#but also probably applicable to others i'm forgetting/not aware of

[rivvszn]

"sun & moon" okay but what about two moons who love each other with the faint glow they try so hard to muster up in the darkest night except that love flickers and dies because ultimately they need the sun's light to survive. haha.

[sevgilimsatoru]

Something I thought about, since your self aware!Caleb fic hasn't left my brain these past few days. Is how would they react to new content about Caleb getting added to the game?

Would Caleb already have those memories? And what would his reaction to the myth be? Since he, in this timeline, doesn't know about it. 🤔

Also how would Caleb react to new content about the other boys? Because I can imagine that he would not be happy about the nightly rendezvous... 😂😅

Just something fun I thought about. 😅

Hi, anon. Thanks a lot for reading my fic, first of all. This is a lot of yapping, English is not my first language so I'm sorry in advance.

This question has actually crossed my mind once, not in this detail if I'm being honest. Just the fact that new content might be added to the game while this whole thing with reader and Caleb is going on. I'm an new player actually. I started around the time when rafayal's birthday event was going on so I can't say much about any banners or events before that.

If the memory is about Caleb like the very recent one. I feel like he will only know about it when the devs update the games but he will know about everything from the memories to every last event detail and how much he will tell you about it will be decided by how much he wants you to enjoy the event.

Since we get a kiss between Caleb and MC in the date feature if you get both cards, he is not gonna do it- he just can't do. It'll shatter his heart and in the cutscenes where he is talking to the MC and you can see the MC, he will look directly at you and say the words he needs to. Use your name too especially in the one "I have always wanted to be in the same world as you"

If the event is about other love interests, that's a whole other thing. Like the sylus birthday is going on. He does want you to enjoy this game but unfortunately for the reader, he is a little too possessive. I think he'll get you the cards and other materials just for collection but don't think about playing with them. If you beg enough (give him that defeated expression and talk about how much you were looking forward to that specific event, he'll cave) but he will make sure to be in background where you could see him with a pout on his face or make sure that the camera angle is different so you can see the MC even in the cutscenes so it doesn't feel as real.

Any Zayne enjoyers, I'm sorry but you can't get anymore of Zayne's cards or properly play them cause he does have beef with the doctor since they were kids. He won't interfere between MC and Zayne but he'll be damned if he lets that guy talk to you (considering how horny I have heard Zayne can get)

Nightly rendezvous is basically a big no, even bigger than Zayne cards. You try to play it- he won't let you. It just won't happen, no matter how much you try to tap it the cards. If you get too insistent he will crash the game. If there is ever a rerun about that event and they do add Caleb to it then you can only see him. You won't even be able to watch about it on youtube or chrome or any application on your phone because as stated in the previous chapter- he can control your phone, so you can forget about it or any of the cards that have the other LIs with anything naughty.

But if it comes to the main story, since at this point in time. He has the MC locked up in his house. He'll let you enjoy it without interference, he'll act the way that he has to because he does believe that you should enjoy the game (mainly because this part of the story involves him). If you manage to cry during the main story somehow, he'll probably coddle you when you do eventually talk to him.

That's all I can think of, Have a good day. Hopefully I will post a new chapter today too but I'm not sure it will be everyone's cup of tea. Nothing relevant except my reader's backstory will be written in it. So feel free to skip it if you feel like it is triggering. Take care of yourself!

[sheepalmighty]

Before I forget again, and because I probably won't draw these for my AU, I thought I'd cover a couple of the things I missed out.

One of the things (which I don't think is really necessary for me to mention) is that the hickey's intended to be a mistake on Kale's part. Specifically for exploring Kale's character I decided on that because of the similarity to making the mistake with the music player. I just cannot stop thinking about how he doesn't even notice he's still holding the music player - he has a few instances of not being aware of himself from what I can tell. Relatedly, similar to the face journey Chai goes through in my comic Kale would also have one when he sees the music player (I got the wording just right for the dialogue, and the joke in it, after this bit but he's straddling Chai at the time so I'm not drawing that).

So, on the Chai side of it I imagine he continues to perceive it - makes others and by extension the reader see it too - because he probably heals up fine from any other bruises (it's technically an injury) through health pickups. He notices this but decides to ignore it, but others can't unlike in the game when he keeps his thoughts to himself. Here I'm hoping this got interpreted as being some amount of fondness he can't shake... but, I get the feeling that I avoided drawing any parts of the AU that might actually indicate that... oops.

An aside, but the dialogue between Chai and Kale (CH-ASIR ver) reads to me like Kale's probing whether Chai's worth it / is curious about him, gets disappointed with his response, and does the CH-ASIR equivalent of stuffing all of the breadsticks in his purse and leaving.

Oh, the other thing I almost forgot was I finally figured out how Chai gets attached to Kale in the AU, which is through noticing Kale's full attention on him: he solely is in the spotlight. This leads into the argument of who likes who that, honestly, I drew a sketch of back in the first batch but it took me until now to realise how exactly it'd go. This ends up tying into that throwaway line I made of Kale saying Chai looks good in the light.

Also, thinking about the game there's that first statue of Kale that emphasises him basking in the light (Roxanne's statue somewhat shrinking away from him and the light), so I think there's definitely some parallels between wanting to be in the (spot)light for both Kale and Chai. In a way, it feels like Kale wants to keep Chai out of that metaphoric spotlight in the game, similar to how he most likely felt overshadowed by Roxanne. Considering all of that, I did wonder if it was against Kale's characterisation to make him okay with Chai "looking good in the light", but there's some push and pull between these two I think (see that CH-ASIR conversation above). Less explainable to me is my drawing instances of Kale blowing up at Chai - in the game he definitely tries to keep his cool around Chai specifically. To me, they seemed to have singled each other out as similar in some way perhaps, thus trying to act cooler around the other? Well, maybe the AU was more focussed on them pushing the other's boundaries.

(Hm, about them being similar I also had a comic sketch idea of Kale thinking the same thing that Chai later parrots that kinda adds insult to injury with him feeling like Chai's stealing his stuff, but it required a bit of preamble that I couldn't bother also drawing.)

More on technicalities now but I have no idea what the under-the-line asterisks that bookend Chai's name on his ID are supposed to represent. I thought it might have something to do with how he drew a star on his application form for the occupation, but maybe its a technical thing? In any case, I put one on the Rank part of the card in my comic implying that Chai is an "exception", in that he's not actually on the same level, he's still trapped even when given some free rein (wanted to reference the battle rank too because why not).

