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so-long-soldier-writes · 1 year ago

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To be honest... I feel like Kai would be kind of slow academically. Being shunned in his childhood in a room alone and spending the rest of his life trying to escape a prison world, he probably never spent any time learning anything like math or reading... so he's probably not the most intelligent, academic person. 😕

Hi! Okay, first, this was a lot of fun to answer. Second, I went a little overboard again! Also, I wrote this in paragraphs instead of my messy outline format, because it's about academics and I had to get into that headspace. 😅

I see your point where he wouldn't be the smartest due to his decades of neglect and isolation, although I also see the opposite in many aspects. There's two different kinds of "smarts" - book smart and street smart - and I think he has some of both, but definitely does lack in certain areas, too. That being said, I can partially agree with your opinion on it.

Disclaimer, I'm not a psychologist. My analysis of Kai's intelligence (or lack thereof) is based on my own experiences, as well as what I've studied and learned throughout the years. I was partially homeschooled and don't mean to criticize that alternative to schooling, although it is presented in a negative light in this post. I also mention my own research on ASPD from reputable sources, as well as draw from firsthand opinions and accounts of diagnosed sociopaths from internet sources, like Reddit.

Odds are that Kai didn't go to traditional school and was homeschooled instead. Homeschool is an acceptable alternative to school, however in big families, it can become a challenge. Two parents versus eight children, most probably under the age of fifteen, is a lot to care for and teach. It would be easy for one or two to fall behind, especially in a home environment like Kai's, where they intentionally isolate him. Street smarts are also often lacking in homeschooled children. If not properly socialized with their peers, a lot of homeschooled kids become awkward adults. They may not have a firm understanding of social rules or expectations, and may experience kind of a social disconnect from others. Kai's situation is an extreme version of this, where his lack of socialization (plus major abuse) led him to developing sociopathy. In terms of book smarts, children can go either way. Sometimes homeschooled kids are extremely intelligent and exceed well in their more-secluded learning environments. Sometimes they don't do as well, and require a more stimulating environment. I would imagine Kai would be the latter, especially once his brain develops ASPD. Even if given the resources he would need to succeed in life, I don't know if he'd use them. He would only put effort into learning topics that were of interest to him or those that could benefit him in some way.

Kai would greatly lack a lot of social skills due to his neglect and isolation. He even admits to having little knowledge about interaction with others, in 6x3, when he meets Damon for the first time. Granted, he had been alone for eighteen years, but we also later learn that he probably never learned those skills even as a child. Education-wise, he lacks in some areas more than others. Again, I think he'd only put effort into something that he found interesting or beneficial. I think he's smarter than he's given credit for, but perhaps just not well-rounded in his knowledge.

That being said, there are several areas of study in which I think he would engage. First and foremost, science. Anatomy, especially. When Kai sets out on his hunt for his siblings, he wants to get Jo out of the way so he can go after them without her interference. Like he says, he doesn't want to kill her - he knows he can't kill her - but he is going to weaken her so she can't stop him from carrying out his "mission." In the scene where Bonnie and Damon find out Kai is the perpetrator in the newspaper, he delivers his line, "you can survive without a spleen" in a way that informs us he knew that information beforehand. When we see Jo's scar a couple episodes before, it's a rather clean cut for someone who was angrily hacking his way through his family. That kind of precision coupled with the knowledge that the wound wouldn't have killed her leads me to believe he had a strong understanding of the body and its systems.

Aside from anatomy, he shows to have an understanding in several other fields of science. The Gemini Coven was strongly built from astronomical foundations; the name itself is coined from a constellation, every merge must be done on the night of a celestial event, and those events are also required to open any prison world. I think Kai would try to study astronomy as much as possible for this reason. The leadership falls on either him or Jo, it is the birthright of either one, but when he was deemed different, it was taken from him. He would then try to learn as much as he could to one day take control of the coven, whether or not he would've won the merge. I think Kai's father would have done anything to prevent Kai from learning about the science involved in coven leadership, especially since he had that prison world preloaded and ready to go, and Kai would have tried to learn everything he could find about it.

Now, regardless of how much or how little he knew prior to getting stuck in the prison world, I think he would have, with time, accumulated more knowledge while being there. At first, he most likely spent weeks, months, maybe even years trying to find a way out. I can imagine he'd be very unsettled, always moving, and not quite using his thinking in the most intelligent manner. It would take some time for him to realize he's not able to break himself out, and then come to terms with that, before he's able to sit and really think. Once he does quiet down, I think he'd realize he really is completely alone, but with the whole world at his fingertips. One of the first things he would seek is anything related to magic or his coven. Any grimoires or other books about magic. Anything he could possibly siphon. Of course, when his search turns up nothing, he'd be destructively angry. If he found Gemini grimoires though, he would study them relentlessly, even if they didn't hold any magic in them. Regardless if he finds grimoires or not, he would read into a lot of occultism and try to find answers there. He'd nosedive back into astronomy, a subject likely withheld from him despite his siblings being taught it intensively. His knowledge of astronomy is proven when he's using the ascendant to try and align it with the stars in 6x4. "Trying to find the exact right spot," he has some idea of where the ascendant needs to be used. He isn't guessing; he knows to some degree where it needs to be, even if he doesn't know the exact coordinates. Eventually, it takes them to the woods, which then proves to be the spot required for Damon and Bonnie to return to the modern day. (Kai sends himself back somewhere in Portland, presumably where he got sent in by his family.)

Additionally, I think he read quite a bit of history, maybe out of boredom, maybe curiosity. He mentions he learned a museum in DC had a real life guillotine, telling us he one, knew enough history to knew the function and purpose of a guillotine, and two, had to have read something that would mention sights and historical artifacts kept in museums. He also said he went to the museum, and we met him first in Mystic Falls, which tells us he is able to read a map, which displays its own (albeit minor) level of intelligence. Similarly to this point, we also have to mention him being from Portland, yet traveling back and forth to Mystic Falls, both by himself and with Bonnie. When he brings Bonnie to Portland, he mentions he flew her half of the trip, a passing comment to which Bonnie makes a very disgruntled face. In order for Kai to be able to fly a plane successfully, he would need to have a massive, in-depth understanding of math and science. Flying a plane isn't guess work; he had to know what he was doing. Maybe he tried and failed (resulting in his death, most likely), and tried again over and over, but he wouldn't have learned well enough to keep Bonnie alive without teaching himself how to fly through some supplemental resources.

At some point, he I think he would've gotten bored enough to read topics that interested him, even if they weren't supplemental to his plan to break out. This may have included whatever he read that helped him learn to fly a plane. This may have also included anything related to baseball, since we know he liked Alex Rodriguez and had all his cards. It may have been a topic never even revealed to viewers. Now, Kai doesn't seem like the type to read fiction or fantasy for fun. If he came across a book his parents ever tried to make him read during his childhood, he'd probably destroy it. But eighteen years is a long time, especially for someone who has already faced previous isolation. I think eventually, he'd read at least a little bit.

Following this, it's important to note that he has been educated, at least to some degree, in reading and writing. He speaks in a way that is equivalent to his peers. He has a firm understanding of English and grammar, and he even writes in cursive when he addresses a letter to Jo, in 6x13. These important skills would've been taught to him early in his life, perhaps before he developed his siphon abilities (and Jo, her magic). He may have had a strong foundation that wasn't maintained throughout his "grade school" years. Once he was confirmed a siphon and his parents started having more kids, the isolation and neglect would've began, therefore, his schooling would have suffered.

The last main point I want is make is that sociopaths by nature are usually pretty intelligent. Kai would most likely have developed a lot of his "social" skills on his own. Studying his family and taking notes on his environment would have taught him a lot, which he would have internalized to use if he ever needed. A lot of his socialization was probably through observation. I highly doubt any of the Parker children went anywhere, especially Kai. He told Bonnie in 6x8 that his, "father goes out of his way to make sure nobody finds this place [their home]," which alone tells us those children probably didn't get out much. (School would require a home address; anyone driving past may take note about the children playing outside; a visit into town may have locals wondering about the mysterious family.) Jo probably experienced the most freedom out of all of them, though she would have been cautiously guarded, too. Therefore, eight children are being raised in one household, but since one is unable to have any contact with the others, he's, as Kai stated, kept in his room and not allowed out. According to my research, a lot of ASPD development happens prior to the age of fifteen, because the brain is still developing around that age. Kai said his siphon abilities popped up around the age of four, so some of his most formidable years are already being spent isolated in his room. Each year that he's continuously neglected and abused and ignored is altering his brain chemistry worse and worse and worse. He has so much time to sit and ruminate about his situation, likely leading to the plan he made to kill his siblings, whether or not it was to make a point - like Jo believed, or if he did just snap and was itching to kill to deliver pain to his father and his family, like they had brought to him for so many years. Regardless of the reason, Kai had been planning his attack for revenge, and he had so much time to think about it, having nothing else to do. A sociopath's understimulated brain is just as dangerous as if their brain is overstimulated. I feel like he was possibly too intelligent for the lack of stimuli that he needed, and that may have been at least part of why his killings were so aggressive and brutal. Also, slightly unrelated but a tidbit from research, is that sociopaths' crimes are much less premediated and often more triggered by an event or another person. (I write in a lot of my fics that the Parkers' mother died on or around May 9th and Joshua is always more agitated that day because he misses her, and that's why Kai snapped on the 10th, as a response to his father's increase in violence, but that's aside the point.) The point that I'm going for in this paragraph is that Kai's brain was understimulated in his environment, and his ASPD development is a large part of what makes him dangerous.

In summary, I can certainly see him lacking in certain aspects of education. He definitely lacks in some areas more than others, and if something doesn't interest him, he doesn't care to invest any time into it. In other areas, though, he's exceptionally educated, like math and science. His parents seemed to give him a firm educational foundation, but I would think as soon as they realized he was a siphon, they'd kind of toss him to the side, and it would be a downward spiral from there on out. Anything Kai learned past that was either due to his own interest in the matter, a clear benefit he would think to get out of learning it, or maybe even just out of spite.

#i hope this is on topic and i really hope it doesn't sound pretentious #i just got really really excited and i love talking about psychology and academics #and so kai + psychology is double the fun #i spend a lot of time researching this type of stuff and rewatching episodes for these minor details so that i can characterize him well #so this post was just so much fun to put all of that research into one place #and psychoanalyze him 😂#asks #kai parker

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twentyyearstoolate · 1 year ago

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I think this is at the crux of why the normative productivity under capitalism (or at the very least, capitalism as it's implemented today,) is ultimately incompatible with the human condition. Spend enough time on any site that leans even remotely left, and you will come across rants about burnout, anger, depression, anxiety, all invariably caused by our unhealthy relationship with capital and the way it encourages us to be in competition with each other, further exacerbating the loneliness and isolation everyone feels in spite of the boat we all find ourselves in.

Everyone I know hates their job, but they have to knuckle down and bear it because they can't afford to live otherwise, and even then only just. It's impressed upon us that the work we do is vital and necessary to the function of the economy, even as that economy serves our own needs less and less. It's important to note, at least in my experience, we don't hate our jobs because we find work itself to be bad or pointless, except in cases useful solely to the ownership class - at the end of the day, I happen to like what I actually do - but because of the coercion inherent in late-stage capitalism. All the power is concentrated in the hands of the few, and the rest of us have the Sophie's choice to either let ourselves be worked to exhaustion and killed slowly, or starve and die quickly. Neither option is palatable.

