#possibly a median system??

[elliott-the-creature]

am I a system?? idk man, but sometimes it really feels like it. like, I’ll be thinking of a question, and a bunch of little voices will give out random imputs or a hesitant answer, and I’ll be like “wait is that right?” and hey, it is! or I’ll be questioning pronouns, and some part of me will really like it, while another part of me feels super weird being referred to by that pronoun.

if I am, I’m most likely monoconscience or some kind of median system? idk, still need to do research. I’m definitely not traumagenic (at least I’m pretty sure I’m not). I also don’t really experience switches either (if that’s what they’re called), and I’m happy with being the only host (that is, if I am a system).

to me, it’s more like being a streamer and having a bunch of people watching you play a game or go about your life or something; they can give imput and ask questions/give answers and have conversations, but you as the streamer don’t know everything about the people in your stream, and the people watching can’t take control of the streamer’s gameplay or their actions irl. (I even call the voices in my head “chat” to be silly lol)

any systems feel free to leave your imput or advice about more research or ways to confirm/deny possible plurality! I’d really appreciate it :)

[bardkin]

been doing some internal questioning that boils down to “is it the auADHD or i am plural in some way???”

and i’m. not sure if i want to know the answer. at least not yet.

[cb-writes-stuff]

Might make a system sideblog to talk about system stuff, because I feel awkward tagging things with names and stuff on main. I don’t know, maybe it’ll help other people be more… active, or something? I don’t know.

[pluralquotebook]

Shadow: Perfect time to strike /j Zhadésya: Hey! I was going to say that! La'í: Sometimes it's fun to just sit back and watch them banter Zhadésya: I'd say to take this to the arena, but shapeshifting would be cheating Shadow: You're just jealous you don't have my abilities

etc.

-MDC

.

[the-mechanisms-system]

Oh boy. Guess who is now having another am I plural crisis. Yay :)) /s

[artbyblastweave]

🔥 government-sanctioned superheroes

So for a long time, in many spaces in which I was in, the reflexive intellectual contrarian position on superheroes as a broad concept- often framed in liberal terms, liberal in an American context, because this was frequently regarding the Superhuman Registration Act from Marvel specifically- was that superheroes are unaccountable, and if they were real the correct, or at least inevitable thing would be some form of nationalization or licensing system. After all, these people are untrained irregulars, appointed by no one and answerable to no one except whoever's powerful enough to bring them down in a fight- would we really want them running around with no oversight from our good friend The Government? Who watches the Watchmen?

And, you know, a lot of these premises are basically correct. But about four years ago, as a very ancillary point to, uh, everything else going on at the time, it was quietly cemented for me that there had always been a version of this argument being made from a position of ridiculously unwarranted faith in proceduralism, in the goodwill of the government and law enforcement in particular. Versions of this argument being made by people who've never had a bad encounter with the cops. Maybe it's not the worst thing in the world that Spider-Man usually isn't on speaking terms with the NYPD, actually! Maybe you very much don't want him to be!

That said, I think there are certainly risks of swinging too far in the other direction here, beetlejuicing into the conversation a particularly annoying kind of cape fan who treats superheroes as leftist, anarchist or at least antiauthoritarian by default- they aren't, you have to work to characterize them that way, and it's often extremely visible that you're doing that work. As you may have been able to tell from some of my recent bitter doomposting, my own stance has ultimately settled at a glum median "I hope they bite each other's dicks off" kind of position. I think it's possible to do a cape thing that's meaningfully anti-state or anti-police in the way people badly want them to be, but as always you're now left holding the bag of trying to explain how your grassroots outside-the-system vigilante culture isn't going to degenerate into cops 2, the sequel to cops. It requires actual thought! It's likely on some level what that story would be about.

[writingwithcolor]

Conlanging Issues: A Compendium

NOTE: This question was submitted before the Nov 1, 2023 reopening and may not adhere to all rules and guidelines. The ask has been abridged for clarity. 