Wait, there's one more thing: I just think Kale's coat/jacket looks comfy to wear in cold weather. Also, in the previous batch of comic I was getting sick of drawing it, but it got easier to draw in the recent lot. Actually, about the coat, I like how Kale chooses to wear something that links him explicitly to the company with all the logos. It's like he's saying that he is the company, but it also shows his insecurity: he essentially implies the inverse - that he is nothing without the company. You really get the impression that Kale is projecting really strongly whenever he tells Chai he's nothing without his tech. Similarly, when Kale talks to Chai sometimes it feels like he might as well be talking into a mirror.

Thanks for reading these pretty much unorganised thoughts, for fun here're the sketches (I couldn't draw Kale right, sorry) for, like, a couple panels. The first one I just like how cartoonish Chai looks (I wanted to go with a more subdued response in the finalised panel), and the second's just what I do to myself when I can't think of the dialogue yet (even the scripts I did do needed some significant tweaking in places because they needed even more refinement):

[thishasgonehorribly]

On identifying artificial intelligence generated art.

my brain's coming apart. there's so much worse stuff going on in the world, and I'm up past midnight getting so mad about computers making bad tiddy drawing.*

There are porn-bots putting "Artificial Intelligence" as tag spam on real(-ish, probably touched up and edited) photographs. The machines aren't coming for us, we're already in The Machine.

So.

Before I get into it, I want to admit that I do worry I'm being over confident. Would honestly love to be challenged on my conclusions here**.

To me, a whole lot of it still feels uncanny.

Okay.

look at this stupid bird picture:

It is, superficially, pretty convincing.

I don't remember how I got to here. Someone posted it, and sourced it to a clip-art ...blog? and neither seemed aware it is not a real painting.

First off, nonsense continuity.

The weird angle of the tail feathers, and the pitch black that ends at the dove's wing for no particular reason are pretty suspicious.

That's not conclusive. Human artists can make stylistic choices, or forget to finish drawing an arm.

I don't think any human thinks leaves work like this:

also note how 'stems' turn into the edges of leaves.

You also get breaks in continuity.

weird floating tree top.

...these things are like hidden image puzzles, and later I notice these branches:

are also weird and floaty.

I think this is the best place to start, pick out "lines" in the image, follow them around. Do they make sense? like at all?

Next, repetition.

They're getting better at repeated symmetry, but there's still a lot of things that should match but don't, and things repeat where it makes no sense.

The feathers on the wings are pretty different in shape, size and style. Again, just a little suspicious, not conclusive.

these two bunches of "flowers" sorta connect to different bunches of greenery, but are very similar in shape and color.

Lastly, Incoherent details.

I'm putting this at the end because i think it feels the most definitive, but is also prone to false positives, as human artists simplify and stylize the little things all the time.

But also, this is definitely AI art:

Bad to look at.

In conclusion,

I put this picture into the google image search, to see if someone posted it earlier, and google also brought me to a bunch of other "clip art" and stock photo sites, and

they're also teeming with very obviously AI generated images

hateful.

*on the one hand, this application is probably the least likely to be competing with human artists, on the other it is vile and should stop.

**the problem is I'm mostly scrutinizing stuff I already know is AI generated. The other problem is that a lot of the louder proponents of the bad computer art do not like or respect art, and are very bad at lying about it.

[thoughtfultravelerfire]

15 Terms Everyone in the replica bags Industry Should Know

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[imjustaf444keriguess]

the question was what need there is of endogenic alters if there’s no trauma.

ah, then my response is "i don't think there's a particular need, but brains do not always require a "need" to do something."

i think there's probably reasons why some people are prone to creating systems, and reasons why the brain is capable of creating other "selves", with and without trauma, but i'm not a psyschologist or neuroscientist or whatever. i don't personally study the brain.

i just hear people's experiences and see that people are more often than not honest. i also know that if systemhood was trauma exclusive, that would make it different than other experiences within and outside of disorder criteria, where there's more often than not some overlap between the general (non-disordered) population and the disordered population.

i am also aware of IFS, or "internal family systems", and the idea that everyone in some form has "parts", but with DID, those selves are more differentiated. i'm also aware of tulpamancy and other created system practices that seem to work for people, alongside spiritual practices that allow people without a disorder to talk to another "person", which would be similar to tulpamancy in actuality (at least, i assume, and that's what the scientists doing the tulpa brain scan study think and are studying right now).

i hold the position of "i think endogenic systems are real, and in order to believe otherwise, i'd have to be shown actual evidence that the experience of plurality is exclusive to trauma-based DID", which doesn't seem to be the position of the DSM or ICD. they give exclusions to those who may have a system or consider themselves multiple/plural but do not fit the disorder part of the criteria.

here is the ICD, where they use the same language for alters ("personality states") regardless of if they're DID members or not.

with the DSM, it has it as part of the criteria that the disturbance is not "normal" in things like cultural practices, religious practices, fantasy play, imaginary playmates, AND that it has to be clinically significantly distressing and cause impairment in important areas of functioning.

if it was exclusive to DID and there was no way that anyone could experience something similar to DID systemhood outside of trauma-based DID, then why would they need to say "well if you have these alternate self states but its spiritual or something and you're chill with it and its not causing you distress then this doesn't fit for you"?

maybe because the experience of multiplicity/plurality/systemhood can exist outside of DID, but DID is a disorder and the other symptoms (the forgetting things and impairment) are influenced or even caused directly by trauma, and if you have that plus the "selves" thing then that's probably a disorder?

dunno if im making any sense and i think after this i probably won't reply to you, but i think that trusting peoples words with subjective and personal experiences is kinda the bare minimum, unless i can prove that it's impossible. if it was physically impossible, it'd be provable. if it's not physically impossible, why are we arguing that they can't exist?

(also, unrelated to my main point, but yeah. people don't treat isolation as serious as they should. while i think "extreme" is not always applicable, there's very much extreme types of isolation, and even less extreme types of isolation can be traumatic and influence or worsen DID or other disorders. humans are inherently social creatures, socialization is like... one of the basic needs after stuff like eating and breathing and stuff. next to having a shelter and clothes. humans very quickly deteriorate if we don't have socialization or proper human interaction. it's why 2020 was traumatizing for many, and is probably gonna lead to some VERY fucked up teens and adults down the line. this is entirely unrelated to the syscourse but people treat it as not a big deal but it's a big deal. same with bullying, bullying is a form of abuse and can be traumatic. most people reading this hopefully agree tho but same kind of tangent.)

hey, reminder for all endogenic systems.

YOU ARENT FUCKING VALID AND YOU NEVER WILL BE VALID!

YA HEAR ME BITCHES OR DO I NEED TO SAY IT LOUDER?

YOU WILL NEVER BE VALID.

thank you.

