#They don't have any default roles they just go with the flow

[tulipe-rose]

Random ask timeee! :D

As a tribute to the dire state the Hunting Dogs are currently in, which duo/trio of them is your favorite? Which are you gonna be most excited about when they (hopefully) reunite? 👀

AAAA HIHIHI

My favorite duo that I miss dearly, and barely have content of is Jōnō and Tachihara. They're such wasted potential istg. Tachihara is bothered by being supposedly 'not very smart'–which I heavily disagree with–and you know who could make up for that? Jōnō. Jōnō is the brain and Tachihara is the brawn, but their capability isn't limited to just that. Yes, Tetchō and Jōnō fit this description too, but to me, the unexplored battle potential of Tachihara's and Jōnō's combined Abilities is just so much more intriguing. With the very few interactions we got of them in canon, I can't help but imagine them having some brothers bonding time but it's military lab rats style. Also no one can convince me that they're not sent out on undercover missions the most, like they're both incredible actors; they'd fool Mōri, which Tachihara already did. Even Dazai could take a while to realize them. They're my power duo ever though I don't think we'll see them again for a while now. (If ever ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ)

[spanishsenpai]

Daycare Attendants Need Training Too

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Mini Chapter - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 -  Chapter 6 -  Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9

Hey everyone!!!! I know it's been forever but all my glorious motivation for writing self destructed haha. I'm trying to get it back, so that's how we got this chapter! I really want to finish this story and though I don't know how many more chapters will be left, I think we're a little over halfway through.

Anyways, thank you so much for sticking around!!! The fact that y'all like this story idea so much is a big part of the reason I want to finish the story! Please enjoy the chapter!

Here’s the AO3 link if you’d rather read it there!

Now faced with the training that had been making Sun miserable for the past few days, Moon couldn’t help but feel nervous. He didn’t let any of it show in his movements though. Instead, he chose to focus on the fact that Sun was getting a well deserved break from this misery. It was only fair after all and the justification helped ease him somewhat.

As a soon to be role model for children and friend to Sun, doing what was right was important.

“Even though we are a few days early, we’ve already put together your schedule,” Mrs. Beverly snapped. Behind her the other technicians were rapidly typing and swiping as they pulled up this new itinerary. “As you should know, your basic duties are quite similar to Sun’s. Recite some to me now.”

Even having watched her through Sun’s eyes, being given her direct attention was a little, he hated to admit, intimidating. “Keep the children safe. Cover the security desk at all times. Verify everyone who enters and exits the daycare-”

“That’s enough,” she interrupted. “Now what are your specific duties?”

Moon had had plenty of time to look over his special programming. Since Sun was their default setting, everything about him was general information that Moon needed to memorize. “I initiate naptime protocols when the lights dim. This includes preparing sleeping placements, storytime, and handing out Moondrops as needed. During closing, I connect to various cameras throughout the Pizza Plex as I conduct security checks until morning.” His voice lacked any emotion as he spoke to her. She wasn’t deserving of the cheeriness he’d reserved for the children.

Mrs. Beverly nodded in approval. Moon’s main job wasn’t going to be dealing with children very often, so Sun was their main priority. Whatever Moon was programmed to do with intruders after hours wasn’t her focus. Since both personalities in the Daycare Attendant had separate muscle memories, going over Moon’s reflexes would be their first step. 

“This may seem familiar to you,” she started. The technicians had already taken their places. “We shall start with basic daycare management. Go stand in front of the bridge.”

Moon could guess what she wanted to do and dread immediately flowed through him. Was it worse to know there was no winning Mrs. Beverly’s games rather than hope you could? He couldn’t think of the answer before he arrived at his spot. 

‘We can still switch, Moon.’

‘Everything will be fine. Let me handle this.’

Sun’s anxiety was so strong, Moon could feel trying to take over his own thoughts. 

“Keeping this daycare clean and safe is only one of your tasks. I expect you to perform especially well.” Mrs. Beverly’s cold voice interrupted his worries. 

‘And so it begins,’ Moon thought to himself.

“Start now.”

The red warning came and Moon was off. While Sun was quite the gymnast as he moved, Moon was more akin to a spider as he used the playground walls to propel him to places faster as he ran around. Yet, even with how quickly he was moving, he’d only managed to clean two messes before multiple red warnings were coming in. As soon as he saw the build up, he knew what to expect. 

Still, his first shock stopped him in his tracks as he yelped. The already sore joints he was working with seemed to force themselves into their curled positions. Just like Sun’s first shock it was over as quickly as it started, though the state of their shared body made it harder for Moon to right himself as quickly. This is what Sun had been feeling for days and it was much worse than Moon had prepared himself for. The training wasn’t going to be as easy to get through as he’d hoped. From Sun’s experience, he knew that Mrs. Beverly didn’t like to be kept waiting though. Another shock so soon wouldn’t help his situation at all. 

‘Moon! I’m so sorry! I - I’ll take over now!’ Came Sun’s frantic thoughts.

There wasn’t time or energy Moon could spare to respond. He stood again and ran for the next mess to clean. He was better prepared for the next shock that came. All he let out was a grunt as he faltered for a moment. He happened to catch the look on Mrs. Beverly’s face as she pressed that button. The corner of her lips were quirked in the slightest hint of a smirk. 

