#it has no capacity to understand the meaning behind what it generates

[thedisablednaturalist]

Unfortunately all chatgpt is good for is interview/job application stuff which I think says a lot about the hiring process as a whole

[vendimeyers]

The fairy/walrus thing is actually kind of an incredible testament to the truth behind Brandon Sanderson’s first law of magic.

For those that don’t know, popular fantasy author Brandon Sanderson has become quite renowned for how he implements magic in his stories and he decided to write three different essays on the rules he follows and why they work the way they do in storytelling. He calls them his “laws of magic” and the first one is: An author’s ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic.

Basically, in general for good fantasy writing, you can do anything you want with magic and it will almost always alway be accepted by the reader as long as you set up beforehand what the magic is capable of. Or if you didn’t do that it has to be something the reader discovers with the characters (I mean this generally of course I’m sure there’s always exceptions).

Both the walrus and the fairy scenario imply to the reader (of the poll) some form of magic was employed. The reason a fairy sounds more plausible at that point is because the general cultural consensus in people’s minds is that fairies are already magic and it’s not far of a stretch to believe that a fairy would employ the thing it’s universally known for in order to show up at people’s houses.

However with the other scenario, a walrus knocking at your door. Implies that a walrus is employing some form of magic. But the problem with that is that we already KNOW what a walrus is capable of. A walrus has RULES. When the only rule a fairy has to follow in order to knock on someone’s door is “be magic” a walrus has to first break all the rules we already have about it before “be magic” is even an allowed concept. Before a walrus can be magic it has to take a journey of some length from its aquatic origins, have a specific destination in mind(outside of their regular behavior patterns), and have the capacity to knock. All forms of magic that walrus’ are not known for employing.

Like if the walrus scenario was a book someone was reading and at the very beginning the author described a world in which there was a secret society of walrus’ who have there own politics and methods of travel and cultural nuances, and then went on to describe one of THOSE walrus’ appearing on the reader’s doorstep then the reader would left with a much smaller sense of disbelief more comparable to that of a fairy showing up on their doorstep.

Anyway this wasn’t to say that there was a wrong or right answer to the poll I just think peoples brains are neat and I love how something like a silly little poll can highlight such a big truth in how people communicate to each other and take in information.

[jozor-johai]

Ned has this small speech in AGOT Bran I about why he must behead Gared, and I think there's some really interesting takeaways. Not about why he must do it, the part he focuses on; the part Ned doesn't focus on: why it's legal, and what that means for Gared.

"Do you understand why I did it?" "He was a wildling," Bran said. "They carry off women and sell them to the Others." His lord father smiled. "Old Nan has been telling you stories again. In truth, the man was an oathbreaker, a deserter from the Night's Watch. No man is more dangerous. The deserter knows his life is forfeit if he is taken, so he will not flinch from any crime, no matter how vile.

Ned moves our attention along to why Ned had to be his own headsman, but in just a few sentences here, we've been introduced to the paradox of law that makes this system so fundamentally unjust and broken.

We're told that "no man is more dangerous" than this deserter, so we might think, for a split second, that Ned feels he must kill the man because he is dangerous. But as Ned points out, the logic is actually the reverse: "he knows his life is forfeit if he is taken, so he will not flinch from any crime" (emphasis mine). It is not the prevalence of crime that is creating the demand for law, here, it's the existence of this extreme law that is generating the crime. Not wanting to be killed, the deserter would do anything to survive.

For Ned, the epitome of law in the North, who literally acts as judge, jury, and executioner, the tautology of the reasoning is irrelevant. The man is dangerous, now, whatever the situation. Of course, for Ned it's also really about an adherence to the laws of the Night's Watch, which is an institution as old as his house. It's their death sentence to declare, his to pass.

This time reading it, though, I was struck by how Ned's words here are an inversion to Septon Meribald's broken man speech, which is too long to relay here but ends with this:

"He turns and runs, or crawls off afterward over the corpses of the slain, or steals away in the black of night, and he finds someplace to hide. All thought of home is gone by then, and kings and lords and gods mean less to him than a haunch of spoiled meat that will let him live another day, or a skin of bad wine that might drown his fear for a few hours. The broken man lives from day to day, from meal to meal, more beast than man. Lady Brienne is not wrong. In times like these, the traveler must beware of broken men, and fear them . . . but he should pity them as well."

Septon Meribald is describing Gared here, just as much as he's describing the men at war. There isn't a mention here directly of the threat of punishment for desertion, which is more extreme with the Night's Watch than elsewhere, but the reality is the same. Here, though, Meribald's approach is entirely different than Ned's—Meribald, who walks among the smallfolk and gives away what good he can offer, has a much more understanding and empathetic view of these men.

Ned has the capacity for this understanding, but his role is simply not to have kindness here. All of the goodness and kindness Ned has otherwise just doesn't matter here, because here Ned is the law, and Ned is a lord still.

With the fact that even Ned is given this treatment, we see how rigid and unjust the laws and class structures are here. Even a "good person" is not good in Ned's position.

I think this highlights the cause behind the growing smallfolk unrest throughout the books and especially in Feast/Dance. Even the good lords, the ones who can see the problems at work here, are still lords, and still hold themselves to the status quo that keeps them in power above all else. And it takes a very different perspective—like the kind Arya has gotten, for example—to see it the way Meribald does. (Though Arya has gone the opposite route away from forgiveness... that's interesting too.)

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Who Taught You How to Love Like That? - Chapter Three

Pairing: Modern!Aemond Targaryen x female character (third person) Warnings: Sugar daddy/sugar baby dynamics. Smut. Oral (f receiving). Mild angst. Word count: ~3.1k Series masterlist

Chapter summary: The dinner date happens, and much more besides that.

Author's note: No gods, no masters, no tag lists. Only scabs community label fics. If you find yourself tempted to slap a label on this, please block me instead.

She hasn’t been able to shake the memory of Aemond’s lips since they kissed on Wednesday evening. He’d dropped her home shortly afterwards, letting her know he’d pick her up at 7pm on Friday. Since then her tummy has fluttered every time he crosses her mind. If she closes her eyes she can almost taste the red wine and cigarettes on the plushness of his lips as they’d pressed eagerly against her own.

She knows it is foolish to wish for something more, to expect their arrangement to be something other than transactional, but that kiss had felt like he meant it, so she allows herself a tiny slither of hope to believe there is the possibility for a genuine connection to blossom between them.

Relieved when her last minute annual leave request for Friday is approved, she gets to work on making sure she looks her best. She intends to spend the day face masking, exfoliating and shaving until she is the very picture of perfection for her dinner date.

She’s startled by the buzzer to the flat, rushing to the door to answer the intercom. She lets the delivery driver up, assuming it’s something Mysaria has ordered, but balks when three parcels are handed to her, each of them with her name on.

She opens the first, it contains a black floor length Ralph Lauren off the shoulder gown with a thigh high slit. She holds it against herself in front of the mirror, she knows Aemond is generous to her, but she is still awestruck by the sheer extent of how much he is prepared to spoil her.

The second package is a pair of Jimmy Choo black suede open toe platform sandals with a stiletto heel and delicate ankle strap. She turns the shoes over in her hand, marveling at them, but also wondering how on earth she’ll ever manage to walk in them.

Her phone vibrates and she’s unable to keep the Cheshire cat-like grin from her face as she sees it’s from Aemond.

I saw the tracking information for my gifts update to state they had been delivered. Do you like them?

She fires off a quick response.

I love them :) Thank you xoxo

It’s only after she’s set her phone back down that she remembers there’s a third package, hidden among the wrappings of the first two she’d opened. Her eyes widen as she unwraps it. Agent Provocateur. Aemond has sent her lingerie.

Her palms grow sweaty as her heart races and her thoughts travel faster than her mind has the capacity to keep up with. This clearly meant he anticipated something happening between them this evening. What man sends a woman underwear if he doesn’t expect to see her in it? She isn’t experienced at all. What if he’s disappointed? What if he asked for a refund? Fuck, can sugar daddies even ask that of their sugar babies?

She is broken out of her mild panic when Mysaria comes home. “You in?” She calls out as she closes the front door behind her.

“In here.” She shouts back from her room.

She hears her flatmate toe off her shoes and then pad towards her. She leans against the doorframe, eyeing the packaging and clothes that lay scattered on the carpet and lets out a low whistle.

“Daddy been spoiling you? Lucky girl!” Mysaria says with a grin, which disappears when she sees her worried expression. “What’s the matter?”

She holds up the Agent Provocateur lingerie box by means of response and Mysaria nods in understanding.

“Nothing needs to happen until you feel ready. Why not just try it on and see how you feel?”

She sucks in a steadying breath, attempting to calm herself. There was no harm in trying it on.