It's made worse by the ever-more granular metricisation of the work we do for the benefit of stack-ranking ourselves, whether quantitative, a la piecework or pick rates, or qualitative, through some arcane combination of merits and soft skills that determine whether we adhere to this week's new-age workplace management system. Every employee at some point is boiled down to a number on a scorecard. Because of this paradigm, it's incredibly difficult to decouple the idea of self-worth from our ability to make someone else money, even when we recognize the things each of us is capable of producing have value independent from their viability as a commercial endeavor. Unless you've spent your whole life preparing to capitalize on your artistic merit (and even then up until the point it's actually profitable) you're incessantly pressured to 'get a real job,' even as a great deal of these so-called real jobs involve nothing more useful or productive than moving numbers around on a spreadsheet to another person's satisfaction. Even those who are lucky enough to be recognized in artistic circles as worthy of selling their art for a living are no strangers to burnout - nothing sucks the love and passion out of creation like the pressure of earning a paycheck.

And when there's no longer passion in the things we do, and we can't reignite it for lack of time, or energy, or resources, we begin to grasp the absurdity of working for little more than the ability to feed, clothe, and shelter ourselves so that we can continue to work tomorrow. We know there's a better way, but it is largely inaccessible to us because we don't make the rules. We find this existence grotesque and unnatural, and it fills our days with a perpetual existential crisis. So we quietly sink further into despair, that often manifests by way of substance abuse, violence, or even suicide.

With a growing number of deaths of despair, corporate mouthpieces have been forced to admit, begrudgingly, that mental health is important, but it's spun to us as though it's an intrinsic problem, despite knowing it's at least partially a product of this toxic environment we can't control or remove ourselves from. Nobody in a position of power will touch the ongoing mental health crisis with a 10-foot pole, even now as troubled children of the wealthiest country in the world are regularly walking into their schools with loaded firearms and the intention of hurting and killing as many people as they possibly can, because it would require addressing that the way we've constructed our societies, from cradle to grave, is inherently corrosive to our wellbeing, in a way that we can't resolve without drastically reshaping our socioeconomic structures, which is something that the people who benefit from the existing wealth heirarchy vehemently oppose.

Case in point - Despite massive amounts of evidence pointing to how much less expensive and more effective government-funded healthcare is in every other developed nation, health insurance in America has not been (and probably will never be) decoupled from employment because taking care of people who don't produce goods and/or services in excess of the cost of treatment serves no purpose to the ownership class. For the same reason, people who are diagnosed with chronic illnesses like cancer often get suddenly and heartlessly terminated from their positions for trumped-up justifications, so that the corporation doesn't have to foot the bill for an employee who likely will not be (as) productive after treatment. It creates such an imbalance of power in negotiating our own agency, that when someone in the U.S. does find themselves dealing with health issues, they take pains to not disrupt their work schedule, to the further detriment of their health, whether that's coming into work with the flu, or taking a laptop with them to the hospital as they're about to go under the knife.

We're regularly told, in spite of how nightmarish this whole prospect is, that we are lucky, blessed even, that we have been given the opportunity to work, and that it's a taboo that we would dare to ask for more without first earning it, by someone else's measure. This in the same breath that we're called jealous when we point out that Bezos couldn't possibly have earned his half-billion dollar yacht with his own labor, or naive for pointing out that the idea that one should have to 'earn a living' - to justify through some arbitrary amount of labor their very right to exist - is absolutely monstrous.

You are right to be angry. Your anger is a product of the injustice inflicted upon you by people who create and enforce a system that disposes of anything it can't exploit. That should make everyone furious.

is anyone else just like. constantly filled with rage about their position under late capitalism and how we are expected to just keep playing this game that we know will literally kill us, is already killing people all over the world, and yet everyone around us is somehow fine with going about business as usual, with pretending we are free by being able to choose between different ways of being exploited. there is nothing more dehumanising than being forced to partake in a system that is actively detrimental to our survival as human beings, that is so physically, psychologically and spiritually destructive, and i don’t know how to deal with this anger anymore

#capitalism #long post #anti capitalism #discussion

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aishatradinginsights · 3 months ago

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The Challenges of Balancing Education, Financial Management, and the Trader’s Mindset

I have come to understand that if you are a trader, the way you spend your leisure time may be key to the progress of your trading business. It has been crucial always to get a good balance of qualitative and quantitative work including finance and diet and exercise and mindfulness both for trading and living. This is how I apply these aspects to my life and why they define them.

The Use of Free Time: The Significance of Learning

Something new is always learned in the world of trading where action is a day to day affair. Whether it’s about getting the feel of markets, seeking out new investment products, or following economic events, applying your free time in finance study will be an advantage. I spend some amount of my day in reading book, watching webinars or taking some online course. Apart from training and strengthening this particular psychomotor skill, this consistent learning also helps me to build confidence in my decisions in trading.

Cultivating Healthy Habits

Besides, learning finance is just as important as having proper eateries and exercising. My concentration is helped by physical exercise and healthy eating while getting enough sleep makes me less vulnerable to stress. If I take care of my body, I noticed I am able to think better – and thus, analyze the markets better as well. Tailoring these elements into a daily schedule has served as a complete overhaul of this trading practice and life experience.

The Power of Meditation

I just lately began doing meditation It’s been very helpful for me. Being traders, we are normally under tremendous pressure to experience stress and anxiety in our working environment. It is for this reason that I spend sometime each day practicing meditation to free my mind, to relieve tension and to focus better. This practice helps me to go to trading with clear head and focus which is very important in trading business since it is full of uncertainties.

Building Positive Habits

Building proper habits will have an extent influence on the trading performances as well as daily living. These have included setting of goals, which actually has benefited me in as much as its relevance to trading strategies and or my own personal goals. This way, it is easy to maintain tracking of the progress as well as celebrate small accomplishments that simply make it easier for me to adopt these habits as a routine.

Why ORION Wealth Academy?

That is why I’d like to share with you the information about ORION Wealth Academy if you really want to develop yourself in the sphere of finance. Their resources and expert-led courses can give you the knowledge that you need in order to get through the jungle of trading. The amount of support a person will receive from the community, added to the feature of getting feedback on the go at ORION will be beneficial for any individual that seeks to enhance their knowledge in finance.

If you spend your spare hours studying, engaging in a healthy lifestyle or mastering the art of meditation, your trading will skyrocket to the extent of achieving your financial objectives. Engage ORION Wealth Academy in this phase, we are your ally to getting the right knowledge to find success in the financial markets.

#forexmarket #forex traders #forex brokers #personal finance #management #forex

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nanowrimo · 2 years ago

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The Young Writers Initiative: Finding Your Writing Community

The Young Writers Initiative, a.k.a. TYWI, is a non-profit (founded by former NaNoWriMo intern Riya!) that provides resources for high school and college-aged writers through both their website and their on-the-ground chapters program. Today, some of the TYWI members share a little about how their programs help foster creative community:

Writing can often seem like an activity that involves sitting in your room alone, frantically typing on your computer. And yes, sometimes it is, but writing is a passion shared by millions of people around the globe. That means wherever you may be, you can find a community of writers to support you and your journey. This can include a few friends in your locality, an online server of people brought together by a love for writing, or anything in between. Being an active member of such a community means having people to keep you accountable, to bounce ideas off, and to empathize with your struggles as a writer.

Bounded by community, The Young Writers Initiative (TYWI) is dedicated to offering writing resources to help young writers develop their craft. From pre-reading and editing to mentorship opportunities with established authors, TYWI offers a multitude of free services. Volunteering at TYWI is also a great way to get more involved with the writing community! Additionally, TYWI’s Chapters Program helps students start creative writing clubs, forming tight-knit communities of young writers in their localities.

Running a TYWI Chapter at Hollins University

By Sophia Kunkel

It has been an honor to watch as the development of the first university chapter of TYWI unfolded on the Hollins campus. This opportunity to grow our branch has strengthened my leadership skills and helped me connect with other writers. The very act of writing is solitary, and it is amazing that The Young Writers Initiative brings together so many people all over the world, challenging the notion that we have to pursue our creative dreams on our own.

After the founding of Hollins’ chapter, I discovered that the encouragement of a solid and reliable community is essential, regardless of majors, genres, or writing experience. We might do most of our work in our dorm rooms and the library, hunched over our laptops with headphones and sitting in quiet focus, but there is certainly so much benefit from getting together with like-minded, driven peers. Additionally, our virtual discussions with several authors—Cassie Gustafson and Kris Spisak—provided much welcomed insight and wisdom into the world of writing, editing, and publishing. The idea of networking and creating relationships between successful writers and aspiring writers continues to impact our club members as we seek to learn from our panelists and speakers.

Running a TYWI Chapter at Wenatchee High School

By Miranda Nayak

I drafted my first novel during the pandemic, spending my free time inside of a story. As months passed, writing’s role in my life evolved. While I had once perceived it as a trusted friend, writing began to feel more like the ghost of a companion—present but not tangible enough to hold on to. I was suddenly desperate for a connection to a writing community.

It was only through discovering The Young Writers Initiative's Summer Write-a-Thon that I realized how many other people my age were passionate about creative writing. While isolated in my home, I felt more connected to others than I had since beginning my writing journey.

The most gratifying part of starting a TYWI chapter has been feeling those connections within my high school. Spending an entire lunch period discussing craft, completing writing sprints, or talking about writing struggles together has shown me that writing does not have to be a lonely hobby. The members of my chapter inspire and motivate me to keep writing; they are invaluable partners. I can already see the beginnings of creative innovation and collaboration that will blossom in tandem with the meaningful connections that our TYWI chapter fosters.

All in all, building a writing community makes the craft even more enjoyable than it already is. If you are interested in starting a TYWI chapter at your school or library, we encourage you to apply at tywi.org/chapters.

Yessica Jain is a high school junior from New Jersey. An avid reader, she has always been in love with the magic of words. When she started creative writing in sixth grade, she quickly discovered she could wield the same magic with passion, hard work, and time. Since then, she has written short stories in various genres and a fantasy novel titled The Prison of Magic. Learn more about Yessica and read her weekly writing blog at yessicajain.com.

Lydia Wang is someone who loves stories so much, she decided to create her own. She writes magic—plant mages singing to bluebells, silver rings laced with protective spells, paper cranes that come to life as you fold them. She has been recognized by Iowa Young Writers’ Studio (‘21 & ‘22) and published in Ice Lolly, Metaphysical Review, and more. When not starting her thirty-first story, Lydia can be found tracing shapes into the clouds.

Sophia Kunkel is a literature-lovin’ college sophomore at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia. She loves nature walks, has endless enthusiasm for the Beatles, and adores her troublesome mini Goldendoodle, Bielka {the space dog}. Sophia writes primarily speculative fiction and fantasy. Her debut self-published novel, Starless Skies and Broken Dreams, can be found on Barnes and Noble and Amazon. Readers can find her at sophiakunkel.com or writinglife.blog.