-Gradient

[ifievertoldyou]

thaw!quackity enneagram analysis

i am once again on my personality categorizing bullshit, this time with enneagrams.

but since this is a new topic on my account, i should probably explain just what exactly enneagrams are, especially since i didn't even understand them all that well until recently.

there are 9 different enneatypes (ennea means nine in greek). while you keep the same enneatype your entire life, it can still change as you change, in ways that i'll explain later. the enneagram is used to understand one's personality type, and shows you the strengths and weaknesses that come with it, as well as ways you can improve yourself. the enneagram is comprised of 3 different triads: the head triad, the heart triad, and the body triad, and it also has different stances: the withdrawing, the dependent and the aggressive. i'll go into more detail about most of these later in the post, but the most important thing to note is that these stances combine with the triads and that's what makes your enneatype.

so. what enneatype does thaw!quackity fall under? in my opinion, absolutely no other type fits him better than an eight does. so, 'what does being an eight entail?' you may wonder. well, let me tell you:

eights are of the body triad, along with the aggressive stance. i'll explain these in more depth in a bit, but first, i'm going to talk about some of the characteristics that we see in eights.

the main motivation of an eight is to protect themselves from being betrayed, and also to keep themselves out of the control of other people. they're always very on guard, and are very, very defensive of both themselves and the ones they care for. eights have very strong emotions that tend to scare others away, so they are super protective of the ones who aren't deterred by their intensity. though eights do still tend to deeply internalize the idea that they are too much because of how often their emotions scare people away... while eights are more worried about other people controlling them, very often this can also translate to them needing to constantly be in control, so as to not risk someone else taking it away from them. they can be very distrustful of others, thinking that most people would hurt them if given the chance. because of all of this, eights tend to be very aware of how their emotions will display to others. they feel that showing their true emotions will lead to them getting hurt, either by them scaring people off or by others taking advantage of those emotions.

and we can see all of this so so so often with thaw!quackity. from how differently he acts around slime q and tommy compared to other people, to the comfort that being in complete control gives him, to how unforgiving he can get with those who cross him, quackity is definitely a shining example of an eight.

an eight is part of the aggressive stance. the types with aggressive stances are oriented outwards, against other people. this makes eights feel the need to be hyper-independent, can cause them to come off stronger than they actually intend to be, and can also cause them to be (inadvertently) dismissive of their own and others' emotions, since feelings don't show up on their radars a lot of the time. aggressive stances are focused on the future, and know exactly what they want, and they're so set on how to get it that they often forget to account for how their actions will affect other people emotionally. they have a habit of being very aggressive when asserting their wants and needs to others. this is very applicable to thaw!quackity. think: quackity's fight with q on the roof "i want you to not be pathetic, to not act like a whimpering, little bitch every time someone looks at you the wrong way," here, quackity directly expresses his needs to q, showing efficient communication (which is another trait that eights possess), but also demonstrating how harsh a lot of eights can be when sharing their wants with others.

also, eight is a part of the body triad, sometimes called the anger triad (which is particularly relevent with quackity) or the instinctive center. this means that eights have very strong intuition, the first thing that they notice when they walk into a room is what their gut tells them to notice. and quackity definitely has a very accurate gut instinct that he's learned to listen to. body triads have a strong need to make things right, and their big motivation is, as their alternate name suggests, anger. each type in the anger triad (8, 9 and 1) all have core issues with anger in some way, but eights are the ones who allow themselves to actualy act out on that anger, while the other types either feel ashamed of it, or else don't acknowledge it until it creeps up on them.

the anger triad paired with the aggresive stance causes eights to be very explosive given the proper circumstances. eights not only have a lot of anger inside themselves from their triad, but also due to their stance their response to this anger is often to direct it towards other people. eights, along with ones, are among the types to feel things the deepest, and have the most trouble letting things go. because of this, eights are very prone to holding grudges for a long time. they are not the types to just forgive and forget. but in confront to ones, if you've actually upset an eight, you will definitely know about it soon enough. ones get their sense of self from others, so they may still have some reservations when confronting people about things, but eights know very well who they are and don't depend as much on others' opinions, so they aren't very likely to hold back on you unless you're one of the few who's on their 'close people' list, or if they're a more integrated eight.

that brings us to what integration and disintegration are. enneatypes all actually lay on a spectrum of unhealthy/stressed to healthy/relaxed that changes as the person changes. if an eight gets healthier, that means that they integrate to a two, and if they get unhealthier or just more stressed, they disintegrate to a five. if you look at the visualization of an enneagram (pictured below this paragraph), it's depicted as a circle with numbers around it, and lines connect certain numbers together. the two lines that are connected to eight lead to five and two, which is why those numbers in particular are the ones that eight (dis)integrates to.

(also this is just a random thing i've noticed, but all the enneatypes that are connected to even numbers in any way will always relax/integrate first if you go clockwise from them, and they'll always stress/disintegrate first if you go counterclockwise. the only enneatypes that will relax/integrate counterclockwise first are 1, 7, and 5 since they're also the only connected ones that are all odd. idk if that makes any sense but yeah, that's how i remember it when the enneagram chart doesn't show the difference between integration and disintegration)

so what does the disintegration to a five entail for an eight? fives are part of the head/fear triad, so eights who disintegrate to fives become even more fearful and cautious of things. disintegrated eights are often more paranoid, micromanaging, tempermental, secretive and isolating than the balanced eight is, which does sound like how thaw!quackity is currently, with how he didn't trust anyone with too much stuff, and he only trusts q with that now because it's easier to trust another version of himself than it is to trust somebody else, and he knows that q can defend himself should he get in trouble for knowing las nevadas' secrets. quackity is also very temperamental about things, as we've seen plainly in his reaction to anybody who has ever wronged him or his cared ones, and we all know how micromanaging he is of literally Everything in las nevadas.

i also wanted to point out that in chapter 55, the very first line talks about how furious and scared quackity is. because those are the two big triads that are causing him to make his decisions right now. anger is constantly in the picture for him, because he's always so motivated by spite, and now that he's also more stressed due to all the things that are currently cropping up in his life. this anger gets combined with fear, so he disintegrates further into the head triad, and becomes even more anxious than he already is. but! he's also starting to feel more guilty for being so harsh on his past-self. because he's beginning to realize just how negatively his anger could affect q in the state he is in now, and how unhelpful that self-hatred is. though the fear triad definitely still has a stronger grip on him at the moment, we can see him start getting a bit more attuned to the heart triad too, even if it's a little slow going right now.

so what does this mean for the future of thaw!quackity? well, if he is to follow a similar path to what atol!soot went down, he'll get to heal in the end, and he'll start to relax more and become integrated with the two. this means that he'll still be an eight, but he'll be a little more trusting, he'll let down his guard a bit more, and will be better at giving others the benefit of the doubt than both the balanced and disintegrated eights are. eights who integrate to twos, part of the heart/shame triad, become more attuned to their own and others' emotions, and are more aware of how their actions will impact others.

enneatypes all don't just fit into tight little boxes. we've seen it with (dis)integration, but there's also wings that need to be taken into account. wings are basically how close somebody is to either of their enneatype's two adjacent numbers. the wings of each enneatype always share one stance/triad with their enneatype. the wings for type eight are 8w7 and 8w9. let's go over what each of these mean to see which one suits quackity more.

the 8w7 is the more aggressive wing. this is because 8 and 7 are both part of the aggressive stance. however, 7 is part of the head triad instead of the body one, so 7s are often focused more on their fear. while 8w7s are less angry, they're still more intense about things, and are much more prone to lashing out whenever they feel out of control. 8w7s are very charismatic and pragmatic, though they have a lot more trouble emotionally connecting with people. they use their intensity to enjoy life as best they can, and they have a lot of trouble sitting still. (and also, some very common jobs for 8w7s are lawyers and politicans, which is very fitting for both q and quackity.)

