#the fact that they're using the same/similar models is also curious

[tragicclownwrites]

HMMM

[ctimenefic]

utterly in shambles over three's a crowd. there has never been a more grander proof of devotion. i would truly eat up any lore about this verse, but i am so curious if you will, what was the thought process behind having "Outsider" as alex's superhero name? (and who is the new outsider. and how does george feel about them. IN FACT, is george even still in contact with the PIT (great name btw) agency?)

Thank you, dear anonnynonny! I've been truly gobsmacked by the response to three's a crowd (I must once again thank @latecomersprivilege who sat me down and with steel in her eyes stopped me scrapping the whole thing at the last minute - she is a queen).

So, the Outsider. I'll admit, the superhero side of things was rather thinly drawn in my head - it's mostly a means to an end to get us to the mad scientist trope, because a superhero setting lets us get a bit flexible with science and survival etc. It's also part of the deliberate fuzz of the Before Times.

But I did think quite a bit about what Alex's superhero name should be. (Largely because most superhero names are either 1) taken, or 2) extremely stupid-sounding. Like, Catman fits our boy, but it's not striking fear into hearts). in the end I based it on two things - real-world Alex's beautiful overtakes on the outside line, and his comments about how British media perceive him as "London-born Thai or not British at all". I can see Alex showing up for the first time, being dismissed by established roster, and making that a badge of honour and his whole heroic identity. He's the Outsider, but he doesn't need to belong to save the day.

Is George still in contact with PIT? Only in the sense that he maintains an artifice of an actual life to prevent anyone looking too closely at what he's really up to. So he sends them a few useful ideas if they come up in the course of the work and accepts precisely one call from his old deputy on the relevant anniversaries. They're a bit too light touch with monitoring him in return, in part because they saw his grief and are deeply sympathetic. A junior staffer is in charge of blocking his uranium orders though.

I have no headcanon on who the New Outsider is though! Pick your poison! (If I had to pick, I'd say Jamie Chadwick, but it really is up to each reader.) Regardless of who it is, George processes their existence about as well as he processes anything in three's a crowd. First he throws a fit, then he sends a petty cease and desist, and then- and then- he's gonna-

He's topside one morning fetching milk when they show up and ask for his blessing. White balaclava in hand. Wringing it out. Nervous. They're so young.

Alex was so young.

George is still using a cane, stiff from the accident with the third model - an idiotic mistake, not actively monitoring pain receptors - and they're slow and gentle as they walk back with him. Accept some nonsense about a fall down the stairs.

Despite his best efforts, the conversation drifts to the inevitable. They talk about the first time they'd seen him. When they realised they were like him. How that helped.

They're similar, George concedes. But not up to Alex's level, he doesn't say. He just heavily implies it. They roll their eyes and- no. That's too much alike.

"New," he suggests. Not the same. Not a-

"I couldn't replace him. Obviously. He's irreplacable."

Hm. Well. They'll see about that.

[pasiphile]

Psst... based on the research you did, is there anything reliable you can tell us about personality and how it works?

Gladly!

The current commonly accepted personality model is generally referred to as the Big Five, and it's relatively rare in that it's as close as a consensus as you can reach in psychology. There have been tonnes of research that keep turning up the same general results. Research across cultures, with babies, with animals, self reported questionnaires versus descriptions, open ended versus multiple choice questions, relationships with biomarkers... Obviously they're not all exactly identical, because psychology is not an Exact science, but the results are always similar enough that as far as models go, it's about as solid as you can get.

So, what is this model? It very simply says that there are five big, independent character traits that people can vary in, easily remembered by the handy acronym OCEAN :

- openness to experience : how curious you are, how interested you are in culture and how much imagination you have versus how much you prefer to concentrate on practical things and how conservative you are (in the non-political meaning of the word)

- conscientiousness: how much do you care about efficiency, accuracy and being on time, versus how sloppy or disorganised you are.

- extraversion: you know this one. How much do you like/need interaction with other people.

- agreability: how nice you are. Are you generally well-disposed towards people or are you more distrustful?

- neuroticism: are you a big worrier or are you more laidback?

Now, all of these are phrased like it's a choice between two options, but what the Big Five model also keeps turning up is that these five are a spectrum, with a large majority of people being sort of in the middle. Most people dislike being alone all day but also get tired from being in big groups for a long time. Most people worry about bigger, important things but less about smaller things. Most people want to be accurate and careful in general but don't mind being a bit more sloppy when it matters less to them. In statistical terms, they all follow a gauss curve, which looks like this (with the vertical axis being the amount of people and the horizontal one the score out of ten you would get on a questionnaire) :

Which means that if you take a group of random 100 people, only a handful will be on the extremes of the spectrum (the party animal versus the recluse) while 60 to 70 people will have no real, strong preferences either way.