It turns out to be a playsuit of sorts. An underwired, padded quarter cup bra with a basque constructed using satin covered black boning and satin straps to create a cage-like effect, complete with suspender straps with gold-toned sliders, with subtle, matching black satin bows. Inside the box is also a flimsy black lace thong and black silk stockings.

“The man’s definitely got taste.” Mysaria says, helping her into it.

They’ve had to boot up her laptop and look up the lingerie on the Agent Provocateur website in order to figure out the intricate series of straps and clasps, and she can’t help but notice the eye watering price that’s listed alongside it online. Fuck. There was no way Aemond wasn’t expecting to sleep with her.

She stands in front of her full-length mirror and runs her hands over her body, looking at the way her breasts sit within the cups of the bra and how the straps of the basque dip and flare with the natural curve of her waist and hips.

“It looks different on the model on the website.” She says nervously, chewing her lip. “What if Aemond doesn’t like it?”

Mysaria snorts derisively. “Girl, please, that model has been airbrushed to shit. You are real and you look hot as fuck. Daddy’s gonna lose his mind when he sees you in that.”

“You really think so?” She asks, turning slightly, still studying herself in the mirror.

Mysaria gives her a playful swat on the backside. “Oh, I know so. Now let’s finish getting you ready.”

Two hours later, her hair and make-up have been perfected by her flatmate, and she stands wearing the dress and shoes that Aemond had gifted her - she has done several practice laps of the living room in the heels, to ensure she doesn’t fall over - the lingerie is snug to her body underneath.

Her nerves disappear the moment Aemond steps out of the car to greet her. His long silver-blonde hair is loose. She has never seen it all down at once, it falls thick and lustrous, well past his shoulders. Yet another well-tailored black suit hugs the broadness of his shoulders and the length of his long legs.

Any uncertainty as to how she ought to say hello dissipates as he cups her jaw and presses a soft kiss to her lips.

“Hi.” He murmurs, keeping her close. “You look beautiful.”

“Hi yourself.” She whispers back. “You don’t look so bad either.”

He helps her into the passenger seat and the drive is spent in comfortable silence, though this time his hand lays a possessive hold on her knee whenever he’s not shifting gears. It leaves tingles across her skin in its wake and the gesture makes her feel lightheaded.

They pull up outside a restaurant called SOLA and Aemond takes her hand as he opens the car door for her.

“I took the liberty of choosing this place because it has a Michelin star. Never actually tried it myself.” He tells her as they walk in.

The dining room is small and intimate, elegantly decorated with an abundance of leafy green plants and sculptural lighting, but she is struck by the distinct lack of other diners.

“Why is no one else here?” She whispers to him as they’re ushered towards their table.

He smirks, watching her take in her surroundings with wide eyes once they are seated, his one seeing eye studies her closely. “I hired the place just for us for tonight. Wanted you all to myself.”

She giggles at that. Such a show off. She expects the food to be equally as flashy, a display of wealth for the sake of it. However, Aemond has ordered ahead of time for the both of them, with choices that suggest a more refined palate that goes beyond merely wanting to splash his cash.

They dine on Kindai bluefin tuna and oysters, paired with crisp white wine and the conversation flows as effortlessly as the wine.

She finds out that there isn’t much in the country from a business standpoint that the Targaryens and Hightowers don’t have a hand in. His father had worked to build an empire alongside his partners Otto and Daemon, prior to his death, and much of it has been left for his children to take care of now that he’s passed. Aemond oversees most of the legal aspects of the business, which is unsurprising to her considering how sharp his mind is.

He listens intently as she tells him more about her history degree and love of fine art. It saddens her when he tells her that originally he’d wanted to study history and philosophy, but had had to give that up to pursue a career in law when his family’s expectations were laid out to him.

It’s obvious there is an abundance of complexities and drama surrounding his family, but she knows better than to attempt to unpick all of that now, especially when the evening is going so well. 

Her skin feels heated every time he reaches across the table to gently stroke the back of her hand with his thumb. His eye contact is intense and with every moment that passes she finds any apprehension she had about sleeping with him simply fading away. She wants him.

“Dessert?” He asks, as the meal draws to a close.

She shakes her head with a slight smile. “Couldn’t eat another bite.”

“A pity.” He says, taking her hand and tugging her from her seat towards him. “I’m still absolutely ravenous.”

“For what- oh!” She gasps as he sits her on the edge of the table in front of him, lifting the skirt of her dress to the side by its thigh slit.

He hums in approval as his eye roves over the bottom half of her lingerie. She feels like there isn’t enough air in the room, her heart hammers wildly against her ribcage as his hands run up and down her legs. His thumbs stroke the creases where her thighs meet her pelvis as he drinks her in.

“W-what if one of the waiters sees?” She asks nervously, squirming against the heat that pools between her legs.

“Well, I suppose we’d better put on a good show for them.” He tells her with a raise of his eyebrow.

He hooks two fingers into the lace of her thong, pulling it to one side before he leans forward, groaning appreciatively as the flat of his tongue strokes gently through her folds.

A soft moan escapes her. No one has ever taken the time or care to do this to her before, she is unsure of what she’s supposed to do in this situation, but the thought leaves her mind entirely as Aemond begins to flick his tongue against her bud before suckling it harshly. She leans back on her elbows as he devours her with his lips and tongue, doing her best to stifle her noises by biting her lip, her chest heaving with the effort to stay quiet.

Her hands fly to his head, burying themselves in his hair as she bucks against his face when he speeds up his movements. Sounds of enjoyment rumble in his chest, sending shockwaves all the way through her body, causing a telltale tightness to rapidly build within her lower belly.

She finally falls apart, shuddering atop the table with a strangled cry when uses the tip of his tongue to draw tight circles against the most sensitive part of her. He pulls away, his face shining with her slick as he lifts her underwear back into place. He grins, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

“You okay?” He asks.

She nods, feeling dazed. “Yeah…just…I need a minute.”

Aemond chuckles, smoothing her dress back into place. “Understandable.”

“That was…wow.” Is all she’s able to say once she feels lucid enough.

Aemond stands, helping her from the table. “The bill was taken care of in advance. Let’s head back to my place. I want to be somewhere where you don’t have to stifle those pretty noises you make.”

His hand sits higher on her thigh on the drive back. A mixture of nervousness and excitement has her pulse thrumming from thoughts of what he’ll do to her, of what he’s just done to her. Nobody had ever gone down on her before, but now Aemond has, and on top of a fucking restaurant table of all places.

Aemond lives in the penthouse of a modernised high rise. It’s minimalist. All of the fittings and furnishings are a combination of matte black and shiny silver chrome. It’s clean almost to the point of feeling sterile. It’s obvious he doesn’t spend a lot of time here.

She grins when she sees the elderly doberman raise her head from her bed as they walk through to the living room.

“You must be Vhagar.” She coos softly, kneeling and offering a hand for her to sniff. She scratches gently around the dog’s ears, giggling at the way she narrows her eyes in satisfaction, lifting her salt and pepper snout towards the ceiling.

“She’s not normally fond of strangers.” Aemond muses, as he kneels beside her, ruffling Vhagar’s head.

“The trick is to approach from their level and offer your hand before you try to touch.” She tells him. “Most animals that don’t like people just haven’t been approached by the right ones.”

He stares at her for a few moments, a small smile upon his lips, before he finally breaks the silence.

“Can I get you anything?” He asks, standing and walking towards the kitchen.

“I’m good, thanks.” She follows him and they hover by the kitchen island, simply looking at each other before he surges forward to kiss her.

The force of it feels like it knocks all the air from her lungs, it’s hungry and possessive and she returns it with equal enthusiasm, whimpering as her tongue meets his. He dominates the movement, his hand cupping the back of her head as he backs her into the bedroom.

She topples back onto the bed at his soft but insistent shove. Black sheets of a no doubt ridiculously high thread count feel like buttery silk around her as Aemond kneels before her to tug off her dress.

“Fuck.” He mutters as she lays before him in the lingerie he’d bought for her. “Yeah, we’ll be leaving this on. And these.” He grips the heel of her shoe, as he places a kiss to the inside of her ankle, before letting it drop again.

She watches, transfixed as he sheds his own clothing. Aemond is a work of art. His chest and abs subtly toned, he is all lithe, corded muscle, and she clenches at the sight of him. He is already hard when he strips all the way off, and nerves nibble away at her as she looks at the sheer size of him. Long and thick, lightly veined with a blush pink tip, her mouth waters slightly at the sight, yet there is a part of her that worries it might hurt. She had only ever slept with her ex before, and despite her inexperience she knew enough to know he wasn’t well endowed, nothing compared to this.

Aemond crawls over the top of her, trailing hot, open mouthed kisses to her neck and collarbones that make her writhe beneath him, each one sending warm ripples of arousal through her.