Most of my questions are about linguistics. […] One of the major locations in my story is a massive empire with cultural inspirations ranging from North Africa in the far south to Mongolia/Russia in the far north […] The middle region is where the capital is and is the main root of culture, from which Ive been taking inspiration from Southwest Asia […], but most notably southern regions of India. I've tried to stick to the way cities are named in Sanskrit-based languages but added the names of stars to the front (because the prevalent religion of this region worships the stars [...]). So Ive ended up with names like Pavoprayag, Alyanaga, Alkaiduru, Alcorpura, Cygnapete, etc. Is this a consistent naming system or should I alter it in some way? The empire itself is named the Arcana Empire since [...] each act of my story is named after a tarot card [...]. Another region in my story is based more on parts of South China and North Vietnam, so I've tried to stick to names with a Chinese origin for that. I understand the significance of family names in southwest [sic] Asia, so I wanted to double check [...]. They have only two short given names. Based on the birth order of the child, the first half of the name comes from the fathers family and the second half from the mothers family. It is seen as disrespectful not to use both names because using only one is seen as denouncing that side of your family. Thus I have names like Su Yin, Dai Jun, and Yi Wen for some of the characters from this region, and the city itself that they are from is named Bei Fen. On the other hand, Im having further trouble naming characters. […] Ive been trying to give my human characters names from real human cultures to distinguish them from the website-generated names of say, orcs, elves, dwarves, etc, but I think I should change many of the names Ive used to be more original and avoid fracturing real world cultures for the sake of my worldbuilding. […] Im still very weak in the linguistics area (even after four years of French, sigh) and am having trouble finding where to read about naming patterns so I can make new ones up. I read your naming guides but am still having trouble on where to start for specific languages. […] Im trying to look into Sanskrit, Turkish, and Persian specifically.

You're Going Too Broad

In my opinion, you’re casting too wide a net. You mentioned looking into Sanskrit, Turkish, and Persian to develop fantasy names. These languages are very different from one another, so unless you’re using them separately for very different parts of your world, it will be hard to draw inspiration from them in a way that makes sense. You’re taking on a huge amount of research in order to worldbuild cultures that span a massive geographical area (basically all of North Africa and Asia?) and have very little in common. Are you sure you want to take on that task?

I could see it being more manageable if most of your story is set in a small region of this world, which you will then research in depth to make sure you’re being as specific as possible.

Taking Persian as an example, you’ll have to decide whether you want to use Old Persian, Middle Persian, or Modern Persian. Each of these comes with a different alphabet and historical influences. They’re also associated with different periods of time and corresponding cultural and social markers. Once you’ve decided exactly when and where you want to start from, you can then expand the borders of your area of focus. For example, if you’ve decided to draw inspiration from Achaemenid Persia, you can then look at the languages that were spoken in the Achaemenid Empire. A quick Google search tells me that while Old Persian was the empire’s official language, they also used Aramaic, Akkadian, Median, Greek, and Elamite (among, I’m sure, many many others and many more regional variations). Further research into each of these will give you ethnic groups and bordering nations that you can draw more inspiration from to expand out your worldbuilding.

Don’t forget to make sure you’re staying within the same time period in order to keep things consistent. It’s a lot of work, and this is only for a small portion of the continent-spanning worldbuilding you’re trying to do.

You can get away with painting the rest of the continent in broad strokes without too much depth if the story doesn’t go there and you don’t have any main characters from those parts of the world. Otherwise, you’ll need to put this same level of detail into your worldbuilding for the area with Turkish-inspired names, and again for the area with Sanskrit-inspired names, and so on.

I know this isn’t what you were asking, but I honestly have a hard time helping you figure out where to start because your ask is so broad I don’t quite know where I would start myself. So, this is my advice: focus down on one region and time period and go from there. Feel free to write back once you’ve picked a narrower focus that we could help you with.

- Niki

So there’s logistical issues in regards to your naming system for southern China-coded regions. One issue is history: mainly on how there is not simply one language in China but multiple due to having a lot of ethnic groups and the size of China. South China in particular has different dialects and languages than the North as seen in this map of Chinese languages and dialects. There’s also how historically Mandarin was not the official language until 1913 in China and historical China saw vast changes in territory dependent on the dynasty. Before then, Mandarin was primarily a northern Chinese language based in Beijing while southern China had its own languages, dialects, and dynamics. Not to mention, historical China saw an evolution of language just like English has Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Modern English. For instance, Vietnam was once part of China during the Tang Dynasty and at another point, it was not part of China.

