#like. if they're describing a way two gears communicate

[bookwyrminspiration]

hey something that's confused me and i need a second opinion on: is the "technopath language" an actual language that polyglots just don't understand, or is it just the enlightened language with technology-related words and jargon for the things they make that nobody else knows/cares abt?

My interpretation has always been that the "language" is just hyperspecific babble, but still in enlightened.

Additionally it's the language of machines, which presumably speak differently than people. So perhaps it's a mechanical distortion of enlightened, which is why polyglots can't understand it.

the first (imperfect) analogy coming to mind is pig latin. there's a method to the distortion of English, as there's undoubtedly rules to how the technopath language functions, but that doesn't make it inherently recognizable to English or enlightened speakers. and that also doesn't make it it's own language

and since it's still enlightened at its core, polyglots don't recognize it as different and translate/understand it as nonsense enlightened

that's how I conceptualize it at least--doesn't mean I'm right!

[wxlfbites]

A Werewolfs Guide to Terminology - an update

Authors Note: Below is an ever developing glossary which will be used by a new, yet familiar, branch of the nonhuman community known as the were community. For all those who wish to distance or no longer associate themselves with the current alterhuman, otherkin and therian communities, respectively, this glossary provides ways of describing one's experiences and identities that are more reminiscent of the "old days". While terms used within all of these communities will be listed here, you'll notice they're written a bit differently, to distinguish between "new" and "old" variations. Any and all questions about terminology are welcome. Any terms coined by individual Were's may not appear in any official Were community glossary unless it proves to be a useful, popular term; we want to avoid as much micro-labeling, excessive coining and term hoarding as possible.

A

Animality - the experience or state of being an animal.

Awereness - when one comes to understand their nonhumanity/animality; they become "awere".

Alt.Horror.Werewolves (AHWW) - a usenet group created in 1992 to discuss werewolves and the werewolf genre, it became the birthplace of The Were Community when others began discussing their experiences with nonhuman identity.

C

Calling - feeling drawn to something, someone or someplace as part of ones nonhumanity, this could be used for a nebulous experience that one might not be able to label otherwise, a placeholder while one is discovering what an experience means to them, or a standalone label : "I feel the call of x" or "I'm having a strong calling toward x".

Clinical Zoanthropy - a psychological condition wherein one experiences delusions of being, transforming into or having previously transformed into a nonhuman animal.

D

Daemon - a thoughtform representation of someone's subconscious, inner thoughts, or soul which is given a name, animal form, gender and, in most cases, sentience.

Daemian - one who has a daemon.

Drop - to no longer identify as or with a specific identity for whatever reason; typically seen in the context of voluntary identities.

F

Flicker - one who experiences a nebulous or temporary identity which is often brought on by the consumption of some source material; the thing one identifies as : "my x-flicker" or "I'm flickering as x".

G

Gear - accessories, including jewelry, clothing, taxidermy, etc. worn to express and connect to ones nonhumanity and/or relieve species dysphoria.

Greymuzzle - an older, well respected member of the were community who has been active for several years; equivalent to an elder.

H

Hearted - the strong connection one feels to something nonhuman which may include an affinity for, relation to, resonance or familiarity with; the thing one feels a connection with : "I am x-hearted".

Howl - an organized gathering of Were's, typically in a physical location.

L

Link - a nonhuman identity that is voluntarily chosen or created; the thing one voluntarily identifies as or with : "my x-link" or "I link to/as/with x".

M

Mundane -  indicating those who are not part of any nonhuman community and do not consider themselves to be nonhuman in anyway, particularly those who do not know of these communities or who do not believe in them.

N

Nonhuman - someone who identifies as something other than human.

Nonhumanity - the experience or state of being nonhuman.

P

Pack - a tightly knit group of Were's who communicate regularly and function as a chosen family; may or may not have ranks.

Polywere - a Were whose identity is that of multiple separate species at once.

S

Shifting - when one feels more like their nonhuman identity at any given moment; refer to part two of this glossary.

Species Dysphoria - a type of bodily dysphoria (i.e. anxiety, distress, dissatisfaction) arising from the perception that ones body is of the wrong species.

T

Transspecies - one who identifies as a species that is different from the one they are assigned at birth; typically used only by those who are also transgender, experience species dysphoria and desire body modifications which may resemble medical transitioning to resemble their species more on a physical level.

The Were Community - the overall population who identify themselves as Were's.

W

Were - one who identifies as nonhuman, specifically as some creature or animal; this can be a physical, spiritual, psychological or mixed-belief identity : "I am a Were" or "I am a Were-x".

Werefeels - the feeling of being closer to or reminded of one's nonhumanity; sometimes triggered by an image, item or sensation.

Weresona - a character created by a Were member of the furry fandom, based on their nonhuman characteristics; for use in furry circles.

Part Two - Shifting

Astral Shift - a shift where one takes on the form of a nonhuman creature within the astral plane

Aura Shift - when one's aura changes to reflect their nonhumanity.

Berserker Shift - when one's animality takes over, characterized by loss of control or an altered state of consciousness.

Bilocation Shift - a shift where one's spirit leaves their body and takes on the form of a nonhuman creature.

