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system-of-a-feather · 3 days

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Full Integration, Final Fusion, Functional Multiplicitly, and General "Spirituality"

(Disclaimer: this is a very long post)

Heyyo, this is a bit of a hodgepodge of connected topics that I was thinking on this morning. For those that don't know, after like three months of being a really solid fused whole, we really decided that we needed to redivide back into our core parts to recenter, rebalance, and reorganize ourselves since our fused whole was loosing sight / vision of the "plot". We don't consider this "splitting" because we are still in - what we like to call "full integration" - and we don't really engage in much dissociation when we do this as the means of how we do this largely stems from the way we perceive, engage with, and view the concept of "self" and "identity." Our system highly values the mastery and art of a very fluid and ever changing sense of identity and self. This morning - thank you Chunn brain for batting our collective brain from the usual urge to get out of bed and get started with our day to give us time to really sit with our inner selves - we spent about an hour and a half and a small half hour nap just laying there thinking among ourselves and I wanted to share a few.

I think at the moment I am still mostly a fused whole and I had considered trying to go to Ray or Lin for them to write this, but it didn't feel right to go to Ray brain and Lin brain directly told me "Dude, this thought line started with Riku-dominant fused brain, trying to have someone else write it would be a disservice to the reflection. Let Riku or Riku-dominant fused brain do it, it's their thought." and you know, fair point. I think I'll use this post as a temporary "bye few thoughts" and love letter to our parts as a fused whole before leaving it to the individual specialists to do their things.

So introduction to this post aside, hello and temporary soon to be farewell before I choose to temporarily redivide into my main parts. Today is May 15, 2024 and I'm gonna document this a bit for when I come back whenever that is and kind of see if my fused-whole perspective and nature changes - mostly for myself. Online I go by Feathers, irl I just go by our chosen name.

I'm a (mostly, technically non-denominational independent, but most of my views and perspectives come from and align closely with) Zen Buddhist. I'm nonbinary vaguely transmasc (not really though?) intersex individual with the pronouns of they/them. I am extremely pro-endo and if I honestly felt like sticking around longer, I was thinking about writing a much more nuanced essay on tulpa-terminology discourse with my current reflections as a fused whole and as a pretty avid Buddhist but, unforunately, unless one of my parts still shares the same insight AND interest, that essay will have to wait for me to potentially be back (hey, Riku or Chunn might still want to who knows). I dunno what else to say, I love bird, Bleach, walking, driving, listening to music, video games, writing, art? I dunno man, I'm just me.

Documentation aside anyways, I gotta figure out where I want to start. I think I will actually piss my high-school English teachers off and start with the LAST thing in the title card. I might loose a lot of close minded white anti-endos here, but hey, if you are that close minded, then its your loss cause I'm just talking about late-stage recovery as a person with diagnosed DID that is considered polyfragmented. It's a fun conversation to have with other people with DID aiming for recovery so, if you're hell bent on hating people talking about plurality form a non-DID lens enough to disregard cool information, that's your loss. (Thank you XIV brain, crediting that to you for part of our goal today)

Buddhism, Spirituality, Plurality and Our Perspective of Full Integration

According to Buddhism, and one of the largest concepts and principles of Buddhism that we believe the most in and actively work to practice and cultivate the mindset of - is that the concept of "I" and the concept of a singular, distinct, and separate self from the world and others simply does not exist - only the experience and illusion of experience exists. I was talking about it with @quoigenicfromhell in DMs since they were interested in talking shop about Buddhism.

To save myself a whole effort of rewriting a discussion on how one can hold together the clear sensation of existing and being an individual with the idea and Buddhist understanding that the "self" does not exist, I'm going to copy a little bit of what I wrote in response to them. If it doesn't make sense cause its in a bit of Buddhist jargon, then oh well, I'm lazy, it's written for an audience that has done some reading and looking into Buddhist thought so RIP yall srry not srry (Thank you Chunn brain lol)

Honestly the development and understanding of holding those two things together (the non-self and non-existence with the clear experience of self and existence) is largely a lot of exploration on the understanding and respect for the experience without applying too much value or regard to said experience. Its kind of a hard thing to understand just based off of words alone and like all things Buddhism, its one of those sorts of things you really gotta sit on and explore in your own mental space, but like

The experience of self and personhood and existence is a denied concept in Buddhist thought, but its not a bad or incorrect thing, the experience of self and existence is kind of considered an inherent expression of life and the world and while its important to be cognicent that it is an illusion that can cause suffering and muddy an individuals ability to see Things As They Are, the experience and illusion of self is additionally an entirely natural thing to experience and is an important part of being able to, well, be

I kinda of personally perceive it kind of similarly to say a part in a system. Innately the part is not (at least in my experiences of systemhood) a literal entire separate being and thats an important thing to acknowledge for a number of reasons (life organization and direction, system accountability, etc) but its would also be incredibly foolish to completely ignore that the part operates, experiences themselves, and lives in the world (both inner and outer) as if they were an individual of their own

In the same sense that a part in a system can be seen both as an individual and a part of a whole / collective depending on what perspective and demands the moment needs. An individual can be seen both as the individual expression of a self informed by the arguably incorrect illusion of isolation OR as a part of the whole worlds expression depending on what serves the moment the best. I largely kind of see myself as part of a system that is the world much like I see my parts as part of a system that is "me". While the self may be an illusion, its not an experience that can be denied and it is an innate expression that in its own right can prove to be a great teacher So you deny the concept of a self but respect and revere the experience and innate natural expression of self

