#the problem is that positive reinforcement doesn't work

[musical-chick-13]

Comment on my fic: Can't wait for the next part!

Me: God me either.

[letmegrabyourcuteass]

Imagine Chimney going through Bobby's desk in his office. Having to clear personal things out. It breaks his heart, but also warms him because the captain was sentimental.

Then he comes across a small blue book labeled simply "Buck." Curious, he opens and flips through it.

Kid has eating problems. Will forget to eat when stressed. Feed him, and encourage him to cook, because he likes to taste-test a lot.

Chimney remembers that. Buck mentioning getting so hungry the starving pains go away. He does remember during the shitty times when Buck lost so much weight.

-Loves carbs

-Hates Okra

-Probably allergic to shellfish and mangos. Encourage him to get an allergy test

-Allergic to Naproxen

-Allergic to heavy fragrance laundry detergents. Use gentle.

-Remind him he's doing a great job. Use positive reinforcement.

-If he's depressed, as Maddie says, hand him a child. May and Harry work too.

-He's finally gaining weight! :)

-The Buckley parents are banned. Do not ask why. Firehouse is his safe area.

-He fidgets when he's stressed. Have him chop some vegetables or prepare them for you. He loves being helpful.

-He loves his clipboard. Have him organize important events. Give him gold stars. Do not let Hen and Chimney hide it. He gets sad.

-Remind him not to read too close or in the dark. He's gonna need glasses at this point. (If he does, don't let others tease him. Tell him he looks great)

-He doesn't admit it, but his leg still bothers him. Heating blankets are in the closet in the office. Have Eddie massage his leg or send him home early if he's obviously struggling.

Chim laughs. He laughs, and laughs, and starts to cry. Of all things, he did not expect to find a "How to Take Care of Your Buck" guide hidden away in Bobby's desk.

[fabiansociety]

da2 isn't the best dragon age game *because* it's openly a tragedy, but being a tragedy forces a level of narrative coherence that the other games in the series don't have, and *that's* what makes it a better game.

okay, so. dragon age 2 runs on nested foreshadowing and a limited set of themes that almost every character and plot beat fall into: love is not enough, wealth is not enough, power is not enough, good intent is not enough. the problems you run into are structural, rather than individual, and your ability to resolve them as one person is strictly limited. the arishok is a central figure for this, because he prefigures every other tragedy and makes the game's thesis statement as clear as possible. he doesn't want to be in kirkwall, but he is compelled to remain until he gets back what was stolen. he doesn't want to lead a coup attempt, but he is compelled by qunari codes of justice to act. he does not want to die and fail his duty, but but he is compelled to by the other two impossible demands. every tragedy in kirkwall is the result of too many people with wildly different definitions of justice crammed into one place specifically designed to maximize human misery and suffering, and so you get a wonderfully nested narrative onion where each quest reinforces that idea, where there are no good options, just positions you can take — even the affinity system plays into that, where constantly gassing up your friends or constantly pushing them to change are equally correct ways to go, but ones that won't ultimately make a huge difference in their lives or characters, because no matter how much they like you, they're not under your control.

this coherence is even justified by the framing device. of *course* the moral of the game is "insisting on a dogmatic, narrow idea of justice destroys individuals and societies," it's a yarn being spun by varric the con artist to a chantry cop!

neither origins or inquisition play with that sort of narrative complexity. origins is a jaundiced hero's quest, certainly, but it's still basically a hero's quest; inquisition has a number of characters who question what you're doing and why, but the multitude of voices pulls the game in too many potential directions. DA2 was so constrained in its production that it pulled on decidedly ancient theatrical traditions, and it worked so, so well

[sapphicdalliances]

between this post and that post i am starting to reach levels of Sad About Jiang Cheng i had previously thought impossible. both metas are basically about the reality that wei wuxian was visibly and practically favoured over jiang cheng by his family members. and as the former points out it's sorta like… well, 1) he "needed" to be, because he was in a more vulnerable position socially and had been through more hardship, because his relationship with his family was not considered inalienable and therefore needed more reinforcement. and 2) because it's just… easier to favour him? he's magnetic and charming and fun to hang out with and always has a conversation ready to go. jiang cheng is not any of that.

i was chirping about this earlier – a thing about jiang cheng is that from a young age he is put into a lot of situations where everything sucks and he feels hurt and victimised but there is NO way for him to express that without coming off as completely unreasonable and unsympathetic, and even as a child he knows this. it cumulates in a big huge way with the core transfer. like he is upset when wei wuxian is praised over him, but he can't complain because it's simply true that wei wuxian did a better job. he's upset when wei wuxian receives comfort over him, but he can't complain because wei wuxian needs it or deserves it more in that moment. this continues for most of his life and i'm sure everyone who's ever had one of these moments knows there's no good coping method, you either complain anyway (and come off as entitled and jealous) or you try to get over it (which hurts to do and doesn't even garner any praise because it's kind of the bare minimum) or you internalise it as a You Problem (which breeds resentment and insecurity).

like afaict jiang cheng spends a formative portion of his childhood really aware that he's the unfavourite for a good reason and the main thing he can do to be shown the favour he craves is to be a different person with a different personality. really sucky situation for a kid to be in –

(especially because in his youth, a lot of these situations were literally no-win scenarios. because if he's worse than wwx at something then his mother yells at him and hits his brother and his dad doesn't do anything, but if he's ever better than wwx at something then he won't get praised for that either! because it would be something that's to expected from him anyway.)

and this is the background noise against which jc begged crying on his knees for wwx to be spared punishment, then attacked and strangled wwx, then tried his best to die to protect wwx. this is a relationship where… of course there's resentment. it would be crazy if there was no resentment. but there is still love. that's even crazier!

currently i think jiang cheng as a character is basically a depiction of a guy who fundamentally kind of sucks, but is actively trying his best and is frankly doing a pretty great job at not sucking. like he just doesn't have a good or fun personality and he's not likeable and he's not talented or sweet or charming or anyone's favourite person (EXCEPT – WAIT – EXCEPT FOR WWX'S!!! PRE-LAN ZHAN! and now – jin ling's!!!!) and he knows all of this, but he still spends a lot of the story trying his fucking best to be good to all of his people anyway.

he spent his childhood getting outshone by his brother and pissing off both his parents by just being himself, then his entire family died, then as an adult he was left out of the post-sunshot War Hero Boy's Club and had to jockey for political favour as the youngest and least experienced sect leader while the beacons of righteousness and confidence that were nmj and lxc were to his either side, his sister dies in his arms while looking at his brother, and even as an uncle he's competing with the always-gentle, always-sweet jgy who has the stronger social claim to his nephew due to being on the paternal side of his family. and all he's got to work with is himself, and that hasn't been good enough even once in the last 30 years.

a lot of jc haters have been @-ing me lately to expound on how jc is annoying and insecure and selfish and a prick and it's like ok yeah to all of that but frankly considering the circumstances he was operating under i think it is a fucking miracle that he didn't turn out worse.

