#there are subgroups that relate differently

[cogentranting]

Also related to that last note, the large number of the group IS why it's community rather than either a team or a family. There are initially forty-something of them. And even though a large number of those are not characters perse, they do influence the form that the group takes. Because being a leader of a group of 48 is very different than being the leader of a group of 15. And if there were not a larger group that they were a part of, the dynamics of those 15 would be very different as well.

And even after all the extras get killed off at the end of season 4, and we're left with just like 8-10 of the original castaways (plus a few additions) the fact that they initially formed as a part of this larger community still influences their dynamic and they don't relate to each other as if they were just 8-10 people thrown together (they don't coalesce into a simple team or family structure), they relate to each other as the remnants of a larger community.

The Lost characters survivors group is very specifically not coded as found family, but instead is very deliberately shaped as a community. And I just think that its very interesting the way they built that structure and the way that it impacts the character dynamics and how the story flows, especially in the first three or four seasons (you know, before the majority of that community is abruptly killed off).

[evidence-based-activism]

what are your thoughts on the whole situation with the women’s Olympic boxing competitors Andrea Carini and Imane Khelif? I don’t know why feminists are so mad about it, Imane is a cis woman or has an intersex condition, either way she’s not a man.. I thought feminists were supposed to support women winning

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/taXu5IeFZc

Hello!

I expect you also sent the ask with the following link: https://www.tumblr.com/assignedmale/757629682153897984?

So, my short answer is that the situation is complex and I don't believe we have enough information to come to a definitive conclusion. In addition, the current cultural context about "trans athletes" is only exacerbating the already complex issue.

---

My long answer:

My understanding of the situation is that Khelif is a biologically male individual (i.e., "of the sex" that produces the small gamete/sperm) with a difference/disorder of sexual development (DSD, commonly referred to as "intersex") and was, as a result of this DSD, assigned the female sex at birth.

I want to take a moment here to point out that this is the exact sort of situation the AFAB/AMAB labels were created for. The vast majority of individuals are not "assigned" a sex, they are observed to be a particular sex (OFAB/OMAB?). It is in this sort of situation, where the sex is ambiguous or incorrectly determined that the “assignment” comes into play. Further, I will be referring to all AFAB individuals as "she", given the sociocultural context in which biologically male, AFAB individuals are raised and treated as women.

That being said, the participation of people with DSDs in competitive sports is an ongoing, contentious debate that is both separate from and related to the debate about the inclusion of transwomen in women's sports.

In reference to Khelif, it appears as though the original regulatory agency for boxing (IBA) disqualified her on the basis of her DSD. However, they have lost their position due to (either claims of or actual) corruption. The IOC defaulted to determining eligibility based the sex listed on the athlete's passport, which for Khelif is female (as she is AFAB).

The issue here is we do not know what her DSD is. The IBA claims she has XY chromosomes, but there are multiple conditions this can occur with. For example, as described in [1]:

Individuals with 5ARD2 are "genetic males and exhibit phenotypic male features at puberty and during adulthood". They are "raised as girls during childhood" but "usually develop a near-normal male phenotype" after puberty.

Individuals with complete androgen insensitivity syndrome (CAIS) have "no tissue response to testosterone and no masculinization" even at puberty where they can develop a "near-normal female phenotype". This is despite them having testosterone in the "normal adult male range".

Individuals with partial androgen insensitivity syndrome (PAIS) "show a range of phenotypes with progressive masculinization depending on the degree of androgen insensitivity".

Just based on this, the best solution for each of these may be different. For example, it likely would be unfair for someone with 5ARD2 to compete in the female category, although it would be reasonable for them to compete in the male category. On the other hand, it would likely be unfair to prevent someone with CAIS from competing with other women, even with their male-typical testosterone levels.

And speaking of testosterone:

The same article [1] describes how men's testosterone level is substantially greater than women's levels, even in women with PCOS. (If you look at the article, make sure to take note of the log-scale. It highlights that the mean/median level in any male subgroup is more than 5 times the mean/median level in any female subgroup.) But again ... does the amount of testosterone really matter if the tissues don't respond to it (as in CAIS)?

In contrast, this study [2] also takes note that "testosterone exposure at puberty had unique effects such as changing skeletal structure and limb length which estrogen exposure to later in life cannot suppress" in males without a DSD. So, it's unlikely that artificially lowering the testosterone in individuals with 5ARD2 or PAIS (or males without a DSD, as in transwomen) would resolve the advantage.

So ... there are clear and significant differences in testosterone between men and women, even when they have a DSD. But in some cases (e.g., CAIS) the difference may not be relevant, and in other cases (e.g., artificial hormone suppression) a lack of difference may not be relevant.

I mention all of this to highlight how the situation is nuanced, and why I don't think we can make any judgements about Khelif. But I also want to explain how this situation is, in fact, connected to the "trans athlete" debate. It's a matter of public trust —specifically public trust in the athletic regulatory agencies.

Currently, there are regulatory boards that are making decisions that are neither consistent with biological realities [1, 2] or public opinion [3-5]. These decisions allow unambiguously biologically male individuals to compete with women.

Now to be clear, this particular case (Khelif) does not fall into this category. The problem here is one of trust: how can the public (or the other athletes) trust these regulatory agencies to make sound and fair decisions on complex cases involving DSDs if they can't adhere to scientific consensus on far clearer situations?

This is important, because athletes also deserve medical privacy. I am aware that public figures are often expected to give up a degree of their personal privacy rights (although I disagree with the extent of this). However, I expect most people will agree it's unreasonable to expect an athlete with a DSD (or any other medical condition) to release the extensive amounts of personal medical information needed to prove it is fair for them to compete with women. This is why we need trustworthy regulatory agencies, so that the public and other athletes can know that this information was provided and appropriately assessed without it having to be made public.

(And none of this touches on how the current disregard for clarity of language (e.g., claiming transwomen are "biologically female") has created so much confusion that many people seem to believe Khelif was AMAB.)

---

In addition to all of that, the harassment and vitriol being directed at both women in this situation is excessive, unhelpful, and harmful. I've seen racist and misogynistic comments that black women are "more masculine". I've also seen misogynistic comments that Carini is "weak" for exiting the fight. Slurs are being directed at both women, and in neither case is that acceptable.

