as such I am not nearly equipped enough to talk about 2-4, but chances are if you're speaking to a system who has it, they will usually have either OSDD-1A, or -1B. These two aren't technically real diagnostic terms, they're moreso used to describe a set of symptoms. 1A is defined as having less disticnt alters than DID or 1B. 1B is specified by a lack of complete blackouts, aka amnesia, though they may instead experience grayouts and emotional amnesia. To be fair in at least my case specifically, grayouts are pretty common rrrregardless? But honestly that might just be a My Own Thing issue and a case of overlapping symptoms than anything else, so don't take my word for it entirely lol I get complete blackouts and grayouts and its soooo miserable helppp [I'm being lighthearted in tone on purpose you're allowed to laugh ^_^ /gen]

Lastly, the term "singlet" is an unofficial term that a lot of systems online use to refer to people who do not have alters. I'm like 99.9% sure it's like, never used in a professional setting, but I'm also Not a psychologist, again, so I have no clue if it's ever used offline. It's not anything negative, just a descriptor term the same way many other descriptor terms are used :]

Okay that's about it for explaining things. If anything else confuses you for any reason please don't be afraid to ask! And if you wanna look into it yourself, all I'll say is use literally anything OTHER than social media for research, there's a crazy amount of misinfo, especially on Tumblr or Tiktok.

Onto the questions and scenarios -- for questions, I will once again copypaste and bold them. For scenarios, I'll probably end up putting in a screenshot [with IDs, don't worry] for clarities sake.

------------------------------------------------------

1: Does Dark know Chosen is a system? Or a part of a system? Unsure of the correct way to call it. What does he think of each of them if yes?

For a very long time, Dark had NO idea Chosen was part of a system. [And either descriptors work, I honestly use both depending on which sounds less clunky at the time lol].

Dark had just assumed Chosen had some odd "quirks" here and there for ages, and didn't really push too hard whenever "Chosen" ended up getting really quiet, or more jumpy. I def agree with your HC that Dark probably doesn't have very many interactions [if any at all] with sticks outside of Chosen, so at most he just assumes this is normal.

Of course eventually, they do end up telling him - it takes a lot of effort on their part to build up the courage to do it and not immediately chicken out, because this is a Pretty Personal Thing after all, but like. Dark takes it so much better than they were expecting? And he's also very open to accomodating the other two with very little issue. Even if it takes time for Killer [and even Beast] to relax enough around him, and even if he does still have some trouble telling who's-who at first, he does try his best. At the end of the day, the three are his family, and he DOES care about them.

While we already know [or can at least infer] what he feels about Chosen, he does have different thoughts about the other two. You're 100% right this part specifically:

Dark and Killer do have quite a bit of overlapping interests, they realize once they get to talking to each other! They honestly bounce off each other scarily well, and are the type of people to start a stupid bit as a joke and just keep adding onto it for like, twenty minutes. For the most part, Dark's perception of Killer is positive! He's also gotten a bit into the habit of being A Bit Obviously Noisy around the house once realizing Killer's issue with being snuck up on or surprised - previously, Dark was unintentionally VERY quiet. He's naturally sorta light on his feet, lacking footsteps most of the time, and ends up startling most people. After both a discussion and accidental event, he starts trying to be more purposefully loud in their home, especially if he's somewhere Killer can't see, or has to be behind them for one reason or another. Nothing anything TOO loud - no slamming doors or footsteps, no yelling, just casual noise. Jewelry that clacks together or just humming a song.

With Beast, he's more cautious. He understands its purpose, and why it's there, and for the most part, Dark doesn't really.... saying he doesn't mind makes it seem like something it's not but honestly I can't find a better way to word it. He doesn't mind its staring or its lack of speaking, and I'm also gonna pull up another part you said because honestly while I initially wanted Beast to be 100% quiet I'm a massive fan of this little scenario and so I'm adopting it into my worldview immediately;