[hellenhighwater]

Do you have any suggestions for trimming claws on an adult cat who is not food motivated? She is happy to get treats but doesn’t seek them out. I tried bribing her into letting me touch her paws and it hasn’t been going anywhere. I can grab her and hold onto her with less resistance than when I first got her, but if she makes sad noises I feel guilty and let her go. I tried wrapping her in a damp towel (vet did this to my last cat, who hated the vet, and said it reduced static in their fur) and she did seem calmer. But I also had trouble getting her claws extended like that and I didn’t want to draw out the process and make it more uncomfortable. My last cats were super food motivated and had been declawed by their previous owners, so I haven’t had this problem before. Thanks!

Just take it slow and work on paw handling. Actual overgrowth to the point of heath risk will take a long time, so you don't have to rush it--work slowly on handling paws during normal petting and cuddling, then add holding paws still, then slowly build towards deploying claws while holding them. Positive reinforcement for this can be whatever your cat likes: ear rubs, catnip, a toy, whatever.

But ultimately you may not get total cooperation on this and it might wind up being a wrap-in-towel and do it quickly sort of job, and that's okay. Working on paw handling will still make it less stressful so it's not a waste of time. Weirdly, Malice doesn't like the nail clipper but she does like her nails filed, but I think she's a freak.

[realcube]

SUGAWARA HEADCANONS

tws → none

note → randoms hcs for suga since i finished my uni exams for this year

→ get ready for 20+ cards on your birthday bc he has all of his elementary students make you one lol

→ and when they accidentally draw you monstrously ugly (bc they are stupid kids) or like terribly deformed with one eye bigger that the other and hands bigger than your whole head, he just gently puts a hand on their shoulder, smiles warmly and hands them another piece of paper 😭😭😭

→ "that's amazing so far, great job! but you know (y/n) has more than three teeth. maybe give it another try."

→ i already wrote a short fic about this but he (accidentally) uses children's behavioural management techniques on you LMAOO

→ he will ask you questions while your angry to distract you or solve the problem , or lead you to another room to sit down

→ in reality, it's actually very sweet and mindful but it still lowkey pisses you off because IT WORKS

→ and like he doesn't even do it purposefully to be patronising, it's just he is so used to do it at work that's it's kinda like a force of habit

→ and once you became aware of it, you start noticing all the time

→ like he'll praise you endlessly when you kindly run an errand for him or when you wear an outfit he likes, and at first you thought he was just a sweetheart with a words of affirmation love language.. but now that you think about it.. was he doing positive reinforcement on you ???? 😭

→ and you also noticed that he never tells you 'no' either

→ like if you ask him if he wants to eat at a certain restaurant that he doesn't like, he'll be like, "they have similar food xyz for cheaper, should we go there?" or if you ask him to do you a favour that he cba doing rn, he'll go, "would it be okay if i did that tomorrow?" and at first you thought maybe he was in his chatgpt era but no , in fact he was using positive redirection on you :((

→ it made you realise he could be such a master manipulator if he wanted to be , but fortunately he is too kind for that

→ it also makes you ponder that if he is so good at using these techniques ... then why does he always come home from work stressed asf???

→ whenever he comes home after a shift with his class, especially on fridays, he genuinely looks like he just finished a fighting a gorilla alongside 99 other men, and the gorilla most defintiely won

→ his hair is a mess, his shirt is wrinkled with various stains on it, he's out of breath, his cheeks are stained with tears, his lips are chapped, he's shaking and his face is painted with pure shock and horror

→ it's strange because if he is so good at behaviour management techniques, why does his elementary class kick his ass every week?

→ he's so annoying and the opposite of most boyfriends when it comes to taking pictures — when you hand him your camera and ask him to take one, he LOCKS TF IN

→ he won't just take one , he will take multiple from all different angles and ask you to pose

→ and it's so bad if you're in a place with ppl around. for example, if you are standing in front of a landmark and there's people trying to walk past in the space between you and the camera so they have to wait, but suga just keeps taking pictures 😭😭 like he is genuinely too invested in capturing the perfect image of you to care about the pedestrians, it's so bad

→ he 10000% falls into the stereotype of education students that get engaged absurdly young

→ i honestly hc that he proposed after knowing you for a year , or maybe two years

→ but most likey just one

→ bc when you know, you know!

[phoenixyfriend]

Was chatting about good alternate Cody&Obi-Wan dynamics with @threebea, and one of them we just had a lot of fun with.

Bea:

Cody: We are doing a good job at war. Are you proud general. Obi-Wan: [grump in CW '03] Cody being in a lacky position is very funny to me, if that makes sense. Cody: The boss will surely promote me. Obi-Wan: You're diligent and thorough but we cannot save supplies by powering this with my lightsaber that is not happening. I have always considered that of the two of them, Cody is the reckless hot-blooded one and Rex is the level-headed one. (Obi-Wan's view skewed however having raised one Anakin Skywalker making Cody kicking droids seem very reasonable and thought out.)

Here were my options for Cody and Obi dynamics:

Obi-Wan treating Cody the way he treats Anakin, early on in their working relationship, tentative but working on that angle because those two are the same age and rank so like. Cody might really be as much of a Dumb Young Man as most young men are, yes?

Obi-Wan treating Cody with a hands-off approach because the guy can manage the army while Obi-Wan runs off to stab the Count, right?

Obi-Wan treating Cody kinda coldly because his instinct is to be very delicate and nice to these traumatized young men, but they don't like it when he does that, so he has to be standoffish because otherwise he'll start babying them because they're barely any older than Anakin was when he got his boy.

Obi-Wan treating Cody as a Research Assistant because he's a nerd and sometimes padawans would be assigned to him in the archives, and Cody hovers behind his shoulder the way those students did so he just got distracted and started giving Research Guy orders instead of High General orders.

Aaaaaanyway we got in on that last one.

Obi-Wan definitely had to call him Padawan at least once Cody: ... [Looks around nope just him]

Cody: I expected to be mistaken for my brothers due to our faces. I did not expect to be mistaken for... Anakin Skywalker? Did I get that right?

Rex: My general called me mom once. I think he was joking? but I'm not sure.

One day, Cody has to come into the Temple for some professional reason, is told that Obi-Wan is in the archives, and walks into the sight of Obi-Wan wandering the stacks with several teenagers following him like ducklings, giving instructions with just "Padawan, could you grab that one?"

When Cody asks how they know which one he means, they tell him they don't. They just go with whoever's nearest the given task.

