#I just want mooooore info we have nothing

[cayenne-twilight]

I don’t even have anything new to add about the trailer uhhh… love the steamed punk, the seamless environment puzzle is cool, I hope the cowboy villain is secretly a hot butch babe, uh, hit that big red button down below to manifest flora

[the-new-anime-girl]

Hiii!! I just read your post about Gojo and sugar and overstimulation and I need mooooore info!!! I really like it and I want to read it with details, could you do a long post about that?? (I don’t care if it has ten page on Word, I’ll gladly read it <3) have a wonderful day and stay safe!!!

Thank you for the ask, it really surprised me in a good way when I saw it, and I hope this post is satisfactory! Don't be afraid to ask for clarifications, I'll use my still-shallow understanding of psychology to answer to the best of my abilities!

Now, MANGA SPOILERS FOR JJK (Mainly Flashback arc)! Enjoy :)

Let's begin with my hypothesis that Gojo is especially sensitive to some types of physical touch, in this case pain. I think that's because of the infinity (which he used only in battle as a teen but seems to always use as an adult). Gojo isn't used to being injured and feeling pain like that. As an adult he may even be unused to everyday pains like stubbing a toe.

Him being unused to any serious pain may explain his intense reaction during the fight against Toji.

When he is suddently gravely injured for maybe the first time and that pain persists over time (I don't have the exact time but we can assume at least almost half an hour from the first fight with Tojo to the rematch), his brain could register the sensory information extremely dangerous and set off alarms Big Time™.

As an adult I also think the continuous use of Infinity against almost anything and everything could lead to Gojo feeling understimulated in spite of all the information (or visual stimuli) he gets from the Six Eyes.

People who are chronically understimulated seek out experiences which stimulate them in the sense that the nervous system is aroused (activated). Activities like this include parachuting or gambling. Gojo uses the physical 'stimulant' of sugar, but he could also be arousing his nervous system in other ways, by seeking out excitement. (I'm actually wondering if his teasing of other people to get reactions is one of those ways).

Before diving into excitement we need to talk about the mechanisms behind why we approach or avoid things -we need to talk about BAS and BIS.

Firstly, and more interestingly in this case, is BAS. BAS stands for Behavioural Approach System, its the signal we that encourages us to approach something, like food, warmth or friendly people.

People with highly activated BAS are very sensitive to rewards and more likely to approach situations that can give them good rewards, in spite of significant risks!

People who are understimulated may have more BAS tendencies, so could this be another part of Gojo's character?

Well, he doesn't seem to have a strong BIS. BIS stands for Behavioural Inhibition System, and it's what makes us avoid something. People with very active BIS are more sensitive to punishment, and can often avoid situations in fear of a negative outcome, despite the possibilities of great reward.

To me Gojo definitely feels more like a person dominated by the BAS. And why would he not be? He is The Strongest™, he doesn't have to worry about most fights because he always has his raw power to fall back on. If he goes all out with no restraints he will always win, so there is no reason not to approach a situation if he wants to. And I'm not saying he always succeeds, even in the fight against Jogo he doesn't learn anything and Jogo gets away, but he wins the physical fight.

And even as Jogo gets away, Gojo doesn't seem sad or angry, he is happy -smiling and joking with Yuuji!

In most fights that Gojo participates in he seems calm and collected, but often times he also seems glad! For example with how he in the fight itself jokes around and toys with Jogo, reveling in mocking him.

This is his personality, but that is ofc influenced by the underlying psychological mechanisms and processes. So this behaviour could be seen as him entering fights giddy because he is chasing a possible high reward.

And this could be another way for him to seek the excitement he needs because he feels understimulated, and is spured on by his strong BAS.

The excitement and arousal Gojo seeks in fights may be what makes him reach optimal level of arousal. This is another mechanism I mentioned in my original post, but to put it simply optimal level of arousal refers to activation of the nervous system and how well one performs a task. If a task is easy or well-practiced we can perform it  our best under pressure (but not too much), but if we're new to the task even smal amounts of pressure can make us fail miserably.

Gojo seems to reach optimal level of arousal during fights, he always performs well in the fights themselves. As stated in the manga, Gojo is in his element when he fights alone. Easy fights don't push him, so he seems more at ease there, but harder fights (early Shibuya *cough* *cough*) definitely makes it seem like he is "in the zone" -optimal level of arousal, I would rather say!

Returning to his fight against Toji, I would argue that the overwhelming sensations he felt on top of the effects of the Six Eyes pushed him out of optimal level of arousal, which made him falter and fail.

But it was also in that near death experience that he "grasped the core of cursed energy", suddently understanding a lot of previous unavailable information. All of this combined probably made his brain go 'haywire', firing off and obscene amount of signals even as it was being regenerated.

All of this activation in Gojo's nervous system could have been too much for him, and made him (at leas feel) overstimulated.

