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riddledeep · 2 months ago

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Chromosomes and Pheromones

A discussion of bug people, royal jelly, and Wolbachia pipientis

Pheromones play a large role in Fairy and Pixie cultures. All Seelie Courters produce them, but pheromones are most obvious when produced by gynes- the biological "queen bees" of the cloudlands.

H.P. has scolded Sanderson multiple times for keeping scratch-and-sniff magazines in his desk at work, as Sanderson enjoys flipping through and sampling various scents (paired with attractive images of famous figures).

- Anti-Fairies do not have a strong sense of smell. Pheromones are not part of their culture (nor Refracted culture)- these things are strictly for the insect people. - Anti-Cosmo treats his divus displacement disorder (his alleged "Fairy in an Anti-Fairy's body" disorder) by rubbing donor pheromones on his face. -> Growing up, he liked H.P.'s (which H.P. sold during a time he was young and desperate for cash), but he uses a random selection in modern times and doesn't wear a rival head of state's anymore. -> Many people think of Anti-Cosmo as "a man of ever-changing scents." His various pheromone applications put off many people who struggle to get a read on him below the donor pheromones; he comes across as an enigma who shouldn't be trusted. -> According to Prince Eastkal in "Deep," Anti-Cosmo's actual scent is "Soot, mulch, and ipewood trees, but no fruit."

Family Scents

Pheromones are always a combination of a fruit with either a wood, nut, or floral undertone (in that order of commonality). Scents are hereditary, so they're always passed through families. Since gynes are dominant, families with more gynes (or at least recent gynes) tend to be more dominant

Ex: Poof inherited the Fairywinkle scent because his grandfather (Wanda's father, Big Daddy) is a gyne. Cosmo's family isn't known for gynes; Cosma pheromones are pretty weak.

Below, scents are arranged from most common to rarest (by fruit). Many people know celebrities not just by their names and looks, but by their pheromones:

🍒 Cherry

- Almond - Fairywinkle (Big Daddy, Poof, Westley, etc.) - Walnut - Vieldgarr (Present-day Purple Robe's family)

🟣 Plum

- Mimosa - Lunifly (Cosmo's extended family; the Everwish and Coldwater families are part of the Lunifly line and inherited this scent). There's a very faint apple undertone in their line due to von Strangle heritage. - Hemlock - Needlebark (Iris debuted in "Needles and Dread")

⚫ Blackberry

- Pine - Fernfire (Coleen's family; her son Whistle was the first common fairy born after Poof. Even Anti-Cosmo picked up her dad's scent at the shower house in "Gossamer")

🔴 Cranberry

- Lotus - Waterberry (Jack appeared in "Made to Be Broken") - Pine - Sparklefield (Simon appeared in the episode "Timmy TV")

🍓 Strawberry

- Briar - Fairytwirl (Ian bullied and blackmailed H.P. during school)

🍇 Grape

- Black Locust - Cosma (Cosmo likes grape jelly. His pheromones smell more like this than the Lunifly scent. Although faint, it blocks out the apple undertones from the von Strangle family)

🥝 Kiwi

- Mint - Dentin (Tooth Fairy; her daughters took her pheromones, not Jorgen's)

🍋 Lemon

- Cedar - Abdul (Binky's family)

🍊 Orange

- Cinnamon - Whimsifinado (All pixies). The Ranens (H.P.'s sister and her son's line) also have orange-cinnamon scents. H.P.'s family is known for gynes (and cousin marriages in many past generations), so this scent has remained very strong across the years. - Maple - Wurpixiz (Solara's line through her father, Beckett; Sparky's pheromones had this scent before he became a cù-sìth)

🍑 Peach

- Cedar - Reddinski (Jean appeared in "Almost"; he has some katsura-scent heritage in his line as well, giving his pheromones a sugary undertone) - Elm - Hart (Fairy Hart reports news in the show)

🍈 Melon

- Walnut - Brindle (Ocean Brindle is a very ambiguous wraith, anti-wraith, or wraith refract pop star in Poof's generation) - Oak - Mayfleet (H.P.'s selkie ex-wife; pheromones very faint due to her seal biology)

🍐 Pear

- Almond - Crystal Ball (Billy and his daughters, Cotton and Grove). Cotton and Grove are heavily rumored to be Blonda's daughters due to cherry undertones from their mom, not to mention the almond, but Blonda laughs this off whenever she's asked) - Maple - Sweetsparkle (Sammy's family)

🫐 Blueberry

- Pine - Dyeberry (Ariana is Goldie's elf roommate and on Poof's saucerbee team; she appears in "Happy Holidays")

🍎 Apple

- Hickory - von Strangles (Jorgen) - Jorgen's scent being very subtle was - and still is - a constant source of tension.

