#asksygbarne

[loominggaia]

darkwingphoenix As an autistic person (Also the one who looked at Skylie for 2 seconds and said Me), I'd say Sygbarne fits low functioning autism pretty well! (Hedge says High Maintenance, me says Low Functioning... I guess we just learned different terminology? Still, Sygbarne fits) Also, she specifically seems like my cousin, who's actually Low Functioning as well! Autism seems to run on my dad's side of the family. Although luckily for him, my cousin wasn't locked in a tower while quacks strung my aunt and uncle on. I should also mention I have two cousins like this. Both on my dad's side, and both are cousins to each other. Both are pretty low IQ (I don't know how low, but definitely less than a 5th grader. Maybe)

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Thank you for your experienced input, this stuff is so valuable to me! If the shoe fits, then I will go ahead and say low functioning/high maintenance autism is officially Sygbarne's condition.

Story-wise, I need a condition that impairs her ability to learn language (so that she can't call for help or explain herself effectively) but still allows her to yell (to pique Blomi's curiosity). I need her to have poor control over her own behavior, so even once she's free from her tower, her rescuers have a hard time keeping her safe as they transport her somewhere where she can be taken care of properly (the main adventure of the story involves chasing after her as she gets into all kinds of trouble).

Sygbarne is not a bad person and she's not trying to be "difficult", she's just literally never been outside her tower before. She was born there and her parents intend for her to grow old and die there. I imagine the open world is equally overwhelming and exciting for her. I think seeing the world of Looming Gaia through her eyes would be super interesting, so I want her story to be focused around that concept.

Some form of autism with intellectual disability seems to fit the bill. If she has autism-related sensory issues, it may explain why she frequently runs away or attacks people. She's not malicious at all, she's just struggling with a health condition and never got the proper help to manage it.

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[loominggaia]

......what the hell does Centaur furniture look like?? You mentioned the trough toilet thingy, but what about normal sitting chairs or couches? Or beds. I assume Olof and the other Drifters Hollow Centaurs sleep on hair or something, but what about rich Centaurs like the Folkvaren Royal Family? (Ten bucks says Sygbarne has straps on her bed.)

That's a very good question, but the answer may disappoint you...centaurs actually don't use furniture! Well, they do, but not in the way that most other peoples do.

Chairs are not really a "thing" in centaur households. Some may own a few chairs or even a couch for their non-centaur guests, but the centaurs themselves just sit on the floor. When they go to restaurants, centaurs move the chairs aside to sit or lay down in front of the table.

The average centaur's couch is called a "sitting area", and it usually consists of pelts, rugs, and pillows arranged into a nest on the floor. Wealthier centaurs might have a large mattress to lounge on, while poor centaurs just use a pile of hay. The same principle applies to their beds.

I imagine the Folkvaran royal family sleeps on nothing less than the finest fur pelts and Morite silks. Due to this species' weight, bedframes are not very practical so they're rarely used. Instead, mattresses may be stacked on top of eachother for extra height.

A centaur's weight also means they can't just get any random mattress. They need one made specifically for heavyweight species, so it won't sag and go flat after a week. These are made out of tougher materials and are a lot more expensive. They also buy special tables that can withstand their weight when they lean on them, and that may be a taller height than standard tables.

Centaur dwellings in general have taller furnishings like cabinets and door handles. Doorways are taller, and so are the ceilings. Rooms tend to be spacious and open without much furniture, so they're not constantly bumping their big horse-asses into things. A standard human house would feel claustrophobic to a centaur.

As for Sygbarne...yeah, I can imagine her family strapping her down "for her own safety" (in reality, for their own convenience...). But since she would not have a bed frame, I think she would be strapped to the floor instead. I think her room would be sparsely-furnished, even by centaur standards. Her family's logic being: the less things she has, the less things she can destroy. She probably has a mattress and some toys, and not much else. Her other possessions like clothing would be kept away from her until she needed them.

Sygbarne's room would be pretty abnormal, but the rest of her family would have exactly what you'd expect from rich centaurs.

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[loominggaia]

*slams fists on table* FREE SYGBARNE!

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[loominggaia]

What does Sygbarne do in her little room all day? Her story is so sad. :( Tell me she at least has a treadmill or something?

The way she's treated is sad! But I think one day things will change and her life will be very different...

If it makes you feel any better, I don't think Sygbarne's room is small, I imagine it's actually quite large. It's not even a bedroom, it's the entire top floor of a tower, so there is some space for her to run around and get some exercise. Sort of like a gymnasium, I guess.