Cameo Shift - a shift of any kind that is not representative of one's established nonhuman identity.

Dream Shift - a shift experienced in an unconscious state or dream, where one takes on the form and/or mentality of a nonhuman creature.

Mental Shift - when one experiences what they believe to resemble the mentality and cognitive processes of a specific nonhuman creature.

Phantom Shift - when one experiences non-corporeal body parts associated with a nonhuman creature.

Sensory Shift - when one experiences heightened or altered senses that they feel resembles that of a nonhuman creature.

Transformation - a physical shift which is acknowledged by the one experiencing it to be a hallucination.

[ghost-pony]

Why pony?

This is a long post, but a while back on my fet I wrote up an introspective bit on why ponyplay is so appealing to me. Figured I'd copy it over here below the cut! If you're at all interested in this stuff, reading it is absolutely the best way to better understand my pet inclinations.

Animal Roleplay

I've been a furry for years. I'm well-accustomed with expressing myself through the lens of an animal character; this is my comfort zone more than my human self is. As much as I want to meet people, and as much as I wish I were extroverted, I find social interactions challenging; there's a lot of unspoken rules to follow, but animals don't have nearly so many of them.

As an animal, particularly one in a mask, people's expectations of me are simpler. I don't necessarily have to talk, make the right facial expression, or perform human behavior. There's a lot more thought put into animal body language and nonverbal cues. In a human context, these things are assumed to be a given; they're things we ought to know and do automatically. But sometimes there's gaps in my knowledge; interacting feels like a performance, like I have to constantly dedicate thought to 'acting normal.'

As an animal, I can take this performance and turn it into something I love. It feels like stage acting, like I'm embodying a character or a facet of myself that I have to study and understand so I can bring them to life. And there's less criticism, imagined or otherwise, if I slip up - a pony neigh that doesn't perfectly resemble a bio-horse's isn't the same kind of social faux pas as a person who never makes eye contact through the course of a conversation. I think this is where my desire for petplay intersects with my (suspected) position somewhere on the autism spectrum. I put a lot of pressure on myself to uphold social expectations that don't come naturally to me; as a pony, I can redirect that energy into something that feels fulfilling and freeing instead of a stifling struggle to conform.

And on a broader scale - an animal headspace offers the enticing promise of setting aside all the human-life stressors that lurk in the back of my mind. I always feel some level of pressure, like there's something I'm better off doing with my time, that's hard to forget. But as an animal, those worries are far away and my priorities are simpler. My constant task - understanding my animal self, thinking and acting like him, focusing on the best ways to physically convey something inhuman - offers something to keep me occupied, and keeps my mind from wandering back to faraway stress.

Self-image

While I wouldn't describe myself as ashamed of how I look, there is some level of physical self-consciousness that's constantly present when I'm around others. What if my hair is rumpled in an unflattering way? What if I have something on my face? What if I'm making a weird expression, or zoning out and seemingly staring at a stranger across the room? And as a trans person: What if someone suspects I wasn't born male?

Gear and masks give me a reassuring answer to all of those questions. I know what I look like, and I know I look good. My face is hidden, so I can relax and stop thinking about how it looks or who's looking at me. I've always adored the craftsmanship and artistic appeal of a well-made mask, and wearing one gives me a consistent outer image of something I like. It's a big self-confidence boost, and it helps me visualize myself as something inhuman. I'm not just a person in a mask, I am what everyone else outside me sees. I'm something beautiful, imposing, admirable, cute - whatever direction the art I'm wearing takes me in. And I live for the uniqueness of self-expression via animal characters; in the furry community, no two designs or masks are exactly the same, and I bring that same energy with me into petplay.

And certain aspects of ponyplay highlight moving with grace and elegance; my self-consciousness drives me to make my play into something that looks appealing from the outside. I don't want to look awkward, or uncomfortable, or out-of-place; I want to look confident and graceful, even if that's something I have to work hard to maintain.

Physicality

Ponyplay motivates me to better myself physically in a way that not many things have. Working ponies work hard, and ponyplay stands out in its incorporation of physical effort and exercise. I miss the feeling of team sports, of pushing myself hard to bring us collective pride and impress my trainer; ponyplay offers almost the same feeling, a way to move my body and show what I can do without so much time spent in my own head. I want to feel capable and strong, I want to push myself, I want to feel energetic and competitive (and competing with other ponies sounds really fun).

I had a revelation today; I don't think I'm much of a masochist, and I've always struggled to understand why pain is as popular as it is in kink. I worry that my options are limited if I never learn to see the appeal. But I think hard exercise appeals to me in much the same way other forms of pain appeal to other people; it makes me feel in tune with my body, it's a challenge I want to endure, and it's something I want to succeed at to impress or bring pride to someone else.

Dynamic

There's many creative ways to approach petplay. What is it about ponies and horses specifically that draws me in? I think they're the best expression of my animal self and the dynamic I want with a handler; our cultural understanding of each animal heavily influences how I see myself in a pet space. We see dogs as friendly, playful, goofy, and eager to please; that's not quite me. Cats can be cuddly or aloof; that's not quite what I'm looking for in a dynamic.