8w9 is full of much more anger, with them both being in the anger triad, but 9s are in the withdrawing stance, so they're more passive about that anger, with it often going internalized or ignored until a bigger problem arises. because of this, 8w9's have the capacity to be very angry, but only when provoked. 8w9s are very protective, but in a warmer, gentler way than their other eight counterparts are. some people say that the wing to the right of the enneatype is generally more introverted than the one on the left, and this is definitely true here. they're not *as* intense as 8w7s, but the intensity they do have they use to keep their cared ones, and the people who can't stand up for themselves, safe.

while we can see some aspects of both of these wings in him, if i had to choose a single wing, i'd say quackity's more of a 8w7 because he doesn't really let himself come off as any kind of gentle around most people, he's much more extroverted and charismatic, and the descriptions all sound pretty similar to him just in general. while both the 7 and 9 are extremely avoidant of pain, 7s avoid it by constantly searching for new things to keep them excited, while 9s avoid it by being more passive and avoiding/mediating conflict.

but there's another level to enneagrams too. subtypes. these are basically the different instincts of one's enneatype. there are three distinct subtypes: a social (so) subtype, a sexual (sx) subtype, or a self-preservation (sp) subtype. and everyone has a dominant subtype and a secondary subtype, and then another subtype that they don't really relate to that much. i'd say that quackity embodies the self-preservation and sexual subtypes pretty well.

the sp variant of eights are often geared towards satisfaction. these are the people who make sure that they always have what they need and are protected from any potential dangers. they build metaphorical walls around their vulnerabilities and make sure that they're always impenetrable. quackity does this both emotionally as well litterally, with how much he oversees what goes in and out of las nevadas.

meanwhile, sx variants of eights are more worried about possession. they want to relate one-on-one with people, to have someone that they can let their guard down with, and feel integral to their life. while this one isn't as evident with quackity, we can still see it with how he is with his cared ones, and he definitely tends to have smaller, but closer connections, rather than a big, but loose ones like so subtypes tend to have, so this seems like a pretty good secondary type for him.

in conclusion, thaw!quackity is a 8w7 (sp/sx) type, who currently leans more towards disintegrated.

(btw, cc!wilbur actually confirmedish a while ago that c!wilbur is also an eight, and i can totally see it with thaw!wilbur too... you could totally go through this post and see a Ton of traits that thaw!wilbur shares with quackity. honestly, that warrants an analysis post of its own and and yes, thaw!wilbur is absolutely a dominant sx, but i just think it's really interesting how quackity and wilbur are both opposing matriarch archetypes, and how they're both eights as well, etc. etc.. definitely something worth diving deeper into in a future post... just thought i'd leave y'all with that thought lol)

thanks so much for reading, i hope you enjoyed! ^_^

[yourultraarchive]

Oh, no no it's not an issue at all! I don't mind it's alright! Focus and take care of yourself first and foremost! :>

And yes! I'll be doing her template once I actually find the time to draw her in her outfit and also for the mini scenes! Also I've actually ended up changing her name to Yaren instead since I was told by some people that Yuren sounded like another english word for something else (unfortunate :'D), I don't think that should change the kanji all that much but ahh I'm unsure.

Anyway sorry for the very long blabber, I did want to say what Yaren's quirk is! Her hero name is a WIP between Waterdog, Waterpuppy, Lottie or something else entirely.

Her quirk is called Axolotl, which gives her the humanoid appearance of an axolotl and is able to do anything an axolotl can do. Having gills to breathe underwater, but also lungs to live on land, a tail to swim really fast and also incredibly fast regeneration! She's usually better suited to fight underwater. She can heal almost any part of her body, minor cuts, severed limbs and even internal organs and brain! The latter however take days to weeks to heal, everything else can take seconds or minutes depending how much blood she's willing to lose to heal quicker.

Drawbacks however include her skin being irritable and sore if she's not in water long enough so she carries a water spray to help deal with it if it starts getting sore, she's very sensitive to toxins and pollution and if she overdoes her regeneration she'll get permanent scars on those areas and will be harder to heal properly next time. Plus if she overdoes it in any part of her body, she can lose too much blood and become paralyzed or pass out from blood loss.

Extra tid bits include how her skin is naturally a light pink but if she's in water long enough it turns darker and black like a wild axolotl which helps with camouflage and much much later probably in second year or third, she finds out her saliva or blood has regenerative abilities on others if they consume it or if it's placed on a wound!

I am so so sorry that was incredibly long, her quirk is pretty detailed as I've thought and researched about it a lot! I do have issue with trying to find a way to make her able to battle, and the only idea I got is that when she gets injured she can force her body to react to it to have an adrenaline rush which makes her strong enough for a while. That and also in water, due to her high speed and better suited environment she's able to sneakily attack enemies with quick powerful punches or kicks added to her quick swim speed! Thank you for reading and I am so sorry it's so long, please please don't rush yourself replying to this! As I said take care of yourself and thank you for your help! :D

Hi!

Sorry for the late reply again! (Life is busy.)

Yeah I didn't realize the english word thing either. But like I said in my original post, there are other readings to use, or the option of rearranging the name. ("ya", like has been mentioned before, is not a reading for that kanji, so it'd be a kirakira reading if anything. Unlike in English, changing one letter of a name to make it more unique doesn't work the same way in Japanese since it changes the meaning entirely in normal cases.) One of my previous suggestions in the first post were "Yujin/Yuzin" because the kanji for "ren" could be read that way in Japanese (as previously mentioned, "ren" is not a Japanese reading, but a Chinese one), but if you're set on using "ren" you could always rearrange it to "Renyu", or use the other readings for the "yu" kanji and make "Renie" or "Reniya" or something. Or you could still change "ren" and get "Jinie" or "Jiniya" or "Jinyu", among other things.