With that context in mind, while we do not believe in the concept of self and find that trying to seek out a concrete idea of a singular person and singular self in society is a source of extreme suffering, stress, and displeasure, we DEEPLY revere and honor the expression of self. As we see it, in a complete ideal and impossible the world would be in perfect harmony if we let the world express itself as it naturally does. We find that the experiences of self - in whatever form they take - are inherent and natural expressions of the world as a whole and to try to shape oneself to fit a specific image - may that be societally imposed or internally / personally imposed or a sense of envy or any sort of clinging or desire to a specific version / image of self - is a disrespect to the innate beauty found in the natural expression and a means of adding disharmony into the world.

As a result, our system and whole aims deeply, above almost all else to exist simply as we naturally would in any moment time to time. If we find that something we are doing with our sense of self is drawn and influenced too much on a "I should" or "I want" or "I wish" or "I hope" then we tend to pause, self reflect, and ask if we are actually existing in our natural state, or are we trying to fight against our natural state of self to fit into a self-imposed idea of what we "should be".

As a result of that, our system deeply values our flexibility, fluidity, and ability to change any aspect of ourselves, any opinion we hold, any identity label we consider, and our overall presentation in all ways and forms to a very high level. The desire to be consistent and predictable serves us little in simply practicing on "being" and finding the true and simply-run life that we want. That then results in why our system so casually flips around in system size, fusions, redivisions, how we refer to ourselves, etc. We find very little value in committing to labels and concepts and do whatever is natural for us.

Additionally, another large aspect of Buddhism our system deeply reveres and appreciates is the acknowledgement that there are "Buddhas" - or in less Jargon terms, potential for everything both internal and external to be teachers and guides into finding a sense of peace and simplicity in the world - and that it is deeply important to cultivating peace, happiness, and insight to actively always be seeking out the "Buddha" in everything and everyone. It's important to reflect, engage with, and talk with those "Buddhas" as they are the best and number one way to gain the insight that brings happiness and peace into life and removes excessive suffering and stress.

As many Buddhists agree (at least of the Mahayanan branches), everyone is inherently a Buddha because the world and everything is a Buddha. The only issue people have is that they can not connect, hear, and see clearly enough to be in that state due to a large number of human conditions - one large one being the aforementioned illusion of self.

Having lived my life as someone with DID and having gone through a lot of trauma therapy, self reflection, communication and coordination with my parts, and all that to the point we have reached functional multiplicity over a year plus ago and been able to hold a fully fused state for over three months, I feel like its a given to say that of ALL things in the world, the "Buddha nature" of my parts have been the best and most insightful teachers I've ever had. We revere each other's strengths and specialties greatly as each of us have taught the other great strengths, great understandings, great insights, and great appreciations that have collectively brought us so much peace and happiness. It's not to say any part is "enlightened" because each part is also deeply flawed and struggling in their own realms, but it is largely by working and talking and supporting one another and ACTIVELY looking to one another for insight and lessons about the world and our existence that we are able to reach a uniquely peaceful space.

For us, its an incredibly important practice - both for self care and in the art / spirituality of Buddhism - to regularly talk and engage with these specialized and uniquely-wise (and uniquely stupid - thank you XIV) parts of ourselves to gain deeper insight and overall understanding of ourselves and our place in the world.

In the same sense, it is why - despite being completely capable of operating as a fully fused whole - we regularly choose to INTENTIONALLY redivide into our parts. And no, its not us "splitting again" or even really throwing up any real level of dissociation / dissociative barriers. If anything, we usually do this through meditation and mindfulness.

It's a Buddhist practice, its not a mental disorder and its not stemming from the same mechanism's DID stems from. It might operate *based* on the foundation our history with DID stems from, but at this point in our healing, the way our system operates at functional multiplicity that is intentionally chosen to be that way AFTER reaching "final fusion" has a number of differences from how it operated before we reached general full integration.

Again, for those more familiar with the tulpa-terminology discussion, you might be able to see where I would have a long post delving into a highly nuanced and more middle-ground perspective of that syscourse from the paragraph above this one, but I'm gonna leave that cause I already know this post is long and it would detract from the purpose.

At this point, my system is mostly an "intentionally created one" to Western label standards. We personally do not see any significance or binary in plural VS singular people beyond it being a label some people identify with and not. Plural VS Singular is a false binary perpetuated in white, western, and european society and while I respect that perspective and view in a space that is primarily filled with white, western, and/or european individuals, I am going to firmly state that and expect you to give me that same respect. (and if you refuse to give me that same respect, then you are close minded and being very white / western lmao <- thank you XIV, again)

And so the other related but slightly different topic away from the more philosophical, esoteric, mysticism sounding topic of Buddhism...