I understand why the tone of this debate is so hostile, but I do not support the behavior.

For the comic: the claim that "science and experience shows trans athletes on H.R.T are at a disadvantage" is false (see [2]). The rest of the comic neglects to consider the nuance of the situations and the current cultural context. That being said, most people arguing that Khelif shouldn't compete in women's sports are also ignoring the nuance of the situation.

---

All in all, I do not think we currently have enough information to draw any conclusion or make any decisions about this specific situation. That being said, the current sociocultural context has inflamed this debate, created confusion, and eroded public trust in the parties responsible for making the aforementioned decisions. I personally consider that to be the more relevant issue.

References under the cut:

Clark, Richard V., et al. “Large Divergence in Testosterone Concentrations between Men and Women: Frame of Reference for Elite Athletes in Sex‐specific Competition in Sports, a Narrative Review.” Clinical Endocrinology, vol. 90, no. 1, Jan. 2019, pp. 15–22. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1111/cen.13840.

Luu, Tyler. “Should Transgender Athletes Be Allowed to Compete with Cisgender Athletes?” University of Toronto’s Journal of Scientific Innovation, Feb. 2022, pp. 59–65. jps.library.utoronto.ca, https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/jsi/article/view/38091.

Brown, Kim Parker, Juliana Menasce Horowitz and Anna. “Americans’ Complex Views on Gender Identity and Transgender Issues.” Pew Research Center, 28 June 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/06/28/americans-complex-views-on-gender-identity-and-transgender-issues/.

Where Does the British Public Stand on Transgender Rights in 2022? | YouGov. https://yougov.co.uk/society/articles/43194-where-does-british-public-stand-transgender-rights-1

Where Americans Stand on 20 Transgender Policy Issues | YouGov. https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/48685-where-americans-stand-on-20-transgender-policy-issues.

[cyren-myadd]

Do you think the Wind Traders will have any unique adaptations?

We've gotten all this exciting concept art and sneak peeks at the ash people, but we have yet to see a single wind trader. It's got me wondering what they'll look like. Since the Reef People have rudder-like tails and arms adapted for swimming, and Forest People have thin, flexible tails and arms that help keeping balance while climbing, do you think the Wind Traders will have any unique adaptations to help them survive at high altitudes?

One idea I had is that they might have darker skin, maybe a darker shade of blue or even purplish. They seem like they spend most of their time on their sky ships or flying mounts, so unlike the other Na'vi they don't have tree cover or water to protect their skin from the sun. Darker skin would help protect them from sunburns and other sun-related problems (can Na'vi get skin cancer? 🤔)

Another idea I had is that they might have sturdy chests like the Reef People instead of thin chests like the Forest People. Even though Pandora has a different atmospheric content than Earth, I'm assuming there will still be less oxygen available at higher altitudes, so the higher you go the tougher it is to breathe. The Wind Traders could have larger lungs to help them get enough oxygen at higher altitudes, and thus would have larger chests to accommodate their lungs. This would make them look similar to the reef people, who have bigger lungs to hold their breath longer while swimming.

Something else I've thought about is what their tails will look like, since each subgroup has a different tail so far. Reef People have a tadpole like tail for swimming, Forest People have a lion-like tail for balance, and Ash People appear to have hairless, lizard-like tails that could also be good for balance (not sure what the evolutionary reason for Forest people having hair and Ash people being hairless though). I have no idea what a Wind Trader tail might look like, but I imagine it will be similar to Forest and Ash tails. Since losing their balance could mean a long, deadly fall to the ground below, I'm sure having a tail adapted to help with balance would be very useful!!

What other adaptations do you think the Wind Traders could have?

[cucumberteapot]

Ugh! I love how so unapologetically punk this film. Obviously, there's Hobie with his battle jacket and electric guitar, and his whole Vibe™ immediately comes to mind, but the subgroups of punk are so deeply entrenched throughout the entire movie.

Like Hobie's style, in particular, reminds me so much of how British punk fashion is accumulating old, worn, even ugly pieces of clothing and turning it into something cool. It's thrift stores. It's hand-me-downs. It's customisations. It's momentos from friends. Maybe even piercings done by friends. It's about taking things from different places and making them your own - which is exactly how Hobie ends up making the dimension travel watch. Another thing is Hobie's blue laces, which I've been told is punk-code for having killed a police officer. We as audience members can go back and forth on whether ATSV is a copaganda film or has its themes, but I believe that tiny detail about Hobie is huge for a film distributed from a country that often values authoritative institutions more than it citizens.

Gwen is implicitly trans and shaves half her head, which is, from my understanding, HUGE for trans women who experience gender dysphoria. A lot of Gwen's fashion and prom dress especially reminds me of Hayley Williams in the late 2000s-early 2010s. It's very experimental, which I feel matches her age and uncertainty about being Spiderwoman, her dad, and Peter's death.

There's also a lot of concept art for Gwen's hair where her side-cut becomes an undercut and she wears it in a pony tail or bun and I just think they're so cool - D especially.

Miles G Morales' design is so heavily inspired by alternative goth fashion and techwear - a mix of combat attire and hip-hop streetwear. It's loose yet slick with it's own customisations in the crown-cut collar and the spray-paint insignia, and incorporates high-advanced technology in the mask.

It's futuristic. A what-could-be. And specifically what Miles could've been if he wasn't bit by the spider. Another cool thing, I don't know if this is related but worth pointing out, is that Prowler wears a modified (leather, bomber, varsity??) jacket. That's kinda crazy for an superhero/anti-hero suit if you think about it. Most of the time you'll see Marvel or DC characters running around in a spandex suit or (for women) almost nothing at all. But like Hobie we see how Miles G styles himself even when he's disguised. Like I wouldn't be surprised if his outfit change was just turning the jacket inside out like a sukajan jacket.

ATSV has so many characters with the own specific styles and it's really nice to see where most franchises are all or nothing when it comes to character design aesthetics.

[tilyoureninetyhughy]

Ever since we saw Deadpool & Wolverine, my parents and I have been sitting down to rewatch all X-Men/mutant related films.

Rewatched X2, it took every bit of strength I had not to turn and watch their reaction to Bobby explaining his mutation to his family.

Didn't, but wanted to say out loud: "Wow, it's almost like they're portraying the classic coming out story. Looks familiar."

