#os chat

[twodiamondhoes]

Jim is taking the piss out of OS!Ranchers in DMs right now and it's got me absolutely cackling

[twodiamondhoes]

how do people learn all their names in the only silver universe? are they given their names at birth like human children, or are they just something that they instinctively know, or something else?

Oh this is SUCH a good question, Mars!!

So this is actually a question I've asked myself a lot regarding the concept of faeries true names in fiction since I was young, and when I was starting this fic I didn't want to get too in the weeds with it. I wanted there to be the three-tier name system because I am a sucker for the intimacy of handing out your true name, and I wanted an excuse for Jimmy to be called "Solidarity" because I'd recently watched... Idk it was one of the game streams, maybe an MCC, where one of Jimmy's teammates called him "Solidarity" instead of Jimmy and it threw me for SUCH a loop that I had to turn the stream off XD

But now that we've gone full worldbuilding central, I have a genuine answer for this!

Putting it under a cut because I got lost in the worldbuilding sauce and explained all three of the name tiers oopsie

In the Only Silver universe, before a fae is born, one of their parents gets a dream of their true name. Once they're born, they whisper the name to the child and promptly forget what it was. It's such a known way of life that no one really thinks about it, or why it happens. It's just "always been that way." Except... it hasn't. Before they died, True Names were understood to be gifts from the gods. There wasn't a three-name system, because everyone used the name given to them by the gods. No one would dream of misusing such a thing, so there was no worry of someone using a True Name against another fae.

Now that they're separated in the cultural consciousness, only the truly religious "remember" the origin of a true name.

Bond Names and Use Names evolved as a natural consequence of losing that direct connection to the gods. The fae needed a way to refer to one another, and the layers of the societies that sprung up eventually became the three-tier name system. Bond names are a secondary layer of trust, and they're the closest thing most people get to handing out their true names. It's a level of intimacy that is reserved for family, really close friends, and, if you're Jimmy, the core of the Citadel, because he's extending his name as a courtesy to the Winter Court as a way of showing gratitude for Tango saving him. He's essentially welcomed most of the inner court as his family at this point. There's a reason Tango was so shocked at first and why Etho was so against accepting it for as long as he could hold out. It's something that really isn't done. Cub gets away with it because he's old enough to be eccentric, and the way his magic works means that he feels that he's giving parts of himself to his patients.

Use Names are part of my favorite part of the system, actually, and I haven't gotten a chance to talk about them much, aside from Tango's being Industry and Revenge sort of putting in motion his "secondary" use name of Tek.

However, a fae can change their use name whenever they feel it's necessary. This generally is expected to come with big life changes, such as taking over as head of your family, getting married, being taken on as an apprentice or given the title of master in a guild, things like that. It represents a new chapter in your life beginning. Jimmy changed his Use Name to Solidarity when Gem was born, because even as a child he knew that it was an important enough situation to call for it.

Most people believe that Fia changed her use name to Matriarch when she took on the role as Queen, but she actually changed it when Jimmy was born. There's an understanding that Gem can and possibly will change her Use Name whenever she takes on more responsibility as heir and climbs further up the rung of titles that the Summer Heir has (there are three steps before Summer can be called King/Queen: Summer in Waiting, Summer in Ascendance, Summer in Radiance, and Summer King/Queen. Gem is currently pretending to be Summer in Ascendance, because she's acting as Summer during the Solstice, but she hasn't taken over as Interpreter of Echoes yet. In generations past, some Summers have done the opposite and taken over as Interpreter before taking over during the Solstice. Yes this is needlessly complicated and yes it is plot relevant XD).

It doesn't have to come with big life changes, it can also just be when you feel you need a change of pace or are in the process of reinventing yourself.

