#Timing as a value in a culture that doesn't value mathematical exactness

[bonefall]

If there's no English word for prra maybe we should just use prra. What's stopping us

At one point when me and Trout converged to work on Clanmew, we happened to synch up just perfectly so that I DM'd him as he put down a book and I got off doing college stuff. It was an excellent example of Prra and we chuckled about it lmao

So yeah nothing is stopping anyone, certainly not me. It's all battle cat brainrot all the way down on my end

[solarsleepless]

hello all

welcome back the kristy thomas autism analysis, where i'm rewatching the show and writing down her autistic traits as i see em (as well as noting any neurodiverse traits in the other girls). here's part one if you haven't seen it.

this ep is not narrated by kristy, so she is not the 'main character' in this episode, which basically means there's going to be a LOT shorter than before

without further ado, let's jump right in!

Episode 2

"did he ask you to the dance or not?!" autistic people often don't pick up on things when they're indirectly stated, and much prefer a direct way of speaking because we tend to not pick up on the double meaning, which is clearly showcased with how much value kristy gives on the exact phrasing here

"subtlety is not among her many talents" more examples of kristy's bluntness—she doesn't feel the need to sugarcoat anything she's saying, she's just stating what's true

kristy is extremely and visibly confused by the notion that him saying he'd "see her there" is him asking her out. again, more emphasis on how she needs directness

oh also good time to note: comfort clothes!!! autistic people tend to gravitate towards clothes that feel nice. from this point onwards we see kristy wearing a lot of hats, which can feel good pressure-wise or even texture-wise.

oh also also, kristy is pretty queercoded!!! research right now indicates that autistic people are much more likely to identify under the lgbtqia(+) umbrella

something i didn't have enough space to note last time is that kristy generally wears much more comfortable clothes than the rest of the bsc. not that they actively wear uncomfortable clothes, but she's the only one who really dresses plain, with sweatpants, jeans, and soft shirts.

stimming: fidgeting slightly with the twizzlers :)

even More issues with bluntness: she doesn't understand how rude it is to say that her friend's dad is crazy and so forth because of his being obssessive over aforementioned friend.

not much to say on her response to mary anne's "and what would you know about having a normal dad?!" (ouch, mary anne), it's perfectly understandable. the way she just ups and runs without saying anything can be read as autistic.

additional notes

as this episode is claudia centric, we get a much bigger view into what she's like at school and whatnot. almost straight away, she tells us that above everything, she's good at art—which isn't in and of itself a sign, but with everything else, it can be! people with adhd can like art for a variety of reasons: the ability to just sit back and focus your mind on just one thing you want to create, the fact that you can create as well is important, the textures you can use and feel, the way you just sort of disconnect your mind from everything else. she remarks that she also likes it because there's no homework or tests, things adhders are notoriously bad at keeping track of due to their executive dysfunction.

this episode showcases most of all how she struggles with school. especially if claudia is dyslexic/dyscalculiac as she's slightly implied to be, pair that with adhd, and she's not living the vida loca.

as well as showing the same traits listed in part 1, janine also mentions she has noise-canceling headphones, which are common party of autistic culture as sound generally affects us the most. adhd and autism are also often hereditary, so if janine is autistic, it's likely that claudia is similarly nd.

claudia is shown to not understand how the math works, even when stacey explains in depth. she asks "and how do you do that?" and dyscalculia impairs how easy is it to understand mathematics, even if they're regarded as "simple" to others. there's also a pretty high comorbidity rate between dyscalculia and adhd with 11% having dyscalculia. generally, it's common to see adhd paired with another learning disorder, with 45% of ppl with adhd also having a learning disorder

stimming: tapping her hands on the table and swaying her leg

mary anne sits cross-legged in her chair: autistic people tend to have a heightened proprioceptive sensory input, which is basically why we sit funky, and why it is physically uncomfortable to sit "normally", with both feet on the ground.

anxiety is very common in autism, which both mary anne and especially her dad display. her dad's very autistic coded as well, but we can get into that in later episodes.