🍍 Pineapple - Came into existence with Ilisa's genetic mutation. Wisp genetics tend to be unstable and weak, so this scent fades under others. Pineapple is the scent that makes moths more amorous.

- Juniper - Ivorie - Prominent around Kansas and Nebraska (in modern times) - Walnut - Goldenglow - Goldie's family, prominent around Tennessee (in modern times)

💗 Passionfruit - Exclusive to the Eros family. They have very tight restrictions on reproduction (See also, Eros Family Tree), so this scent is unique to Cupid and his relatives.

- Vanilla - Eros

Info on mindsets, Wolbachia, and chromosomes under the cut, along with snippets from Cloudlands AU 'fics, a discussion of how pheromones affect Sanderson, and who Sanderson is without pheromone influence.

Obligatory reminder that this is a non-human society with non-human biology and social norms based on eusocial insects.

Alarm Scents

Pixies are eusocial. They swarm to protect the injured (specifically, once the scent of blood hits the air).

Injured pixies produce a scent that's been described as "Mint, warm butter, and wet dog" along with the banana alarm pheromone.

Pixies swarmed in "This Is a Box" after Chloe kicked H.P. in the face.

Mature Scents

When Seelie Courters are no longer virgins, they gain an underlying scent of caviar. This boosts their social status, deepens the scent of their other pheromones, and makes them much more attractive to drones and potential mates.

This parallels many real-life insects, who can detect a scent change (and favor non-virgin mates)

Poof was embarrassed in "All I Ever Wanted" when roommates and family confirmed they'd noticed his scent change.

Since the mature scent boosts dominance, gyne rivalry is much more vicious among mature individuals than virgin ones- It's just part of their biology to get more aggressive (and it's a lot harder to calm down when a rival has strong pheromones).

- Vice President Longwood is under strict orders to remain a virgin, lest the Head Pixie kill him (H.P. has a hard enough time not killing Longwood just for being a gyne even when he is a virgin). - Tension spiked between Poof and another gyne he grew up with (Finley) once Poof was no longer a virgin. - Finley is a tomte: a Fae who can't use magic. This means he's guaranteed to die during mating since his body wouldn't be able to survive it... but Finley has always been more dominant than Poof, so there's a lot of increased paranoia and aggression there.

Mindsets

There are three Fairy mindsets- the gyne, the kabouter, and the drone. Gynes and drones are two sides of the same coin.

Gyne - A Fairy or pixie drake who has freckles and gives off powerful pheromones that drone Fairies and pixies are attracted to.

In insect colonies that have queens, “gyne” is the word for the virgin “princess” insect who will either leave her mother’s colony to form her own, or seek to kill her mother and take over her colony instead. Similar instincts exist in Fairy or pixie gynes, who are rather territorial.

Wilcox listed the following responsibilities for gynes in “The Facts of Life”:

Appreciate your subordinates

Care for them when they’re sick

Ensure they have food and shelter before yourself

Culture Note - In Fairy World, it's the dominant individual who provides and serves food. In Anti-Fairy World, a host will provide food, but it's served by submissive individuals.

Gynes and drones are more easily manipulated by pheromones as they're much more connected to their insect biology, so they're more likely to cringe away or submit to dominant individuals (and gynes often fight to the death for dominance).

You can identify a dominant gyne because they'll float higher than others and people tend to defer to them (i.e. glancing, asking permission, keeping alert).

IRL, eusocial insects outgrow the term "gyne" when they become queens, but in my lore, the term sticks for life.

Two dominant gynes can't stay dominant in the same area for long. On neutral ground (like Fairy Con's sparring ring), they can maintain their respective dominance. When visiting each other's property - or sometimes even when meeting up for lunch - the more submissive one will get flipped. -> See the chapters "Made to Be Broken," "Senseless," and "Almost" respectively for examples from Origin of the Pixies. -> A young H.P. was required to wear a scarf to conceal his pheromones when he lived in the Earthside town of Bayard- "Mature" "Getting flipped" means mannerisms, dialogue, dress code, and thoughts shift to reflect that of the dominant individual. This happens to Sanderson in "Minion" when he and H.P. visit the Fairy Elder and Sanderson gets flipped to his "yellow butler" persona; more info on this in the "Minion" section below. - The top image for this post depicts Sanderson in different colors, including the yellow butler one and navy blue while under Anti-Cosmo's influence In "Senseless and Almost" (see above), H.P. changes his shirt from lavender to Reddinski's red. He shifts into a highly anxious "apologizing and asking permission" state that mirrors his behavior when he was in high school with Jean Reddinski, who took advantage of him back then (i.e. flirting with and brushing fingers across skin, setting up tension years later when Reddinski is actively abusing his drones by taking advantage of them when they can't leave and H.P. struggles to face his old bully on their behalf).