We see horses as graceful, powerful, and sensitive. I'm not a very big guy; I like embodying an animal that demands some level of physical respect, and feel safer when I feel like I can't easily be pushed around. The interaction between horse and trainer is usually a consensual one by nature; as a pony I'm not obligated or forced to obey. Horses can be anxious and flighty; there's an understanding that a handler requires patience, gentleness, and sometimes tack to communicate with me. Tack aids them to express what they want me to do rather than physically imposing something on me. A relaxed, confident handler can see my anxiety and help put me at ease or lend me their confidence the way a sure rider can calm a nervous horse.

Above all, I don't see my pet play as something degrading. It's something that uplifts me, and being a pony does that better than anything else. Horses are admirable, elegant, hard-working - all things I want to adopt for myself when I put on my hood.

End

Thanks for reading all these thoughts, if you got this far <3 I'm posting this with minimal proofreading, so I may make some small edits later if I realize I worded something poorly or left anything out. I'm still very early in my journey at this point; my hope is that I'll learn and evolve enough to make an updated and revised version of this perspective some ways down the road. In the meantime: I would love to hear the perspectives of others, if you would like to share your own!

[pluralthey]

could we get some facts abt jessies sister/their dynamic .. she is so cool i love her design

emily is older than jessie -- not by a lot, like 2 years, always just a little bit ahead of her. jessie's always felt overshadowed by emily and is a little resentful of this, but moreso deeply wants emily's approval. she wants emily to laugh at her jokes, she wants emily to think she's smart, she wants to win against emily when they play games and then get a pat on the back from her. i think it's a pretty standard youngest-eldest dynamic. emily sees jessie as another part of her life that makes her look better. how poorly jessie is doing can correlate a lot with how much effort she feels she has to put into keeping up her own appearances at a given time. she has an air of confidence by the reassurance that she's always going to be the better between the two of them in the same way jessie has an inferiority complex from the dynamic no matter how much power she has. prior to the story she's also taken care of jessie as their parents have become older and less physically able to keep up with doing so. she lives at home with them specifically to help her parents and jessie function -- still, this is moreso about taking care of jessie than of her parents, because jessie helps their parents a lot physically. that's a less charitable/more clinical way to describe their dynamic; a lot of the more complicated, unpleasant emotions are entirely subconscious. they are really close. you'll see jessie go to emily when she's feeling uncertain or being vulnerable than her parents a lot in the story, like with her powers and about starting to see this chick she likes. conversely, you'll not see much of emily opening up to jessie for emotional support because she does not see the both of them as equals. she's probably one of the most chill people about jessie's powers simply because she can't wrap her head around jessie surpassing her (in addition to feeling like someone important to jessie whom she wouldn't harm). she's also probably one of the most direct people about asking jessie for "wishes" or favors with the god powers lmfao. about emily herself outside of jessie, she's still a pretty chill person. at least part of it is from her dad, who is also very difficult to upset. she neglects some of her social life for the sake of family, but she's not really introverted. i'm still working on her profession specifically, i know she's in the same field as shiloh (tech) and 100% works on indie games (i don't think she's like, created one from the creative side beyond sparse input to a small team) to some degree. dunno if i would say this is her primary income by any means. she also participated in speedrunning communities primarily as a glitch hunter, but the hobby has been put on the backburner since she has more responsibilities. what can i say, she's a gamer girl............ she loves to figure out how to make things break and freak out, specifically. this can extend to other areas of her life as well. the dog in that one sketch comic, trouble, is also emily's dog. trouble died a couple years prior to the start of the comic, but is revived early in at the behest of emily, whose first attempt at trying to use the powers herself is trying to revive trouble. they're best buddies. their dynamic changes drastically once trouble can "talk" but i think emily handles it well (eg. when trouble says "now you sit" she laughs and sits) also, she IS trans. she started transitioning at the end of high school and by 32 she's had like every surgery known to man and is just chilling. she's also bisexual, which kind of grinds jessie's gears because it means she can't even be The Gay One in the family.

thanks for asking, i'm love answering questions about these creatures

[chromatic-lamina]

Any number you haven't yet answered but want to for the writer ask meme!

Heh-heh! Great ask ❤️

26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue? One with no dialogue, because I can always throw in reported speech and thought processes. Takes a particular skill to make a fic that is all dialogue authentic and interesting.

28. Does anyone read your fics before you post them? If so, who? Sometimes. I won't name 'em cos' I don't want to clutter up their notifications, but especially for exchanges, or if I've used someone's art (with permission) as inspiration, or for zines, etc.

37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it? Okay, I guess the most recent is valuta from the Corazine (aftersales almost finished, but that's just an aside). I thought I did a pretty good job on portraying what the Donquixote brothers went through, also Cora's relationship with Sengoku and Law, and then Law with Sengoku, but maybe it was too much for the word count. It got very little interaction in the way of comments, at least. I like the KidLaw fics I did for the 2022 exchange and for the OP secret santa that year, but they remain two of my least popular fics (in terms of hits).

I like valuta for story parallels (Cora and Doffy, Law and Lami, etc.). I like the KidLaw fics because they make me laugh.