Miranda Nayak is a high school senior from central Washington State. In addition to being involved in robotics, she loves running her school’s Equity Club and playing the cello. She is an avid reader and adores writing fantasy and science fiction stories. You can find her on Instagram @barrybookish or on her website https://mirandanayakwritin.wixsite.com/website.

#nanowrimo #writing #community #young writers #ywp #by nano guest #the young writers initiative #tywi #miranda navak #sophia kunkel #lydia wang #yessica jain

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writing-prompt-s · 4 years ago

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Hey there! First time anon asker, long time follower. I appreciate all the work you do for this blog. Just want to keep the conversation going about the Edison quote you retweeted, on "giving up" versus "knowing when to stop." Though Edison sucks as some comments pointed out, I happen to agree with the quote to an extent. I'm curious to know more about your experience. First, some background for my opinion: I work as a student tutor for fellow college students. One of the biggest things we learn as tutors is how to encourage students NOT to give up when they face a challenge. Lots of people, especially first-gen college students, give up when they're struggling in class because they assume they're "not smart enough" or something along those lines, when research and my personal experience show that that's not true. They are able to change their school habits and seek out help, but only if they already have a mindset where they believe they can do it. Those who don't believe in themselves are less likely to seek help and thus, more likely to fail. Students might also drop out of college or get bad grades because of things outside of their control, like losing their job or other difficulties that make it hard for them to continue at college. This is also an issue because some (not all) colleges have programs to help students during difficult times, but many students don't even try, they just drop out. I have benefitted from some of these programs personally, so even though they can't cure everything, these programs should be considered when a student is struggling. And sometimes, dropping out of college IS the best decision for a person, whether they intend to return later or go a different path. It's just that for many students, they don't have to give up on their education/career goals because of the hardships they're currently trying to work through, but they believe that there's nothing else they can do. The solution may be out there, but they "give up" because they didn't look for it. As a tutor, that's why phrases like "don't give up!" are so important for the people I work with. Not because college is for everyone or that people should sacrifice their well-being for a degree, but because students (again especially first generation college students, students of color, and low income students) have such low confidence in themselves and their ability to learn and grow through obstacles. The Edison quote wasn't about college, but I'm using my experience as a college student and tutor as a more concrete example of why the Edison quote could be useful. College student or not, I think having a "don't give up" attitude can get you through some hard times. So all of this is to preface my question: in your opinion, how can we know the difference between a healthy, "I will do everything I can to meet my goals" situation and an unhealthy, "I will sacrifice everything" situation? Sorry for this lengthy ask btw, if you don't want to respond I completely understand. Just hoping to hear your insight to the topic more. Thanks for this blog and for sharing your thoughts! -S

Hey S!

Read “The Dip” by Seth Godin. It counts about 80 pages but reads like 30. I highly recommend reading it and using the ideas in guiding your students. When you read it, it’s mostly common sense with a bit of oh damn, nice! But sometimes common sense needs to be conceptualized, made concrete, or put into context, and this little book does just that.

The main idea is to know if you should quit or persevere during ‘a dip’ by forecasting the probability of success and take costs/rewards into account.

However, this might not be everyone’s best skill, so some people might need practice or guidance. As Ray Dalio points out in his book ‘Principles’, everyone is wired differently. Just as our bodies come in different shapes and sizes, so do the compositions of our brains. Some people might have weak bones or naturally have lots of muscle mass. Others might regulate emotions well, or are weak at visualizing the future. (By the way, neuroscience tells us we can shape and improve our brains!)

The different compositions of our brains also affects communication between people. Everyone encodes and decodes information differently, and then also gets filtered through one’s own life experiences. So advice such as ‘first seek to understand, then to be understood’ is paramount before encouraging people to ‘not give up.’ If the other person doesn’t feel that you completely understand their situation, saying that actually might work counter-productive!

In my opinion, in most cases 'don’t give up!’ is a good motto for college students. You know what to expect from college. If you do x you will get x. If you stick through the dip (time spend getting good grades), you will get the reward (degree). However, as you point out, some students might face additional stress outside of college, or society might already have put them at a disadvantage. It might just become too much. You helping and encouraging students who are at a disadvantage is incredibly helpful. As humans, we are naturally wired to be interdependent. We cannot do everything by ourselves, nor should we want to. We thrive on meaningful relationships and social connections.

So where is the line between healthy and unhealthy? That’s actually a very tough question. Most people tend to think of life as a journey, always trying to get somewhere, trying to achieve something. It would mean telling people how to live their life and I have no clue. Of course, if in trying to get to your goal your body shows signs of it being unhealthy, stop or take a break. Stress is good, but not to the point where you break down. Self-management is key. Overall I would say it’s healthy if your values align with the process to achieve the goal, the goal, and the consequences of achieving it. But then again, always be realistic. Quitting frees up time, energy and other resources that can be spend on achieving a different, perhaps more rewarding/meaningful/attainable goal.

An attempt at a more concrete answer would be:

It’s impossible to generalize what is healthy and what is unhealthy as everyone has a different idea of what that is and is living their own complex life. Therefore, on a case-by-case basis, people should be taught to take a step back sometimes, contemplate what they are doing, analyse it, be open-minded, seek help from (qualified) people and ask for feedback and advice, and then make up their minds themselves whether what they are doing is healthy or not.

As @zeadtalost said in the comments: “Man’s gotta know his limitations”. But then I would like to add to it that ‘man’ should not be fool enough never to test what they believe to be their limitations. Because what you say is true. Often limitations are in the mind, and overcoming them is what will make people more confident and capable! So please keep doing what you are doing. I doubt you find this a concrete answer, but I am pretty sure the book by Seth Godin will help you lots! Also, by the length of your ask I can tell you are very dedicated and a compassionate tutor, and it’s your caring attitude that will give your students the best chance of succeeding!

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cancerbiophd · 4 years ago

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I'm defending my dissertation this summer in biomedical engineering. I'm looking for jobs and postdocs, but I feel unqualified for most of them. Because I had so little funding for my research, I didn't get to learn and use some methods like PCR, Western blot, flow cytometry, etc. except ELISA and Luminex. Most job listings say you're required to have proficiency in methods like these. I would otherwise be qualified, and the research is right up my alley. Am I better off getting a postdoc for further training, or are any of these jobs actually more forgiving about your skills and willing to train you?

Hi anon! Congrats on defending soon and getting that sweet sweet PhD!

My short and sweet answer is:

Play to your strengths. Don’t let the companies hold all the cards. If you’re an expert on ELISAs and Luminex, then companies seeking candidates with that kind of experience would love you on their team, even if you may not have experience with other skills.

Apply to as many positions as you can, including the ones where you may not think you qualify 100% for, because a) a candidate checking all the requirements in a job posting is rare and b) in some cases, a company or lab would be more than happy to spend time training you on specific techniques if they think you’re a great fit for the team.

If you feel that expanding your skills as a post-doc would be a good investment for your career, then for sure also apply to them as well. It’s also always helpful and reassuring to have more than one job option in the end too!

The post-school (no matter which level) job search can be a tough and time-consuming journey, so just keep throwing your ball into as many courts as possible. Getting into industry straight out of grad school without a post-doc first is especially hard for some fields, and may require dozens and dozens of applications and interviews over many months.

Here’s the long and detailed answer:

Firstly, leverage your strengths. Outside of your technical prowess at ELISA and Luminex, these are some of the transferable strengths of hiring a PhD (no matter what field) that can benefit a company, and thus are aspects you can highlight in your cover letter/CV/interviews:

As far as basic knowledge goes, we’re experts in our fields. True, we don’t know everything, but when confronted with something new, just give us a few days, because we’re very good at getting to the nitty gritty bottom of things.

PhD’s are fast learners, creative problem solvers (especially when given limited resources, like in your situation), and very dedicated to whatever task is on hand.

And in order to do that, we’re meticulously organized, have great time management skills, and for those of us who have had undergrads in the lab, we have some experience in delegating tasks and managing personnel.

We have great communication skills: both oral (public speaking), and written (manuscripts).

For those of us who have been successful at receiving financial awards (eg. fellowships, grants, etc), we’re proven ourselves great at marketing our work.

We can take punches (criticism) and adapt well.

And we have grit. The fact that we survived walking through hell and back for 4+ years proves our dedication and commitment to hard work.

Secondly, let’s talk about job postings themselves and how they may not tell the whole story:

Some job postings may highlight the skills and goals that the candidate will become proficient in during the job, especially if it’s directly related to the company’s intellectual property. So it may not be necessary (or realistic) to be skilled in those yet.

The job posting itself may also be very broad and non-specific to the actual position (and is just a boilerplate posting the company likes to use for whatever reason), and thus may not actually include all the nuanced criteria the hiring manager/team is looking for. (I know from experience that Roche does this.)

Lastly, having a candidate right out of grad school who is proficient in every single one of the skills listed on a job posting is unrealistic. And companies know this, but they can still dream about the “perfect 1 in a million candidate” who may magically meet their wish-list. But realistically? That person most likely does not exist.

Next, here are some scenarios when a team would hire a candidate who does not necessarily have experience in all the listed skills:

The candidate can prove themselves to be a fast and eager learner of those new skills.

The candidate has other desirable skills that the hiring team would value equally (which may or may not be listed in the actual job application, but you can certainly highlight in your cover letter).

The candidate’s personality works well with the rest of the team (sometimes it’s way more important to hire someone who will get along with the current employees than someone who checks all the boxes because protocols can be taught, but personality can not be changed).

The technical skills that the job requires are not readily available or taught in a grad school setting, especially if it’s really cutting edge and/or part of the company’s intellectual property.

Bonus: the candidate has network connections within the company/team who can vouch for their talent, work ethic, personality, etc.

So, in conclusion: If a company is hiring a PhD specifically, the candidate’s transferable skills may be more valuable than their technical skills because techniques can be taught in just a few weeks or months, but those transferable skills take years to perfect. Therefore, as long as you meet the basic criteria (like education and experience level) and have experience in some of the listed technical skills, you should definitely apply.

Lastly, just to end with a few notes of realism/other misc tips:

Technical experience is still important, especially if the hiring manager is specifically looking for that in a candidate. It may also be the deciding factor between two candidates who are otherwise equal in attributes. Some hiring managers may even put those experiences higher in priority than transferable skills, like if they need someone to hit the ground running when they start.

There is less job applicant competition in smaller companies/start-ups than in big established companies. The more competitive a position, the more “sparkle” the applicant must have, such as a post-doc or multiple publications, or being an internal candidate (someone who already works there), or was referred by the hiring manager/team, etc. So, pretty tough door to crack ajar (though not impossible!)

If it’s important to you to gain more experience in more diverse research techniques, then a post-doc would be the best path to take. I normally think post-docs should not be necessary for industry, but I think in your situation it may be a really great path to take in order to learn more techniques and to see what it’s like working in a well-funded lab (the differences in opportunities and organization can be pretty eye-opening). In addition, one of the downsides of industry is that because a company has its own specific niche in the market, your repertoire of lab techniques may start getting narrower and narrower.

I recommend working with a recruiter. In exchange for a small % of your eventual salary, they will work with you to find open positions, get your application to the hiring manager, and in some cases will also help coach you in interviews. The easiest and most passive way to get in touch with one is to create a LinkedIn profile and set your status as Looking for Work (or something like that, I forgot what the exact verbage is), and usually a recruiter will personally message you soon after that.

