#it’s just a word that very specifically refers to the personality trait or state of talking back to anyone’s suggestions just because you

[many-gay-magpies]

I love not being able to remember an extremely specific word and not being able to find it by googling the definition because the definition is so convoluted and so LIKE so many other words that are NOT the word I’m looking for that I am unable to find the one word I DO want. Like, I’m pretty sure typing “word that is sort of like contradictory, but more specifically means having an attitude of just saying no to or disagreeing with any suggestions anyone else makes more on principle than because you actually disagree with them” into google search would get me what I want

[hoardingpuffin]

Pet Peeve but - as a person with several different neurodivergencies I am very uncomfortable seeing people use the term neurodivergent to specifically just talk about ADHD and Autism. Not in the sense that they refer to those two things as neurodivergence cause that's objectively correct, but when people talk about "neurodivergent traits" and then just list AuDHD traits. And it bothers me because there is no such thing as a "neurodivergent trait".

Neurodivergent is an umbrella term for anything that differs from the so-called 'neurologically normal brain'. Dyscalculia is neurodivergence. Dyslexia, dyspraxia, autism, ADHD, depression, anxiety, behavioral and personality disorders, OCD, dissociative disorders, trauma, phobias, all of that is neurodivergence and not all of them have overlapping traits, in fact very few of them do! My anxiety presents entirely different to my autism to my dyscalculia to my trauma, and yes, there might be overlap because most of my trauma directly resulted from me being undiagnosed autistic child, and my anxiety was definitely strongly fuelled by the experiences I made as an autistic person but they all have different traits.

There are no "neurodivergent traits" that cover all neurodivergencies at once and as both a person with neurodivergencies and as a scientist/anthropologist I worry about the repercussions neurodivergent people as a group will face that result from neurodivergent in the like, popular language being used to just refer to autism and ADHD. For one, other neurodivergencies might not be taken seriously as such. People will talk about their experience with neurodivergence and will be faced with comments like "that's not neurodivergence, neurodivergence is [insert experiences specific to ADHD and/or Autism]" and that might seem really not that big of a deal at first but when faced with tons of comments all saying that, believe me, it is a big deal and very stressful. For another, I fear there will be more stigma for autistic people, especially those with higher support needs, in stating openly they are autistic. Already I have encountered many people who flat out refuse to call themselves autistic and differenciate as "I'm not autistic I am neurodivergent" in the very same way people go "I'm not autistic, I have Aspergers". Aspie supremacy is still a huge problem in autistic spaces and the online autism community and I worry how much it or a similar sentiment will rise if we continue to use 'neurodivergent' as the more desireable term over autism. Like, autism is not a dirty or evil word.

Obviously you don't have to state your specific diagnosis if you do not want to, and using neurodivergent as an umbrella term instead is absolutely valid - so long as it remains an umbrella term. I cannot stress enough that neurodivergent is not a diagnosis. There are traits unique to different neurodivergencies, there are no overlapping "neurodivergent traits".

[cracklinhaze]

Absolutely love your post weirdmageddon Dipper centric fic! Ppl tend to forget that even before all That, the lil guy has always been snarky and protective & Feisty. If anything, what he went thru would def make him even bolder and braver enough to have those traits be more apparent. On another note, I know we saw bits of it on the fic but I just can’t help but be curious on your take of how post Weirdmageddon mabel is doing? Like your head canons and such :O

Hi Anon! <3 Happy Sunday! Thank you so much for your kind words. Dipper Pines being mouthy is one of my favorite things about him.

(For reference: Anon is referring to THIS FIC of mine!)

I would be MORE than happy to lay out some of my post-Weirdmaggedon headcanons for my beloved Mabel Pines.

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

✰ Mabel Pines POST-WMAG Headcanons ✰

✰ She and Dipper have their own rooms back in Piedmont. Their parents assume the kids will be excited to have their own space, and they both claim they are. However, Mabel spends the first few months back in California in a sleeping bag on the floor of Dipper's room. Dipper wonders if her own pink, cheery stuffed-animal-littered room reminds her too much of Mabel-Land.

✰ Mabel gets REALLY into scrapbooking. After her scrapbooks saved Stan, she records everything.

✰ She blames herself entirely for Weirdmaggedon. Keeps a smile on her face and the shame shoved way, way down.

✰ Gets caught bringing her grappling hook to school SEVERAL times by teachers. Piedmont MS has a strict "no weapons" policy. She continues to break it. The administration is at their wits end.

✰ When Dipper gets anxious or angry about something to do with Weirdmaggedon, Mabel is the first person to notice. She starts making jokes in a very specific way, entirely directed at him in the hopes he'll be distracted.

✰ Speaking of jokes, Mabel's humor gets DARK. She's got a lot of trauma and nowhere else to put it.

✰ The divorce hits Mabel hard. Even though Dipper thinks he was protecting her from it, she knew. As someone who usually sees the bright side of things, she finds it increasingly hard to rationalize all the bad stuff. The world can end? Love can die? Twins can stop talking to each other for thirty years? Late at night on the floor of Dipper's room, she sometimes stays awake in a numb state of panic.

✰ Mabel's second "first kiss" is freshman year homecoming with the guy she asked to the dance. She teases that it doesn't really count because Dipper didn't kiss him, too.

✰ Sometimes, when Mabel's hair gets really messy (curls, ugh) -- Dipper sits on the floor and helps her untangle it while they watch Ducktective reruns.

✰ After fighting with her hair for too long, Mabel finally cuts it short. Wendy is the first person she texts about it.

✰ Her sophomore year of high school, Mabel goes to a party with some of the more "edgy girls" who are into stick-and-poke tattoos. She does a sort of messy star on her ankle and gets grounded when her parents discover it isn't just sharpie.

✰ Soos, Dipper, and Mabel have virtual game nights where they play shitty browser games on call.

✰ The thing that Mabel fears MOST is losing Dipper the way Ford and Stan lost each other. As Dipper gets more confident and starts making a few more friends at school, interning, and preparing for college, Mabel worries desperately about being left behind.

✰ The moments when Mabel KNOWS they're going to be okay are the times when she and Dipper sit on the couch, scrolling through their phones in mostly silence -- occasionally cracking up and showing each other dumb internet shit. Dipper usually tries to covertly put his cold feet on her. She hits him with pillows.

-----

When I write Mabel, there are a few things I stand by: Mabel Pines is intelligent; she's not the stupid twin. Mabel alleviates her anxiety with humor, silliness, and absurdity -- she chooses underthinking over Dipper's overthinking. She is, in many capacities, just as mature if not more mature than her brother; she worries about him growing up too fast.

If you want more of these, let me know! I am never not thinking about the Pines twins <3

[tokiro07]

Saw someone going through my Medaka Box tag and liking some of my old posts and it got my gears turning about how the Abnormality power system barely qualifies as a power system at all

Whereas something like Undead Unluck has a complex web of interactions between its various facets that are all governed by consistent and predictable rules (known as a Hard Power System), Medaka Box's Soft Power System makes very little attempt to codify any specific rules or distinctions between its constituent elements

For example, it's never clearly laid out what really differentiates a Plus or a Minus in the sense of what the powers are capable of. There was a point where it seemed like all Pluses gave the user some kind of internal ability while Minuses gave them the power to affect the world around them in some way, but that's quickly discarded by Pluses like Weighted Words (electrical signal projection) and Remodeling (effectively externalized shapeshifting with extra steps)

The capabilities of the powers are so vague that when Ajimu claims to have 13 quadrillion powers, half of which being Plus and half being Minus, there's almost never any attention paid to which ones are which when she's listing them off. Is Parasite Seeing, the skill to see through someone else's eyes, a Plus or a Minus? Who knows, it's never stated, nor is it ever dwelled upon

Because that's the real sticking point here: the narrative doesn't care about the powers themselves

When Minuses are first introduced, the powers aren't the part that any of the cast is worried about, it's the people using them

Mukae isn't an issue because Raff-Rafflesia forces her to decay anything she touches, she's an issue because she's obsessive and delusional. Her personality, her Mentality, is what allows her to be so flippant with such a passively hazardous ability

In other words, the powers themselves aren't really what's being classified when one is referred to as a Plus or Minus Abnormal, it's the origin of those powers and the people using them

The interaction between powers can't be called a system because there are no actual rules governing them; every time one character thinks they understand a rule, it turns out that it was just an assumption they made up. "Medaka's power is to perfect Abnormalities; if she perfects a Minus, it will bring it to its logical extreme and make her uncontrollable!" Except...no, it never does. She masters multiple Minuses with no ill effect because she doesn't have the matching Mentality

Plus and Minus are just labels, diagnoses of the user's state, and the powers themselves are otherwise just there so that the cast can have a way to fight beyond punching and kicking

This isn't an indictment of the writing quality, as I think the personality traits of the cast do follow consistent rules and patterns within their categories, but that really just illustrates my point: the power system is there as a way to blatantly highlight the personalities of the cast, not to create a unique and intricate form of combat that can only be found within its home series

[androgyne-homosapiens]

Androgyne gender identity

Definition:

Androgyne, androgyn or androgynous gender, is an identity under the nonbinary and transgender umbrellas. Androgynes have a gender identity that can be a blend of both or neither of the binary genders. They may describe this as being between female and male, between man and woman, between masculine and feminine or simply 'in between.' They can also identify as neither feminine or masculine, or neither female and male.

from the nonbinary wiki

As stated in the definition, androgyne people are trans (they don't identify exclusively as the gender they were assigned at birth), and nonbinary (they are not one of the binary genders). Of course it is up to an individual to choose the words they use to identify themselves with.