As for the quirk, it's already really well-thought-out and thorough! I don't know if you actually need to expand on it because that's already a lot of skills (I like the bit about the camouflage, and the later-in-school-years leaning how to heal others). I think it's a careful balance between being realistic and being overpowered (which can lead to potential mary-sue moments if you're being wary about that, but it's your character and if you have fun with it you can do whatever you want--besides, in canon Izuku's got that going on himself lol). You don't really need the bit about "when she's injured she can force her blood to give her an adrenaline rush and make her super strong", that feels like too much tbh.

I think the thing about trying to give her quirk so many applications is that you're trying to wield her powers over too many fields. You want her to be a battler but also good at sneaking/surprise attack tactics but also good at rescue (which is what I thought her powers would fit! Being good at being underwater and also healing? Rescuing people seems perfect for her!) but there IS such as thing as being spread too thin. Even in-universe or in-story or wherever you're planning to use her, if you have her try to do EVERYTHING, realistically she's going to burn out. It's good to have ambition, but even most characters in MHA don't have that many focuses.

I forget which characters canonically have certain career goals, but I know for certain there are several characters whose quirks and personalities are geared more toward being disaster/rescue heroes (like the Wild Wild Pussycats) or support heroes (like Nighteye) than toward reaction/responsive heroes (like All Might) or stealth heroes (like Eraserhead, but I think his type of hero work is also arguable and fits under multiple umbrellas). It's like in the very first arc where there's a bunch of heroes standing around not helping Bakugou when he was caught in that slimy villain because they knew their quirks weren't suited to that situation--it's not cowardly, but it's realistic, when they know their quirks can do more harm than good in certain situations, even if they wanted to help.

I think that's what applies here, with your character. Yes, I understand wanting her to be able to adapt to any situation, but I think there's a point where you have to give her a goal and set her toward it. Does she want to be on the frontline reacting to villain attacks as they come and going out to apprehend them first-hand, or does she want to pre-emptively stop villains before they can rise by doing investigation and stealth work, or does she want to use her incredibly fit biology to help others when disaster strikes and there's no villain involved at all? Sure she can have ambition like Bakugou or Izuku who want to be the best #1 hero, but even they have their focuses (both are reactive striker types!) and while Izuku is adaptive (ie. he's strategic and well-prepared for a raid strike to surprise attack the base Nighteye found, or he rescued people stuck under buildings and whatnot during that exam and had good "bedside manner" for lack of a better term when dealing with rescuees) most of his actual quirk training has gone toward being brute force and quick response toward emergencies and villainous plots.

You can have her be strong but also give her vulnerabilities and that's okay. Like giving her the regeneration powers but also making them necessary because her skin or bone structure is weak like a real axolotl's, which would make her not very suited to brute force situations but that's fine because if she were perfect for speed and stealth and also brute force then it wouldn't give room for conflict or growth in your story. Forcing her to work around her weaknesses is one of those things that could make her stronger--make her more aware of herself or her surroundings or her limits or what she's willing to sacrifice (like Izuku in the entrance exam--can she afford to break her bones if it meant saving someone?) but it doesn't make the weaknesses go away, and working past those weaknesses isn't going to invalidate that they exist. She's not going to win every time--that would be boring wouldn't it?--and you need to give her ways to lose as well as ways she can triumph.

(A good example of this, and this is the first thing that popped into my mind even though it's not MHA, is Edward Elric from FMA. He's the main character so of course he wins a lot and he's tough and cool and seems like he's so strong. But the most prominent moments in the story are when his prosthetic arm/leg don't work, or he loses them, and he still fights but he's disabled but he's fully aware of this, and having abilities to work through the fights when he's missing an arm doesn't mean he's forgotten that he's missing an arm or that he never needed it to win. It means he found a way to work around those weaknesses and still achieve his goal.)

I kinda lost track of the original question/thought here, but to round back to it--when your character is injured, the adrenaline rush to fight longer or get to safety? That should be all her, that's character traits and determination and strength of will, not part of her quirk. She doesn't need some superpowered adrenaline rush to be part of her quirk, and you don't need to make her "able to battle" if she's not suited for it, unless that's one of her goals (while foregoing the other potentials her powers have--if she's aiming to fight villains face to face, then she's probably not focused on rescuing people or rounding around for a sneak attack, and in that kind of situation she should leave that up to real rescue/response heroes while she's playing distraction and keeping the villains' focus on her!) and if being able to battle ISN'T her main focus, then in a situation where she HAS to, you can make her struggle and that just makes her all the more real and interesting. You can make her get help from her classmates, or you can make her fight and lose and realize she's not suited for battle and switch focus (if it was her original focus) or realize she needs a plan to deal with that in the future while still staying true to her actual goal (if she wanted to focus on rescue for example, and she had to fight a front-line battle and she realizes she's not great at it, then maybe her strategy can just be to run and get a strike in here or there but the ultimate goal is to wait for help and backup to arrive in that case).

That was a lot so I hope it was useful and not too rambly but remember that these are just suggestions! I was just talking ^_^;;

[scripttorture]

H! Do you know of any survivor accounts that focus on recovery? A big part of the story I'm writing happens after the main character is rescued from torture, and I want to make sure I don't downplay the effect it had on him and portray his recovery realistically. I'm mainly interested in a timeframe for reintegration/being able to go back to a "normal" life. If it's relevant, he is imprisoned and tortured (mostly beatings, stress positions, starvation and sleep deprivation) for about a month.

I’m sorry this one took so long. My best guess (and it is a guess) is somewhere in the range of 3-10 years. The rest of the answer goes into my reasoning, factors that typically effect recovery and things I’ve found helpful when I’m trying to write this sort of plot.

 From the sounds of it I think the most useful thing would be someone’s diary, but I don’t think there is actually a published diary covering the period immediately after a survivor was released for months and years afterwards.

 Survivor’s accounts often talk about recovery but- the thing is that isn’t usually why they make their experiences public so that often doesn’t end up being the focus.

 Alleg talks about recovery but his aim in publishing his memoirs was demanding the French authorities stopped torturing people in Algeria. Similarly people like ‘Donny the Punk’ Donaldson and Nadia Murad Basee Taha talked about their experiences to highlight abuses that were taking place on a wide scale.

 And that is often the reason people make their experiences public: to raise awareness, to draw attention, to demand change.

 By its nature that kind of discussion tends to make recovery secondary.

 It’s also worth noting that most survivors write about what happened to them a significant period of time after it actually happened. I believe there are some Inquisition era diaries that recount the period a victim was held for, but they’re rare and I think most of the authors were killed.

 Monroe is interested in recovery but it’s recovery in a rather broader sense. It’s less about what people can do when and instead about the more nebulous idea of holding on to humanity and being able to have faith in other people. Her focus is war but this isn’t the sole focus of the book.