And that's why personality models that want to divide people up into distinct groups are, objectively, wrong. The differences between someone who scores 49 and someone who scores 51 on an extraversion scale are minimal, but those personality type theories will have you believe those two are radically different people. One of the major issues with the MBTI is, in fact, that a lot of people keep getting different results if they retake the test a few weeks or months later, exactly because of this reason : if you're an average scorer (and again, most people are), choosing between two extremes makes no sense and you're basically assigned a type at random.

The Big Five is by no means a perfect model. There's doubt whether it can really be applied that easily to non-western cultures. The interaction with mental health and neurodivergence is still unclear (are people with anxiety just extremely high on the neuroticism scale, or is anxiety a separate thing that influences the results?). But it's been replicated enough that the core of it is, at this point beyond doubt. Meanwhile the MBTI, Insights Discovery, Kolb's learning styles and all those other "you're either type A or type B" models that are rife in the business world are scientifically bullshit.

Personality doesn't come in types. Personality is a spectrum, with a few people in the extremes but the majority somewhere in the middle.  And ignoring that in favour of putting people in neat but inaccurate boxes is very dangerous.

[feuqueerfire]

Love Class 2 Live Blogging

I actually wasn't going to do this, I already watched 3 eps and am in the middle of the 4th one but I guess I have more things to say than expected.

Ep 1 (Jan 26): Got confused by the sheer number of characters and also the pair at the beginning were just friends, not love interests, even though it initially seemed like it was lol

Ep 2 (Jan 26): The second couple is like whatever to me rn and the barely-there glimpse of the third couple is doing nothing for me but I'm sooo curious about the first couple. Lee Hyun mentioned they broke up, so that meant they dated? While the older (I'm assuming by 1-2 years) was tutoring him?

Also, loveeee the register switching like in ep 2 during their first convo, Hyun calling him seonsaengnim and using formal language but then getting frustrated and using yeah! and using informal (which Kim Ahn warns him to watch his tone). and also deiciding to go from ssnim to hyung on his own accord lol

Ep 3 (Jan 26): Bro I'm really into Lee Hyun and Kim Ahn fr.

Also, I didn't realize there were after-credit scenes, thought it was a preview for the next episode but it's actually Lee Hyun and Kim Ahn's original story! They really were tutor/student (even though Lee Hyun was like how can you be my tutor we're barely apart in age lol) but awooga love the umm dubious and illicit nature of the relationship (helped along by the fact that they're apparently barely apart in age since Lee Hyun is prlly 17-ish at the time while Kim Ahn's maybe 19? idk exact but if he left 2 years ago and now Lee Hyun is a freshman, Lee Hyun's age makes sense but dunno about Kim Ahn's)

The friendship between Maru-Minwu-Hyun is cute and how they're all affectionate toward Hyun despite him not being like part of their love interest romantic pair. like Minwu at the beginning of the show being cutesy with Hyun enough that I and others thoughts they were the couple and also Maru just crashing at Hyun's and sleeping in same bed w/o it becoming weird.

The reddit posts and the MDL comments make it seem as though most people preferred 2nd or 3rd couple over main couple, so I'm a bit apprehensive that they become weird or off-kilter as the show goes on?? I hope not because they're the only pair I care about rn (though I've warmed up to Maru and Minwu a bit more)

Ep 4 (Jan 26): The third couple is kinda funny but also irritating.

Why did Minwu just call Maru a slut in a mean way?

Bro who is this dude? Is he the one who jumped off the roof? And is following around Kim Ahn?

Bro what is wrong with Minwu fr? I can't believe Maru forgave him so easily already + even said he'll forgive even in the future because they're best friends. Now, Minwu is kissing a drunk, sleeping Maru? girl get it together

Ep 5 (Jan 26): plss the TA and older student slept together???

Oh yeah also this Marriage and Family class is so funny, it's really basically just going on dates with your partner lmfao The class in Bon Appetit was similar right? is this fr a class?

Ep 6 (Jan 26): plsss this girl apparently having a streak of liking gay guys. fell for another one this time: Minwu

this awkward friendship assignment T.T and Maru mentioning the rooftop, why didn't Hyun tell him beforehand! and the girl coming in with jagi

But also, we didn't get Hyun and Ahn sleeping at Hyun's place?

Oh, so Ahn and the friend-non-friend-stalker grew up together at an orphanage, mans is def doing some shaaaady stuff to earn money (actually I thought maybe he's a drug dealer or a pimp but maybe he himself is a sex worker), Ahn tried to make a move on the guy and I'm assuming that's after he and Hyun broke up but idk could be before since it seems like he's in first year uni?