Gyne Pheromones

🍌 All gynes have a banana undertone to their pheromones. It's specifically the banana scent that becomes stronger when a gyne has mature pheromones, and strongest of all if they're the dominant gyne in the area (the aldra mór). See also:

"Mostly 9-oxo-2-decenoic acid, but your 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl ethanol is rather strong too, sir." Keefe looked at him in horror. "The answer I expected was bananas, but close enough. That's right. Since I'm the boss, you'll smell the 9O2D on me, but not on a younger gyne like Longwood. That's the specific scent you like, Sanderson, along with the 10H2D."

Origin of the Pixies Chapter 36, "Senseless"

Only dominant gynes are capable of conceiving. Subordinate gynes have their fertility suppressed until they become dominant (Queen bee vs. worker bee).

Poof was subordinate for most of his life, but becomes dominant when away from Finley in Hawthorn Haven.

Rupert Roebeam (ishigaq) and Walter Keefe (pixie) are drones born with dysolfactya: the inability to organize scents in their head. This renders them immune to pheromone cues; they'll just look at you if you try to lure them in "because it's instinct."

This also leaves them prone to falling off clouds or wandering into dangerous caves since they can't smell border warnings.

In Baby, You're a Rich Man Chapter 10, Keefe is the pixie who manages the file organizing computer: a job that keeps him safely indoors and doesn't require smelling anything.

The Anti-Fairy parallel of a gyne is a pilot. The Refracted parallel is a plume. They don't produce special pheromones, attract drones, or fight to the death. However, they're more likely to express bat or bird behavior (such as preening wings with teeth or building nests). They're often considered attractive in their communities.

Poof is a gyne, Foop is a pilot, and Poppy is a plume

- Drones are drakes who are overly sensitive to pheromones (and are drawn to dominant individuals who produce them). They tend to be calmer, more organized, and clearer of mind when exposed to pheromones; they risk falling into anxiety or depression without regular exposure.

Drones make up retinues: groups of worker bees that clean, feed, and care for the queen of an insect colony (or gynes, in this case).

Most pixies are drones, so Sanderson is a great example. In "Grooming," he describes the caretaking process for H.P., which includes things like wing brushing.

Wilcox listed these responsibilities for drones in “The Facts of Life”:

Be loyal

Be trustworthy

Don’t hurt your superiors

Fight to defend your family

Culturally, they're stereotyped as simpleminded, but that's not part of their biology. During Fairy World's medieval era, drones weren't allowed to own property, hold eye contact, work most jobs, leave rooms without being directly dismissed, and were required to wear muted grays or browns (and wear bracelets that matched one worn by their gyne.

At the end of this era, the court case Canterbury v. Oakwing granted drones additional rights, though some (like marriage) wouldn't be gained for another two generations (by Waterberry v. Reddinski).

The Fairywinkle family have a history of smuggling drones out of families (both upon request of those who wanted them removed from the inheritance order and upon request of drones seeking a better life). Legally, they “disappeared,” though few were actually killed- Most were relocated to new gynes. Notably, as Poof (a gyne himself) grows older, he works to revive this practice, combining his Fairywinkle heritage with the business know-how he picked up from interning at Pixies Inc.; Poof's dream is to create a legal, transparent "exchange program" of matching compatible gynes and drones.

The Head Pixie and Santa are both examples of gynes with a lot of drones under their care- H.P. has his pixies and Santa has his elves. Pixies represent paper wasps in Cloudlands AU and elves represent honeybees- two eusocial insect species this worldbuilding was largely based on.

- Kabouters can smell pheromones, but are less influenced by them since they're more human-like than insect-like in their behaviors. They don't fight to the death and are not as ingrained in social traditions that can be traced back to insect biology.

The term kabouter does not have any connection to insect biology. It's a friendly creature akin to a gnome (Dutch folklore).

Damsels with ZW chromosomes can't* develop into gynes or drones. Instead, they come in two flavors: "can have sons" and "can't have sons." Wanda is an exposed kabouter, so she can have sons.

