#Placebo and Perception

[wickedzeevyln]

A Time for Steeping

Death. When rigor mortis kicks in, the body stiffens and it grows cold letting go of the warmth and memories it held through conduction. It reminds me of tea. Often drank in a rush when it cools down. The tea is already cooling when I lift the cup to my lips. Grandfather watches me with the patience of monuments, his scraggly fingers handcrafted by age, curled around his own porcelain mug, its…

[yourmoonie]

CHOOSE YOUR REALITY

🍌 The Banana Example 🍌

Ever heard the saying, "Everything is neutral"?

It’s true! The reality you experience depends entirely on where you place your focus. Even something as simple as a banana can show you the power of perception.

You can choose what to believe in:

On one hand:

✨ Bananas are full of fiber, Vitamin C, and other nutrients that can boost your health.

On the other hand:

⚠️ Eating too many bananas might lead to side effects like migraines or bloating.

See how both are true? You get to decide which version of reality you pay attention to. You have that CHOICE

IMAGINATION and your perception CREATE your reality

So whether it’s a banana or something bigger in your life, you get to select the reality you wish to experience by focusing on what serves you.

This principle applies everywhere. Want to think about food differently? Even fast food, like burgers, can be viewed from a new lens. 🍔

Did you know? A burger isn't inherently unhealthy! If you break it down -> lettuce, tomatoes, beef, bread <- each ingredient has its benefits. Choose to see how these elements nourish your body rather than focusing on the ‘junk food’ label.

🥤 The idea that fast food is unhealthy is more about quantity and balance than the food itself. Moderation and mindful eating are key!

So, whether it’s about food, relationships, or your dreams, remember: you have the power to choose the reality you want to live. Shift your perspective, focus on the good, and watch how your world changes.

Choose/Select your reality wisely because your attention is your greatest power!

[eamour]

a method guide ⋮ 2 ⋮

this is part two of my method guide! in this guide, i want to help you pick a method (or a few methods) that resonates the most with your way of manifesting and seems the most compatible with you.

which method suits you ?

subliminals ✿ you enjoy the feeling of "doing" something when manifesting a desire. you already like to spend time on youtube or other platforms with subliminals and enjoy the process of making (often aesthetically pleasing) playlists with subliminals for each desire. you like to organise your desires and think it’s the optimal way of getting your desires. most effective for people that just don’t like to affirm themselves and like to listen to asmr/music with affirmations in the background.

placebos ✿ you like to make your own rules. you think as the creator of your reality, you can make anything work in your favour. anything around you can help you achieve your goals faster and you make them serve you, whether they like it or not. it’s easy and also a lot of fun, as anything you do can be used as a way to manifest. most effective for people that like to come up with their own set of beliefs and don’t like to work with logical thinking.

the lullaby method ✿ similarly to sats, you like to manifest in a sleepy state of mind. you might also like to do other methods throughout the day, but affirming til you drift off to sleep seems like the easiest thing to do! you like to end your day by fulfilling yourself with affirmations to remind you that you already have your manifestation. most effective for people that have a hard time remaining in the state of the wish fulfilled in the awake state of mind. info: this method is very beneficial for revising certain events at the end of the day!

sats ✿ you like to manifest in a drowsy state. you may try other methods throughout the day but you like to visualise a certain scene in your mind that implies that you have your desire. after a long day, you want to just become one with your desire and experience it in your imagination. most effective for people that have a hard time remaining in the state of the wish fulfilled in the awake state of mind. info: this method is very beneficial for revising certain events at the end of the day!

the void method ✿ you like the intense shifting experience. every method eventually helps you to shift to/towards your desired state of mind, however, you like the feeling of being in a pitch black space like place with no body or the perception of your senses attached to you. you think it’s fun to enter the void, even if it’s not necessarily for the purpose of manifesting your desires. most effective for people that believe the void can help them shift easily and effortlessly to their desired reality in one night.

the pillow method ✿ you like to keep it simple. you like to write your desires on a piece of paper, put it under your pillow and go to sleep while setting the intention that you will get all of your desires noted on that paper by the next morning. similarly to scripting, you like to keep track of the things you are manifesting. most effective for people that like to "let go" and detach from their manifestation and like to think that "it’s done".

again, remember.

you can do any method, even if these descriptions don’t resonate with you. the reason i prepared this post is to guide people to a way of manifesting that resonates with them the most and also feels the most natural for them. because that‘s what manifesting is about! rising to the naturalness of consciousness of having or being the thing desired. and in order to do that, you shall feel natural about it. it’s up to you which method you want to try! if i was you, i would try each one and see which one (or how many) of them fulfill me the most. ♡

with love, ella,

[beesmygod]

a study came out that might indicate that the benefits gained from medical ketamine are a result of the placebo effect (or as the article makes a purpose of highlighting, "having hope") rather than any specific mechanism unique to hallucinogens. but the way they did the study was really interesting, as they make the point that its nearly impossible to do blind studies of a hallucinogen because its REALLY obvious whether or not you have a placebo.

additionally interesting is the way that researchers discuss and reframe placebo as a mechanism with actual biological impact instead of its general perception as "haha you got tricked into feeling better for no reason dipshit!" in hindsight it makes perfect sense that there's actual chemical stuff going on under the hood

“In some ways, none of this is new,” said Boris Heifets, the study’s corresponding author. “Placebo is probably the single most effective, consistent intervention in medicine, full stop. It’s seen in every trial, and we should probably be paying more attention to the factors that give rise to it.” [...] “Saying ‘it’s just a placebo’ is really a disservice to what placebo is,” Heifets said. “It isn’t ‘I’ll feel better if I say it enough times,’ and it does not imply that there was nothing wrong with the patient.” The researchers settled on the physiological resonance between the placebo effect – which they describe as hope – and how ketamine exerts its effects. Studies have shown that both affect the brain’s mu-opioid receptors, which process pain. “There is most definitely a physiological mechanism, something that happens between your ears when you instill hope,” Heifets said.

article here

probably the same stuff that makes it seem like people improve from prayer. pretty neat!

[bkgexe]

i'm like currently obsessed with the idea of a reader that went to school with both geto and gojo and was like loved by geto before he defected (maybe they were even together in some capacity) and then after geto defects gojo just. becomes obsessed with you. not because of you but because you were someone that geto loved, and loving you the same way makes him feel closer to his best friend in his absence. he's SO bad at dealing with grief and i think using you as a distraction and also a placebo??? of some sort??? is VERY up his alley

but obviously you're grieving too so you don't take gojo up on any of his very forward offers for any sort of companionship, and on top of that you're perceptive. gojo's behavior is erratic enough that even if it isn't entirely clear what's going on in his head, you have a terrible suspicion about it. and years pass and gojo's obsession mellows out into a very deep and intense care and you process geto's actions and are in a place where you could potentially find yourself loving gojo

and then the question that remains for him is does he want you because he wants you, or because geto wanted you? like how can he possibly trust his own feelings after years of using you as a scapegoat to get out of processing his grief? and the question that remains for you is whether or not you could possibly trust him after watching him use you for that. oh it's messy i want to write this. the vision is there i'm just terrified of writing gojo

[stilljuststardust]

"You are the validation" doesn't just apply to fulfilment

Validate your own ideas and belief systems, it doesn't MATTER what other people think of it OR what the 3D has to say for that matter.