His fingers dip between her legs, pushing past her thong to stroke at her. “Shit,” He hisses. “Still so wet for me, I don’t even have to prepare you.”

He takes a condom from the nightstand, tearing it open and rolling it over the length of him before repositioning himself between her legs.

They both suck in a sharp breath as he begins to push inside, the stretch of him against her sensitive walls is both too much and not enough all at the same time.

“So fucking tight.” He grits outs, his grip on her hips vice like as he bottoms out.

He lays like that, forehead rested against hers as they both adjust, only daring to move his hips once she relaxes.

His strokes are smooth, even and precise, tapping a spot inside of her with every thrust that has her clutching his shoulders and moaning his name.

“Feels so good.” She mewls desperately as his hips piston against her own.

“Oh she likes that.” He hisses, almost mockingly, placing one of her legs over his shoulder and pounding harder into her.

Her eyes roll back at the sensation, her hands grip frantically at Aemond’s biceps and then the bedsheets beside her as he rubs at her clit with his thumb in tandem with each of his thrusts.

“You gonna cum again for me, pretty girl?” He asks huskily. “I can feel you squeezing me.”

“Fuck!” Is all she’s able to cry out in response as she feels herself tighten and spasm around him, her back arching off of the bed with the force of the pleasure that washes over her.

Her own release triggers Aemond’s and he snarls, holding her tight against his chest as he stills and spills into the condom.

He pulls out, depositing it into the wastebin and pulls her into his arms.

She feels utterly spent, boneless and dazed in the wake of what she’s just experienced, but Aemond isn’t prepared to let her doze off just yet.

He moves down the bed, unbuckling each of her shoes and removes them. He ushers her to the bathroom with a firm tap to her thigh. Once she’s finished and settled back into bed with a glass of water, he begins to slowly unclasp each of the straps of her body suit, softly rubbing and kissing each of the indentations made by the bones of it as it falls away from her body.

“You’re gorgeous.” He whispers to her, stroking her hair as she drifts off to sleep.

She awakens the next morning, surprised at how refreshed she feels considering the events of the previous evening. She smiles to herself as she snuggles into the luxurious feeling plushness of the bed, thoughts of how good Aemond had made her feel playing on a loop in her mind. She is startled slightly when she rolls over to find his spot empty.

A note has been left on the bedside table.

Sorry, had to run. Have transferred you money for cab fare - A.

She sighs. She hadn’t expected breakfast in bed, but she can’t deny the sinking feeling in her stomach at the fact he hadn’t bothered to stick around. Rummaging through her things that lay scattered on the floor, she retrieves her phone to look at the time when she sees the banking app notification.

£5,000 from A. Targaryen. Her heart twists painfully in her chest. That wasn’t cab fare, it was payment for last night.

[turtleboyo22]

Cyno is not known for his capacity for joy. Whether cracking jokes or saving lives, Cyno never displays even an ounce of emotion on his face. For this, the General Mahamatra commands fear and respect across all of Sumeru. After all, it's hard not to cower away from a man whose expression lends nothing of itself to anyone.

As for Cyno himself, he is not ignorant enough not to have noticed how those around him act when he's there. He's hyper aware of the effect his entrance will inevitably have on a room, tense silence sucking the air from everyone else's lungs. Though this can be useful for a great many of Cyno's duties, he can't help but feel somewhat resentful of the reputation he has cultivated.

In spite of what the majority of people may believe, though, Cyno spends most of his free time quite content, joking around and enjoying life's leisures. Still, those who witness him outside of work from a far may assume that he's as serious as ever due to his perpetually neutral expression. It is only those who truly know Cyno that understand that the man does not lack emotions, but rather he merely displays his in an abnormal way. In fact, for the people who know Cyno, his joy especially is not only obvious, but also exceedingly common.

The only problem is when Cyno's job requires him to comfort those who don't know him. His expressionless face and toneless voice aren't the most soothing, and his blunt way of speaking certainly doesn't help the issue. Even his jokes can't save him, as most people just stare at him blankly afterwards. This is also what made it so difficult when the general rescued a young girl; he had no idea how to make her feel less scared of him.

When Cyno first brought Collei back to Sumeru, the young girl couldn't help but fear him. After all, ever since she was a young child she had been surrounded by people who wanted nothing more than to harm her. She underwent experiment after excruciating experiment day after day for the first 10 years of her life, all while battling a life-long illness and finding out her parents had died. When Cyno had found her, Collei was still adjusting to the idea of people treating her with kindness. Her past combined with Cyno's stern disposition compounded into Collei being afraid of the man who was trying to save her. She thought it was silly, looking back.

Collei first saw Cyno happy a week after she was brought to Sumeru. Cyno had come to visit her and Tighnari to see how she was settling in and Collei found herself playing card games at a too small dinner table with her newfound guardians. Cyno had been telling puns throughout the evening, a past time of the man's that Collei had yet to become accustomed to, but Tighnari's defeated expression told her it was commonplace.

In any case, one joke in particular caught Collei's attention: "I don't think we should play poker today," Cyno said. "Why not, Cyno? You usually jump at the opportunity to beat me at everything," Tighnari snarked, making Collei smile. She'd adjusted to her new master's occasional sass over the past week, meaning she'd learnt there was no malice behind his words. "Well Collei has already been through so much, I wouldn't want to hurt her more."

A beat of silence.

"Do you not understand the joke? You see, poker sounds like poke her. As in I'd be poking Collei, harming her further. But also it's the game's name," Cyno explained.

Another beat.

"Cyno," Tighnari groaned, covering his frustration with a hand over his face. "I thought it was funny," Cyno said, stoney tone and twin expression both very much still intact. "It was insensitive to Collei," Tighnari argued, "you can't just say things like that."

"But why not? All three of us know that she's had to endure a lot of pain in the past. It's not a secret," Cyno argued back.

And as their bickering continued, Collei found herself smiling. She was fond of them, she realised, fond of the men who had rescued her and fond of their playful arguing. Her smile grew until a small laugh escaped her mouth, more and more following until she was giggling. She couldn't remember the last time she laughed.

Cyno and Tighnari immediately shut up, snapping round to look at Collei in shock. She'd barely spoken since she arrived at Tighnari's hut, and now she was giggling. "Told you it was funny," Cyno gloated and Collei couldn't help it. She was full on laughing now, arms wrapped around her torso as her cheeks ached with joy.

Tighnari started to chuckle a bit then, so endeared by Collei's antics. Cyno just watched the two. From afar, anyone would've thought it cold but typical of the general mahamatra. He did not smile nor did he laugh. In fact, he was so expressionless that he seemed almost detached. But Tighnari knew better, and Collei was starting to as well.

Cyno's shoulders had relaxed, Collei noted, not realising they were ever tense until they weren't anymore. As her laughter died down, she also noticed how Cyno's eyebrows were less bunched up now, highlighting the newfound pink of his cheeks and red of his ears.

"Proud of yourself?" Tighnari teased the man, but there was no bite to his words. It was clear Tighnari had noticed Cyno's sudden change in demeanor, attempting to prolong Cyno's (and Collei's) joy for as long as possible by jabbing further. The softness of Cyno's movements as his hand found its place upon Tighnari's put Collei at ease. Perhaps she could find a home here with these two afterall. After all, this was the safest she'd felt in years.

[utilitycaster]

Hi! I saw your tags on the escape room poll that Team Liam would be last and I wanted to ask why? While I agree that they wouldn’t be first, I wouldn’t put them last either. Do you think they would just have too much conflict to use their skills?

I didn't realize this was from last night's 4SD and because OP said "Battle Royale" I assumed that it was in some way a combat-oriented escape room, in which the lack of a dedicated/significant healer (Vax has, what, 30 lay on hands and a couple low level spell slots) and the fact that Orym is one decent but not incredible tank among two of the most tissue-paper characters in terms of HP would spell their defeat.

With the understanding that this is a traditional escape room here's my thought process:

From my escape room experience there are four skills that map easily into D&D skills and one that does not map into the D&D character skill chart but does map extremely well onto players. They are:

Investigation/raw intelligence. How good are you at inspecting and comprehending things?

Sleight of Hand/raw dexterity. How good are you at manipulating objects/fine motor control?

Persuasion or Intimidation/raw charisma. How good are you at convincing people to work together or perform tasks?

Perception. How good are you at generally noticing things right away?

The most crucial thing, however, is "do you try dumb shit and push buttons and try to figure out everything quickly." And so:

Toss up between Travis and Sam's character teams in terms of the D&D skills; Chetney and Veth are both particularly suited for escape rooms between strong intelligence and high dexterity. I think Sam's team overall is probably stronger; Tary's mechanical knowledge and FCG's desire for everyone to work together and Scanlan's general buffing abilities/capacity to get people to do what he wants (presumably win) mean everyone has a lot to bring to the table. FCG is the only one with decent perception, iirc, though, and Travis as a player is fundamentally a button pusher and therefore his characters will inherit this energy even though Chetney and Fjord are going to be carrying the entire thing (although, actually, Grog will probably respond well to being asked to perform tasks or look for things).