At the first hint of some satisfaction from their pain, Moon’s anger flared hotter than it had before in his short time awake. The pain, though continuously stiffening his joints, was pushed aside in his sudden need to prove her wrong. She would feel so stupid if Moon managed to beat her game. Her superiority would be shaken if Moon managed the impossible feat.

He flexed his fingers and kept going.

Mrs. Beverly’s game was unchanged in its difficulty though and as Moon continued to get shocked, his speed and agility fell too far behind to even try keeping up. Frustration at his body not moving as fluidly as he wanted filled him with each stumble and flounder. Sun made this look so easy and, dare he admit it, graceful, even when he was struggling. 

When her voice called “Stop” Moon collapsed on one knee. His trembling fingers found the fabric of his pants as the terrible ache moved through his body. Up and down his spine and arms was the steady thrum of the overexerted wires that let him experience pain.

“For all the eagerness you presented to be a part of this training, you’ve failed to meet my expectations. Even worse, what little was done could hardly be called presentable,” Mrs. Beverly said as she walked towards his knelt form. 

Carl suddenly piped up. “Well, for having a first run of the body, I’d say he did pretty good.”

He received a raised eyebrow as his only response. 

“Yes, well, there will be much more to do to get even further adjusted. This daycare will not be left to a sloppy attendant.”

Moon stood as she spoke, slowly straightening up to hopefully ease some of the ache. He could still feel the buzzing concern Sun was projecting but his counterpart had decided to stay quiet for now. Moon was thankful for it so he could focus. Using their physical body like this was a lot different than his cartoon one. He allowed himself to feel a bit of pride that he’d been able to move so fast without any kind of warm up. 

“We’ll break for lunch and return to this . . . mess in an hour,” Mrs. Beverly announced. 

No one hesitated to leave. The technicians were crowded in a flock as they wrote down their notes and discussed their findings. Carl spared Moon one last look over his shoulder before he joined the others outside the daycare.

An artificial sign escaped Moon as he slowly sank down to lay against the padded floor. He’d been expecting another impossible task but some rest was a much better surprise. His back was surprisingly against laying down but Moon ignored it in favor of stretching out and really getting a chance to feel how this body moved. 

‘Moon? I can take over now! You can take a break!’ Sun called. He hated watching Moon be shocked. It should've been him taking this pain. Moon’s frustrations with their body weren’t totally familiar to Sun since he’d taken his wake up functions like a newborn took to crying. It was just natural. He wasn’t entirely sure why Moon was stumbling so much, but guilt settled in that maybe it was because of the shocks Sun had been receiving through the week. 

“No, I’m alright Sun. I’m just . . . figuring out our body.” Moon could tell Sun was guilty but this was their role. Moon was determined to share this burden. “It moves differently from the one I made in our head,” he continued. “Maybe it's a blessing I switched with you today so I could get some extra practice in with using our physical one.”

‘I - I guess so.’ Sun still didn't sound totally happy but Moon did make a good point. Sun wanted to be the best Attendant they could be! ‘Well, other than the new body, how does it feel being out here for so long?’

“It’s interesting. Our synthetic nerves pick up a lot more sensation than I thought they would. I didn’t know what silk felt like but after touching our pants, I do. I like it,” Moon mused.

Sun excitedly jumped into this topic since it had been something he’d noticed too. Comparing what they could do to humans, they had many features to help them connect with kids. Even better, their mind cataloged it all so Sun could revisit it anytime he liked! Such as all the new colors he’d gotten to see. He couldn’t wait to draw with the children when the daycare opened. 

When Ms. Beverly came back, Moon stiffly resumed the training from before. Both Attendants were surprised when Ms. Beverly cut the training short after only a couple hours and declared they were done for the day. 

“I’m sure you know the consequences of failing your tasks. Besides, we don’t have your full training set up yet,” was her reasoning. 

“Thank goodness,” Moon sighed after she left, “Security mode was eating up our charge.”

��Does that mean you want to switch back now?’

“Unless you know how to turn the lights off.”

Sun was quiet for a moment. ‘Shouldn’t we have a switch for that in here somewhere?’

Moon straightened, putting a hand to his chin in thought. “Yeah, we should. Let’s go charge and we can look through our settings together. Maybe not moving for a while will give our circuits a chance to stop aching.”

Sun cheered as Moon, after a few tries, called the wire to go back to their room.

[aotopmha]

I finished the Myths of the Realm alliance raid.

I've actually been super busy in FF14 these last two weeks – I also did the 6.1 MSQ, the job quest capstones, the ShB role quest capstones, the Omega Endwalker capstone and a bunch of other stuff that's not story-related.

As far as major content left, I think I only have the 8-man raid series, EW role quests and the rest of the MSQ to go now.

Though the EW role quests don't feel as immediately significant as the ShB ones, so I'm not as much in a hurry to get them done.

All of these bits of content will probably get their own posts in due time.

And I think there is a bunch more to say even for stuff I've already talked about.

But for now, I'll talk about Euphrosyne and Thaleia.

And I think they didn't quite continue the momentum in terms of mechanical creativity that Aglaia started, which is sad, but I think I'd at least place them above any of the Crystal Tower and Void Ark raids and I can say I don't agree with some of the more extreme takes on them because I think they still have some really creative fights/elements in there.