Fairy births are biased in favor of damsels, with a roughly 75%-25% split. Sons are less common, but not rare. Again, the vibe here is "haplodiploid reproductive system, but it follows the 'male Fairies give birth' canon from the show and I don't claim to know everything about it, so if there are mistakes, 'It's because magic.'" Fairy World doesn't learn about the jelly connection until Foop connects the dots in young adulthood. Fairy World doesn't really know what's going on with their bodies. * See Smith's info below

Gynes and drones can only produce gyne or drone sons, not kabouter sons (although they can produce kabouter daughters). This mirrors the haplodiploid reproduction of eusocial insects.

Reminder: The mother needs to be an exposed kabouter to produce sons in the first place.

Jorgen's father (Frost) refused to believe in the "gynes can't have kabouter sons" rule of biology. Jorgen was born without freckles (and is a drone), but his father refused to admit that as he considered it shameful. Jorgen was very pleased to announce himself as a drone during the eulogy he gave for his father (after a lifetime of living in shame and suppressed emotions).

Jorgen and Binky are a gyne-drone pair, and while there's sometimes tension between them, they're very content with their set-up overall. Jorgen's happy to be himself with someone who doesn't judge or shame him, and Binky enjoys the company of his long-time friend.

See "7 Billion Years in 15,000 Words" for more about how cloudland perceptions of drones have shifted over the years.

Fairies cannot reproduce with Anti-Fairies (or Refracts). Their bodies are shaped differently (Fairies having systems based on insect anatomy, Anti-Fairies ones based on bat anatomy, Refracts on bird anatomy). Additionally, their chromosomes are incompatible, so in vitro doesn't work either.

Pixies and Anti-Fairies can't reproduce either- Pixies are also bug-based.

"Minion"

H.P. values hard work, rigid body posture, a straight face, and showing little emotion. When Sanderson is under the influence of H.P.’s pheromones, these are the traits he shows.

He was raised by H.P. from birth, so he grew up under these expectations anyway, pheromones or no pheromones. However, he defaults to H.P.’s values more naturally when “in H.P.’s service,” as we would say.

130 Prompt #14 - "Minion" depicts H.P. and Sanderson visiting the Fairy Elder: a presumably powerful being namedropped in "Timmy's Secret Wish." In Cloudlands AU, she's an ancient being who stands about 20 feet tall and wears yellow robes- Thus, Fairy World's rainbow designs pay homage to her even though there is no Yellow Robe sitting on the Fairy Council with the other colors.

Being the Fairy Elder, she has very powerful pheromones, even more so than H.P. In the Castle, H.P. was unable to maintain his usual influence over Sanderson, who felt instinctively prompted to turn his gray suit into a yellow one. Even H.P. fell under the Fairy Elder’s charm, turning his own suit yellow and showing more emotion (in this case, romantic affections) than we would usually expect from him.

While under the Fairy Elder’s influence, Sanderson took on a slightly different persona: checking for smears of dust, gesturing with sweeps of his arms, wearing white gloves, and folding his hands behind his back, and refusing to acknowledge H.P. as his boss. As far as he was concerned, the Fairy Elder was his boss now.

The relationship between H.P. and Sanderson is very boss & employee in nature. Sanderson calls H.P. “sir” and expects to be treated as a valued employee who receives a paycheck for his services and can be promoted and demoted in the company as appropriate. However, the relationship between Sanderson and the Fairy Elder is very butler & proud mistress of the household. Instinctively, Sanderson can sense this, even though he’d be hard pressed to explain how if you asked him to. That’s the nature of being a drone: he can sense what his superiors expect of him, and his natural instinct is to conform to their expectations. No longer under the influence of H.P.'s pheromones, Sanderson gestured more than usual and even shrugged- An act unusual for a stiff, professional pixie. He also hung his shades from the collar of his suit. He makes a point of referring to H.P. by his full title, “the Head Pixie,” and refers to the Fairy Elder as “his boss.” Other things Sanderson tends to do more frequently when he isn’t under H.P.’s influence include rolling his eyes and interrupting conversations (even when H.P. is the one speaking).

Notably, Sanderson warned H.P. that he would be flipped by the Fairy Elder's pheromones before it actually happened.

Once he did flip, he struggled to comprehend a future where he would return to H.P.'s service. He mentions that logically, he knew the Fairy Elder wouldn't force him to stay because she's always dismissed him back to H.P. in the past, but it was difficult to wrap his mind around the thought because it felt so right to be in her service.