Wow that answer was way longer than I anticipated! But I always try to dump out as much knowledge as I have because I’m hoping something there will help! Good luck anon, and congrats again on finally seeing that finish line! Please don’t hesitate to reach out again if you have any further questions.

#Anonymous #job advice

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wordsnstuff · 4 years ago

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hello! can i ask if you have any advice on how to balance laziness (personality wise, not actual laziness) and workaholic tendencies? and, if possible, how to balance nonchalant attitudes and a short temper? thanks ahead of time! sorry if this is too complicated

Achieving and maintaining productivity...

I understand where you’re coming from, and I experience this regularly as well. The best advice I can offer, personally, is to experiment with as many productive exercises as possible to find something that can ease the anxiety you feel around writing. The combination of “laziness” and a tendency to overwork yourself when you do begin a task is very common and difficult to accommodate, especially with something like writing where you are responsible for maintaining your own goals and enforcing your own self-discipline. I still struggle with this.

The first step toward gaining control is to internalize the fact that you’re not lazy. Laziness is actively deciding that you don’t want to do a task, so you won’t, and you’ll accept whatever consequences follow that decision. You obviously have a desire to get the task done and the skills to do it well. All you need is a system of accountability and an enforcement of self-discipline. Starting small can help, maybe waking up and doing a 5 minute sprint each day, or even doing it before bed. Designating that certain points in your day where you know you’ll find cracks of time will be dedicated to writing is also extremely helpful when you struggle with executive dysfunction. I have a hard time making myself sit down to do writing when I’m committing to 2-3 hours of focused work, but when it’s the last 5 minutes before my laundry is ready to fold or it’s 10 minutes before I’m off work and my tasks are completed early, I find it really easy to fit in a writing sprint or a mini-brainstorm.

It’s also very helpful to actively keep your work in progress on your mind. Use extra moments in the day to think about your story, plan scenes in your head, visualize potential plot points, etc. All of that time and those few dozen words here and there add up by the end of the day. I once added up the total words I caught in 5 minute increments throughout a work day and it totalled over 650 words from just keeping the story on my brain and giving that inspiration pay-off whenever I could.

An extra little tip I like to share is based on a study I read a while back, which found that you have the most concentrated motivation to complete a task in the first 5 seconds following the reminder of it. I have gotten in the habit of setting reminders, which I know will occur when I have the time and opportunity to do the task, and forcing myself to follow through. I make an agreement to myself that I will, at the very least upon reminder of the task, sit down at my desk, open the document, and spend 5 minutes there doing focused work. If I am still unmotivated by the end of the 5 minutes, I let myself return to whatever else I was doing. 99% of the time, I don’t even notice when the 5 minutes is up and I’ve triggered that momentum that makes writing so much easier.

The bottom line is, you have to be fair with yourself, and you have to work with the time and energy you have. Give yourself time to find exercises that work for you, and when you find them, use them actively and consistently, or you’ll never see results. At the end of the day, there’s no magic trick, there’s no short cut, and the best thing you can do is try to give yourself some tough love.

Here’s some other resources you may find useful:

How To Motivate Yourself To Write

Healthy Forms of Motivation

How To Have A Productive Mindset

Getting Motivated To Write

Finding Time To Write

–

Masterlist | WIP Blog

If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee, or pledging your support on Patreon, where I offer early access and exclusive benefits for only $5/month.

#writing #writeblr #writespo #writing advice #productivity #motivation #inspiration #executive dysfunction #writing motivation #writing inspiration #writing help #writing tips #writing resources #resources for writers #resources for writing #writing reference

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botwstoriesandsuch · 4 years ago

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Since you’re promoting Zelda OCs I would like to share this thing that happened to me with you and if you want you can also tell me what you think. There is this botw artist who had her Zelda OC whom I liked very much. Her art is beautiful but she’s been very mean. It's true: “never meet your heroes”. One day she shared a post about her OC asking others if they had ocs as well. I shared my OC in the comment section saying I made my OC based of myself. She immediately DM me saying I should delete the comment because to her it looked like I wanted to use her ‘popularity’ to promote my art (dude wtf she isn’t even THAT famous lmao). I ofc told her I was ashamed by it and deleted it... I complimented her and she didn’t even give a shit about it. I told her I wanted to let her see my OC to not make her feel ‘alone’ and she told me “uhm okay I don’t need your approval, I’m quite happy with that I make”. And last but not least when I said I’d been following her since 2018 she said “but I don’t see you among my followers”. What do you think? It made me so depressed I quit drawing my OC for three days.

Well, obviously I have no context for the whole extent of this situation, so very well could be misunderstand and tone and other stuff factored in there, but going off what you’ve said overall sounds like she’s a BITCH. Not very poggers of her if I do say so myself.

There’s maybe an argument and point to made there about not putting art in another person’s art post because I guess it could be seen as derailing. But like, if she asked for people to share their ocs then people are gonna share their ocs lmao. Also, and this is just my personal opinion and I’m no artist myself so take this as you will, if someone posts art, and then someone reblogs that with their art that’s related/inspired by the original topic, 90% I’m able to appreciate both art separately. Welp, I guess she’s op so she gets some semblance onto how she wants people to interact so. Good for her for not needing people’s approval to enjoy the things she makes

But that shit about “using popularity” and questioning your follow time...wow that’s bitchy sldkjfs apologies I can’t think of the proper synonym for it but it just is. Gonna call the cops? Gonna report me? “Oh how scandalous that this person who follows me and likes my content has been following for only 200 days and not a YEAR like they said smh” boi shut the fuck up no one cares. I don’t care, and you shouldn’t care. If you’ve followed since 100 followers, sweet. If you’re here from just this month, welcome. What is this gatekeeping obsession with how long you follow people for like I get it if you’re friends or mutuals but literally what is there to gain by saying shit like “only REAL ones have been here since 1k subscribers” or “only my TRUE fans are the ones from 2017″ like fucking shut up, since when has follow time constituted for how much you enjoy and appreciate something

“Using my popularity to your advantage” arguments have also grinded my Ancient gears. Like yes, there are assholes who only want to talk with you or be friends just so they can use your position or whatever for their benefit. They totally exist don’t get me wrong. People who are like that, you have my approval to punt them. But also, the entire idea that just because someone is benefitting from someone else’s popularity they are a bad person is really wrong. Not to bash capitalism on the Zelda sideblog, but the entire idea that the rich and “famous” (heavy heavy quotation marks there considering we are on tumblr) are only successful because of their hard work is just blatantly false. Sure it’s important, it gets you like 50-70% of the way there, but the rest of that very significant percentage is just luck, or just factors in user engagement, or current trends or maybe they’re related to someone influential. It’s a roll of the dice. You don’t own popularity, you just don’t. That is completely owed to the people that follow and engage with you, so who are you to insult them.

Now, I’m not saying that you owe your followers anything, in fact, yeah I’d agree blatantly: You don’t owe your followers anything. You make the thing, they get the thing, they follow/like/share, the transaction is over. But at the same time, don’t act like a high and mighty bitch about it, fucking “using her popularity,” how much of your precious and popular time do you waste to give a nice comment, or even sharing something made by someone else, someone that could very well be the reason you’re in the position you’re in right now. Yeah bitch how about you use your “popularity” to give attention to someone talented, what do you have to lose by sharing something good with people. And no one better give me that shit about “OhhhHhhHHhhhh but if you share it then they didn’t eaarrnnnn anything and they can’t leaaaAAARnn and growww” cause first of all no, shut the fuck up, bash your capitalism brain into the earth and stop thinking that all success and growth has to be born out of pain and sacrifice. Secondly, just because someone popular shares something, it that doesn’t mean all that engagement instantly gets passed on to another person. That engagement would only get passes if the person was skill/talented/created something great AKA they worked in that regard to earn it. Idk about you, but if someone I like promotes another person, I don’t just automatically follow them, I look at them, and if I like them and what they do, then I follow. Such an incredibly stupid argument to me when people say that people are leeching off of popularity like it’s some finite resource, anyone can get a couple hundred likes and views, but if the stuff you make is quality and good, that’s when people stick around.

If you’re “popular” you should also share the work of other people that you like. Now THAT’S JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION cause there are other reasons that you might not mass reblog shit to keep yourself organized or you purely just focus on your account for sharing and nothing else or whatever other reasons there are that are probably valid, but it’s how I feel. So if you share, don’t share because someone asked or begged you, or because you want the nice guy clout, just fucking share the stuff that you like because you like it, because those 5 seconds it takes to click a few buttons could mean a world of change to someone who very well could have been in your position had the stars of the social media algorithm aligned a bit differently.

Wow I wrote a lot, I guess this was something I really wanted to rant about huh. I guess I just really want you to know that, yeah, that person sounds like a bitch, and you shouldn’t let that experience stop you from making the things that make you happy. TL;DR be nice to your nice followers, popularity is a made up currency so just fucking spend it wildly, OCs are pretty rad

#long post #sorry #not botw #rant #there's nuances to the argument obviously #but also #being nice feels nice #so #take that haters

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1merfairy · 4 years ago

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Why The Diamonds Were Redeemed

I know this has been a very controversial topic within and outside of the fandom, but please bear with me. As someone who has lived with an abusive parent all my life, I can see why the show went the way it did with the diamonds.

When you witness and/or are the subject of abuse, the one thing you want more than anything else in the world is it to stop. Whether that happens because the abuser goes to jail, dies, or you kill them with your bare hands, you want it to stop.

Unfortunately, for many victims and survivors, none of those things are even an option. Not everyone wants to see their abusers dead, and even if they do, the repercussions would far outweigh any benefits.

Like, if I beat my dad to death with the fire poker next to the wood stove, I would definitely get arrested and go to jail. That, and I really don’t want ending someone else's life to be on my conscious. And besides that fact, my dad is by no means weak, and he could very well fight me off if it came down to it.

Steven is in a very similar position with the diamonds. If he was successful in killing even one of them, he’d have several galaxies worth of gems coming after him and his family.

By Change Your Mind they only have six gems and two humans, not including Steven. That is hardly a drop in the bucket compared to the billions of gems the diamonds have in their ranks.

Not that destroying the diamonds would be an easy feat in itself. Yellow was able to take out all the crystal gems in less than thirty seconds alone, and all it would take from the rest of them is a quick slap on the head from any of the diamonds’ massive hands.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p9K7x0xHfI

We’ve also established that Steven doesn’t want anyone’s deaths on his conscience either. He feels guilty for poofing Bismuth, even though she tried to kill him.

He feels guilty for throwing Eyeball into space even though she tried to do the same thing.

And he even has a panic attack when they were trying to get rid of the cluster, which would destroy the entire planet if they didn’t do anything about it.

Every one of these things were traumatic for him, and causing permanent damage to any of these gems would have caused his mental health to be far worse than it is.

Steven is only fourteen when Change Your Mind happens, and personally, I don’t think violating one’s own morals like that is very good for a growing mind.

Aside from Steven’s wellbeing, he also has to take into account his family’s wellbeing too. If the threat the diamonds pose isn’t dealt with, then them, and the whole planet could be destroyed.