The TA watching the student + his friend who likes gay guys on the swings and getting jealous and then preparing so hard when meeting him next lmao and it ending up really being for modelling for art students lmaoo yknow I'm getting into this couple more

oh, so it seems like Ahn confessed to his weird hyung -> hyung said no -> Ahn and Hyun aren't quite dating yet but hyung does see them hug. so I'm wondering if Ahn and Hyun will indeed actually date since time is tight? maybe they do for a week before Ahn disappears lol

Funny that in the on-air r/boyslove thread for ep 5+6, they keep mentioning the boom mic that wasn't edited out but I didn't notice at all lol

Ep 7 (Jan 26): Hyun getting called both a grown-up and a baby by Ahn hehe

Also love that usually Hyun's using formal but will slip in some banmal here and there, esp when repeating something he already said formally (last ep in front of Ahn's house: gayo -> ga. here hajima-yo and then hajima)

So did Hyun and Ahn actually date before or what? or did Hyun confess? because when Ahn shakes of Hyun's touching, it seems like familiarity from dating + shaking away because of breakup. but now Hyun's acting like he wants Ahn to not see him as a baby, but didn't he already see him as grown if they dated?

Not Maru following Sara and Minwu lol

okayyy Maru also finding the prof's extreme attention for the students strange, esp in a uni setting

Ep 8 (Jan 26): lol Maru's all this thinking and no thinking methods have made him finally decide to kiss Minwu. Although funny to do that while Minwu is supposed to have a gf. Loudass kissing sounds fr, had to mute rip been a while since I had to do that

Bro what is this fucking jackass Hyung up to fr like okay he indeed worked at a host club but under Kim Ahn's name + seduced Ahn's prof as well using his name like what... Idk how this is gonna get wrapped up in a satisfying way, so I wish it wasn't there at all

In certain cases, I feel like such intense relationships with terrible dynamics would have me eating it up but I don't care at all about Kim Ahn and this hyung's relationship unfortunately.

So is this the end of the hyung stalking whatever?

long frozen kiss between Ahn and Hyun but I forgive it lol

heh Maru beating up Minwu bc of the fake dating Sara behind the scene of Sara and the other guy (not Sungmin) talking loll

does Ahn mean sex also when he says they’ve already done everything?

hehe i think i saw this tiktok of hyun already knowing maru and minwu are dating

i def saw a tiktok of drunk hyun talking about how ahn is his bf

Ep 9 (Jan 27):

oh, so sex isn't included in the "we've done everything"

awooga, Hyun and Ahn are cute to meee

pls what's going on, coupling up Sara and the shit-but-reformed manager, the professor that Sungmin has beef w bc he thought he and Juhyuk had smth going on (but is his uncle) with another student or smth

plsss most anticlimactic funny confession scene for Juhyuk and Sungmin

From how people spoke about Ahn and Hyun's relationship, it sounded like they had 1 kiss in ep 10 and it was really bad but they have had like 2 close-lipped kisses and 1 hinting at sex (even though it wasn't shown at all). I find them fine tbh

I binged 8 eps yesterday but dunno why I'm kinda bored of ep 9, I've watched just this much over like 6 hours, just a couple mins at a time

hate the sound of kissing so bad

Obedient Juhyuk, oh okay :)

"I'll be a good boy" Juhyuk, oh okay O.O

Juhyuk and Sungmin scene is good I think but I'm skipping/typing this instead of watching lol

pls drunk Juhyuk funny as hell what's gong on

Ep 10 (Jan 27): There's something about this show where it feels like the cuts of the scenes should be faster? Or they should end sooner? Or conversations should happen faster?

Oh lol they teacher couple didn't know the other 2 couples were dating and those 2 couples didn't know the teacher couple was? lol

Did Sungmin whisper something sex related to Juhyuk? What's with that reaction

pls not the kissing photo, I did see the start of the tiktok of this scene but I don't think I fully watched it, I remember the hand grasp and maybe some clapping? Anyway, awkward because everything public is awkward for me but good for them ig

Overall:

I liked the main couple: a younger, insistent pursuer to an older, reluctant hyung who was also his tutor when the younger was in high school. I didn't find them to be boring or to be ruined because of the frozen kisses. I do wish the random stalker, weird hyung wasn't haunting them for so long though because the premise of this couple is so good. Also, Lee Hyun's face reminded me of NCT Chenle + TXT Yeonjun - he's an idol too BAE173 or smth.

I came around to the second and third couple even though if the show was longer or deeper, I might not have (ie. the random Minwu calling Maru a slut negatively and the miscommunication of Sungmin and Juhyuk might've been more offputting if they got more screentime or we didn't swiftly move on).

I was bored by the last 2 eps though, so ehhh

Rating: 6/10 - I think I've gotten kinder because it maybe should be 5.5?