Firstly, I'm sad they didn't continue the mini boss encounters and instead defaulted back to regular mobs between fights. It's something fairly unique to any encounters in the game.

A few more could've been fun.

But going from Byregot's really cool "crafting" mechanic theming to Nophica's comparatively mundane AoEs is also a downgrade.

It's a beautiful-looking fight with the season changes and I even get the farming theme within the AoEs, but I think her fight is probably the weakest fight in the entire raid series.

It really is just basic AoE dodging. The alternating colors are the most unique part of the fight, but I think Tsukiyomi did that in a much thematically stronger way, too.

Moving on, I really like the Astrologian theming for Nymeia. Her design is one of my favourites. I love her clothes.

On one hand, Nymeia and Althyk are the only double fight in all of the three wings, which in itself gives the fight its own identity, but on the other hand I wish each had their own fight.

I like how the gravity and cards are combined and needing to play according to the card effects is neat, though, again, in comparison, I think Rhalgr was just so much stronger in terms of having its own identity, particularly with its super unique arena that is used in fun ways.

Avoiding gravity has been in many fights at this point and so has been dodging status effects and I feel this fight doesn't really do much new with that.

But it is also not entirely devoid of personality by combining these two ideas.

Next, I think Halone actually gets a really good fight. The memory game in her fight isn't necessarily new, either, but I like how it is executed in it because I think it and her delayed attacks are really satisfying to dodge. Her nature as a spear-wielding warrior goddess comes through really well in the fight and I love her transforming weapon.

In fact, I want that weapon for DRK (would be really cool if it was available for both DRK and PLD in its respective spear and shield/greatsword form, maybe even having a form specifically for DRG, and you'd be able to change between them for cosmetic purposes).

I feel there is a fun fire/ice parallel with Aglaia and Eusophryne and Azeyma/Halone: fire being dark-aspected and ice being light-aspected, and the identities of their fights contrasting each other.

While Azeyma felt like a free-flowing reactive fight, Halone felt very orderly and "set in stone" so to say. Passive vs active and I think that's really cool.

I want to mention the ice citadel and the two moons, too, which is probably my favourite location in all of the three wings of the raid visually, though Aglaia's Heaven of Fire is a very close contender.

Menphina I'd put on par with Althyk and Nymeia.

There are some "almost" unique elements with her fight, like Dalamud jumping out of his target ring or the moon creating an attack when it becomes full, but they're more like neat details than fully substantial unique mechanics.

Menphina is one of my favourites out of all of the gods in terms of actual personality.

She's so playful and fun. Her having a magical girl-like aesthetic for a goddess of love is also super fun/cute and I want Dalamud as a mount.

So, all of the fights in Euphrosyne have their own "personality" visually, but it doesn't always translate into the mechanics. But when it does, we get cool stuff like Halone's fight or cute elements like a puppy named Dalamud that is having fun with hit boxes or the goddess of fate using Astrologian cards. It's not as distinct as what came before in a general sense to me, but I still had a bunch of fun running it.

Moving on to Thaleia, I definitely like Thaliak more than Nophica because I like the Zodiark positioning mechanic and I like dodging the triangles because you have to think slightly more about your positioning than with fairly generic AoEs. It's not "unique" so to speak, but what is there is done well enough.

I see Lymlaen the same way. Nier did the corridor running better, but I still really like how she creates an opening in the middle of the whirlpool she created as her arena. It's such a cool idea, but most of her fight still ends up being AoE dodging, which at this point just frustrated me.

I feel you could've done some neat stuff with manipulating the whirlpool and that alone would've strenthened the general identity of it.

I do love that the goddess of the sea is a tough pirate lady, though.

I think Oschon is the best fight in Thaleia. I love the predictive mechanics involving his archery. His fight is a super distinctive fight in terms of showcasing him as a fighter, just like Halone's.

I feel like Bards are fairly underrepresented in the game, too, so the fight is welcome in this sense, as well.

They even manage to weave the straight-forward stuff into this reactive archery identity of the fight.

Finally, there is Eulogia.

I think this fight is basically the alliance raid version of the final Eden fight. I like final fights that test you on mechanics that you've encountered up to that point.

In this case, I think it being a "test" fight really benefitted the narrative structure and did a great job at crafting a sense of finality for the entire raid in terms of the gameplay and story alike.

To me it completed the entire package, even if I thought the first wing was the best part of it.

In a general enjoyment sense, I was never truly bored through any of the encounters, I just think some fights could've been better.

They still sound great and look great and give some really cool glamour.

And I'll probably be happier to get any of these raid wings in roulettes than Nier or Ivalice because I feel you can get through them comparatively quickly. Nier is really long in particular.

So, I can see where the criticisms for the series come from, but none of the criticisms I *personally* have for it truly ruin any of it.

Now if the game kept going down this path and never changing and leaning more and more on these generic encounter tropes, it would eventually become a true problem.

Once again looking at the statements about Dawntrail, though, luckily it seems they are aiming to nip this homogenization issue in the bud.

[nazmazh]

So the whole "cozy farming/town building/etc. games are colonialist/imperialist in nature" discourse that's going around these days:

Like, I firmly do believe that it's not the worst thing in the world to examine underlying reasons - Conscious or unconscious - For why something might appeal to you/an audience in-general.

