I'm So Interested, Seems Like Fragments Usually Only Encompass One Emotion Or Event But He Has Multiple!

I've now had two (2) dreams in the past week about pulling together my cosplay in public, help

I've joined the server and oh, it is so busy-

I've registered for othercon; actually genuinely excited to see what the community is like, given how little interaction I've had with it thus far 💖

Why is it so much more painful this time? I can barely look myself in the mirror, the disconnect is so great; the short term memory gaps seem to be less often but that's also been a new manifestation. There were definitely times in the past where I'd been jarred by the face I see in the reflection but it's never been quite like this.

Something absolutely ineffable about the down periods that bring him out, melancholic through and through

Been thinking about my tag system and am likely going to use some emojis! I'll move a few more posts over here before I solidify it, but I do have a plan!

Was thinking a bit on main this morning about how my kin identity can be used as a litmus test regarding whether or not I feel like someone can fully respect me.

On a surface level, it's almost silly, oh it's this guy? The butterfly that cried glitter and screamed all the time, who was awful and mean and nasty towards the end? Well, yes. That is indeed the surface level of this, I saw everything he did that make people cringe, and yet there was still that element of resonance. Once I feel like the more jokey part of this is accepted, that's when I feel I can pull the curtains back and begin to show some of the psychological horror that underlies this.

To show what I've discussed in therapy, to talk about how a large theme of my connection is the idea of servitude and how I was forced into that position for my family, how I wasn't able to form an identity outside of this predetermined role and how I was to perform it to the best of my ability, and how any deviation was punished, to the point where I held these standards to myself and would pull myself apart when I couldn't meet them. To show how deep this truly runs carries a certain type of despair, not necessarily for myself, but to really show someone else what this means to me and how it is such a vital part of myself.

It's for sure a certain type of intimacy, it puts me in a vulnerable position on every front; on the surface I could be made fun of, in which case I laugh along and maybe even retract a statement or two, and on a deeper level it blows my trauma wide open and exposes a lot of the most damaging things I experienced. It's an odd place to be, but I'm not upset by it. People who are aware of it don't necessarily bring it up unless I talk about it, which in and of itself is a rare occasion. That stands in comparison with actually seeing myself be called Shai, something which only one person has done, and it has delighted me to no end.

I feel that the odder aspects of myself need to be things that will be met with respect. As someone who grew up trans, queer, and neurodivergent, I've been seeking that kind of respect for quite some time. When it does come, it's almost always from those who share a trait with me. I enjoy the bonding, and of course enjoy the respect, but I just wish it was something more easily seen; to just grant someone in the margins respect and decency.

Today, May 27th, marks a very big personal event for me, one that triggered a lot of awakening as far as kin is concerned, so I thought that it would be in the spirit to draw a few tarot cards in honor. They're meant to be read clockwise, with the four points representing my past (life), my rebirth and awakening, my current present, and my future. I also always draw a final card under the question of "is there anything else you would like to tell me?"

What I've interpreted here is:

My past - Reversed Ace of Swords. Loss, powerlessness, failure. I wouldn't deny it, there was absolutely a struggle to do what felt right and an immediate fall flat. Failure indeed.

My Rebirth - Reversed Seven of Cups. Grounded, realistic, achievable dreams. Passing over the threshold from idealistic to realistic, no longer able to sustain in fantasy but needing to give myself something attainable; a much more grounded attitude in this life.

My Present - Reversed Page of Swords. Lack of vigilance, sluggishness. A lack of alertness because I don't need it anymore, no longer forced to sustain myself on pure adrenaline, as in both in the distant past and in my current lived past as well; calming down in a sense.

My Future - Reversed Three of Wands. Weakness, lack of knowledge. I believe this is referring to my immediate future - I am moving out of a household with a roommate who I greatly struggle to communicate with due to a variety of factors that make them unreceptive to communication; I haven't encountered a situation where I'm free to walk away, nor have I thought through how I will formally tell them, so this draw feels appropriate for such a new situation.

Extra - The Empress. Action, progress, attainment. Though I struggle now, the struggle will be found to be worth my time; my efforts shall not be wasted.

It's the question almost of asking what exactly he is to me - a word, a phrase, a term to encompass, with the full knowledge that there simply may not be one.

Kin or fictive, for certain, but also with the presence as an f/o as well; the actual relationship I have with this character is muddled but he's remained an ever-present force in my life and I simply would not trade my experience for the world.

I want to be associated with him, I want people to see him and immediately think of me, I know it's what I've wanted for quite some time, and the amount of love that has come from my interactions with him speaks volumes about him and what he means to me.

I suppose there simply may not be any one answer. That's something I've come to terms with and have accepted. But, it does interest me so greatly to see how this has grown and developed.

I love being a psychological kin who later went spiritual, I love this man, I am this man, I've dissected his psyche and found myself and I was always meant to have found myself, I don't recognize myself in seeing him but I sometimes expect to see him when I look in the mirror.

I am doing the strangest, most intimate waltz with this character and I would have it no other way.