-Mod Sci

If You’re Borrowing Whole Words or Elements, Research More

The other issue is inconsistency with the cultures you’re deriving this conlang from. In regards to “two given names,” the Chinese name I was given was one syllable and then I would have a last name that was also one syllable. There’s also how not every family is perfect. Not every marriage is sanctioned and some children may come from single parents. Some families may not cooperate with marriage and sometimes children may be abandoned with unknown parents. There does not seem to be contingencies for these names under this conlang system.

The main problem with conlangs is that one needs to truly understand the languages one is drawing from. Tolkein managed to create conlangs due to training in linguistics. Mandarin is already a difficult language with multiple tones, and trying to use it for conlangs without knowledge of how Mandarin works or a good foundation in linguistics is just a Sisyphean endeavor.

-Mod Sci

Four years of French wouldn’t have taught you about linguistics as a science or anything about the language families you’ve listed - Indo-Iranian, Sino-Tibetan, and Turkic, nor any Asian naming conventions. I agree with Niki that you need to narrow down your research.

Pur/pura means city in Sanskrit (ex: Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur). Prayag is a place where pilgrimages are done. Naga isn’t a place name in Sanskrit (google says it means snake), nagar is and it means town. X Nagar is a very common name for places (Ex: Rajinder Nagar). Many cities in Karnataka have names ending in uru (Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, Tumakuru, etc) but the language of Karnataka is Kannada - a Dravidian language and completely different family from Sanskrit (Indo-Aryan). I’m not sure where “pete” came from. “Bad” and “vaal” are common suffixes for places too (Ex: Faisalabad, Allahabad). A disclaimer that I do not speak Sanskrit, I speak Punjabi, which is a descendant of Sanskrit and in the same linguistic family (Indo-Aryan languages).

- SK

Also, This Is Not…Really Conlanging.

Hi OP. Linguistics refers to the science of studying how languages work, not the discipline of learning languages. And nothing shows that gap more than how you have thus far approached constructing fictional languages and toponyms. 

The reason why Sci and SK have a lot to say about your place names is because they don't resonate—you have borrowed whole words into your toponyms (place names) from a variety of languages—without an accurate understanding of what these words mean, how they’re pronounced, where they’re derived from—and expected them to work together. I suggest you read the links below on why conlanging is not as simple as choosing some languages and mashing their IRL words together: 

Why Using Random Languages Wholesale in your Fantasy is a Bad Idea 

Pitfalls of Mashing Countries and Languages in Coding

In your city names, for example, you’re using star names from multiple languages that use different sets of sounds represented by different sets of historical spelling rules. “Cygn-” and “Arcana” stick out like a sore thumb—the fact that one “c” is /s/ and one is /k/ is an obvious flag that they are Latin-derived English borrowings. This is because spelling rules were created in Middle English to make sense of the mix of “c” pronunciations across words of Indo-European origin due to a historical split called the Centum-Satem division. This is a phenomenon that is very specific to our world history, and to the history of English at that. Ironically, in your attempt to avoid stock fantasy names (which also often fall into the Latin-derived English pit), you are taking the exact same approach to naming.

Like Niki said, your selections are far too broad to code under a single umbrella. Do you expect that whatever language that city name came from runs the full gamut of sound inventory & spelling variety that spans multiple continents and hundreds of languages? Because that’s not how languages work. (And yes, I mean hundreds. Indigenous languages and linguistic diversity are a thing. See Niki’s note about just the languages in Persia. And nation-states bulldozing over those languages and pretending it’s just one language is a thing. See Sci’s note about China.) I haven't even talked about the variation in morphology (how words are formed) or syntax (sentence structure).

Please just read or re-read my guide on “naming conlangs” in this post and start from there.

~ Rina

PSA ON CONLANGING AND FANTASY NAMES:

For fantasy language asks submitted after Nov 1, 2023, the asker must indicate that they have read Mod Rina’s conlanging posts linked in FAQ 2 (Guides and Posts by Topic) of the Masterpost under the question “How do I make a fictional language for my story?” While this is an older ask, we are posting it as an example to our followers.