Taliesin's characters have the combined skills but unfortunately with the except of Caduceus they all have the trait "does not work well with others" and Ashton and Percy in particular wouldn't listen to Caduceus and they're the ones with the most relevant skills here. Beau could do an escape room on her own and probably would (note: someone told me this is what Marisha said on 4SD and I agree wholeheartedly) but necessarily will be less effective than groups who work together. Vex would do pretty well and would be competitive enough, but none of Laura's characters are particularly expert in investigation and if Vex and Imogen clash it is 100% over in terms of getting out in time, though I think Jester would make a valiant go of it. None of Ashley's characters crack +1 in investigation and no one has 20 dex, and I doubt most would be interested or competitive about this, though I do think they'd get along the best by far.

Rounding things out, I suspect that Liam's characters are just behind Taliesin's in terms of conflict; it won't be quite as heated but I get the sense all three of them, all of whom are very much about working together with their respective parties, will not be very good at working together with each other, and Orym is the least likely to take the lead despite most suited for it. Caleb is extremely smart but I don't think he'd be the most invested in going super fast. I don't think they'll be last - Ashley or Taliesin are more likely - but they'd certainly not be first. The NPCs, meanwhile, have the advantage of two people who know each other well, a very agreeable and mature person in Eshteross, and Essek and Allura will probably vibe solely on the basis of being wizards who know and like Caleb if they don't know each other personally yet. Iirc Essek and Eshteross should have decent dex scores though not 20, and everyone has diplomatic skills. I believe Allura's wisdom is respectable as well. They'll certainly be the most well-behaved and adult about it.

In conclusion, you're right, probably not last (would almost certainly be last in the combat scenario I mistakenly imagined) but absolutely should not be first.

[eulchu]

these past few days i've been seeing really weird rethorics that i think should be cleared up (note: this does not reflect my feelings towards the reality of caiti and george's situation, i'm strictly speaking about the debates that have arisen as a consequence of it)

- "the friends are responsible for it" wrong. in this case, the friends are shitty. they're neglective and they worked a girl into a panic over their preconceived mistrust towards the dteam. caiti is not "the baby of the group". she does not share a considerable age difference with the rest of her group. this was a group of equals partying together, where no one was expected to hold more responsability than the rest. thinking something is "weird" doesn't necessarily equal something feels "off". just because my friends think it's weird that i was hooking up with people significantly older than me doesn't mean the situation felt "off".

it's unfair to expect someone to esentially play babysitter - if it hasn't been previously discussed, and especially when all of you are drunk, and roughly the same age. take care of your friends, always, and keep general tabs on what they're doing, who they're with, and most importantly, where they're going. but to expect to keep such an scrutizing and detailed eye on an equal that has the right to have fun as much as you is unfair and unrealistic. when someone's reaction to something unpleasant is having "no reaction", it's not out of the world to miss it. if you find yourself in a situation where you're the friend, don't berate yourself for missing it. sometimes there's no way of catching it until something has happened, and it doesn't mean you have to live the rest of your days keeping your friend in a tight leash.

sometimes these things happen - every day we stay alive, we take risks. humanity struggles with understanding why some things happen "just because", and we are always ready to conjure a "cause" that will ease our fear of uncertainity. there's ways to minimalize those risks, yes, but life like that would esentially look like living in a bubble - and even then, there's just some things you will never be able to avoid.

- "it's not victim blaming, it's victim accountability" that's not a thing in this context. straight up. victim accountability definitely exists, just not in this case. using the term "victim accountability" in the context of avoiding one-off tragedies that have one active perpetrator (ex. a robbery, sexual assault) as opposed to a tragedy that is considered an accident (ex. a fire, a car crash; in both cases we can all agree there is no actual intent behind the situation) is treacherous and a veil term to soften the blow of calling it victim blaming.

we have to draw a bold line between "should not have left the stove on" to prevent a fire <- fire is not a sentient beinig that has the conscience of wanting to start a fire. fire is not at blame because it doesn't feel blame // "should not have drunk before driving" <- the road you drive on isn't sentient. it can't push you off the road intentionally. if you crash into another car, the person behind the wheel is definitely sentient, but definitely not at blame, since they did not want to crash into someone (in the situation where you did not crash into someone with the intent of crashing into someone else) and "should have known wearing a skirt that short would increase the chances of someone else doing something bad to you" <- your innocuous behavior should not be linked to someone else's misbehavior.

it is not your responsability to measure your behavior to appease to someone's misbehavior. whilst they're still steps you can take to minimize the risk of something happening, someone else's actions will never be your responsability, not even partly. you are not responsible for someon'e elses misconduct. those who have the capacity to misconduct (the intent, the lack of social conscience, etc.), will do it -if not to you, to someone else.

someone else's behavior will never be anyone else's responsability but their own. you may play a part in it, as everyone acts as a reaction to their context (in which everyone is included) but it will never be your responsability. and i need everyone, especially young kids, to understand that.

[mayflowers515]

(My Wholesome Cartoon AU) Smiling Critters Relationship Chart

🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

(credits to @valentinbelleyh505 for the template)

If the lines are too much, here is more elaboration on the relationships here! :)

🧡☀️DogDay's Views on Everyone☀️🧡

Bubba = Friends

Kickin = Friends

Picky = Friends

CatNap = BFFs + Family-Like Relation

Hoppy = Friends

Crafty = Like + Friends + Crush

Bobby = Friends + Like

DogDay gets along with everyone! He finds the good in all of his friends and will always help them with whatever is troubling them. He is particularly close with CatNap, as they have been best friends for a long time. They understand each other a lot and when CatNap is seen, DogDay is usually with him! He also gets along really well with Bobby since both are very friendly and often see the good in people. I can imagine them giving each other pep talks encouraging the other a lot despite literally facing similar problems lol- DogDay also really likes Crafty. He admires her talents and isn't afraid to let her know that he does. He seemed to kinda gain a bit of a crush on her overtime. He doesn't really plan on telling her for a while, though. Feelings can be confusing sometimes =v='

💙💡Bubba Bubbaphant's Views on Everyone💡💙

DogDay = Friends

Kickin = Family-Like Relation + Friends

Picky = Friends

CatNap = Friends + Neutral

Hoppy = Neutral + Friends

Crafty = Friends + Family-Like Relation

Bobby = Neutral + Friends

Bubba is often viewed as a familial figure in the group. He just has the dad/older brother energy, what can I say? Bubba places high value on helping his friends and cares about them a lot. He doesn't always get click with everyone, though. Particularly in the case of Critters like Hoppy due to her impulsiveness and Bobby because of her tendency to sometimes think overly emotionally at times. The older brother energy I mentioned earlier did have an effect on some of his friends. For Kickin, he and Bubba just overtime started to have a bromance. Bubba normally would've seen him as neutral had it not been for this, but for some reason he can't explain, he gained a soft spot for the chicken. In the case of Crafty, they are both interested in learning in different capacities. Their contrasting interests behind the academia makes them bounce off each other well, and Bubba sees Crafty like a sister as a result.

💛⭐KickinChicken's Views on Everyone⭐💛

DogDay = Friends

Bubba = Family-Like Relation + Friends

Picky = Family-Like Relation + Friends + Neutral

CatNap = Friends + Neutral

Hoppy = BFFs + Crush

Crafty = Neutral + Friends

Bobby = Friends

No matter how big Kickin's ego may be, he will never deny his friends. He cares about all of them and gives each of them their own kind of attention (with his energy being added in that mix of course). His energy does kind of clash with Critters like CatNap and Crafty, however, as they are much more reserved and not too showy. Kickin gained an unexplained bromance with Bubba. He tends to nag Bubba a lot like a younger brother, and Bubba usually has to scold him whenever he gets too over his head. Despite their differences, they both have soft spots with each other. Kickin also sees Picky like a sibling, but they have this kinda chaotic sibling energy if yk what I mean- They randomly beef with each other sometimes. He gets along the best with Hoppy due to both being active and sharing similar interests. Kickin is used to being teased by Hoppy, but he doesn't mind it from her and even does it back at her out of friendly rivalry. Maybe also feels that way because he gained a bit of a crush on her... He'd rather spare his image and not tell anyone, but it's more obvious than he means it to be, so...