[twodiamondhoes]

haii !! would just like you to know i was internally screaming (/pos) when i got an email for the only silver update and i was hooked the whole time –

sobbing at ranchers thinking they have unrequited feelings for each other, but also laughing a bit and punching the air everytime jealous tango made his appearance because YES GO GET YOUR MAN SIR HE LIKES YOU BACK I SWEAR

scar and cleo !! ooooo i remember the intro to goodtime some chapterss back and cheering the moment i read his mom is "wildfire" bc that HAD to be cleo,,, (i was soooo hoping for it to be them as a cleo girlie)

i love how sus the autumn court's vibes are HSJSJSJ very fitting for the characters we currently know living in it. the way the autumn court is described reminds me of depictions of scar & cleo's characters in the life series, both being arsonists capable of being two-faced when it benefits them or when they want chaos. fitting with what we know about the wither situation so far, methinks.

and etho & jimmy. i already adored their dynamic, but seeing them lean on each other now after the appearance of the gods to them makes me love them more and also curious about the lore behind everything

thank you for another amazing and fun chapter !! super excited for the autumn court, and happy timezone :D

~ ree

ps. oh i remember seeing a post of yours about only silver maybe not being complete on its bday i think ? for the record, pretty sure us readers are very willing to wait, since the world and characterizations you've written are vv much worth it !! please don't pressure yourself o7

Hi Ree!! <33 Ahhhh I'm so happy to hear that!! Highkey I was stressed about this update and I'm so surprised and excited by how much everyone seems to be loving it!!

Ahahaha ahhh I LOVE writing pining and the whole cultural differences aspect paired with the political ramifications facilitates pining SO much. It is such a good opportunity for character moments, and these guys are in some very unique circumstances, so I'm having a BLAST getting to write them pining in ways I normally don't get to do! Normal pining is so much fun, but pining while considering (or, in Jimmy's case, NOT considering) the political position that they're in is new, very fun territory for me LOL!!! And getting to write jealous Tango is the icing on the cake for me. LOVE getting to write that man having emotions!! I know there's only so far I can push him before he will decide to go get his man, but I'm going to enjoy writing the jealousy until then!! 🥰

YES!! My babies, I love everything that's going on in the background of the Autumn Court, and I haven't gotten to explore the Clockers dynamic much, so this felt like a perfect opportunity!! Cleo is one of my favorite hermits, and I am so looking forward to getting to write them, even a little bit!! :D

sfjlsdfj they ARE being real sus XD a big part of it is lore-based. They're not just over here being Strange and Offputting for no reason. They're the secondary Transition season, and I'm pulling a LOT from the place they hold in the seasonal cycle. Autumn is a lot of people's favorite season (cough mine cough) and there is going to be representation of that in here, of it being the last hurrah of warmth before looking out into Winter, but it's also the season of decay, and the Autumn Court leans very heavily into that for very specific (lore based) reasons! Without spoiling too much, LOL! but you're spot on about why Scar and Cleo work so well in the Autumn court, they're both very much the types to think of personal gain over most anything else, and the drive for chaos that they can control is also a huge part of their characters!!

:DD Omg thank you!!! Jimmy and Etho quickly became one of my favorite dynamics in this fic. They are both kind of the only people who can possibly understand the sort of pressure each other's under (Etho more than Jimmy, who has his mother and Gem, technically), but I've been LOVING writing their friendship develop! I mentioned up there that there'll be a bit of a lore explanation, and some of that is going to get to go hand in hand with Jimmy and Etho getting closer and connecting over this experience they've had that no one else in known memory has ever even dreamed of. It's going to be very fun and very hard to write because all I want to do is loredump on y'all about the gods and what happened Way Back When XD

Thank YOU for reading!! I couldn't do this without y'all :3 I am so glad you enjoyed and hopefully I'll be able to get y'all an update soon!! Happy timezone~ <333

[twodiamondhoes]

Hi!!!

I'd like to start by saying hello to Walter. Hello Walter 👋

Hello JimJam 👋

ONLY SILVERRRRRRRRRR. Like we've know I'm obsessed with yours writing and then you go and pop out a chapter that takes my heart and wrings it so tight the words "dammit tango tek" come out in little rain drops.

Jimmy....thinking Tango....doesn't like him....:(((((((. What compelled you to do that to us? Cause I'm reading Tangos reactions and I KNOW that boy is smitten, without his pov involved and Jimmy is all "oh no! Hes thinking about how awful it is to have me around!!" Im going to hit him with hammers.