[lemonadehtwooh]

just curious, if you were to ship Hector with anyone in FGO (as in...not Andromache or your Mastersona obviously), who would it be and why?

Oh! You wound me with eliminating two of my finest options! XD okay so I actually had to go through the list of Servants in FGO because I actually have no idea! So I have made a list of what I think would be suitable options for shipping him with.

They're are mostly men because FGO seems to not have a lot of women characters who I could even possibly headcanon to be around his age, unfortunately (which being at least around his age, or being able to be headcanoned as such, was one of the traits that was a must to be added to the list). Welcome to Bisexual Hektor Time and also the fact I spent over an hour trying to make a list for this XD

Also anyone and everyone in this list, I can see being friendshiped with Hektor more than anything XD

First, we have Boudica. Reasoning being that they have similar vibes in backstory, also I think they both would enjoy some peace. I think they would have that domestic fluff dynamic. A very peaceful dynamic. Honestly she has the most potential for shipping with him imo, if I had to choose someone

Next is Benki. They both give that moment of wanting to get out of training. I feel like they would have a bromance XD I don't think they would even talk about it, just one day they both sorta realize they're in a relationship and both are fine with it. That's the vibes I think they would give

Lord El-Melloi II (the older one with long hair and smokes). Honestly they give more of "smoking buddies" vibe but ig I could work off of that. With Hektor's carefree attitude, they could probably give that "opposites attract" dynamic XD

I was going to add Saint Martha to this list but I genuinely can't remember why. Maybe someone else can do the thinking for me XD Same with Leonidas? Idk why he's on the list. Someone else can do the thinking for me on that

Next, Georgios. Honestly I just think they would chill. Honestly I'm personally a slight Georgios simp, so that may perhaps be skewing my perception on this XD. Dynamic wise, I think they would have a peaceful life type dynamic, sorta similar to Boudica. Georgios could use Hektor as a model for pictures XD

We have Hassan of the Cursed Arm, but honestly I think they would just be bros more than a bromance. They have that "uncle" vibe ig, which makes me think they would get along. But honestly they're giving a friendship vibe

Out of a joke, I added Miss Crane to the list PURELY out of the idea that she could make him hats. Because he's "Hektor of the Gleaming Helm". XD I rate this crackship: hats/10

Another purely friendship I have with him is Francis Drake. I think they would be buddies. My brain just doesn't have the capacity to romance them, imo. They're friends uwu

Now, here are some ships I personally don't ship and also don't understand the ship for:

Hektor X Achilles. I can see the liking for enemies to lovers, but they lack too much of the respect that is essential for enemies to lovers. I also like their pettiness towards each other too much XD they're so funny to me. Definitely not a ship I personally would enjoy, though. Also it ignores that Achilles already has a boyfriend: Patroclus (lol). Fate give Achilles his boyfriend When

Hektor X Mandricardo. Look, I know in my head that Mandricardo is an adult. But. He gives me too much of an edgy kid vibe XD he reminds me of myself in middle school a little too much XD. He just seems emotionally/mentally too much like a teenager for me to see the appeal, it just feels wrong to ship him with Hektor due to that. But I also can somewhat see why people would ship it. He's one of Hektor's top simps. I can respect him for that frfr XD

[notbynary]

[ID: Screenshot of a reddit post by the_killer_cannabis. Text:

I see a lot of people asking similar questions, so I'd thought I'd clear a few things up:

The main sticking points for actors (SAG-AFTRA):

- residuals for streaming based on viewership

- AI regulations (as well as not using it to recreate an actor's likeness after the fact)

- regulations against/addressing self tapes. They want auditions to be in person again (this is actually a major point that most people outside of the industry aren't talking about)

Main sticking points for writers (WGA):

- residuals for streaming based on viewership (overlap w/ SAG)

- AI regulations. No AI in the script writing process (some overlap w/ SAG. Same overall issue, but different specifics, meaning different language in each contract)

- "Preserving the writers room". That's how it was written in the WGA pattern of demands and this might actually be the biggest sticking point for the WGA. The two major parts are:

1. breaking up mini-rooms that stop new writers from breaking in and seasoned writers from moving up

2. lengthening the contract length to ensure that screenwriting does not continue down the path to a gig economy

EDIT: expanding on a few things about the WGA that got lost in the sum up but has been commented on:

- part of their demand to break open mini-rooms is through guaranteed minimum employment, aka, guaranteeing a certain number of writers in the writers room based on the number of episodes in the season

- they are also demanding better terms for feature writers on streaming. With budgets above 12 million receiving full theatrical terms, a guaranteed second step, and revising the payment process so half of it is given up front and the other half given out weekly over the contract's length. This is meant to combat free work.