The word androgyne has an interesting history, at times it was used as an umbrella term similar to nonbinary (I won't go in to much more detail here, but there is more info in the nonbinary wiki).

androgyne, androgyny, androgynous

As a rule, androgyne refers to a gender identity, while Androgyny refers to gender expression (androgynous would be the word used to describe an individual using androgyny as their gender expression). A person may identify as androgyne, and not be androgynous, and a person my be androgynous and not identify as androgyne.

But the split isn't quite so clear. In theory:

Androgyny is a wide category of gender expression that either mixes or omits markers of both feminine and masculine gender expression.

The nonbinary wiki

But,

Androgyny possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression.

Wikipedia

It is explained well in this post, but I think a good way to understand the difference is that androgyne is an androgynous gender identity. While androgyne will be used as a gender identity, and androgyny is more general reference to a blend of male and female characteristics.

What is overall the most important to understand that use of these words for individuals will vary. General use of these terms has changed over time. If an individual feels that these words help them to understand themselves (even if they don't fit the "exact definitions") then that is what is important. Words are here to benefit us.

Here is a useful graphic to understand the "androgyne spectrum":

androgyne spectrum

[ID: a scale, starting from the left with "Female" and "Feminine", then "Gynx", "Androgyne" and "Androgynous", "Androx", "Male" and "Masculine". End]

from this post, by @bentonthegay. And this post gives a good explanation about it, and about androgyne as a gender identity:

I think that the specific thing that makes Androgyne an identity all its own that I believe is within the center of the gender spectrum, right alongside other non-binary genders that blur the line between “male” and “female”. Androgyne is the “neither” and/or “both” of the spectrum. It’s a bit of a blend of selected traits from both sides. Given, that means very different things to different people, so I imagine that not every Androgyne person dresses or behaves just like I do. [...] The part of the identity that sets it apart is how Androgyne people feel about themselves.  As an Androgyne person, I believe that I am not a man or a woman. I reside comfortably between the extremes. So I guess it’s not just a mix, it’s more that I’m a blurred segment of the gradient between them. I do believe that Androgyne is an identity by itself and not just “a mix of female and male traits”. Given, that’s like saying a banana split is just ice cream with bananas and sweet toppings. You’re not wrong, but it’s not just that.

post by @androgynepositivity

Another important point to remember that while androgyne is a mix of the two binary genders, it is also connected to neutrality, being in the middle of the spectrum, it is "both" and "neither", and can be different for each person.

Similarly, androgyny can be both presenting femininely and masculinely at the same time, or more of a neutral look, neither feminine nor masculine.

multigender?

Depending on the person, androgynes may see themselves as falling under the multigender umbrella.

in the "Brochure for the Human Outreach and Achievement Institute" (1987) the following definition is found:

Androgyne: A person who can comfortably express either alternative gender role in a variety of socially acceptable environments. (Includes bigenderist)

Source

This is both an interesting historical look on the meaning of androgyne, but also the close connection androgyne has with the multigender (and in particular bigender) community.

The meaning of bigender has expanded in the past 30+ years. It refers to people who have two specific gender identities, these identities may be male and female but also may not be. Seemingly this can include androgynes.

The choice to include oneself under the multigender/bigender umbrella should be a personnel one. Do I feel like being androgyne is a mix of two things? Or perhaps it is one identity, one gender? Maybe the experiences of multigendered people resonate with me, and I would like to be connected to their community regardless? The history connects androgynes and multigended people. At any rate, we are all queer and therefore connected.

micro-labels

Femandrogyne: an androgyne person that feels more feminine than masculine.

Mascandrogyne: an androgyne that feels more masculine than feminine.

Neutrandrogyne: an androgyne with equal amounts of masculinity and femininity, and/or simply neutral.

Versandrogyne: an androgyne with amounts of femininity and masculinity that fluctuate, for example they could go between femandrogyne and mascandrogyne.

Demiandrogyne: an androgyne who relates partially, but not fully, to the androgyne experience (this term is also under the demigender umbrella).

Thank to @androgyne-culture-is in this post for the deffintions, they can also be found in the LGBTQIA+ Wiki.

flags and symbols

The official androgyne pride flag is:

[ID: flag with three vertical stripes, in the colors, from left to right: pink, purple, and light blue. End]

The pink represents femininity, the light blue masculinity, and the purple a mix of them both.

This is a great post explaining about other flags that are less known, based off the nonbinary wiki.

One important symbol is:

[ID: a circle with an arrow coming out of the top, and a horizontal line underneath the triangle of the arrow. End]

This symbol is a mix of female (Venus) and male (Mars) symbols. It is also an intersex symbol, and a symbol for other genders. In the image the symbol is pointing up, but it is sometimes depicted pointing to other directions.

Another important symbol is the Necker Cube:

[ID: illustration of a cube. End]

Necker Cube n. 1. An optical illusion in the shape of a cube. May take either of two forms:

Proposed by the author as a symbol of androgyny, because it is either concave or convex depending on how you look at it. I prefer this to the mars-plus-venus sign, which depends upon a juxtaposition of stereotpyes (sword and shield for male, looking-glass for female), and which, furthermore, combines the signs for the two most irritating gods in the Roman pantheon. If we must depend on Greek mythology, I would prefer to take a cue from Janus and use some variation of the two-faces motif on the cover of some editions of The Left Hand of Darkness. The Necker cube, however, is simpler, and suggests ambiguity in more than mere gender. Who wants to design the lapel pin?

 The Angel’s Dictionary, part of the Androgyny RAQ

And for more info: Practical Androgyny

There is much more history to the word and identity. Many more experiences it could include, but there is only so much I can cover. I do hope that nothing I've written makes it seem like this identity has rigid rules that need to be adhered to in order to identify with it. On the contrary. This seems to be a very broad and open way of identifying, and different aspects of it may resonate with many.

[reallyprofoundkryptonite]

Why do you draw this particular character so often? This worries me a bit.

I saw your drawings of a "krogan" with albinism.

It's not very wise to repaint a character who has a "healthy" skin color and turn him into albinism or melanism. People with albinism are not a fetish that you can transform your characters into.

Would you feel good if you suffered from albinism and suddenly someone decided that for the sake of his "au" they would repaint their character/ oc so that they would also suffer from it?

This isn't hate, I just want to know your way of thinking. I felt a bit uncomfortable when next to "au's" like cyborg or mermaid I noticed "albinism au" as if it were some weird. creature or fictional species.

I just don't understand. Is this some kind of fetish or fantasy? A strange desire to become an albino? (even though you wouldn't want to be, believe me)

I repeat - it's just a question. No hate, please don't take it so strongly.

[The question is private, please do not share it publicly. But it's up to you - what you think]

/by the way - there are animals that cannot be albinos, such as horses

First of all. No. I’m not setting this to private. This is the SECOND ask i have gotten with similar perimeters in my inbox in the past day and, personally that is extremely fishy to me, considering the fact that this is coming from a blog that was made that is not following anyone, has no likes, and hasn’t posted anything which leads me to the conclusion that this is the original person who asked the question with that same exact asks’s alt account.

Now I might just be throwing out things into the water, however, I’d rather be safe than sorry. By the way, because I have already answered asks about why I like Krogan in the past. which you can find if you dig around my blog, I won’t be going into graphic detail because there’s already an ask that ANSWERS that question on my blog somewhere if you would go look for it.

But anyways.

1. I’m autistic. I have a hyperfixation on this specific character. I just like him and i cannot put it into words.

2. I am asexual. I do not have a “Fetish.” As you would put it. I am an asexual and I am actively sex repulsed. I do not need to offer you any more of an explanation as to why trying to say I have a fetish is gross.

3. It’s. An AU. An alternate universe. I like exploring other possibilities for canon. That’s… literally it. Nothing else to explain there. I don’t see albinos as “less than.” I do not see them as something that “doesn’t exist” or whatever. I am not stupid. Yes, there are animals that cannot be albinos however humans are inherently a species that carries this trait so I don’t know what you’re trying to point out there.

4. I should also point out that using the wording you did to state that while yes, albinism is an inherently dangerous condition that does have its risks with people, I have done more than enough research to understand that there are ways to keep their skin healthy. The fact that they are so extremely pale complected is due to a genetic mutation that causes a lack of pigment in the skin, eyes and hair. It can lead to skin cancer due to having no melanin however plenty of people with the condition live completely normal lives, so referring to the individual afflicted with albinism as being “unhealthy” is inherently ableist.

Also i myself am so pale i’m fucking translucent in some lights. I don’t have to “fantasize” about being pale.

5. Melanisim is an over abundance of pigment within the flesh. I haven’t done as much research on the topic and i won’t claim to be an expert in any way because I am not but still, referring to someone like this is inherently ableist regardless simply because they have a pigment mutation.

6. AUs are inherently just that. Alternate universes. It’s not saying that a real life condition that people have doesn’t exist. It’s an alternative version of canon. That’s it.