Cody: But he doesn't do this to any other clone [he does] Rex: You stand just behind his shoulder handing him files all day.

You Are Doing The Padawan Thing

Cody initially worried because implied Obi-Wan thinks of him as a student/not fully ready for the responsibility of being a commander or whatever. Obi-Wan: ? No I just… You're Padawan shaped. I can't explain it any better than that Cody gets it the most because he happens to stand exactly where Anakin used to stand the most often. Ironically, Obi-Wan tries hard to call Anakin by his name as a respect to his no longer being a student thing. Cody is firm about military discipline calling Obi-Wan sir and General because if he called him Master Kenobi or Obi-Wan the 'mistaken for Padawan' thing would happen three times as often. Cody: [grumbles] Alpha-17 didn't have this problem. Rex: Alpha-17 drew a line between himself and the Padawan day one to avoid it I think.

Alpha also has been acting like a middle-aged man since he was five. The disdain. Dripping.

Which actually didn't save him he was just more openly insulted when it happened once so Obi-Wan made sure never to do it again. Alpha: I was trained by Jango Fett himself and have proven myself a full fledged captain. I am not a Padawan :/ Obi-Wan: [listening to the speech] noted Cody: [far too polite to ever correct Obi-Wan] What did you need, General? Probably reinforced Alpha acting like an old man. I think he even calls Anakin kid? Anakin: I'm older than you you're the kid 😦 Obi-Wan: Padawan don't argue with the captain. I need a five times Obi-Wan called Cody Padawan (and one time when it was Alpha-17) fic now lol

Anakin: Why does he get away with-- Obi-Wan: Because I feel that if I call him Padawan by accident again, he may break something. And we don't have the funds for that.

Anakin: [in the room once but realizes Obi-Wan was taking to Cody] Anakin: Am I jealous by rival son/Padawan or am I amused that Obi-Wan is going senile?

"my baby boy" vs "generic younger person whom I feel some fondness for"

It's like. Old southern men who refer to anyone younger than them as "son" or "miss."

Obi-Wan: It's even gender neutral I don't have to remember names at all. Obi-Wan also probably called Ahsoka 'Anakin' a number of times, but that's due more to the A name combined with her jumping off something a Padawan should not be jumping off of. He mostly defaults to Padawan but a scolding 'Anakin! No!' Comes out every now and then for her. Obi-Wan: Anakin! No! Anakin, beside him: What? Obi-Wan: ...Sorry, force of habit. Ahsoka! No!

[brookstolemybrand]

Not to get all anarchist about it (blatant lies) but I really think a huge part of the conflict between Luffy and Usopp in Water Seven comes down to Luffy feeling the pressure to take a position of authority over the crew, rather than just leadership

The Merry was technically Luffy's ship, since Kaya gave her to Luffy, but it's undeniable that she was a home and a crewmate to all of the crewmembers and had a particularly close bond with Usopp, and even though it was the right decision, Luffy had no right to make that call on his own. And to be fair I don't think he would have under normal circumstances. Luffy doesn't want to be some kind of a big boss to his crew, he wants to be friends, but basically everything went wrong in Water Seven and he felt like it was his responsibility to take charge, and then he fucked it up

The fact that the situation was resolved by forcing Usopp to show submission in order to be accepted back does not help the case. It always feels gross to me

This is my biggest problem with Water Seven. Luffy and Usopp both fucked up, but only Usopp has to apologise, and in fact the narrative reinforces that Luffy has to stay adamant about it even though he clearly doesn't want to and it goes against his nature. The narrative sides with Zoro, but in my opinion Zoro is just wrong

The Straw Hat crew works so well because they're so good at sharing responsibility and leadership and listening to each other and being primarily comrades. The crew regularly criticises and confronts and straight up overrules Luffy when he's being a dumbass, and he accepts that because he respects them, and because being a captain doesn't mean authority to him; it's a leadership of purpose

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's episode...

[spoilers below cut]

WOOHOO 🎉 I'm finally free from finals, and we got the latest episode on 4/Luke's birthday!! I gotta tell yall, I can't believe we manifested it [X] hours before it was released lmao

now I don't expect it to be one to one, it's a silly birthday for a silly guy ^^ if we're gonna have shenanigans, it's gotta be here

(the following is my live reaction:)

not even 5 seconds in and YOOOO 4'S WORKING WHILE STAYING IN 3'S CAFE, WE DID IT!!

so many of us were like "it would be nice to see 4 editing videos while enjoying coffee in 3's cafe". Hell, even I wrote it in one of my concepts!

we can now say it's canon YESSIR 👏👏

hmm, spinning Beeg4 *jotting down theorist notes* interesante....

oh hey Meggy ^^

*pauses video*

nahnahnah, so you're telling me that 4's response to getting jumpscared is to glitch out? and eerily close to the glitch colors of his logo? *grabs you* if THIS doesn't convince you goop!4 is real, I don't know what does

okok, first off: aw Beeg is hanging out with his Dad and reminded him of his birthday 🥹💙

Second, Meggy's trying to find a coaching gig, huh? Alright, huddle around, guys, I've got an idea: what if Meggy goes on and coaches Karen's kids with the new abilities? After all, next to Karen, Meggy's got the experience, and the kids do need a good teacher/positive reinforcement. And while we're at it, we can give Karen a secured job at 3's cafe and she can keep an eye on them training in the Showgrounds! It's a win-win here ^^

And now third, the utmost important part, this is MAR10 all over again. "huh?" right, you guys are gonna have to follow my train of thought here: this scene right here, Meggy noticed how serious 4 is being right now, as he's editing a silly video. And sure, it could be that Meggy is trying to find anything she could to apply her coaching skills on, but it could've been "oh 4, you've been behind the screen all day, let's do some stretches" or something. No, instead she pointed out his emotions and wanted to promote a healthy, positive mindset, work-life balance. Practically, therapy. Yet, look at 4's face when Meggy wanted him to "turn that frown upside down". He looks unsure. Almost uncomfortable with the idea. ofc Beeg4 comes in and reminds them that the next day is 4's birthday.

Now, 4's attitude toward the coaching changed, and it makes sense why. For one, it doesn't seem like he don't got any plans for his birthday, considering the way he reacted at the reminder. And two, it seems like he's more willing to do it bc Meggy seemed passionate about the idea. Time and time again, 4 is willing to do anything for his friends, whether or not he's ok. He did it while he was injured, he did it when he was spiraling out of control with the manga. All while saying "everything will be fine". Here, 4's willing to go along for the ride, for Meggy. To get it over with, and I guarantee you that 4 would say he's fine. Which in itself is concerning. HOWEVER, this was pushed aside bc Meggy wanted to know how 4 was gonna celebrate his birthday. Now, doesn't that seem familiar to you? The IGBP arc up to MAR10. When 4 was set on making the perfect video, completely serious about the project, and while his friends did notice his behavior, they didn't know how much it was truly affecting 4 mentally/emotionally. And even more bc MAR10 (a day of celebration dedicated to one person) was coming up, causing the problem to be even bigger than before.