38. Did any of your fics get surprisingly popular (whatever that means to you)? Which ones? Why do you think they were so successful? Yeah. I think I've answered this before, and it's not massively popular compared to some fandom behemoths, but the Usopp vs the Heart Pirates fic: Dark like the North Blue Sea (aka The Sea-Hill you Die On) . I think it grew in popularity because it's canon compliant (also, maybe funny). Once a fic gets a certain number of kudos or hits too, it feeds its popularity growth, because people sort by kudos and hits, so all those hidden gems remain hidden! I'm happy that people enjoy it though!

43. If you take/write prompts: what’s your favorite prompt fic that you’ve written? Probably the one that @afterdeck-ace gave me of: Chopper and Law talking about courage or Jolly Rogers. They're talking about both in softening the fall of snow. That's followed or on par with screen / shiki-e, which was inspired by a tsute doodle. You can see the doodle and links to tsute's art on the AO3 page.

47. If [taxi] was a pair of shoes, what kind would it be? Describe the shoes.

Her jeans cost more than his weekly pay, hell — monthly— and her sneakers were scuffed and used in a way that hid or emphasised their one-of-a-kind design. Pretty cool. A red tonbo — dragonfly — from what he could see, stretched from the toe, its thorax and segmented body running along one side of the shoe, a blue chrysanthemum and pond reeds rising from the heel and undulating in the air below the insect.

I used a ref for that, but can't remember where I sourced it from.

I changed a few things, and the maker's name is on the jpg, fortunately!

48. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?

Yes! I recommend it: Ours lives like sand in the gears of the world by @afterdeck-ace (Lily_Amazon). A platonic Law & Robin ficlet that explores the parallels and differences between them so well.

Also, a quick but satisfying read (sounds like Borsalino's possible reflection on Akainu) with this fic, In The Dappled Sun. Lemon mentioned (tumblr's being silly with throwing out community settings left, right and centre, so sorry for the return to FFN vocab). Fic author @kookoofufu

Am continuing to read saltyrock's It Takes a Lot to Know a Man but haven't read the latest chapter yet. LawBin and CrocoBin. Endgame LawBin.

There's a lot of good stuff out there, and so little time!

[tobiasdrake]

Outer Wilds is a game that can never be experienced again after it's been played. It's a once-in-a-lifetime journey, which is why the OW community is so protective of spoilers.

Because I've completed the greatest video game ever made and can never truly play it again, I often find myself going back to it in the form of Let's Plays. Let's Plays allow me to re-experience the joy of discovery through the eyes of other people.

As a connoisseur of Outer Wilds Let's Plays, here's some of my favorite things. Spoilers ahead.

How did you die for the first time? You'd be surprised how many people don't even make it off of Timber Hearth and discover the secret "YOU DIED" ending before the game even takes off. They either jump in the geyser or decide to Fuck Around and Find Out with the ghost matter tutorial.

It's also fun to see how long it takes people to discover the supernova. Some people go through multiple supernovas before they ever understand what's happening. One LPer honestly believed the Interloper was homing in on whatever planet he was on like a seeker missile and that's what was killing him. Another figured it out before even leaving the museum; They read the supernova info and announced, "I am very alarmed that the game is giving me a tutorial about this."

You can tell a lot about how observant a player is going to be based on how long it takes them to a) notice the Orbital Probe Cannon directly in front of them when they wake up, and b) notice that it fires in a different direction with each loop.

There are two rites of passage for becoming an Outer Wilds interstellar traveler: "Solar Baptism" ie. first time falling into the sun and first time stepping out of your ship without a suit on.

One LPer once said, in belligerent confusion at Slate's shabby ship design, "You CANNOT go to space in a barrel full of lawn chair." Barrel full of lawn chair is now my favorite way of describing the ship.

Every player has one or two gameplay features they never discover and have to make do without. Signalscope zoom function and Scout Launcher Photo Mode are the most common. My favorite was a player that never discovered that the ship can launch a scout. She entered the Quantum Moon by accelerating to collision course, standing up from the cockpit, manually taking a photo with her handheld Scout Launcher, and then riding the ship down and crashing unbuckled like a fucking maniac. XD

The Quantum Moon is an absolute troll that likes to pop up and mock people when they don't know what it is, or when they're trying to figure out how to reach it.

There is nothing worse than accidentally falling ass-backwards into the Ash Twin Project core. I saw a player once discover the Ash Twin Project by complete accident within the first hour or so of play, because they were in a panic and just happened to do the right thing and the right time.

Watching the gears turn in people's heads is great. One of my absolute favorite moments for any player: "I did it! I made it to the Probe Tracking Module! And I got the coordinates! HOLY SHIT, I HAVE THE COORDINATES TO THE EYE OF THE UNIVERSE!!! ...I have absolutely no idea what I'm supposed to do with this."

Another favorite moment: "What do you MEAN, the Sun Station doesn't work!? It has to be what's blowing up the sun. ...what else could it be...?"

And let's not forget: "...oh god. Oh shit. ...I know where to get the Advanced Warp Core for the Vessel."