And sure, there probably are some societal factors that lead to certain things being used as shorthand or jumping off points that do often go unexamined - Like, the idea of there being a terra nullis that you can no-muss-no-fuss-no-complicated history of colonialism/displacement/genocide is definitely one that does often just get used unquestioningly. And there certainly could be some interesting discussions about whether or not that should be such a default.

But, like, at the same time - This is explicitly escapism. Fantasy of a sorts (depending on the game/setting, it might explicitly not be the real world). These scenarios, unless otherwise stated are taking place in a true terra nullis - Nobody had to suffer anywhere in this place's history. Build your animal people village or cozy little farm without even having to think about this sort of thing.

But it's not always so simple, is it?

Any game that includes side-tasks centered around finding treasures/artifacts, exploring ruins, etc.? Well, now, that implies that this was not truly a terra nullis after all. And yeah, that can raise some implications. Much of the time, it still falls back to something like *Oh, they all died long, long before you/your current civilization got here - Don't even worry about it!"

And, like, I get it.

You don't want to think about your character's potential complicity/inheritance of a legacy of genocide when you're playing a cozy farm sim game. You just want to make a nice, efficient farm, and arrange found trinkets in a satisfying manner. You just want to curate your village to look like a 1:1 recreation of your favourite Skyrim town, but with silly animal people. Sometimes it's just the skin that's wrapped around your "make the numbers match up in a satisfying manner" exercise. Sometimes it's all about the stories and playing a role as given to you by the set-up.

And that's all fine.

You're allowed to have escapism without having to turn into Chidi from The Good Place, agonizing over whether everything is 100% ethical from all angles and possible implications.

And people are allowed to think about things from those points of view and decide for themselves if they really enjoy these sorts of games after all.

And there are some games out there that do invite you to think about these sorts of things - Sometimes explicitly, sometimes subtly.

Like, I play Satisfactory, which has a few of these elements - Terraforming an alien world - A supposedly true terra nullis as far as the scenario is concerned - And while resource extraction and manufacturing isn't a cozy pastoral farm, there still is a deep level of well, satisfaction, that comes with arranging things just-so, such that you have an aesthetically-pleasing factory colony, and one in which all of your processes' rates sync just right that it all flows smoothly to get you the components you need.

But it's also a running joke of sorts between me and friends who play about well, just how much sprawling machinery you can into a formerly pristine wilderness. The game might not outright say "Look how horrible this all is for the environment here", but you can't really look upon your creation and not see the horrible transformation the once beautiful natural landscape has undergone.

In the end, though - I've only despoiled a digital canvas, so to speak. No guilt needs hang over my head for finding joy in my colossal monstrosity of a factory. (Other than perhaps I need to work on improving my efficiency. I love my tangle of conveyor belts, but maybe I should plan my machines better so that they're not always backed up and stalled out).

And, like, these people complaining about Stardew Valley or Minecraft being imperialist and then saying people shouldn't enjoy them (Admittedly that last bit seems only to exist as a theoretical strawman to argue against and get mad at/about - I can't say I've honestly seen anyone claiming that nobody should be allowed to enjoy them) - Have they run out of complaints about other game genres? I know that nothing should get a free pass by merit of something else being worse, but I am curious as to where their logic would lead in terms of whether any games with any sort of abstraction/story should be enjoyed, ever.

Have... Have they seen other genres of games, at all?

Like, I also love the 4X genre, but that one explicitly encourages imperialism. The Xs include "exploit" and "exterminate", specifically. And yes, there have been criticisms of this genre too, but I can't say I've seen people vilified in the same way as this last round of criticism lobbed at cozy games.

There's plenty of games whose entire goal is just "kill everyone else" - PC, NPC, mob, etc.

Again, though - I'm not outright against criticism/reexamination of things from different angles or anything like that.

Honestly, the sci-fi and fantasy genres have had some absolutely fantastic developments stemming from the line of thinking of "Hey, does it feel a little off/icky to have expressly sapient races that are universally evil/bad and therefore okay to in-turn slaughter without hesitation?" This reexamination has led to plenty of games where Orcs and Goblins and such aren't just stock villains and cannon fodder - They have their own actual motivations beyond "Pillage and kill! Just because!", they're full-fledged factions that can be reasoned with, negotiated with - Dealt with in ways that don't necessitate violence.

Like, sure, if you have a certain style of game, you'll need foes. And making them "monsters" is often an easy strategy to avoid having to think about why it's okay/good/fine to kill them. But if they're all purely mindless or bestial, it gets a little repetitive - So, yeah, you add in ones that can think too. But at that point, they ought to have the capacity to question what they're doing and why, and thus, should have the freedom to not just default to doing bad guy stuff for the sake of it. And then from there - Writing them to always be evil anyway kind of does feel lazy/reductive and willfully, pointedly avoidant on a subject that should be considered.

I don't know if I have a point to all this. Yes, it's fine to enjoy things. Yes, it's often good to question underlying assumptions - Including and often especially things presented as "idealistic" and "harmless". Yes, consumption of media can lead to self-reinforcement if ideas, including potentially harmful or toxic ones. But also, yes, sometimes, things aren't necessarily as deep as they have the potential to be.

Sometimes it's just "If I had a small corner of the world to make my own, what would I do with it?"