Obviously, Steven doesn’t want that, and I doubt anyone who likes the show would want that either. The fact of the matter is, they do not have the resources to fight the diamonds, or to face the backlash that may come with shattering the diamonds either.

So that leaves Steven with one option, negotiation.

Throughout the series, Steven essentially becomes an ambassador to the crystal gems, humans, and homeward gems. It’s demonstrated with how he gets the CGs to stop fighting, how he introduces them to human culture, how he solves conflicts between Peridot, Lapis, Bismuth, and so many others.

It something he has ample amount of experience with, so; by default, it is his greatest skill, and his greatest tool for solving conflict. Really, it wouldn’t make sense for his character to turn on all those things he’s worked to achieve, his own morals, or the people he loves.

That’s just not who he is.

And let me make this clear, Steven isn’t all buddy-buddy with the diamonds now. He tolerates them for the sake of making sure they learn how to not hurt people anymore.

In the movie, he is visibly uncomfortable with them asking him to stay and spend time with him.

That is not the face or body language of someone happy to be with his former abusers. Not by a long shot.

I can certainly sympathize with him here. If my dad suddenly turned around his behavior, I wouldn’t forgive and forget what he did either. If he actually listened to my pleas to stop, I would be happy it was over, but that wouldn’t mean I’d like him again.

My dad’s a different story, though. He didn’t care that he was hurting me, my mom, or my sisters. He thought he was in the right and that all of us were overreacting. He convinced himself that the only way to be heard was to scream it at the top of his lungs, repeating his point over and over, with insults and personal attacks added in for emphasis.

No matter how many times I’d come to his door, begging him to stop, he’d always lie and say he would, but as soon as I agreed to go back to bed, he’d start up again, sometimes even blaming my mom for turning me against him.

I know getting him arrested is just a pipe dream, and so is hoping he’ll die and leave us in peace. So, all I really can do now is tolerate him until I’m able to move out, then cut contact.

Steven doesn’t have that option. Not with the diamonds threatening his home. And, I have to admit there's something cathartic about having your abuser listen when you say that they’re hurting you. It’s not a perfect solution by any means, and it’s not what the diamonds deserve.

But, it is what Steven deserves. He deserves to be done with their attacks, and the looming threat over him, his home, and everyone he loves. Convincing the diamonds to stop was the best outcome he could have hoped for, and as a bonus, the entire gem empire benefits from peace too.

If there’s anything Steven cares about, it’s helping others. That’s something he’s stood for from the very beginning.

#steven universe #su spoilers #cym spoilers #su discussion #su discourse

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pigstepping · 3 years ago

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I've decided that I want to start posting about my WIPS on my blog more, so it's SBI Vigilante AU worldbuilding hours! Time to bust out that biology degree \o/

So the system I developed has powers that stem from genetic predisposition + environmental factors. Kids who are predisposed to developing powers have a critical period around age 8 during which, if they have a significant-enough need, they can create a pocket of influenceable physical reality around themselves which allows them to develop superpowers.

Dense worldbuilding notes under the cut for those interested:

Genetic explanation

The gene that causes kids to be predisposed to developing powers is what's called a "repeat expansion mutuation." (This is a real thing, which causes a number of real neurological diseases!) Basically what that means is that this gene has a bunch of different versions (alleles) that are differentiated by how many copies of a particular sequence of DNA are present in the allele. The more copies, the stronger the expression of the trait along a spectrum of intensity.

In this particular case, the repeating sequence was introduced to the human genome around 40 years ago via an engineered retrovirus (famous example: HIV) that was designed and accidentally released by the government. The retrovirus was spread via contact transmission between adult hosts, who had no way of knowing they were carrying the virus as it only has affects on children. The retrovirus inserted varying numbers of copies of itself into the genome of infected individuals, and those individuals passed the mutation to their kids. Children who inherit the mutation cannot spread it to others, as they are born with the DNA sequence integrated into their genome rather than existing in transmissible viral form. In the current day AU, around 20% of the population in the country where containment was breached has at least 1 copy of the retrovirus in their genome, and the virus is slowly spreading via reproduction and residual viral transmission to other parts of the world as well.

The presence of even a single copy of the retrovirus in someone's genome is enough to give them a window of opportunity during childhood in which they have the ability to create a localized pocket of spacetime that allows them to alter reality. If this pocket manifests, both its duration and the degree of influence the child has over reality within the pocket are determined by the number of retrovirus copies in the host's genome. However, environmental factors determine whether the pocket manifests in the first place, as well as determining the nature of any resulting power.

Environmental explanation

If a child has 1 or more copies of the retrovirus, they enter a developmental critical period around the age of 7-8 years old. During this period of time, the kid will manifest the reality-altering pocket if they ever feel a sufficiently strong unmet need or desire. They will subconsciously use the pocket to alter reality in a way that they believe will improve the odds of their needs being met.

In practice, this means that healthy, happy children with capable guardians are less likely to manifest pockets, because they usually don't have strong unmet needs or desires. There are exceptions, such as kids who are extremely passionate about an interest or hobby, kids with particularly vivid imaginations who desperately wish they could live out their fantasies, etc. But a moderate majority of kids who manifest pockets do so because of trauma.

Generally, the nature of the need determines the nature of the power, although not necessarily in predictable ways. A kid who lacks food security might develop photosynthesis so they can "eat" without needing food at all, or they might develop the ability to digest things that don't normally give any nutritional value, or they might develop mind control that can be used to convince strangers to give them food. In addition, not all kids who manifest pockets will develop powers based on their needs during that time. If the need that triggered the pocket gets addressed before powers develop, the kid might develop powers that are completely unrelated, or they might not develop anything at all.

Mechanics of power development

The powers developed within the pocket are determined by three factors: the intensity of the trait's expression per the child's genome, the subjective manageability of the unmet need according to the child, and the way the child views the world around them.

As previously mentioned, the more copies of the retrovirus you have, the stronger your influence over reality, which means that kids with several copies will generally have the capacity to develop more outlandish powers than kids with only one or two copies. An example might be the ability to turn invisible vs the ability to blend into crowds. Both result in the child being less noticeable to the people around them, but one is clearly further outside the bounds of normal reality.

However, more outlandish powers don't always equate to more "powerful" powers. If a child believes, correctly or incorrectly, that they can handle their problem on their own, they will usually develop a "weaker" power regardless of how closely that power adheres to the normal contraints of reality. A weaker power might have a smaller area of effect, a longer cooldown between uses, a more significant physical or mental cost to use, or some other limitation.

Powers are also limited by the child's imagination and base of knowledge. Power development is subconscious and can't be consciously controlled or guided by the child, so powers will be shaped by the subconscious assumptions a kid makes about the world, as well as the ideas and concepts they've been exposed to. A kid who spends a lot of time thinking about animals might develop an animal trait as their power, while a kid who spends a lot of time thinking about cars might develop a knack for hotwiring. Likewise, a child will develop powers based on what they subconsciously believe will help them, even if this turns out to be inaccurate. For example, a child who is insecure due to irrationally critical parents might develop a skill they believe will make their parents proud of them, despite their skill level playing little true role in the criticism they receive.

Additionally, because kids at age 7-8 don't generally have a solid grasp of science or the limits of physical reality, it is very rare for their powers to develop with clear biological/physical mechanisms. This can make it difficult to study how powers operate, because powers usually have no associated concrete phenomenon with a function or structure that can be examined.

Because of this lack of any biomarker, it's often impossible to determine whether someone has a power unless it includes an obvious body modification or the person uses the power in front of others. The closest approximation is genetic testing which can tell whether a person is predisposed to developing powers in the first place. However, as only about 50% of people with the necessary genetic makeup go on to develop powers, this method is imperfect.

In fact, many people with only one or two retrovirus copies will develop subtle powers without initially realizing. There is no clear indication that a child has manifested a reality-altering pocket, so if they develop a non-obvious power during this time, they may go their whole lives without realizing they have a power at all.

Sociopolitical implications

Because the retrovirus responsible for superpowers only breached containment ~40 years ago, society is still trying to grapple with the ramifications.

The immediate response of the government to the breach was to try to suppress information, limit the viral spread, and limit the development of powers. One of their earliest steps was implementing a secretive parallel foster care system for genetically predisposed children, designed to minimize stressors during their critical periods to prevent power manifestation. Foster parents were sourced from the ranks of the economically and politically powerful, both because this was the population the government trusted most with information about the outbreak, and because this was judged to be the population with the best resources for minimizing stressors. However, this plan backfired badly due to poor vetting of prospective foster parents, leading to an influx of powerful adults intent on deliberately depriving their foster children of basic necessities with the goal of manifesting powers the foster parents could use to their own benefit.

This miscalculation, in addition to the rampant spread of the virus to unaware carriers who then went on to have children, led the government to decide to give up on limiting the outbreak. Instead, they covered up the unchecked abuses of the parallel foster system and turned their attention to recruiting powered people into voluntary government service where possible, and capturing and experimenting on the rest.

The recruiting process was initially slow-going, and both powered crime and powered vigilantism were rampant. A breakthrough was made with the launch of the hero guild, a powers-centric branch of the police force which was designed with a built-in PR apparatus to entice powered people into working for the government, as well as turn public opinion against powered people who choose to use their powers without government oversight. Powered heroes are highly praised, while powered civilians are often regarded with suspicion and powered criminals are particularly reviled. Powered vigilantes were relegated to the outskirts of society, trusted only by the small areas they serve, and they have become increasingly criminalized over time with the aid of anti-vigilante government propaganda.

The hero guild also instituted a separate "penal" system for powered individuals, particularly for powered "villains" and vigilantes. To the public's knowledge, the guild conducts trials behind closed doors to protect the identities of the defendants. The public also believes that powered criminals are kept in a separate set of prisons with special security measures to counteract power use. However, this serves as a smoke screen to conceal the fact that most powered criminals don't receive a trial at all, instead becoming unwilling subjects in a system of laboratories where the biology and mechanisms of powers are studied using experimental methods ranging from benign to horrifically inhumane. This reality is an open secret in the vigilante community, but pervasive anti-vigilante propaganda makes it difficult for vigilantes to blow the whistle. The guild carefully keeps the lab system hidden from their powered heroes to avoid widescale rebellion.

On the international stage, the containment breach country is serving as a case study in managing powers. Other countries, aware that their own population of powered individuals will only continue to grow, are watching carefully in order to learn from the original country's mistakes.

SO, that's the bulk of my general worldbuilding for this AU so far! I'm still fitting the backstories for SBI and Beeduo into this setting, as well as various background characters, but this will serve as a good scaffold for further world development.