[echoequinox]

I'm thinking about making a video essay on this topic already - or something similar to it - but here's my rewrite of the Starfield factions so that they're less Fucking Dogshit (no spoilers until the big red spoilers tag)

The main foundational crux of the game is the United Colonies vs the Freestar Collective, essentially the idea of Big Government vs Small Government. Within UC systems, the UC is pervasive and present at all levels of security and government, while in Freestar space, you've got planets like Neon that have self-governing security forces while the Rangers only actually go after like, interplanetary criminals and stuff that affects the whole of Freestar space.

And if that's the way you want to play it, fine, but I feel like this is fiction, and worse, this is SCI FI, so these tropes should be MORE polarizing and different.

The United Colonies should be a fascist near-police state. The ever-present panopticon argument that is "should we sacrifice freedom for safety". HEAVY citizenship laws, even more focus on what is essentially the drafting into Sysdef they do to gain legal citizenship. Slates could be designed by Sysdef - or maybe run their updates and core processes through the MAST on New Atlantis - so nearly all communications within UC space (and, hell, even from outside UC space) is monitored by the government.

The Well on New Atlantis should be worse. Treatment of their citizens should be noticeably worse, raids into the Well to sniff out outliers and insurgents. It could lead to a fun hard leftist group in the Well that's like, kind of a parody of leftist infighting, you've got the people fighting to demolish the UC and install something more just and citizen-focused in its place rather than security-focused, and then you've got the people who think we need to burn it all down and get rid of any and all governmental structures, and having them tear at each others throats until the Spacefarer comes along and gives their two cents.

The Freestar Collective, on the other hand, would be closer to a Southern American's dream. This idea of manifest destiny made absolute and concrete, this idea of carving out a place for yourself and Standing Your Ground. I like the idea of Freestar citizens being less critical of their government than the UC, but more critical about the fact that they just... don't show up as much. Hell, maybe certain sectors are just being paid off by gangs. Taking that idea of "we don't interfere in local affairs" and conflating it to a large degree, the idea that they don't protect anything that isn't a Freestar interest.

Maybe in direct opposition to that is a force of like... legitimate bounty hunters. A sort of rising vigilante force that is slowly gaining favor amongst the people for coming to help far before the Ranger kicks their stupid asses into gear. A grinding conflict between the two, where the Rangers are trying to put bounties up on the hunters because they're making the Rangers look bad and helping to add to anti-Freestar sentiment, and they're worried that their hold on the people of the Collective will loosen if they don't rely on them for their security.

The League of Independent Settlers could've been something more than a bullshit Minuteman side-quest provider too. One of the things I read on the wiki described them as a "service provider" and I think that's a fascinating read on them, comparing them to the modern day service provider. This idea of like, investing in settlements to eventually make back their profit, requiring a fee and upkeep instead of an upfront cost for the resources required to kick it in the black.

Maybe they've got repomen who go out and collect, should the settlements they fund not return to them. It could lead to more interesting side quests: finding settlements torn apart by Terrormorphs, facing the barrel of a gun by a farmer whose land isn't turning the profit they promised due to shoddy LIST tech, ending up in land disputes between several colonists because LIST overlapped the properties on the demarcation, etc etc etc. It could've been a neat bounty system and a possible moral quandary later on as well.

The Va'ruun are, obviously, underutilized. My assumption is that Shattered Stars (the first Starfield DLC) is going to be about them, but I know what going into a Bethesda game with assumptions is like. Even if that was the case, they could have seeded the Va'ruun a bit more heavily through the main game. Va'ruun outposts (abandoned or not), space stations, more defectors like Andreja.

I think that with the UC and Freestar being reflections of America's current (broken) political climate, the Va'ruun would provide a much needed reflection of its (broken) religious climate. This idea of an evangelical force that literally believes in a space worm who will kill all life eventually is very close the Christian version of Hell. "Don't commit sins or the Great Serpent will devour you". It could provide interesting context for both the Enlightened and the Universals - the Enlightened could be initially founded by disenfranchised Va'ruun and the Universals could be moving toward the same "God" that the Va'ruun worship, albeit not in a way either side understands.

I think that people should've been more disenfranchised about the Colony War. I think that it should've sparked a lot of revolution and a lot of disharmony amongst the people. The idea that out of the HUNDRED star systems, each government can only possess 3 is... insanity. And not only that, but the entire war and thousands of lives lost hinging on a LAND DISPUTE between two sides of the same fascist government is insane. I'm amazed more people aren't up in arms about it. (Also, I haven't checked, is there not even a fucking colony in Vesta?? Are you telling me that the Collective didn't continue working there anyway? Nobody from LIST set up there? That's fucking insane to me)

Anyway SPOILERS below

The last faction is obviously the Starborn, and while I do like their individualistic nature, I think that it would make more sense - especially as time went on - if the Emissary and Hunter had more Starborn falling in under their wing. The Emissary being a member of Constellation means that they're always going to be a good person and some Starborn have to fall under that category, and the Hunter seems like he genuinely wants to side with you and cares about your well-being when you're traveling with him (albeit in a jaded way) and also he was a priest, for god's sake, people aren't FLOCKING to hear what he has to say about Unity?