Full Integration, Final Fusion, and Functional Multiplicitly

At this point, what we used to call "Wishiwashi Recovery" we kind of have taken to just calling "full integration" generally as a means of really breaking apart the suggested categorical and boxed binary of "final fusion" and "functional multiplicity" as our own experience and discussion with other systems at and near full integration have made us realize that the difference between functional multiplicity and final fusion is FAR more a spectrum than it is two seperate categories. Some systems stick to one end, some to the others, but the largest difference is in external and internal expression of the parts and less any fundamental or biological / clinical difference; at least not in terms of integration. (Note: Integration =/= Fusion; Integration is the general connectivity and accessibility of parts with less / limited / no dissociation)

It's a false binary to say Final Fusion or Functional Multiplicity and its why a lot of the "ones bad and ones good" syscourse is dumb. They're two heads of the same Doduo and they should be kissing. (JOKING, thank you Riku-Aya brain)

With that said, our system, as we've made clear, regularly and freely practices sliding and flying all over that spectrum as just how we like to engage with ourselves. We change between the two as we see fit and having spent probably like 9~ months in functional multiplicity and 3~ months in final fusion I wanted to share some pros and cons of both sides.

I would also like to put a disclaimer that this isn't meant to be "positives and why this side sucks" as much as it is the differences in life style according to our opinion and our experience. Both final fusion and functional multiplicity are absolutely WONDERFUL things overall and we love both states. If we got "stuck" in either, we would still be immensely happy. The purpose of this part is just to share certain differences in how we experience the two different ends. The Cons in these case are only "cons" relative to the "alternative" and not "to not ever reaching either"

Functional Multiplicity Pros:

A lot more clear and direct communication between parts internally that allows for a SHIT ton of internal banter, productive conversation about complex topic and perspectives from unique and diverse perspectives; the communication is a lot more intentional and a lot more in focus so its easier to properly sit and attend to the complex differences and sometimes conflicting directions

It's honestly just a lot of fun, not gonna lie. A lot more dramatic and extravagant expression + brain friends in a more overt sense

Easier to let certain parts of the brain take "breaks" - it's not the same as it is with not-fully-integrated DID but compared to Full Fusion, certain parts of the brain can "tune out" easier than not

More palatable to DID / OSDD spaces online

Easier to focus and use a wide variety of skills, interests, hobbies, and thinking patterns by simply just having a specialist part take their look at it

Generally easier to target specific boxes to look into as you process all the newly accessible memories and information from being highly / fully integrated

Final Fusion Pros:

Quick and a lot more inherent understanding of all parts on a general gut level without necessarily needing to fully think about everything and listen to every opinion and perspective; there is a lot more of an inherent understanding, trust, and awareness of the collective whole which makes decision making and seeing whats good for the system as a whole a lot easier

It's honestly way more calming, relaxing, and solid feeling. There is a unique sense of confidence, understanding, and trust within yourself and you have a HUGE arsenal of skills and interests that come from the combined parts that you've lived as

You are a lot more present and aware of your life and you actually get to live YOUR life and have all parts of yourself be engaged in life; no part feels really left behind or is caught off guard from having their brain partially turned off. The awareness is really present and engagement is so much more complete.

More palatable in real life and non-DID/OSDD spaces

Easier to simultaneously use skills from multiple parts at once; very much a jack of all trades all at once situation

Generally easier to integrate multiple complex and otherwise seemingly detatched boxes of memory and the past as you process all the newly accessible memories and information from being highly / fully integrated

Functional Multiplicity Cons:

Takes more intention, focus, and often time to get the same level of full understanding of the whole system when making decisions. It can be slow and it requires a lot more internal engagement which can make it harder to be fully present in life

Sometimes you can get what I call "lite" amnesia where a part was not paying attention and doesn't fully process what was going on / what is going on and so sometimes you get poor attention-driven "amnesia". It's small and easily recovered by simply going "hold up wait" and thinking back or asking another part

Harder to use skills from different parts at the same time; albeit definitely still possible and only "harder" relative to final fusion

Generally harder / requires intentional discussion between parts to integrate multiple complex boxes as you process all the newly accessible memories and information from being highly / fully integrated

Final Fusion Cons:

Less direct and overt bantering and discussion between parts (still present by the way, just less frequent and less overt). It can be a little less fun (still is fun cause they are sill there) and it can be a bit harder to fully see the extent of a more extreme perspective

It can be tiring and overwhelming to be aware and present so much for so long if you were accustomed to the breaks DID / OSDD tends to give parts

Easier to forget to use a lot of the skills and hobbies that may have been more niche to less-dominant and less-prominent parts; you don't "loose" the skills, you just aren't accustomed to using them as much so you can just kinda forget to use them

Harder to focus on a targetted recovered memory / information that you want to process and can sometimes be a bit overwhelming trying to connect a number of things at once

And this is all just to say that both are absolutely astonishing and great places to mentally be. The main point is that - for us - sometimes one state works better for us in the moment and another state works better for us later and that's completely cool cause - as aforementioned - the difference between plural vs singular is not a binary one for us anyways.

Anyways, I don't know how to wrap this up so I'mma just post it

Ideally today we will focus on cultivating our independent parts and return to Functional Multiplicity end of the spectrum so I guess tata for now

-Feathers

EDIT and PS: Anyone is allowed to add their thoughts to this so long it is in good faith.

#feathers speaks #functional mulitplicity #final fusion #actuallydid #dissociative identity disorder #syscourse #syscourse tw #tulpacourse #tulpacourse tw #full integration #buddhism #long post

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livseses · 3 days

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Oopsies! We didn't manage to get our thoughts written up before this post went quiet.