Great chapter!!! I love it and I love you /parasocial.

Im gonna go read the chapter again and feel some things, (pensive) (beerless)

Xoxoxo -Billy strings anon <3

Hello Billy Strings anon!! <3 👋

Walter says "WOOF" and for you, here's a picture of the new mischief he got up to earlier when we tried to take him for a ride and got too excited and tried to get into the car through the wrong door.

Jim also says hi!! but telepathically bc he's deep in Gamer Central rn

😭Tyyyyyyy <333 I love sharing this story so much and I'm SO delighted that y'all are loving it too!!

What compelled me to do this to y'all,,, well unforchies the ranchers themselves (fake pensive) legit though I went WWJD (What Would Jimmy Do) and realized these two ain't got two braincells to rub together, emotionally speaking! There are definitely reasons why Jimmy thinks his presence in the Winter Court might be a nuisance. and there are... other reasons that he's so distressed this chapter, specifically :3 Maybe don't hit Jimmy with hammers, is all I'm saying there.

AWWWH ty <33 love you too bb!! (The /parasocial is sending me btw XD)

Enjoy the reread (if Ao3 going down didn't stop you (pensive) (ao3less))

[twodiamondhoes]

Havent read new chapter yet but I personally think you should talk more about fia.

OMGGGG time to yap :DDDD Gasp okay what can I share that isn't too spoilery hmm

Fiamma's use-name is Matriarch, but before she took up her position as Interpreter of Echoes, her use-name was Determination. She has always been a very realistic fae who wanted to do what was right by her people, even from a young age.

A fun fact about her is that she wasn't the one who fully believed that an armistice/peace was possible! :3 She was alive (but not in charge yet) during the last throes of the war, and she saw enough of the horrors to doubt that any real peace was possible, even if she knew how necessary it was (fighting a war on two fronts is a recipe for death for any Court, and that was the only reason she initially considered it enough to bring to her own parents attention. After certain events, she used the Armistice as her lifeline, the same way Tango did with the elevators in the Winter Court when his mentor, Healer died.)

She's a genuinely hotheaded person, but has had to learn how not to let her emotions get ahead of her, because she cares more about her Court than her pride.

She doesn't have a lot of close friends, but one of her two besties is currently acting as ambassador to the Spring Court! The other one hasn't been seen in several seasons.

Her magic does genuinely hurt her to use, but because of that she's had to train herself rigorously so that she can do more with less. As a result, she's the most powerful Summer in the history of the Summer Court. ETA: this is also by design. As a child she found every record she could of previous Summers' powers and her chief ambition was to be better than all of them.

She might have less magic now that Jimmy is growing in power, but she can still do just as much with it as he can. She also passed a lot of that training on to Jimmy. If he ever wanted/needed to he could pass her in power level, given enough time and training. She hopes he never needs to.

The House of Summer's colors are white and gold, but Fia always wears black gloves. She also wears high-necked dresses at every opportunity, to cover the scars on her neck and chest. She's considered a bit of a fashion mogul in the Summer Court, and is a large part of the reason that capes have been in fashion for several seasons!

Much of the Summer Court thinks that her marriage to the Summer King is the height of romance, because of how stalwart he was after the death of her first love, Gallant of the House of Preservation. He stayed by her side even when one of her dearest friends vanished, and was there the entire time she was fighting not to Fade.

She loves her children more than her own life. She can, will, and has done things she never otherwise would have for the sake of Jimmy and Gem.

Everything else I can think of is too spoilery to share atm, but!! Fia my beloved <3333 the brainrot is so strong

Ty for giving me the opportunity to yap Ash!!!! 😭 I'll make a proper post about her later maybe. Making like,, little lore posts about all the OS Characters (OC or otherwise) might be really really fun tbh!

[simpaticopublishing]

OS vs Human

Online Sometimes I might as well talk to an OS instead of a human Conversation would have zero ego and my energy would be less drained