So, Team: what's up with that? *blinks curiously* just wondering

anyway uh. We gotta move on. It hasn't even been a minute and we're still here with my rambling

4: "I'm just gonna do the same thing I always do." Right, which is..... oh you're not gonna say it?

NOT MEGGY THINKING HE'S GONNA BE ALONE WITH A CAKE

I'm sure it's not the case. Maybe he gets a quiet/enjoyable day for himself, treat himself with something nice for dinner. Play some games. You never know. Also, from one adult to another, relatable.

At least we know why we haven't gotten a 4 birthday episode before (and I say 4's bc we had one with Melony).

AW look at Beeg with the lil cup, that's so adorable tho

OMG OMG, THEY PULLED A PHOENIX WRIGHT

MY MEGGY ACE ATTORNEY AU IS FINALLY COMING TRUE YESSS!! See? This is why I had 4 take Phoenix's role here, they have so many parallels (I mean, mootie, you would know)

everyone's just chilling in game room hehe

"isn't 3 supposed to be in the cafe?" he's on his break, dw about it 😌

Mario: "He has Mario's friendship!" look, see? maybe 4 and Mario were gonna hang out for the day together, just like old times :) Besides, y'know the two of them value each other's friendship more than anything. Mario isn't wrong to say his gift for 4 is friendship

omg WE CALLED IT!! I DID. They are gonna plan a surprise party for himmmm

3 is so disappointed that he got paired up with Boopkins pfft hahaha

erm. Meggy. honey, please don't. Just order a cake instead

*wince* I wouldn't trust Bob with it either, oh boy. There's the SMG4 shenanigans we know :)

Love how 3 wasn't so into it like the rest of them. But he did join in the fistbump tho

PFFT 3 did not just say that omg....

let's see what you got, 3

*looks at boarded-up door* ah yes. my nemesis......

strange that they keep showing that, huh *looks at Team*

AY that's pretty good!!

oop- no? well okay then, 3. You arranged 4's room so, I trust you with this

So, we got our distraction team, eh?

Tari's so real about surprise parties. They are nice but I rather you tell me, especially when I got plans already

don't be suspicious 👏 don't be suspicious 👏 don't be suspicious 👏 don't be suspicious 👏 /ref

the cutaways are CRAZY, they're so funny to me I don't know why lol

I do like how 4's trying to be patient with them, even if they're acting weird in his eyes

what can I say? Mario learned from the best :) and involving a PC too, woah

The right idea, Meggy, for snacks (and some decor). But girl, that's not for cake

Aw, it really is a nice sentiment, Meggy. But there's nothing wrong with a store-bought cake! The fact that you got him cake at all, I'm sure it would mean a lot to 4

THE GUILLOTINE?!

the transition from Boopkin's frown to 4's is absolutely PERFECT. since y'know. brothers irl

He did the thing (facepalm)!! (no I'm totally not freaking out about it being on his left eye, what noooo)

wait, wait...

two Mario :D (honestly, this is a funny animation error haha)

Mario, no! you're not forklift certified!! /ref

4. buddy. let' calm down for a second here.

....huh? pink?!

*pauses video*

nope, that's it. I'm done. It's over, I need to leave the room. Give me a second... *screaming in the distance*

[30 minutes later] chat... I'm not. I'm not imagining things, right? That this isn't some kind of shared delusion, right?? This. It can't be real, are you kidding meeeee

We got 4 going insane again, wanting to finish his video. He's glowing magenta and his right eye is only shown.... Now, I know what you might be thinking: Magenta? that's crazy. But the right eye? Didn't you say that his left was absolutely important to note in the goop!4 theory? Isn't the right one supposed to represent his true silly side? Well, there's a simple explanation: yes, he is doing everything he can to meet deadlines and finish his video (his perfectionism), but he's not doing it to prove his self-worth. He just wanted to finish the silly project he had (his true self) since really, that was what his plans were for his birthday. He didn't know about the party. Plus, he did extend out his left hand for Tari to hand over the laptop

But yeah, he isn't mad about Tari and Mario withholding a PC from him, he's just confused about what the hell is going on with these two

SCREW what I said about earlier! If THIS SCENE right here didn't convince you that goop!4 is real, then I really don't know what else does. So anyway, welcome aboard, have a free t-shirt ^^

OOP more evidence to the 3 speech color theory, light blue this time talking about another change of decor hmmm

KAREN HI!! how's it going since y'know.

And her kids too!!

Welp, time to panic :D

URETHRA!!💡 /ref

*shoves paper off desk* ARE YOU FUCKIN KIDDING ME?!

IT WAS RIGHT 👏 THERE 👏. THEY'RE DESTROYING EVERYTHING AND DIDN'T EVEN TOUCH THE ROOM WE'RE MOST INTERESTED IN!! WHAT'S BEHIND THAT FUCKIN DOOR

*head in hands* we were so close, dude. now the Team's just playing with me smh /silly

me @ the door: we shall meet again, my nemesis.....

oven temperature: "who made these settings?" honestly, good question 🤔

oh Bob, he's trying to hard to make the decor :(

the Castle falling apart is pretty close to the fanart I'm making ngl. I gotta save this as a reference

see? 4 is just so confused, man

ough 🥺 they really did try

also 3 wasn't wrong about the demolishing part. 4 is a pretty simple guy, no need to go all out. also considering how his room was before 3 decorated, yeah it makes sense

3 did know what would 4 would like, yessir 😌↕️

THE BALL PIT?! not dashcon bro

no, guys, don't be sad. Knowing 4, I'm sure he's actually moved that yall went through the effort to do this for him

I TOLD YOU, SEE?

look at him 🥹😭💙 he's so happy that his friends could give him the best birthday everrrr, this truly means so much for a simple guy like him

Happy Birthday, Four!! 🎉🎂⭐️

and they entered into a coma *wheeze* well that'sas close as we're gonna get with coma 4 hehe

Congrats to LolWhatAYDH for your fanart getting featured in the end credits!! 🎉 See? Told yall sunflowers totally suit 4

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

I absolutely loved this episode, it had everything I could ever ask for!! The love behind friendship, the callbacks, the theories, the silliness and chaos. Even some character cameos in the background! This is the best way the Team can go about it to celebrate the meme lord himself. ofc 4 but also Luke's birthday too!!