He even described H.P. as his “former boss” and mused that he “can’t go crawling back to his ex” despite the fact that he was never fired from Pixies Inc. and technically still has a job there.

So, what exactly is going on in Sanderson’s mind right now? And what does he think of H.P. while in the Fairy Elder’s service?

All of a sudden, my body felt three sizes too small. Not even caring that I was breaking Pixie tradition, I made a fast, observable movement and scratched furiously at the crook of my left arm. Oh, it was a snatter of a place to be, trapped between a gyne and a god. On the one hand, the Elder’s pheromones gleamed on my tongue like sparkling suns that I could stare at without flinching away, but on the other, even she couldn’t overpower two and a half hundred millennia of scent layers quite so easily. Though my body and actions were hers, my brain longed to stand safely beside the Head Pixie again. But I didn’t make a move to do so. As a drone, I had little choice but to passionately serve the most dominant source of pheromones in the area, and for now, that dominant source was a deity, not a dear old friend.

Sanderson recognizes his loyalty to the Head Pixie, and regrets his inability to go against his own instincts and stand beside him, the way he would be standing if the Fairy Elder weren’t so influential. The part of him that’s speaking is the part of him that was raised by and which loves the Head Pixie, not a part of him prompted purely by pheromones. It’s the part of him that sees H.P. as both a father and a friend.

Additionally,

Obsession, now that I could comprehend. By the distinct natures of our biology, my own “infatuation” with the Fairy Elder manifested differently than his. Drones were natural fair-weather friends and sycophant servants. Even I, though minutes ago I’d loved him fiercely, had no power to alter my fate. For kabouters (and, especially, gynes) it was confusing to watch our colors change in a snap. Hurtful, even, that we could so easily abandon someone who fed and cared for us in instant favor of someone we’d never met. Yes, hurtful even for pixies, pallbearers of emotion they may claim to be. Even a pixie gyne must be hurting to see me now. Hurting, and lonely, and confused, and dripping with lust and fearful anxiety. And thus, I looked back at the flushing Head Pixie with pity in my brain, without a thought of blame or hypocrisy. This was not my fault. This was not his fault. It did not matter whose fault it was. Neither of us mattered to each other right now. One thing alone mattered, and she was the Fairy Elder.

Here, Sanderson explains that switching sides is, for him, a natural part of life. It’s something that he goes through life expecting it to happen, and so he is rarely surprised when it does. In his detached way, he understands that he might be hurting H.P.’s feelings, but he is pitying rather than sympathetic.

In sometimes subtle ways, the Fairy Elder’s influence has gotten under Sanderson’s skin. He is making the shift from valuing H.P. above all else to valuing the Fairy Elder above all else.

During the conversation between H.P. and Jorgen’s mother (Adelinda von Strangle), Sanderson demonstrates that even under the Fairy Elder’s influence, he is still his own person with the ability to think for himself, and explains he can’t be forced to reveal any secrets he doesn’t want to:

He lifted his eyebrows. “Does that bother you, dame? It’s fine if it does. It would bother me. But the fact remains, dumb Fairy laws prevent you from getting in my way. Even if I’ve confirmed I will be launching one of my revenge schemes this year, and even if you know where I will likely act and who I may be utilizing as a pawn, you can’t stop me.” Each of those last few words, he spit like their own sentence, wings beating rapidly until their noses were nearly bumping. “My son and I will not be taking our eyes off Dimmsdale for a second.” “Do it,” he said, softly. “Send in your patrol of godkids to stop me. March them straight through the Learn-A-Torium doors and onto Pixies Inc. property. Maybe you’ll find a find a weak point in our plan that Sanderson and I didn’t catch and correct.” That was my name. And… that was my old job. Adelinda realized it at the same time I did. As I inhaled sickly pheromones through my nose, she turned and stared down at me. Her fingers snapped once. “Spill your guts, pixie.” I stayed quiet, glaring up at her as the Head Pixie widened his eyes behind her shoulder. When she made as though she might leap down and approach, it was a steady process- not the quick, unexpected lunges forward that the Head Pixie (more than Anti-Sanderson, or even the Dame Head) were well known for. Apart from shifting her staff in my arms, I didn’t move. The wingless Adelinda positioned herself, fuming, at the tip of the Elder’s knee. “Pixie, you wear the colors of our goddess. For the good of the Fairy nation, reveal to us what you know.” “Adelinda, I’m gone, but I’m not that far gone. I’m a drone. Not a computer program. While my present loyalties lie with the Fairy Elder over the Head Pixie, I’m able to perceive that if he should accept me back upon her leaving, I will again belong to him. In this likely scenario, it would no longer benefit me to share that information with you. I don’t discuss my ex with current employers.”