Who actually gives a shit what the 3D shows you, YOU say what's real. Who gives a shit what manifestoruser333 has to say, they aren't you.

YOU'RE writing the new story, don't go plagiarizing from people who write tragedies. The old story, the 3D, other people, it's all IRRELEVANT to what you're writing now.

Stop looking back you're not headed that way.

Get comfortable building your belief system/your perception of reality based solely on what you want.

If you want to believe manifestation works a certain way you literally just can. It's the law of assumption if you assume it's true it is.

This is YOUR reality, YOU decide how this shit works. You don't need my validation or the validation of anyone else.

If someone tells you they dislike your favorite method or tells you "you can't manifest that" you don't have to give a shit.

You don't have to accept other peoples limiting beliefs.

Disregard ANYTHING that doesn't fit what you want your reality to be. There are no limits except the ones you set for yourself.

Stop worrying what other people think, you don't need their validation. You don't need to ask anyone if you're "doing it right" YOU get to decide that.

"Should I manifest this " do you want to? Then why even ask.

Don't you get it? You have the final say. Nothing is true until you say it is. If you don't like something it doesn't exist in your reality.

You RUN this shit. Nothing that happens outside of you matters. GO. WITHIN.

You can literally decide how you want manifestation to work for you, YOU set your own limits. Loa allows for so much creativity.

People complain about certain methods being"placebo effects" but what is the placebo effect if not THE LAW in action?

Nobody gets to tell you how you manifest is wrong because if you assume it works it does.

[bumblebeehug]

I'd say Mira and Erza are pretty evenly matched all in all.

While Mira might have more raw power, I'd say Erza has more skill and stamina

Well… I’m not sure anyone can match Erza after what she did at Tenrou arc when she lost all her 5 senses (I actually hate that fight but I can’t deny its place in canon) and then when she did that one-arm stunt during the end of Alvarez. Mira has a lot of fear factor involved — she looks evil, Erza just has the aura. And I’m a firm believer that placebo can change someone’s perception of strength a lot (we forget how strong cuties like Wendy and Lucy are bc they act weak).

So in general I think that Erza is a bit stronger than Mira. In a true 1v1 fight, life or death, Erza would win. Only barely, but she’d win. Mira doesn’t have the same experience as Erza does.

But that’s just my opinion. I’m biased bc I’ve always thought that Mira’s strength was out of place — not in the way Mashima wanted it to be, but more like we’re still talking about the strength that Mira had when she lost Lisanna back in the day, plus some training.

I’m also aware that there might be more to Mira than what’s been shown in the manga, but the amount of missions she does compared with Erza makes it unbelievable to think that she’d be on par with her.

[copperbadge]

[ID: Two line graphs from the ADHD phone app EndeavorOTC, showing my "focus score" over time. The first graphic shows me starting on October 7th with a score of 36, which rises steadily to a score of 59 on October 20th. The second shows my latest scores, from November 14th to today, December 5th, showing several scores of 63 and 64 but nothing higher.]

It really has been hard to know whether EndeavorOTC is having a solid impact on my focus, or whether it would be lasting if I stopped playing. The initial spike to 59 is nice but also it's in keeping with a skills improvement as you just...learn to play a video game. Since October 23, my scores have been between 61 and 64, and while that does include a recommended a two-week break, it's still a little frustrating not to be able to crack 65, to see such a visible plateau basically "since getting good at the game".

Skills plateaus are natural and I know that, so I'm not necessarily disappointed or disillusioned. As a metric, the Focus Score really just measures how good you are at hitting goals in the game; because ADHD is perception-based it's also tough to measure, outside of the game, if I'm more focused, have better executive function, etc. Especially since the company can be vague about what "improvements" we're meant to see. Which I also understand -- specificity would drive a placebo effect in addition to frustrating people who aren't mapping onto their specific trajectory. But it's still a struggle.

I don't need my headphones as often in public, or audio in general for tasks as often (I did the dishes the other day without a podcast for the first time in probably a solid decade) but that could also be medication, or just...getting older and more tolerant. I think I'm socially more inhibited, which I should note is a good thing -- I'm less likely to interrupt or backtrack to previous conversations or accidentally dominate a conversation. But again, I don't know exactly where that's coming from.

I keep telling myself I already paid for the year so I shouldn't really try to seriously assess any of this until I've been "treating" with the game for a year, which will be another four six-week treatments after this one. That does take some pressure off because the game's already paid for through October and it's only 25 minutes a day, so whether it works or not I might as well keep going.

But patience is something I am still learning, it appears. :D

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 53, 2024

Disentangling Temporal and Rate Codes in the Primate Somatosensory Cortex. Callier, T., Gitchell, T., Harvey, M. A., & Bensmaia, S. J. (2024). Journal of Neuroscience, 44(38), e0036242024.

Task-relevant visual feedback uncertainty attenuates visuomotor adaptation. Casasnovas, V., Amann, L. K., Haas, G. L., & Gail, A. (2024). Journal of Neurophysiology, 132(3), 879–889.

Reverse-engineering placebo analgesia. Chen, B., Goldstein, N., Dziubek, J., Sundai, A., Zhao, S., Harrahill, A., … Wang, F. (2024). Current Biology, 34(18), 4261-4271.e5.

Neural Activity Differentiates Novel and Learned Event Boundaries. Ezzyat, Y., & Clements, A. (2024). Journal of Neuroscience, 44(38), e2246232024.

Spatiotemporal resonance in mouse primary visual cortex. Gulbinaite, R., Nazari, M., Rule, M. E., Bermudez-Contreras, E. J., Cohen, M. X., Mohajerani, M. H., & Heimel, J. A. (2024). Current Biology, 34(18), 4184-4196.e7.

Dopamine neurons encode trial-by-trial subjective reward value in an auction-like task. Hill, D. F., Hickman, R. W., Al-Mohammad, A., Stasiak, A., & Schultz, W. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 8138.

Scene construction processes in the anterior hippocampus during temporal episodic memory retrieval. Hwang, M. J., & Lee, S. A. (2024). Hippocampus, 34(10), 506–517.

Atypical daily visual exposure to faces in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Kamensek, T., Iarocci, G., & Oruc, I. (2024). Current Biology, 34(18), 4197-4208.e4.

It’s all in the timing: delayed feedback in autism may weaken predictive mechanisms during contour integration. Knight, E. J., Altschuler, T. S., Molholm, S., Murphy, J. W., Freedman, E. G., & Foxe, J. J. (2024). Journal of Neurophysiology, 132(3), 628–642.