Obviously we gotta celebrate to the fullest. Everyone, get your fanart, the fics, anything to celebrate this wonderful day. This show truly means so much to me and I know at least some of you feel the same. For many years of my Saturday morning cartoon (tm), thank you Luke for the memories. And to 4, for being the silly meme guardian we all know and love

But ofc, the Team: thank you for the amazing episode and the hard work put into it. The funny gags/bits you had in here never failed to make me laugh! I gotta say tho, I know for sure you guys are scheming with these IGBP references. Even Ben's like:

(not that Ben was fully involved with the episode but anyway) We'll see if any of the Team's willing to show some behind-the-scenes stuff but in the meantime, I do hope they had fun making this episode!!

And I'm gonna take a wild guess and say yall were waiting for my reaction, huh chat? Haha, well I am the "local crazy theorist who constantly screams about goop!4", I'll take that title with pride :) Trust me, I was so well fed with this episode, I got a whole bunch of evidence I gotta get through. Now, I don't suspect that we're getting IGBP 2 soon, no. Let the Team cook. But at this point, we should establish for a fact that it's gonna happen. It's only a question of "when". That's all from me for this review. But dw, we're definitely going to party all day today. Otherwise, I'll see you next time and remember: numbers always go first!!

once again...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 4 & LUKE!!!

⭐️🎉🎂🎉⭐️

[himi-wiz]

Tags. Tags are absolutely right.

Don't get me wrong I find Dark Era Dazai's still an idiot who lacks the sympathy or patience to mould someone that's obstinate amd full of rawness properly as Akutagawa but there is no way he views his apprentice as a mere tool. His whole thing is he's the one that's no longer human compared to the rest of the world that clicks together in society.

Sorry friend I know you kin Aku but you're actually wrong about what he means to Dazai. Also I wasn't joking. This is literally me pointing and going "This is what Dazai said was his reasoning for why he trained him like that." This is an example of how Dazai feared Aku would treat all his problems when he first met him. I only worded it as a joke because I'm funny like that.

[dazeygurl]

I see so much ranting and raving about hypno reprogramming- implementing all new ideas, traits, actions, becoming the perfect doll and molded into whatever you're told to be. It's good shit don't get me wrong, but what about when you have to undo all of those tweaks. That's kinda good too..

I'll just be there soaking in the bathtub and start doing a mental inventory of what thoughts I really ‘lost’ while busy getting my brain washed. Just laying there and thinking on what changes were made over an admittedly long period of time, only then realizing both identity and a sense of the passage of time had completely drifted away

My current favorite new personal discovery after undownloading a system “upgrade” that included lots of reprogramming material; 

•I love smoking??? and getting high, feeling buzzed🍁 

Not enjoying that feeling is sucha silly way to live- being high is goofy and hot. (being coerced into taking puff after puff until you're stoned enough to be taken advantage of? Even hotter.)

I would never /not/ want that?? But now a days it does feel like i'm discovering the concept for the first time- like, 'I can just hit my pretty little vape pen that tastes like grape candy whenever I want and feel silly?’ *tries it* ‘oh, fuck yea :3’ 

(Idk what this tists problem with smoking was, just not very lady-like? Though I suppose vaping IS one of the few traits I could’ve kept locked in that hidden box inside the attic of my mind. The one meant for discarded characteristics.)

I only had eyes and interests for one person, literally no one else. Because there is LITERALLY no one else in my mind. Not in the way you would think either. The devotion to the relationship didn't come from any spoken commitment, but all the same, mind getting massively melted on the daily, I was devout. Any previous desires that were deemed unnecessary- gang bangs, three ways, and eventually even the desire to go out with my Slutty friends just to be ogled by men, 

(which is what I'm made to do?? i'm literally just a girl) 

All those old unnecessary desires had to go to make room for all the new desires I had to Serve one.

So many little ideas forgotten, forgotten, forgotten-. Because it feels so good to be obedient, it feels good to go deep, and it does feel good, doesn't it? The seeds that were planted were untraceable, and they grew into something so natural; thinking, evolving, loving, deeper and deeper.. 

I was really a pet. A horse with no name and blinders on, a dog locked on a mental leash in a golden cage. A pet to be owned, preprogrammed, and reshaped. I came into the equation with the innate desire to be praised as a Good Girl, sure, but was then given the commands, positive reinforcement, and occasional punishment until all my new tricks sinked in and I could perform them with a *snap*

And umm yes that is the point. That is what makes it hot. That is what I asked for. 

Corruption, destruction, being a possession. Becoming domesticated, having my mind unravelled until there's nothing left except behaving properly.

Maybe the best part is remembering how for the entire process I would tease “i don't think the brainwashing is working ~” silly, silly girl

It's /disgustingly/ hot. Realizing you were primed, and tweaked, and molded, till the point of no return. Resisting and fighting to retain free will at first, but knowing deep down that it's an impossible task. Knowing I really really want to sink, fall away, and give in completely.

And yeaaaah I'm horny thinking about it~ All the same though, finding little fragments of a memory, a desire, or even an opinion of my own, when not long ago those were all quite literally unknown illegible words, it’s freaky. Like, -oh-shit-mind-control-is-real kinda freaky. Freaky is good too though...

And now I get to play the game of “Was it HYPnoSiS or is it a personality disorder :D (Though I am not a therapist so I can can't rightly say—--- but I definitely know which one is the right answer🍥 Feel free to say 'Good Girl' and give me an A on my essay now! End of rant<3

[rei-ismyname]

Xavier's Walk of Shame

Xavier, the ungrateful bitch, wakes up in an unfamiliar place feeling like shit. Callisto greets him, and in between ill-tempered complaints, she explains that she saved his life after he was robbed and beaten. She even gave up her bed so he could rest up, but for some reason he's hyper focused on how she dressed him.

Callisto correctly thinks it's an improvement, though it's not like she wanted to give her clothes to this misanthrope. After hearing the sacrifices made to save his life, Chuck croaks out some begrudged gratitude then puts on his anthropology hat. Marvelling at the size of the Morlock tunnels, he pays little attention to the fact that he's not loved down here.

Callisto doesn't exactly trust Xavier and refuses to tell him how many Morlocks there are, but freely admits that Storm is the leader. Chuck's rhetoric and outreach skills are as polished as ever, insisting that the Morlocks can't hide forever. Honestly, he's lucky to not get stabbed for that, as a wealthy hidden mutant living in a fucking mansion. My read is that he can't imagine anyone not wanting to be accepted by human society, especially not to the point of making their own.