I personally would have each loop grow their status. The Emissary and Hunter are, initially, alone in the universe. Just like you. But as time goes on, as they iterate over and over, they find like-minded individuals. Some Starborn who are also on their 6th or 7th loop see them and say "Fuck it, why not team up? It's easier together and I vibe with what you want." By the Spacefarer's 5th loop the Emissary/Hunter have fully staffed ships. By the 7th they've got a small flotilla.

By the 10th loop, they'd truly be political powers in their own right. Existing on the far reaches of space, ready to wage a war against one another for control over the Unity. THAT would be a worthy way to play them.

[jtulangggg]

THE IMPACTS OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA IN OUR DAILY LIVES

The phrase "social media" is widely used to refer to the content we post on platorms like Instagram, Twiter, Facebook, and others. Briefy stated, social media sites are online platorms that enable user interaction. Social media refers to websites and applications that enable quick and efficient real-time informaion posing. Although many users use social media through mobile apps, this form of communicaion began on laptops. Nowadays, you can use the term "social media" to describe almost any website on the internet because it has such a broad defniion. Any digital device that enables users to rapidly produce and disseminate information to the public is considered social media. Numerous websites and apps are part of social media. Some, like Twiter, are geared on the exchange of links and succinct written messages. Others, like Instagram, are made to make it easier to share pictures and videos.

Social media stands out because it is both large and relatively unrestrained. There are signifcantly fewer limits on what people can publish on social media than on more conventional forms of mass media like periodicals, radio stations, and television, even if many social media companies do impose certain restricions, such as eliminating images that portray violence or nudity.

I chose a topic like this because a lot of people in general, both young people and adults, benefit from social media, and the main reason they do so is to stay in contact with their close friends and loved ones. This comes as no surprise given that social media was created specifically for that reason. There isn't much about a person that does not ultimately show up on social media, from profiles and message and commenting opions to important occasions and on a daily basis update. Nearly half of internet users say they use social media to pass the time when they're bored, which is the second most common reason individuals use it. Finding content, monitoring social media conversations, and getting ideas for things to do and buy are the next three major uses of social media.

In my opinion, social media is the topic that I chose for this blog since so many people now rely on platorms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platorms that can communicate with one another. While each has advantages, it's crucial to keep in mind that social media can never fully replace face-to-face interaction. The hormones that reduce stress and make you feel beter about yourself and more optimistic are only released when you are in direct physical contact with other people. Surprisingly, social media, which is meant to bring people together, can really make you feel more alone and isolated and aggravate mental health issues like depressive disorders and anxiety if you spend too much time using it. It could be time to reevaluate your online behaviors and achieve a healthy balance if you're using social media excessively and experience depression, discontentment, irritaion, or feeling alone.

The topic that I dealt with in my blog will assist the readers in developing limits on their use of social media and in taking breaks from it. They must be aware that spending too much time on social media might be detrimental to our welfare. Spending too much time browsing through feeds and stories can numb us and occasionally serve as a harmful diversion from people, events, and ideas that demand our full attention.

Modern culture is undoubtedly infuenced by social media. It cannot be stressed how much our digital spaces have changed the way we live. With more than half of the world's population using social media and the typical person browsing through them for at least two hours each day, this is a fact that cannot be ignored. Social media has radically transformed the way we begin, build, and sustain our connections. It has given us new methods to connect and stay connected with the world around us, as well as channels for self-expression.

However, despite the fact that we now take these online communities for granted, academics are only just starting to fully comprehend the effects that social media use will have on future generations. Major platforms like Meta and Instagram are transforming into primary digital advertising places as much as they are into social media platorms, and social media models are altering daily as a result. Marketers have a vital responsibility to disseminate ideas that educate rather than add to the social media sea of disinformaion.

[sophieinwonderland]

Something About The Simply Plural Gatekeeping I Need To Get Of My Chest...

Okay, this is a vent post.

The people gatekeeping Simply Plural are doing so under the pretense that this is a "disability aid." And to an extent, that's true. Simply Plural is an app that helps systems, and some of those features are especially geared towards helping DID/OSDD systems. But there's an underlying tone to this that only DID/OSDD systems should be allowed to use this. It presents a view where anyone who uses this resource with DID/OSDD is taking away from DID/OSDD systems.

Before I go further, I just want to point out how stupid this is, again. I saw one person compare using Simply Plural to stealing a wheechair from a disabled person. Even if we agreed with the false premise that it's specifically made for DID/OSDD systems, it's still nothing like that, because unlike wheelchair, anyone can use an app without taking it away from others. Rather, Simply Plural would be more analogous to a ramp. It's built with disabled people in mind, but can be used by anyone, and you look pretty dumb if you're going to call someone ableist for walking up a ramp because walking up a ramp is "stealing resources from disabled people." 🙄

But Simply Plural is a resource made with all systems in mind. Not just DID/OSDD systems. The same is true of Pluralkit. These resource were never meant exclusively for disordered systems, so the argument of them being disability aids doesn't make sense.

Moreover, many of these systems who gatekeep Simply Plural and Pluralkit are anti-endos. They claim something that was made by the inclusive plural community, and then try to gatekeep it and act like they can decide who has a right to use it.