Per our new rules, any questions that can be directly answered in or extrapolated from the FAQs, or questions that indicate that the relevant resources haven’t been read, will be deleted with a note in the Deletion Log explaining why.

As always, if this post was helpful or educational to you, please consider tipping the relevant mods: SK, Niki, Sci, and Rina.

Edited for terminology errors

[sophieinwonderland]

Hiveminds and Multiplicity

When thinking about Hiveminds, I realized that hivemind connection is a spectrum, with many plural or plural-like experiences across it.

At the same time, both the beginning and end of this spectrum are singlet experiences. I decided to represent this with my own horseshoe theory.

Unconnected Individuals

This is pretty self-explanatory. These are totally separate individuals with their totally separate bodies. These are not even the slightest bit plural. Or, at least, not for any hivemind related reasons.

Mind-Linked

Now we drift into plural territory.

At this point, the individuals have some sort of mental link to each other. Mind links can range in levels of complexity.

At a low level, this may mean feeling each other's emotions or sensing when something really bad happens with no words or other communication. The most basic form of this might be "twintuition" in shows, where twins can magically sense when something happens to another no matter where they are.

At high levels, this can come with full verbal communication and other hallucinatory experiences.

Mind-linked systems often have strong barriers between them, only being able to transfer limited information, and maybe only in specific circumstances.

But the mind-linked are having plural experiences. They have someone else feeling their emotions, hearing their thoughts. It's very similar to sharing your mind with headmates. As this connection grows, they may end up becoming...

The Multiple Hivemind

At the top most point of the horseshoe, all mental barriers have been torn down.

They're still multiple people. They still have their own individual identities. But the link has become so great that they can read each other's thoughts whenever they want. They can share memories and skills freely between them, being both multiple and completely connected at the same time.

The Median Hivemind

Having achieved perfect connection, identity starts to erode. The median hivemind starts becoming its own collective identity.

Individuals in the median hivemind still retain agency and sense of self, but are also blending together more now and feel less like separate people.

The True Hivemind

At this point, there is no distinction between identity of the members. The hivemind is now one singlet spread across multiple bodies. A contrast and opposite to traditional plurality, which is multiple agents in one body.

...

We Can Get Weird With This...

Okay, that's a basic overview of how hiveminds work and evolve with singlets. But... what if some members of the hivemind aren't singlets?

Now things are going to get weird because hiveminds and mental links enable a lot of peculiar things that wouldn't be possible otherwise.

What if an old headmate goes dormant for years. In that time, the system becomes linked to a hivemind and specifically become either a median or true hivemind where they all identify as the same thing? What if that headmate comes back to find everyone else in the system is part of this hivemind with their identities melded into it, but the new headmate is still separate?

Or what if a multiple hivemind enabled headmates originating in the same body to front in multiple bodies at once, essentially allowing system hopping as a thing in those specific circumstances? What one of the members of an in-sys relationship used someone else's body (consensually) to be with their partner?

Or what if, for whatever reason, only one member of the system had the connection to the hivemind while the rest didn't?

Or... imagine that there are two systems with a strong mental link. They become a multiple hivemind with headmates able to speak freely to each other and even share an inner world. Then two headmates, one from each system, interact more and end up fusing. What does this mean? Which body is theirs? What happens if the link is severed?

Or in the same vein, what if a hivemind starts out as existing between 5 singlets? They become connected and end up being a multiple hivemind, and share an inner world. What if the hivemind created a tulpa together in this inner world, and none of the members are sure whose tulpa it actually counts as?

...

Anyway, if there's any takeaway from this, it should be that plurality is weird. Hiveminds are weird. And put them together and you get a weird sandwich. 😁

[deadeyedfae]

Hey, sorry if this is rude, but are you a system? And, if that's the case, could you explain what that's like? I'd like to learn about it, but I'd like the input from someone with it if possible

Oh not rude at all, so yeah im a median system alongside Hayle here, which means we are essentially two sides of the same coin.