Sometimes it is "If I could take over the world and make it align with my vision, what would I do with it?"

Sometimes it is "If I could take over the world and expressly be like, a cartoon supervillain, what would I do with it?"

People's escapism often isn't meant to be problematic. Or examine how things might be problematic.

Sometimes, it is something that would be expressly problematic outside the confines of the theoretical/simulated.

And that's fine.

It's fine.

People are allowed to enjoy problematic things.

People are allowed to indulge in fantasies that aren't completely selfless or altruistic. As long as they're not going out there and actually harming other people/the world/whatever -- What does it ultimately matter?

[three-tailed-kitsune]

Who Are You?

This is not a story of one person alone- but a person can only follow one path at a time. Which one will you choose? The Red Path: Gavoc is a man as stubborn as he is loyal. He puts himself and his friends above all else, but tries to help others when it doesn't pose too much risk. Practical, but not to the point of cruelty. A very focused individual, who often needs others to remind him to take a break.

The Orange Path: Andania is a cautious young genderfluid person. They tend to get easily attached, and have a bad habit of trying to fix everything. They're fascinated by stories and language, and tend to hoard at least a small level of knowledge in anything that catches their eye. They often take on a more parental role with younger people or less-mature peers by accident.

The Yellow Path: Mavox is an energetic young man, driven to leap before he looks. He often finds himself in unfortunate situations, but his constant cheer and drive tend to see him through. He makes friends easily, but long lasting bonds tend to be a bit harder to come by. He's always on the move, or trying something new, and many find they can't keep up.

The Green Path: Tix is a trans woman who finds herself easily fixated on anything unknown. Her specialty lies in computers and technology, but she finds it hard to resist any new topic presented to her. Especially when someone says it's difficult, or worse, that she can't master it. She can be a little stuck up about proving her own intelligence at times, or brag about her success's. It can make her a bit irritating, but she doesn't mean any harm.

The Light Blue Path: Luna is a ball of anxiety that would really rather stay in her room where she's comfortable, honestly. She tends to isolate herself, and focus on quiet hobbies if she can. She enjoys the presence of very few people, and would prefer to simply to do her own thing. Unfortunately, fate seems to have different plans. The Indigo Path: Indie is Agender, and a fierce individual. They enjoy creating their own art in any form, and doing anything they can to exist outside the norm. Prideful, independent, and with an odd set of morals that seem to change on a whim. They like to pretend they're tougher and angstier than they are. They have a weakness for brats, but they won't admit it.

The Violet Path: Vi is a nonbinary, gender fluid person who has given up on caring about almost everything. They have an ingrained belief that the things they say or do don't matter, and has found freedom in the isolation. They keep the things they own close to their heart, and are strictly possessive of them. People shouldn't matter- but that doesn't stop them from getting attached. They can't imagine those people caring in return, however, and so default to a distant protective stance that borders on possessive. The Pink Path: Star has embraced joy with everything she is, and has somehow managed to leave most of her embarrassment behind. People tend to view her as childish due to her interests, but she's remarkably mature when she wishes to be. Doesn't worry much about things that can't be changed, and tends to go with the flow even in difficult situations.

The Silver Path: Memory is a trans man who isn't quite sure who he is just yet. He likes libraries, archives, museums, any large collection of knowledge and history. Likes the idea of being part of a collective, or the larger collection made of a million smaller pieces. He likes reading and learning, and has difficulties connecting with people. Observant. He cares very deeply about ideas, but finds himself lost when it comes to reality.

_______________________________

Whichever path gets the most votes will be written first, but all of them will be written out eventually.

[megers67]

BNHA OC 2: Tanaka Rin

My second OC for BNHA. I came up with her second as a counterpart to Hibiki but I love her on her own as well.

Hibiki's Bio

Hero Profile

Once again, I'm so sorry there isn't a Read More. I'm on mobile and there's no damn way for me to do it.

APPEARANCE: Rin is pretty tall and of athletic build. She has bright blue hair (dyed from her natural darker blue) that, while the style changes fairly frequently, always stays short. It's never past her chin and is usually shorter than that. Because of her quirk, she is completely unaffected by the outside temperature. That means she can literally wear anything she wanted at any time, much to the annoyance of her friends. She has a decent fashion sense, but is literally blind and so can't see the colors for anything. Though even if she could, she has the confidence to wear crazy color combos. She likes people's reactions to her attire like a neon pink miniskirt in the dead of winter or a big fluffy coat in the summer heat or something. Rin does generally keep it seasonal for the most part though she still wears clashing colors. Doesn't help that Hibiki is usually the one to help Rin out in that department, and while SHE is sighted, she has absolutely no fashion sense herself. So Rin gets to enjoy walking around like a fucking disaster. For those who try to make negative comments, she cheerfully informs them that she's blind and that usually shuts them up. She also usually wears sunglasses because it's much easier to use her thermal vision when outside light is blocked out.

This doesn't really do it justice, but I'm limited to what Love Nikki is giving me. I could go more clashing, but most of that also involves clothes that don't line up (like shirts going outside the coat, etc) and I hate the look of that.

PERSONALITY: Rin is bright and cheerful and very outgoing. She is persistent in her desire to befriend most people she comes across, but knows when to tone things down or when someone needs space. Like Hibiki, she will also drop everything to help someone out, though it is far less draining on her than Hibiki. She's a fixer though so she's not great to go to if you just want to vent. If you do want to do something about something or help getting something done, then she is perfect for the job.