I still can't fathom why they don't understand me when they're the ones who introduced these movies to me (and Marvel in general). Like, they plopped me down in front of the X-Men films, and I would rewatch them religiously (ESPECIALLY X2).

They introduced me to films that are all about not including a subgroup of humans because they're different from all the rest, and yet they still don't see it?

A resentful part of me compares my mom to Bobby's. My mom's "it's just a phase you're going through" clashing with a fictional character's "have you tried... not being a mutant?"

Yeah, sure, Mom. I'll stop being bi when Bobby learns how to stop being a mutant.

[granulesofsand]

Hi, I was wondering if you have resources or examples of what system mapping is/looks like? My therapist mentioned it and I don't really understand what that ... looks like. And also can't find any real resources on it

System mapping refers to a lot of record keeping, more so than most people think of when they hear about it. The most common route for this exercise is a visual aid, often done on blank printer paper or with a computer application that allows for shapes with text in them.

Some goals for system mapping can be seeing how system members

are related (who knows who, how they interact with one another, how they define their connections)

came into the system (who split from who, when they showed up, what happened to get them)

fit into the collective (who’s similar or different, how roles make sense, where triggers chain together)

exist in space (how close to one another they are, where things are in the internal world, how visualized barriers come into play)

are themselves (which labels they use, which things they like and dislike, how they exist as one being and a member of a group)

Here are some examples of maps for each of these things

I did these taking only a few minutes each, and they’re simplified versions of real maps we’ve done in the past. Maps should be thought-provoking, a dumped box of ideas you connect on the page. Sometimes it takes hours (or days, but that’s usually an avoidance problem).

We’re working on one right now that shows when different color codes came into play for us. Our system is huge, so this is a broader project that doesn’t address individual members or subgroups. We took a poster paper and some colorful pens, made some notes at the top, and are drawing a garden with a central tree and some flowers for pieces that don’t make sense as a branching out. We worked on it several hours straight, redid it twice, and it’s still not done.

Our largest system map is a wall of post-its hanging on for dear life, with different color notes and ink for different purposes. We have a whole legend of symbols and would probably be using pins and yarn if we had a cork board. That one is everything; people and places, subgroups and relationships, programming and trauma, all of it.

If you(&)’re looking for resources, I have like two links I know I can find right now. Mostly this is a community topic, and you can watch people make maps on video sites like YouTube or TikTok. You’re less likely to find academic material about system mapping unless you’re looking for discussion about treatment or plain case studies, and I dislike contextualizing the exercise like they do.

I like the first link because they’re creative with it, which is great for visual aids. They also remind you that mapping isn’t for everymany/body, and that it’s okay not to do it or not include everyone.

The second isn’t specific to mapping, but has a bullet list I liked from another site that was more commercial.

A third one I thought about including but didn’t had some good reasons for mapping for integration (helping each other notice they’re connected, that there are reasons the system works like it does), but was more clinical.

Actually, I feel bad explaining it and not showing it, so you(&) choose if that sounds okay to you.

There are many larger articles which include aspects of system mapping, but reading them requires a lot of sifting and determining what is real to you(&) before you can make use of most of what’s written. It can help form opinions, and it will also send some cascading. If you look into the academic side, remember to look into the community side, too. You need both, just maybe not as early as mapping the system for the first time.

Poster paper is system mapping. Sand trays are system mapping. Roll calls are system mapping. Community meetings are system mapping. System mapping is getting to know your(&) system. You can’t really do it wrong, but I hope you got some ideas of where to start.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Reference saved in our archive

I know some of y'all out there are all about the diagnostic/theraputic similarities between Long Covid and other autonomic disorders. Here's a preprint ya might find interesting.

Abstract Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and Long COVID are persistent multi-system illnesses affecting many patients. With no known effective FDA-approved treatments for either condition, patient-reported outcomes of treatments are invaluable for guiding management strategies in patient care and generating new avenues for research. Here, we present the results of an ME/CFS and Long COVID treatment survey with responses from 3,925 patients. We assessed the experiences of these patients with more than 150 treatments, as well as their demographics, symptoms, and comorbidities. Patients with each condition who participated in the study shared similar symptom profiles, including all the core symptoms of ME/CFS, e.g., 89.7% of ME/CFS and 79.4% of Long COVID reported post-exertional malaise (PEM). Treatments with the greatest perceived benefits were identified, which had varied effects on different core symptoms. In addition, treatment responses were significantly correlated (R² = 0.68) between the two patient groups. Patient subgroups with distinct profiles of symptoms and comorbidities showed varied responses to treatments, e.g., a POTS-dominant cluster benefiting from autonomic modulators and a cognitive-dysfunction cluster from CNS stimulants. This study underscores the symptomatic and therapeutic similarities between ME/CFS and Long COVID and highlights the commonalities and nuanced complexities of infection-associated chronic diseases and related conditions. Insights from patient-reported experiences, in the absence of approved treatments, provide urgently needed real-world evidence for targeted therapies in patient care and for developing future clinical trials.

(Disclaimer: The findings presented in this paper are based on patient-reported information and are intended for research purposes only. They should not be interpreted as medical advice. Patients are advised to consult their healthcare provider before initiating or altering any treatment.)

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

I have a couple questions. First, I have a story in mind about four neurodivergent queer teenagers facing their struggles and other conflict (it's very anime inspired and also inspired by Deltarune). 2 kids are autistic and the other 2 have ADHD, although I'm thinking about one of the kids with ADHD is also autistic. One of the characters also has PTSD. I'm mainly wondering if you have any sources about writing neurodivergent characters and writing about PTSD.

Secondly, your blog really helped me learned about autism and ADHD and made more convinced that I'm most likely autistic and that my parents yelled at in past (and present) because of my autistic traits. Do you have any good sources for parents (as well as me) to learn more about autism so that they won't have a stereotypical idea of what autism is like anymore and to convince them to get me diagnosed (since I'm a minor)

Thirdly, I have a question if struggling learning grammar of your mother language can related to autism? Because I kinda suck at grammar and when I try to learn grammar rules I don't really actually learn. ( I guess that my teachers in elementary in school didn't know how to teach). I also really want to write my story and possibly get it published eventually.