We are similar enough that in reality i never noticed her becuase whenever i felt like her i just chalked it up to feeling good about myself for 'no reason today'

Its a difficult thing to describe, I'm not the best at putting it into words. But maybe this will help

Growing up my mind was a constant jumble of contradictions, now that i know that me and Hayle have always been here but speaking to eachother subconsciously, that jumble is being unknit and categorised. I know which thoughts are mine and which are hers and we both are alot calmer as a result. It no longer feels like there is something bubbling under the surface waiting to explode out becuase now she can just come out whenever she wants without needing extreme emotions to push though.

It also feels like i have caring but mischievous big sister floating around with me, and shes certainly lived up to that. Behind the scenes during my break she took the front for days and days in a row to get me to rest for real and it was fantastic, i couldn't be happier having her here even if she drives me crazy sometimes

I hope that helped at all 😅

[salty-an-disco]

*thinks about how there's several different versions of Hero who acts a little different depending on which route you take him through–*

*thinks about how the Hero that appears in the middle of the final battle describes himself as being 'all of them'*

*thinks about how all those different Heroes might not have been able to completely integrate themselves into a single individual*

Conclusion: Hero would develop a system (a median system, to be more exact)

Yep. This was the main reason I started drawing different variants for Hero in different chapters and givin' them different names, everyone can go home now /lhj /silly

Anyway, since I already drew all the guys, might as well talk about them in the context of Hero being a system

(note: I've semi-recently found I, myself, am a system, so a lot of this is me processing this stuff and trying to puzzle things out through my blorbo. shout out to Hero for making this discovery a lot easier to digest. that means a lot of what I'm writing here comes from my own experience and perspectives. Also, I'll be calling the different Heroes 'facets', as that represents better what they are to him)

Since they all come from the exact same source (forms through Chapter I), they don't really see themselves as all that separate or different people. The different titles are more nicknames than anything, they're all 'Hero', just– from a slightly different angle and with different roles/priorities. Hero doesn't hear distinct voices in his head like Quiet, he's more like Shifty, in a way, having their feelings and different texture affect his behavior.

Hero is vaguely aware of these different facets, even giving them those titles as a way to organize and understand himself, but doesn't worry too much about it. That's just how he is.

As for the different facets and their role within the system–

– Hero: Host; front-stuck – Technically speaking, his route would be the Stranger one, as that's where he spent the least amount of time in Chapter I and didn't develop any other identity besides 'Hero'. Not necessarily the 'original', and would rather not worry about that lest it triggers another existential crisis, but is definitely the 'main one'. The main face that's always there. Behavior and thought-process can change depending on other facets present.

– Savior: Protector/Persecutor – Formed when his will power was broken and subdued by someone far stronger. Is intent on not letting that happen again. Very headstrong and certain of himself; he has to be, or else their willpower will break again. Mainly appears to help deal with threats much bigger than them. (Fun fact: in warped AU, he and Hero were fused together)

– Champion: Physical Protector – Formed by a desire to fight and persevere against an opponent that can kill you. Very strategy-minded, focused on better ways to get out of a confrontation alive. Will always try to get out of battles with the least amount of injuries to the body possible. Does not like confrontation, but will go through it if it means survival. Appears anytime there's a need to fight and/or survive. Often alongside Savior or Fledgling.

– Liar: Social Protector/Caretaker – Formed when forced to betray someone you previously intended on helping. Despite the title, Liar is very aversed to lying, and despises when others are being dishonest. Why play these weird games that just makes things more difficult? Can't we just be blunt with each other and makes things easier? Appears when the host feels judged or like he's being given an unfair assumption during a social encounter, or later on, when the host is thinkin' back to a certain social situation that didn't go to well. Helps process those leftover feelings and make sure the host is doing well emotionally and socially.

– Fledgling: Protector – Formed when made to feel cornered by a dangerous creature and clawed to death. Similar role to Champion, in theory, though he appears, more broadly, when the host starts feeling cornered in any way. Which doesn't happen solely in physical fights. Very helpful when appearing to deal with a physical threat, not so much when the threat is more emotional or social.

– Dashing: Emotion Holder/Uplifter – Formed from a desire to do nothing but good to someone else. Not as positive and optimistic as his paired voice during The Damsel, but still makes sure the host knows doesn't forget there's always a bright side and some hope to hold on to. Makes sure the host is taking the time to appreciate the things and people he love and that he isn't getting to caught up in worries and anxiety.

