intertwined, sewn together …

I had a really fun time doing AF this year! Hopefully I can get more attacks in next year ^_^

Attacks in order: @inkybee4 , Silent , Ozz , @stuffedsand , @saint--valentine , @eligobrrrrr , @amugoffandoms , @rorros-doodles , @pallorette

you have this breath weapon! (also you're a dragon)

close up under the cut because i want to show off but i feel like tumblr destroyed the quality

[PT: Types of Special Interests /end PT]

We've found that we experience special interests differently depending on the interest in question. We've been meaning to speak on our experiences on this publicly for a while, and hopefully these categories are of use to others as well. It's worth noting that, as is common with this sort of categorization, these experiences can overlap a lot, and we welcome others to share their own experiences that may not fall under the umbrellas described/named here.

[PT: Sensory VS Informational SP/INs. End PT]

(NOTE: These categories were defined by The Pillowfort System on TikTok, but we gave them names and refined the definitions a bit to better suit our needs.)

The categories described in this section refer to how one interacts with the given interest.

Sensory SP/INs- Special interests that one primarily interacts with through sensory-seeking behaviour.

Personal example: Music, which we primarily interact with through listening to it, stimming to it, etc., instead of learning more about the artist(s) we listen to, music theory, etc.

Informational SP/INs- Special interests that one primarily interacts with through information-seeking behaviour.

Personal example: Pokémon, which we primarily interact with through learning more about the story of the games, how the games work, etc.

Foundational vs Regulatory vs Exciting SP/INs

[PT: Foundational vs Regulatory vs Exciting SP/INs. End PT]

The categories described in this section refer to what role the interest takes in one's life. Thank you to @emailmeurheart for help naming the last category in this section.

Foundational SP/INs- Special interests that are foundational to how one thinks about and understands things. Inspired by the idea that special interests are a lens through which one sees the world.

Personal example: Videogames; it's easier to understand/internalize concepts if they're explained through video game terms. Using the lens metaphor again, Pokémon, being a sub-SP/IN (a term that will be defined further down), is akin to wearing your exact prescription, as opposed to one that is simply close enough.

Regulatory SP/INs- Special interests that help regulate one's mood. It's akin to how dopamine is a quick hit of happiness, as opposed to serotonin being more like a steady stream of happiness, where regulatory interests are akin to serotonin.

Personal example: Pokémon; we find that our mental health gets… weird if we don't interact with Pokémon in some capacity pretty regularly. We don't need to have an extended play session, simply a short video can help tide us over.

Exciting SP/INs- Special interests that help boost one's mood. Continuing the dopamine VS serotonin metaphor, these function as dopamine.

Personal example: Steven Universe; we don't need frequent interaction with it to stay at our normal state of being, but interaction with it makes us very happy, and can help snap us out of bouts of depression and the like.

Additional Terminology

[PT: Additional Terminology. End PT]

Sub-SP/INs- A special interest that stemmed from another, broader special interest. This doesn't make it a smaller or less intense SP/IN, simply more specific.

Personal example: We started with a SP/IN in video games as a whole, and later developed a SP/IN in Pokémon.

Featuring coffiicorgii, esprei, @purple-boi-clefairy-god, mepomepo, saint--valentine ! Yes I accidentally used 3 esprei aus by accident. I do not know if the rest want to be tagged and I am nervous. Gulp.