@sysmedsaresexist I hope it's okay to tag you on this, if not, we'll go ahead and delete (feel free to DM us)

We wanted to thank y'all for taking the time to indulge our curiosity. We really appreciated it! Genuinely.

We started to get defensive about endogenic communities with Signal and Quill, but

they don’t speak their personal experiences as if they’re gospel truth for all systems

Uh... yeah. We needed to do that. We've had wonderful experiences from plural spaces and bad ones from CDD spaces. But, that's our experience. It'd be shitty of us to get all confrontational and try to tell y'all how to feel about your experiences with those spaces.

And I think that we generally agree on a whole hell of a lot. Some of that defensiveness came from the just ridiculousness of universalizing. Like, we personally find soulbonding and tulpamancy stuff to be really helpful. We'll share that fact and recommend it when asked, but saying that every system needs to do these things to improve their system is absurd! It seems so obviously absurd to us that it felt hyperbolic. But like, that's us trying to speak our personal experiences as gospel truth.

We're going to be a bit more careful with sharing the things that help us. We already do it for how DBT helps us, CBT hurts us, and why, for instance. Or the limitations we've encountered with EMDR. If tulpamancy is another kind of therapy for us, well, we should be more cognizant of those pros and cons.

Really liked Robo's answer (feel free to DM us if you wanna chat more in depth)! We could go on about some of our speculating about plurality, trauma, and CDDs. We'll save that for another time though :D

A phrasing Robo used though really sticks out:

"endogenic CDDs" are a completely separate concept from "endogenic systems with CDDs."

This bit of nuance I think gets lost in the mix often enough. And it leads to a lot of the confusion, misinfo, and hostility. We've seen a lot of the "welllll technically" kind of counter hypotheticals brought up. While we're inclined agree with those, it's a bit of nuance that can really muddy the water.

Maybe to build on what Robo said about it never being clear cut and easy to understand: Aspects of a person/system's experience aren't always separable into neat categories. Maybe one person feels that some trait or behavior they have comes from their performance of gender, and another says the exact same things come from their neurotype. Our ADHD messes with our memory and so does our DID. From the inside, at the internal experience level, it's hard, if not impossible, to fully separate them.

And Dude, we're really glad you have these mods to support you, and really glad to see your attitude of self-determination. We love to see it and hope more people can adopt it.

I've posted from the beginning about how a lot of things that endogenic systems talked about were actually really normal in DID systems. [...] it's unfortunate that sometimes this confuses systems that are still learning.

This is kinda why we asked this question, or maybe why that question is on our mind a lot in conversations about plurality. We flip flopped a lot after our syscovery as to how we viewed ourselves. Folks saying that the two are so utterly different that there's zero overlap. Folks saying that the things you mentioned can't ever happen in CDD systems, and in turn, that we should keep out of CDD spaces.

(We personally have some hesitancy on the reliance of "hard" tests for mental health stuff. Something about a concern that those tests will have false negatives. But we can talk about that more elsewhere if you're interested in continuing that conversation.)

But thank you for taking the time to answer this ask regardless. We really appreciate it, and we hope others do too. We hope that information gets out there and more folk can balance that attitude of self-determination with understanding their own experiences aren't universal.

(Again, if you'd rather not have this post around, let us know and we'll remove it)

#faye rambles #system stuff #tw mild syscourse

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tokiro07 · 3 days

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Undead Unluck ch.206 thoughts

[Mazel Tov]

(Contents: Character analysis - Feng/Soul/Language)

And with that, the Medaka Box shiritori arc is concluded, and man what an arc it was! I think it's a bit unfortunate it had to come after the Golden Week break, that kind of took the steam out of this finale a little bit for me, but damn it was still so good!

Might just be recency bias, but I think this might be one of my overall favorite arcs. It facilitated two different major character arcs (Nico and Feng), gave Ichico some much-needed characterization, showed just how much personality the current antagonists can have, had easily my favorite concept for a fight so far, and elaborated on the power system in a very fun and interesting way. This finale was especially fitting because it managed to touch on all of those concepts, like it was reviewing everything that happened up to now

Starting with Feng, seeing him continue to play the lone-wolf card only to rescind it and actually thank Nico for helping him is just so satisfying, as it illustrates the major change in Feng's character that we've been hoping for all along. By offering his strength in return for the new heights he was able to bring that strength to, Feng directly acknowledges that he wouldn't have been able to reach that level alone, at least not so quickly, and suggests that he's finally begun to learn what Fuuko was trying to teach him about fighting for the sake of others. He hasn't necessarily internalized that lesson yet, but this was an absolutely necessary step on the way to completing that particular character arc

Of course, Feng is still Feng; when he notices a twinge of doubt and weakness in Language, he derides her "what kind of buffoon would think of anything other than victory during mortal combat?" Of course, there's tons of valid answers to that question, but I think the important thing here is that this line suggests that Feng's overall focus, self-improvement and victory, remains unchanged, and that's okay. Feng wants to be strong and defeat others, that's what makes him happy, and he's not wrong for it. What was wrong was his approach, which made it seem like his goal was wrong. Now that he's on a better path, his goals no longer seem like a justification for cruel behavior, just lofty aspirations