What the studios want (AMPTP):

- obviously, none of the above

- for the tech companies, and likely the biggest sticking point in all, is the residuals on viewership. This would require them to release their viewership numbers which they have vehemently refused to do, likely because it gives some insight into a not as successful business model as their other metrics have suggested

- regarding AI: they do not want this off the table in perpetuity. They see the opportunity to cut out labor and desperately want to protect the chance to do so

Now, the rumor is that Netflix is the holdout right now for the AMPTP. But a quick reminder that each studio is still allowed to make a side deal with the unions. It's called an interim deal and is how the last strike ended.

It's a divide and conquer strategy. You make an interim deal with one studio (on terms you, the union, favors), and that studio agrees to sign the contract the union eventually brings to the entire AMPTP. In the mean time, that one studio is up and running, meanwhile its competitors in the AMPTP watch their competitive advantage evaporate. This pressures them into caving as well.

Hope this helps anyone who is curious.

Also, DGA having reached a deal is now pretty pointless, considering it'll likely be worse than what the double striking unions will get, and all the while the directors will largely not be able to work anyways (except for many soaps)

EDIT:

A lot of people asked why self-taping is an issue here, so I'll link my reply below from another comment. Just to be clear, they don't want to ban it entirely, but ensure that in-person auditions do not follow the current trend of going extinct

On one hand, self tapes might be logistically easier for those not in LA, NY, etc. and can provide multiple attempts.

That said:

Most actors will not get the roles they're auditioning for. That's just how the numbers shake out. But if the audition is in person, they will get the opportunity to interact with the casting directors. This relationship allows them to get future roles and largely contributes to how actors eventually broke-in in the past

this is a lesser point, but self taping does require a certain amount of technology, means, and work on the actor's end. Who's to say that a casting director won't be swayed by a better or worse video/audio quality.

End ID]

X

Thanks Anon for sharing this link with me and for the explanations in this Reddit Post. 🙏🏾

[a-god-in-ruins-rises]

palm tree, papyrus, camellia?

this one got a little long, sorry.

palm tree ⇢ do you have a fictional villain you shouldn’t like but love regardless?

lmao oh yeah. i've always been prone to sympathizing with villains. and i'm gonna use the term villain here pretty loosely as just a "bad guy" (or someone who is portrayed as such), regardless of whether they're the protagonist or antagonist or a side character.

but a few "villains" i love: vader/palpatine/dooku/thrawn, light yagami (or L to a slightly lesser extent), azula (and zuko before his turn), kuvira, lelouch, itachi uchiha, silco, gendo ikari, griffith, walter white, littlefinger, dany, general hummel, general shepherd, captain ahab, dutch (he was a good man! a man with a plan! manipulated by a rat.), hans landa, judge holden, ozymandias, homelander (what can i say? he's literally me. thank you patriots!), satan, etc.

papyrus ⇢ if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with?

lmao "endzeit" by heaven shall burn. it's not hard to tell what i like about it. first, it's high energy and aggressive. but the lyrics are what really get me. i used to listen to this song back in my "anarchist" days in high school, back when i had dreams of violent revolution and martyrdom. ah, youth! but the energy and the lyrics still resonate with me today. it gets me hyped whenever i listen to it. man, i haven't listened to this in a minute. brings me back. memories of listening to it in the locker room before football practice or walking home from school under the orange glow of the autumn sun. it reminds me of all those other anarchist and punk kids i used to hang out with. i can't believe that was over a decade ago.

camellia ⇢ what were you like when you were younger? do you think you’ve changed a lot?

i mentioned a bit about my siblings in another ask last night and how different i am from them. that should give you an idea. i was basically the opposite of them in almost every way. as a kid i was "the quiet one" or "the strange one." was always a running joke in my family that i was adopted or that i was secretly an alien or something. i was content being alone, i read a lot of books, i loved animals and catching bugs, i looked at things through my microscope and the stars through my telescope. my brother had posters of models and celebrities and dirt bikes. i had the declaration of independence and old glory hanging on my wall, and posters of dinosaurs and spartans and romans.

my brother had shelves full of trophies he got from playing a variety of sports. my shelves were full of books or random trinkets or oddities i've collected and displayed or science experiments or terrariums/jars of different insects and animals. my brother had a lot of friends and he was always going to parties. i had no friends except imaginary ones. i often attribute my very active, vibrant imagination to the fact that i spent so much of my childhood playing "pretend" all by myself. i was a very curious child. always a curious child, exploring and going on lonely adventures and doing experiments and reading books.

do i think i've changed a lot? not that much. i've gotten bigger and stronger. i used to be a small, scrawny little thing. i've also become a lot more confident/aggressive. as a child i was shy and timid. but for the most part i think i'm very similar. i'm look at my computer desk and my bookshelf and it looks much like my room looked as a child. i still have many of the same passions/interests, just deeper and more expanded. i'm still the strange one.