While they focus on singlets, the underlying implication to the "disability aid" argument is that anyone who doesn't have a disorder who uses the app is taking something away from disabled people.

All of this brings me to a point I've been thinking about for a long time... the anti-endo community doesn't make anything. They don't contribute resources. They just take things other people have made and then claim those things for themselves.

For all the claims of endogenic systems stealing resources from DID/OSDD systems, a lot of the resources in these communities were created by the inclusive plural community.

Simply Plural is heavily tied to the Plural Association, and likely wouldn't exist without the inclusive plural community supporting it. A relationship made apparent through this thread.

And let me just say how ungrateful the person comes off here. They use Simply Plural for free with no ads, and are almost definitely not supporting Apparyllis in any way. Yet they have the nerve to challenge their support of endogenic systems and one of their largest donors who pays for them to be able to have such free and convenient access to the app.

Then of the two major system bots on Discord, Pluralkit's creators are very explicit in supporting any systems using it (and allow its use for singlet RP'ers), and Tupperbox was originally made for tulpa systems.

As I've discussed before, many of the terms in circulation in the community today originated with the inclusive community. "Plural" and "headmate" came from this community. Terms like fictive and factive were taken from Soulbonders.

And those that weren't taken from the inclusive community were taken from medical terms. And I say taken, because they're often redefined in ways that weren't intended when they were coined.

For example, while medical professionals refer to alters as parts of a system, they've also used the same terms to describe subpersonalities in the IFS model. Someone who undergoes IFS therapy and feels plural afterwards has a legitimate claim to call themselves systems based on this psychiatric definition. Recently, the term has been applied by psychiatrists to intelligent voices in psychotic disorders. And current studies into endogenic systems have largely been using system terminology. And so when someone says you can't call yourself a system because it's medical terminology, they're ignoring how the term is actually used by medical professionals.

You could also apply this to "introjects" as well, where introjection is a psychological term that refers to any instance of acquiring traits from another individual. Introjection was never meant to refer exclusively to a DID/OSDD phenomenon. And terms like "host," while used to refer to the primary fronter, have just as much history in spiritual multiplicity if not more.

It's a pattern of claiming exclusive ownership over resources and language they didn't create and don't have the right to define, then gatekeep others from using those resources.

And to be clear, they're obviously welcome to use any of the terms coined by the inclusive community, as well as the resources the inclusive plural community has built. I would even encourage it.

Simply Plural, in particular, is an incredibly important resource to the mental health of many systems.

But the anti-endo community didn't build it. You don't get to decide who does and doesn't use it. You don't get to gatekeep a resource that was made by a community that you hate and don't want to exist.

If you don't like it, you can always make your own resources. But that would require anti-endos to actually build something to contribute to the community for once instead of just taking from others.

And this is what I find frustrating about this whole controversy.

Anti-endos constantly project.

The inclusive plural community built Simply Plural. They built Pluralkit and Tupperbox. They contributed a good half of the most common system terms in circulation today, with most of the rest being psychological terms or just normal words, most of which weren't even meant to be applied exclusively to multiplicity.

The anti-endos hate our community, yet they rely on the resources our community built. They go so far as to gatekeep these resources we built, because not only do they rely on them, they feel like they should own them. They feel entitled to the resources we created as if those resources are their property.

And then they claim that we're stealing their resources.

In the end, the pro-endo community is one that builds things up, creating resources for everyone to use

The anti-endo community just tears people down.

[givefangapuppy]

I think that makes a lot of sense! I *also* think we'll get a little of both, though. I've spent this whole year reading queer romance, been on a real kick, and I've found that there's another trope that often happens, and when it does it can really kick both drama and the comedy into high gear. I don't know what it's actually called, but you could maybe describe it as the storm after the calm. The heroes fall for each other, finally get past all their insecurities and fears and obstacles and actually get together - confess their love to each other, start to consider what a life together would be - only for yet another misunderstanding or conflict to occur and drive them apart again. Often a conflict based in differing visions for what their lives and their relationship will or could be. Based on knowing they love each other, but being unsure or poorly communicating what being in love actually means to each of them. Which is usually the narrative spur for one or both of them to really truly examine who they are and what they want, and how much they're willing to change or give up to be with the person they love.

So I think that one way this could go is that s2 has Stede find Ed, declare his love, the two of them get together for real, maybe have sex, maybe cohabitate, maybe truly try to be co captains - but then the reality of what it's like to be together and build a life together gets hard and messy and filled with misunderstanding and misplaced assumptions and insecurities - from which an awful lot of comedy could be mined, along with conflict - and that drives them apart again. But also leads to enough growth through adversity for each of them (I'm looking at you, Ed's unresolved parental issues) that they can come back together in s3 with a much clearer, more real, more open set of intentions based on loving each other for who they are, not who they each think the other is (not to mention who they each think the other wants them to be).