This line also harkens back to a major theme of this arc: imagination. The ability to visualize the outcome you want is vital to creating it. This principle was applied very literally in the shiritori battle, where one's imagination was necessary to conjure viable attacks or defenses, so when Language had the thought "this can beat me," that was as good as confirming that she had already lost. I think this is also why "living" conjurations would damage the user upon their destruction; while a wall or a meteor would still be constructed from the user's soul, those things can't be "hurt," but a dragon or a yokai or a god can. They are alive, and being killed is much easier to empathize with than something being broken. You can imagine what it feels like to be cut or burned, so since it's a part of you, the destruction of that piece of your soul is inherently shared with you. Basically, if Language had been able to think something to the effect of "I can still save this," she might have been capable of turning things around, but instead she admitted defeat before she'd even realized it

Speaking of, the look on Soul's face as Language apologized for losing was so utterly human. We've seen UMA have feelings before, but Soul was heartbroken there. His eyes widened by surprise, fear and sadness as she called out his name, how they narrowed with resignation and acceptance upon hearing her admit defeat...it was like seeing Fuuko watch her friends die fighting Sun

The Master Rules have died before, and presuming they win, they'll come back for sure, but that doesn't mean it has to be easy on them emotionally. It's hard to say how the Master Rules feel about each other as a whole, but Soul was definitely affected by Beast's death just as much as he is here by Language's. Whatever they think of him, I think it's very clear that they're Soul's friends and family, and I'm very interested to see how Language's death spurs him into action next

On the subject of the Master Rules dying, I've seen some criticism of Language's core just being her head popping off of her body, but it's not really that different conceptually from Ichico's soul being her head, is it? They both even have the hair tentacles. I think this is meant to further convey just how close to human the Master Rules are, something I imagine is going to be expanded much further upon in the near future, so I'm not going to go much further into it now aside from the surface level symbolism

Language does clearly have a much more nuanced level of sentimentality than most any previous UMA, though. We've seen Burn express his desire to meet God, Clothes jumping through hoops to justify helping Fuuko to himself, and Spring actively wanting to be accepted by humans, but Language had a personal, vested interest in one person. Language viewed Nico as her rival, and used that rivalry to propel herself to greater heights (another way this arc ties into Feng's themes, by the way), but she also loved him. She wasn't waiting for billions of years just to get revenge, she was waiting for someone who could make her feel fulfilled. If she just wanted revenge, she would be cursing him as she died this time around, but instead she sends him off with congratulations and well-wishes. She died with a smile on her face and told Nico to have a happy marriage; how can that possibly be taken as anything other than an act of humanity?

I can only hope that we see that level of humanity from the other Master Rules, but fingers crossed it won't be for a little while. After this arc, I could sure use a breather chapter or six!

Until next time, let's enjoy life!

#undead unluck #fouryearsandananime #4y1a reviews

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ezlo-x · 8 months

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Do you wish for a Wind Waker Remaker made by Monolithsoft (The guys who made BoTW)

like an HD remake, sequel, or a whole new tloz game in WW's artstyle?

If remake i don't think I would be interested especially since I physically own the game lol. For a sequel, not really?? Ik they had plans but then that was turned into TP but I feel like we are so far and separate from the old lore it seems rather pointless. Finally for a new tloz title to be in WW artstyle would be interesting, maybe not fully copying the WW artstyle but maybe being able to perfectly mimic the cartoon look kinda what the concept art of WW had going on if that makes sense

(x)

#off topic but I love these concept drawings so much i just want it to share it w everypony #btw the x takes u to the site where i got these pictures its a nice archive u should check it out if ur interested in the early concept wor #ask txt

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robinpixels · 1 year

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[quietly grips the desk in

'it feels like wasted potential that the beta and tilda 'maternal' dynamic wasn't played up and explored more seeing as it would be SUPER interesting if beta, who serves in part as both aloy's contrast and the flipside of her coin, technically DID have some kind of a mother and aloy initially being angered perhaps that BETA did but SHE didnt before understanding this mother in particular...really wasn't so great

Coupled w Varl's complicated relationship w Sona as the middle ground between Tilda's neglect and Aloy's putting Lis up on an untouchable pedestal I feel it'd be a cool way to explore motherhood as a theme in ALL its complexities and maybe help heal Aloy's frankly unhealthy strive to Be A Legacy because she had nothing of the sort growing up in the eyes of the Nora']

#horizon critical #this particular nugget was drivin me up the wall so i had to pen it #i feel itd also help even keel the wild genre shift between hzd and hfw and make things feel more cohesive at least in terms of consistent #themes #i have a lot of thoughts abt hfw in truth so mute the first tag cuz if i feel like talking abt them ill put em there #ik not everyone wants to see it #but for those who have Thoughts please do share them im so interested in this as a concept #hfw #hzd #beta #aloy #varl #robin chirps

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maddieplum · 13 days

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Floral Legacy Challenge

So a while back my computer died and I lost all of my saves and screenshots and because of that I haven't wanted to play in a while. However, recently to get myself back into the game I wrote a legacy challenge for myself based upon flower meanings. I have started playing it and really been enjoying it, so wanted to share with anyone who might be interested as well!

This is more of a story based legacy than a challenge one, with goals written more as guidelines for what story to tell in a given generation than objectives or challenges to complete. Each generation I have chosen 1-3 aspects of a flower's meaning to focus this story around and I've compiled them in a way where I think it makes sense how one generation leads to the next.

If you are interested, more is under the cut!