So yeah Dark is like, completely on board with Beast's more odd traits, once it actually is able to relax for once. I'd say Beast is probably the one Dark knows the least just by way of it rarely ever fronting outside of the more dire circumstances. He knows enough from what he can piece together from his own memories of it, plus any resulting messages from Chosen and Killer depending on how much they know about it at that point in time. However, if asked personally and privately, Dark would express a bit of sympathy, maybe worry for Beast. He understands what it's like to be seen as a sort of... villainous person - not to the severity that Beast had been treated, but he can sympathize. And while he leans into it, he knows that it's the last thing Beast - or Chosen and Killer for that matter - would want for themselves. He sometimes wishes he could do more to help it, but often refrains from trying, knowing that any pushing could absolutely do more harm than good at this point, no matter how much he wants to try. It's a tricky situation, and it's a very unsteady trust they have, and he's not willing to rock the boat too hard and end up hurting the three. As I love to say about my favorite antagonist characters; he's a villain, not a monster, he's got standards lol

1.5: Assuming Dark DOESNT know Chosen is/ is apart of a system (still don't know the correct way to call it), how does he react to switches? Or Killer and Beast in general?

Switches, in general, are meant to be pretty covert of a thing. If all goes right, no one should be able to tell, at the very least not right away, that a switch occured. Thus, before Dark learned about everything, a few little things did tip him off as to something being a bit.. off with "Chosen." He'd notice a lot of forgetfulness of things that happened literally yesterday, or sudden preferences doing a complete 180 into something else, or, like you mentioned, complete silence all of a sudden. If it's a big enough and sudden enough change then he would definitely notice how odd it is and just kinda file it away for later, thinking "oh that was really strange, maybe I should ask about that?"

Yeah honestly all of this is pretty accurate to how that'd go down pre-knowing. Like I said Dark definitely hasn't interacted with very many people [if anyone at all] outside of Chosen and thus does think this is probably normal to a degree, but the first few times [more like a couple hundred times] it DOES kinda hurt a bit and cause some confusion before they can work something out for it.

2: ...I'm guessing Dark was also in this list yes? Beast was co-conscious during AVA3 if i remember correctly and so saw Dark was willing to help and defend. Even if Beast didn't trust them 100% it didn't think of them as a threat right? Maybe even considered him an ally

Oh yeah, for a while after it was able to let go of the constantly moving train of thought that consisted exclusively of just "protect" and "danger," it did for a long time consider Dark trustworthy enough to feel safe around and to relax, even if it was just the tiniest amount. It's almost always on guard, but... well, surely it can let Dark watch its back just this once, right? It was a sort of "well, you're not hurting me, and we are fighting the same guy, so......." sort of allyship at first. It probably definitely helped that for a long time between AVA3 and Showdown, Dark and Chosen probably had pretty relaxed lives outside of the whole tormening the internet thing. They probably didn't really do anything that'd warrent the feeling of danger in their free time, so on the days when Beast would be the one jolting awake at night, it'd be able to, slowly, calm down. Plus, with Dark being so open minded about things that help Beast instead of hurt it, and the way the other two seemed fine with him, it did begin to trust him.

2.5: And if yes, Dark was on the Trustworthy list, what about the virabot thing made Beast decide "Hmmm no he's an enemy actually"?

Oh god, the Virabots. Yeah that whole thing was a complete MESS for the three honestly. It was less the presence of the Virabots themselves and moreso the actions that Dark had made them do against Chosen specifically. Until then, Chosen was mostly cautious about them - he knew they could be dangerous, but at that point still believed he could talk Dark out of his plan. Along with this, Dark is kinda the worlds most emotionally constipated guy ever, and has ZERO skills in talking about his plans and feelings without requiring people to do a five page deconstructive essay to decipher what he means about it. To Chosen, the second that first Virabot ended up trying to actively kill him, was when the seed of doubt kinda bloomed. He was worried then, and had the idea that yes, Dark is still a killer, he is destructive, always has been, and is fully capable of hurting him - or worse, if he somehow got the upper hand. Chosen knows this fact very, very well. It was quite literally their first ever interaction.

But he still wanted to believe Dark wouldn't do that.

Until he got quite literally dogpiled, of course. I'd say the second Dark started actively sic'ing Virabots at him was the moment that Chosen pulled back and Beast shoved itself into front going "okay, this is serious, this is not the person we trusted, because our Dark wouldn't hurt us like this." It was vehement denial mixed with a sort of bitter "I told you so" feeling. It saw this coming, it let its guard down, it trusted someone, and now it was being attacked by something it could barely take on as one, nevermind tens, maybe hundreds. It was being attacked by Dark. So it had to fix that mistake and remove the threat at the same time, if that makes sense.