Lastly, in your profile it says that you like rocks and fossils, so what's your favorite rock/mineral? Because I also like rocks and fossils.

Hi there,

Question 1:

I think the concept of your story is very interesting (even if I haven’t played Deltarune). And when it comes to PTSD, it can affect both autism and ADHD. Neurodivergent Insights has some great Venn diagrams showing the similarities and differences between the two:

If you want, you can add some of your own traits or your friend’s to the characters, which might help some.

Question 2:

This is difficult to answer, as I don’t know you personally and haven’t seen your home life. But I have found some sources that could possibly help:

I found this Reddit post from r/autism that has some tips that could help too:

Hopefully these can help.

Question 3:

Since people learn things at vastly different rates, some may be very good with grammar and English (it was my favorite subject and I got an associate degree in it). While others may struggle. In one study I read, it said:

The first studies on grammar and autism, published in the early 1980s, suggested that syntax isn’t a particularly big problem for children with the disorder. This work found that children with autism learn grammar in the same way that typical children do, but at a slower rate, in line with their overall developmental delay.

Since then, a couple of studies have suggested the linguistic picture is much more nuanced. For example, one study showed that children with autism don’t use correct verb tenses. Another found that they produce less complex sentences than do typical children or those with developmental delays

The full article will be below:

In one other article I found, it stated:

Linguistic and cognitive abilities manifest huge heterogeneity in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Some children present with commensurate language and cognitive abilities, while others show more variable patterns of development. Using spontaneous language samples, we investigate the presence and extent of grammatical language impairment in a heterogeneous sample of children with ASD. Findings from our sample suggest that children with ASD can be categorized into three meaningful subgroups: those with normal language, those with marked difficulty in grammatical production but relatively intact vocabulary, and those with more globally low language abilities. These findings support the use of sensitive assessment measures to evaluate language in autism, as well as the utility of within-disorder comparisons, in order to comprehensively define the various cognitive and linguistic phenotypes in this heterogeneous disorder.

The full article will be below if you’d like to read it too:

Question 4:

I have lots of rocks that I think are pretty cool. One of my favorite minerals is bismuth due to its cool properties. My favorite rock type is igneous because it’s a rock from a volcano/molten rock and it has its own properties too.

Anyway, I hope those answer your questions. Thank you for the inbox. I hope you have a wonderful day/night. ♥️

[system-of-a-feather]

A bit off topic to the original post, thus me making a new post but I was looking at @thebestcrew and @the-orange-solace talking in the tags with a little from @korya-elana but it did have me somewhat wondering how a lot of terms that are used to try to describe experience / phenomenon within the overall concept of plurality / operating as more than one / operating as parts of a whole etc and sharing that experience with others might largely differentiate between the kind of different sorts of plural experiences out there - especially considering the widely varying ways / natures of those plural experiences.

It's something I'm honestly just kind of thinking about cause I personally see my parts (that were originally dissociated parts) and my story world + characters as both Parts of Me and Parts of My Whole, but in very different ways. And while I don't personally acknowledge that my story world + characters as a "plural" relationship, I DO acknowledge that had I not had a CDD and developed a CDD system, I could absolutely seeing the way I interact and understand those characters and the world as some form of an experience of plurality (as the characters made kind of authentically grow and act on their own within their universes and very much are direct aspects of myself exaggerated just a bit given life)

And so it does have me thinking a bit from an alternative perspective about the ideas of some of these interesting experiences such as shared mental worlds and spaces that can be had WITHOUT necessarily it being a metaphyiscal / spiritual thing OR it being system hopping or anything

Because over multiple years of writing this story - both of us having a history of extreme maladaptive daydreaming with the story - both me and my writing partner have this world that exists in our head and all the characters within it as well. I have "my" characters and he has "his" characters but only to the extent that those words define who knows those characters the best and which person those characters pull and thrive from and what not. Multiple times in the past though, when planning or discussing, we find that things in this shared world of ours inherently grows and syncs with one another - and I'm not saying this in some metaphysical spiritual or mystical way - but I think its incredibly cool how two people can very much develop such a detailed and vivid non-tangible entity that BOTH individuals can freely explore and often come to the same ideas and understandings.

And to that extent - for non-CDD systems - I do kind of wonder how the sharing, transmitting, and understanding of complicated untangible concepts really could hold a different perspective or value of interest than those with CDD. And on top of that, if even within non-CDD systems, the divide and difference between the subgroups particularly in relation to how much intention went into having plural experiences vs not and maladaptive daydreamers vs not and what not.

Just some open thoughts that I just kinda was having when reading that made me go hmmm

I'm honestly still extremely hesitant and uncomfortable with system hopping (especially as a CDD system / fused multiple, and honestly, even if there are different forms, there might be a better term than system hopping to prevent harm to vulnerable individuals if it was something other than what I understand it as), but I do think its kind of an interesting thought to consider.

[radiocmyk]

Hypothetical:

Imagine you are in a community of, idk, People Who Believe In Ghosts. Some of them really really believe in ghosts and they go ghost-hunting all the time and contribute a lot to the field of paranormal science, and some of them are people who for whatever reason can see ghosts and see a lot of ghosts regularly. You're in the former subgroup, but a lot of your close friends are in the latter so you're familiar with that group and are closer proximity to those particular intracommunity circles than most. Both subgroups should really have a lot to bond over but for some reason lately the former (yours) has been distancing themselves and throwing the latter under the bus and it's really been causing a rift in the overall community. You're of course willing to follow wherever your good friends go so of course you sort of end up on the side of the rift where most people can see ghosts, and you're one of the few who can't, but that's OK because you're really just here for the good discussion of paranormal stuff and you don't feel insecure. Maybe you do feel a sort of unspoken pressure as one of the few non-clairvoyant ghost-hunters who's willing to stand with the ghost-seers unconditionally when people are dicks to them.

In fact lately it's been kind of your brand to be the Non-clairvoyant Ghosthunter Who's Cool About Clairvoyants. Which is actually weighing on you almost as an issue because actually, you've sort of started to notice that you may actually see ghosts.

When you talk to your ghost-seeing friends it's really hard to relate because they see ghosts as full flesh-and-blood apparitions that can touch them and speak and shit. But it is starting to get impossible to deny that more and more you are able to tell when a house is haunted and you're starting to see these shades, which is scary to you since your friends and friends' friends often talk about how hard it is, to see ghosts and live a normal life.