 I do recommend her book, A Darkling Plain, generally. It’s most constructed of interviews her students took. Their instructions were to find someone who had lived through- Monroe calls it ‘political upheaval’, which sounds like a euphemism when she goes on to list war, genocide, violent revolution and oppressive regimes as her examples. The students were taught Institutional Review Board procedures and interviewed a survivor about their experience.

 One of the things I think is… enlightening about the approach is that emphasises how close we all are to survivors. We all know someone even if we don’t know the details of what they lived through. I think it’s easy to forget that sometimes.

 The interviews are very much led by the survivors. They’re generally looking back on experiences that happened years or decades ago. They go into how an experience changed the survivor, how it effected their outlook on life and whether/how they moved on.

 I believe you’d find it helpful but I don’t think it necessarily answers the more precise questions that effect writing. When someone could return to a job, when someone might be ready for a relationship, how they’d interact in the community.

 Based on modern accounts of the living conditions survivors find themselves in- I think the question of when people can comfortably do things is difficult because survivors are often put in a position where they’re either forced to do something before they’re comfortable with it or they’re actively prevented from doing it when they want to.

 Let me try to explain that with an example. A lot of survivors now are in refugee camps. A person’s ability to find work will vary depending on the camp, the country and the individual’s legal status.

 In some situations people in the camps are given very little support. In which case if the survivor doesn’t find some kind of work they might end up starving. In other situations a survivor’s immigration status might mean it’s illegal for them to work. Earning a wage can also be used as a reason to cut charitable or governmental support. Which can be a problem if the survivor is only capable of working occasionally and needs a steady source of income to keep them alive between the periods where they can work.

 The environment these people are in can force them into work when it isn’t healthy for them or it can prevent them from working when having a job would help.

 Environmental factors like these can obscure individual choice.

 Generally I’d encourage you to think about environmental factors and how they could effect the character’s recovery. Survivor’s still have bills to pay and they might be surrounded by people who think working or going back to a mainstream school/university would be ‘good for them’.

 Taking away environmental pressures there’s still a question of the character’s drive and motivation. A lot of people want to go back to doing things that are important to them. They want to recapture a sense of normality.

 A character who feels very strongly about their job and is highly dedicated is more likely to be back at work quickly whether that is healthy for them or not. A medic who has built their identity around helping others is much more likely to be back at work after three months then someone who doesn’t identify with their job.

 This does not necessarily mean the medic would be doing a good job or should be back at work. People do have a tendency to throw themselves back into tasks they identify strongly with.

 With work there’s also, potentially, an aspect of physical recovery to consider. A character who has survived a suspension torture, with the resulting nerve damage, may not be able to go back to being a pianist. At least not without a considerable period of time adapting to their disability.

 Even if a character is still able to do their job without adaptions and feels strongly about it they probably won’t be up to handling much stress or their previous workload. This does not necessarily stop people from trying.

 Whether a character identifies strongly with their job or not they might feel they ‘should’ be doing some form of work. And work has the potential to be extremely helpful during a mental health crisis. It can provide routine, a reason to get up when that feels impossible. A point of stability and a place of relative safety.

 Of course the flip side is it can also become a huge source of additional stress and pressure. Which it is depends on the job, the survivor, the working environment, the support (or not) of colleagues and the adaptions in place to support the survivor.

 Reintegrating into the community is also complicated by factors that have very little to do with the survivor character or their symptoms.

 A lot of communities reject survivors. Child soldiers and victims of rape (especially if it resulted in pregnancy) are often portrayed as traitors who have taken the ‘side’ of their abuser.

 This can apply to torture survivors too. If the dominant culture sees torture as a way of obtaining accurate information (this isn’t possible) then the assumption is often that the survivor must have ‘betrayed’ the community. People also tend to assume that if someone was arrested or otherwise targetted for torture they must have been guilty of something.

 If the survivor was subjected to ‘clean’ (non-scarring) tortures then- well then people usually assume that the survivor is lying and they weren’t tortured. From the sounds of things all the tortures your character survives are clean.

 These factors often work in tandem and make it impossible for survivors to feel welcome in their community. That isolation and lack of support has a huge negative effect on recovery. And because it’s so rare that survivors don’t have to deal with these additional stressors it’s difficult to estimate what recovery looks like without them.

 Anecdotally a lot of survivors report that support from their families and from religious institutions was incredibly important to them.

 I feel like a lot of this comes down to what a ‘normal’ life means.

 Because life for this character probably wouldn’t be quite like it was before. But that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t look normal.

 Perhaps he wouldn’t be able to cope with the stress, pressure or uncertainty of his previous job. But that doesn’t mean he couldn’t work. Perhaps he’d struggle to do things he previously enjoyed, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t find other hobbies.

 I’m sorry that I can’t provide an accurate, statistically supported timeframe. I hope that I can describe a helpful way of approaching the problem as a writer-

 It’s unlikely that the character will be able to fix everything at once. He might be able to get a ‘normal’ working routine before he has a ‘normal’ social life, for instance. Or vice versa. I’d suggest splitting up the different aspects of his life that have been effected and thinking about them separately.

 You can categorise things in a way that makes the most sense for you. I’m outlining the way I would do it as an example, but if my categories don’t make sense for your story then add or remove things as you see fit.

 I’d split it up into: Work, Social life, Family life, Romantic/Sexual relationships (if applicable), Communal life and Ritual (ie engagement with wider cultural activities, such as religious services, may pole dancing, getting pissed at the solstice or anything else that’s a big event).

 I’d try to think about them separately and think about which area is the biggest priority for the character. I’m assuming ‘work’ comes first for the rest of the example because survivors still have bills to pay. I’m also assuming the character has enough support and stability to recover at his own pace; that the environment isn’t pressured and his environment isn’t adversely effecting his recovery.

 So I would start with the symptoms and the way they manifest.

 If he has anxiety or hypervigilance, what kind of situations set that off? For instance if his symptoms are triggered by crowds and loud noises then he might not be able to work in a popular night club any more.

 If his ideas of ‘normal’ and his goals revolve around doing that particular job again then his recovery and returning to work would take longer. It could take several years. If his personality/experience means his goals are more flexible then he might be able to find another career that provides a less triggering environment and includes something he liked about his previous job. In that case he might be working regularly again in six months or so. Possibly less.

 That could then provide enough stability/routine to let him find a balance in other areas of his life.

 If he has insomnia then trying to fit his life into a regular 9-5 schedule might be more stressful then it’s worth. Finding work that lets him be flexible about when he comes in, working from home or part time or free lance- could mean a speedier return to something like ‘normal’.

 Once I have some ideas about one aspect I’d take a look at the others and the wider plot. I’d think about whether there’s anything going on in the other categories, the plot or with the other characters that could impact on the survivor’s recovery.