– Accomplice: Memory Holder/Cheergiver – Formed when despite your misgivings, you put your trust in someone else. His role is more vague than the others, but is generally there to give support to those outside of the system. Makes the host take a step back and let someone they trust take the reigns, for once.

– Haunted: Caretaker – Formed while spending a good few lifetimes in Nothingness. Not exactly sure what he's supposed to do here, but tries his best to help. Took some pointers from Cold and encourages the host to put feelings aside for now, if only to focus on taking care of the body before diving back into them. The one that knows self-care, and appears when the body desperately needs it.

– Dreamer: Trauma Holder – Formed as you tried to close your eyes and pretend there's no danger just in front of you. This one is Trauma Personified and mainly only appears when the host is triggered. When he appears, it's very difficult for Hero to differentiate reality from delusions, and it feels like he's back in the construct, fighting for his life and sanity.

– Ribbons: ???/Shell – Formed across 4 chapters; as more pieces broke off, very little was left of him. Less of a facet and more a general feeling of Nothingness. That can be useful when the host is feeling too overwhelmed to think. Just kinda makes Hero zone out and shut down when he appears.

Bonus: what it looks like when some of the facets are close to front. Whether or not Hero will shapeshift depends on how long a facet lingers, and how much they're affecting him. Often, he doesn't shapeshift at all despite the many facets that appeared throughout the day

[leptonyx-constellate]

here's the thing. i do think there is a time period where you are more likely to develop a CDD. at a certain point, you do become more resilient to "fracturing", i guess i'll say. but i don't think you can ever wholesale say that it's impossible for a CDD to develop later--especially when the difference is just a couple of years or so. and i think by acting like you can only develop a CDD at a certain time, you're doing a disservice not just to people who may have developed one later for any number of reasons, but also to people who did develop a CDD that early on, but wasn't able to recognize it for one reason or another--i think it would be more helpful for someone to be able to recognize they have a CDD and just be wrong about when it developed, than it would be for someone to entirely disbelieve in the possibility of having a CDD because "the timing isn't right", thus delaying their access to resources and community that might help them. (or, in the worse/worst case scenario, someone believing they have a CDD, seeing the age range, feeling distressed about "faking" and deciding to dig up [more] trauma before they're ready to handle it and making everything worse just to "prove" that they're a "real" CDD system.)

we're fairly certain our DID developed when we were thirteen, nearly fourteen. is it possible that it developed earlier? sure, that's a potentiality, but we just don't find that to be all that likely. we've been plural (median-monoconscious) since we were three at the very latest, if not since birth; the development of our DID is what split us further into being partitionary and mediple, and it's when our amnesiac and dissociative symptoms got significantly worse (although we still had some beforehand due to our budding schizophrenia). we find it significantly more likely that, being right in the midst of the prodrome stage of schizophrenia (with existentialism turning into ipseity disturbance) and being autistic, we were predisposed to developing DID even at a later age than is generally considered "normal".

(not to mention, everyone seems to have a different age range in mind when talking about when you can or cannot develop a CDD. which makes sense since it's incredibly difficult to pinpoint, possibly precisely because there is likely no one set age where Nobody can Ever develop a CDD after. the brain isn't that simple or that predictable or that uniform across the population, least of all a population of 8 billion, and you can't so easily discount exceptions when you're talking about real people, lest you lose nuance and, well, see the first paragraph with where the "you can ONLY develop a CDD between x and y ages" thing can lead.)

[multiplicity-positivity]

Here’s some positivity for plural singlets and plurallets!

Not every plural person identifies as a system, multiple, or fully separated! In fact, it is quite possible to be both plural and a singlet at the same time. While these experiences may be rare or uncommon, plural singlets have always been and will always be integral members of our community. This post goes out to all the plural singlets out there!

🌼 Shoutout to plural singlets who feel plural due to having imaginary friends!

💚 Shoutout to plural singlets who conceptualize their mind as more than one without having separate, distinct identities!

🦋 Shoutout to plural singlets who feel like a herd of deer, a flock of birds, a school of fish, or a large group of selves sharing one mind and body!