Their back and forth is interrupted by the news that a Morlock's kids were shot dead. Callisto angrily points to her promise to Ororo, but swears that only goes so far. Xavier has jack shit to say to that. To be fair, he's not at his best but it's not like he just found out about The Morlocks. He has virtually infinite resources and there's more than one way to collaborate on/assist with a better life. Food, medicine, clothes, hygiene products, etc are basics he could provide, let alone the insane technology at his disposal. Even if any of this did stick with him, he ran his body ragged and had to spend years in Shi'Ar space recuperating. It's unclear how much control X-Men have over finances, but they have other resources and are just as aware of the Morlocks' existence. His focus on 'hiding' 'down here' with an uncertain 'future' feels evangelistic yet ignorant of material conditions.

Anyway, she drops him home on that somehow functioning train and they waltz into the mansion together. The X-Men present are surely thinking that Chuck had a wild one and banged Callisto. His vague silence on the matter as he tries to maintain his dignity does nothing but reinforce suspicions. Everyone remembers him telling Sam off for dressing like a punk and they have a good laugh. He never really got a chance to clear this up and Chuck/Callisto have had several periods of closeness. I think the X-Men believe the two are exes or something. No shame there, it's just funny.

I've always felt that The Morlocks are a missed opportunity. They're very much the anti X-Men in every way. Attractive/ugly, rich/poor, integrationist/secessionist, heroic/antisocial. I suppose the last one is the kicker, as they're not a hero team and they're given super unsympathetic practices like spouse kidnapping and fights to the death. All the dichotomies count against them getting focus, except when they're being massacred. I daresay they were invented without considering exactly how their culture and survival works. Several hundred people need a LOT of food and space, they shit a lot etc. Having a magic healer solves some of the problems of living in a sewer but definitely not all. Besides, Healer is not immortal or even especially healthy himself.

I give points to the Hivemind for recognising the cultural overlap with Arakki society and putting it to page. They even organise as part of the NYX political coalition but sadly that book got cancelled. The traditional Morlock position undercuts a lot of X-Men means and ends, likewise Magneto's solidarity and emancipation mission. I wonder if The Morlocks show up in Xavier's The Dawn of Homo Superior. We haven't seen much theory in-universe but I think 'what about The Morlocks?' should be a question for any political process. Alex Summers' 'M word' speech explicitly throws them under the bus, for example. Further, the good/evil divide of the early days is superceded by class politics. In a chicken/egg scenario - do they choose to live in a sewer because they're outcasts or are they outcasts because they live in a sewer? Realistically neither, but Xavier doesn't have the frame of reference to unpack that.

Ironically, many Morlocks rejected Krakoa but opted for accepting its bounty to live in a gated community in Arizona. They're not a homogeneous group, but the suggestion that of course they secretly desire upper middle class country club life is a little odious. Maybe it was a reason to avoid expanding on Morlock culture, though the era did check in on various Morlocks here and there. They haven't forgotten the Mutant Massacre or John Greycrow's role in it, and how could they be expected to with its architect sitting on the ruling council? Even in paradise they get shit on. Although, NYX left them in an interesting place - hopefully someone picks that thread up again.

[scraftyisthebest]

Strong Spheres kinda stick out for the fact that they represent the idea of "strength" without effort. A shortcut if you will. If they actually manage to get distributed to the masses one of the big problems is that it would promote the idea of laziness: not putting in the earnest effort to truly become strong, building bonds with your Pokémon, honing strength through earnest training and taking things one step at a time with your Pokémon, and instead relying on a "tool" like the Strong Sphere as a crutch to make up for a lack of mastery of fundamentals, or even worse, a lack of latent talent combined with an unwillingness to invest the effort to improve.

Indy and Rubella's battle against Liko and her friends highlighted this, because it's quite obvious from the way they battled that they aren't talented or experienced as battlers, and resorted to Strong Spheres as a crutch, a shortcut, to compensate for their lack of skill. They had no aptitude for strategy, nor were they truly in sync with their Tauros, especially since the Strong Sphere renders the Trainer irrelevant, something Dot and Uruto both noticed.

Spinel having them as his personal subordinates, and possibly having others like them, highlights his approach and his laziness. He didn't put his new operatives through any training and instead enticed them with the Strong Sphere and appealed to their laziness and desire to get strong without putting in the effort to win strength earnestly, using shortcuts to compensate for their lack of innate talent.

It contrasts the other admins of the Explorers who were trained by Hamber, who are all forces to be reckoned with, because Hamber trained and coached them rigorously. Right from the get-go, the stakes for Liko were high, because unlike TRio with Ash who were jokes, Amethio was no pushover, and this pushed Liko to need to get strong to fend for herself against him and his peers, something Coral, Sidian, and Chalce reinforced as they showed up in Liko's life. And that strength is no mistake. Hamber put those four through the wringer, putting them through rigorous training and difficult and grueling missions, honing their strength through sheer willpower and talent. Their strength is earned through effort, facing challenge, and getting stronger and stronger. Amethio even said as much: he and Ceruledge went through Hamber's strict training and grueling missions together and that's why they're truly strong.

The use of Strong Spheres to promote strength without effort is further reinforced by the fact that they're just being distributed to the masses for free. Mega Evolution, Terastal, Z-Moves, and Dynamax are power-ups and more effective tools in battle, but they have to be earned, and only those who prove themselves worthy are given the right to use such tools, as they are, ultimately, at the end of the day, tools, not replacements for the fundamentals. Mastery of fundamentals is more important over the use of any sort of tools. Liko, Roy, and Dot went through an entire training arc to earn the right to use Terastal, for one. Even Coral and Sidian did a good deal of it themselves.

So far Roy (and Uruto) is the only one of the group to use Mega Evolution...which he earned over the course of a year of training in Kalos. Him getting it that way fits him because he represents a case of a Trainer who, unlike Liko and even Ash for that matter, doesn't really have any natural talent for anything, but what defines him is his drive and willingness to put in the honest effort and go through the wringer to get strong and truly earn strength that he harnesses through effort. Him earning Mega Evolution after a year of training represents effort to compensate for a lack of a natural gift, because he has drive and determination, even if he isn't a particularly gifted person or born into a favorable position (he's at his core just an ordinary guy). He represents hard work and determination.

A drive to get stronger is important because it is the key to true strength in that regard. Liko on the other hand has more natural talent and has strength in her empathy and compassion, able to truly be in sync with her Pokémon, which makes her inherently really capable through her strength in bonds and connection, but her biggest flaw early on was her lack of drive, which is also something she regressed back into over the year-long timeskip. Overcoming that allowed her own talent to really shine. I feel like she's actually a really natural candidate to use Mega Evolution and harness it effortlessly, especially now that she saw Roy and Uruto use it and is curious about it. Her natural ability to understand how Pokemon feel and truly be in sync with them lends well to the power-up, meaning the use of it would come really naturally for her (now the question is what will she catch to use it?), much moreso than Roy. She'd be able to handle and master it a lot more quickly than Roy because of that, which would line up with the fact that Roy got his Mega over the timeskip; he needed that year-long training journey because of who he is, fundamentally speaking. A guy with no latent talent but a willingness to go through honest effort via hard work and determination to compensate for it.