Frontostriatal salience network expansion in individuals in depression. Lynch, C. J., Elbau, I. G., Ng, T., Ayaz, A., Zhu, S., Wolk, D., … Liston, C. (2024). Nature, 633(8030), 624–633.

Durability of motor learning by observing. Mangos, N., Forgaard, C. J., & Gribble, P. L. (2024). Journal of Neurophysiology, 132(3), 1025–1037.

Development of neuronal timescales in human cortical organoids and rat hippocampus dissociated cultures. Martin-Burgos, B., McPherson, T. S., Hammonds, R., Gao, R., Muotri, A. R., & Voytek, B. (2024). Journal of Neurophysiology, 132(3), 757–764.

Selective Attention and Decision-Making Have Separable Neural Bases in Space and Time. Moerel, D., Rich, A. N., & Woolgar, A. (2024). Journal of Neuroscience, 44(38), e0224242024.

Rats rely on airflow cues for self-motion perception. Polat, L., Harpaz, T., & Zaidel, A. (2024). Current Biology, 34(18), 4248-4260.e5.

Experience Dependence of Alpha Rhythms and Neural Dynamics in the Mouse Visual Cortex. Riyahi, P., Phillips, M. A., Boley, N., & Colonnese, M. T. (2024). Journal of Neuroscience, 44(38), e2011222024.

Neurons of Macaque Frontal Eye Field Signal Reward-Related Surprise. Shteyn, M. R., & Olson, C. R. (2024). Journal of Neuroscience, 44(38), e0441242024.

Predictive posture stabilization before contact with moving objects: equivalence of smooth pursuit tracking and peripheral vision. Sinha, O., Rosenquist, T., Fedorshak, A., Kpankpa, J., Albenze, E., T. Bonnet, C., … Singh, T. (2024). Journal of Neurophysiology, 132(3), 695–709.

Reward-modulated attention deployment is driven by suppression, not attentional capture. Taylor, E. D., & Feldmann-Wüstefeld, T. (2024). NeuroImage, 299, 120831.

Dynamic predictive templates in perception. Weilnhammer, V., Murai, Y., & Whitney, D. (2024). Current Biology, 34(18), 4301-4306.e2.

Spatial dissociation between recognition and navigation in the primate hippocampus. Xu, X., Du, K., & Mao, D. (2024). Science Advances, 10(38).

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 14 Sleuthing and Scantrons

Welcome back to Fantasy High where we are back from winter break and hitting the ground running starting with our girl Kristen who just learned that the proselytizing patriarch of the Dawn clan–Bobby Dawn–is her new Cleric teacher. 

Kristen decides to not make waves and just vibe out the situation. Bobby isn’t doing anything obviously out of pocket like calling people heathens, but his vibe is way preacher-y than Yolanda’s more neutral academic style and Kristen can clock that he’s giving certain kids a harder time than others (likely based on their choice of deity). 

We’re still on downtime so let’s run through Kristen's tracks. 

She thinks about doing a Mystery roll to learn more about Ankarna but rolls Academics first for a 19. A+.

Next, she rolls Popularity and she specifically wants to hit up Gertie. She passes with room to spare on a 21 and, amidst some awkward flirting that at least Gertie seems super into, asks her some questions about the Devil’s Honey. Gertie says that she hasn’t made a ton–just a few bottles. The nectar you need to make it is pretty rare. Her client (the trucks and thus, presumably KP) ordered two bottles right after the new year which is twice as many as she got last time. Kristen tries to get Gertie to switch the honey with a placebo but Gertie isn’t willing to lie so she settles for Gertie reporting back on if they ask for any more (which is logged into the school records anyway). With the logs, Kristen can see that the first delivery of Devil's Nectar happened a week or two after spring break last year--this is before Lucy even died. 

After that she has a Relationship roll and wants to finally have that chat with her parents. On a 27 they have a reasonably cordial meeting at Krom’s Diner. Her whole fam is there–brothers and parents. Her parents are pretty happy that Bobby Dawn is the new cleric teacher (though the have a foot in mouth moment when they realize that Yolanda was murdered and not fired like they thought and that they were basically just celebrating a woman’s non-Helio sanctioned murder).Bucky’s happy to see his sister and a little bummed that he hasn’t been able to convert anyone in his party to Helioism. 

She asks how her parents feel about Gal and their vibe is like, “Shrug, she’s fine.” Not Helio but she’s not infernal or anything. Kristen floats the idea of her attending church one Sunday–not to come back to the church, just to observe and for her class–but her parents are practically salivating at the opportunity to bring her back into the fold. Her mom specifically points out that it seems kismet that she, as Helio’s chosen (even if she’s not currently in the church), was the one to bring back the sun. 

Bucky catches a glimpse of Kristen’s Cass shards and asks about them but, before she can tell him much, her parents cut her off and end the encounter. They tell Kristen they’ll pay for her bill so, naturally, she runs up a huge tab. 

Final roll is for her campaign and she gets a Nat 20! She is absolutely crushing it–and why wouldn’t she be? She’s a world saving, total stud who rides with the coolest kid at school, a literal rockstar, and the people’s dork. And her opponent is Kipperlilly, ultimate bad vibes generator. Kristen and KP have a tense standoff where Kristen asks her what’s she’s trying to forget with the devil’s honey and KP tells her to fuck herself. 

All of the Bad Kids square up, ready to throw hands on the spot but Oisin–wizard of the Rat Grinders–breaks it up. There is a long beat of the Bad Kids trying to recruit Mary Ann for reasons that are beyond me that you’ll just have to watch for yourself and the Bad Kids declare that all the RG’s are a lost cause except for her. Adaine, in an uncharacteristically un-aggro move for her–says that the wizard actually seems kind of cool and Brennan asks for a Perception check. 

She rolls like trash but everyone wants to know what the cute wizard thinks about her and social engineer some romance for their girl so they pile on the buffs to turn her four into a dirty 20. With them coaxing her to pay better attention, they see that Oisin is waiting to say something to her–he casts the Message cantrip and gives her a quick, “Sorry,” to apologize for her friends’ behavior. Then their whole crew heads out. Fig reveals that she’s the one behind the entire Complicated Women Podcast. Where does your web of deceit end Figueroth???

Next up to run through tracks is Gorgug. 

First track is Barb and he crushes it with a 26. Porter is so proud. A+!

Next is Artificer (Brennan only makes him roll once, not three times) and he gets a 31! He’s officially a Barbificer which means he can hold concentration on pre-cast spells while raging. Henry is super proud of him too! He gets some more cool gadgets so he’s all twins-y with Riz. Green guys with gadgets! 