🌿 Shoutout to plural singlets who are still questioning and trying to learn about their experiences!

⭐️ Shoutout to plural singlets whose plurality falls somewhere between being a singlet and being a system!

🌱 Shoutout to plural singlets who have daemons, paros, thoughtforms, or other brain-made headmates without identifying as a system!

🔷 Shoutout to plural singlets who are unsure whether or not they belong in the plural community (heads up - if you want to be here, then you do belong!)!

🌲 Shoutout to plural singlets who have a complex dissociative disorder and have reached a state of fusion that allows them to function and identify as a singlet!

✨ Shoutout to plural singlet creators who share their mind with their characters and OCs!

🍃 Shoutout to plural singlets with parts, aspects, fragments, facets, or other system members who are not fully formed headmates!

💙 Shoutout to plural singlets who identify as median, parasian, medianflux, or midcontinuum!

☘️ Shoutout to plural singlets who love their multiplicity and have embraced their plurality and the way they interact with the plural framework!

Plural singlets, please know that you are wanted here. You are just as plural as anyone else in this community, and our space is your space as much as anyone else’s! We are so happy to have you here, and we hope that the plural community can provide you with a home, a respite, and a place of belonging. Regardless of how your plural journey is going, if you’re questioning, if your plural label fluctuates, or if you sometimes aren’t sure whether or not you’re plural, know that you are welcome here as long as you want to be here! We’re rooting for you, and we’re wishing you the very best in all that you do. Please do your best to take care of yourself, and have a lovely day!

[bardkin]

probably not just a me-thing, but it kinda feels like it so.. any other plurals/systems afraid of switching / others fronting?

[thecouncilmakes]

Not a Request

Anti-Syscourse Flag

Free to Use with Credit

This flag is for those who are endo-safe/endo-friendly but don't consider themselves "pro-endo" or "endo neutral" because they are anti-syscourse.

People who believe in and prioritize accepting and respecting systems of all origins/types of plurality, and are against the fake-claiming, harassment, and exclusion of others.

It is preferred you believe in endogenics/in the possibility of endogenics to use, but it is more important that you accept and respect despite your views of validity.

Light yellow is for traumagenic, disordered, involuntary, ect systems

Light violet is for acceptance, respect, community for everyone

Light green is for endogenic, non-disordered, voluntary, ect systems

The black pinwheel is for the turbulence of syscourse and how it sends the plural community spiraling

(Includes mixed origins, median systems, ect)

[number1daisukefan]

"C'mon. A quick look won't hurt."

[plain text: "C'mon. A quick look won't hurt."

Hey everyone! This is @yellow-computer-mouse's Mouthwashing sideblog :]

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That's my main, so I like, ask, and follow from there! Go check it out! I post about UTMV, Epic: the Musical, and WoF! :)

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More under the cut! (DNI, tags, userboxes, etc)

Tags!

🌺#mmm mouthwash 🤤 - art tag! this is also my Mouthwashing tag on my main (disused now that I have this blog) 🌸#precious cargo - save tag! 🌺#shut up and eat ur cake - yap tag! 🌸#crew members! - friend tag! 🌺#transmissions? - ask tag!

DNI (do not interact - I will block you if you violate this)

🌺Proshippers/Comshippers/Neutrals 🌸Zionists 🌺Radqueers 🌸Anti-furries (from people who believe all furries are zoophiles to people who just think it's weird) 🌺TERFs/SWERFs 🌸Basic DNI criteria (homophobes, transphobes, right-wingers/centrists, racists, etc.) 🌺Anti-agere/those who believe all agere is NSFW 🌸NSFW accounts. It's fine if you post it occasionally /gen, but I am a minor!!