[chevelleneech]

https://www.tumblr.com/dearweirdme/761701380234903552/i-usually-dont-subblog-like-this-but-i-am-beyond

The way the tkkr account has literally twisted your words lmaoo. I get why these people ship taekook, zero reading comprehension because when did you say Jk’s behaviour towards Jimin is because he is neurodivergent? You spoke about his behaviour in general and not specifically towards Jimin so what are they even talking about???😂

I don’t typically like posting asks with people’s blogs linked in, and I am going to state upfront that I hope no one goes to this blog and says a single thing ��in defense” of me or my opinions.

However, I will post this message solely because they are in fact twisting what I said, and quoting me in bad faith. It is also impossible to claim this post is about anyone else, so there’s no way it won’t lead back to me anyway.

What I said, @dearweirdme, is that Jungkook has a “standoffish” personality in general. He has been this way for years, and it doesn’t make sense to me that people continue to use it as so-called proof that he doesn’t like interacting with Jimin.

I also said people need to stop picking apart his personality, trying to find reasons why he comes across as rude or standoffish around Jimin only, when it is a fact he acts this way around all the members. And one reason for that, is because he is possibly nd. So instead of the anon I got, and many others constantly trying to say he seems uninterested in Jimin because he’s not being as enthusiastic as they believe he should be, they need to look at his personality as it has been for years.

I also state that all the members seem very much aware of his personality, and don’t care that it may take more effort for him to be as involved as they want him to be. They know that’s who he is, and they seemingly have made space in how they all interact as a group, to accommodate one another’s needs.

Next, I did not say any trait of JK’s is negative, you did. I said this:

Someone being a lot to handle does not mean they are unwanted nor the people doing the handling are unwilling. Lots of us have people in our lives who are a lot to handle, but we figure out how to meet them where they need us to, because we love them.

I said JK seems like a lot to handle, because he does, imo. His personality seems to swing much more drastically than the other members do, with the one example I gave of a moment when accommodations needed to be made. The group and their crew made them, and I don't recall there ever being any issues there. The same way I don’t recall there ever being any issues made when Yoongi needed physical accommodations over the years.

So perhaps you and I simply have different opinions on what it means to love a person who is a lot to handle, but I don’t view any of the traits I listed for Jungkook as negative. They’re just parts of who he appears to be.

As for you deciding I am referring to Jikook specifically and supposedly blaming possible neurodivergent traits as the reason JK acts this or that way to Jimin, that’s your fault, not mine. You have chosen to take what you want from my post and run with it to fit a narrative you want, because you don’t believe Jikook mean anything to each other, I guess.

Because me? I said multiple times that even if he is not nd, his personality has always been what it is. He may not be overt and expressive in his excitement, but he tends to always use his words to tell us he enjoyed himself. Thus, people need to at least try to marry their opinion of his personality to what he’s telling us. That’s it.

That’s all I said and all I meant. It has nothing to do with trying to create reasons why I think JM and JK are dating, and shoving stuff in that don’t fit. Particularly because they don’t have to be dating for me to believe Jungkook is being honest about enjoying spending time with Jimin. I also don’t need to believe he is nd to make his personality around Jimin make sense. To me, JK seems nd, and likes being around Jimin. The two do not go hand in hand, no matter how much you twisted my words to make it seem like that’s what I said.

In any case, next time you have this level of confusion over what I’m saying, try asking for clarification first. I’d have been happy to let you know you misunderstood.

[aspd-culture]

Hi, this is a genuine question, coming from someone with BPD, NPD, autism, and OSDD-1B. I want to make sure I am correct in this information. However, are the terms "p/ychopath" and "s/ciopath" actual slurs? I have read posts and articles referring to the history of these terms and some have been akin to the history of the r slur. I have seen some pwASPD and some prosocials claim these terms are slur. I have seen the exact opposite state otherwise. I have seen posts that explain that these terms have a long entrenched history in targeting and pathologizing people who were vehemently against oppressive authorities and other forces. That apparently these terms existed to not only harm pwASPD (though it is the main target), but also people with DID and people on the schizoaffective spectrum. Oh and other disorders too and people of different classes and other minorities. Also, if any of this happens to be misinformation, please do let me know and correct me. I never want to spread misinformation, so just let me know.

However, with all this information, I am still left wondering is it safe to claim these terms as slurs or just really... derogatory, ableist terms? Like, I want to be able to support pwASPD and language is an oppressive tool. So I'd like to understand the entire situation. Would you and other pwASPD say these are slurs? I don't really use these terms and I don't like to, but I want to know so that I can make sure that when I stand up for pwASPD I use correct information.

Oooooof, okay, this one is going to piss some people off. This is a very very good question anon, and not one with an objective or commonly agreed upon answer afaik. I appreciate the respectful way you asked this! TW for ableist language, for the duration of this post, the terms psychopath and sociopath will not be censored. Also, this is gonna be a long one.

Before I give you my take, let me explain the two sides I have personally seen on this issue.

Position 1.) Psychopath and sociopath are slurs based on the common definition of the term - "an offensive word used to insult someone because of their race, sexuality (the fact of being sexually attracted to people of a particular gender), etc." (Cambridge Dictionary). Because this is a term used to specifically attack someone based on the context of a particular set of mental illnesses (cluster b personality disorders), it would classify under that definition as a slur. People on this side often also cite the r slur being undeniably a slur as a reason that this should count as well. These words are used primarily if not almost exclusively in a negative context to insult a person with these disorders or to imply (in a derogatory way) that the person they're talking to has negative traits associated with one of these disorders. As with the r slur, the intention usually isn't really to imply that they must factually be diagnosable with the disorder, but instead implies that they have negative traits associated with this disorder. The same exists with many slurs; the d slur is thrown at straight women who dress in a "masculine" way, and the f slur is thrown at straight men who do not engage in misogyny and those who dress or act "femininely". That doesn’t diminish the weight of those slurs, so this position is supported by the idea that these terms being used in this way doesn’t change the harm they cause. Also, just as with other slurs, these words are considered synonymous with the disorders, in that if you refer to sociopathy and psychopathy in a serious context - one outside of an insult - it will be generally known that you are referring to the specific mental illnesses that those with actual knowledge of mental health refer to as cluster b disorders. Many people actually believe these are medical subtypes of ASPD, or that sociopathy refers to ASPD whilst psychopathy refers to NPD, or that sociopathy is ASPD without violence and psychopathy is ASPD with violence. All of these are inaccurate, but they hold one thing in common across all of them: that these terms when used in a serious context refer to one or multiple cluster b disorders with *maybe* an exception for some people lumping “psychopath” in with “psychosis” when referring to schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and schizotypal and schizoid personality disorders. Even then though, most people I have seen actually make the distinction that “psycho” and “psychopath” refer to entirely different disorders. Yes, I have seen people actually correct people to use the term psychopath, but not psycho for pwASPD because “psycho refers to schizophrenia”. I have not personally seen either used towards pwDID except to imply that they had the negative traits of personality disorders (see also, as an ableist insult), but tbh I would not be surprised if it’s common and I don’t know about it because I simply do not surround myself with people who use those terms and in my personal space only tolerate it a few times with respectful explanations before it becomes “alright I’ll be a thorn in your side about it until you don’t use them around me just so I’ll shut up” time - if I can’t outright cut them off.

Position 2.) Psychopath and sociopath are not slurs because there is not the history or pain associated with cluster b disorders that there is with other slurs. The concept here is that there is long-standing systemic oppression and societally ingrained hatred involved with the LGBTQIA+ community, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, POC, etc. Whilst mentally ill people as a whole experience some amount of oppression and certainly experience hate, this argument bases itself in the idea that it is not just hate that makes something a slur; there must be specific and pervasive oppresson associated with it for it to be a slur. For many if not all other slurs (that I know about), there are multiple individual and/or large-scale attempts to erase this identity from an area if not from existence entirely via genocide attempts, eugenics, etc. Another main part of this argument is the usage - that psychopath and sociopath are thrown at people without these disorders much more often than other slurs are used that way. Classic example is “my ex was a psychopath”, and generally they mean in the way of “asshole who didn’t care about my feelings at all” and not “I know the symptoms of cluster B disorders and you’re acting like you have one”. Further, this point tends to argue that most people who use these terms probably don’t know anything about cluster b disorders, even if they know they exist. When someone calls someone else the r slur, f slur, etc. they almost always know exactly what they’re calling you.

These are just the arguments I have personally seen myself and very likely (tbh almost definitely) are *not* the only points/arguments involved. I may also have some things wrong about these arguments because tbh I try to keep myself out of this conversation after the really hateful things I have seen and heard said both to me and other people who disagree with my opinion on this. It seems to me that many people in this discussion come to it in a place of pain and clearly have some trauma being brought up by the discussion on both sides, and therefore it isn't always easy for people to handle it in the calm and respectful manner needed for the conversation to be productive. That said, I am feeling well enough after dealing with the distress this caused my mental health previously to attempt to engage again. *Please* scroll on if you cannot handle talking about this in a respectful manner. I will block people if it can't be a safe place for everyone on both sides to state their opinion.