His next track is Mystery and here’s where things get juicy. He wants to dig into Henry’s deal and, with Flash of Genius, gets a 20. He snoops around Henry's desk before his class one day and finds a note from Ruben asking for a ride home, nothing about the Cloud Rider engine, and some Grix parts along with his notes which seem to indicate that fixing Grix isn't his top priority and he's gonna leave it until Aguefort is back. Suddenly, Gorgug hears something from outside the door--a conversation between Henry and Jace. Jace says that he got Henry's letter about Ruben and he's just there to assure him that everything is fine. Henry doesn't sound super assured and wants to have a more in depth meeting but Jace gets pretty aggro pretty quick. He says he's too busy for that and they should meet at the school year when Aguefort is back and when Henry pushes back on that, Jace Misty Steps to be all up in his face and says he should keep his fucking nose out of other people's business. Henry walks into the class, clearly shaken, and Gorgug plays dumb effectively, slipping on his headphones like he didn’t hear anything. 

Finally, he rolls Owlbears and fails. Rather than push it (which would make him take his fifth token) he decides his heart isn’t in it and drops Owlbears. Fabian and Gorthalax are both disappointed, even though they understand. Riz gets promoted from off the bench to fill his spot, much to his glee. Fabian and Kristen both try to roll relaxation but they fail (which has no mechanical downside).

Speaking of Riz, let’s do his tracks next!

As always he does Academics first and rolls a 31. DC to find the Rogue Prof is 30 which means he’s right on her trail! We don’t resolve that this episode but Brennan says that he finds Eugenia Shadow’s (the teacher) death records which means that, as they suspected from episode 1 of this season, she’s almost certainly a ghost. 

Extracurriculars with disadvantage is a dirty 20 so he’s still on top of those. 

Third roll is a Mystery roll to try and figure out how the Rat Grinders became the Rat Grinder from the High 5 Heroes. A 23 is only enough for some basic clues which are as follows. From Gertie, he learns that part of what makes Devil’s Honey work to make you a good liar is it makes you in the moment believe what you’re saying which erases some of the tells of lying from your expression and body language. It also allows you to lie without speaking which is useful for Wizards speaking telepathically AND for its original purpose: lying in prayer. Fig thinks this could maybe be used to pray effectively through doubt. Riz also catches Jawbone (who just finished giving a muffin to a hard at work Adaine–cute!) and asks about Kipperlily and her finding the rogue teacher. Jawbone says it was all above board though she did find her crazy fast–8:01 on the first day, literally the first minute it was possible. (Adaine/Shiv remembers at this point that she has ethereal vision and can def help Riz find a ghost). Jawbone mentions that the people at the morgue are trying to do something about the runes on Lucy and Yolanda and racing the clock before rezzing them because borderline impossible--they're getting close to the one year limit with Lucy. Riz knows there’s more info he can get but it would mean stealing the file from Jawbone and listen. He’s a good guy rule follower but he’s also a Rogue baybee. Nat 20 to snatch it with Jawbone none the wiser. Brennan says that he’ll properly dig into it later but, for at a quick glance, he sees that she's been coming to the counselor since Freshman year for anger issues and that his name is in the file for some reason. Mysterious!

Fourth roll is Owlbears and, with a portent roll from Adaine, he manages to hang on and not totally flame out. I like to imagine she literally used her oracle magic to predict what was gonna happen and drilled the moves he needed to not get tackled into his head like DDR steps. 

Last up is our girl Fig!

She does her Work track first and actually works on her album properly for the first time in ages. With an insane plus 20 to Performance (????) she gets an ungodly 38 and writes the most metal song ever which is an 8 minute epic about gods and devils which requires Adaine to make a magical copy of Gorgug just so he can play the drum part. It’s called Dawn of Justice and it rocks so epically hard that she is able to inadvertently magically call dibs on Ankarna. No one can rez the goddess but her. She also casts Find Greater Steed and is able to summon the horse that Ankarna used the gifted wedding bridle on So, clearly Fig took those warnings about Ankarna finding worshippers super to heart! 

[Note: My notes say that the bridle was a gift from Ruvina to Cass actually, but hey. I guess when you're married what's mine is yours and all that.]

Next track is Paladin and she gets a 29. A+! While she’s working with Porter, she asks him about the Mountains of Chaos which she thinks is on another plane but he clarifies it’s just up north and parties go there to clear dungeons all the time–including the Rat Grinders many times. That’s news to me because this is the first we’re hearing of them doing anything besides stepping on rats. 

Next for Fig is Mystery and she wants to use her Dream spell to visit Lola. In Lola's dream, she's remembering a email between her and Ruben about the podcast (Fig realizes she never followed up on that) and also she sees that Lola was talking to Ruben with Jace CC'd. Fig appears as herself in the dream and tries to be like, “Hey, I talked to Jace, cut me in on the plan.” Lola wants to know if she wants to go back on tour because Ruben just canceled, which surprised both me and Fig. But Fig hides it well and is like, “Yeah, Ruben just canceled, that’s why I want in.” She gets a Nat 1 Insight so Lola seems pretty clueless about a plan. When Fig floats the idea of Jace being a part of a plan to summon a god, Lola says she has no idea what she's talking about and Jace isn't a planner, he just gets in her way. But what she sees as him being a nuisance looks a lot like clues. Apparently Jace doesn't want Ruben touring and he was the one who made Ruben get Frosty Folk moved to the Thislespring Tree. Fig stores away that info and then warps the dream into something normal (by dream standards) to cover her tracks as she gets out of there. 

Lastly, she wants to leave a note for Zara saying, “Hey not coming to class this week” but Brennan has her roll and apparently the note is an excellent example of attempting to get your way that Zara respects because it’s still a 34 and and A+! Our kids are doing really well!

Except, here’s the thing. They’re not actually. Or at least, Kristen isn’t. It’s mid April now, just like IRL, and grades have come out. Kristen is failing Cleric classes again. She’s expelled. 

Everyone is outraged. She’s been working so hard under insanely difficult circumstances! They march to Jawbone’s office to get answers and he sees the problem. Yolanda made allowances that let her be a cleric with a dead god but Bobby got rid of that. He said no god is an automatic failure. Riz is so stressed that he elects to take a fourth stress token. Gotta respect Murph for the move but that’s crazy. 

[Note: This doesn’t become relevant in this ep but it’s mentioned around here so I just wanna say, Riz hasn’t had a chance to dig into KP’s file yet but there’s something about her going to a cemetery in Ashgrove which he connects to the ghost Rogue teacher. Also, they all share the info they learned in downtime.]

ANYWAY, the Bad Kids are ready to throw hands once again and head for Bobby Dawn’s classroom, but Kristen has them all wait in the hall while she confronts him and she tries a novel tactic. She goes in crying. She claims that her Cass shards have been destroyed and that she’s lost and directionless. She gets a 26 on her Deception and Adaine, with all the quiet confidence of the elven Oracle, says that Bobby gets a 1 on his Insight roll. Kristen says she’s ready to come back to the fold and allows Bobby to pray with her but when she asks about the paperwork to get her reinstated at school, he’s not interested in that. He believes that she’s sincere but he’s not gonna break rules or make allowances for her. Kristen gets the sense that he actively wants her to be expelled for some reason and he got what he wanted. 