Sims 4 Floral Legacy Challenge:

Some housekeeping: As far as general rules go, make this your own! Traditional legacy rules need not apply unless you want them to. This is for my personal gameplay and if you want to do it, choose what rules you want to hold yourself to that will make the gameplay fun for you. I tend to use cheats in ways that make sense from a storytelling perspective (e.g. for the iris gen I will likely cheat to give a coworker the genius trait). You can also opt not to follow any of my generation guidelines if you don't want - just take what interests you!

The only required packs are Horse Ranch, Spa Day, and City Living, but I added optional and recommended goals incorporating packs I either already have or hope to buy. If you don't have the required packs you can still definitely play this by either skipping those gens or modifying them to fit what you can do. I would recommend using the generation theme written under the flower name to help guide you in your choices as well (these are the aspects of the flower meanings that I have chosen to focus on for each given generation).

And without further ado:

Gen 1: Bluebell -humble beginnings and everlasting love- Choose one of more of these traits: generous, good, loyal Career: something that means humility to you - ideas: education, gardener, barista/babysitter/other part time careers, self employed by selling collectibles Aspiration: Soulmate Style: any, but live whole life in a small home (not necessarily by the game's standard but no more than 3 bedrooms), blue should be a main color, stay away from pricey furniture as well

You are a simple sort of sim. All you ever wanted is a place to call home and someone to love. Moving to a new place was scary, but you think you are starting to figure it out. However, things get a little more complicated when a choice you make on a lonely night results in a surprise pregnancy. Even though you aren't sure you're ready for single parenthood, you are going to give it your best shot, you already love the kid to bits after all. Luckily, your kind neighbor is there to help out. Wait, they're kind of cute…

-Start on an empty lot or in an unfurnished house with 0 simoleons -Recommended: live in willow creek -Make money to build/furnish your house through your career -Have a child from a one night stand with someone you meet at a public lot before your house is fully finished (this is the next gen heir). -Never date your child's other parent but optionally remain good friends. -Err on the side of leniency as a parent (e.g. if you have parenthood, hug it out to discipline your kid, use the permissive family dynamic from growing together). -Fall and love and get married to one of your neighbors, completing the soulmate aspiration. Stay together in a happy marriage until death. -Optional: have 1-2 more kids with your spouse -Until you switch to the next gen, go on at least one date every week with your spouse.

Gen 2: Crocus -playful childishness- Recommended Traits: lazy, goofball, outgoing, family oriented, childish, cheerful Career: any except entertainer - do not reach level 10 in your career, continually neglect work tasks and goof off/socialize at work to lower work performance if need be - optional (or if laid off): switch careers several times Aspiration: Big happy family - optional: if you have high school years you can complete the live fast aspiration as a teen Style: any as long as its casual, shouldn't look too put together, t-shirts would be good

As a kid you were loved and admittedly somewhat spoiled by your doting parent. At times you neglected your responsibilities and your homework preferring to goof off with your many friends. Growing up… well, you never really did that did you? You did eventually get a job (even though you aren't the best employee) and you gave dating the old college try as well. Unfortunately, just like working, being in a relationship doesn't seem to come easily to you… Luckily though there is something you're good at: parenting. Being part kid yourself, you find it easily to connect to your many kids and you're always ready to cheer them up with a laugh when they are feeling down. That, at least, is something worth devoting your time too.

-Neglect homework as a child (optional: age up with the irresponsible trait if you have parenthood) but have several friends at school -Perform poorly in a career of your choice (NOT entertainer) - do not reach level 10 in any career (if you get close, lower job performance or quit and start a new job) -Live in childhood home until parents die or until you have too many kids for everyone to fit -Get divorced from / break up with every partner you have (your choice how many people to date, but must die single) -Have 3-6 kids - at least one should be adopted and one should be biologically yours but the exact ratio is up to you -Be best friends level with all kids -max out comedy skill -Complete happy family aspiration (may require temporarily returning to this gen after some kids are adults) -Optional: whenever someone leaves the household, get a pet so the household is continually at 8 members (the idea of this gen is cheerful chaos after all)

Gen 3: Dahlia -creativity and true love- Required traits: non commital, Recommended: creative, maker, art lover, green fiend Career: Something creative - recommended: making money through painting or fabrication or photography Aspiration: Any in the creativity category (or the jewelry one, which is IMO creative but not in that category) Style: Colorful and eclectic, feature warm colors and travel Knick knacks, bohemian

You grew up in a chaotic but joyful home surrounded by your siblings and raised by a parent who loved and accepted you as you were. Your creativity was able to bloom and flourish in this environment and you learned the value and power of familial love. However, you never quite understood romance in the same way as you watched your parent struggle to maintain a loving relationship. In high school you found someone special, but your relationship was too important to put through the trials of romance. You maintained your friendship into adulthood as you followed your passions into a career and your heart into several (failed) relationships, all the while standing by each other. Then one day you realized, what if this elusive goal of romantic love had been right besides you all along?