[sophieinwonderland]

how does one 'form' an endogenic system, per se? just curious lol

Do you want to know my thoughts on how it works scientifically, or a guide on how to do it? I guess I can give both.

The Simulated Consciousness Hypothesis

I'll preface this by saying that I'm not certain of anything. Research into non-disordered systems is currently in its infancy. All I can do is hypothesize that the same mechanism the brain uses to simulate consciousness and put itself into other people's shoes is also the mechanism it uses to "create" consciousness and identity in the first place. Normally, when you simulate somebody's speech in your head, it doesn't result in an instant headmate because you're just making a temporary "Instance" of the person/character. Afterwards, the Instance is immediately deleted. However, repeatedly speaking to the same simulation while letting them think automatically instead of exercising direct conscious control results in them gradually developing consciousness of their own.

The majority of people who do this would brush this off as just "having a good imagination." I mean, that's how my host thought of me the first couple months, and might still if we hadn't found the tulpa community.

That would, at least, be my guess based on my experiences and those of friends. Part of this is because we've noticed that the emotions of nonfronters often feel to the body the same as empathy for other people. I think it was my host who first picked up on the fact that my happiness while in back felt similar to the sensation you get when you see someone else smile and feel their emotions second hand. This led us to believe that headmate processing might be tied to the same mechanisms responsible for empathy.

The advanced simulation model would also explain why headmates are especially effected by imagined stimuli in the innerworld/headspace to the point where persecutors in disordered systems can end up causing severe psychological harm through imagined stimuli alone.

From an evolutionary standpoint, I assume that these particular types of headmates, what are currently commonly identified as tulpas, were primarily a coping mechanism not for trauma, but for isolation, simulating conversation with real people while the host was away from communities for a long period of time, allowing them to maintain social skills.

But there's a catch to this. If you can have conscious people in your head, you have no reason to interact with physical people once you've rejoined civilization. So, the brain also convinces you that these simulated consciousnesses aren't real once you're around physical people. Hence why doubt in your headmates is so common to the point that even diagnosed DID systems will feel often feel like they're "faking." Your brain is programmed by evolution to lie and convince you that the people in your head are "just your imagination" even in spite of irrefutable evidence to the contrary. The lie is necessary in order to keep people interacting with other people outside their heads and procreating.

Again, though, I'm not a psychologist. This is my best guess of how the mechanics work, and I would not want to pass it off as fact.

Tulpamancy

This is the most common way of intentionally creating an endogenic system. Most people believe it's the only way, but I stumbled on something else I've been wanting to share for a while that I'll get to later. The most basic techniques for creating tulpas can be summed up through the following.

1. Imagine a person in your head.

2. Talk to that person day after day until you get responses in your head. Some people get responses instantly, some take months.

3. Repeat as your tulpa slowly becomes more sapient and independent.

For more in-depth guidance, see the Tulpanomicon or any number of guides on Reddit. There's really no shortage of resources on this subject for those interested in tulpamancy. But I think there's another way to potentially create an endogenic system that I don't see getting talked about...

The Willogenic Split

A while back, we were listening to an episode of the Hidden Brain podcast focused on self-compassion. We were interested and found the website of the psychologist who was interviewed. The site had a number of techniques for self-compassion, but one in particular stood out to me.

Exercise 5: Changing your critical self-talk

This exercise should be done over several weeks and will eventually form the blueprint for changing how you relate to yourself long-term. Some people find it useful to work on their inner critic by writing in a journal. Others are more comfortable doing it via internal dialogues. If you are someone who likes to write things down and revisit them later, journaling can be an excellent tool for transformation. If you are someone (like me) who never manages to be consistent with a journal, then do whatever works for you. You can speak aloud to yourself, or think silently.

1. The first step towards changing the way to treat yourself is to notice when you are being self-critical. It may be that – like many of us — your self-critical voice is so common for you that you don’t even notice when it is present. Whenever you’re feeling bad about something, think about what you’ve just said to yourself. Try to be as accurate as possible, noting your inner speech verbatim. What words do you actually use when you’re self-critical? Are there key phrases that come up over and over again? What is the tone of your voice – harsh, cold, angry? Does the voice remind you of any one in your past who was critical of you? You want to be able to get to know the inner self-critic very well, and to become aware of when your inner judge is active. For instance, if you’ve just eaten half a box of Oreo’s, does your inner voice say something like “you’re so disgusting,” “you make me sick,” and so on? Really try to get a clear sense of how you talk to yourself.

2. Make an active effort to soften the self-critical voice, but do so with compassion rather than self-judgment (i.e., don’t say “you’re such a bitch” to your inner critic!). Say something like “I know you’re worried about me and feel unsafe, but you are causing me unnecessary pain. Could you let my inner compassionate self say a few words now?”