While Rin exudes positivity, she certainly has her own insecurities, mostly stemming from her fear that she isn't good enough to be a hero. She's not the strongest or the smartest, the fastest, most technically skilled, or have the best quirk. On top of that, she's blind. While her quirk goes a long way to make her independent, she still relies on others for a lot of things and suffers from imposter's syndrome. Being at UA has actually helped her a lot to combat these feelings, but they can still hit her pretty hard. Because she hides it behind a wall of positivity, it can be hard to spot when she's beating herself up over something. Hibiki seems to be one of, if not the, only one who can consistently read her and guide her through it. Rin isn't quick to anger unless it is on someone else's behalf in which case, she really lets it loose and will want to do something about it.

QUIRK: Her quirk is Heat. Specifically, she can make herself a heat sink or heat source and can use that to control the temperature of what she touches or the air immediately surrounding her. Her entire body is therefore unaffected by extreme temperatures (and she doesn't need to regulate a normal body temperature). This means that she doesn't get burned or frostbite so she can be standing in a raging inferno and only need to worry about getting enough air to breathe. She has yet to reach the temperature limits on her body so her intensity and range is largely limited by the amount of energy she has and any environmental constraints. Because her quirk uses her body's energy, she needs to eat a lot to keep up. Her range can increase with contact with a conductive material as it can help direct the flow of energy. Her quirk doesn't produce fire or ice and so can be difficult for an opponent to track if they're not aware of it. Rin also uses her quirk as a form of thermal imaging to navigate the world around her. This means that she has a lot of independence and doesn't need external aids for most situations. Additionally, she is completely at ease in the dark as there is little change to her.

There are, however, limitations. She can't sense through barriers such as walls, even those that sighted people can see through like glass. She can sense through barriers if a conductive material goes through it to the other side, but even then the clarity is greatly diminished. Though even that can be very useful. Another limitation is that she can't read anything printed or written on a page, screen, sign, etc. She just sees that there is a paper there. For school work, she is allowed a laptop that has a text-to-speech option so that she can hear back her notes after she types them. Rin will also have one of her classmates go over her notes to make sure she didn't miss anything, though usually her own notes tend to be better since it's faster to type than to physically write things down. For non-school work, ie. when she's out and about, she has Hibiki or someone else with her read something out to her. She would even ask strangers, but this usually only happens when she's out shopping and needs to know a price. The same goes for colors. Rin was previously sighted so she remembers colors and even processes her thermal vision via colors but she doesn't know something's real color. Hibiki has gotten pretty good at describing colors to her.

PAST: Not nearly as sordid (or detailed) as Hibiki's to be sure. She has a loving family and an older brother. Her childhood was fairly normal to be sure. Rin was always popular in school because everyone just liked her and she always made an effort for anyone to feel included. Especially the new girl, Hibiki, who keeps to herself in the corner. And she even succeeds in becoming her friend! Yay!

But her life changed forever when she turned 11. All she wanted was to figure out the limitations of her quirk. Naturally this meant trying to get her hand as hot as she could as fast as she could. Turns out that really hot things get really really bright and that prolonged exposure to bright light can permanently damage your eyes. After one too many times, her sight never returns. After that, Rin was a mess. Losing a sense was hard and it didn't help that everyone treated her like a fragile porcelain doll. Almost everyone. Hibiki didn't. In fact, she was the same calm voice of reason that she always was. In fact little had changed between them. Just the subject matter of their conversations. It was Hibiki who pointed out that maybe she could try using her quirk to sense things like the goggles police and heroes sometimes use. And like that, they went from friends to inseparable best friends.

They applied to UA together and while they both got in, Hibiki didn't make it to the hero course like she did. Initially Rin was nervous because Hibiki helped her out a lot over the last few years and now they could only be together during lunch or off hours (even though Hibiki was convinced that being in different classes mean they would drift apart, Rin insisted otherwise). She would have to face being blind alone for the first time. That anxiety didn't last very long because her class was pretty cool about it. Her teachers also made sure she had proper accommodations both in and out of class.

The sports festival was very exciting because she was able to see just how much she'd grown, but Hibiki as well. Rin made sure that they did their handshake in front of everyone to show both Hibiki and the world that whatever happened, they were still friends. And even as Rin finally knocked Hibiki out of the ring, both were smiling. Even though she didn't win, getting third was pretty damn cool.

Rin does her field training with Backdraft in the Musutafu fire department. She finds that she actually quite likes rescue work even though she still wants to fight villains. She continues to train, increasing her stamina to use her quirk more and in larger strength.

Even though she was sad that one of her classmates chose to drop the hero course, she was very happy that that meant that Hibiki was now joining the class. She was very active in getting Hibiki accepted into the group. Rin also worked hard to make sure that Hibiki was all caught up as far as the hero course was concerned. Rin got her provisional license and did her internship with a hero that was more villain-centric to get that kind of experience and was particularly useful for night missions because of her thermal vision, but it made her lose a lot of sleep. She started taking naps between classes and during lunch, relying on Hibiki to sneak her snacks during class to keep going.