The best romance stories aren't just meeting-obstacle-confession-happy ending. They instead have a penultimate act (your season 2, your Empire) where things get hard and complex, where the heroes have to confront their assumptions and identities and values, before they can get to a happy ending that really means something, that's really about seeing their love for what it is, and their lover and themselves for who they are, so that their ever after is built on trust and honesty and shared goals, not just an impossibly perfect fantasy.

(Particular recommendations for books I think do this sort of thing really well: first and foremost The Will Darling Adventures by KJ Charles, but also A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske and - silly as it is - Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall. All gay, and all very interested in exploring not just falling in love, but being in love and it's complexities. They also all have some extremely hot scenes if that's your bag 😜)

look. logically i know ed and stede will end up together and happy by the end of the show, but david jenkins said he needs about 3 seasons to tell the whole story. so what if they don’t completely iron things out this season? like maybe they will make up in s2, but s3 is more about navigating a serious relationship? or maybe they WILL patch things up this season and season 3 will be about overcoming another problem?? but then again it’s a love story so it will probably be relationship related??? i have so many thoughts FUCK. anyways gay pirates

[assedout]

I guarantee this response will be disappointing sorry, I didn't get the most sleep so the original post and this response are the result of me running on fumes, I had to reread this post way too many times to fully grasp it so I'm sorry if I'm still misunderstanding somewhere, again I'm running on fumes and very exhausted.

I'm mad at myself for not really being clear here, I don't think we should identify our relationships based on our sexualities, or our sexes and I'm sorry I gave that impression. I think our relationships should just be called "relationships", all of them, if the individuals within the relationship want to express pride or talk about specific experiences and refer to their relationship as a gay relationship then I'm down for that; however generally speaking, strangers shouldn't look at couples and distinguish them as "gay" or "straight" in their heads. I know I said it in that other brief response but I generally think it'd be better if people saw two gay men together and thought "that's a really cute couple!" instead of "that's a really cute *gay* couple!".

At the same time I do get what you're saying, and I think it's important to have the language to talk about oppression based on homophobia especially when it comes to politics, law and activism. And as someone who's been called a f*ggot by a former partner of the opposite sex I definitely see what you mean with your example.

I guess I'm conflicted then because I definitely want gay men, lesbians and other bi people to have the means to talk openly about their relationships and the homophobic realities of life; but I also don't want straight people to overemphasize the *GAY* in their head whenever they see a real-life gay couple or view our relationships as "different" than straight ones. Basically I don't want people having an exaggerated opinion towards gay relationships, meaning on one end I don't want girls screaming at gay men because they're "kawaii real life yaoi uwu~~!!!" and on the other I don't want gay people being called f*ggots and getting harassed/assaulted while straight people treat each other and straight relationships with an unexaggerated amount of "normalcy". People never really go "that's a cute straight couple", they just go "that's a cute couple" and that's kinda where I see a problem. People just shrug or walk by straight couples but gawk at gay couples like they're a walking museum exhibit.

On the subject of bisexuals; I think our place in the conversation can be kinda confusing because we as bi people don't really always have the language to talk about our experiences and relationships, especially since it's really being pushed that we don't use the term "gay" to describe our same-sex attraction. So I know for myself I'm uncomfortable referring to my same-sex attraction as "gay" (I was even uncomfortable referring to my relationship with my former girlfriend as a "gay relationship" because of this). So the world in general refers to our same-sex relationships as gay relationships while we feel uncomfortable to say the same or to use the term "gay" at all for ourselves; like we can talk about our relationships being gay when we're telling people it's wrong to call us f*gs for it but otherwise we really don't have much of a vocabulary for ourselves and that's where my issue with bi people not having the language to define our relationships/attraction/experiences comes in. That's kinda the general direction I was going in with my bit on bisexuals not really being able to define their own sexualities and relationships; I think it does a disservice to bi people and gets us disoriented in our place in the overall conversation of homophobia. I'm not saying bi people should be throwing the word "gay" around like confetti, definitely not. I do think bi people as a community should have more well-known terminologies to accurately describe our attraction and our relationships.

I have to admit your input definitely makes the gears in my head turn and I'm definitely more willing to ease on my position than before, especially what you said about being perceived as gay and thus being being oppressed under the axis of homophobia. I definitely will keep that in mind moving forward. I do hope that I made some semblance of sense in this long pointless response tho, thanks for taking the time to help me learn a little.

Lowkey controversial opinion here but, believe what you want, bi people in het partnered relationships are not “straight”, no my relationship is not a “straight” relationship and before you butt in saying “yes it is cuz X” consider the following; You don’t know the ins and outs of everyone’s relationships and I’m still Bisexual regardless of the sex of who I date.

It’s a straight relationship if two straight people are together, it’s a gay relationship if two gay people are together, hell, it’s a bi relationship if two bi people are together; but a bi person with a straight person doesn’t make their relationship “straight” nor does a bi person with a gay person make their relationship “gay”.

Our relationships are not in any facet defined by our sex or the sex of our partners, just call them relationships and be on your way.

It’s hard enough for bisexual people to find the terms to define ourselves and our relationships without other people trying to define *us* for *us* but ONLY as slurs (anyone throw around the term bihet lately?)

Let bisexual people be the ones to define our own relationships, and not by your straight/gay dichotomy but by our own terms.