🩷🍎PickyPiggy's Views on Everyone🍎🩷

DogDay = Friends

Bubba = Friends + Like

Kickin = Family-Like Relation + Friends + Neutral

CatNap = Neutral + Friends

Hoppy = Friends

Crafty = Friends

Bobby = BFFs + Family-Like Relation

She is generally pretty friendly towards everyone. The only one she isn't as close with is CatNap, but that's mainly because she doesn't interact with him as often. Though she still treats him well like her other friends :> She is particularly close with Bobby, as they have both been in similar situations before officially being a part of the Critters friend group. They see each other as sisters in a sense. Picky's friendship with Kickin is a little complicated, however. They both still get along, but in the sense of a slightly chaotic brother and sister duo. They have random beef over each others' antics at times and are prone to teasing each other over silly things.

💜🌙CatNap's Views on Everyone🌙💜

DogDay = BFFs + Like + Family-Like Relation

Bubba = Neutral + Friends

Kickin = Neutral + Friends

Picky = Neutral + Friends

Hoppy = Neutral + Friends

Crafty = Friends

Bobby = Friends + Neutral

CatNap is by far the Critter with the most neutral friendships out of everyone. Since he's barely awake to the usual antics of the day and his more antisocial behavior, he just isn't very close with a lot of people. There are some exceptions, however, such as with DogDay. The two have been best friends for a long time, and CatNap feels DogDay understands him the most out of everyone. He's also closer with Crafty compared to the other Critters, too. They are both more reserved and are pretty chill a lot of the time (except the times when Crafty's in a panic, in which CatNap usually helps her just like anyone else in those scenarios). He's also slightly less neutral towards Bobby because of her desire to understand everyone regardless of their quirks, which CatNap finds some comfort in.

💚⚡Hoppy Hopscotch's Views on Everyone⚡💚

DogDay = Friends

Bubba = Neutral + Friends

Kickin = BFFs + Crush

Picky = Friends + Like

CatNap = Neutral + Friends

Crafty = Neutral + Friends

Bobby = Friends

Hoppy is very outgoing and friendly with her buddies, but she may feel neutral towards those more reserved compared to her. To her, it's harder to find common ground with friends like CatNap and Crafty due to their contrasting hobbies. She also doesn't always get along with Bubba because of her impulsiveness contrasting his more usual level-headed approaches. She gets along best with Kickin because they are both active and have similar personalities. However, like Picky, she is prone to teasing Kickin a lot, but in her case, it's more of in the sense of the friendly rivalry they have with each other and wanting to challenge each other. Hoppy also doesn't seem to realize Kickin got a crush on her, or the fact that she took a liking towards him, too. Ah well... =v='

🩵🌈CraftyCorn's Views on Everyone🌈🩵

DogDay = Friends + Like

Bubba = Friends + Family-Like Relation

Kickin = Neutral + Friends

Picky = Friends + Neutral

CatNap = Friends

Hoppy = Neutral + Friends

Bobby = BFFs + Like

Crafty is pretty shy and a little bit distant, but that doesn't stop her from getting along. She may feel a little less close to friends like Kickin and Hoppy because of their personalities being so opposite from each other. Despite this, she does like DogDay. He is always so kind and encouraging to her, and she admires his leadership. She isn't aware he developed a bit of a crush on her, though. She also views Bubba like a brother because of their similar interests and the way they bounce off each other. She is best friends with Bobby because they both appreciate life's smallest details in similar ways. They would definitely get along and make gifts together!

❤️❤️Bobby BearHug's Views on Everyone❤️❤️

DogDay = Friends + Like

Bubba = Friends + Like

Kickin = Friends + Like

Picky = BFFs + Family-Like Relation

CatNap = Friends + Like

Hoppy = Friends + Like

Crafty = BFFs + Like

Not much to elaborate on for Bobby since she has a lot of the same feelings towards everyone. She gets along with all of her friends and admires each and every one of them for who they are. She especially gets along with Picky and Crafty. Picky because the the two have met before the friend group got together and see each other like sisters in a sense. Crafty because they both share an appreciation to putting value on everything, and I can see them working on gifts together :)

Extra notes:

I personally don't see anybody as hating each other. The worst I'd see is possibly potentially dislike towards some Critters, but it isn't anything major that would threaten their friendships. In fact, all of them, despite their views on each other, still see each other as friends. They couldn't imagine their little group being completed without one another <3

Also, in terms of those with crushes, their interactions would still be more platonic as I don't see them being OVERLY romantic with each other in the AU. They can still express their love in other ways, though! (And if there's different opinions regarding ships, that's fine too. Just please nothing inappropriate. They're children... T^T) As for those in the "like" category, that doesn't really have anything to do with crushes. It more of represents admiration if anything. At least that's what I think of it anyway-

Possibly some more elaboration on some Critters' relationships with each other in the future, but for rn, this should hopefully get a good understanding as for their dynamics with each other in my AU! Also hope to exercise these dynamics more in scenarios :)

🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

[muzzleroars]

Where in the timeline do you think god died? My best guess would be soon after the crucifixion/resurrection/ascension considering the whole plan behind that was the atonement of all humanity's sins (which would also deny Hell new souls) using his own aspect (the son) as the perfect sacrifice.

Yet it failed, humanity is still wrong and Hell is still being fed, and he can't claim humanity is beyond saving because he's god! there could be no more pefect of a lamb to wipe away his humanities mistakes than himself!, but the son lived among them for so long and got to understand them on a level that he could never do as god and upon rejoining the trinity brings this knowledge and allows for the realisation that was he was the problem, he can't fix sin because he himself is nowhere close to the perfection he demands from all of his creation. And I think that would cause all the cracks to finally break.

This would mean that Mary would live her life, ascend to Heaven to find it in chaos with her son nowhere to be found.

This would also give quite a long time for Lust and Greed to build themselves up before Heaven sorts itself out, 2000 years is a long time for a human but not much for a husk and even less for an angel.

I hope this all makes sense!

ouuuugghhh this is interesting, because i think this can work from a scriptural sense - though there is no appointed time for the second coming, some of the gospels could be interpreted as suggesting it would happen within the contemporary generation. however, it's wholly possible here that the son changed this timeline and ran everything off the rails entirely because of what he saw and learned in his human life. human life is fill to the brim with complexity, with ambiguity, with strife and joy sometimes all at once, and being so infinitely limited in their scope and with such a short existence, i think his ideas just. shifted. sinners are often stuck in situations they didn't choose, they are often powerless and rendered unable to change through stigma, and he knows this because so many transformed instantly when all he did was offer them a bit of help and compassion. yes, there are cruel and wicked people, those that worsen the existence of others for their own gains, but so many that he once condemned as god, sinners of necessity, of ignorance, of mistake, he could no longer see evil in. and so when the trinity is reunited, when the son returns to the father and the holy spirit, he is not in sync with them. this is ultimately what i see as the reason for god's destruction, that the holy spirit, analytical as always, interprets god himself as the problem and so self-destructs essentially.

and it makes sense in the timeline capacity too, for lust to have been so built up, would take....a VERY long time if you consider all the components that had to come together to do this. they would first need to get used to the lower rate of angels, which may be a pretty long period before it reaches the point where they realize their presence has been permanently drastically reduced. then minos would have to be able to organize the people, which seems a difficult task since so many are traumatized or reduced to their husk instincts (i tend to think lesser husks have the capacity to be much more human, but the environment doesn't allow it). finally, he (and i assume other greater/supreme husks) would need to plan, to mine resources, to acquire the materials necessary and work their technology from the ground up all in the hostile world of hell (unless it was too interested in their trajectory and granted a reprieve. just to see what happens lol) to have this functioning society with a massive city that's all now left in the past would take incredible amounts of time. and like you say, 2000 years is long on a human scale, but likely very little to the immortal angels of heaven.

i sort of have the idea that many of the angels, particularly human-born ones, were kept in the dark about god's disappearance. it would be easy enough, i think, as he is likely rather distant from them and the new arrivals wouldn't know the difference but....it's an impossible sell to someone like mary or the apostles. it's likely that gabriel would have been the one to inform them of the situation, especially when it comes to mary - he was the annunciator, and additionally he is depicted perpetually adoring her in dante's paradiso. yet even he cannot tell this mother where her son has gone, and it quietly tears him apart. he wants to believe in the eternal existence of god, that he is all things, yet informing mary of his absence makes him see the all too familiar grief reflected in her eyes. all of it was too good to be true, she thinks, and gabriel begins to consciously think the same. all of it was always too good to be true.

[astral-mariner]

My question is a bit weird but do you think that Vegeta knows about menstrual cycle , reproductive health,..stuff like that ?

( I just got my period and this thought just randomly popped out of my mind .)

I have literally thought about this before! Short answer: I think he does in a limited capacity.

I think that, while it's true he was never around any saiyans who menstruated as an adolescent or adult, he's not the sort to remain willfully ignorant about the biology of his own species. (I mean, he probably has to be aware of all different kinds of creatures' biology to know how to kill them, honestly.) Yes, he's really uncomfortable around anything to do with sex and reproduction. How could he NOT be, given that he's painfully aware he's the last of his kind, the only survivors not reproductively compatible with each other? But it's also precisely because of this fact that he'd eventually have to face and understand why this was the case.