Her friends are outside, practically salivating as they get ready to kick some Foghorn Leghorn ass, but Jawbone shows up and says that they qualify for The Last Standard–aka the Last Stand Exam–and they all decide that that’s a better first option than murdering ANOTHER faculty member. As Kristen leaves, Bobby Dawn gives her a bit of advice that seems to point to her falling in line and being Helio’s chosen again and Kristen calls him a control freak and says he’ll never win–which is a satisfying way to leave a room but a waste of a great Deception roll! The other kids cast various spells on him so he smells like shit the rest of the day because they’re all loyal, petty gremlins. 

Jawbone explains what exactly the Last Stand is. It’s an endurance test that replicates the conditions of a desperate last stand. They’ll have to answer questions while waves and waves of monsters try to kill them. Adaine and Riz are the only ones excited about the questions. There will be 12 questions (two for each of them) and a proctor. They lose 30 points (Out of 100)  if the proctor (who is some rando named Gavin Pundle) dies. There will be a cleric on hand to rez them if they die but it’s more like when they die. We don’t learn this until later but this isn’t an exam where you’re not expected to TPK. But hypothetically you could stay up the whole time because there’s a limited amount of monsters. Also, it’s not like you die, you're out. Kristen can still rez her friends. It’s just a TPK that ends it all. And one more piece of info I’m gonna give you early to keep the rules together. The questions they have to answer are not rolls. They are timed questions/challenges that the actual at the table players have to answer in real life. But they do have a lifetime. Remember how Gorgug won a mysterious academic resource for getting double Nat 20s in his classes earlier in the year? Well that gets the party a stamp that they can use on two of their questions before the time runs out to skip it without penalty. OK, that’s everything! Got it? Good. The Bad Kids get a good night’s sleep and the next day, it’s time for the Last Stand! 

The Last Stand is held in some kind of extra dimensional pocket dimension full of illusory, cheering Agueforts. Buddy Dawn is the volunteer cleric on duty and the group seems wary of him even though he’s taken a divine oath that will strip him of his magic if he fails to rez them.

Because the Bad Kids are doing so well in school, they get a grace period to set up a bunch of buffs and readied actions and stuff. You already know the drill–I’m not gonna do a play by play of every single spell, buff, and attack for this fight but I’ll give highlights. Kristen casts Death Ward on the proctor (great forethought) and Adaine summons Moggy the Doggy to protect him. Fabian has the Hangman and summons some rats (Adaine is happy that Fabian is using her present). Adaine summons the Dry Guys and does Mirror Image. Fig disguises herself as the Proctor, summons Ankarna’s fiery steed as well as spirit guardians, and does Armor of Ayda on herself and her mount. Riz has his Mage Hand out. I’m sure I’m missing stuff but the point is, they’re buffed as hell and ready to go. They pump themselves up with a Hoot Growl chant and then it’s off to the races!

The first wave of monsters includes an otyugh, a gorgon, a steel bull, a hydra, skeletons, and three ochre jellies. Brennan tells them that they’re literally at adventuring school so it’s not meta gaming to know things like you have to cauterize a Hyrdra’s neck lest two more heads grow in its place or that jellies are weak to fire. 

Highlights!

Riz does CRAZY damage with all his rogue stuff. Adaine and Gorgug do a cool tag team where he cuts a Hydra head off by boomeranging its head off with an ax before she cauterizes it with a Chromatic Orb. Emily/Fig throws away her dice cause she’s rolling SO BAD.

At the top of the next round, Riz gets the first folder with a test question. There is one marked Investigation and one marked History. He grabs the Investigation and Brennan hands him an actual Scantron (everyone hated that) with the phrase “Bony Girth” written on it before turning over an hourglass. They’re allowed to work together on these and we get to see some teamwork in action. Ally and Murph both realize right away that it’s an anagram. Murph gets the word Night and Ally hits him and says, “Night Yorb!” A “Correct” stamp graphic hits the dome. They got one! 

Fabian goes for a folder as well and his choices are Athletics and Common. He goes for Athletics but the desk turns out to be a mimic and attacks him. He just tanks the damage because he doesn’t have the time to fight it. This is a multiple choice question about who the Owlbears’ rival team is. They're between the Buccaneers and the Hellions. Siobhan thinks it’s the Buccaneers since Bastion City is right nearby but realizes that Lou is correct when he says that that’s actually the professional team that Ragh is trying out for, not their high school team. Lou says Hudol Hellions and that’s another one in the bag! 

More highlights!

Fabian makes quick work of the Hydra, doing a ton of fancy Fighter moves to cleave the rest of its heads and then sending in the Hangman in dog form to fire breath all the neck stumps. Fig Fireballs the otyugh and two of the jellies! Gorgug gets TWO NAT 20s in a row plus another hit to get the bull from 100% to bloodied. 

And to close out the episode, Kristen sends a quick prayer up to Cass and then does Turn Undead, destroying all the skeletons on the field. Whatever else happens in this fight, you can’t deny that the Bad Kids are off to an amazing start. Let’s hope they can keep the momentum going as we head into the second half of the Last Stand, next week!

Detention

Bobby Dawn for Failing Kristen

I knew I wouldn’t need to wait long to put him on my shit list. He can absolutely go to hell for saying that letting Kristen remain in class was “against the rules” somehow. That’s a simple exercise of discretion! And if anything, isn’t it more impressive that Kristen is still running circles around other clerics with a dead(ish) god? That her god is still able to communicate with her in this state? ALSO, if we’re getting technical, Cass isn’t actually dead! We've established that. She’s, as Miracle Max said, only mostly dead which is still partially alive! I know this needed to happen to force the Last Stand but he can still jump into a lake. I hate that, even when she's actually earnestly and effectively applying herself, Kristen is getting smacked down by the system.

(Also, I have to assume Helio died for three days at some point and came back since he’s basically frat bro corn Jesus. Gods die and come back! It’s a thing! It’s a thing that they do!)

Honor Roll

All of the Bad Kids for Loyalty and Badassery

I really couldn’t pick this week so I decided to just give it to all of them. I tried to do a more in depth recap this week to really highlight the coolness of everyone. I think they have especially good team synergy this week from trying to help Adaine get her kisses in to being ready to throw down for Kristen. And everyone got at least one major piece of Mystery info in their downtime rolls. Not to mention how strong they came out for the first part of the Last Stand. I’m just super impressed and I love them individually and as a unit!

Random Thoughts

OK so obviously the biggest red flag right now is Jace. As I pointed out in the last recap, he was there talking to Kalina in the conversation Ragh saw and now we have two more suspicious actions from him. Now I’m questioning his other actions too. Like, making Riz a part of the interim staff. Was that in order to make sure he fell under the staff category for an ulterior motive bylaws related reason? And is he fully working with The Rat Grinders? He’s a sorc but what origin? What if he’s divine soul and wrapped into this god stuff somehow?