Other Sanderson Personas

Like most drones, Sanderson has a slightly different persona for every dominant figure he ends up in the service of. Briefly, here are two other dominant figures who trigger unique personas:

“Can’t we preen just one last time before you go?” “Sanderson,” Smith said, making exaggerated rustling noises as he moved the boxes around, “I’m busy right now. Why don’t you ask Cresswell or Chidlow?” “Because they don’t preen the way you do.” Sanderson walked his fingers between the coffee filters and black straws. “You know… Besides H.P., you’re the only gyne I’ve ever given myself to on purpose. Cresswell and Chidlow get paralyzed by awkward fears of getting caught, and they fumble around. You’re the only one who never lets on he cares if he’s found out. Whenever we preen…” Sanderson narrowed his eyes in thought. “You actually exude an aura like you’re in charge. You’re just so dominant that way.” Smith set the box he had just picked up back on the floor. “Go on…”

Smith - Every once in awhile, the name Mr. Smith comes up in my pixie-related works (in this case, the above scene is from a piece called “The Other One” that we won’t be seeing again for quite awhile).

Smith is H.P.’s second-eldest gyne offspring, and his “spare” to his “heir.” Sanderson finds Smith’s pheromones nearly as favorable to smell as H.P.’s. He considers Smith a good friend, and occasionally seeks him out when working on a project or struggling with a task he’d rather not admit to H.P. that he’s struggling with.

Smith, in turn, finds Sanderson more entertaining than annoying, and sees him as a little brother despite the fact that Sanderson is slightly older than he is. So every once in awhile, Smith’s pheromones do overpower Sanderson’s mind more than the Head Pixie’s do.

It’s technically against both company policy and social norms for Sanderson to walk around with pheromones all over him that don’t belong to the Head Pixie. As a result, such behavior is considered scandalous, and that’s affected the persona Sanderson takes on around Smith. He tends to be more coy and silver-tongued about getting his way, rather than defaulting to the entitled and somewhat whiny persona he often falls into around the Head Pixie.

The second figure is Anti-Cosmo-

Mr. Sanderson actually frowned, eyebrows descending. He took half a step back. His wings bumped against the nightstand. The candle dish rattled. “Preen you like I preen the Head Pixie?” “Is that a problem?” He paused again. “Yeah, actually, yeah. I’m going to refuse, sir. What the Head Pixie and I have is special. I’m totally bound to you for now, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I sort of have to be over here and stick around because you’re attractive, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been mind controlled. I fully realize and understand what I’m doing, and I’m not willing to give you that part of me. Pick a different way to do the ritual.”

Sanderson doesn’t view Anti-Cosmo as someone he cares about impressing. Simply put, if he’s in Anti-Cosmo’s service, it’s not because he intentionally got himself into that mess. It has happened on occasion, but Sanderson always considers the relationship between the two to be a nuisance.

In Sanderson’s mind, Anti-Cosmo is a friend of H.P., but not of him. H.P. tends to keep his friendship with Sanderson separate from his friendship with Anti-Cosmo. If Anti-Cosmo is around, then H.P. pays attention to him, and Sanderson ends up pushed into the background like a bodyguard. He hardly acknowledges Sanderson’s presence then, meaning that Anti-Cosmo, in turn, hardly acknowledges Sanderson either. Thus, being around Anti-Cosmo makes Sanderson feel like an unimportant child who isn’t wanted at an important business meeting in the living room, and his persona is more childish too.

Overall, he is more casual around Anti-Cosmo than you might expect, and more forthcoming in conversations with him than he is with anyone else (although this has just as much to do with Anti-Cosmo being a good listener who carefully coaxes things out of him as it has to do with anything).

While Sanderson still thinks twice about letting company secrets out of his mouth, he does tend to be slightly more open about his (gasp!) feelings. Especially those concerning his frustrations with H.P., which are usually out of his mind when he’s in H.P.’s service, but which Anti-Cosmo’s aura seems to bring to the forefront of his mind.

This openness, of course, reflects Anti-Cosmo being a more emotional person than H.P. is. His influence prompts Sanderson to lower his guard.

On the flipside, because many of his filters are down around Anti-Cosmo, Sanderson also tends to be more critical, stubborn, and bossy around the anti-fairy than he is around H.P.