3. Reframe the observations made by your inner critic in a friendly, positive way. If you’re having trouble thinking of what words to use, you might want to imagine what a very compassionate friend would say to you in this situation. It might help to use a term of endearment that strengthens expressed feelings of warmth and care (but only if it feels natural rather than schmaltzy.) For instance, you can say something like “Darling, I know you ate that bag of cookies because you’re feeling really sad right now and you thought it would cheer you up. But you feel even worse and are not feeling good in your body. I want you to be happy, so why don’t you take a long walk so you feel better?” While engaging in this supportive self-talk, you might want to try gently stroking your arm, or holding your face tenderly in your hands (as long as no one’s looking). Physical gestures of warmth can tap into the caregiving system even if you’re having trouble calling up emotions of kindness at first, releasing oxytocin that will help change your bio-chemistry. The important thing is that you start acting kindly, and feelings of true warmth and caring will eventually follow.

This is not, explicitly, written as a guide to becoming plural. But reading those first two steps, it's hard not to interpret it as having that potential. Essentially, the idea is to take a few weeks to identify and dissociate yourself from your inner critic, then speak to it and try to befriend it as if it's a separate person. I think you could even draw parallels between this method of handling your inner critic and the way DID systems are advised to deal with persecutors.

We haven't tried this, nor do we know anyone who has, but the wording feels very close to describing a way to split your consciousness and induce plurality without having a dissociative disorder or creating a tulpa.

And if you can do that with a critical evaluative voice, there may be other inner voices you can do that with. I wouldn't actually advise experimenting with splitting yourself, but I am intrigued by the possibility from a scientific perspective and what it could mean for our understanding of human cognition if aspects of a singlet's consciousness can be split off into their own individuals using methods like this, even after the singlet has reached adulthood.

(Other self-compassion techniques from this site include exercises like "Write a letter to yourself from the perspective of an unconditionally loving imaginary friend")

[carostrelec]

so, to jump on the SSO character revamp opinion bandwagon... oh boy. okay. this is going to get long.

first and foremost, let me start with the things i like. i like the new hairstyles (even though there's a small "but" i'll get to later) and they look pretty nice in my opinion.

(speaking of that, does anyone have any screenshots of the short bob with ponytail hairstyle revamp? the one i use on my character, if you've seen my screenshots)

secondly, the makeup system seems to be working well, and that's great because i'm kind of tired of having to use the same makeup preset all the time (since the others each have a part that annoys me).

third, there finally seems to be some much-needed facial variety, and i am very curious to see how they look once they're animated.

however, that ties right into the points i don't really find myself/my vision of Agrippa represented in.

the faces look... toddler-like. from what i've seen, all of them are quite round and friend-shaped, with little of the facial definition young adults tend to have — and while i'm sure there will be people who appreciate this exact kind of face, i... don't know how to feel about this yet. not necessarily negative, but not positive either.

there are some visual parts of the hair revamps that look unnatural, and as a specific example i want to point out the short bob with swept bangs (i think that's how it's called?). the bottom of it, the part near the neck, is... questionably modeled, and while i know it might have been an effort to save some polys, it does not look right to me, and i hope they improve it before releasing it. (speaking of this, i am also not very on board with the brownish shading they went for with this particular hair color.)

(shoutout to tumblr that saved this when i went to fact-check myself and my phone decided to free memory by killing tumblr)

and last but not least. look. i am glad people of curvier body types are getting their representation, that's great! except i don't really find my real life build represented in any of them, the thinnest one (and that's not really thin either, more like slightly below average?) is the most similar one.

compared to that one, i have way wider shoulders. i think that's what throws me off so much about it, aside from the fact that it also looks shorter than me (that might also be influencing my perception of it).

compared to my vision of Agrippa, none of the body types match up — while their shapeshifter nature can be tricky to represent, i've settled on a look for them that is mostly feminine shaped with a notable absence of breasts and a very "tall, swamp creature, can tear your head off" (think Sabine but leaner and a little less mean) vibe. a vibe that is simply not represented in the current selection.

if you've read this far, awesome! i would love to read your opinion also, so feel free to leave it somewhere.

[greatqueenanna]

Olaf's role in the Frozen Franchise.

Although most of the Frozen Fandom, on and off the internet and of any age, love and know how important Olaf is to the Frozen Franchise - there are still many people who are not absolutely obsessed with Frozen (I know, shocking right? Haha) who don't understand what Olaf's significance or purpose is in the Franchise. Many don't understand why he's there, and many find him very annoying and pointless.