Which is to say, they both foil what the Strong Sphere represents, especially with Mega Evolution being set up to be a major story element. Strong Spheres represent power without either bonds or effort. Liko represents strength through connection and bonds, being able to understand her Pokémon and act in line with their feelings, Pokémon and Trainer united as one. Roy represents strength through effort and training, putting in hard work and determination. They're different but complementary and highlight where true strength is, not the hollow, effortless strength of Strong Spheres.

[vaos-studios]

GIGANTIC 2.0 Deadwood drop because I have no self control—The sequel

Part 1 is here!

The Treekiller

Currently suffering from the curse of being my favorite character (sorry spruce)

I like to think he sounds like Davy Jones (POTC). I’ve seriously considered doing voice claims for the AU, god knows when I’ll actually get to it

Just realized I forgot to put the Cashbot pattern on him

Has a tool belt with various sharp tools attached to it, it’s mostly woodcutter tools and various types of axes (this is most definitely a hazard ).

Working under this guy is no better than Chip himself. Spruce doesn’t necessarily fire people like Chip does, but you��re gonna wish he did. The work is incredibly dangerous and the hours are grueling. On top of that safety is not a priority of the project, if you get squashed by a tree that's on you. So watch your back and you’ll be fine. Probably.

Spruce still couldn't care less about the environment, at all. He probably despises it a lot more now…

Forgot to mention this before but I added a neck guard to his hat, sorta like a Gladiator helmet.

Still eats trees. Like– fully uprooted trees. 

Can now use the Cigar smoke attack and a unique animation for the Shred attack, considering his mouth is a shredder.

And yes Spruce’s shredder still works perfectly fine despite all the foliage!

Which, speaking of…

A new phenomenon gave rise midway throughout the Deforestation and Demolition project. Several members of the force report invasive Kudzu moss and various species of flora growing on their exteriors. Kudzu moss “infections” hadn't been an issue prior to transitioning to 2.0, so they're not well documented or recorded. It’s suspected this skyrocketed due to constant contact with vegetation and exposure to the elements. Fortunately, the moss doesn’t seem to be contagious from cog to cog—only from the original source. While cases range from mild to severe, so far it’s been purely an exterior issue—just changes to their outer shell. Except for one.

Spruce Campbell is one of the many “infected” and may have the worst case by far. Something went wrong—maybe it was bad luck, maybe it was a mistake during his rebuild that let something slip through. No one knows for sure. But something happened, and flora spread into his interior. It wasn’t obvious at first, not for a long time. Outwardly, he looked fine—aside from the usual signs of invasive growth. Spruce is an awfully good actor and whatever symptoms he had, he just brushed it off. No one suspected a thing—until his system malfunctioned.

While I didn't include it in the images, Spruce’s malfunction acted like a blue screen. Eyes turned blue in error, stopped dead in his tracks, and shut down. As you would expect everyone in the Deforester force immediately panics. This never happened to a cog before, let alone Spruce Campbell. The team was in chaos, unsure what to do, until Spruce woke back up. And he seemed… totally normal. His memory was fuzzy sure, but otherwise he acted as if nothing had happened. Despite this, the Deforester force swore among themselves never to tell Chip about the incident. They’re already on thin ice with him , and this would only guarantee their heads on the chopping block. 

Interestingly, the foliage provides effective camouflage in the dark forests of Acorn Acres. And the Treekiller himself doesn't even show up on the cog radar, due to the organic matter engulfing his skelecog. It’s an advantage for him but definitely not for you.  

The negatives drastically outweigh the positives however. The overgrown foliage makes the host prone to overheating and vulnerable to fire-type attacks. Not to mention it causes motor malfunctions, extreme hearing loss, severe coughing fits and unstable internal temperatures. Yeah it sounds bad, real bad but, as long as your outer shell is still intact you can get repaired no problem. After all, Kudzu moss can’t corrode metal...can it?

Treekiller’s defense is heightened due to the “reinforced” Skelecog, and the buff lowers depending on his RPM. This next part was going to be in the 3rd image but that didn’t happen so I’ll tell you here: His skelecog is reinforced due to branches and bark literally growing on it, adding another layer of defense to his anatomy.

Also I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned this (oops): The Deforestation project mainly takes place in an area called Site-B (which is in AA’s redwood forests), which is where you can access 2.0 Treekiller’s fight.  

The Chainsaw Consultant

His office is now located on the second floor of Cut to the Chase!, with a window over looking Acorn Acres. There’s nothing much to look at except for barren fields and smog.

His skelecog spine is somewhat retractable (this is a recurring theme with skelecogs), which does allow him to take on and off his coat without getting stuck (this was also going to be in the 3rd image).

The work place environment in Cut to the Chase! Logging Co. is still pretty rough. While override instances have steadily lessened, the danger hasn't.

Chip still shreds through employees everyday, and it doesn’t help that there's constant Toon infestations in the basement.

The embroidery pattern on his coat is a reference to his older redesign from November (lore: it was originally a tear Mouthpiece fixed with an embroidery pattern) (I love you Belle)

Chip got a new hat! It’s not that different than the older one but I just felt like putting flannel stripes on it.

Yes Spruce was the one that gave him the new hat.

He's supposed to be a businessman but I turned him into a runway model by accident (I like putting him in long coats).

The exhaust pipes were drawn very loosely like bull horns, and they’re removable which also lets Chip take off the hat easily.

Unsure if I mentioned this before, but he can rotate his head like an owl. This usually only happens during override though.

Character of inspiration : The Terminator robot (1984 film) (like just the robot design) (also is this a bad time to mention ive never actually seen this movie)

I was going to add a chainsaw man reference as well. Specifically the fact that 2.0 Chip’s left arm can turn into a fully fledged (diamond tipped) chainsaw. But that would mean he has a flame thrower embedded in one arm AND a chainsaw in the other…For some reason I feel like I cannot do both—even though i am literally just doing this for fun and can do whatever I want with character design. I should not have free will

Chip and Spruce share a lot more similarities than they think.

There came a time when Chip realized he hadn’t really seen Spruce in weeks—maybe even months. The last time they truly saw each other was early into the Deforestation project. Now, every time Chip sets foot on Site B, Spruce is nowhere to be found. And on the rare occasions they do cross paths, it’s always in the dark—so dark that Chip can’t see him very well, only catch glimpses of his shape before he’s gone again. And whenever Chip asks the Deforester force about Spruce, they grow uneasy. Their answers are vague, half-hearted excuses about Spruce being “off-site” or “too busy to report in.” The longer this goes on, the more suspicious Chip becomes. The Deforester Force is hiding something from him—and he's going to find out what.