^ Literally 100% you read my mind anon this has totally happened before, especially more in the early years of the two living together. You described this really well actually, and the way you described Beast's stance - ready for combat AND read to flee at a moments notice - is exactly how I picture it;; it's always ready to fight back and lash out, but moreso in that cornered way where it's obvious it also sorta wants to book it after getting enough hits in to where it'll be confident that whatevers after it Isn't Moving Towards It anymore.

I really don't have much to add to that scenario because you are literally so correct I am shaking you by the shoulders [positive tone] this is SO REAL RAAGH. Yeah ^_^

Honest to god yeah that's probably exactly how he ended up knowing. I think like I mentioned earlier, it's kinda a case of a bunch of little things adding up before they eventually tell him any details that help with understanding, but before that Dark definitely has his suspicions and it's totally because of Killer 😭 Unfortunately bro is NOT very subtle if they're not putting their focus into masking /j

It'd probably be something small and inconsequential and silly, really. Something simultaniously dumb as hell but also a massive show of trust, y'know? I'd have to think more on the details but I like to think that as Killer gets more comfortable, and more sure that they don't have to pretend to be Chosen to still be safe, they let go of the masking little by little, with small things - maybe a preference in food or drink here and there, or small comments about interests that they know are much too distinct from anything Chosen ever expressed liking before. It feels more natural the more they do it, before they eventually forget to mask around Dark, because it feels more comfortable to them being themselves.

Oh yeah for sure. 5 minutes at least, paired with that sorta laughy halfhearted apology for laughing, followed by the occasional snort or huff or laugh every few minutes after that whenever Dark thinks about it for the rest of the day. Killer is not mad at the laughing but they are in fact waiting for the day they can do the same towards Dark ☝ every day they hope he trips stupidly [JOKE]

3: Who was fronting during The Box? You mentioned Chosen during Wanted, and I'm assuming its either him or Killer during the beginning of the box. But once they realise they're trapped? When Chosen turns to Victim in the episode? I can see that being Beast. I know shifts aren't always easy to spot but if Beast was going to come in at any time, it was when they realised they were trapped.

You're pretty correct here; for a lot of The Box, it's primarily Chosen, though Beast is definitely doing the metaphorical "hovering ominously in the back" thing thanks to the chase and injury sustained during Wanted. It's not quite reaching the "feeling like their life is in danger" levels at this point, but it's close and Chosen is feeling very dizzy, thanks.

You're also very correct in your assessment that realizing they're trapped is what, primarily, causes Beast to switch in; collectively, they have a VERY bad history with being trapped or imprisoned. Honestly I feel like they're actually pretty claustrophobic - I don't really see anyone mention this too much, but when Chosen got caught by the firewall in AVA2, he LITERALLY gets locked up inside a little box. It's probably cramped and dark and obviously unbreakable. That 100% left an impact on him - and in this HC, his system as a whole never really escaped that being a triggering thing.

To Beast, it feels very obviously trapped - cornered and contained much like it had been when it first formed. To it, this isn't a fight to JUST protect, but a fight to save their life. It feels genuinely like that, even if it wont die here, it'll just be imprisoned all over again, chained down and used for anothers gain. And it wants anything BUT that. It will fight tooth and nail - quite literally, might I add - to get out of there, because it believes that the second it gives up it is over for them. It has no idea what Victim wants from it -- and so it defaults to that Victim wants to fully and entirely kill them.

4: Speaking again of the box, when they realise that they are NOT beating Victim, does someone elbow Beast out of the way? To try and escape? Because fighting has proven entirely futile? Or is someone co-conning (I assume that means co-conscious) with it and convincing it to pull away, since in the original post, Vic was talking to Beast while 'Chosen' was tied up on the chair

[You're right, co-conning is short for co-conscious ^^]

Honestly probably yes? For a good while it's still fighting back, or at the very least sticking around to take the brunt of whatever Victim is throwing at them - being a protector doesn't only mean physically, it also means mentally. Sometimes things may not hurt someone on the outside, but could wreck them on the inside, and they need someone more equipped with dealing with these things - or, more crudely, Used To dealing with these things - to take over.