It would be nice to be able to speak about this in these spaces you frequent. But you know you can't because not only are you Non-clairvoyant Ghosthunter Who's Cool About Clairvoyants and you've always made a strong point about how you DON'T SEE GHOSTS, you also know you cannot relate to most of the people who do, and if you say you see ghosts they'll expect you to be in the loop on absolutely everything and explaining how it's slightly different for you every single time will be exhausting. You've told your friends this in confidence, but continuing to interact with the larger community as if you can't see ghosts at all is tiring.

Not leading up to anything with this, just...

[tree-of-blue-squirrel]

Limbus company Ennagram

reading up on enneagram I find it pretty compelling to slot the sinners into to get their motivations and stuff so let´s go and assign different types of brokenness to them

Three clusters

There are 12 playable sinners, which would neatly split into three subgroups in accordance with enneagram types - I am taking the LocalScriptMan interpretation of Enneagram here, supplementing with information from other sources as needed (at th time of writing this, he has three more types to make videos on).

Head/fear cluster (5,6,7) - issues of existential dread, fear Heart/shame cluster (2,3,4) - issues of love and self worth Body/anger cluster (8,9,1) - issues of handling anger and boundaries

Going off of the Sinners´ vibes, they can be neatly places into three categories:

head cluster - Faust, Ishmael, Don Quixote, Outis

Faust slots into a fear cluster very seamlesly. She is pretty much a stereotypical 5, obsesse with hoarding all th knowledge so she is prepared for anything. The moment she loses it though ? Fear.

Ishmael similalry is very much fear based, to the point it being her kneejerk reaction to goign to the Lake. She does push through and become very angry, but that is basically her response to being put into situation she can´t run away from. Pretty solid 6 if you ask me.

Don is as close to a 7 as one can get. True, she does come close to being an 8 and perhaps her alt form is an 8 but base Don ? She runs away from her true self and her entire arc is most likely about confronting the uncomfortable truth of who and what she is.

Outis, as far as the cluster goes, is the least obvious. I originally had her slotted into a body cluster, but is later became clearer that she is more of a fear type that shoves is all under the rug and pretends to be tough (as evident her reactions in Railway 4 and TkT, which are so far some of the most breakown moments for her that lets her persona slip away, although briefly). Slotting her as a type 5 was not my first choice, however she does share the same sort of fear of being incompetent and in dire situations substitutes it be planning for every possible route, strategising her way out (didn´t work out much in canto 5, because she seems to have more theory than practise with sailing the Lake, being outmatched by Ishmael´s experience very early on in that journey)

heart cluster - Rodion, Hong Lu, Gregor, Meursault

Rodya is a type 4 and I WILL fight anyone on this who is going to disagree. She quite literally takes her shame of being inadequate and builds a shielding persona of unflappability ala Tyrion Lannister. She is obsessed with being original and unique, while disregarding her own actual identity because of it. When stressed, she dips into 2´s complex of being Unlovable (the Unloving is literally the name of her canto for crying out loud).

Compare that to Hong Lu. Poster child of Facade if there ever was one, deluding everyone including himself... but really just himself because his mask is slowly slipping as he talks about how his family treats him. He is frequently speaking of value and worth, in his Liu id even likening himself to a fancy tea. Very thematic, very type 3.

The most expressive of the shame squad as number 2, Gregor literally cannot hide his dislike for his bug arm as much as he tries to. Very obviously hates himself and thinks himself unlikeable because... well, bug arm. That lashes out randomly. He wants to break free from its influence, which is likely why he so often tries to connect to others by cracking jokes and being relatable AF in general.

Speaking of making others like you - there is Gregor, and then there is Meursault who just straight up gave up trying. If you don´t like him as he is, well, that´s that and this is this. Meursault just doesn´t give a flying fuck anymore, or at least tries to present as such. In th single moment of feeling something else than ennui, Meursault´s EGO briefly changes affinity from pride to gloom. Though I am not 100% on this, souns very much like type 2, a Gregor who just gave up trying to be friendly.

body cluster - Heathcliff, Sinclair, Yi Sang, Ryoshu

Heathcliff and angry - the two inseparable things. His ego briefly took on the wrath affinity, the angriest of the affinities. But anger isn´t the only thing he has. As type 1, he deems himself the main problem, to the point of one of his selves going on a killing spree across the multiverse, instead of talking to the woman he loves and face rejection. All because he resents her family and the place they grew up in. Try as he might, all Heathcliffs long for the one perfect timeline where Heathcliff and Cathy are happy together. But they are their own biggest enemy because emotional stability is one thing that pretty much every Heathcliff struggles with.

Sinclair doesn´t look like an anger type at first glance. He is cowardly, fearful wet cat that barely manages to face off against Kromer. That being said, he does have a bit of a psychological break during his canto, resulting in Don literally punching sense back into him. Sinclair´s actions in his canto are likewise motivated by anger, which is why in my eyes he is an 8. Very much vengeance themed canto and hey, Kromer is Lust themed creature, which just so happens to be 8´s biggest vice. Sinclair´s arc also deals wth loss of innocence, which is conveniently the corresponding virtue of type 8. It just fits.

Speaking of fitting, Yi Sang is type 9. Which is sloth on sloth on sloth. Inaction and refusal of self-assertion, striving to be whole again after being broken into pieces... I wonder where I seen that... (FLY BROKEN WINGS, I KNOW YOU ARE STILL WITH MEEEEEE...)

Ryoshu was a tricky one. Mostly because she fits into multiple spots pretty well. Also, we are yet to really see her have an emotional break. That being said, so far, when she expresses any emotion that isn´t her own flavor of masochistic craze, it is anger. And not just surface anger, but anger that runs in parallel with her familial attachments (see MotWe with the lines spoken by Cassetti). However, the boundaries do strike me as something that Ryoshu will have to confront in her canto, because it was her going beyond her own boundaries and following art orders in her source material as the artist who.... let things burn for the sake of art. I don´t actually know whether to slot her as an 8 or 1. Either would work in terms of placement, but personally, an 8 has a bit more kick to it and would mesh nicely with Ryoshu and Sinclair being so much on the same wave. (which also makes her a Wolverine type if LocalScriptMan is anything to go by which I personally think is fun af)

[worshipper-status]

Literally so happy because my God is actually excepting of my obsession, but I’d kinda like to know how to worship him better less directly? (Ie. tips on digital alters/general worship tips?)