Please keep in mind that this is just my opinion on the matter, and I am not dead set on this opinion. If a genuine argument is brought to me that is not exclusively "You can't understand slurs because you're XYZ", I am willing to engage in a conversation about why I may be on the wrong side of this. While I *do* have definite privilege and that tints your view of the world in every aspect of life - every event/action/thought/etc. - that is pretty much the case for everyone. There is almost always at least one or two ways that someone has some privilege. I am willing to recognize the way that it affects my opinion of course - and that the ways I deal with oppression are just not the same as other people since I technically have the choice to hide that I am a part of these communities (even though it would be detrimental to my physical and/or mental health to do so) whilst others simply do not have that - but if that’s the *only* thing you have to say on it as to why I’m wrong, I don’t feel this is an actual discussion. At that point, I feel like it’s just finding a way to diminish my opinion because it is different from yours, and I have a feeling a fair amount of (but probably not all) people making that point would believe I was a valid part of this conversation if I was on their side.

I think it is relevant to the conversation to be transparent about my privilege in my point of view, and where I am not privileged. I am not heterosexual, heteroromantic, nor cisgender, and cannot pass as any of those things without making significant long term changes to my appearance/mannerisms/clothing/etc. I am white. I am autistic, but do not struggle with intellectual disorders as of the time of writing (I am unsure if intellectual disorders can come later on in life due to external or internal factors). I have both physical and mental disabilities, but they are invisible and I have somewhere between low and moderate support needs when it comes to my autism.

I personally think they do count as slurs. To say that systemic oppression does not exist for ASPD especially is unfair and honestly ignorant. It makes me think that they haven't done the research needed to try to back that point. People are diagnosed on the stand - sometimes without the presence of a mental health professional and almost always (in this situation) by people with next to no outside interaction with them from before the incident - to destroy their character. People with ASPD are much more likely to end up in jail even when you only compare people who have committed a crime (which removes the issue of "well that happens because of the symptoms of the disorder") because one of the things that is basically required to get a shorter or reduced sentence and especially one without jailtime is to "show remorse". The need to show remorse is also sometimes assessed in hearings for probation or parole according to what I have heard from other people, but I have never seen non-fictional parole/probation hearings, nor have I been involved with legal issues personally. This reliance on remorse comes for pwASPD in two distinct ways - it attacks a direct symptom of the disorder (low or no remorse), and an associated trait (flat affect). ASPD is also disproportionately represented in inmates, and most studies on ASPD are conducted solely or mostly on inmates. As for systemic hate, one of the most common things that is said to "make people human" or "prove the existence of a soul" is empathy. There is a significant portion of people who directly equate empathy with humanity. Whilst the hate and oppression isn't *as* prevalent by any means as it is for, for example, POC, it certainly is there and is significant. This isn't the same as a not-LGBTQIA+ person claiming cishet is a slur - there is plenty of serious and pervasive hate and oppression against people with cluster b disorders. To try to argue that it exists, but isn’t enough turns this discussion into the trauma olympics, which I don’t think is productive.

The argument that they are not slurs because they are medical terms comes with two separate issues, starting with the small (sarcastic) fact that they aren't - at least not anymore in the majority of English-speaking countries. Neither psychopath nor sociopath are in the DSM nor (I believe) the ICD. I have heard/read people say that they used to be which would make them antiquated medical terms, and while that probably is true (I could not find them in previous DSMs, but those books are *huge* so I could easily have missed it), that wouldn't change that antiquated medical terms are not medical terms anymore. That's kind of the whole point of them changing the term. Just because your specific professional still uses that term or doesn't correct you when you call your ex a psychopath does not make it a medical term. Many mental health professionals do not and are not required to get regular updates to their education unfortunately, and even the ones that do may be showing bias which does happen even though it isn’t supposed to. There are also still professionals who believe you can’t possibly have made it through school without being diagnosed with autism if you are autistic. There are still professionals who think DID isn’t real literally at all. We cannot base what is and is not a medical term on it’s use by individual professionals in good faith while simultaneously speaking up about medical gaslighting. You may already see the truly glaring second issue with the idea that these are not slurs because they are medical terms - the r slur. Also used for many, many years even beyond the point where it was known to be a slur, the r slur was itself a medical term. I do not see many people arguing that that isn't a slur, and the ones that do get (rightfully) put in their place for it.

The argument that it isn’t a slur because, unlike other slurs, a lot of people using the terms don’t know that they are related to mental health disorders doesn’t sit right with me either. Firstly, would it be any less offensive and hurtful if the person calling you that slur didn’t know what it referred to? There are people still to this day that don’t know what the r slur refers to - they just think it means you’re “stupid” in a non-disorder sense. I have personally met people who thought that term was entirely okay to use until they were told what it meant - does that remove the harm caused every time they said it to someone? In my opinion, the fact that this language is so ingrained that it can be known to be an insult without any knowledge of mental health nor these disorders says something about just how stigmatized and openly hated people with them are. These terms are both inherently associated with cluster b disorders *and* with being a shitty person. If that isn’t what a slur is (and I mean this as a serious question, not a “gotcha” or whatever subtext meaning allistics use this phrase with), then what is? How would you define a slur if not a term that is undeniably derogatory and associated with the hatred of a specific group of people due to something out of their control? If the dictionary definition is wrong or incomplete or diminishing the weight of that term, all of which is absolutely possible, then what would make that definition complete/accurate? I don’t know that this is a question with a single answer either, to be honest.

I think when you're talking about things like language, anecdotes and personal emotions are a valid part of that conversation. From that perspective, as someone who has dealt with slurs being thrown at me for my sexuality and my autism (before I even knew I was autistic actually), it feels the exact same when someone calls me a sociopath or psychopath. It is intended to hurt in the same way that other slurs are intended to hurt, and for me, it does. It's worth noting many people do *not* feel the same way as I do here, but I would argue that not everyone in *any* marginalized group feels hurt by being called a slur. There are always people who think the way to take the power away from the term is to let everyone use it freely and just decide to not care regardless of how ignorant that position is imo. People are different and feel different about things. I have had plenty of LGBTQIA+ saying the f slur shouldn't even count as a slur and that I “shouldn’t be so sensitive about people using it as an insult when they aren’t even talking to you”. Whenever you are dealing with a large group of people, especially large enough for that number to be stated via a percentage of the world’s population, you will see varying opinion on pretty much anything. Additionally, when you’re talking to people with trauma so intense and/or long-term that it caused a personality disorder to develop (the percentage of needs met to develop a secure attachment style is so much lower than I would have imagined and I’d advise anyone with a cluster b disorder to not look it up unless you’re braced for it), many are so numbed by the trauma that they cannot bring themselves to be bothered by a word - any word. But just because we have dealt with worse, doesn’t mean (in my opinion) that we should have to accept these terms as mere “insults” or “problematic” or even “ableist language”. In my current opinion, I would say they are slurs. I don’t think less of people who don’t agree in any way, and I am, again, open to engaging in that discussion, but I don’t have respect for the idea that because I do not fit into *every* marginalized group, that I should not have any opinion about slurs. That isn’t an argument, it’s a cop out so you don’t have to actually engage with my points.

I’m sorry to anon for taking so long (like months I’m pretty sure) to answer this, and I’m sorry if I end up having to delete this post. For the sake of avoiding this argument as much as possible, this is only being tagged with this blog’s tag. I’d appreciate if anyone were to reblog if you could possibly the ASPD and actually ASPD tags. Thank you.

Edit: TW for uncensored ableist terms (used in an informative, non-ableist context) in the comments.

[fnaffersblog]

On your latest reaction you said New Moon and Sun are repeating old habits and it's so true. I don't think New Moon means to be keeping things from Sun. I don't know if it's just me but I've always gotten the feeling that New Moon really doesn't like the old Moon like at all. He's seen through the videos and gotten vague clues from the computer's AIs that Moon didn't always treat Sun the best. I know Moon truly did care for Sun, but the way New Moon is receiving this information it really is not putting Moon in a good light. New Moon has stated multiple times that old Moon was awful (can't remember the exact wording but the meaning was similar enough), so of course he's trying to do the exact opposite of what the old Moon would have done and for the most part it's working. He's being more open about his care for Sun, he's talking more about emotions, and he's even accepting help willingly which is great! The only problem is that he's sort of relying on Sun to be just as open and upfront about things and Sun is just not doing that. I mean I get it, Sun's feelings have gotten brushed off a lot in the past so of course he's not going to try if the same thing is going to happen again but by doing that he's leaving New Moon to assume that things must be going somewhat ok. I mean he must see that things aren't great with Sun but surely Sun will come to him if really needed help. So New Moon starts keeping things from Sun to hopefully alleviate his stress unknowingly causing Sun more stress and it just sucks all around.

Oop sorry for going off on a rant I just really liked your analysis. Anyway for the pokemon thing Lunar is legally required to have a stantler named Spigot :)

Oh yeah, no, New Moon dislikes Old Moon for sure for sure.

I think Sun has made, at least, two different references to the trapping episode and Moon both times has gotten REALLY uncomfortable. New Moon is constantly in awe of the absolute horrible level Old Moon would take situations too. I think it was the episode about testing new dimensions where Sun was listed as a test subject and New Moon just asked, in the most baffled way, "Why would I... DO that??" But he's disavowed and commented on the horribleness of Old Moon's actions a lot. 110% agree.

He also gets exasperated with AI1 ALL THE TIME. And the AIs were synthesized from Old Moon's personality to help him with decision making soooooooo. Look at that how you will.