 When I’m looking across the different categories I’m also on the look out for ways I can use them to feed back into the plot.

 So, if I stick with the night club example, perhaps this character has now started a job at a recording studio because this lets him indulge a passion for music with less crowds. And may be I can use that change in environment to introduce him to other characters. May be Drama at the night club is still effecting him through his social circle. May be working somewhere different means he’s unaware of the Drama and that aspect of the plot is going to take him by surprise.

 Stress from the different categories will feed into how he’s doing overall and so will positive things like stability and support. Some of the aspects of the character’s life are likely to look ‘normal’ before others.

 My best guess for reasonable time frames based on what I’ve read is something in the region of 3-10 years. But that’s taking everything into account across all those categories.

 In the best possible circumstances your character could have one aspect of his life looking normal within a year, possibly even as short a time frame as six months. But that assumes an unusual level of support, financial independence, access to treatment and- the internal flexibility to accept a normal that’s distinct to their pre-torture experience. Which could mean a different job, or a different way of socialising or a different degree of engagement with the community.

 Generally- there’s a lot lacking in the environment survivors find themselves in. There’s lack of support from family, friends and wider community, if not outright rejection. There’s a lack of accessible, specialist medical care. There’s a lack of safe housing and financial support.

 My impression is that a period of years is closer to reality for most people. But we’re talking about fiction and you can choose to make your world better then the one we inhabit.

 This kind of recovery isn’t linear. People do backtrack. Even people who are ‘better’ have bad days. Mostly- it’s about showing slow improvement over time and how frustrating slow improvement can be from the inside.

 I hope that helps. :)

 Available on Wordpress.

Disclaimer

[ill-be-istj-if-no-one-else-is]

Hey there Em. I'm very confused about my enneagram. I *think* my tritype is 259 (but I don't know about the order), however, I have a lot of doubts.. .. I love knowledge. I live for it. I could spend hours searching things I'm passionate about and forget everything else. But I'm not that emotionally detached, in fact, I'm still pretty aware of how I come across others, and I like to listen others' problems, (help them too). (1)

I don't like conflict but I don't care if it happens. Like, I will not start it, but, if there's conflict, I will fight, debate, or solve it without problem. Still, I prefer to stay on peace. I have a problem with 9w1 descriptions and it's that I'm the opposite of lazy. I'm extremely perfectionist and hardworking, yeah, I can be a "dreamer" (or like you want to call it), but I'm very hard on myself, and I work A LOT. I hate feeling useless, incompetent, or depend on others. (2)

The same happens with 2w1. I focus on humanity and I would love to change things, but I'm not very emotional, overbearing, and I help on a very subtle way, (since I'm very introverted, and I respect others boundaries a lot). I'm also not clingy. I'm very very independent and reserved, but caring and helpful too. Yeah, maybe it's a contradiction, but it's balanced. (3)

I've read about fears and I relate to 5s, 2s, 9s, and even 1s. All of them. I don't want to feel unloved, depend on others, and I don't want to be seen as bad, idiot, or imperfect. What could be my core or tritype? Thank you so much. (4)

----

Hi anon,

Without knowing anything outside of the context that you have already typed, I can’t provide anything other than a refutation or validation of the points you’ve made. I cover that issue in the second half of this post.

For all of the descriptions: you or anyone else will not, by dint of being an actual human being who has complex motivations and free will, ever fit a description 100%. Descriptions in personality theory are probabilities. They are vague concepts that cover the shared broad traits of literally hundreds of millions of people and so the concept of an enneagram 2 is an all or nothing deal, but a real live person whose enneagram core is 2 will not act per enneagram 2 principles every single time.

A possible way to consider this is by thinking of type as a unisex t-shirt. If you lay out an empty t-shirt flat it looks like a rectangle with two smaller rectangles sticking out. It’s fairly universal in shape. This is the idea of ‘enneagram 2′

Now consider a person putting on the t-shirt. It’s not going to look the same because people are not a flat rectangle with two smaller rectangles sticking out. It fits, but the shape has changed. It possesses depth, which it didn’t have before as a t-shirt without a person inside it, and the same t-shirt will look different on different people.

----

Having said that, your concerns about a 5 core are less applicable because an actual human person who is a 5 can still care about people. That said a core 5 does value emotional detachment so if this is not a state you prioritize - if you never detach from a situation - it’s probably not your core.

For 9s, a 9 is almost always going to avoid conflict. Almost, because again, they are people and not robots. But if you don’t primarily avoid conflict, you are not a core 9.

For 2: A 2 is interested in the specifics of helping. They may also have a motivation to improve humanity, but their fear is that they are unworthy of love and so they want to please individual real people, not the abstract concept of ‘humanity.’

For all of these: focus more on your fears - the basis of enneagram - in addition to behaviors.

[study4careerglobal]

Most common Interview Questions 

Question 1: Tell Me About Yourself

Why they ask? 

Colleges are asking you to do this because they really do want to know more about you. That's one of the primary purposes of the interview

Required Answer 

You need to put forth portrait of who you if you are to separate yourself from other applicants. Avoid clichés or descriptions that would be too common. For example, don't just say you're hardworking—explain what has driven you to become as diligent as you are and why you feel it is important.

How to prepare

Rehearse answering this question. Try talking about your passions, hobbies, and interests. You can discuss what inspires you or what your friends like about you. Be specific. Again, you want to make yourself memorable.

Question 2: Why you selected this college?

Why they're asking this: This is an important question and one you should definitely prepare for, since colleges want to see that you're taking the application process seriously and have a legitimate interest in attending the school.

What they're looking for: Talk about your interest in a major or academic program, the cultural values of the college, or extracurricular activities that drew you to the college. Again, be thorough and specific. Don't talk about prestige or rankings, and don't say you just want to go there because it's close to home; none of this shows genuine interest in this specific college!

How to prepare: To answer this question well, you'll need to conduct extensive college research before the interview. You should be able to cite specifics when answering this question. Follow the same advice as if you were writing the answer to this question for your application essay.

Question 3: Why Do You Want to Major in _____?

If you've indicated that you want to major in a certain subject, you might be asked why you're interested in that particular field.

Why they're asking this: Colleges are interested in your academic goals and want to see that you're academically inclined.

What they're looking for: Talk about why a certain subject inspires you or why you're passionate about it. Don't say that you're pursuing a certain major to make a lot of money or have job security. That doesn't demonstrate genuine academic interest; it just makes you seem shallow.

How to prepare: Think deeply about why you want to pursue a specific major. Why do you find it fascinating? What experiences provoked your interest in the subject? How will the major enable you to reach your future professional goals?

Question 4: What Are Your Academic Strengths?

Why they're asking this: In an effort to get to know you as a student, colleges are interested in getting your perspective on where you excel academically.