-Complete the creatively gifted aspiration as a kid -Briefly (briefly) date your best friend in high school, then decide to be just friends (option in social menu). Maintain friendship (remaining just friends) into your young adulthood and adulthood, spending lots of time together. -Have a creative job and max out your career / chosen creative skill -Get married and divorced at least once and date and break up with at least 3 people total -Have at least one kid -After a midlife crisis start a relationship with your best friend and get married - this time stay together until death do us part (optional: at this point swap out the non committal trait with the loyal trait via cheats or self discovery moment) -Go on vacation at least twice with your family and your best friend/best friend's family

Gen 4: (white) Lily -beauty, mourning, and rebirth- Recommended traits: gloomy, romantic Career: something you associate with beauty - ideas: actor/actress, style influencer, social media Aspiration: any - ideas: soulmate, world famous celebrity, master actor/actress Style: classic, somewhat minimalistic, elegant (think Kennedys)

Growing up in an artistic household, you quickly developed a keen eye and a strong aesthetic and sense of style. Unlike your parent however, you were very interested in what was popular. You built your knowledge of trends and used it to cultivate your own look until it became your passion, and ultimately your career. You were becoming quite successful, loving your job more and more every day, when you met… them. The love of your life. You remembered watching your parent dance around their love all their life, and had seen how much time they wasted because of it. You weren't going to make the same mistake. You had a whirlwind romance, engagement, and marriage that grew into a stable, enduring love. You had everything, a great career, a wonderful relationship, and you and your spouse had just welcomed a child when tragedy struck. And now, without your love, you don't know what to do. How will you go on?

-Enter and max out a career that is associated with beauty -Optional: if you have get famous, become a celebrity with a good reputation -Meet your spouse through your career -Date, get engaged to, and marry your spouse quickly (within 1-2 sim weeks) -Have a relationship with your spouse at the soulmate level -Have exactly one kid with your spouse -Before your kid is a teen, your spouse dies -Mourn your spouse for the rest of your life (at least 3 times weekly visit grave/urn) and never get into another romantic relationship -Optional: after spouse's death, change outfits to be all black for mourning colors (or what ever mourning colors are in your culture) -Neglect child emotionally because of your sadness (less than good friends level friendship) -Repair relationship with child after they move out and your grandchildren are born (they return the spark to your life)

Gen 5: Dandelion -resilience and recovery- Required trait: horse lover Optional: active, loves the outdoors, adventurous Career: Rancher/self employed Required aspiration: championship rider Style: western, rustic farmhouse decor, country

You grew up in the midst of a tragedy. All you remember is the dark cloud that seemed to surround your parent everywhere they went and the loneliness that came from all but raising yourself. As soon as you could, you got away, following your heart to the countryside. In the picturesque small town of chestnut ridge you built your own life, learning to ride the horses you had grown up loving, and making a living by building a ranch. The solitude of nature was like a balm to your wounded soul. Eventually, you fell for one of the locals and got hitched. They moved in to help grow your ranch and before long you were building a family as well. As you discovered the joys of parenthood, it brought your mind back to your own parent, and you started to wonder if those bonds could be reformed…

-move out to Chestnut Ridge as soon as you become a young adult -Complete the championship rider aspiration and max out the riding skill -Fall in love with an marry a sim you meet in Chestnut ridge with the rancher trait -Have 2-4 kids with your spouse -Optional: name one of your kids after your deceased parent -After your first kid is a toddler, start to reconcile with your parent (inviting them over to meet grandkids) -build back your friendship with your parent before they pass (good friends level or higher) -run a thriving ranch

Gen 6: (red) Carnation -justice- Recommended traits: good, hot headed, self assured Career: Politics, charity organizer branch Aspiration: any - ideas: neighborhood confident, city native Style: any - alt fashion would work well, esp. punk, dark colors with red accents also good

Life as a child in the countryside was idyllic, but you always had bigger dreams. Bright eyed and with a zest for life you moved to the city as soon as you could. But once there, your idealistic nature quickly shattered. The world wasn't as nice outside of your small town bubble. Rather than fall into despair over it however, you decided to rise to the occasion. You would dedicate your life to fighting for change and making the world a better place. Even if it was just a drop in the bucket, you would do everything you could to make a difference. After all, what better way to spend your time than speaking truth to power?

-move to San Myshuno as a young adult -Join and max out the charity organizer career -meet your spouse at a protest -fall in love and move in together, but don't get married -have at least one kid -join or start a protest at least once a week -have at least one wealthy enemy (bonus points if they are in the politician career or a landlord) -Optionally: have a midlife crisis / burnout (via growing together mechanics or imaginative storytelling) during adulthood and change your life around (stay in same career, but protest less and pick up a hobby, spend more time with family)

Gen 7: Iris -intelligence and prestige- Required trait: genius Optional traits: perfectionist, ambitious, neat, overachiever, loner, hates children, bookworm Career: something you associate with intelligence - ideas: doctor, scientist, law, engineer, astronaut Recommended aspiration: any in the knowledge group or bestselling author Optional: complete the goal oriented aspiration as a teen and the academic aspiration as a young adult Style: academia (dark or light), traditional, have at least one library / study in the home

Your parents were smart people, you'll give them that, but they didn't care enough to do anything with it! They could have been something great, but instead they decided to waste their time fighting for 'justice' without making any real change. You wouldn't be making that mistake. From an early age you dedicated yourself to your studies, determined to learn everything you possibly could and become someone important. Learning fascinated you, and you loved using your intelligence to figure out solutions to hard problems. This was what was important, not love, or family, or doing good, or whatever other nonsense your parents and grandparents believed. This was how you really changed the world, intelligently. Now just to get that one coworker of yours to stop pestering you at work and challenging your ideas. Wait, why do they want to meet you for coffee?