(I imagine it's very difficult looking back on something horrible someone with your face did. Comes with a lot of conflicting emotions. Was this my fault if I don't remember? Did I really do those things or was it someone else? Does the victim of these actions blame me? Should they if that's not me? It's a weird situation to be in all around.

I question at times if New Moon is ever worried now about his old memories coming back too. At this point it seems concrete that Old Moon is GONE gone, but I wonder if he ever gets concerned about it.)

Fundamentally, however, this is the SAME Moon. The reset set Moon's memories back to square one, but all of his specific personality traits are the same. None of the trauma, so he's less jaded. Less of, and excuse my language here, a jackass.

With that came his difficulty with social interactions. I don't remember when this happened, but I distinctly remember an episode with Old Moon where he mentioned he wasn't sure he'd ever get ahold of this social thing. I don't know what he said exactly but it was very close to being that, word for word. I also couldn't find the episode, so it may have been said on another channel. Rip MEEEEEEE.

Anyways, I don't know if he DOES see anything is wrong with Sun, he doesn't seem to be great at picking up on varying emotional ques from others. I know about people saying 'well, people can't read your mind, you have to speak up' kinda thing but, like, at the end of the 'Ruin Sun trapped Moon' episode I could hear Sun's emotions all over the place and at the beginning of 'Moon says Goobye in VrChat' it was the same. It was very noticeable, at least to me.

And Moon just...

didn't seem to notice at all?

So many people have pointed out the positive change in Moon's demeanor, I DOUBT he was just straight up ignoring/ being annoyed by Sun. I think he is a bit stressed out rn, but he wasn't trying to take it out on Sun. (Also wasn't saying you said that! I was reading it and it read to me like I was blaming so I just wanted to clarify, just in case.)

I think maybe Moon literally just... can't tell? At the very least, he's not good at picking up on them and based on his 'solution' of sending Sun on a break, he may just think Sun needs some time off.

I don't know. It's weird to me, but it's kind of the only thing I can think of that makes sense? It does mean Sun HAS to speak up though. If Moon can't read his emotional tells then the only way Moon is ever going to know what the actual issue is is if Sun tells him. Like you said, by not saying anything Sun is leaving Moon to assume things are alright. And I don't think that's going to happen, frankly, Sun speaking up, not without outside influence.

One of Moon's biggest reoccurring problems before the reset was the fact that, while he cared for the people he was trying to help, and BY GOD did he care so deeply for them, he made decisions for them. His penchant for not telling people his plans, which was born from this need to protect the people he loved, because he didn't want them to worry/ didn't think they'd understand/ he believes what he's doing is best for them without actually bringing them in to discuss it/ whatever, has probably pushed Sun into thinking he can't trust Moon.

As you said it "Sun's feelings have gotten brushed off a lot in the past so of course he's not going to try if the same thing is going to happen again", which is a sentiment I've seen from several folks here on Tumblr. Moon has 'stolen' his autonomy in decision making that should have involved both of them, as well as stuff Sun alone should have had final call in a LOT. And now he's fallen back into doing it again.

This may be a "New" Moon but it's also still just... Moon. All his pre coded personality traits and systems for dealing with things came with him. And even if Sun KNOWS it's not his old Moon, with so many similar traits in a person wearing the same exoskeleton, it's going to be near impossible to separate the two.

(which seems weird because a lot of the methods we use individually to navigate problems comes from our childhoods ((Don't quote me on that I am NOT a therapist or doctor or psychologist of any sort, but I do have my own personal experiences and what I've read)), aka all of Moon's trauma while he and Sun were stuck together + literally everything else should have been what influenced his pre-reset decision making and post-reset Moons decision making should jsut be affected by the last two months buuuuuut this is a silly goofy show on the internet about robots and brain resets aren't reeeal so I'm not losing my mind about that. I see what they're going for here and I like it, I'm just being nitpicky.)

I said in a long post, ages back that Sun and Moon have never really known each other the way they think they do. They had never really talked post body split and had ideas of who the other person was. In these past two months I do think they've taken huge steps to mediate that. They are for sure much closer I think than they have been. Every other episode, I feel like one or both of them is pointing something out about the other. Moon's ADHD and stimming, Sun's enjoyment of MLP, little things that I can't remember at the moment but that I know are happening?

But they still don't really know each other, and the only difference now is they LITERALLY don't know each other because they are completely new people to each other for different reasons instead of preconceived ideas of who the other should be. Which is especially true for Moon, Sun is a stranger he met two months ago.

(What if you deconstruct the truths you know about someone and find you don't love them anymore? That's scary.)

I think one of the things Moon is noticing, however, is that Sun WON'T come to him to ask for help. If I'm not mistaken, Earth and Moon have been the ones to instigate Sun taking care of himself these past two months. If not every time, at least most of the times they're the ones to pop up and tell Sun his worth, hype him up. Or make him take breaks when he needs them.

Sun is getting better at doing it alone, of course, it was very noticeable during the recent hallucination episode and along side him Moon is learning as well. "He's being more open about his care for Sun, he's talking more about emotions, and he's even accepting help willingly which is great!" I agree with this 110%, they are both taking great steps forward in becoming more emotionally stable and healthy!

They still have a long way to go. Which is why I'm so happy for Earth and Monty and now Foxy's inclusion. They have their own problems for sure, but they're outside mediators between the two brothers. Because let's be frank here, there is no way that the two of them were ever going to hash out the problems between them on their own. There's just too much to sift through, you know, for just the two of them, many problems which stem from the other! And they're falling back into learned patterns, like Sun pretending everything is okay, or giving up while trying to reason with Moon or Moon insisting he's right when he doesn't have all the information because he wants to help, or keeping information to attempt to alleviate stress without understanding it's actually just causing stress, which he can't know because the person he's stressing out won't admit he's stressed out because that person is afraid of the other persons response which is generally to make decisions for him! They are stuck in, careening back into cycles they need help getting pulled out from and they can't do it alone. You can't hoist someone out of the water from the top of the cliff when you're floating right along side 'em you know?

It does. It sucks all around. I can see a resolution in sight, but it'll take work and outside influences and time. And they have to want it.

Also, you don't have to apologize at all! I was excited to read through what you said! As long as you don't mind a multi paragraph response of my own long winded, disconjointed, meandering ramblings, where I sometimes contradict myself in the post and run out of steam before I've gotten all my thoughts out lol, I LOOOVEE seeing other folks interpretations about stuff. Odds are you'll get a couple hundred words to read through likeeee THISSSSS ONNNNEEEEE lolol. Feel free to go crazy.

Ayyyyeeee GEN 2 less gooooo! Stantler is amazing, truly one of the better overlooked mons from Johto's dex. I LOVE Wyrdeer too. I do have to ask, is there a story behind the name Spigot?

[aotoreiki]

Rei's aura abilities, and how aura is written here...

Given the vagueness and general lack of information in canon about the exact mechanics of aura, different people have different interpretations of it and how it works for their muses and writing. The following is to reference for my muse and my own worldbuilding. It isn't intended to affect anyone else's and differences can be treated as natural variations of a complex mechanic; but please do respect this for my muse and my writing.

As of time of writing I haven't caught up with the Journeys section of the anime where aura is used more. I need to watch it so I can see how it works there and decide what to incorporate into my own stuff. Until then, my hcs are based only on the material preceding it.

The "aura" being referred to here is specifically the kind of aura in things like Riolu's and Lucario's dex entries, Aura Sphere's name, and aura guardians in the anime. There is a specific term for this in Japanese, differing from general-use "aura", which unfortunately doesn't carry over into the English. To explain a little better: While other instances of the word "aura" in Japanese such as those used in reference to Z-Moves or Xerneas' and Yveltal's Fairy and Dark Auras use オーラ (literally representing the pronunciation of the English word, written using katakana), there is a different word used for "aura" as relating to Riolu and Lucario. Words used for the latter are 波動 or 波導 (hadou, share the same pronunciation). A more literal translation is wave or wave-guiding, respectively. I find the fact that a different, specific term is used is interesting, that it's fun to explore the potential meaning of it, and I just always think it's a shame when a translation loses or muddies any original nuance... so that's why it matters to me, personally.  

I don't treat aura as being 100% synonymous with life energy. They're closely linked, but not entirely the same. Life energy or infinity energy is a more general and broad term. Not everything that contains life energy gives off a discernible aura wave, in the same way that a living thing does. Likewise, aura is based in the life energy or essence of a living thing, and is intrinsically linked to it. Life energy itself as found in other states is far more raw.

Disclaimer of course that anything is liable to change as I learn more and further develop my headcanons. Now, on to the muse...

Rei has always had a potential affinity for aura, which he inherited from his father. However, it was very weak and for most of his life it remained dormant, and did not manifest in a noticeable way. It only became active in his adult years, during/post-Team Dim Sun, due to exposure to the Shadow Crystal's energy and influence.  

He is very sensitive to the sensory aspect of aura, and he has a poor ability to regulate the information that he picks up through it. He gets easily overwhelmed, and so he often deliberately dampens or blocks his own aura-based sensory abilities.  

