#okay I’ll integrate that into my belief system

[womaninwinter]

😭😭😭

not brainworms as in it’s eating me, brainworms as in it’s aerating and enriching the soil of my mind

[sailforvalinor]

I give Philby a hard time for not believing in Jess’s prophetic abilities after everything he’s seen, but I do have to get him credit for, after the first indication that it might in fact be real, silently going “hmm. Okay. Yeah. Prophetic visions. Guess I’ll integrate that into my belief system” and never bringing up its lack of scientific precedent again. Like do you KNOW how hard that must have been for that boy.

[romulussy]

it’s like okay i trust that things were cut to make the episodes as good as they can be but also jesse jesseeeeeeee look at me. release the deleted scenes. let us see the armstrong cut. i’ll be good i swear i won’t even integrate it into my belief system (<- lying)

[georgethebarbarian]

The afterlife varies depending on whose in charge at time time and its almost always at war over power

Okay bestie sure I’ll integrate that into my belief system

[silverforestry]

huh.

this guy. this guy right here

did you know that this character from pucca may have been based off a mii, according to his character page

[therealvinelle]

I've always wondered this, but what do you think the Cullen's political viewpoints would be, given their individual backgrounds? if vampires don't change after they turn, then surely they would all be extremely racist (especially Jasper). would this not come up at some point? they aren't like the Volturi because the Volturi are too old to care, but the Cullens are young enough that they have been brought up with opinions on stuff like sexism, racism, homophobia and the like.

Oh fuck.

You get an early answer because otherwise I'll just chicken out and delete this one, pretend I never saw it.

UMMM.

Since I'm guessing you meant American political viewpoints, we need a disclaimer. I am not American, and not too knowledgeable about your politics. Not just in the sense that I don't follow the day-to-day drama, but as I am not an American citizen there are several things I don't know, can't know because I've never lived in your country and therefore can't know what the effects of living in a country ruled by American policies is like. What I do know is based off of the news in the foreign section, social media (by which I mean tumblr posts), and Trevor Noah's Daily Show.

I am an outsider looking in.

Which is really rather appropriate, since the Cullens are too.

The Cullens go to high school and college, Carlisle works, they pay taxes, they own real estate, and submerge themselves in American culture. Esme, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, and Bella are young enough that this is in many ways their world, and apart from timeouts they've more or less spent their entire lives, human and vampire, integrated into American society.

Not fully integrated, mind you, they do what they need to to fit in and get to school or, in Carlisle’s case, to work. They go no further. No extra-curriculars for the kids, no book clubs for Esme, no game nights for Carlisle. They walk parallel to humans, not among us.

In addition to this they're obscenely rich, which puts them another thousand miles from the experiences of your average American. They won't deal with the health system, which means healthcare is a non-issue, they're not going to need welfare or other social programs, unemployment is another non-issue. Name your issue, and the Cullens don't have personal stake in it. Even the climate crisis won't be a problem for them the way it will for us.

What I'm trying to say is, American political issues are a concept to them, not a lived reality. Just like they are for me. So hey, you made a great choice of blog to ask.

I'll also add here that you say the Volturi are too old to care, and I agree- from an ancient's point of view, racism is a matter of "which ethnicity are we hating today?", and it all looks rather arbitrary after a while. Same with every other issue - after a while it all just blends together into "what are the humans fighting over today? Which Christian denomination is the correct one? Huh. Good for them, I guess."

I can't put it any better than this post did, really. The Volturi are real people, humans are nerds and tumblr having Loki discourse. Aro thinks it's delightful and knows entirely too much about Watergate (and let's be real, Loki discourse as well), but the point I wanted to get at is that politics really don't matter to vampires.

And I don't think they matter to the Cullens either.

So, moving on to the next point while regretting I didn't put headlines in this post, I'll just state that I don't think vampires' minds are frozen. Their brains are unable to develop further, and they can never forget anything, but... well, this isn't the post for that, but in order for this to be true of vampires they would barely be sentient. They would not be able to process new impressions, to learn new things, nor to have an independent thought process. Yes, we see vampires in-universe (namely, Edward, who romanticizes himself and vampires) believe they're frozen and can never change, but there is no indication that this is a widespread belief, or even true. Quite the contrary - Carlisle went from a preacher's son who wanted to burn all the demons to living in Demon Capital for decades and then becoming a doctor and making a whole family of demons. Clearly, the guy has had a change in attitude over the years. Jasper, in his years as a newborn army general, slowly grew disenchanted with his life and developed depression. James initially meant to kill Victoria and hunted her across the earth, then became fascinated and changed his mind about it.