There's no way he wouldn't be curious even if he tried to repress it. What other types of saiyans could be like. How their bodies worked. Particularly forbidden and mysterious because all of them were gone. (Something being impossible definitely tempts a fixation if it doesn't create one.) He probably asked in extremely indirect ways looking for answers (he would NEVER address it outright). Nappa and Raditz may have volunteered information or let little details slip. And...as dark as it is, I can imagine Freeza "educating" him about what he's lost. Little reminders or remarks here and there rubbing in Vegeta's face how he's the last of his bloodline.

All of that said, I don't think that saiyans menstruate in the exact same way humans do. For one, their planet and its moon certainly don't follow the same calendar as Earth. So their menstrual cycles may or may not line up with lunar cycles the way human ones do (roughly). Their biology probably adapted to their planet and their warrior lifestyle. I can imagine that a saiyan who trains very harshly or is in brutal wartime conditions might not menstruate at all (just like very athletic humans or humans under stressful conditions can stop menstruating).

On the other hand, though, I can also imagine that, like humans, saiyans generally have to be fertile pretty frequently in order to maintain their population due to the high death rate. There are several ways this can be the case. They can have a longer fertile window in their cycle. Ovulation itself could be responsive to certain kinds of sexual activity/fluid contact as it is with some animals on Earth. Or saiyans could have more control over when they are fertile than humans do, say, via intentional increased food intake that signals to their body that they are in safe enough conditions to risk a pregnancy. While I know it's popular in fanon, I don't think seasonal "heats" are very conducive to population maintenance---again, due to the selection pressure towards frequent fertile windows. A longer, less frequent window results in less fertile time overall, fewer opportunities.

So now with that considered, what does Vegeta know when he arrives on Earth? He probably knows that some saiyans menstruated sometimes. He knows what menstruation is and why it happens. He's aware of the dimorphic variations in saiyan bodies even if he avoided any kind of conversation or media that goes beyond perfunctory, practical details. It's a source of pain and loss for him even if he's not emotionally intuitive enough to understand that. He knows why he can't have children with any of his comrades and the mechanism behind it.

But at the same time, he's not necessarily going to assume that human bodies work exactly the same way as saiyan bodies. He's traveled all over the galaxy and seen lots of different species variations. Some of them humanoid (saiyanoid?) just like Earthlings are (I have a ton of headcanons about this). And their bodies are all a bit different from his even when they are similar.

So, say, if Bulma tells him that she's menstruating, he's not going to be shocked by it. He's not going to be totally lost. But he also probably isn't going to anticipate some of the little details about human menstruation. He's not going to know how long it lasts, for example. (Like, saiyans may have shed the uterine lining in a much quicker fashion when they did menstruate for practical reasons... So I can see him being a little surprised when human menstruation happens more gradually over a longer period.) He's not going to know how frequently it happens until he observes it or is told. He's not going to anticipate how painful and unpleasant the experience can be for an Earthling. He's not going to know any of the social cues around it. It probably wouldn't occur to him that many humans don't like having sex or engaging in certain sex acts while menstruating. He barely knows the social narratives around his own species menstruating, nevermind those of humans.

More generally, I'd conclude that Vegeta knows the basics of sexual health and reproduction. He knows how reproduction occurs for his species. He has a drive for sex and eventually figures out that those cravings and bodily responses are related to reproduction even if he avoids it as much as he can. (Though I can imagine the way he finds out that those responses are sexual might be less than ideal. His situation is fucked up in so many ways.) He'd have to face all of it eventually. He wouldn't remain in the dark about why he was the last of his kind whether because of his own need to understand and/or because it was being rubbed in his face constantly.

[horsesource]

“Xenophon speaks of horses ‘greatly appreciating’ certain ‘courtesies,’ and, to the irritation of a more or less scientifically minded translator, of the ‘cunning’ of certain hunting dogs in leading other dogs off the trail of a rabbit by barking or baying falsely. The editor and translator in question appends a footnote in which he indulgently explains and apologizes for Xenophon’s naive little slip here in attributing such a degree of intellectual capacity for misdirection to a mere (helplessly sincere) animal. When I showed that passage to a friend of mine who is fond of fox hunting, he remarked rather gloomily, ‘I believe I know that darned hound!’ Xenophon wrote quite some time ago, but his notions and something like his language continue to echo in modern training, albeit revised, here and there expanded, here and there muted, as well as from time to time severely reduced. Trainers still speak of whether or not a horse is ‘mean,’ ‘sneaky,’ ‘kind’ or ‘honest’ and vary their approaches to situations accordingly, sometimes saying, ‘Hey! You’ve got to come down on that dog hard and fast and right now.’ Or ‘Relax, there isn’t a tricky bone in that horse’s body; he’ll take care of you.’ Or, in appreciative awe, ‘Look at that dog work. She knows her job, doesn’t she?’ Or, as a general principle of training, ‘But first and above all, the horse’s understanding must be developed.’ Or ‘If you want to know where the track is, ask your dog!’ There seems to me to be something terribly important about this language and what it implies, partly of course because it is a language I myself speak, but also, as I began in time to notice in more and more detail, because one can do so much more with the trainers’ language, despite the fact that in the mid to late twentieth century it sounds as it has for some time—at best naive and at worst offensive, somewhat in the way that Huckleberry Finn has sounded offensive to some. Attempts to speak in the way I have in mind have been regarded as heretical as well as intellectually unsound. And the agitation expressed by some writers and thinkers in the face of the trainers’ persistence in talking the way they do, as well as the uneasiness some trainers express in response to their awareness of the possibility of that agitation, and the attempts in the introductory portions of some training manuals to placate that agitation, suggest that modern injunctions against anthropomorphism have as much of a heretic-hounding impulse behind them as any of the older ones. When, for example, I gave a portion of ‘Tracking Dogs, Sensitive Horses and the Traces of Speech’ as a talk at the New York Institute for the Humanities, one person in the audience said that what I was saying sounded a little, well, religious. I patiently worked at finding out what she meant by religious, and it turned out that she meant ‘anthropomorphic.’ I said, ‘Oh, yes indeed, that’s the whole point of this project!’ She wondered aloud if I should be allowed to teach in a university, and at a later talk, when I found myself seated next to her by accident, she asked me to leave the room.”

Vicki Hearne

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hi MBTI-notes. INFJ here. Many thanks for your tremendous insights. Your analysis of unhealthy INFJ’s has been absolutely spot on for me. I can see that I can be incredibly, sometimes laughably, unrealistic, have great difficulty being present, and alternate between too cynical and too trusting.

However, despite knowing about the INFJ weaknesses for several years now thanks to your blog, I keep making these mistakes. Some feel harder to change than others - like the difficulty focusing that, in my case, seems similar to ADHD.

I am trying a variety of things including finding the right mentors to bring me back to reality and hold me accountable, DBT, and improvements to basic physical self-care like sleep. I might also consider getting on medications for bipolar I (a diagnosis I have received due to two manic episodes, although they’re not sure if I need to be on meds) or ADHD.

In your experience, what is necessary to successfully close the gap between simply knowing about my problematic patterns and actually changing them? I am really hoping that improvements in emotional intelligence via DBT will close the gap, and also am trying to be more systematic about maintaining and improving my interpersonal relationships. Maybe it will be a combination of many small things like mastering physical health and routines, realistic goals, the right mentors, discipline, etc.

(From the INFJ who mentioned bipolar I). As an addendum, I just wanted to mention that the two episodes definitely involved some psychotic thoughts and behavior, but it's unclear if they fit a traditional manic episode, as I've not experienced periods of little sleep but high energy. It’s quite possible that BPD is a better explanation due to a connection in both cases with a romantic interest. I just wanted to mention this in case it impacted your response at all.

----------------------

"Knowing" about problems means being in possession of the facts, so it comes mainly through observation and gathering information. A lot of people go through life not knowing how problematic their thinking/behavior really is until they get critical feedback or generate very negative consequences. Even then, perhaps they still can't admit to having a problem and they use defense mechanisms such as denial to avoid confronting the truth. Getting through these defenses can be an arduous process. Even though knowing is really only the first step, it can already be quite a difficult step.

If knowing is only the first step, it means it's not enough. More is required. Knowing is not the same as "understanding". Understanding comes mainly through developing self-awareness, which involves the capacity to perceive and evaluate oneself accurately and objectively. Self-awareness can be described as low/high or shallow/deep. To improve self-awareness usually involves going inward, through reflection and introspection, to discover the roots and mechanisms behind psychological issues.