(This could be nothing but the other big loose end besides the above that’s been stuck in my craw in Soph year is Sandra-Lynn talking about a couple that made things hard for her and I’ve always wondered if Jace was involved there.)   

Handing a Nat 1 portent roll to your DM must feel like doing drugs. 

Kipperlily had had rage issues since Freshman year, huh? Does that mean she’s been in league with the corrupted Ankarna since then or just a really easy target? And why would Riz’s name be in her file? I so badly want to know what else is in that file. Brennan, I know you need to control the pacing of the story to some degree but in no world does Riz see his name in that file and go, “Welp I’ll check that out later.” Absolutely not. 

Also, two more Rat Grinder points. KP ordered the honey BEFORE Lucy died? That’s suspicious. And Porter confirmed that they’ve been to the Mountains of Chaos many times which means our understanding of their activities has been off. Like, I suppose it’s obvious that they must have been doing more than literally just stepping on rats because we know they’re making moves, but this seems a bit out of left field. Though it does answer the question of what they likely did for their Sophomore Year quest because that’s been incongruent. Multiple times is also pretty suspicious. That points to going there for a specific reason. Also, that’s where the celestial gods were traveling en route to Cass’s wedding. Maybe there’s a connection there. Were they searching for Ankarna’s name?

Maybe I’m just being paranoid and I know Riz literally tattooed Night Yorb stuff onto his body of his own free will but a part of me wonders whether a part of that wasn’t a bit of Sol/Helio manipulation trying to get Kristen back as a cleric. Like, her mom is right. Her bringing back the sun could have been a dramatic prodigal daughter moment. 

Buddy mentioned Bucky being “led astray” a few eps ago and I’m really curious to know exactly what that means because he seemed to be mostly in good little paladin mode this ep besides some slight curiosity about Kristen’s shards. 

In addition to the moment with Bobby Dawn, Kristen tipped her hand AGAIN In this ep to when she revealed that she knew about the Devil’s Honey. Like, girl. I know you love a dramatic mic drop but keep some secrets, damn!

Curious about what was written on the physical note that Emily gave Brennan when she said she was skipping Zara’s class.

Where did Ally’s “girl Winnie the Pooh” bit come from? It was so confident and out of nowhere that I burst out laughing. 

Brennan has been doing such a great job with battle eps this season. We’ve had back to back bangers with really creative mechanics. I can’t wait to see what the other questions are! (This is why I always say I identify with Adaine and Riz most of the BKs)

“The Last Stand” and “Dawn of Justice” are both subtitles of superhero movies. That doesn’t mean anything. It’s just weird that it happened twice. Two nickels and all. 

Saved this for last–yessssss Oisin. Be apologetic about your friends being weird. Take the extra time to personally apologize to Adaine and only Adaine while her friends to air traffic control signals to get her to pay attention to you. Very happy that everyone at the table seems to be as invested in making this happen as I am (and that Adaine volunteered that she thought Oisin could maybe be cool even when she could have demurred or said nothing or been really harsh like she usually is with the Ratgrinders). I especially love Fig being like, “We’re trying to make this romance happen!” Like, hey girl I got me my wizard paramour, let’s get you yours. Get you a ride or die friend like that. 

One last thing! It’s my birthday on Friday and, to celebrate, I made my thesis visual novel free on itch.io for the weekend. It’s called A Tale of Two Sisters and it’s very meta and fairy tale-y and sincere. I put a lot of hard work into it and, if you enjoy my recaps, I’d appreciate you checking it out and leaving a review. Again, it’s totally free for the weekend! I have another game on there that you can check out but that one's free all the time. 

[auschizm]

I know it's not necessarily auschizm(I hope I spelled that right) related, but you mentioned antidepressants and I just wanted to get on my soap box for a second about people's perception of mental health treatments.

Antidepressants are, statistically speaking, only 30-40% likely at actually treating/"fixing" the problem. Yet everyone acts like once you're on them, you're going to be magically cured and just Neurotypical and Okay and Healthy.

I don't know the statistics on other mental health medications BUT

For two years, I was on electric shock therapy because of just how bad my PTSD enduced depression was. It quite literally the only reason I am alive today. ECT has a statistical ~80% chance of "fixing" depression (and is used to treat psychosis, but I am unsure about the statistics on that.)

Any and every time I mention to people that I was on ECT they responded in abject HORROR that I received such treatment. Claiming it was torture and not a real, legitimate form of treatment. They were convinced it was only something that happened in the 1950s, and all advancements to it STOPPED in the 1950s.

No matter how many times I explained how the procedure was done, that i was in fact not conscious during it(thank you anesthesia), and given muscle relaxers to not actually under go a physical sezuire(though, disclaimer, you can still have one, and had one twice), they acted like I was subjecting myself to actual medieval torture and could not, for some reason no matter how I described how Bad I Was, wrap their head around how and why I came to the conclusion that ECT was something I needed.

All of this to say: people are just so entirely ignorant, and imo willingly so, to the actual realities of treating mental illnesses, especially outside of mild/situation depression and mild anxieties. And they are nor willing to actually educate themselves on things like therapies and coping skills and the different types of medications and the side effects of medications and what medication can and cannot do and what happens when medication just... Do Not Work For You.

I'm pretty sure the stats for antidepressants are far worse than that, actually. As far as I can recall, in most scientific studies of the effects of antidepressants, there hasn't actually been documented a difference between being on antidepressants and taking a placebo pill. And I'm critical of ECT too for various reasons, though I fully respect your decision to try it, and I'm really happy if it helped you

[ribb0ngirl]

𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑠 ୨୧˚. ᵎᵎ

become the perfect student with loa ♡

𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑛𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝚑𝑜𝑢𝑔𝚑𝑡𝑠

♡ Everything around you is created by your thoughts and your perception of your reality, so please be aware of your negative thoughts because if you keep repeating them in your head then your affirming that your subject is hard and that you're not good at it. So whenever you get these thoughts replace them with positive affirmations !!

𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑦 𝑤𝚑𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔

♡ This is really good because it can be used as a placebo and improve your self concept. Also over exaggerate these affirmations to really drill them in your mind ("I only get a+s, my grades are so incredible, etc")

𝑣𝑖𝑠𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑖𝑛 𝑡𝚑𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔

♡ Do this the night before and the morning of it. For example close your eyes for 5 mins and visualise yourself doing the quizz/handing in the assignment etc. while affirming its easy. Also don't think/focus about your exam, tell yourself its already graded/ already done to release stress. And tell yourself your doing good (remember: your perception creates your reality)

𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑐𝚑

♡ Honestly, stop caring and detach. Stop being so desperate because it's literally already yours. Just think: It doesn't matter if I get a good grade because my self-worth has nothing to do with an outside number. No number on a piece of paper could ever define me.

𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝚑𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑚

Feel the fear and the anxiety allow it then shift your fear into goodness

Detach from the result and accept the result given by the universe (I cannot stress this enough)

Feel the way you'll feel when u get the expected result. Take actions of when you have the result. Actions will make you happy and calm

𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟: 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡𝚑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑟 ♡

[gniteruirui]

Placebo is my helluva Oc. He wear a bag in his head

Personality:

personality that is elusive and mysterious. He possess an uncanny ability to adapt and blend into various situations, much like how a placebo can create a perceived effect even when there's no real substance at play. Placebo could be a master of deception, skilled at manipulating perceptions and playing roles to their advantage. He might be charismatic and charming, able to evoke specific reactions from others without revealing their true intentions. However, underneath this facade, they might struggle with issues of authenticity and identity, mirroring the concept of a placebo's false appearance of efficacy.

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Hello, an anon with long question had arrived! 😭 I've brought some virtual foods and drinks so you won't be bored on what I'm about to ask you~~~ 🍔🍟🍕 🥤🧋

I don't know if this would interest you, but what do you think about the perception of magic in SVE? (I'm basing my question on my Farmer's lore below.)

My Farmer's parents despise magic, viewing it as a destructive force that can only harm others, based on their past experiences, particularly with Farmer's grandmother (RSV lore). Because of this, Farmer grows up avoiding magic and initially fears it due to his parents' influence. However, his views start to change over time.

Farmer sees Rasmodius using magic to protect Pelican Town, encounters the benevolent Junimo restoring old buildings, and witnesses a fairy enchanting his crops. In Castle Village, he observes battle mages using magic to defend the weak and elixirs with diverse medical uses. Additionally, magic has practical everyday uses. It can summon bubbles without soap, animate puppets for traveling performers, enhance sound for festivals, even had a very simple spells such as all-purpose cleaning, birthday reminders, or sweetening placebos spells for those who cannot consume sugar!

Ultimately, Farmer realizes that magic, like weapons, can be used for both good and ill. The witch who curses his plants at night is one of the proof of the latter. But alas, he understands that like weapon, when used by the right people, magic can improve lives.

... This turns out to be ramblings about my Farmer, and I'm sorry.

But in conclusion, how do different people's perceptions of magic affect their lives, just like Farmer's did? Are there others like Farmer's parents who hate magic? Or are there families who see magic as a special status, where greater understanding of magic elevates social status in the mage world? (It would be an interesting headcanon if either mages in the game like Ras, Lance, Camilla, or Jadu came from such families but disagreed with their views and chose to keep their distance from them.)

Dear anon, don't apologise for this, I love all your discussions and theories about my favourite game, especially this mod and your Farmer OCs 😭💕 And thanks for the virtual food! (gosh, I miss pizza so much! 🍕😋). Have a wonderful day! (Send you some virtual cookies 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪)

_________________________________________

First of all, thanks again for sharing your Farmer OC and his lore, it was interesting to read! We have quite similar views and headcanons on SDV/SVE/RSV lore, and I tried to describe all my thoughts about it here (apologise for a very, very long text 😅)

So, about your ask....

You're absolutely right about magic being both a tool and a weapon. There was an interesting quote I remember about magic, but I don't remember if it was a quote from a video game or if one of my friends said it to me when we were discussing game lore (not SDV). Basically, magic was compared to an axe, but it's up to the individual to decide whether to chop wood for the winter with that axe or kill their neighbour. It is the same with magic: it can be used as a useful tool in everyday life, or as a way to bring chaos and destruction - all depends on the person. But, as it often happens in fantasy world, people who are not familiar with the concept of magic at all, are afraid of incomprehensible power, and if they had negative stories in their past (witch curse, for example), they will definitely consider all those who are somehow connected with magic as evil.

About the question of how magic has affected people's lives and whether or not it's being treated as only evil... If you're referring specifically to the inhabitants of the Stardew Valley, dear anon, it's pretty ambiguous. Looking back at the vanilla lore, some villagers simply denied the existence of magic (Shane in his dialogue at the Feast of the Winter Star), some were frightened by the strange noise coming from Magnus's tower and showed fear and distrust (Marnie). And at the same time, no one had any preconceptions about the maze in Spirits Eve, which miraculously appeared in just one day. "Yeah, that weird ourple dude did it all," and no one would show any concern. Not even the same Shane (free food and pumpkin cider, so he doesn't care too much, I guess 🤷). Also the fact that almost everyone considers the life elixir a universal liked gift. I don't know if I can attribute monsters to this as well, because in my mind, where there are monsters there is dark magic, but maybe the inhabitants see them differently (like mutated animals or something).

As for the Expanded mod specifically, nothing much has changed here either in terms of the vanilla game's residents. But! Victor, our beloved spaghetti man, stands out among all of them. In his event we are already introduced to the fact that Victor openly and directly reveals that he knows for the existence of adventurer clans, and that they - attention! - use magic to fight monsters and to protect people. Also worth noting is his separate dialogue where he tells Farmer that the Ferngill Republic government want to cut down the magical forest here in order to find useful things that can help in the war with the Gotoro Empire. And, most interestingly, as I quote, "that wizard won't let them do it." "That wizard." A wizard! Not "strange man", but a wizard. So, he believes in magic, and he's a man from big city with modern technology. Victor is not speaking negatively about magic in these examples, but more angry at the realisation that the government is intent on greedily gnawing at any opportunity to achieve its goals, in this case at the cost of the unique ecosystem of the Stardew Valley. But Magnus isn't giving them that. This means that people (at least some) also realise that magic exists. I wonder though: if the local authorities respect Magnus's word that it's strictly forbidden to cut down the forest, or if they're just afraid he'll send them away with fireballs if they go into the Valley without asking? I'm leaning more towards the second scenario.

With the Ridgeside Village mod, coming to a conclusion about people's attitudes (both in Pelican Town and Ridgeside Village, and in the rest of the world) is a little easier. And it's all because of Gabriella, the main antagonist of the RSV mod. As far as I understood correctly, her goal is to wreak havoc in the whole world (for what purpose - Hell knows, probably for funnies or whatever), and her minions, soulless shel, faithfully serve their dark queen: killing local politicians (all politicians, not to be confused with the Cult of the Lady with the Red Tail), committing attacks, cursing forests and sources of magic, as it was with Spirit's Realm. Of course, ordinary people who are either victims themselves, or their family/relatives/friends who are affected by it, will see magic only in a negative way and consider it the source of all their troubles. And most won't realise that it's all up to the person (Gabriella isn't a person at all): magic is evil, period. No buts. Because for them, it's easier to deal with pain and loss, to protect yourself and your loved ones.

The moment where wizards and witches lead a rather secretive life from the rest of the (modern) population only adds fuel to the fire of the problem with distrust. Consequently, some magicians also distrust people due to this discrimination. And so the endless wheel of distrust goes on.