Since I haven't really sat down to write out a full analysis on Olaf, I think it's about time I discuss why Olaf is important and what exactly he represents in the Franchise. Of course, there are many analysis blogs that talked about this, But I wanted to throw in my two cents and maybe refresh some old ideas!

~The Bond~

When we first 'unofficially' meet Olaf in Frozen, he was being built by the sisters. The funny thing is, is when Elsa was building Olaf, it seemed as though she was trying to actually build an Anna snowman, as Anna is seen making a funny face - as if to act as a model for Elsa to reference.

Then, Elsa turns him around and says his name is Olaf, and Anna responds with a deceleration of love -

"I love you Olaf!"

-and a big hug. But then, she immediately looks at Elsa, as if what she really means is -

"I love you Elsa!"

However, when the accident happens and Elsa starts to freeze the ballroom, we see that her magic destroys the first Olaf snowman. As if to say that all the happiness that the girls were experiencing is now coming to an end.

Here, in the very first scene, we get a very clear picture of what this Snowman is meant to represent. As Jen Lee states in the Script notes interview, Olaf is meant to represent the sister's love for each other. As we see in these scenes, Elsa makes Olaf with Anna as a reference, Anna declares she loves him while looking at Elsa, and then the snowman is destroyed by uncontrolled magic.

This follows exactly how things turn out in the film itself, how the girls are close and love each other initially, but fear comes in and destroys their relationship.

Later on in the film, the first thing Elsa builts when she finally feels a sense of freedom is the Olaf we know and love. However, as a side note, he is still connected to this first snowman, as we see in Once Upon a Snowman (2020). He hears what the girls had said to that first Olaf and figures out his name and what he likes.

Elsa builts Olaf first because what she wants more than anything is the freedom to get to know and be around Anna, although she might not consciously know it at the time. If you count the Broadway and soft canon like I do, then we know this is very true from the song Dangerous to Dream.

And could I open up the door? And finally see you, face to face I guess the queen can change the rules But not the reasons they're in place.

I can't be what you expect of me And I'm not what I seem But I would love to know you Is it dangerous to dream?

Olaf's Frozen Adventure (2017) focuses heavily on the idea that Olaf represents Anna and Elsa's love for one another. Since Olaf represents that love, he is bound and determined to find a tradition that the two can have. Of course, we learn that Olaf himself is their tradition since they share drawings and crafts of him every Christmas.

The importance of this is that it shows that Anna and Elsa also recognize that he represents their love, as they used him to keep them connected over the years even though they were apart.

~Personalities~

Something that is very curious that also cements this idea is how Olaf actually has the personality traits of both sisters.

He is goofy and reckless like Anna, running immediately into things without giving it a second thought. He even is seen saying some of the same things she said as a child.

"The sky's awake!"

"Ahta-who-what?"

Olaf also shows Anna's unconditional and sometimes naive love. He immediately assumes Elsa is good even though he witnesses her ice spike going through him, much like how Anna immediately trusts Hans even though she barely knows him. He also lets himself into Elsa's palace without any caution, similar to how Anna tries to get close to Elsa during FTFTIF Reprise, even though she's surrounded by magic.

When it comes to Elsa, Olaf sometimes displays a certain sarcastic side that fans often attributed to Elsa. When he sees Kristoff talking to rocks, he immediately announces that he's crazy and is very judgmental. Much like how Elsa saw him in the ice palace and asks who he is before going back to her panic. Then, in Olaf's Frozen Adventure (2017), he immediately judges Kristoff again when he says -

"You're a princess. You don't have to settle."

This mirrors Elsa's overall disgust at Kristoff licking his sculpture and inviting them to the same.

He also shares Elsa's curiosity - Elsa is shown to be a very curious person who wants to know more about herself, and later the Enchanted Forest. She wants to test the limits of her powers in Frozen, and then later wants to know where they come from in Frozen 2. In the book A Sister More Like Me, which I also consider soft canon, she is also shown to have an interest in learning, as we see her surrounded by books and learning geometry.

This matches with Olaf's overall curious nature as well. As Soon as Olaf learns to read, he reads countless books and recites many facts. Of course, we know that in Forest of Shadows (2019), Anna also enjoys reading but becomes a bit more cautious with her curiosity in Frozen 2.

Also, like both Anna and Elsa, he has the same fear of change. He questions if anything is truly permanent and is always concerned with the inevitable. It's almost as if he evolved with the sisters and developed their same fears as he got 'older'.

Olaf also shares his selfless nature with both sisters, as he tells Anna that some people are worth melting for. Anna and Elsa both share this sentiment, as they both sacrifice themselves for people they care about.

Olaf being a bit of both sisters is supported by the Broadway as well, in the song A Little Bit of You.

Oh! So we'll build him back together Yes, together, that's the key 'Cause he's a little bit of you and me.