Quote Originally Posted by Diego Havoc View Post
No. That doesn't help at all. If anything I'm now even more uncomfortable. Is this... is this a normal thing for people? To have "NPCs" in their heads?

I'm sorry. I wanted to stay quiet on this but I can't. Am I the only one here genuinely worried here? Zigg has just told us that he has voices in his head and most people's resposes here are "Oh, that's neat". Is it just because it's ponies?
In my case, at least, no, it's nothing to do with ponies. I first encountered the concept in late 2005, when I began to become involved in the Milliways Bar roleplaying community; the players, by and large, would speak and act as though their characters literally spoke to them. Much of it was and is hyperbole, but there's a grain of truth to the idea. I do have a consistent thought-structure that produces the opinions and responses of Fluttershy, as well as others for other characters, both imported and original. The most worrying thing about it is that some of them occasionally spawn off other-universe versions.

Have you ever heard an author mention changing their mind because the characters refused to go along with their original intention? Have you ever encountered an actor who specifically internalized their character, rather than simply memorizing lines and stage directions? Have you ever, for that matter, met someone who applied one of the "WW*D (What Would [person] Do?)" maxims very broadly?

Your worry is, I think, misplaced. It is my impression that most of the "hearing voices that aren't there" fears are fears of schizophrenia, which in my admittedly inexpert opinion is not at all what Zigg, I, and others have been describing. I admit that Zigg's experiences are considerably stronger and more thorough than any I've encountered before, but it doesn't seem worrisome unless he starts letting them take over.