While Sanderson still “sort of has to stick around” Anti-Cosmo, he tends to fall into a persona that could best be described as “sneering, self-righteous butler.” He’s again more expressive with his body language while in Anti-Cosmo’s service than he is around H.P.

Sanderson Without Pheromone Influence

So if at least part of a drone’s personality can be attributed to the influence of pheromones, what happens if we strip them of pheromones entirely? Here's another scene from "Minion"-

I held her gaze for several beats, then dropped it to the pillow in my lap again. The tension in my legs and hands eased. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be saying these things. Back in Pixie World, the heaters and air conditioning units push the Head Pixie’s smell everywhere at all times of the day. Even after we shower, we just fall into them again. I’m not used to this. Being without." My eyes latched onto a glass bowl on the coffee table. I clicked my teeth. "Smoof. Is this who I really am when all the pheromones come off? Bitter and sassy and critical of everyone and everything? It doesn’t happen often, but it’s unprofessional and demeaning when it does. Do I not really like him? The Head Pixie is my boss. He’s the founder of our company. I have to like him. So where did all of these flaws I see in him suddenly come from? I shouldn’t say that. Don’t tell him I said that.” I clenched my fists to my ears, this time without the spider. “Sanderson is not a fan-derson when the Head goes subordinate. All of a sudden he’s not… He doesn’t seem… I don’t view him as… I start spreading negative gossip about him. Like this. I ought to be ashamed, but I’m just not in the state of mind to be ashamed. Do you regular kabouters ever get like this, Adelinda, or is this the curse of drones?” “I can relate. It is called being annoyed, pixie. It’s an emotion.” I fumed for a few seconds, unable to think up a clever response for her rebuttal. My hands slid down my face and then dropped into my lap. “Well, I don’t like it. I hate the ‘freedom’ of being a drone without a gyne. I’m nothing without one." My voice splintered. Reaching for my knee, I finished, "And I wish I’d remember that. But without pheromones, my brain doesn’t want to. Thank you for the towel. My thoughts are clearer without conflicting scents raging in my head. However, there’s still an empty deadness inside me. Blankness. Lostness. It’s not natural, Adelinda, to look upon the world and hate your own workplace. To criticize your employer. How can kabouters ever get by holding positions and doing part-time work like it’s some passing fling, not devoting every ounce of their passion to what they do? How can they serve someone and contentedly work side by side in a company doing a job they don’t like with people they don’t like either? I could never live that way.” No, I couldn’t. I just couldn’t. I ran my hands up and down my pant leg. “If this is what it’s like to be a kabouter, to live life hating the daily grind, never pleased with what you have, spotting flaws everywhere and griping about them after-hours, then I’d take being a drone in a wingbeat. But it’s just not natural, to be an independent drone. No one should have to be frustrated with someone they admire.”

Sanderson’s “au naturel” persona is, as he described himself, “Bitter and sassy and critical of everyone and everything” to a higher degree than he is when under the influence of most dominant figures, whose pheromones tend to suppress the part of him that snarks back (Exception being Anti-Cosmo, who as a bat instead of an insect, doesn’t produce impressive pheromones).

“Blank slate” Sanderson is more nervous and questioning, seeking approval from outside sources and constantly second-guessing himself. He’s more active with his hands: covering his ears, touching his face, holding his knee to his chest, and expressing himself through more body language than H.P.’s influence typically allows. His voice even cracks.

Without the presence of pheromones, Sanderson feels like a small child separated from his parent in a shoe store... unsure and overwhelmed. He acted in a similar way during Chapter 8 of Baby, You’re a Rich Man when he hadn’t been exposed to pheromones for days.

Although Fairy society may look down on drones, sometimes viewing them as cowards or as oddballs who gain masochistic pleasure from their “servitude,” in Sanderson’s mind (and in the mind of many drones), this is simply his role in life, and he accepts it. He lacks any desire to strike out on his own and raise his own family, because he prioritizes H.P.’s happiness- and, by extension, his own financial and shelter-related security. He simply enjoys being around H.P.

A drone is a creature who will loyally follow his gyne everywhere, and even raise his gyne’s children if he’s asked to. A gyne’s life consists of balancing his own needs with those of the drones who are subordinate to him, not to mention the needs of a potential wife and children.

Drones desire loyalty and intimate affection from their gyne much the way a romantic partner does, albeit in a slightly different way. There’s no question that H.P. has his work cut out for him, balancing so many pixie drones. No surprise, perhaps, that he isn’t married.