If knowing is about grasping the facts, understanding is about being able to provide a proper explanation of the facts. For example, a lot of people feel low self-confidence very acutely but they have no idea about how it came to pass or why they suffer. When you don't understand your thinking/behavior, it means you don't know the causes of it, the motivations behind it, or the factors that contributed to its manifestation.

That said, when people know but don't understand their problem, they are still capable of some small self-improvement. Generally speaking, they'll seek out advice from those in the know and try to discover some common rules, methods, or procedures for dealing with the problem, which allows them to become more functional in daily life. However, while they can improve a bit, their growth tends to be limited because it remains unclear whether the solution they've found is the correct one. Perhaps they feel some relief or progress, but it doesn't really seem long-lasting. Why? Knowing without understanding means every "fix" you try is basically blind and random experimentation. If something works for awhile, you don't understand why. If something doesn't work, you don't understand what went wrong. This is one reason why self-help methods have a high rate of failure; they simply don't get deep enough into the problem, so self-awareness remains too low.

Using the example of low self-confidence to illustrate, different people suffer for different reasons. For Person A, perhaps it's because of fear of failure that creates too much anxiety to feel confident. For Person B, perhaps it's because they lack knowledge and skill, so they feel too incompetent to approach tasks confidently. Person B needs to improve their knowledge and skill through learning and practice in order to feel more confident. But this remedy isn't going to work for Person A. Regardless of how knowledgeable or skilled Person A is, they will continue to fear failure, because it is an entirely separate issue that remains unaddressed by Person B's remedy. If you were looking to the above two cases for inspiration, you wouldn't get very far without knowing YOUR individual reasons for suffering low self-confidence.

It sounds like you are still in the stage of knowing - gathering the facts about your issues in order to name/label them correctly. It's good you've gotten some practical advice for managing your issues. Using the INFJ functional stack to frame the issues also seems to have been helpful for improving your self-awareness. However, what I'm still not seeing is true understanding. You haven't yet discovered the underlying causes/mechanisms and aren't able to provide an accurate and objective explanation of why you suffer from these issues. In short, it's just harder to solve a problem when you don't know the cause or how it arose.

This is probably one reason why you're running into difficulty with getting clear official diagnoses. People often view an official diagnosis as "the answer", but oftentimes the label is just a way to describe a particular set of symptoms. It doesn't reveal enough about what's really going on underneath the surface. The process of talk therapy ought to be aimed at making better sense of the symptoms, so it's important to pair any pharmaceutical interventions with talk therapy.

I never want to discourage people from self-improvement. I appreciate your willingness to seek out answers. You asked me what might be lacking in your approach and I've given you my best guess. You've focused a lot on "doing" and "following", implementing some commonsense strategies like physical self-care and learning from good mentors. This is certainly a step in the right direction. But from the perspective of analytical psychology, you haven't done enough to go within to understand your own individual psyche. It is likely that working on your emotional intelligence through DBT will deepen your self-awareness. But, at this early stage, there is no way for me to predict if it will "close the gap". If you care about understanding yourself better, be willing to take your therapist's reflections and inquiries as deep as you can go with them.

[leportraitducadavre]

Neji vs. Kidomaru

After reading and re-reading the chapters focused on the Hyüga prodigy against the archer of the Sound Four, I decided to dedicate this battle an entire post, not so much because of Kidomaru, but because of Neji who, by the age of thirteen, is both an excellent strategist and fighter. I've been reading lately a lot of mistreatment towards his character either direct or indirect (as when specific portions of the fandom downgrade/diminish his capacities to compare him to very canonically mediocre ninjas), so I wanted to give him some appreciation.

We start in Chapter 192: In there, Kidomaru trapped Shikamaru, Kiba, and Naruto's clone. Shikamaru's plan was to distract Kidomaru in order for Neji to attack him but the man traps him as well and imprisons him in a cocoon. Naruto, whose clone has been destroyed, jumps from behind Kidomaru and punches him, but he's fast enough to incapacitate the Jinchüriki.

While this is happening, Neji analyzes Kidomaru’s technique with his Byakugan and realizes that the webs are a mix of spit and chakra that keeps circulating even after he releases them. Therefore before Kidomaru could attack his teammates with Kumonenkin (x), he releases them -as the Gentle Fist’s technique specializes in cutting/stopping chakra flow (x):

The Hyuuga combine their x-ray vision with their ability to see chakra, allowing them to see the chakra pathways within the human body. This served as the foundation of their Gentle Fist as they inject their chakra into the enemy’s pathways that are entwined with their internal organs to damage them in ways they can’t defend against. Those with higher than average visual acuity – naturally or trained – can even see the 361 chakra points which release chakra from the body which can then be targeted to disrupt the enemy’s chakra flow. Viewing the chakra pathways directly means that they can literally see the enemy generate chakra, transform it into a technique and channel it through their body, allowing them to react to an attack before it is actually unleashed.

(Source)

I’ve already reiterated what the Gentle Fist’s techniques consist of, but let’s make sure we have all the information about Kidomaru’s techniques that he has displayed thus far:

Spider Web Flower (Kumo Souka) Ninjutsu, Hiden, Supplementary, Close to mid-range User(s): Kidoumaru Countless clinging nets capture his prey! A special adhesive net released from Kidoumaru’s mouth. These nets, created with chakra, stick to their prey and do not let go. The nets themselves are very small, but can be created in a split second, so raising the rate of capture by spitting out several in a row is possible. It is also useful against multiple enemies.

(Source)

Spider Web Unrolling (Kumosoukai) Ninjutsu, Hiden, Supplementary, Close to mid-range User(s): Kidoumaru A net that blossoms and covers all — enveloping its prey in one fell swoop!! A web that captures and contains all enemies attacking from the front. The sticky and elastic threads are so strong that even an elephant pulling each end would not break them. The enemy is crucified, unable to budge a muscle, let alone fight back. Once captured, their fate is in the hands of Kidoumaru.

(Source)

I've said it before, but again, Kidomaru traps Neji in his Spider Cocoon (Kumo Mayu), which is:

These are the first three techniques we see him use and the one that traps Shikamaru’s team. Neji, by analyzing Kidomaru's technique, decides to use the Gentle fist Technique to break Kidomaru’s chakra connection with his spider webs, making them fragile enough to cut, and liberates the entire team before Kidomaru attacks Naruto:

Not only was he able to discern a counter-attack to Kidomaru’s technique but he also freed himself and both Kiba and Shikamaru in the short time span Kidomaru was distracted by Naruto.

In order to understand the speed at which Neji moved, let’s look at this:

Neji is able to activate his Byakugan and intercept Kidomaru’s projectiles before they reach his teammates -Kidomaru’s technique is Kumo Souka, which as shown before can be created in a split second even against multiple targets -Neji activated his Doujutsu (without using any seals!) and intercepted the projectiles in a matter of seconds.

It's because Kidomaru understands Neji's strength and speed (he even calls him the strongest of the bunch) that he decides that the best course of action is to overwhelm him with a rapid succession of Kumo Souka (again, this technique is so fast that it allows Kidomaru to spit a huge amount of projectiles):

He successfully traps Neji and prevents him from using his arms because he knew about Hyüga's technique: He was warned. Orochimaru told him about the Gentle Fist and, in doing so, gave his pupil an advantage Neji doesn't have -as he's encountering Kidomaru's techniques for the first time.

Spider Sticky Gold (Kumo Nenkin) Ninjutsu, Hiden, Supplementary User(s): Kidoumaru Amazingly adaptable metal woven from inside his body! Peculiar and unbreakable spun gold! Kidoumaru uses this jutsu to harden the golden metal that releases like sweat. The weapons created from this process form the core of his style of fighting. This metal hardens like steel upon contact with air, so by chewing it in his mouth and changing its shape Kidoumaru can create weapons appropriate to each battle. It hardens the instant it appears! It can be easily shaped into even a sword or bow. The bizarrely shaped sticky gold becomes a devastating projectile weapon– Because it instantly hardens, direct attacks from a distance are possible.

(Source)

Kidomaru uses this attack to kill Neji, who is trapped by his web. However, such is Neji's control of his own chakra (Hakkeshou Kaiten, Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven) that he can release it from his body's Tenketsu -immediately breaking the spider webs and dodging the attack.

He's even able to attack Kidomaru with Gentle Fist Style 8 Trigrams 64 Palms with enough speed for Kidomaru not to be able to dodge as he gets blown out through a tree:

However, Kidomaru's technique is particularly complicated for a Byakugan user as his Kumonenkin (when hard) doesn't allow chakra to go through the barrier. As I've said, he didn't have time to avoid Neji's attack, so he produced a gold shield through his sweat glands to protect his energy flow system, hence making the Gentle Fist technique useless:

Regardless, Kidomaru is aware that attacking with any close-range Jutsu or keeping using the same techniques Neji already defeated would've pointless, so not only does he activates Orochimaru's Seal -he also summons Kyodaigumo for her to prevent Neji from using the 8 Trigrams Palm Rotation technique (x)

In order to perform the task asked by her summoner, Kyodaigumo spawns a big amount of baby spiders that rain down on Neji (Amagumo) to both slow him down and distract him from the actual attack.