An excuse to ramble! Thank you :D

Worshipper's Guide to Indirect Worship

This is going to be my sfw guide for less direct methods of contact and digital altars, I may make an nsfw guide at some point on my own as a counterpart to this but for now...

(long post below)

Digital Shrines

Digital shrines are a good format for indirect worship, because you can curate it from anywhere, and no one will know. Technically I have two digital altars but one is more a back up of the other. One is I have a folder on my computer that contains all the media of the shrine, and the shrine itself is on my personal discord server. Usually I separate the shrine itself into media, devotionals, personal devotionals, writings, and links by using different discord channels. The channels breakdown like this for me:

Media: photos and videos of solely them

Devotionals: images I find on the internet that I feel embody our relationship, media created by someone else. Also picrews usually

Personal Devotionals: Visual media I have personally made to embody our relationship and can take full credit for creating. (This is a specific folder I made just to keep my art and others art separate)

Writings: Poems, songs, rambles, gushing, fantasies, etc. Any thought you have about them that's important enough to write down, put it here.

Links: I use this as a dumping ground for ideas I got from articles, purchases I want to make, or anything that requires a link to something else but directly relates to my worship of My Goddess.

Tumblr can also be a general dumping grounds kind of shrine, where I would not be too honest tbh, but it's a start. I prefer keeping my shrines private for the most part. My general advice is to stay away from tumblr for everything because you're not going to feel 1000% comfortable expressing your worship to its full extent because of the possibility of it being found by strangers. Also some things are just tmi to be honest. I have writings in my folder documenting times me and My Goddess have banged in detail so I don't forget. Tumblr doesn't need that kind of detail on here. So try and keep shrines at least somewhat private for your own sake. People are dicks.

As for advice for things to do to worship indirectly (and this goes hand in hand with the shrine a little bit) here's a list with general advice and ideas:

Scrapbook/Junk Journal about them (I'm biased this is a personal favorite of mine). Get a notebook, some scrapbook supplies, and either dedicate it to photos of your beloved or journal about any time you guys interact in ways that feel meaningful to you! I keep one physical scrapbook that I use for collages for My Goddess's photos, and am planning to start a junk journal for more writing purposes. I'll probably solely be using it to write about personal interactions with My Goddess, and on slower days, things I love about Her in general. It's both kinda a traditional journal and a part of my obsessive behaviors. You can also do stuff like this digitally with moodboard and collage makers like Canva which have free options.

Document about them. This is kinda vague so I'll explain. As part of my shrine, I have a document I'm building dedicated to bullet note points about My Goddess. If She randomly drops a fact on me about Her childhood, or Her interests. I write it down there so I don't forget. I want to be a good worshipper so I want to be an expert in everything about Her. I usually use a note taking app for this that I can organize into subgroups. Notion is a favorite of mine (despite them selling their soul to the AI overlords sigh) because it allows a lot of creative freedom in organizing the documents AND it's linked to my email so I can't lose it. Obviously, a google doc will accomplish the exact same thing, however my entire personality type is best described as extra, so I have to do things with extra effort at all times.

Write for them. This is where my pagan background kicks in a little bit, but in certain pagan traditions, especially stuff like Hellenic Polytheism, writing hymns or poems or songs for the gods was very important to their practices. So why not write those things for your God? It doesn't need to be shared, it can be bad, it can be whatever it wants to be. What I usually do, is I write poems for My Goddess, and keep them in my junk journal or digital shrine, depending on if I'm working physically or digitally, and if I'm feeling brave I'll share it with Her, but most times, they stay hidden in the depths of my shrine stuff.

Biggest overall piece of advice, create for them. Nothing shows devotion, quite like the personal experience of making something for someone else even if they never see it. Honor the Gods with the act of Creation, ya know?? It doesn't even have to require you to be good at drawing or whatever. Are you someone who gardens? Name a plant after them. Like makeup? Figure out what makeup styles they prefer on your chosen gender and wear those all the time, even if they're not there to see. Sewing? Make a stuffed animal of them. Speed runs? Dedicate every run to them, create a record for them. It can be as big or as mundane as you want and none of it has to be outwardly expressed to the other person. Just dedicate whatever hobby you have to them, and suddenly you'll have tons of shrine material.

Now for the quick part, of this!

General Worship Tips! (These are more indirect tho)

When getting dressed, pick outfits you know they'll appreciate. (Just please don't sacrifice your personal style for this)

Capitalize their name/title no matter what. They deserve the respect of one extra button push.

Write letters, even if you live close, even if you see them everyday, and even if you never send them. Use this as a format to express your emotions unbarred.

Save every photo they send you of themselves. If you need to edit people out of the photo do it, but you better be saving every instance of themselves they give you.

Fill your space with things that express yourself yes, but also have stuff that reminds you of them. Do they have a favorite animal? Buy those kinds of stuffed animals. They say they like certain types of aesthetics? Put some of that decor in your space.

I don't paint my nails, but if you do, paint them their favorite color.

Have dedicated jewelry pieces for them. While My Goddess did not give it to me, I have a memory of them associated with a bracelet I wear every single day. You can just buy a piece of jewelry and assign it as a symbol to them. They don't have to know.

Interact with their interests, with passion. Do your best to care about everything they care about. It'll give you guys tons of stuff to do, and help you understand them better.

Make pinterest boards dedicated to certain moments you want i.e. first date, wedding, future house/apartment dreams, pets you want with them, nursery room ideas, etc.

Make playlists dedicated to them.

Alright that's all I really have for right now! I hope some of this advice has been helpful and at the very least legible lol. I hope everything with you and your God goes well! If you want any more advice do not be afraid to ask me more questions :)

[silenceofthewave]

hc 🗡🎡🚬📿

- weapons headcanon 🗡️

After its reformat, the datacables became Soundwave's main weapon. The datacables' primary functions relate to its intelligence gathering role, but when its battle protocols are online, the cables act as conductors for powerful electric shocks. Soundwave can control the ampage it uses, and calibrates it based on target size, basic scans, plating and frame type. The cables' electricity can be used to kill, but it prefers to disable them than outright murder. The murder comes later.