Wolbachia Notes

The bacteria Wolbachia pipientis has several properties, known as phenotypes. These are:

- Feminization -> Masculinization, to mirror FOP reproductive lore (During prenatal development, unborn children have their ZW sex traits overwritten with ZZ sex traits) - Parthenogenesis (Asexual reproduction; genetically identical offspring) - Male killing -> Female killing (Damsels who contract Wolbachia don't survive; Pixies with ZW chromosomes do because of aforementioned masculinization making them look like ZZs to the bacteria) - Cytoplasmic incompatibility (Inability to reproduce non-asexually, except with infected males females)

The masculinization phenotype of the Pixies' Wolbachia pipientis messes with the reproductive system. There ARE pixie kabouters, but they don't know they're kabouters because they're raised believing they're drones. Some pixies have ZW sex chromosomes, but were masculinized: looking at their outer body and internal reproductive system, you might assume they're also ZZ.

In other words, pixies are described as an "all-male species." Some have ZZ chromosomes and some have ZW. Chromosomes are pretty irrelevant for them; most don't know which set they have.

The pixie Smith is an unusual case: he had ZW chromosomes during prenatal development. He was masculinized by Wolbachia, exposed to jelly at a very young age, and ended up a ZW gyne.

Smith's pheromones are overpowering. He has conflicting hormones trying to express him as both a kabouter and a gyne. In other words, he has "double pheromones" and turns a lot of heads- Even the Anti-Fairies can smell him easily.

Clarifying note- Masculinized pixies don't get their sex chromosomes replaced with new ones- They get their hormones and such replaced so their body expresses the sex traits associated with ZZ chromosomes. Or in Smith's case, you get ALL the sex traits fighting for space and the body does its best to make that work.

- Many Fairies gossip about how attractive Smith is (despite shunning Pixies in general). In "Dignity," he's married off (unhappily) to a korrigan named Montana Powers. - Smith isn't H.P.'s heir, but he's next in line if Vice President Longwood loses the position. Smith is a rebellious braggart who flaunts his pheromones and challenges H.P.'s authority. "Letters and Numbers" is a good example. - H.P.'s non-identical daughter (Commelina) is the only ZW pixie who identifies as a damsel. She was born through an incredibly specific Wolbachia situation discussed in the Origin of the Pixies chapter "The Fading of Light" (Major story spoilers) - Commelina does not have Wolbachia and - like a Fairy damsel - would die if she came into contact with it. - In the Origin of the Pixies chapter "Fruitful Fruition," the cherubs bypassed H.P.'s cytoplasmic incompatibility by placing an egg directly in his uterus (Eggs are usually stored in the head and travel down).

Additional Chromosome Notes

- Witches are born with XXZ or XYZ chromosomes. Those with XXZ may or may not be sterile, but those with XYZ are always sterile (as far as studies have shown). - Juandissimo has no sex chromosomes; he was finger-snapped into existence by a genie, so his internal systems run on genie-given magic. On paper, he and his counterparts are listed as 00. He's infertile because even though he has reproductive anatomy shaped like a Fairy's, his chromosomes are incompatible. - Poof and Foop DO have sex chromosomes since they were conceived by their parents (not summoned without pregnancy). They won't have any chromosome-related issues when it comes to reproducing.

Poof can only reproduce if he's a dominant gyne. When he's submissive, his fertility switches off. Foop's ability to reproduce is in Poof's hands- He's unable to have children unless Poof has a child, at which point he's magically forced to have a child too. Further reading on that in the honey-lock section of Class Overview: Anti-Fairies.

Closing Note

These sex chromosomes apply to several AUs of mine, such as Cloudlands and City Lights.

Reedfilter Rules AU is notable for fluidity with their bodies. The RR Fae are shapeshifters, can change species, and reproduce freely with any Fairy, Anti-Fairy, or Pixie. It's not likely they know what chromosomes are (let alone sex chromosomes) apart from a thing they need to learn about so they can shapeshift into various living things.

- Class Overview: Fairies - Class Overview: Pixies - Freckle Distribution in Gyne Fairies - Preening Signals - H.P. and Sanderson's Short Bios - Commelina's Short Bio - Jorgen and Binky's Short Bios - The 130 Summaries page uses the 🔷 to mark works that contain non-sexual intimacy, with gyne-drone relationships being one example.

Click HERE for my Fairly OddParents worldbuilding masterpost

#Fairly OddParents #FOP #FOP fanfic #RD AntiCosmo #RD Head Pixie #RD Poof #RD Fairy stuff #RD Pixie stuff #Cloudlands AU #City Lights AU

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