Yet Neji is able to see, despite the multiple attacks he's facing, Kidomaru's Kumonenkin. He even decides to defend and attack using solely Taijutsu (Gentle Fist style) against the big amount of spiders.

His reaction speed is marvelous, he's able to dodge all the kunai Kidomaru throws his way but the ones that he throws in his blind spot!

He's able to keep dodging and successfully attacking the two other waves of Rain of Spiders (x) with two more kunai in his body before ultimately defeating Kyodaigumo with six kunai on his back (x).

Can we pause a little bit and understand that Neji is fighting without pausing: 1) The baby spiders Kyodaigumo throws at him. One by one. 2) The web they produce that reduce his movements. 3) Kidomaru's Kumonenkin (gold daggers)

All the while he's exhausted and wounded.

Furthermore,

Even while Kidomaru unknowingly (he finds out eventually, and targets that specific place later on) threw those attacks on Neji's blind spot, he reacted fast enough to avoid fatal blows.

In the Second Stage of his seal, Kidomaru has 100% striking accuracy with his bow -yet Neji, while injured, is able to dodge the attack! Kidomaru's arrow covers 50 meters in an instant:

And Neji dodges it -Kidomaru didn't miss, Neji sensed it with his chakra and deflected it.

Neji's blind spot.

In order to counteract Neji's movements (as when he runs his blindspot changes positions -not in the sense of moving through his body but him moving), Kidomaru uses chakra powered cord to change the course of the arrow.

So Neji decides that he won't run (and this panel breaks me):

And this is how far the arrow travels (pointing out Kidomaru's ability with long-ranged attacks):

Neji, while dying (he's canonically agonizing), uses the remaining of his chakra to invade Kidomaru's chakra-powered cord and strike him (severing his connection to the arrow). He hasn't immobilized him, he simply hurt him.

Now, and this is the real cake:

Neji (remember, he's without chakra and he's gravely injured) cuts the wire, runs through the forest, and reaches Kidomaru before the Sound-nin even reaches the ground; he literally covered this entire distance:

while Kidomaru was falling.

The sheer amount of speed he possesses even at his worst state (he uses no fancy jutsus to jump from one place to the other, he is simply running) is incredible.

And allow me to be petty: I can't believe some people compare and elevate his cousin's abilities in order to claim them to be on the same level (lucky him there wasn't a rock around to make him trip). He's superior at this stage, and I dare to say he's still superior to her at this age even after the War Arc; she's never even mentioned to be remotely good, least of all as good as Neji, whose prodigy status persists even after the time-skip.

The Main Family in its entirety (maybe less Hiashi), pales completely in comparison to him.

Neji's explanation of his strategy and why he was able to keep fighting after Kidomaru's attack. Now that's what I call a strategist.

Chapter 198 is the chapter where Neji canonically (and finally) lets go of his hatred towards the Hyuga Main Family (x), he even states that Naruto “saved him from darkness” (x) -which is not only letting go of a negative feeling such as ire but also transforms him into an obedient tool of both his uncle and his cousins. Here, Neji’s Arc comes resolutely to an end, narratively positive, revolutionarily negative.

I wonder if the feather is supposed to symbolize Neji’s wings? As in, him becoming free of “his cage”; or is a single feather a symbol of him plucking his wings -therefore, becoming trapped inside the cage?

Neji deserved more than he got.

[indiaalphawhiskey]

Why do you think Harry agreed to this stunt in the first place? Harry is such a professional and I know that he would have approached his role in dwd with professionalism and wanting to prove himself. He would never willingly want the image of someone that only got the role for a film because the director had the hots for him. It completely undermines his first substantial role and I can't image Harry being thrilled with that and many other things that have transpired.

Hi, love.

Sorry this took me a while to answer, I was at work and wanted to give this ask the attention it deserved.

So, as much as we can logically assume motivations behind some things, the truth is, we'll never really know. We're never really going to know how this stunt was originally presented to Harry, whether it has since transformed in a way that he didn't initially agree to, and what he negotiated in return.

All we do know is that he's been in the showbiz industry for over a decade and has a broader and better understanding of the inner workings of these kinds of things than we (as the general public) do. And, since he did agree to this in some capacity, we can only assume that he went into it with eyes wide open and had examined the pros and cons of it to the best of his (and his team's) ability. That's not to say that there weren't factors that blindsided him (Olivia's personality and (un)professional practices, her personal family disputes, COVID delaying the movie, the sudden overlap in release between DWD and MP) that, in hindsight, would have led him and his team to make a different decision, but I just caution against the blanket idea that Harry goes into stuff like this without a decent level of research and protection.

That said, I think this is a good opportunity to ground this discussion by reminding ourselves of the way Harry's industries (music and Hollywood) view him. Though these industries are built on public entertainment, their overall objective is really profit. Which means, to them, Harry's value doesn't lie in his talent, his artistry, or his artistic integrity (all of which he has in spades), but whether or not he can bring in (boatloads of) money. Additionally, as big as Harry seems to us, to Hollywood, he's entirely replaceable. The very minute they see a dip in his ROI - poof! - he's gone. So, what I'm saying is, pragmatically speaking, what Harry may have wanted or however he would have preferred to enter the world of acting, is, in the face of a profit margin, vastly irrelevant to Hollywood. There are other actors who have been in the industry for decades, who are still stunting (Ben Affleck, par example), and that's because this is how Hollywood works. This is what they know brings in the money. And, although Harry went into acting with a name and a hefty fanbase, for all intents and purposes, we have to remember he was still very much a gamble. In terms of negotiating power, he definitely had more than the average starred-in-an-ensemble-cast novice actor, but still not nearly enough for studios to not put the full force of marketing and all the theatrics of PR behind him to ensure the movie's success.

I do believe, in an ideal world, Harry wants his work to speak for itself. He says as much, in terms of his music. But, we have to remember that, as free and big and unique as Harry may look to us, he's his industries' product - their commodity - and to them, Harry's only responsibility is to continue being wildly profitable.

[stormblessed95]

Hello Storm. I love your blog and it has helped me many times when I needed to find sources of content and specific information. Thank you for maintaining this archive of Jikook and BTS-related content, as well as keeping up healthy fandom discussions.

This could be a strange topic but I'd like to talk about "shipper" vs "supporter". I've seen your discussion on the topic and believe most Jikookers share your opinion. I find myself in the minority, feeling that "supporter" is not a well-fitted self-description. "Supporter" to me seems odd since there is no 100% confirmed relationship to support, no matter how likely I think it is. On the other hand, if "supporter" simply means I support their relationships and life choices in general regardless of who they are with, then I am not specifically just a Jikook supporter. I would be also a Jimin supporter, Jungkook supporter, supporter of all members of BTS, etc. I wonder if it is just me being pedantic, or I am not understanding the real reasoning behind the choice of word.

If I absolutely have to choose, I feel like "a shipper who respects boundaries" could possibly describe me better. I do have a soft spot for their interactions, I just have no twisted desire to dictate the interpersonal relationships of other people. However, I have the feeling that deliberately choosing to call myself a "shipper" would almost guarantee misunderstandings whether within or outside Jikooker circles, so I end up avoiding either words entirely😂

Hi, thanks for the kind words. Here is my post on the topic for you/anyone else if they haven't seen it so that I'm not repeating myself

In all honestly, im so over the shipper community at this point, I'm just going to call myself a jikook lover at and leave it at that. Lmfao feel free to also call yourself the same if you want! I think a lot of people forget, as I've gotten quite a few angry jkkrs in my ask box as well these past few days along with just in general when I talk about other duos (specifically one) too, that I am an OT7 army first, a yoonmin biased army second, and a jikook lover or "supporter" third. This mini rant isn't directly at YOU anon, just an in general reminder. Lol

As for me, when I do say supporter, it's what I described in the post above. "Jikook" is also just their duo name. It's supporting their possible/probable relationship, it's supporting their friendship, it's supporting them individually. It's support without expectations to be fulfilled. And honestly, I don't care how you chose to label yourself lol. It's just a label. I care about how you behave and your actions in relation to the guys. So if you have respectable boundaries and you have their best interest in heart and you aren't being shady to them or anyone else? Call yourself a shipper to your hearts content! And that goes for a shipper of any capacity. From taekookers to namgists, to jikookers and taejinnies, to ot7 poly truthers. Don't be hateful, don't be shady, respect everyone's boundaries. And then therefore I'm fine with whatever and it won't bother me.