(just a note bc I love talking about psychology; overstimulated ppl often want to receive less stimulation and people with naturally more stimulated nervous systems therefore seek less excitement in daily life, preferring fewer people and more quiet.)

Gojo seemed ecstatic in the rematch against Toji -Toji even asked (in the translation I read) if Gojo was high. As the rematch began Gojo was giddy and excited talking about his new knowledge, shouting and laughing. This lends itself to the reading of Gojo being overstimulated, since one symptom I didn't touch on in the original post, is feeling overly excited. At the same time, near the end of the rematch, Gojo seems to have calmed down and become more detached - thinking calmly about Amanai, his emotions and motives, while also quoting Buddha.

When Gojo meets up again with Getou, he looks exhausted, the tiredness from before the fight finally catching up to him.

This time he falls bellow optimal level of arousal, the excitement he may have gotten from the fight is over, and after Getou stops him from massacring the cult there is nothing left to do. As the stressful situation comes to an end, there is nothing he can do except wind down as the adrenalin leaves his system.

I don't have anything more to say for now, as I feel I've covered everything I wanted to in this post (and god it became longer than I thought it would!). I hope it was a little informative, and if you read the entire thing, thank you! <3

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

hi! sorry if you've answered this before, i tried searching but nothing came up- how did you get so knowledgable on the asoiaf series? i feel rather foolish when i read meta and realise all that i thought i knew about the series is wrong or superficial/shallow and it makes me feel like i need to be spoon-fed information, which in turn makes me feel more foolish and pathetic. (idk if that even makes sense, and sorry for ranting) (1/2)

 i really want to break out of that and gain as much knowledge on the series as i can (as it is my favourite series and an endless source of inspiration). my questions are 1) how did you get so knowledgable? 2) do you have any tips on how to become more insightful (idk if that’s the right word)? 3) is there like websites or stuff i can read? i’ve basically been drowning myself in meta and it’s kind of helping, but i want mooooore lmao. (2/2)  btw thank you for your blog and for your amazing posts

You’re so very welcome!

1) Age (not that being older is necessarily better – there are many brilliant young meta-ers – but years of experience helps a bit with some things I think, including critical thinking), reading all the time, always being interested in learning new things, unlimited curiosity, dogged research skills, and of course my weird memory.

2) Keep re-reading the books. You almost certainly didn’t catch all the details on your first go-round, especially if you were reading quickly desperately trying to find out what happened next. (I know I missed stuff!) Many of GRRM’s details and subtleties can only be caught on a re-read, especially an in-depth focused re-read. While I have only done one major re-read of the books (prior to the release of ADWD), in the course of answering questions on tumblr for the past 6 years I’ve reread the books in parts dozens of times now. In parts, mind you – there are many chapters I’m sure I’ve only read twice (or once in ADWD’s case), but I almost always discover something new or just interesting whenever I do re-read a chapter or even a section of a chapter. When I do my next focused re-read (after TWOW’s announced), I expect to discover more.

3) In addition to re-reading the books, I highly recommend Westeros.org’s “So Spake Martin” – a huge collection of GRRM’s words from interviews, convention appearances, answers to emails, forum responses, chats, years and years of outside-the-books info. Much of it is the only source we have for some information (Targaryen descriptions, say), although some has made it into TWOIAF and other books published since GRRM said it. Though note much of it is considered semi-canon, meaning that GRRM reserves the right to change his mind for the final published version of the info, and some of the details may never make it into the books at all, it’s nevertheless an amazing resource. (For example, the powers of lords, the role of knighthood, why inheritance is so damn complicated, all kinds of things.) After I first read the books, I devoured the SSMs, and I frequently check them today. (I have a search keyword in my browser to do so speedily, actually.)

I also recommend the other parts of worg’s Citadel: the Concordance (facts gathered from the books by category), the Prophecies (all those confusing visions and dreams analyzed), the FAQ (your many common questions!), and even the Heraldry section (if you like house sigils and house words). Again something I read through back when, and still refer to now. And of course, of course there is the Wiki of Ice and Fire, a site I can’t live without and have a search keyword for. It’s incorporated much of the Concordance (though not all of it which is why I recommend that separately) and some of the SSMs where relevant, but please note that it is fan-written and while it is usually accurate there may be errors. (Beware anything unsourced.) I fix errors when I find them, as do others. :)

And while this is part of “re-read the books”, I must also recommend the excellent A Search of Ice and Fire. Need to check how often and in what context Sansa’s narrative uses the word “father”? Does anyone in the books use the word “sennight”? (nope) or do they call a week “week”? (yep) How often does Ned think of Ashara Dayne? (never) Super, super useful.

And I’m sure if you’re drowning yourself in meta, you’re reading @asoiafuniversity, but I recommend it anyway. :)

See also these posts (1, 2, 3, 4), and hope that helps!