BYF (before you follow - quick heads-up! probably won't block you, but please respect this)

🌺Please don't interact if you post mainly about shipping Fresh Sans! I'm not gonna be mad if you didn't know, but as a Fresh kin who was romantic/sexually repulsed, it makes me uncomfy. You're fine if it's just an occasional thing, though! :) 🌸On the same note as above, please don't bring up X-Gaster around me! You can post about him, but don't bring him up to me. Again, kin stuff (Cross Sans) 🌺I may be really excitable or super quiet. I promise that I'm not upset at you at all! If you're worried or I make you uncomfortable, you can tell me :)

PLEASE COME BE MY FRIEND

🌺Alterhumans/Nonhumans! (therians, fictionkin, otherkin, otherhearted, etc!) 🌸Selfshippers (As long as it's not pro/comship, go right ahead!) 🌺Systems (I don't get involved in syscourse- it's not my place) 🌸Those with commonly stigmatized disorders 🌺People who are "cringe" 🌸Kin doubles 🌺Sourcemates (UTMV/WoF/Epic/Mouthwashing) 🌸In general, anyone who isn't on my DNI!

I am part of a median system with a lot of Mouthwashing fictives, and have a couple filter tags we'd like to be used! The lists of triggers will be updated as we learn ^^ We'll use them ourselves, and it would be nice if mutuals/friends could use them as well! /nf

More info on our pronouns.cc!

#daisuke don't look - Anything possibly triggering for Daisuke!

🌺Talking about the vent. 🌸Art of the aftermath of the vent, specifically if it shows Daisuke with a large gash on his arm.

#jimmy don't look - Anything possibly triggering for Jimmy!

🌺Jimmy slander (saying things like "Sorry you had to draw Jimmy, is your hand okay?" "Fuck Jimmy club," etc. Use your judgement!) 🌸Anything that might trigger his anxiety relating to this (aggressive posts about Jimmy)

Also feel free to use these for things you think Jim or Grant would like!

🌺#jimmy likey 🌸#curly likey

That's it! Be free :)

Yimpy blinkie by @autothiest, userboxes by me! (ftu with credit)

[biblioflyer]

Genosha allegories: constructive reads and hot takes.

Anger is an appropriate response to Genosha, not hopelessness.

This is Part 2 in a 5 part essay on the implicit pessimism of X-Men as a setting.

Part 1 lays out the core assumptions of the setting.

I think X-Men ‘97 is the smartest Marvel offering since Captain America: Civil War brought us the debates over the Sokovia Accords. There are a lot of crappy discussions about the ethics of Magneto’s Blackout and the broader question of whether Xavier is as corrupt, infantile, and naive as he’s accused of both by other characters and the audience. 

However, people really do need to be mindful of the hard wired setting conceits that ensure that the X-Men’s world is one in which there is an unhappy median that wobbles back and forth from slightly better to a lot worse and this itself is not (I hope) the actual message of the setting.

There are some real life parallels that I see that may validate a pessimistic reading, but other metrics like the number and acceptability of interracial, interreligious, and same sex marriages in the United States have improved by staggering degrees. We have not achieved true equality or safety for people who have traditionally struggled for full acceptance, but if we don’t allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good, we can see that positive change is possible.

Whether positive change is truly lasting and able to be expanded upon is a more nebulous question, I’m not one to buy into “end of history” narratives so I would never say that we cannot go backwards, I often worry we’re on the cusp of doing just that, history is often, to borrow a Dan Carlinism, like a stock ticker, but we’ve had a pretty good run of adding more freedoms for more people. 

Although obviously different groups of people are at different places in their struggle to achieve safety, acceptance, and equity and thus their gains are less entrenched and more subject to backsliding. 

Sprinkled in amongst the narrative of progress are setbacks and atrocities: Genosha could stand in for the likes of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street, the Stonewall raid, the anti-Jewish pogroms of the 1880s in the Russian Empire, or the brutal suppression of Arab nationalists by European empires under the mandate system. 

Magneto surely would not want us to forget these things when he says the first priority of Mutants should be to look after their own and trust of Humans should come slowly, but probably never.

There again, I do think it is possible to hold multiple thoughts: that progress is often not uninterrupted or linear but it is possible and, at least in the United States context, significant progress has been made given how bleak conditions were for women, non-Europeans, queer people, and even the wrong kind of European at various points in history. 

Right or wrong, I think this is the history that Xavier is temperamentally oriented towards, but then it is easier for him as a child of privilege and someone who is not visibly a Mutant.

The next part will go into greater detail about the allegories behind X-Men and why the X-Men setting is hardwired for doom by intent.