When it becomes apparent that Beast cant fight its way out of this, someone - though I haven't really settled on who - definitely tries to front to try other methods of escape. Maybe it's Chosen, maybe it's Killer, honestly realistically they wouldn't even be able to tell either under all that stress. There's definitely someone giving passive-influence to try and escape though. Beast is determined to intimidate Victim, and to keep the others from having to experience anything rough, but... it's a bit hard to stick around when everything in your body - externally, and internally - is screaming for you to get the hell out of there, in one way or another. In short it's having an awful time and unfortunately the others are there for the ride /j

5: Beast comes out when they're trapped or in a fight for their life, but does it (and the others) have any positive triggers that will draw them out? I've heard of music being used, or toys, maybe also food? Idk, but if you have something in mind for these three I'm curious what it is

Oh yeah positive triggers can definitely happen with systems! At the end of the day they do still trigger out an alter so it can still be pretty disorienting at first, so I will say it's mostly [at least and my and my friends cases irl] only used either when we are completely okay with it [both system-wise and alter-wise] or when whoever's in front is having a rough time and kinda needs a break, but doesn't exactly want to stress anyone else out via a negative trigger, if that makes sense.

However comma ! That does not mean I can't give positive triggers to my little guys here. Because I do think they deserve good things.

You're right in that things like music, toys, and even food are really common ones, at least in my experience and from what I've seen. Sometimes it can also be certain people! It really varies quite a bit, so when developing a headcanon that relates to that, there's quite a bit of wiggle room lol

I think it'd be slightly different for these three depending on who it is;

Chosen would probably have some related to music, and maybe a more niche one related to welding. Music because I feel like he's the type of guy to get comfort from listening to songs he loves on loop, and welding because he probably heard the sound a lot while Dark was working in his little workshop, either on the Virabots or on other such projects. [Sidenote, welding as a sound is something I'm actually pretty fond of myself, but if anyone's not a big fan of the sound of sparking, or repetative "buzzing", you probably won't like it if you look it up lol. It's not too loud on video, but I can see how it'd get annoying or give someone a headache.]

Killer is definitely the more food oriented one in all honesty. Maybe even specific books it's read? Certain meals that it enjoys are primarily it though - maybe things that it's made with Dark that it has a positive association with? Or things that it's tried once or twice, REALLY loved, and ended up always snagging front when they eat it because of that association. That kinda thing lol.

Beast is... kinda tricky to think of actual positives for? Not because it doesn't enjoy anything - honestly I think it's the type to enjoy slow and relaxing activities that it doesn't need to put a lot of thought into. Moreso because it's hard to pin down anything that would actively trigger it out just to experience. I am open to suggestions here! But for now I'll probably have to leave it at just, if it has any, it hasn't found out what they are yet </3

6: Can they feel the emotions of the other alters? I'm guessing they can feel the emotions of whoevers fronting, because physical sensations, but if someone was fronting and the other two were hovering over their shoulder so to speak, would they be able to tell how they feel?

Unrelated to this question but I had no idea emotions were a physical sensation that people felt until like, a few months ago, like it was just baffling to me it's kinda funny now that I think abotu it.

ANYWAYS; honestly I'd say yes, to some degree! Passive influence is pretty common in a few systems - you'll probably hear it talked about similiarly to how you asked about it, along with people saying something like, for example, they couldn't decide what to order from a restraunt, but someone else in the system wanted [this meal], and thus there was that passive influence to get it. Not sure if that makes sense but that's basically what that can feel like - and since it applies to things like opinions sometimes, it can also presumably apply to emotions!

It'd be less of a "they can feel each others exact thoughts and feelings about this thing if they're co-conning" thing, and more of a, for instance, "Chosen doesn't have any real strong feelings about the show they're watching, but Killer on the other hand really likes it, so Chosen feels a bit of that secondhand enjoyment and positivity towards it." Sorta an ambigious background feeling if that makes any sense. They do share a brain and body after all, so sometimes things do get passed and shared that way. [This one is super projecty based off my own stuff lol, I cannot count the amount of times someones ended up passively influencing me on accident when we were stuck co-conning. It's almost comical /j]

Okay I think that's all once more, I started writing this literally as soon as you sent these in and it's been nearly 2 hours so I've probably talked your ear off [talked your... eyes out? How does that phrase translate into text. Much to think about ...] but once again literally thank you so much for being so curious, and it's really not an issue that you've sent such long asks!!!

I adore talking about this headcanon a lot. I've said it before but this HC means a lot to me as a system; we don't get a lot of representation [nevermind good representation] so a lot of the times I like to try and find a character I feel it would fit the best, and then delve into it there. This HC is very very special to me and has a very special place in my heart, so seeing not only so many people accepting and positive about it, but also your own massive curiosity and engagement, really makes me happy!

