#but gary is SUPER influenced by ardolphogen

[not-poignant]

As someone who has a lot of hormonally induced, fairly vicious mood swings, I just wanted to say that I think the way you write UTB Efnisien really captures the self doubt and frustration that can stem from it. Obviously, we are in very(!) different situations but I find it very resonant and true to my own struggles and it makes me feel a tiny bit less crazy when I read it, so thank you for that

Oof, sorry you have to go through that anon, it can be a challenge that's for sure.

Especially because people can often be quite dismissive about it and it's like no, hormones are real, and they're going to really mess with you depending on what your body is doing (and the drugs you're taking / the stage in your life) at any given time.

Writing that for Efnisien has been interesting, because I think some of his mood swings are just pure trauma responses that are interpreted as being connected to his hormones, and others are very much evidence of where he sits with too little ardolphogen in his body.

If anything, I think Gary's mood swings are profoundly influenced by the hormones he produces, and we'll see that in the future, when he experiences something called 'ardolphogen rage' and has to take tranquilisers because of it.