#m #my fic #vigilante au #that foster system is definitely gonna fuck over bench trio in a major way #and the adult members of SBI are going to have a very complex relationship with the guild #it'll be fun to pit all those dynamics against each other

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psychicmoth · 4 years ago

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i barely (lol) use tumblr these days but it thought it was better to make make a long post about this (re: artists & online audience engagement) instead of a thread of tweets. take this as a rambling, i'm not an example to follow, but i feel like some of the stuff i have to say might help someone out there.

i know it can be incredibly frustrating not getting attention on your art, it hurts, it causes pain, because you invested a lot of time and effort working on it. but i think it's immensely important for artists, especially beginning artists, to learn how to set healthy boundaries around these feelings, because they will never reflect your personal value, never. you are a human before an artist. of course the lack of attention affects you, of course, it sucks, but i'm here to ask you to 1. please, continue trying, i promise you there's an audience for everybody out there and 2. give yourself time to analyze why this might be happening, in case this is something you want to work on.

i don't know your life, i don't know the personal relationship you might have with your art, but i know it can be such an intimate and vulnerable one. cry, if you need to, baby, i'm gonna be here holding your hand ❤️ but once you feel ready, give yourself some time to think. and i promise you, it's gonna hurt less.

it's important to take a step back. even if the lack of attention feels like a personal rejection, it is not, i promise, it is not. it's such a hard thing to separate yourself from, especially in a culture where numbers seem to be everything, but even if it's super hard and discouraging, remember that every well-known artist started somewhere and every person has their own journey. natural inclination to a craft is just a tiny, tiny part of the work, there's a lot of practice and hard work behind, so of course your first artworks aren't gonna your best work! of! course! of course there's always place for improvement! and everybody has the capacity to!! i promise!! please, keep creating.

wait so- do you need to improve your work? maybe, this is an always for me anyway. but, please, take into consideration that this can mean a lot of things. it can be that your anatomical/color/design skills need more work and study, it can be that the subjects you chose to work with are not common or popular at the moment, maybe the message you are trying to communicate/present is not clear enough or contradictory or too niche or strange or- it can just be that the composition you chose doesn't work well with the vertical format of mobile phones or the particular cropping of the social media where you posted lol it's a whooooole journey, there are infinite reasons why someone didn't engaged with your work and sometimes it's super hard to figured it out yourself, that's why seeking feedback is always important, from different people. feedback can be a hard experience too, and i'm so sorry i don't have good news about this part, but it's a fundamental part of the process. eventually, you will build your own criteria and have a better understanding of your own work, and you will learn to know what feedback to follow and what not. i'll get easier. i promise it will. on the other hand, i think it's also important to learn to not obsess over it and always give yourself space to rest and recharge, and you know, live. you are a human at the end. give your 90% instead of your 100%, but always, always seek improvement.

'ok but i feel like maybe my art is not the problem here' yeah, unfortunately your artistic skill are never gonna be enough, these is a conversation about engagement in digital platforms, so of course it's fundamental to remind you that your social media skills are crucial, too. too crucial maybe, so the sooner you learn to master them, the better. yeah, figuring out the best time to post is important. yeah, choosing the best tags matter too. but it goes further than that. sometimes i get overwhelmed thinking about social media because the more you study it, the more your realise how a complex structure it really is uhm. everybody knows that building a community and staying in contact with it is fundamental, in a personal or professional way, because they are not only connections, they are humans too. we, humans, need these connections. but it's super important to remember that some of these connections, or how we refer in this conversation, engagement, is determined by multiple other reasons beyond our basic social skills, kinda. some of them are rewards for playing the algorithm game right. using the right words, engaging in certain conversation or w certain accounts, interacting in the right interval of time, etc. social media platforms benefit from us by us staying here, active, present, creating conversations, discussions, investing time here, making these sites perfect markets for investors. at the end, everything revolves around money and brands. that's why they constantly feed us rewards, numbers that stimulate our brains. and that's why it's important to not let them eat us alive and learn to maintain the most healthy relationship possible w them. of course i'm not saying that all the attention well-known artists get is a byproduct of their good social media skills, of course not, but they are important, very important, and it's a good idea for you to try to learn more about these topics and how every single detail about these sites we use have been thoughtfully planned. for you. to stay. it will help you to be more strategic about showcasing your work and choosing how to wisely spend your time here. you mental health is the most important thing at the end, don't forget that. it's a lot of work to do, yeah, but that's what we have if we want to reach a bigger audience ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

before ending this rambling, i don't want to forget to mention how there can be other hundred things that can get between you and your potential audience, of course, and it's very, very important to keep them always present in our discussions. life-threatening conditions, economic hardships, marginalization are some of them, definitely, and i think it's very important to keep having conversations about them. we as a community have a responsibility to amplify these voices and make sure resources to grow are always available there and not only in moments of extreme need or in reaction to horrible events.

so. yeah. life can be so... hard. the artistic journey is never-ending. whoever is reading this, you have my whole support ❤️ i know it's really easy to get discouraged, but please, keep creating, we need more art in this world more than ever :')) 💖

take care, i hope y'all are having a good day ❤️

ps. btw, my dms are open for advice or feedback! you can do this! 🌻

#artadvice #art advice

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hellyeahheroes · 5 years ago

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Building America Chavez in D&D 5e

Sorry I’ve been mostly quiet, but certain recent events made me wish to take a break from posting. I do feel bad I didn’t do more for a Pride Month, however so I thought of doing something that will let me combine both trying to lift my spirits up (especially since I haven’t done one of those in a while) and doing little fun thing for LGBTQ followers - letting them play a game that is known as a good escapist fantasy as one of our favorite characters. We’re building America Chavez today.

First of all, let’s define Goals for this build. First of all, we need to kick and punch hard and be able to take a hit as well and be super fast. Second, we need to kick so hard to open portals to other dimensions. Finally, we need to be able to fly and shine bright light.

Regarding Ability Scores America is one of those characters who should have 20 in everything, but we cannot really do that so I’m gonna prioritize what we need for the build. As always I’m taking basic template from Tulok the Barbarian so we’ll be unig Standard Point Array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10 and 8). If you want to roll or use point-buy, go ahead and use these as guidelines, just remember you’ll need 13 inWisdom and Dexterity for multiclassing.

Strength: 14, You can throw tanks at the moon

Dexterity: 13, we need it for multiclassing purpose. Also, I doubt any medium or heavy armor goes with short shorts, America’s outfits are light armor at best.

Constitution: 15, you can take hits from the likes of She-Hulk, Vision and Thanos

Intelligence: 10, you don’t need it but America did go to college to expand her knowledge of cosmic stuff.

Wisdom: 12, living on your own since being a child means picking up some survival skills.

Charisma: 8, low but we will bumb it with rracial ability scores.

Speaking of Race, America is from another planet, descendant of a race created by two celestial beings, who can fly and shine her star marks. and if that doesn’t speak Protector Aasimar, I do not know what does. You gain +2 to Charisma and +1 to Wisdom, resistance to necrotic and radiant damage and know Common and Celestial languages. Your Darkvision lets you see 60 feet in dim light as in normal light and in darkness as in dim light, but without abilitty to discern colors. Once per long rest you can heal a person (or yourself) for number of hit points equal your level. Finally, you get a Light Cantrip, which lets you make one object no larger in any dimension than 10 feet and make it shine bright light in a 20 feet radius and dim light in next 20 feet. Use it for your own stars.

Background: You are from another planet in another dimension so Far Traveller is closest to that. You gain proficiency in any language of your choice, pick something campaign relevant. You get proficiency in Insight and Perception and a single musical instrument or gaming set of your choice. You have an All Eyes On You feature, which makes you a center of attention and opens you doors of curious nobles and scholars.

Class Features:

Level 1: We will kick things off as a Ranger. You gain proficiency in Dexterity and Strength saving throws, light and medium armor, simple and martial weapons, shields and two skills, choose Athletics and Investigation.

We will be using Ranger options from Class Variants Unearthed Arcana, which is free. Deft Explorer lets you pick one of 3 options - Tireless lets you a number of times equal your Wisdom modifier per long rest gain 1d10+ Your Wisdom modifier temporary hit points as an action. If you are suffering from Exhaustion and take a short rest, you lose a level of it.

Favored Fore lets you cast Hunter’s Mark on a target without expending a spell slot a number of times equal your Wisdom modifier and don’t need concentration to maintain it. Hunter’s Mark let’s you pick one target and for its duration (up to an hour) you deal 1d6 extra damage whenever you hit it with an attack and gain advanate on Survival and Perception checks to find it. And if the target drops to zero hit points before spell ends you can move it to another as a bonus action. So if you are chasing after Loki again, this will come in handy.

Level 2: 2nd Level Ranger gets to pick a Fighting Style. Unarmed Fighting lets your unarmed attacks deal 1d6+your Strength modifier damage, 1d8 if you hit with two hands at once (or do a dropkick, I guess) and when you start a grapple and whenever you hit a grappled creature you can deal it extra 1d4 bludgeoning of damage. As with Tulok, we pick this one a lot because a lot of superheroes just use fists. If you feel YOUR America should be swinging a waraxe, go for it and pick something else.

On this level Rangers get spellcasting. you know a number of spells and cannot know spells of higher level than you have spell slots for, whenever you cast a spell you spend spell slot of appriopriate level or higher. If a spell requires a saving throw it is against difficulty of 8 + Your Proficiency Modifier + Your Wisdom modifier and the latter two you also sum up to add to a Spell Attack roll if a spell requires one. You start with two spells.

Cure Wounds lets you touch a creature or yourself and heal for 1d8+ Your Wisdom modifier of hit points.

Zephyr Strike lasts for a 1 minute on concentration and for this time you don’t provoke opportunitty attacks and when you deal your first attack you get to make it with an advantage and your speed increases by 30 feet for this turn.

Level 3: Once you reach this level Protector Aasimar gains Radiant Soul, letting you once per long rest radiate with positive energy, even spouting mings made of light from your back. If your DM allows you can probably gain the benefits without that visual add-on. This form lasts for one minute and gives you flying speed equal your regular speed and once on each of your turns you can deal extra radiant damage equal your level to a creature you hit with an attack or a spell.

3rd Level Ranger gets to choose a Ranger Conclave. Horizon Walker specializes in dimensional travel and interdimensional threats. You can as an action sense location of a nearest interdimensional portal once per short or long rest. You also become a Planar Warrior, which means you can use your bonus action to select one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. During this turn when you attack that creature you not only deal extra 1d8 damage but also all damage from that attack gets converted to force damage. Force is the least protected against type of damage in the game, there is literally a single creature immune to it and zero creatures with resistance to it in entire Monster Manual.

At this level Ranger also gains Primeval Awareness, letting you spend a spell slot to be able to sense all aberrations, celestials, dragons, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead within one mile from you for duration of 1 minute per spell slot’s level, but does not tell you their exact location or number. It is horribly situational, costs your valuable resource and is basically a shittier version of Divine Sense, an abilitty Paladin gets on first level. It’s actually a core Ranger abilitty and it does have a replacement in Unearthed Arcana.... buuut that replacement gives you a bunch of extra spells that aren’t really America’s style. At least I am far more likely to beleive she is able to pick subtle hints of presence of various creatures due to her years of experience fighting everything the Multiverse threw at her, than I am that she can detect and talk to animals and plants or be able to see through an animal’s eyes. If you want to sacrifice some thematic coherence for more powerful build, be my guest.

Hunter’s Mark is now added to your spells’ known as a bonus from Favored Foe and Horizon Walker gives you another additional spell - Protection From Evil and Good, letting you make aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, and undead have disadvantage on attacks against yourself or another creature. The target of the spell cannot be charmed, frightened or posessed by these creatures and if that already happend before you cast the spell, it rolls saving throws to shake it off with an advantage. A lot of lovecraftian horrors try to eat your teammate and future god for his future god powers, this will help against that.