OTHER SKILLS AND TIDBITS: Rin is the resident Hibiki whisperer. If you ever wanted Hibiki to do something, your best bet is to get Rin on it. Rin is down for pretty much anything and can talk Hibiki into pretty much anything even for a more passive role.

She has ADHD. She has it mostly under control, but when she doesn't, Hibiki knows how to pull her back together and get back to work.

Because Rin's body is resistant to extreme temperatures, when she thinks she is getting sick, she will "flash" to basically incinerate the pathogen. Unfortunately this also burns away any good bacteria she has in her gut as well as any non-digested food still in her system. The combo makes her nauseous anyway. She gets scolded for it every time but still insists she'll get it right some day.

She is the undisputed best cuddler because she can make her body temp juuuust the right level of warmth for whoever she's cuddling. This is especially popular during the winter.

By default, her body temperature is the normal and average level. But sometimes it will accidentally rise or lower itself without her noticing, usually due to emotions. She doesn't really notice until it's pointed out by someone that she accidentally burned or froze something.

Rin is really good to have in the kitchen because she can tell when things are cooked through to the exact temp it should be, make sure something is cooked evenly, or retrieve an ingredient that accidentally fell into boiling water too early, etc. Her favorite "party trick" is for when people are unfamiliar with her quirk, she will "accidentally" lean on a hot stove and freak them out.

She has a pretty mischievous streak in her. While she doesn't like initiating pranks, she loves being an accomplice in them. Rin is staunchly neutral during prank wars but is more than willing to lend her services to either side.

Rin likes "watching" movies even though she can't see the images on the screen. She enjoys making up her own as she hears the dialogue. The first question her friends usually have when the credits roll is "okay, what do you THINK just happened?" A lot of the time, the answer is a lot more fun than what actually happened because she has a really active imagination.

She can read Japanese braille, but it doesn't come up incredibly often. Rin is in the process of learning Japanese sign language because she wants to be good representation for disabilities and advocate for accessibility.

Rin doesn't like "turning off" her thermal vision very much, but it can get tiring after a while. She tends to do so during class since she doesn't really need it then. She'll only "turn off" outside of class if she's alone with Hibiki since she was around from the beginning. She's okay being vulnerable around her.

She doesn't like having long hair herself, but greatly enjoys playing with Hibiki's.

Rin is pansexual and has known since junior high. But she hasn't done a lot of dating since she only seems to have a consistent crush on a certain someone who just doesn't seem interested.

Rin doesn't like travelling very far by herself because she's afraid that she will suddenly get too tired to maintain her thermal vision, leaving her vulnerable, lost, and alone.

She really likes cats, but it's kind of a problem because Hibiki is allergic. Hibiki will still go with her to cat cafes to keep her company, but Rin usually feels really bad about it and so will usually ask other people to join her before resorting to asking Hibiki.

Just as Hibiki is the best hider in hide and seek, Rin is the best seeker because of her thermal vision. She is no longer allowed to be seeker.

[transjoyblog]

6 Personal Values That Will Hurt Your Business

Photo by Ava Sol on Unsplash

Everyone has their own set of personal values by which they live their life. These can be consciously chosen, or be created by default. Usually, everyone has some combination of chosen, and default values and beliefs, but no matter how you came to them, every single one of your values should be examined and judged as to how it supports your goals, or wellbeing. Anyone who has adopted this practice of active self-reflection has found some values to be incongruous with living well. The same is true for building a business. There are simply some values that will get in the way of building a lasting, stable business, that works for both you and your employees. That is not to say that one cannot make money if you have any of these values. In fact, capitalism can bring some of the following values out in even the best of us, which is why you should be aware of these values and how to avoid relying on them.

1. You put yourself first. Either the customer or your employees or (ideally) both must come first when seeking to get value out of a business i.e. paying yourself for the time and effort you put into the business. I mean this in both the abstract and very real legal sense of the word. When a business is having cash flow issues, you are still legally obligated to pay your employees on time. If you do not you are in violation of federal law, and probably whatever state law governs your business practices. This is the basic order of operations to use when thinking about how your business provides value. You are always last. Even when filing Chapter 7 liquidation, secured debt (debt backed by collateral) is given the highest priority when paying back creditors, followed closely by pay owed to employees.

How to Avoid This:

Make a list of values that you would like your business to embody. Refer to this when you need some clarity on a big, values driven decision i.e. What is the business' family leave policy?

Keep your eye on the ball - why are you doing business? The answer should be to provide something of value to others, and making money should be side effect of a great product or service.

2. You shirk responsibility in the face of tough decisions. You may feel that you are happy to accept a leadership position, and would gladly take on everything that comes with that. But have you ever had to make the decision to fire someone? And I don't mean someone who is incompetent or otherwise underperforming. Have you ever had to fire a loyal, high performing person with whom you have worked very closely to build something in which you both believe? This is a situation in which you may find yourself, and you would do well to prepare for this possibility. I suggest reading The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz to learn more about the tough spots in which you could find yourself should the business grow beyond just yourself.

How to Avoid This:

Consciously start choosing to cultivate decisiveness. If someone asks what you would like for dinner, provide a real answer, instead of a middling, "I'm good with whatever anyone else wants". When asked your opinion, give it, thoughtfully, and only when asked. There are a ton of other ways to improve your decision making skills, most of which are probably just a Google search away.