Plus, ever since I posted this HC ages and ages ago in the community I've seen a ton more pop up every once and a while. It does make me pretty happy to see HCs like this be so widely accepted and appreciated. Along with that, I've also seen other systems in the fandom get super excited about this HC!!! And I'm just so so so happy that my silly little headcanon about sticks in this guys head can make other people feel more seen. I think it's the highest compliment to anything I've ever made. :]

[sunnywalnut]

Hello writers of Tumblr! I've got a quick question for you

Background for said question for those that want to give an informed answer: I myself am white and on a quest to find enjoyable and inoffensive language to describe wide ranges of people, specifically nonwhite folks and have come across the term while reading through a Tumblr post about a king and his group of concubines with various government backgrounds.

The description piqued my interest and I immediately liked it, looked it up, and loved it even more, since from what I know, foxes are pretty much the one animal nobody has a problem with being compared to. Silver foxes, vixens, or just regular old "you're a total fox" comments. But now that I've thought about it a bit more, I'm curious.

I've looked into it. On Google, on the handful of blogs dedicated to writing poc correctly such as @writingwithcolor, and even a reddit post or two. But very few were actually about what I was looking for, and even fewer had anything to say other than "it means a person with high cheek bones and narrow eyes"

So before I do any writing with it, I'd like to know what you guys think.

Thank you

[enden-k]

I am branching and adding a more characters to the characters i am interested in. Curious about

(Well, this question also contains Vika interest so maybe not that branched out...)

SO! On tool side effects!! We know of at least two more fear seekers (that was the term right) and both their tool and their side effect, which is! Intriguing!

Mogu = excellent vision is pretty predictable, standard, but cynophobia = mind reading is not that much! Iirc correctly that one had to do with dogs? So how does that one work? On that topic too, are the side effects of a tool always just positive or just negative? Or is the positive part the only one reported, and whatever negative side effects happen brushed off?

I am also curious on Reverse!Saran and OG!Azai. You mentioned Saran still being able to exorcise (?) Entities, while not seemingly having a fear. Does it have to do with the cult? I bet it has to do with the cult unless he does have a fear

I BET AZAI DOES USE A TOOL maybe not that often but he has to have used one at some point since he's seemingly normal, so can you share more about that? Has it changed since his days with OG!Saran or has it remained largely the same?

Just to confirm too since i remember reading about it vaguely, Vika has little to no side effects from the tool use since his contract with Saran is a mutual thing right? Like, aside from the emotions thing (i would say also gaining back some sensitivity to touch but that is Saran exclusive and doesnt seem to be a effect of the eye but rather Saran himself) there are no cons? Little cons?

And also HOW DOES EXORCISING WORK how does the tools/fears help. How do they work. The specifics probably change fron fear to fear but it seems to be have to do something with the manifestation of the fear? There seems to be a manifestation of both the eye Noah has and the dogs, do the fears physically fight other entities? CONSIDER MY INTERES PICKED (Peaked? Eugh english is weird)

-🦜

the side effects are always at random and not necessarily related to the fear the seeker has a contract with (for example idk, chiroptophobia giving a seeker excellent night vision or smth); also the side effects are either positive or negative. suyo and noah have "positive" side effects; suyos wife and azai have "negative" side effects; suyos wife is blind and can only see energies/aura (which is why she often cant see vika bc hes very muted) and azais eyesight is deteriorating a lot with every tool use (which is why hes seen wearing glasses and squinting his eyes often compared to past azai who had good vision and no glasses)

suyos side effect allows her to read ppls mind through eye contact. the first thing saran told vika is to not look her in the eye too much and azai is hard to read bc he seems to control his thoughts whenever they make eye contact

reverse!saran is able to see and exorcise fears without a tool, just like how he was able to in OG before he died and yes its exactly bc of the cult AHHAHA

azai developed tools around sarans death (it was one of the reasons for their fallout after all) so since that/the rise of amygdala he uses tools as well; ill elaborate on that some other time tho heheh

vika has no negative side effects affecting his eyes <3

and yes the fears allow the seekers to even see the unseen and can be commanded; they fight the threats that need to be annihilated, the seekers exorcise if theres possession but yall will see that eventually