What they're looking for: Don't make this answer too short. Don't just say, "I'm good at science." When discussing your academic strengths, explain how you've capitalized on your strengths. If you're an excellent writer, for example, how have you used your writing skills to excel in school? How do you plan on continuing to use your strengths?

How to prepare: Make sure you know your academic strengths. You should be able to explain how you recognized your strengths, how you're currently using them, and how you plan to use them in the future.

Question 5: What Are Your Academic Weaknesses? How Have You Addressed Them?

Why they're asking this: Colleges want to admit good students, but they're aware everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Colleges want to see that you have the persistence and work ethic to succeed despite your challenges.

What they're looking for: Schools want students who can demonstrate their ability to confront and overcome challenges. Try revealing strategies or specific approaches you've taken to improve your academic weaknesses. You could also tell a specific story about how you managed to do well in a subject that was especially difficult for you.

How to prepare: Be aware of your academic weaknesses and how you've addressed them. It's not good to say that you don't have any weaknesses. That's not very believable, and you'll come off as arrogant.

Question 6: What Do You Plan to Contribute to This School?

Why they're asking this: Colleges want to admit students who will make positive contributions to campus and academic life. Essentially, they're looking for students who will make the school better.

What they're looking for: In short, specifics. Don't limit your answer to vague positive traits. Don't just say you'll contribute a good work ethic and a regard for others. Is there specific research you wish to pursue? Do you want to have a leadership position in an extracurricular activity? Are there specific community service projects you want to do? How will your presence on campus and in the classroom make a difference?

How to prepare: Know the specific contributions you want to make to the school. Identify your college goals as well as the activities you want to pursue while you're in college

Question 7: What Do You Expect to Be Doing 10 Years From Now?

Why they're asking this: Just to set the record straight, you don't need to have your entire future figured out. Colleges understand that you probably won't have everything decided and your plans are likely to change. What they do want is students with direction.

What they're looking for: Colleges want students who are motivated to achieve their goals. The bad, general answer is to only say you expect to have a fulfilling career and be making a positive impact on the world. What are some specific activities you'd like to do? How do you plan on impacting the world? You don't have to limit your plans to professional goals. Do you want to take your mom on a vacation? Or have weekly gatherings with your best friends from high school?

How to prepare: You can write down some detailed notes answering this question. Paint a picture of the life you want to have in 10 years. That picture should reveal your uniqueness.

Question 8: What Would You Change About Your High School?

Why they're asking this: With this question, colleges are looking for your ability to identify problems and get a better understanding of what you're looking for in a school. By learning what you'd change, they get a chance to learn more about what matters to you.

What they're looking for: Colleges want a thoughtful response. Be specific and respectful. Don't say, "I'd get better teachers." Say that you'd allocate more resources to the music department so that more students can have the opportunity to learn how to play new instruments. Discuss how learning an instrument helped you, and describe the current state of the music department. Try to make it clear that you want to improve your school to benefit the personal and academic growth of all of its students.

How to prepare: Think about the strengths and weaknesses of your high school. What are some specific problems it has? What are the consequences of those problems? What steps would you take to make improvements?

 

Question 9: Whom Do You Most Admire?

Why they're asking this: From this question, colleges can get a sense of your values. If the person you most admire is Justin Bieber, for example, colleges might wonder about your priorities.

What they're looking for: Don't limit your answer just to naming the person. Why do you admire that person? For instance, many people say that the person they most admire is a parent. But what specifically has that parent done that you admire so much? In short, don't forget the details.

How to prepare: Think deeply about your response to this question. If the person you admire is somebody you know, practice by giving your answer to that person. You'll know you've answered the question well if you're rewarded with a hug or even a few tears from your audience. 

Question 10: What Is Your Favorite Book?

Why they're asking this: This question is designed to help schools learn more about your interests. Colleges also probably want to make sure that you actually read books.

What they're looking for: Don't limit your answer to the name of a book; think about why you like the book so much. How did it inspire you? Did a particular character resonate with you? Did you learn something from this book that influenced your opinions or behavior? Did this book help shape your perspective or values?

How to prepare: Really think about books you've read that you connected with and why. I've also seen similar questions asking about a news article you recently read, so try to stay up to date with the news, too!

Question 11: Why Do You Want to Go to College?

Why they're asking this: For this question, schools are trying to understand why you're motivated to pursue higher education.

What they're looking for: Colleges want to see you have clear goals you're trying to accomplish by attending college. Obviously, they don't want to hear that you want to go to college because your parents are making you or so you can attend wild parties. In your answer, emphasize how college will allow you to pursue your passions, aid in your personal development, and enable you to fulfill your future goals. Be specific. What are your passions and goals? How will college give you an opportunity to pursue these passions? What college activities will increase your awareness and facilitate your intellectual and emotional growth?

How to prepare: For ideas, check out the pros in my article about if you should go to college.

Question 12: What Do You Like to Do for Fun?

Why they're asking this: This question is designed to get a better sense of your general interests and overall personality.

What they're looking for: Your answer doesn't only have to include activities that are academic. After all, you probably wouldn't be believed if you said all you do for fun is read science textbooks and do math problems. If some of what you do for fun is intellectual, though, explain why you find these activities fun. Finally, try to avoid general answers such as "hang out with friends."

How to prepare: You shouldn't have to prepare much for this question since I assume you already know what you like to do for fun. However, spend some time thinking about why you enjoy these activities.

Question 13: What Is an Obstacle You've Faced and How Did You Get Through It?

Why they're asking this: Colleges want to know if you've faced (and overcome) any significant challenges in your life. They also want to see that you're persistent and willing to work hard in order to overcome these obstacles.

What they're looking for: It's fine if you haven't had some awful, incredibly difficult obstacle in your life. Think of a time when you faced a problem that challenged you, and you put in a lot of effort to solve it. Your obstacle could be related to your home life, school, or an extracurricular activity. In your response, explain how the obstacle challenged you and emphasize what exactly you did to overcome it.

How to prepare: Think of a significant challenge you've had in your life and how you dealt with it. What did you learn from the problem? How did you solve it? Did it change or influence the way you address similar problems?

 

Question 14: What Makes You Unique?

Why they're asking this: This question is essentially what all the other questions above are meant to determine. It's another general question that's often difficult to answer. We are all unique, but it can be hard to put into words exactly what separates you from other people.

What they're looking for: Schools ask this question because they want to get to know you better. You can discuss a trait or multiple traits you possess. Give examples and stories that demonstrate these qualities. Do you have any uncommon interests or goals? Is your background very unique?

How to prepare: I recommend doing some serious brainstorming to address this question. Write out specific attributes and anecdotes you can share that demonstrate your uniqueness. When do you feel most comfortable? What makes you the proudest?