-Complete the mental aspiration as a child -Enter and max out a career related to intelligence - optionally: then switch careers and max out a second -max out at least four skills of your choice, writing and publishing skill books related to them as you do so (this may require you to max out the writing skill, if so this counts towards your four skills) -Date and marry one of your coworkers who also has the genius trait (bonus points if this is a former workplace rival) -Have exactly one child with your spouse via the science baby option -Be a strict parent (maintain this family dynamic if you have growing together) and be emotionally distant from your kid (less than good friends friendship level ideally) -If you have discover university, attend university and complete the academic aspiration before beginning a career

Gen 8: Lotus -rebirth and self-love- Required trait: high maintenance Recommended: perfectionist Career: start in something you see as a high stress job - ideas: salary person, business, anything that uses the logic skill - then switch to making money via spa day activities Aspiration: any or all in the wellness category Style: minimalist, biophilic (plant parent), 'zen'

To say your parents had high expectations growing up would be putting it lightly. Nothing you ever did seemed good enough for them. Even so, you continued to try, pushing yourself towards excellent grades and into a career (and relationship) they would approve of. It was hard but you were managing it, and you kept pushing and pushing until… One day you just couldn't do it anymore! You quit your job, ended your relationship and changed trajectories. Now you are focused on healing and self-love, and on helping others on their self love journey as well. It might take some time, but you are learning to be happy with yourself. Next, to start building a new family, one you'll be happy to be a part of.

-maintain an "A" level grade throughout your education -Enter a high stress career as a young adult -Start a relationship with someone in a 'respectable' career as a young adult (you decide what counts as 'respectable') - if you have growing together you should have bad compatibility with this person -sometime during young adulthood (bonus if after in game burnout) while your sim is feeling badly (tense, angry, uncomfortable, or sad), quit your job and end your relationship -Optional: before this switch dress and decorate in your parents style, afterwards, change to your own style -Switch to a wellness career - continue this until retirement -max out wellness skill -complete at least one of the wellness aspirations -marry someone you meet at the spa -have 1-3 children with them

Gen 9: Lavender -family and home- Required trait - at least one of three: loner, paranoid, socially awkward Recommended traits: family oriented, foodie, loves the outdoors, animal enthusiast Career: make money through cooking and/or baking - this can involve running a bakery, the culinary career, or using the food stall from home chef hustle OR be a stay at home parent and partner makes money Choose one or more of the following aspirations: Appliance whiz, master chef, country caretaker, super parent Style: French country, cottage core, pastels

You grew up in a peaceful and tranquil home with caring and kind parents. Lucky for you because as it turns out - the rest of the world? Not so peaceful. Being outside your home and surrounded by strangers was always stressful for you, and as you grew up you learned to retreat towards the things you knew: your family, your pets, and the delicious things you loved to cook. Another support for you was always your best friend turned love; you've promised to stay by each other's side through thick and thin and you can wait to build a home together. Will these supports help you get through the stresses of adulthood? Will be able to find a build a home that's peaceful and safe for your new family? Only time will tell…

-From teenagehood to death have at least one pet at all times (including non household animals like cows) -Marry your childhood best friend / high school sweetheart and stay together until death do us part -max out the cooking skill (and baking if you have get to work) -have 3-5 kids with your spouse -maintain best friends level friendship with all kids, spouse, and any cats or dogs you have -don't maintain friendships with anyone outside the household (this can change when you switch to playing sunflower gen if need be) -make sacked lunches for all family members at least twice a week -Make money through food (chef career, bakery, or food stall) OR be a stay at home parent -Recommended: live in Henford-on-Bagley -Max out one or more of the following aspirations: Appliance whiz, master chef, country caretaker, super parent

Gen 10: Sunflower -friendship and loyalty- Required trait: loyal and choose at least one of: cheerful, outgoing, generous Career: any Aspiration: one or more in the social category Optional: Additionally complete successful lineage or big happy family and continue gameplay Style: any - home with lots of space for hosting gatherings, yellow as a focus color would be a good choice

You had a pretty perfect childhood - supportive parents, siblings to play with, space to roam, the whole nine yards. Only… it was still a little lonely. There's a whole world out there, and as much as you love your parents, they didn't really expose you to it, preferring to stay home. Well, you're grown up now, and you are going to bring the world to your family and your family out into the world. There's so many cool people out there and you are going to be friends with them all.

-Complete the social aspiration as a child -Maintain a group of friends (use club system if you have get together) your whole life, adding members as you age and make more friends -maintain good friends level friendship with all club members -Fall in love with and marry someone with the family oriented trait -have at least two kids -take at least one family vacation -maintain friendship levels with all family members (siblings, parents, spouse, kids) at at least the good friend level -host family and friend gatherings frequently - if you have growing together: have a family reunion at least every 4 sim weeks - if you have seasons: host gatherings for every relevant holiday (e.g. no gathering needed for lottery day or love day, but harvestfest yes) -Optional: have one parent die as an elder and move the other in to live with you and your family, take care of them until they die -Optional: have a pet dog all your adulthood -Recommended: complete an aspiration in the family category as well (successful lineage or big happy family) - this will require continuing to play a bit beyond the 10th generation

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