It's not an empty space either. Her parents are rich and they have spared no expense on her. The tower is full of toys fit for a centaur: Giant stuffed animals, big foam blocks, ramps to run on, hoops to jump through, and probably one of those yoga ball things:

But it's still not humane to keep her cooped up in there, and she would certainly be better off if she was free. A million expensive toys can't replace freedom or love.

(You just know she's beaned the shit out of a few quack doctors with that yoga ball though, lol...)

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[loominggaia]

I chose Sygbarne in the poll (even tho Lilian/Lily is my fav) because she's the most helpless. Like the others could escape by themselves if they really wanted to but there is no way she could.

You know, I never thought of it that way, but that's a really good point!

Personally I chose Mr. Ocean because I thought he would have the most potential to make the world a better place if he was free...then I remembered that he actually made the world worse by enslaving a bunch of dorikori and red elves, and now I regret my choice lol. This is such a tough one!

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[loominggaia]

Digamos que de algún manera sigbarme es secuestradas, y que de algún manera termina en drifter hollow, ¿Que pasaría?

(Translated with Google Translator)

Let's say that somehow Sigbarme gets kidnapped, and somehow ends up in drifter hollow, what would happen?

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Fun question! I think Sygbarne would immediately be attracted to the lake because it's such a scenic place. The problem is, she never learned how to swim. She would make a beeline for the water without understanding how dangerous it is, and worse yet, she would not understand why the villagers keep pulling her away from it.

This would really frustrate her, and she would probably end up attacking the people trying to help her. Not because she's malicious, but because she doesn't understand why they won't let her do what she wants. She just thinks they're being mean to her for no reason.

If anyone can calm her down, it's Elska. Her strong, confident presence would be a comfort to Sygbarne, and also, Elska is a shaghoof like herself. Elska has physical and cultural features that are similar to Sygbarne's family, so I imagine she would feel more at home around her.

Sygbarne would probably follow Elska around until the Freelance Good Guys could find full-time care for her. If she couldn't return to her family, they might ask Jelani and Azura for help placing her in a Matuzan nursing facility.

Sygbarne needs 24/7 care that no one in the Hollow can reasonably provide, and the Hollow itself is not a safe place for her anyway. She could get lost in the woods or attacked by an animal very easily, so I think a Matuzan nursing home would be the best place for her. She would get much more freedom and better care there than her parents ever gave her.

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[loominggaia]

idk why it just hit me that sygbarne is a literal princess stuck in a tower. muah. amazing. idk if ive said this before but i find her character concept really compelling... here's to her being able to live a fulfilling life in the future :')

Exactly! She's just waiting for her knight(s?) in shining armor to save her.

I would like to give Sygbarne a happy fairytale ending as well. I don't quite have the details worked out yet, just some vague ideas as of now.

Thank you so much! I'm glad you like her!

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[loominggaia]

How much of Sygbarne's delays are from her condition and how much from her isolation? I can't help but wonder if she could have turned out much more independent had she not been isolated.

That's a darn good question...I think she would definitely be in much better shape if she wasn't isolated. As it is, there have been no attempts to socialize or educate her, because her parents assumed there was no point in trying until her delays were "cured". Their understanding of her condition is very poor.

Sygbarne communicates mostly in grunts and shrieks, maybe with a word here and there, but she can't string words together to form sentences. If her parents bothered to educate her, I think she would be speaking much better. Not as articulately as an adult, but perhaps a small child.

Being able to speak would lessen her frustration overall, which would probably improve her behavior. In her current state, she often freaks out and attacks people because they do things to upset her, but she's unable to tell them what those things are. All she can do is hit them and hope they get the point.

Sygbarne's social life is a joke. She only gets brief visits from her parents and quack treatments from doctors. She has never had the chance to form meaningful relationships with anyone, so she has no idea how to behave around people. I assume she also has sensory issues from being locked in the same damn room her whole life, which has lowered her tolerance for any kind of stimulus. Anyone would lose their mind in this environment and start to act out.

With all this in mind, it's safe to say she would see massive improvements if her parents simply treated her with basic decency. I'm going to say her condition is probably 50% genetic and 50% environmental.

However, I don't think it's too late for Sygbarne. Even if she escapes that room and gets proper care in her 20s, I believe she can still make huge leaps of progress, both socially and intellectually. She's a very strong-willed person.

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