Speaking of which, he experiences aura as its very own separate and distinct sense. He does not literally "see" auras. The best he would be able to describe it would be like textured vibrations that carry various information, which he "knows" (intuitively decodes), but even this falls short because it's not a true physical sense. He can relay what he learns from them, and describe the impression they gave him as well as any associated mental imagery or traits (which is where things like colour or brightness would come in). This is referring to the typically invisible aura wave. If aura is manifested in a way that's visible to the ordinary naked eye, he can then literally see it in the same way that non-aura users can too.  

Similarly, he does not literally read minds or thoughts in a way that would give him a word-for-word representation of someone's inner monologue. He instead perceives the emotion, or the thought's core concept and its meaning near-instantaneously. He would be able to paraphrase your thoughts, rather than state them exactly.  

This is also how he potentially communicates via aura with other aura-sensitive beings. He would project his own aura wave, which carries his thought information and feelings, which they can then perceive and understand the meaning of. He's not at the stage of being able to use true telepathy or to speak in someone's mind.  

Aaand more about what he can do with it will be added here later.

[tamarackbaumann]

(once again, click on the first image to see it fully!)

Descriptions Under Cut!

Sushi:

Sushila is a very energetic and happy person who does their best to make other's day brighter! Gets along with their mother very well. Not sure if you wanted info from all steps but I'll but some stuff just in case (if not needed then just ignore it lol)

Step 1: Not at all bothered by moving to a new town, is actually very excited!! She meets Qiu first, calling him cute when they first meet. She also calls Tamarack cute when she meets her. Sushi develops a crush on both! (also calls Darren cute but Darren doesn't like girls- and Sushi is counted as a girl- so…) Likes just about everyone he meets, and isn't really bothered by many things. He does prefer the woods over the city though! He finds bugs nice.

Step 2: A bit more closed off, Sushi struggles a bit with their gender as they grow up and see not everyone excepts them as they are. Still has a crush on both Qiu and Tamarack, but isn't has joyful around them all the time. He still hangs out with them a bunch, and also becomes closer friends with Ren. Not much info about them here :(

Step 3: Probably confesses to both love interests!! (may not be canon if GB doesn't add a poly route but Sushi defo ends up dating both if given the opportunity) Back to being super energetic, and no longer too worried about how others see her! Gets along with Renee and can relate to the gender struggles with herself, Renee, and Qiu. Very wholesome.

Willow:

STEP 1: To Willow, being new wasn't new: he built his identity upon miscellaneous traits he collected while moving from neighborhood to neighborhood, city to city, state to state, and country to country.

Fitting in isn't hard; it's Willow's specialty, but knowing they're coming to Golden Grove to stay brings about other anxieties.

Now have a bunch of random stuff abt them :D

they're tall

he's very chill

their favourite colours are gold and cranberry

they have a stuffed elephant

he usually doesn't care about most stuff happening, but likes to go along with whatever his friends want to do

they're kinda blunt

he dotes on people a lot, even if he doesn't know them very well, but each time someone mentions it he changes the subject

he loves nature

they find school really easy as a kid but start struggling with it more as they grow up

As a kid he tries to appear likeable when he meets new people, but the more he gets used to staying in one place, the less he tries

they don't remember where the scar on their face comes from

he mostly wears gold and black clothes

they prefer not to talk when they don't need to

they like to be referred to as Misc. Willow Amir because miscellaneous is their favourite word

he gets shy when you mention his eyes

despite his cold and direct demanor, he loves playing pranks on people

they like collecting little sentimental treasures that remind them of specific memories (ex: the paper airplane)

he's very close to his ma -they like learning little things about people (not basic stuff like favourite colours, they don't care abt that)

he has a soft voice

they're ambidextrous

they only wear one earring because they lost the other one and think it's cool that it's out there somewhere and it makes them feel connected to the rest of the world

he doesn't have a nickname in step 1 but will get one later on

his birthday is december 1st

he's a little clumsy

they don't mind giving things up if someone else wants them

[s-b-party]

Noctua: Diluc and the Owl

****Possible spoilers ahead!

So who is Diluc? We know him as the owner of Dawn Winery, one of the richest characters in the game, the Darknight Hero, one of the characters who helps us w/ Dvalin, someone from the Ragnvindr clan (one of the prominent families in mondstadt’s history), etc.

Clearly we know him for many various things, but let’s see what else his constellation can tell us about him that might not be so obvious/apparent in the game & how it relates to Diluc, personality, and his lore overall

Let’s start w/ what Noctua is; in Latin, it means “owl” which is very straightforward but that’s not the “complete” meaning. In actuality, there are a couple of ways to say “owl”, if you search up different owls & their full names in Latin, you will find that not every one of them has noctua in their names, some have strix (i.e. tawny owl), others may have bubo (i.e. great horned owl), another may have tyto (i.e. barn owl) instead; so I suppose “owl” is the more generic meaning; Noctua specifically refers to “night owl” which you can see based on how the name looks similar to the word “nocturnal” (being more active at night) and we sometimes use the term “night owl” to refer to someone who is usually up very late when many others are asleep at night, so technically the title of this thread should be something more along the lines of "Noctua: Diluc and the Night Owl"

So how is the night owl related to Diluc? You can actually see some of the similarities in his personality and lifestyle

Quiet, aloof, quick to the point, he is up late at night for the sake of Mondstadt & its safety, very loyal & dedicated to protecting his home; like an owl hunting at night, he comes in quick to accomplish what he needs to do & can disappear just as quickly so that people don’t easily figure out that he is the Darknight Hero of Mondstadt (owls can be terrifying hunters bc their wings are very quiet & their prey usually don’t hear them coming until it’s too late)

Something to point out is how his elemental burst takes the form of a phoenix rather than an owl. Initially this confused me when I started playing the game, but in terms of connections to the constellation, the night owl does make more sense to me since the European phoenix tends to symbolize immortality, resurrection/reincarnation, etc, which doesn’t seem to fit a lot into his lore based on what I’ve seen except for perhaps the part of his life when he was able to accept his trauma and move forward from it. That is one form of rebirth that you could consider, but overall, Noctua seems more relatable to Diluc and his lore & as I’ve said, you can see parts of the night owl play into his personality and lifestyle

It’s also possible that they chose to use a phoenix as opposed to a burning owl to represent his strong resolve or maybe they just thought that a phoenix would be more aesthetically pleasing lol

I don't really know the reason, but I do think that the owl is very fitting for Diluc

So let’s move onto what owls can represent. Usually we think of them as symbols of wisdom and even vigilance (probably bc of their alertness at night); in some cultures, they can represent omens (both good and bad); w/ negative connotations, they can even be signs of death

So does Diluc exhibit any of these traits? One thing to distinguish first is the difference between intelligence and wisdom before we think about whether he does display wisdom because those two traits are not the same. Intelligence is the ability to think logically whereas wisdom is understanding the complexities of life and human nature, which is normally full of contradictions and paradoxes, meaning that it can change all the time.

Diluc is undoubtedly an intelligent man. We see various instances of this. For example, he is one of the few people who are aware of Venti's true identity when he hasn't bluntly stated it in the story. He also found out that Kaeya wasn't really blinded by him bc of all the mentions of “eyes” in his letters (which also did not say that they were written by Kaeya himself).

He is also part of an underground intelligence network and no, I'm not saying that he's intelligent based on the fact that the word “intelligence” is in the name 😂 It is because of what it requires him to do. With a large network, there is bound to be a large amount of information, both useless and useful, passing through. So it would require good judgement on his part to discern what pieces of information may actually mean something.

Basically Diluc can put things together & figure out the truth, so he is intelligent for sure, but is he also wise?

He might not be considered the “wisest” per se, BUT he does have the aura of someone who has his own wisdom and passes advice onto others. I think that we can consider him wise if we think more about how he has changed from his past self when he was lost after the death of his father. He is the type of person who would give good advice because he has learned from his experiences; he KNOWS it is difficult to move on from hard things. He mentions in one of his letters to Kaeya that self-preservation is easy, it’s heading to your goals that is hard

He understands life is rough, he gets how hardships can change ppl (if you’ve seen/read the parts of the manga where Diluc’s history is involved, you’ll know that he was a lot more expressive in the happy department than he is now)

After facing trauma, he struggled but w/ encouragement from Alice & Kaeya & also w/ some time, Diluc learned to move away bit by bit from the painful experience (not forget but to move in spite of it).

His vision story attests to him having learned on his journey & once he grew more mature, he took up his vision again

Going back to the symbolism of the owl, it is easy to see how Diluc is related to vigilance so I don’t think I’ll have to explain my thought for that. Connections to death though is a bit interesting. At first, I hadn’t thought of him as being related to death, but I thought about it again & I can see it now. He can be seen as a sign of death for his enemies (even if not a symbol of death, he’s still bad news/a bad omen for his enemies & “unwanted guests”).

Overall, I think Diluc exhibits the concepts that owls can represent pretty well. The next thing I want to talk about is the theme of dawn which we often see associated with him & how Noctua relates to it.

First impression might be to say that owls & dawn are opposite of each other or contradictory, which is true, but I also think that the two complement each other when we look at Diluc overall.

He is someone who does most of his non-winery duties at night, he wishes to be the light in the night that breaks through the darkness meant to be representing evil & enemies, he’s the owl protecting Mondstadt when people aren’t alert/vigilant at night.