Our regular spell for this level will be Absorb Elements. You can cast it as a reaction whenever you take acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder damage and it grants you resistance to that and next time you hit a target on your next turn, it takes extra 1d6 of that type of damage. This second feature is less impressive at higher levels where a lot of creatures dealing that type of damage are resitant or outright immune to it. Every dragon is immune to the damage dealt by its breath for example. EXCEPT that as a Palanar Warrior you convert that to force damage. Their offense just makes you hit harder.

4th Level: Sticking with Ranger for an Abilitty Score Improvement or a Feat. Resilent lets you add 1 to your Constitution and makes you proficient with Constitution saving throw. a large number of your spells is depending on Concentration so this is a good way to keep going even after you take a hit.

5th Level: Ranger gains an extra attack, letting you attack twice in a single attack action. Remember, those attacks are all affected by your Planar Warrior power.

You also gain access to 2nd level spells

Lesser Restoration, letting you cure one disease or a blinded, deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned condition from one creature. America heals fast.

Horizon Walker gives us Misty Step, which lets you teleport 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see.

6th Level: You can pick second Deft Explorer feature. I will go with Roving to increase your speed by 5 feet and give you climbing and swimming speed equal to your walking speed. America is fast and with that you can move to your foes no matter where they are.

7th Level: Horizon Walker gives you Etheral Step. You can now once per short or long rest cast, as a bonus action, Etherealnesss on yourself without expending a spell slot but it only lasts one turn. It lets you step into Ethereal Plane where you can move without being affected by enemies or walls or magic effects on material plane. You can use this to move aout of the harm’s way or (more likely) behind enemy lines to punch that one guy who keeps hiding behind the tank.

You also get one more spell but I’m not feeling these 2nd level spells so we will pick Longstrider, which increases your movement speed by 10 feet for 1 hour, no concentration required. This means you can now walk, climb, swim or fly up to 45 feet per turn. And you cannot tell me America isn’t super fast, considering in her debut book she did this

8th Level: We will now jump to Cleric. America has multitude of things she could worship, be it Demiurge or Spirits Beracca and Sanar who created your home planet or even your moms and their messianic-like sacrifice. Or not, Clerics don’t need to worship a diety, they can draw the power from just believing this strongly in something the universe registers it as faith. Lou Wilson on The Unsleeping City plays a Cleric who is a doctor that draws power from caring about his patients so much, you don’t need to limit yourself just because you may dislike certain parts of character history.

Whatever your reasons, you get to pick a Divine Domain. Since America can travel between dimensions, she basically is a Planeswalker. Meaning she can jump to Magic: the Gathering setting Amonketh from one of Planeshift supplements and grab the Strength Domain. You gain proficiency in one extra skill, pick Survival, and heavy armor.

You also get Cleric spellcasting, which works as Ranger’s except you know all your Cleric spells and you prepare which spells you have ready each day. You also get cantrips, which you can cast as many times as you want. Your number of spell slots is determined by multiclassing table - check out a level equal your Cleric level + half your Ranger level rounded down to consult how many spell slots you have for use.

You get 3 Cantrips, two spells and two extra spells and an extra cantrip from Strength domain so we have some work to do.

Guidance and Resistance each lets you add a d4 to a single ability check or a saving throw respectively. This shit is life saving. No, I did not spend my last game lamenting guidance is not on Bard Spell list after my bard failed an important skill check by 1, why are you asking?

Thunderclap lets you clap your hands so hard every creature 5 feet from you needs to make a Constitution saving throw or be dealt 1d6 thunder damage. It is a staple for powerhouses, Hulk basically patented it.

Bless lets you pick up to 3 creatures, including yourself. For the duration they add 1d4 to attack rolls and saving throws

Detect Magic lets you sense or see influence of magic within 30 feet from you unless it’s hiding behind a thick enough barrier. Again, America been around, she can recognize a lot of tricks.

Divine Favor lets you add 1d4 of Radiant damage to your attacks. America’s punches are that strong.

Shield of Faith meanwhile grants you +2 bonus to your AC. Again, short shorts can barelly pass for light armor, less alone medium or heavy so you need all help you can get.

9th Level: 2nd Level Cleric gets to use their Channel Divinity.once per short or long rest

The standard use is Turn Undead, which forces all undead who see you to make a Wisdom saving throw or be turned for 1 minute or until they take damage, making them unable to do anything but spend their turn dashing away from you. You may say it is not in character but America travelled across the Multiverse a lot. Do you know what you can find in Marvel Multiverse a lot? Zombies. Especially Marvel Zombies. And even then, regular zombies in D&D are also know as “PAIN IN THE BUTT TO FIGHT WITH” so whichever kind of undead is bothering you, this will help.

Strength Domain grants you another use of this, Feat of Strength. You can choose to spend your use of Channel Divinity to add +10 to an attack roll, abilitty check or saving throw using Strength.

Finally, Unearthed Arcana lets you spend your use of this feature to regain a 1st level spell slot. It’s situational, but could be useful in a pinch.

Our spell for the level will be Sanctuary - cast it on one creature of your choice to make enemies have to roll a Wisdom saving throw whenever they want to target it with an attack or a harmful spell or have to choose another target. You can play this one as goading enemies to fight her to distract them from civilians or your mroe squishy teammates like Billy or Loki. Warning, don’t waste it on either Kate or Quentin Quire, they are likely to just go and shoot someone and the spell ends if target attacks someone, casts a harmful spell or causes damage from an already active spell. So no, Quentin, you cannot cast Spirit Guardians and then have America Sanctuary you, stop asking and read an errata already!

10th Level: 3rd Level Cleric gets 2 2nd Level spell slots

Aid lasts for an hour and lets you increase hit point maximum and current hit points of up to 3 party members by fve, always useful as a form of a battle plan to keep everyone safe.

Warding Bond lets you for an hour create a bond between you and another creature for 1 hour with no concentration. As long as the target is within 60 feet of you it gets +1 to AC and resistance to all damage but whenever it takes damage, you take as much damage and if you get further than 60 feet away from one another or you drop to 0 hit points, the spell ends. So cast this on Kate, Monica or Billy who are squishy but know to stay in the back. Don’t cast it on Ramone, Eddie, Adam, Teddy, Carol, T’Challa, Noh-Varr, Gwen, David, Eli or Galactus who are likely to be with you in the front line. And don’t cast it on Quentin, he is squishy and should stay in the back but he cannot be trusted, this kid has no self-perservation instinc whatsoever. Same goes for Loki, who is supposed to be smarter but still keeps poking everything around for one scheme or another.

Strength Domain gives us Enchance Abilitty, which grants you an advantage on abilitty chekcs of chosen Ability score and some minor bonuses if you pick Strength, Dexterity or Constitution. As I’ve said, America is good at everything as if she was an anime character, this will help you emulate that.

Protection from Poison for an hour, no concentration, gives the target advantage on saving throws against being poisoned and resistance to poison damage and when cast removes one poison already affecting the target.

11th Level: 4th Level Cleric gets an Abilitty Score Improvement, invest in your Strength. Spoiler, this will be where all your remaining Abilitty Score improvements will go.

You get one more cantrip and one more spell

Virtue grants the target 1d4+your spellcasting abilitty modifier of temporary hit points for one round

Branding Smite, which was added in Unearthed Arcana, lets you deal extra 2d6 Radiant damage and if the target was invisible it now becomes visible and cannot becopme invisible for the duration of the spell as it shines bright light in 5-feet radius. America punching someone out of their invisiblity so hard they now glitter? Sounds about right.

12th Level: 5th Level Cleric can destroy all undead of challenge rating 1/2 or less who failed saving throw against turn undead.

You get even more spells, gaining access to third level ones.

Remove Curse lets you remove effects of a curse from a person or break attunment to cursed item. Use it on yourself to simply shrug off the enemy curses

Tongues lets you understand any language and be understood by all other creatures for an hour. You ever noticed how all realities America goes to seem to speak English? This may be why.

Protection From Energy lets you get resistance to acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder. for the duration, on concentration of course.

Haste also lasts on concentration. it doubles your speed, grants +2 to AC, an advantage on Dexterity saving throws and an extra attaction you can use to take Dash, Disengage, Hide or use object action or make a single extra attack. Once it ends you cannot take actions for a turn,

13th Level: 6th Level Cleric can use Channel Divinity twice per short or long rest, gains a new use from Strength domain, letting you as a reaction grant +10 to another creature’s attack roll, ability check or saving throw using Strength. Sometimes you jsut want to cheer up on your girlfriend to punch someone harder, you know?

You also get to pick one more spell - magic Circle lets you ward an area of 10 feet radius and 20 feet height from celestials, elementals, fey, fiends, or undead, whichever you choose. You can either protect creatures inside from that type of enemies or trap them inside the circle. Either way the selected creature type cannot willingly cross the border of the circle, had disadvantage against targets on the other side cannot charm, frighter or possess and if it tries to circumvent this by using teleportation of any sort it needs to first succeed a Charisma saving throw.

14th Level: 7th Level Cleric gets 4th level spells

Freedom of Movement lets you for one hour, no concentration required, make yourself unaffected by difficult terrain and magic cannot in any way reduce your speed, restrain or paralyze you, you can spend 5 feet from your movement to escape nonmagical restraints and being underwater doesn’t impose any penalty on your movement.

Dominate Beast isn’t really in character so I will focus on second bonus spell Strength Domain gives you - Stoneskin grants you resistance to nonmagical Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing damage

Stoneskin is not an excuse to wear this awful outfit from Vengenace, tho.

15th Level: 8th Level Cleric gains Divine Strike, letting you once on each of your turns add extra 1d8 of that damage type. You also get to pick another Abilitty Score improvement and your Destroy Undead abilitty upgrades to undeads of CR 1 or less.

Your spell for this level will be Banishment, forcing a Charisma Saving throw on the target and sending it to another dimension if it fails. If the target is native to this plane, it is send to a harmless dimension and comes back once spell ends. But if it is not, it is send to its home plane and if you maintain concentration for one minute, it does not return. As with Magic Circle this is less something we hase SEEN America do but sounds like something she should be able to do. Open a portal under something and let it fall.

16th Level: 9th Level Cleric gets one spell of 4th level and one of 5th level.

Greater Restoration lets you remove from atarget a single level of exhaustion, one curse, one reduction of an abilitty score or hit point maximum, one effect that charmed or petrified the target. Use this on yourself to shrug off everything. Except perficication, kinda hard to use this while petrified.

Strength Domain gives you two extra spells, but Insect Plague isn’t very in character. Destructive Wave, however, lets you strike the ground, making every creature of your choice within 30-feet range take 5d6 thunder and 5d6 radiant or necrotic damage and be knocked prone, half damage on a succesful Constitution saving throw. You stomp the ground that hard.

Death Ward lasts for 8 hours with no concentration, first time a target would be dropped to zero hit points, they’re dropped to 1 hit points instead. If an effect would kill target instantly without dealing damage (say POWER WORD: KILL) it is negated. Either way the spell ends after a single activation. Sounds useful considering one of people on America’s shit list is COSMIC TITAN CHAMPION OF DEATH

17th Level: 10th Level Cleric gains Divine Intervention, which lets you call upon the power of whoever you picked as your patron diety. You describe what you want to happen and roll a percentage dice - if your result is lower than your Cleric level, diety intervenes in a way choosen by the DM. If you succed on this, you cannot use this feature for a week, if you fail you cannto do it until after a long rest.