The cables are also prehensile, so they can twist and choke and restrain; all of that is common knowledge.

It also has access to an arm blaster, but it prefers not to use it; the thing takes up way too much energy for what could be considered economical. Megatron insisted that Soundwave at least have some kind of blaster for its protection, much to its chagrin.

Before its reformat, Soundwave had access to powerful sonic cannons that were situated on its arms, much like how Megatron's fusion cannon is. These cannons elicited powerful sonic waves that were capable of disorentation, stunning an opponent, and even knocking them over if they were a lighter frame or already on unsure footing.

Soundwave has always been a little...weird, even before its reformat into its stealth frame. Its sonic cannons and datacables were as "technologically advanced" as its personal combat got. It prefers hand to hand combat, sometimes with a weapon, but usually with its servos.

Speaking of servos, they transform into talons when its battle protocols are online. What's the point of long spindly digits on a cryptid if you're not going to go full feral with them?

- hobby themed headcanon 🎡

Soundwave actually really enjoys music. All kinds of music, from Cybertronian to Earthling, to other species they have come in contact with.

Because of this, it has a massive personal database of music that it has collected.

The database is sorted several different ways, mostly because Soundwave finds sorting data into quantifiable groups, subgroups, and lists very relaxing. Some of these groups are sorted by species, types of music, musical crossover between species, instrumentals, and ambiance.

Along with these groups, it also just has regular playlists (theres a big difference between the two!). The playlists are mish mashed of all types of music, and they fit certain moods, certain tasks, whatever it desires. If it is feeling something very particular, it has at least 15 playlists to choose from. It also likes to listen to these internally whenever someone like Starscream is ranting incessantly at it, and it needs to drown out his blathering.

- bad habit headcanon 🚬

Soundwave picks at its biolights when its Especially nervous. It only does this when its alone, never in front of anyone else. It would show weakness, and that there is a person behind the visor; neither of those things suit its purpose.

But, when its alone, and things are going terribly, it will pick and pick. Sometimes the biolights will break. Theyre an easy enough fix for its internal repair systems, so its not really an issue. But it does hurt, and that brings it focus.

- faith themed headcanon 📿

Soundwave only believes in Primus simply because it cannot find any other logical explanation for the Primes, the Allspark and the Matrix of Leadership. Its a begrudging acknowledgment of the diety that forged it, but nothing more.

It hated the organized religion around Primus and the original Primes with a fervor. It was oppressive, it was intended to keep the masses in line, and worst of all, none of it was true.

It detests the way that mechs and mecha will worship the ground that the Primes walk on, as if the Primes weren't determined by the very same mechs that oppress them.

Soundwave has a complicated relationship with religion, and it prefers not to think about any of it too deeply. It's in fact grateful that with the destruction of Cybertron came the destruction of the stain that was the Church of Primus. That was possibly the only good thing that came from losing its planet.

[manie-sans-delire-x]

@sharedinsanitea

What I learned on the neurology of conduct disorder (and related)! Thanks for the suggestion!!

In short, Yes, children with CD do have a different brain makeup from a healthy neurotypical child.

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

Neurology of Conduct Disorder 

Early onset (EO) vs Adolescent onset (AO) (before/after age 10)

-Psychologists used to think EO-CD had a neuro-developmental basis, like autism, whereas AO-CD was thought to be caused by "social mimicry of deviant peers" (calling someone a deviant will never not be funny to me)

-But!! This was shown to be incorrect! Both have neurological abnormalities, spanning all four lobes and both cortical and subcortical regions. There is no marked difference between EO and AO.

Frontal lobe abnormalities (of course, predictable)

"Lower total surface area across the cortex in 26 of 34 individual regions, two of which showed significant changes in cortical thickness."

Lower volume in several subcortical brain regions, including the amygdala, hippocampus and thalamus

"The associations with brain structure did not differ between boys and girls and were seen across conduct disorder subgroups based on age of onset and level of prosocial traits. Youth who exhibited signs of a more severe form of the disorder, indicated by a low level of empathy, guilt, and remorse, showed the greatest number of brain changes."

-Except!! One difference was noted. That EO-CD also showed amygdala hypofunction in relation to sad expressions, unlike AO-CD 

Since it's so related, I compared CD and PTSD too.

CD and PTSD 

Majority of individuals (72.9%) diagnosed with both conduct disorder and PTSD developed conduct disorder symptoms before PTSD symptoms (unexpected!)

CD symptoms may create or increase traumatic/abusive situations, put child at higher risk/exposure to developing PTSD

(Study they did on teens with CD, some with EO, some with AO, where they were asked to identify facial expressions:)

Adolescents with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms are more likely to misidentify sad and angry faces as fearful, while teens with symptoms of conduct disorder tend to interpret sad faces as angry

“Higher levels of PTSD symptoms were associated with less accurate identification of angry faces compared with fearful and sad faces; specifically, youth with greater PTSD symptoms were more likely to mistake sad and angry emotions for fear.

In contrast, teens with conduct disorder were more likely to misidentify sad faces, but did not have trouble recognizing angry or fearful faces. Conduct disorder symptoms were associated with mistaking sadness for anger, suggesting that youth with higher levels of conduct disorder interpret sad faces as angry and may be less effective at recognizing others' sadness, pain, and suffering.

"Difficulty interpreting displays of sadness and misidentifying sadness as anger may contribute to the impaired affective bonding, low empathy, and callous behavior observed in teens with conduct disorder.” 

[albertonykus]

With recent advances in genetic sequencing and analysis, we now have a pretty good idea of how most modern vertebrate animals are related to each other. One of the biggest remaining mysteries in vertebrate evolution (and a major theme of my own research), however, is the relationships among the major groups of living birds.

There are some things that we all agree on about the bird family tree (which in some cases were already recognized before the rise of genetic studies), a big one being that modern birds can be divided into two major branches: Palaeognathae (ostriches, emus, and their close relatives) and Neognathae (all other living birds). Neognathae is in turn divided into Galloanserae (chickens, ducks, and their close relatives) and Neoaves (all remaining birds, which constitute 95% of living bird diversity).