Dawn is defined as the first light that we see in the sky BEFORE the actual sunrise. The day represents the citizens & Mondstadt and he makes it his duty to protect those two up to the point when they both come into full light. He won’t let down his guard in daytime per se, but he knows more people will be awake to protect during that time (although he is still iffy about the Knights of Favonius, which is understandable, but he also knows that overall they do wish to help and not every one of them is incompetent)

I also noticed how Diluc’s outfits fit him so well, his default skin blends very well w/ the night & his Red Dead of Night skin are much like flames that will burn away the darkness

Diluc is a “creature of the night” that remains ever vigilant, striving to protect Mondstadt & the people during the times when they aren’t awake. He is the one who makes sure that he and Mondstadt will make it to see the dawn of another day.

[delphiniumjoy]

Headcanons as Representation?

Happy Disability Pride Month everybody! Now I have a discussion question for the class. Where is the line between non-canon representation and accepted representation? I’m talking specifically in the context of autism because that’s my disability, and because hidden/speculated representation is less possible for visible disabilities. How do we define the canonicity of an autistic character? Do we consider ACD’s Sherlock Holmes to be autistic because he shows numerous traits and was created in a time before the word existed? Do we refuse BBC’s Sherlock because despite showing many of the same traits, he’s a negative stereotype to fulfill the creator’s intellectual power fantasy (the same creator who has specifically rejected people’s headcanons because his ableism means the label would ruin the fantasy)? Does representation need to be explicitly stated onscreen, or is a creator’s Twitter confirmation satisfactory? 

I want to look at a very specific (and at this point irrelevant) piece of media for this. The fandom has mostly died out, but I was an active member in the heyday from 2017-2019, and as much as it pains me to admit it, I still have a lot of opinions about Be More Chill. I’m referring specifically to the musical, because I simply never read the book by Ned Vizzini, and because many elements were changed between the two. The question is, can we officially consider protagonist Jeremy Heere to be autistic? In original drafts of the show, the word was mentioned but eventually written out, presumably for “sensitivity” purposes. There’s audio from a workshop performance that has floated around TikTok, and while autistic creators are using it in a reclaimed sense, it’s understandable why it might’ve been uncomfortable for some.  I’ll just type out the lyrics:

Every lame characteristic makes you come off as autistic. We’ll fix your vibe then fix some more… I am autistic… We’ll fix that.

This brings up another aspect to this conversation, though, and that’s how everything about the plot and Jeremy’s character arc aligns with ideas of unhealthy masking and even ABA therapy. Jeremy doesn’t fit in. He hates himself, and hates the idea that he’ll always be an outcast. He feels pathetic, which has been repeatedly reinforced by the society around him. So when he’s given a magical macguffin to make him more popular, he goes for it, despite knowing he’s doing so selfishly, and he faces the consequences. Those consequences, of course, are that the Squip is verbally, emotionally, and physically abusive (it regularly shocks him) to get him to alter his personality and behavior. One could argue that it is also responsible for the sexual assault in the second half of the show, because while another character is making unwelcome advances, the Squip makes it impossible for Jeremy to escape. It isolates him from what little support system he has, shames him for every unsightly aspect of his personality (even those he was personally okay with), and promises him that it is all in the interest of improving his life. This aligns pretty clearly with the methods and goals of ABA: forced compliance until the child can consistently appear “normal.”

Unsurprisingly, many autistic teenagers (myself included) really saw themselves in this show. Fortunately, Jeremy learns his lesson, the Squip goes away, and he’s able to build a community with old and new friends because everyone is now more able to drop the facade of social expectations. It gave us hope that maybe we would stop feeling so out-of-place eventually. Also, many of the characters were somewhat flat caricatures, in the way that most teenage characters written by middle-aged men tend to be, so the doors were WIDE open for extrapolation through fan-made content. And even though the explicit mention of autism had been written out of the version we all knew, many fans were headcanoning Jeremy as autistic anyway. Even those of us who didn’t explicitly have the headcanon were writing him as if he was, because we related to him (even if we didn’t know we were autistic at the time either). By the time the show was revived off-Broadway and transferring to Broadway, there was an incredibly dedicated fanbase of neurodivergent teenagers, and the show knew that was their audience. I have not seen the original source, but Will Roland, the actor who came on to play Jeremy in this later production, has apparently said that he also views the character as autistic, and portrayed him as such. 

So returning to the question at hand: can we consider this canonical representation? Even if it’s not textually explicit, and even if the writers haven’t made any public statements, there were traces of intent in every era of the show. Despite all that, do we avoid doing so because the show actively frames autistic traits as shameful? Even though the intent is clearly to use the ordeal to come to a “just be yourself” conclusion, the resolution is quite rushed and sloppy, and could easily be misconstrued. 

Obviously intentional, healthy representation will always be preferred, but is there a place for these characters to be considered?

[ansixilus]

what do you think the goblin and the zombie find pleasurable? Can be both non-intimate and intimate.

Hm... I'm guessing you refer specifically to together things, not things they might like in isolation (certainly the goblin would enjoy some good soup even when alone). And... I suppose I hadn't thought of it. The dreamlike, storyteller nature of it has had me floating gently in the now, where thinking of the future was unneeded. But to put in the thought now and try to answer, let's see...

Cliché as it may sound, I do think the most important for them both is the companionship. There seems a certain lonely note to each, a small but significant hollow that too much wind blows through when there's no one nearby. For the goblin, I think anyone's company could shelter that space, but he's content enough in his own life and his own place that he doesn't really want to seek anyone out. He can live alone, but it's just nicer, in a subtle but profound way, to have someone there. For the zombie, I don't write think it would trust anyone else enough for them to be a comfort. There's something about what it has with the goblin that's special, a certain peace that he brings, that lets the zombie try to smooth out the wrinkles of existence in that way one can only do at home and at rest.

Separate from the above, I think the goblin likes having someone to care for. I think he likes being able to offer meals, and safety, and small kindnesses. And I think the bond he's forging with his undead guest is making each of those small things worth a bit more.

I think the zombie enjoys observing the goblin. There's something of an alienness, and a distance, to the zombie's perspective, as though all of existence is distinctly foreign to it. Everything is a little bit new and a lot a bit strange, and that all makes it... fascinating seems too strong a word, its emotions seem very distant, very little-consuming, as though everything within is shades of gray, with only the reflected color from outside to change it... but still, the newness of everything is as close to fascinating as the zombie's mind gets. And the goblin isn't just new, he's actually interesting. There's a sort of allure from the sheer complexity of a person to look at rather than just a thing or a process, but that isn't all of it either. There's something about him that catches and holds the zombie's eye. What is this mysterious allure? I don't know, and suspect the zombie doesn't either, maybe never will. Also doesn't need to. It's enough that the goblin could hold its attention for ever, if the world didn't need to interrupt.

As to more physical elements, that's much harder to speculate for me. Much of what I'd need to speculate for the mechanics of it would depend heavily on the state of the zombie's body, and... I find myself disinclined to try. Something about the atmosphere, with all the details blurry as a Gaussian Girl shot from the original Star Trek, it makes me want to value the mood instead of the details. It's almost like I don't quite want to know, because whatever reality it settles into would pop the illusion of the dream.

And yet, speculation on the physical elements requires knowledge of the physical details. I don't quite remember the entire list of stated zombie traits off hand, and I don't want to base it off my own mental image, which I've already noted doesn't quite match yours. So... I'm left a bit in a tough spot. Does the zombie's body function in a way that would feel carnal desire? Does it have the right bits of flesh to engage in relevant acts? Is there enough of the lips there to kiss in more than symbol? The texture of its flesh, is it hardened and dry, like (un)living wood? Eerily soft, squishy as if it were halted at a certain decomposition stage? Firmly yielding and claylike with rigor mortis? By some miracle of balanced humors, almost like the flesh of the living? Are the hands as I imagined them, worn so that the tips of finger bones sit hard and almost sharp at the end? Or is there still flesh there, wide and solid and a little bit strange, but flesh and fingertips no less, their only hardness the nails?

So much of physical intimacy is shaped around the bodies of those being intimate, it's hard to guess without that. Even for the goblin, whose body plan I can extrapolate, erogenous zones vary wildly from person to person. Would he enjoy having his ears nibbled, or kisses at wrist and elbow, or tickling of his feet, or are these nothing to him? Would the feeling of being bitten bring him pleasure, or only pain? I'm too distant to quite know such things.

What guesses I have, though... I'm pretty sure the goblin enjoys physical proximity, once he's certain he's onboard for the physical touch. Cuddling is best because there's just so much of it, but rubs and petting and brushing up one against another are lovely all. For the zombie, touching and exploring with the hands seems to bring it some delight; the last part touched upon some sense the zombie has for... something, some kind of warmth that's other than physical. Exploring that seems like a pleasurable goal in itself.

And, I'm not sure I have it in me to try for beyond that at the moment (I'm afraid it's just before my bed). But there's extrapolation that can come from this. I can imagine the goblin walking past the zombie, perhaps returning from some physically intensive chore, and taking a moment to pause and just rest his head against the zombie's shoulder, taking a moment to soak up the proximity of his... whatever the zombie might be to him at that time.

[insanelyadd]

PAPYRUS PROPAGANDA GO!!!!