People like our Farmer, who in their work as farmer/fisherman/gatherer/adventurer/miner use both magic and modern technology, can be the ones who help these two different social societies find common ground. Or on the contrary, the Farmer will be considered an outsider everywhere, despite helping both modern society (improving Pelican Town's economy, rebuilding many important buildings) and magical society (protecting people from monsters and fighting renegade wizard/witches).

What about our SVE mages...

I used to hold the idea that Lance was NC/LC (no contact/low contact) with his parents for just such a reason. That he, a man with a "gift", was at odds with the views of his parents, who shunned magic like a plague. But over time, I like the idea of his parents being retired noble adventurers with magic better (*looking at my mutuals with their lovely headcanons 👁️👁️💕), so Lance had no problem with that.

Jadu on the other hand, fits more into the category of someone whose views on magic have changed over time. I think he suffered the same fate as Morgan, Magnus' apprentice, when they were taken away from their parents and not even allowed to contact them. Naturally, when you, a child, are taken away from your parents or guardian so abruptly, you're going to see wizards as a source of evil because they came to your home, almost forcefully and threateningly took you from your parents' nest and sent you to who knows where and who knows who, "to learn the arcane knowledge". Even in a fantasy world, that sounds very sus. The witches and mages themselves, under whose wing the young talents were given, can be both the reason for the child's revision of the concept of magic (magic not bad, but also good), and make the situation worse. Later, this can then lead to the formation of renegade mages, thirsty for revenge, they hurt ordinary people in the process of revenge, and the fear of magic in general will be even stronger.

I like to think that Camilla was so determined and opinionated that she wasn't the one they came for, but she somehow fucking came to the Ministry and was like, "teach me!" At least it's sounds funny 😅

Magnus, oh well... I honestly don't know, but he was probably taken into the care of a wizard when he was young to learn spells and alchemy to protect people and help adventurers with "monsters clean up".

Got a bit of a chaotic answer again, but I hope I've answered all the questions!

[the-nexverse]

@thicc-pirate *non judgemental but very aware gaze*

Agnes: mostly a silent and lonely drinker, lets herself get lost in the dumps, but if she gets disrupted while drinking, she won't hold back and will let go of all the rage that boils inside of her. has caused lots of brawls and is banned from several bars because of this. high tolerance

Ryan: ah, booze! what a joy and respite from his everyday struggles! pretty chill, easily cracks jokes and laughs. what a great time he has! nothing else to worry about in the world! medium tolerance

Lisabel: prefers to be sober and have her partner be drunk. she's the kind of person to take advantage of someone inebriated. when she drinks, she does it alone and takes it easy, simply to enjoy the buzz on her own. it's more of a quiet, self-care moment to her, unless she's purposefully drinking with someone else, then it's frisky time 7w7. low-medium tolerance

Eric: warm and loud! very touchy (hugs, grabbing someone's shoulder/arm and shaking them, slapping someone on their back, etc). has the strongest, heartiest laugh you'll ever hear. sunshine all around. medium-high tolerance

Léan: disqualified. given some apply juice instead

Rask'r: being an argonian means being resistant to poisons, and that sadly includes alcohol. he either has to drink a lot or drink very strong stuff to get tipsy, and both options require quite the coin. so he goes for social drinking and then kinda lets the placebo effect take place on him. but when he actually gets drunk? gets completely careless. bumps on everything and everyone, stumbles around, drops things, falls over, etc. and his lycanthropy also shines through his body language. don't know if actual alligators can get drunk tho. i'll need to research that for his transformed form lol. max tolerance

Raz: rarely gets drunk because he fears he might lose control, transform and hurt someone/many. so he only drinks when he's completely sure he'll be alone. another sad drinker, he goes down nostalgia road and will likely end up sobbing and crying about his past. which tbh, valid. he's had it rough. low-medium tolerance

Donovan: liquids are like, the one thing he can "safely" consume bc he needs to keep his body hydrated, but i'm not sure how alcohol would affect someone whose liver or intestines haven't functioned in centuries. i'm sad to announce he can't physically get drunk 😔

Lee: eep time

Vreytus: as a chimeralma, he has the choice of letting alcohol affect his body or not. he chooses not to. but if he did, low tolerance

Bug: will challenge the biggest baddest meanest looking guy in the bar for a drinking contest, bet all the money they can and then win, because chimeralmas can't get drunk, but they don't know that lol. sometimes they do let the booze do its job, but since it fucks up with their perception of their surroundings, it also means that they kinda lose control of their physical shape. and believe me, having a shapeshifting monster that can't settle on a form and doesn't know where it's walking towards is not a fun experience to anyone involved. low tolerance

Voirdity/voirds: immune

Chad: loud, bratty and annoying. all his inhibitions leave his mind, so he behaves like a fucking prick. no filter to what he says whatsoever, will blurt out the stupidest takes anyone has ever heard. also a fighter, will consider any threat towards him as a personal invitation to brawl. at least his muscle memory still works when drunk, so he's still a very competent fighter. medium-high tolerance

Lewis: oh Lewis, my dear Lewis. he gets sappy very soon, also physically affectionate, needy and emotional. he WILL cry for at least an hour after watching Toy Story 3. low tolerance

hey Cy. Cy.

[radical-revolution]

HOW BUDDHA TAUGHT: DHARMA AS PLACEBO

Some people think that stringent rules and virtuous deeds are the essence of Buddhism, but these are only a small component of Buddha’s skillful and abundant methods.

He knew that not everyone is able to understand ultimate truths right from the start. It is difficult for many of us to process concepts such as “hell is merely the perception of your own aggression,” let alone the concept of emptiness. Buddha doesn’t want Jack to be caught in a personal “hell,” but he can’t tell Jack to work with his perceptions and aggression either because Jack is an idiot.

So for Jack’s sake, Buddha teaches that there is an external hell and that in order to avoid going there and being boiled in molten iron, Jack must stop entertaining his nonvirtuous, negative actions and emotions. Such teachings pervade the Buddhist milieu; very often we see hell realms painted on the walls of Buddhist temples, complete with burning bodies and terrifying gorges of frigid water.

These images can be taken literally or figuratively, depending on the capacity of the student. Those with superior faculties know that the source of our everyday hell, our suffering, stems from our own perceptions. They know that there is no judgment day and there is no judge.

When Milarepa appeared in the yak horn, Rechungpa was on his way to becoming a great master himself. He had an enormous capacity to understand emptiness intellectually and enough realization to actually see Milarepa in the yak horn; but his realization stopped just short of being able to join his master.

Buddha’s final aim is to make Jack understand, like these superior students, that there is no hell realm apart from his own aggression and ignorance. By temporarily minimizing his negative actions, Jack is diverted from becoming more entangled with his perceptions, misgivings, and paranoia.

— Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse - What Makes You Not a Buddhist