Despite birds being one of the most intensely studied animal groups, however, essentially none of the large-scale genetic analyses that have been done on them so far have agreed with each other regarding how the major groups within Neoaves are related.

A new study by Stiller et al. (2024) might represent a big step forward in solving this mystery. Their results suggest that Neoaves can be divided into four major groups.

Mirandornithes: Flamingos and grebes. Stiller et al. found that all other members of Neoaves are probably more closely related to each other than to this group.

Columbaves: Consisting of two major subgroups, Otidimorphae (cuckoos, bustards, and turacos) and Columbimorphae (pigeons, sandgrouse, and mesites). Notably, Columbimorphae has been found by some earlier studies to be more closely related to Mirandornithes, but a second paper that was published on the same day by some of the same authors as Stiller et al. (2024) reported evidence that this previous result was probably caused by misleading similarities between the genetic sequences of Columbimorphae and Mirandornithes.

Elementaves: Consisting of Gruiformes (cranes and their close relatives), Charadriiformes (shorebirds), Strisores (hummingbirds, swifts, nightjars, and their close relatives), Phaethoquornithes (many waterbirds, including penguins, albatrosses, and herons), and the engimatic hoatzin. The exact relationships among these groups are still somewhat unclear; for example, Stiller et al. found the hoatzin to be most closely related to gruiforms and shorebirds (as had been suggested by an earlier study), but support for this result was not high. The hoatzin remains the single most difficult bird species to place in the bird family tree. The name Elementaves was newly coined by Stiller et al., referring to the fact that this group includes species specialized for life in the water, on the ground, and in the air (corresponding to the classical elements of water, earth, and air), as well as birds named after the sun ("fire"), such as the tropicbird genus Phaethon (Ancient Greek for "sun") and the sunbittern. This means that there is now a scientific basis for parodying Avatar: The Last Airbender using birds.

Telluraves: A big group consisting primarily of tree-dwelling birds, including songbirds, parrots, woodpeckers, kingfishers, and the various groups of birds of prey. An interesting result found by Stiller et al. is that owls are likely closely related to accipitrimorphs (hawks, eagles, vultures, etc.), which not all previous genetic studies had supported.

Stiller et al. (2024) provide further evidence for some bird relationships found by earlier analyses, but their results still doesn't exactly match those of any single previous study, so what makes this different from all those attempts that came before it? One is the amount of data. The genetic dataset analyzed by Stiller et al. was many times larger (both in terms of sequence length and the types of genes examined) than any study of this sort that had previously been done on birds. They also included over 360 bird species, which is more than what most previous studies had. Furthermore, they ran numerous tests to determine how the amount of data, number of species, and types of genes analyzed affected their findings, and in doing so were able to show that most of their results were relatively robust, or at least better supported than alternative hypotheses.

Another point of contention regarding the evolution of Neoaves is when the group originated. Were there already many neoavian lineages around during the Late Cretaceous, or did they mostly diversify following the mass extinction event that ended it? In the 2000s and early 2010s, studies trying to estimate the ages of bird groups based on rates of genetic evolution tended to find an older origin for Neoaves, but the majority of newer studies favor a younger origin, with most or all modern neoavian groups appearing after the Cretaceous (though one paper from earlier this year by a different team of authors advocated for older ages). Informed by recent studies on fossil birds, the results of Stiller et al. add further support for a more recent, mainly post-Cretaceous diversification of Neoaves (which I happen to think is more plausible than deep Cretaceous origins).

This almost certainly won't be the last word on these controversies by any means. However, at the moment I'm willing to tentatively consider Stiller et al. (2024) the closest we've gotten to approximating the true family tree of birds, and that is not a declaration I'd make lightly.

[granulesofsand]

Plural Pride

🗝️🏷️ RAMCOA, (child) maltreatment

Plural Pride is important. All systems deserve representation in media, medicine, and community. I’m going to talk about what Plural Pride means to me as a person in a particular kind of multiple system.

We cannot function as a singlet. We don’t plan on trying to, and we certainly don’t plan on becoming one.

To us, our multiplicity means we are elaborated individuals. Each full alter has their own facets, parts, and characteristics. Many of us also have subsystems, systems in a system. Each of us is as complex as a singlet, and our otherworld allows us to gain experience via variations of external memories.

Nothing about us is natural. Down to our genetics, our parents were paired by our group of origin. Our system was created and controlled, and there is no world in which we exist and are not a system. Despite their best efforts, we are not ashamed or covert.

We were intended to be a partitionary system; our memory barriers are high, so we don’t share anything on accident. Our leaks are usually pain, and only when the pained alters are in the fronting realm. We have always been aware of others, but not aware of what those others were.

Having worked on communication and memory management at front, we are something of a split polyconscious system. Our numerous subgroups interact differently amongst themselves, but our most common dynamic between alters of different groups is of different selves taking each other’s place. We think separately in headspace (our Dome fronting realm), and do not often remember our time in the also separate otherworld.

All of these things make us each a full person. We all have multiple skills, preferences, traits, that are apparently no different than a singlet of our age. This is important to us, and is integral to how we relate to the external shared reality.

For us to be outwardly Plural, we require individuality. We encourage singlets to treat us as different people, not as parts of one whole.

Our friends know how to come to the fronting alter about someone else, how to involve other alters in conflict between them and one of us, what to expect of each of the ones they know. They’re closer to some than others, and they respect when the fronters doesn’t want to spend time with them.

Our care team knows how to manage our meds and individual health conditions when we switch. They understand which of us will be the most helpful for collecting information about the body, which have the worst symptoms, the poor reactions each of us has had. They address us differently depending on who’s out.

Our professors know who does their class, how to use positive triggers to get that person out when they need to talk, which of us have the abilities someone else needs to complete an assignment. They accommodate our dissociation to keep it from being disordered.

Our system is not the problem. We are proud to be plural, proud to have survived as we did. Plurality is more than adaption, but it absolutely is that too.

We still have high amnesia. We still have persecutory alters. We still lose time and get hurt. We are living as people, and we are alive.

We’re functional and thriving as a system, without having to blend or fuse or get rid of our dissociation. Our goal is still freedom, not functionality, and we got there on the way.

We should not have been trafficked, tortured, or programmed. But we are not the problem for surviving it. We are enough, we are whole, we are plural.