[onlyawfulrpgideas]

The way I've gone about it in the past is to choose a value or ideal that has particular significance in your world or (more importantly) the story you want to tell in it.

This can be something quite vague, like "knowledge" or "harmony". Or perhaps something a little more specific, like "appreciation for the technological arts" or "the righteous judgment and bestowing of consequences upon those who commit betrayal against a close relative or familial friend".

If you want someone to be the "god of _____ " go for a vague concept or a very specific object/action. For more vague ideological concepts, perhaps give them just a name with thematic connotations as opposed to the "god of _____ " format.

Once I have a name and a core value or concept, I draw a brainstorming diagram with lots of arrows and colours, because it looks clever.

Think about emotions or temperaments that might be appropriate for your deity to exhibit. In some fictional (and probably real life) pantheons, the god(s) are capable of changing their mood or outlook just like a person: their designs and plans might be changeable or even whimsical. Other deities are cosmic beings that embody one core goal and set of values - a constant, unwavering presence that never changes its mind or feeling.

Decide which of these your gods will be. Maybe some of each! Although, once a god is established in your world, it's typically a good idea to keep them the same throughout the story.

Moodboards! Colours, shapes, buildings, people, languages! Go wild and do some research. The real world is so diverse that there are plenty of different cultures to inspire the respective religions that venerate your gods. Be careful to only use this inspiration in good taste and try not to be too heavy handed with obvious real-world parallels.

For instance, in the real world I learnt about the significance of the gorgeous Arabesque stem and leaf fractal patterns that are seen in Islamic artwork and the "sacred" mathematics in the construction of churches in my country

Perhaps the followers of your deity find transcendence in the mystical order of numbers and their temples are all constructed in exact ratios, with perfectly semi-circular archways and intricate fractal patterns carved into their stone pillars. Their ceremonies and rites might be very complicated, including repetitions of mantras or actions a specific amount of times based on a sacred number. Or something like that.

Alternatively, your deity might be closer to the natural world and is worshipped by the sharing of produce and protection of holy sites, undisturbed by humanoid activity. Followers might wear special tokens taken from nature to remind them of their connection to the world.

There's much you can think about to develop the flavour of your religion, but narratively, there is something more important.

I see a lot of world building focus on creations stories and the origin of the gods. But, honestly, has that ever come up in the "present day" of your story?

There's certainly nothing wrong with establishing a cosmological history for your world; I very much encourage you to do so. But I find a more pressing matter to be "What does this deity want?"

Yes, they may be a little more influential than your typical NPC, but at the end of the day, your god doesn't do things just for the heck of it. What is it that they want to achieve? They have an agenda and are going to influence the world to bring that design into fruition.

When telling a story through the medium of an RPG, you will often have a nice framework set out to determine how much a deity can influence the world through their mortal conduits (clerics, Paladins, etc). The thing you need to decide is what's your god's decision process. What things will they lend extra power for and what things will they absolutely not condone.

If you're a Cleric of a good deity of forgiveness (or something like that) and start to veer away from your spotless morality, at what point will your god start to close their end of the bargain?

Try not to make these limits utterly restricting to player freedom, but at the same time make it very clear that the divine power cannot be abused. Use signs to illustrate the god's displeasure or exhortation. Maybe you develop a very dark and unnaturally large shadow that is not fully dispelled by daylight, or your eyes might briefly glow with the light of your god's affirmation.

How forgiving is your god? One misstep and your access to divine power is revoked? Or maybe your god might seem distant for a while - ceasing to impart visions and blessings - but will always embrace a reformed spirit.

By no means is this advice either good or definitive, but I hope some of it might inspire you, even if it is just a little idea!

Let us know how you get on :D

Worldbuilding

I think I wanna try my hand at it some more; less based on existing video game world but a truly unique world. I’m super down for feedback, suggestions, etc.

I think a good place to start would be like… the gods but I need to do some research. Who has suggestions for good god-building things?