You get one new Cantrip and one new 5th Level Spell

Word of Radiance forces all creatures of your choice to suceed a Constitution saving throw or take 4d6 radiant damage. You shine so bright you literally hurt your enemies.

Legend Lore lets you gain knowledge about a legendary object, person or location, up to mysterious secrets. Again, America has been travelling through the Multiverse, she likely has seen everything and recalls things that seem to be happenning again.Information may be a bit cyrptic, tho.

18th Level: 11th Level Cleric’s Destroy Undead improves to undeads of CR 2 or lower. You also get an access to 6th Level Spell - otherwordly Form was added to Cleric Spell List in Unearthed Arcana. It lets you for the duration (up to 1 minute on concentration) grant yourself flying speed of 40 feet, use of your Wisdom in place of Strength for attack rolls, an additional attack that doesn’t stack with your extra attack and immunity to either fire and poison damage and poisoned condition or radiant and necrotic damage and charmed comdition. This will help if you out of your Radiant Soul and need to fly again, but it is sadly not as good on this particular build because we already have an extra attack and rely more on Strength than Wisdom. But Clerics don’t get Fly.

19th Level: Speaking of Strength, 12th Level fo Cleric and our Final Abilitty Score Improvement lets us finally cap it.

20th Level: Our captsone is 13th Level of Cleric for a 7th Level spell - Plane Shift lets you become your party’s ticked to the Multiverse, letting you transport yourself and up to 8 willing creatures to another plane of existence or to banish an unwilling creature to a random location on a plane you choose if you hit it with a meele spell attack you make as a part of this spell and it fails Charisma Saving throw.

Overview: So this is my take on America Chavez - Protector Aasimar Horizon Walker Ranger 7/Strength Domain Cleric 13. Now let us see how valiable this build is:

Pros: First of all, you are really tough, with around 165 hit points, a number of spells you can set up to buff yourself and/or others you will be very hard to hurt. Second, you have a large number of ways to hurt your enemies and even combine them to deal some impressive damage. Finally, you have a ton of mobility options, letting you chase all most important targets all across the battlefield.

Cons: A lot of your spells require concentration and we didn’t cap this one, so it is mediocre. A lot of your offensive options compete for bonus action and your buffs require some prep time and forward thinking to set up or wasting your time during the combat. A number of offensive spells relies on your Wisdom modifier, which is weak.

However, you are pretty good at what you do best - punching and taking on yourself major threats. You are a reliable tank who can outlast her enemies in combat. Punch people and protect your friends, jsut remember you cannot do it all alone and your teammates are much more squishy - protect them and they’ll have your back

Alternatives:

There is a number of ways in which you could upgrade this build but sacrifice some of loyalty to America’s potrayal.

* Ranger 6/Cleric 14 lets you increase your Divine Strike Damage to 2d8, meaning you can deal 4d8 damage when combined with Planar Warrior.

* Ranger 12/Cleric 8 lets you increase your Planat Warrior Damage and gains extra attack from Horizon Walker’s 11th level feature, making you much more offensive but also with more hp.

* Change stats to STR 12 DEX 13 CON 14 INT 10 WIS 15 CHA 8. Pick Druidic Warrior as your fighting style, grab a club or a staff and pick shillelagh as your cantrip, letting you use your Wisdom for attacks made with said club or staff, then go Ranger 8/Cleric 12 or vice-versa, using your Abilitty Score Improvements to round up first Wisdom and then Constitution. This take on America will have much better offense AND defense but it strays so much from her as a character (no plane shift, no punching with your hands, less actual Strength and more trickery) it didn’t feel right. Sometimes you need to sacrifice power to stay loyal to the character. Then again, this build would sure be true to a certain aspect of America we know and love.

- Admin

#America #Ms. America #America Chavez #Ms. America Chavez #Marvel #Dungeons & Dragons

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erazonpo3 · 5 years ago

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Thinking a little bit about Best Girl Nuru and the way she’s often given the role of the Voice of Reason, aka the one with the brain cell, and I’ve spoken a bit about this with @bestworstcase where uh, we gotta remember that taking the only girl of the group, who is the second youngest, and making her the Mature one raises a lot of red flags. (The fact that she is Black is also something that should not be ignored because young Black girls are often treated as though they are older than they are, but rather than a white woman telling you this you can learn more about that through this article with links to said study).

There’s simultaneously a lot and yet very little that can be inferred about her character given the small amount of original notes she has, and I could go for a more specific reading based on her circumstances but ultimately I’m gonna go for a more broad take of Responsible Characters And You: How to give them flaws that make them feel more like a real person rather than just The Straight Man.

This is hardly an exhaustive list but I went with the biggest five points I could think of in order to expand on them, but the list can go on and grow more specific.

Being the ‘Mom Friend’ at your own expense

This one is probably the biggest one I associate with Nuru, and I think it’d hit particularly hard given her specific situation of being the only girl in the group and also the second-youngest. Let me tell you, straight from personal experience: being the Voice of Reason to a group of teenage boys is like trying to tell a wall to sprout legs and walk around. It’s not gonna happen and you’re just going to tire yourself out. My friends were smart, lovely people but I needed to learn that it wasn’t my job to protect them from themselves.

It’s normal for a friend group to have ‘the one with the brain cell’ or ‘the mom friend’, but that friend group shouldn’t rely on that person to be their only source of support, or expect them to constantly monitor their decisions. It’s unhealthy for all people involved. You need to be willing to let people make their own mistakes, and not hold it against them when they don’t take your advice. You need to see your friends as independent people who understand their own decisions, and although it can be tricky to balance being supportive while also not encouraging bad decisions, it’s important to figure out.

The Mom Friend is also often someone who habitually offers emotional support and advice, but keeps their own issues bottled up. They could have more healthy outlets for their personal issues, like a therapist, but this kind of stereotype usually pops up in people who prefer to deal with other people’s problems in order to avoid dealing with their own. Either way, it’s important for this kind of emotional support to be a two-way street, and for friends to recognise that they shouldn’t be relying on just one person for all their help.

Healthy friend groups can navigate this by ensuring everyone can share what they’re struggling with, and by having everyone able to provide some amount of support, whether it’s advice or condolences or just listening; this way it doesn’t fall on just one person to be the therapist or the mom.

‘Intellectually’ mature but Emotionally immature

So, let’s be straight up: ‘responsible’ kids are usually just kids who respect the authority figures/institutions in their lives, either because they thrive in academic environments or because they have a lot of anxiety about upsetting those figures (or any other reason), but it doesn’t actually say much about their maturity as a person. It’s very easy for a smart kid to fall into the idea that they’re responsible and mature because the adults around them trust them not to cause trouble, but at the same time they can be very behind peers their age in terms of emotional development.

I’m doing a lot of generalising here to spare us a larger essay about the faults of the education system for both gifted and forgotten ‘troublemaking’ kids, but the idea is that your responsible kid might feel as thought they’re the pinnacle of maturity compared to some of their peers, while at the same time do things like hold petty grudges, give their friends ultimatums, make decisions out of spite and have a general lack of consideration for people they might otherwise care about. These are flaws anyone can have, but it’s a very good way to show that being the smart, responsible kid does not mean you have emotional maturity.

Circling back to our example character Nuru, we could take her suspicion over Hugo as something she believes is insightful and cynical (mature), but the others see as a grudge and an inability to trust others’ judgement.

Straight up Immature

Yeah, they’re mature for their age. But that doesn’t mean they’re not still young and inexperienced. Maybe they do have more emotional intelligence and social skills than their peers, but that doesn’t automatically spare them from being gullible, making uninformed decisions, and much worse: being preyed on by people who would take advantage of them.

That last one’s a pretty dark path to take and you’ve got to be ready to deal with that issue from top to bottom if you’re going to go that route, but otherwise the message behind this one is simple: Kids are Kids and they can enjoy juvenile things, where the novelty hasn’t worn off yet, and they can make mistakes simply because they haven’t ever made that mistake before in order to learn from it.

If your character is under 18, or even if they’re over, they’re allowed to be uninformed and say or do things that hurt others because they don’t understand the implications, and they’re allowed to be a little obnoxious or uncritical of what’s going on around them. Kids be kids.

Obsession and an inability to see the bigger picture

Following the earlier example, ‘reasonable’ characters are probably people who rely a lot on logical thought processes to make certain decisions. (Note that Logical =/= Correct or even Sensible, it just needs to abide by whatever the person’s internal rulebook is). That kind of mindset can lead people down rabbitholes and lead to conclusions that only they see, because they’ve jumped through so many mental hoops to reach their destination that nobody else can see how they might have arrived there.

The expression here is “Can’t see the forest through the trees”, where a person misses the bigger picture of the situation because they’re so deep in the details they can’t see what’s going on. You see it a lot with puzzles that are fairly straightforward that people try to overthink and search for clues because ‘it can’t be that obvious’ when it really is. Thinking twice about something isn’t bad, but sometimes a first impression is the right one too.

I can definitely see this applying to Nuru, star-chart master, and particularly in conflict with Yong- she has a great eye for detail that often comes in handy! But sometimes keeping your eye on a single star will blind you to their constellations. (Also for a more advanced reading, as a Princess Nuru might be less likely to see institutional problems compared to someone like Hugo).

Selfish and Privileged perspectives

Keep in mind that prioritising yourself and your own health doesn’t make you a bad person, and being selfish doesn’t mean you lack empathy- it’s just a character flaw that means you have to actively think about other people and how your actions/inaction might affect them. A lot of people, especially ones who are raised in privileged positions, aren’t used to factoring in other people when it comes to making decisions. It comes down to “how will X thing affect me?” and they go from there, without thinking about how X affects others.

This can be paired with socio-economic privilege, in which people who enjoy the benefits of a particular social system don’t pay much attention to how it fails others, or perhaps they know and make excuses that relieve them of any guilt (or maybe they don’t really care at all, so long as they’re winning). The remedy to this is education, and learning from the people who are disadvantaged the way in which certain social systems fail them and ways in which they can be improved. It also means committing to those improvements, even if they may come at your expense.

In regards to Nuru being a Princess, there’s definitely a lot to unpack. I imagine her kingdom isn’t very wealthy (relatively- they’re far from destitute), given that it spends all its money on rebuilding infrastructure and apparently doesn’t have the resources to send a bodyguard or even a LIW along with Nuru on her journey. Nonetheless I think her position of privilege is a good place to start if you want to give her some sweet flaws

a few more ideas I won’t expand much on

Jealousy (ties in with Emotional Immaturity)

Overly Risk-Averse (The man who sleeps with a hatchet is a fool every night but one, but his friends still think he’s a fool most nights. Ouch.)

Insecurity (Do they have doubts? Of course they do.)

Overly Emotional (Not always a flaw, but can impact their judgement)

Just straight up bad with emotions (Maybe they have trouble empathising with others?)

#era soapboxes #though this is less soapboxing more just: let sixteen year olds be dumb i guess #also not that i think anyone is doing this maliciously disclaimer #i mostly just want to write it down that a character that thinks they're responsible and mature rarely is 100%#princess nuru

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