Also my headcanon is that they aren’t actually related / made by the same manufacturer—They’re from two different families but knew each other since they were kids. They’ve been through rough patches before, and this 2.0 upgrade is no exception, but they’ll be okay.

...

…right?

[letters-from-himring-hill]

How Well Would They Handle Getting Shrunk

(From best to worst; inspired by this very strange conversation.)

Morwen: Adult life is already so dang weird, this might as well happen. At least this time she didn't get taken down to 1 HP. Is she happy that Gavrel is currently carrying her everywhere in a heavily reinforced crystal jar which has so many protective runes on it it's Legendary Class? No, but at least she's as safe as she can be. Atticus and Furniture Man will get her unshrunk eventually. Once the initial panic is over, Gavrel takes this worse than she does. Her primary problem is that she can't hug him when she's teeny. Hugging his finger just doesn't provide the same kind of comfort.

Furniture Man: He's seen many strange things, and heard of stranger. This is not pleasant, but it is not irreversible, he's with a very competent party who will make sure he's quite well protected, and it has an upside in the form of so many prank opportunities. If he can get Doc to let him out of the jar. Honestly, Doc is taking this worse than he is. It's going to be fine. Really. The Archmage can figure out how to unshrink him. Doc, it will be fine.

The Mysterious A.T.: He'll take this the same way he does all the other curveballs in his life, with a dash of Charisma and all the aplomb he can muster, but he is irritated. He has work to be doing.

Nik: Significantly annoyed. He has a job to do fighting things, and he enjoys that job, and now he can't do it until he's unshrunk. Also, he can't fill out paperwork like this and the pile of it that's accumulated on his desk is already appalling.

The Doc: Pretty shaken up. He heals people who've been in Situations, but he's not all that well equipped to be in Situations himself. He has faith that Furniture Man will put him back to normal as soon as possible, but right now he's so small that it's hard to heal anyone who gets hurt, and that worries him quite a bit. Also, he's not that durable, so getting stepped on is a real threat. He may be the only member of the group who voluntarily stays in his jar until restored to normal size.

Atticus: VERY irritated, and panicking a bit. He can't read books without help, Gavrel keeps scooping him into a jar "for safekeeping", and Morwen has asked him not to disappear again "because they thought he'd been stepped on". He's still the Archmage. He's not going to get stepped on. He needs to do research so he can get himself back to normal, because he's useless like this which means he has no value which means they're going to replace him. (Morwen flicks him into the jar with a finger and tells him to stop that because he has inherent value. He is in the jar again. He is mad about this.)

Gavrel: Is having a panic attack. Atticus is panic-researching. Morwen's trying to calm Gavrel down, but there's only so much that she can do when she's literally holding him in one hand and every time he calms down a bit this reminds him of why he was originally having the panic attack, because he can't protect her when he's like this. On the positive side, he might actually be willing to sleep in the jar, because he can't hurt anyone like that. Once he figures out that he's kind of like Ant-Man now, if he's kept his strength, things get a bit better.

Smol & Angry: RAGE! GODDESS, SING THE RAGE OF THE TINY CHILD WHO HAS BEEN SHRUNK. She will bite your fingers, and is kept in a reinforced jar for the safety of everyone else, but she keeps breaking out and Atticus has to make new, even more escape-proofed jars. Which, of course, means he has less time to spend researching how to unshrink her, and - get back in your jar! OW!

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

This is an embarassingly bad paper based on the use of two aversive based dog trainers who are clearly incompetant in the use of +R - yet the e collar training community is taking a victory lap.

The fact that this got past an animal ethics review is honestly appalling and the university should be ashamed.

Let's go over the main huge flaws with this study:

The positive reinforcement protocol they are using to compare to e collars is laughably incompetant - with no management or use of distance, desensitisation. Just use a leash? Maybe?

Use of aversives to stop chasing is, unsurprisingly, effective. Because, yes, painful consequences tend to work to suppress behaviour. That isn't the problem that people have with e collars.

The author seems to think that use of e collars is justified because it "gets results" in a short amount of time to stop dogs chasing - again, apparently we haven't heard of a leash.

"Aside from presumably pain-induced yelps in the dogs with e-collars when they received shocks, none of the dogs in any groups showed any signs of stress or distress." So we're saying a pain vocalisation isn't a sign of distress? That's your welfare parameter? Jfc.

Love how they didn't even try to get fecal cortisol baselines and just collected samples from a few dogs but not all of them. You tried, I guess?

The fact that the trainers for the study is "Ivan and Ivan's Student" is ridiculously biased. Acting as if both these trainers know how to apply +R effectively as opposed to their heavy aversive tool use is laughable.

"We designed our study’s methods around current trainer practices as well as the recommendations of our senior trainer while attempting to keep continencies as simple as possible." - yeeeah that's a conflict of interest. Especially when your "senior trainer" has an axe to grind with R+ people using scientific papers to support their training methods.

You're chucking treats in a bowl after a few sessions and you think that's going to stop a dog chasing a lure? Oh yeah, you got us. We just throw kibble in a bowl to stop dogs running into traffic. I am genuinely floored that that's how they think a +R protocol for chasing works. They have no business comparing the two when they can't even do one properly.

"We also did not test whether the food rewards we deployed were highly valued." Okay so the majority of my client dogs will go nuts for my meaty high value treats because they've only had store bought dry treats and the client is shocked at how food motivated their dog suddenly is..... So this study was relying on whatever the guardian of the dog brought with them lmao rookie mistake.

"Dogs that chase livestock may be shot or otherwise euthanized, and dogs that chase cars may be killed in traffic." Put. Them. On. A. Leash.

"The practical applicability of either the LIMA or LIFE models is likely limited, at least in the United States where dog trainers are not required to be licensed or certified. In a sample of highly rated dog trainers, more than half did not document any relevant education." Does that include your "senior trainer"? It does. Because he doesn't have any formal education in canine behaviour, welfare and science. You know this. You chose him to be your trainer for your study.

"The speed and effectiveness with which the e-collar inhibited the dogs in this study from chasing may justify the limited number of painful stimulations the dogs experienced if the object the dogs were chasing had been something that could directly or indirectly cause them serious injury or death." Or..... OR.... you could not use electric shocks on your dog and potential cause long term damage, fear responses ect.... And use a leash.

Just baffled by this whole study. My high prey drive whippet will go feral for a lure but only when she knows the context for when she's being allowed to chase. She can be at a lure coursing trial for the whole day not worrying about the lure because 1) I keep her at a distance where the stimulus isn't saliant enough and 2) she gets reinforcement for calmly watching from a distance.

I'm honestly getting second hand embarassment reading this study. It's just such bad science should never have gotten past an ethics board.