Papyrus only wants to be a royal guard and in every ending he never gets it, the person training him who is like his best friend is lying about letting him into the royal guard because she thinks he's too nice for it. Instead of just telling him straight up she lies and says she'll let him in if he captures a human, and tries to get him interested in cooking instead (yeah that's right, the pasta everyone thinks he's so obsessed with wasn't even a thing he liked on his own but the result of his friend trying to change his mind on what he wants for his own future, in the first anniversary QnA we learn HE'S NEVER EVEN EATEN SPAGHETTI)

Papyrus frequently implies that he is very lonely and just wants a friend and people completely ignore that and give this trait to his brother instead. Papyrus is an adult who is neurodivergent coded and the fandom treats him like he is five years old, like he's a ~*Pure Innocent Cinnamon Roll*~ who can't handle any criticism, swear words, KNOWING WHAT DEATH IS, or like he's the dumbest man in existence, OR some combination of the three.

I made LetPapyrusSayFuck Day specifically so we could overwhelm the people who make dumb comments on posts where he swears with comments like "WHO CORRUPTED THE CINNAMON ROLL?" and "SANS IS GOING TO GIVE A BAD TIME TO WHOEVER TAUGHT HIS BROTHER THAT WORD" with nothing BUT Papyrus swearing so they'd stop.

Papyrus is frequently killed, injured, or sidelined with terrible characterization all to further the plot which frequently focuses on his brother instead of him (or any other character for that matter).

He has the most dialog in the game and the least backstory.

One of the branching endings for True Pacifist involves him becoming the Ambassador instead of Frisk but everyone decides the actual child should do it so much that most people don't know that ending even exists.

Hunter UNDOUBTEDLY had a lot of bad stuff happen to him but the fandom seems to be unanimous in the decision to give him good things. He got a good ending canonically. The fandom loves him and respect him.

Papyrus is in a game with branching endings and the best ending IMO for him is the Ambassador Papyrus ending, which, as stated, most people don't know exists. When it comes to outside of the game people treat him SO BADLY like here's some screenshots:

(for reference there is literally a phone call where Papyrus makes a sarcastic remark about Sans not telling anyone anything which can absolutely be interpreted as him knowing EXACTLY that Sans is having problems and is frustrated by Sans not talking to him about it)

There's literally people out here believing a lie some kid made up on amino that Papyrus is canonically 14 years old. BRO HE'S TRYING TO GET INTO WHAT IS BASICALLY THE MILITARY AND THE ONLY EXCUSE UNDYNE HAS TO NOT WANT HIM IN IS THAT HE'S TOO NICE?? If he was too young that would immediately disqualify him???

Not to mention Papyrus is near-singlehandedly maintaining all puzzles and traps outside Snowdin, he reports any troubles in the town to Undyne who has the authority to issue aid or supplies, whatever may be needed, like Papyrus is basically the mayor of Snowdin in every way except officially. AND NO ONE ACKNOWLEDGES THIS? Except Politics Bear who says

I made a theory video about how Papyrus could be the Knight in Deltarune and I've received several comments from people who are convinced that Papyrus WOULD NEVER!!! EVER!!!! Hurt anyone for any reason (as if his whole arc in UT isn't about realizing what he's done to achieve his dreams has hurt someone he cares about and he grows from that) and that if Papyrus IS the Knight, then someone MUST!!!!! BE MANIPULATING THE POOR INNOCENT CINNAMON ROLL!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

I received an ask a long time ago where someone literally straight up said Papyrus fighting us at all isn't compliant with his character. Like the man who almost single-handedly wrote this entire game was OOC on this one character in this one fight by making it so he fights at all?? Bro. He literally talks all the time about how much he loves fighting and deadly spikes and precarious bridges and flames and etc etc etc. HE CALLS HIMSELF "A BRUTAL KIND OF GUY"

I can go on for eternity about the mistreatment Papyrus receives from the fandom. I literally recorded myself ranting about it one time and when I finally ended the recording it was two and a half hours long.

Reading fanfiction with him is basically this 24/7:

So yeah. Hunter had a bad life, but it's getting better now, and the fandom treats him nicely.

Papyrus was lied to and not communicated with by his best friend and his brother and the fandom murders him, treats him like a child, ignores him entirely, or writes him in the most OOC ridiculous ways possible. Seeing a canon compliant Papyrus that is important and doesn't die is like going into the woods and finding a perfectly cooked cake completely untouched by nature sitting on a tree stump miles from civilization. I bet most people reading this don't even know HE CAN FLY

Round 1: Right Side - Papyrus (Undertale) vs. Hunter (The Owl House)

[curiousitycollective]

Anon here who asked about system advice; first of all, I'll start this by saying I apologise if this is awkward or if I'm hard to understand, I'm trying to make it understandable but some things are hard to explain & can be more difficult for me.

I have medium support needs ASD, PDA (pathological demand avoidance - I know the acronym has multiple meanings), and also NPD traits, for some background information about me.

In about March 2022, I came to the conclusion that I was likely a system, and then realised I may not be in February 2023, then questioned this idea frequently until around May, where I decided I must be "just delusional". However, this month I've noticed a lot of my symptoms line up with system traits (unsure what specific disorder) that don't actually line up with delusion whatsoever, and they just didn't seem to be present during the previous spring-summer, or at least not as obvious, but November in particular is a very difficult month for me for personal reasons.

Now into the explanation of my traits; I describe my identity as fluidly changing between multiple states, many of which are "inspired" (that's the closest word I can think of) by various fictional characters. Some of these seem quite new, however others are ones I believed were alters back in around.. well, the two I'm referring to were November 2022 and April 2023, who seem to have better memory of those times. As far as I'm aware this isn't voluntary, however I can't get the idea out of my mind that I could be delusional and subconsciously faking this. My NPD traits & ASD also mean I have difficulty with sympathy/empathy and related concepts, so my mind couldn't necessarily understand how faking something like this would be wrong, even though I know I'm not willingly choosing to do it.

Other things I experience are I believe pieces of memory loss/being hard to remember, sometimes (but not always) between these different identity 'states', and the fact that my preferred name, pronouns, and often the way I act can change between these. I don't think I've ever actually heard anyone speak to me or anything except for two occasions which I'm not too convinced happened (it doesn't quite feel real to me?).

Another reason I'm unsure is that I can watch a show and almost immediately after feel like I'm a character from that, as a new 'identity'? And I don't know if that's possible as a system thing

Also I never really am convinced I literally AM the character? More like I'm just based on them if that makes sense

This was hard to explain, I'm sorry - if there's anything you'd like me to elaborate on, feel free to tell me, thank you for any help you're able to give /gen

We apologize for this because our brain is a bit of a mess but we'll try and explain things in a understandable manner. And the usual disclaimer applies we can't tell anyone what's going on with them but we can provide information on our experiences and the experiences we've seen in the community.

If you (anon or anyone else) has questions about anything we've said here or anywhere else please shoot us an ask/dm/reblog/whatever is most comfortable for you. We can't guarantee a speedy reply but we will do our best to get to any we see.

All that said, since this is going to be extremely long, for the sake of everyone's dash we're going to stick it under a readmore.

So first point, finding the difference between delusions/any other psychosis and plural/systemness is extremely difficult, and as weird as this sounds from personal experience its often more effective to set that specific question aside.

That doesn't mean don't think about it, instead its often better to work from "does this help me/improve my life" or more specifically "does treating this as systemhood help?" then trying to figure out for sure which something is.

Because sometimes they're extremely similar, and there isn't always a nice dividing line between them as you can have both and they will interact and effect each other.

In terms of practical tips we definitely suggest using a journal or app to track things, specifically how you feel and different experiences bit also what's happening around you at the time. It can help you get an idea of outside factors that can trigger things which can help sort out what's going on.

And in general keeping up with anything that you know helps with delusions; for us that's sleeping and eating regularly, taking meds, journalling, and specific exercises we do, can help. If you are in a space/state where you'd normally see less delusions happening and the possibly plural things aren't (as) affected that can indicate its not a delusion.

And we've said this before but it bears repeating, if you aren't consciously doing something you then you aren't faking it. You can be wrong about the nature of something but that's not a failing its just a part of life and often the only way to know is to see if something fits by engaging in it. Life is complicated and brains even more so, sometimes we're wrong about things but that's fine.

Some more specific stuff; headmates presenting as a change in personality or an influence rather then straight up thoughts or hearing them is actually incredibly common especially in systems that are just coming to awareness of their systemhood. There is actually a specific term for it that we can't remember or find but its something many experience.

It often takes time and practice to build up internal communication, its less talked about in online communities as by their nature these spaces tend to be mostly systems with better communication.

Its also not weird for internal communication and awareness to fluctuate especially before any real awareness. We went through many periods of lower and higher communication before therapy and time allowed us to have a steady baseline

Unstable identities and picking up identities aren't specifically a plural thing but they aren't necessarily not a plural thing. Headmates that are fragments or not fully formed when they come to awareness can "pick up" identities as they solidify their sense of self.

Its also possible to have other disorders that impact identity, and have those effect you if you are plural.

You haven't said how long these identities last, but if they aren't permanent you might benefit from looking into the alterhuman community specifically the term flicker and more specifically fictionflicker.

Okay I think that covers most things, please let us know if there's anything you need/want expanded on

-Scarlet/Ash