3. You tend to be suspicious in the face of ambiguity, you rarely give the benefit of the doubt or worse, you tend to fall for the logical fallacy called argument from ignorance. This is a false dichotomy fallacy that asserts that a proposition is true because it has not yet been proven false or a proposition is false because it has not yet been proven true. For example, I once had a boss think that our dishwasher was lying about having to leave early from work. He claimed that he had to get a court mandated drug test at a facility just down the road from our work. My boss supposed that because he could be lying, and she did not have positive proof that he was being honest, he must be trying to get off early, at least sometimes. Please don't do this. This guy was being completely honest. I had to pass the route he took to this facility in order to make my way home, and I almost always saw him on his way to where he said he was going.

How to Avoid This:

Educate yourself on the principals of logical fallacy, and proper argumentative techniques. One of the best books I have ever read on this subject was actually a textbook in my college speech class. It was Thank You for Arguing by Jay Heinrichs. I also recommend you educate yourself on proper research techniques, and how to discern a reliable source of information, from an unreliable one. Training yourself on generally accepted information sourcing techniques is invaluable and can help you with everything from politics to your personal relationships.

4. You believe learning is finite and time bound. I once heard someone proudly announce that they didn't read books anymore because they had received their Master's degree, and therefore had done all the reading they needed to do. This may be an extreme example, but a lot of people do not truly value learning as much as they value credentialing, or "education". Businesses must learn to survive. Actively learn. Meaning, leaders need to propose hypotheses, run experiments, collect data, and analyze this data to reach a conclusion on the hypothesis. That is the only way a business can continue to grow and thrive in the current business climate.

How to Avoid This:

You can read The Lean Startup by Eric Reis for more information on the role that learning plays in the success of a business. Study the theories proposed in this book, and use them to inform your own company culture.

You can make learning a priority in your life. Not just as another thing to check off your to-do list. Keep up on your reading, even if you only like reading so-called "trashy" fiction. Reading is reading, and there have been some studies that support the idea that reading fiction can help us improve our ability to "walk a mile in someone else's shoes".

5. You're racist, sexist, or otherwise discriminatory or prejudiced. This includes things like having a preference for hiring a certain type of person for specific roles in the organization. You may catch yourself or others saying things like "I agree that she may be a good fit, but she is so young," or, "He should be applying for something in the back, we can't have men running the register." The latter was a common refrain in certain parts of the food service industry for a long time.

Also be sure to look out for the ways in which you judge others' appearances. I recently listened to episode 433 of the Smart Passive Income Podcast, entitled "Black Entrepreneurs Speak Out, Volume 2". In this episode we hear from James Shannon, who tells us about a time that he was told not to wear a hoodie to work because he "looked like a thug." This is explicitly racist behavior. It is the kind of behavior that is so hard to call out when you are on the receiving end, because it is so easy to argue against, especially when the person committing this offense is in a position of authority over you and your livelihood. Get the full story by listening to the podcast, it is definitely worth your time.

How to Avoid This:

We all have an obligation to educate ourselves on the reality of others. By this I mean, each and every one of us have a societal obligation to "walk a mile" in as many types of shoes as we can. While you may (hypothetically) be a cisgender, heterosexual, Hispanic man, plenty of people are not. And understanding the struggles, traditions, problems, and joys of people who are not similar to you will help you develop an understanding of how you, and your decisions fit within "the larger picture" of society. This understanding can help you connect with anyone better, as people will respond to those who make a genuine effort to understand and respect their experience. If you're working on your reading habit, be sure to read books by people who encourage critical thinking, respect for others, and offer new perspectives on large issues, such as How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, or Histories of the Transgender Child by Jules Gill-Peterson.

6. You lie. Whether it is a simple habit of hyperbolic gossip, or outright deception there is no place for dishonesty at work. The tendency to lie is a human one, and I do believe that there is some place for small lies that have become a part of polite American small talk i.e. answering "I'm just fine." when someone asks how you're doing because you don't feel like explaining that you had a terrible fight with your wife that morning and you, in fact, feel like a dumpster fire. What I mean by lying is any form of knowing misrepresentation, deception, or fraud. This is not only damaging to your reputation, this habit can get you into serious legal trouble. Fraud is a serious charge that could land you in federal prison depending on the nature of your lies.

How To Avoid This:

Value honesty and plainness of speech. I try to refrain from using technical language as best I can, so as to retain the utmost clarity when making a point. You may feel like everyone is inflating themselves, and you have to do the same to compete. Do not do this. Openness and honesty will open more doors than it will close, and the doors it does close may very well be worth closing.

Wrapping it all up

If you find that you have given into any of these default values, you're not alone. I have been guilty of all of these to some degree, but the important thing is to identify these influences, and work to understand the pressure they exert over your decisions. You can change the things that you value for the better, and improve your business as a consequence of your pursuit.

There is also so much more you can do to actually affect change within society as a whole. Even if you are like myself, and can't even attend a protest, let alone help organize one, there are still ways in which you can help. I am looking into opportunities to lend some data entry assistance to my County's COVID-19 vaccine administration sites. We can all step up, and do what we can, with what we have, where we are!

What are some other values and beliefs that hinder businesses and their owners' success? I am always interested in expanding my perspective, so let me know in the comments!