Had these people been incapable of change, Carlisle would still be hating demons, Jasper would be in Maria's army, and James would still be hunting Victoria.

It goes to follow, then, that they are able to adapt to new things.

The question is, would they?

Here I finally answer your question.

So, we have these people who don't really have any kind of stake in politics, who keep up to date all the same (or are forcibly kept up to date because high school) and are generally opinionated people.

Where do they then fall, politically?

(And this is where you might want to stop reading, anon, because I'm about to eviscerate these people.)

Alice votes for whoever's gonna win. She also makes a fortune off of betting each election. Trump's 1 to 10 victory in 2016 was a great day to be Alice. MAGA!

The actual policies involved are completely irrelevant, she does this because it's fun. Election means she gets to throw parties. Color coded parties for the Republican and Democratic primaries, and US-themed parties for Election Night! (Foreigner moment right here: I at first wrote "Election wake" before realizing that's not what y'all murricans call it.)

Alice loves politics. Doesn't know the issues, but she sure loves politics.

Bella votes Democrat. She actually knows about the issues, and cares about them. This girl is a Democrat through and through.

Carlisle doesn't vote. I can't imagine it feels right. Outside of faked papers he's not a US citizen, this is meddling in human affairs that he knows don't concern him.

More, this guy has never lived in a democracy.

In life, Carlisle lived under an absolute monarchy that, upon civil war, became an absolute theocracy. From there he learned that vampires live under a total dictatorship.

For the first 150 years of his life, democracy was that funky thing the Athenians did in history books thousands of years ago, no more relevant to him than the Ancient Egyptian monarchy is to me. Then the Americans, and later other European countries started doing this.

Good for them.

There's this mistake often made by those who view history from a... for lack of a better term, a solipsistic standpoint. A belief that the present day is the culmination of all of history. “My society is the best society, the most reasonable society; all the others had it backwards. Thank god we’re living in this enlightened age!”

The faith in our current system of government is one such belief. We (pardon me if this doesn’t apply to everybody reading this post) have grown up in democracies, being told this is the ultimate form of rule, and perhaps that is true - but remember the kings who have told their subjects they had were divine and the best possible ruler based on that. Remember also that most modern democracies haven’t actually been democracies for very long at all, America is the longest standing at some 230 years (not long at all in the grand scope of things) and they have a fracturing two-party system to show for it.

Every society, ever, has been told they’re the greatest, and their system of government the most just. Democracy is only the latest hit.

This is relevant to Carlisle because he’s immortal and decidedly not modern. Democracy has not been installed in him the way it was the rest of the Cullens, Jasper included. To him- well, it’s just not his world. He has no stakes in our human politics, and as he is older than every current democracy and has seen quite a few of them fall, he’s not going to internalize the democratic form of rule the way a modern human has.

I think the concept of voting is foreign to him.

It requires a level of participation in human society that he’s simply not at. He does the bare minimum to appear human so he do the work he loves, but nothing more, and I find that telling.

As it is I think he'd be iffy about his family doing it. He won’t stop them, but in voting they’re... well it’s kind of cheating. They’re not really citizens, none of this will affect them, and by voting they’re drowning out the votes of real human voters. He does not approve.

Edward votes Democrat. He's... well he’s the kind of guy who will oil a girl’s bedroom window so he can more easily watch her sleep without being discovered, justifying it to himself as being okay because if she were to tell him to get lost he’d stop immediately. Same guy is so sure that he’d leave and never return again if she wanted him to, except this is the man who returned to Forks to hang around his singer, knowing there was a significant chance he might kill her. To say nothing of his Madonna/Whore complex, or of the fact that he tried to pimp out his wife twice, and was willing to forcibly abort her child.

This guy is very much in love with chivalry, with being an enlightened and feminist man who supports and respects women, while not understanding the entire point of feminism, which is female liberation.

He votes Democrat because he’s such an enlightened feminist who cares about women’s rights.

Emmett doesn’t care to vote, but if he has to he votes Republican. The guy is from the 1930′s, and has major would-be-the-uncle-who-cracks-racist-jokes-if-he-was-older vibes.

Esme doesn’t vote, that would require getting out of the house.

More, I just... can’t see it. I can’t see her being one to read up on politics and The Issues, period, but if she has to then I doubt she’d be able to decide.

Jasper doesn’t vote. Alice can have her fun, he does not care.

There’s also the whole can of worms regarding the last time he went to bat for American politics.

I imagine he stays out of this.

Renesmée doesn't vote. She has no stock in the human affairs. Who would she vote for, on what grounds? When Bella tries to pull her to the urns, she points out that she's three years old.

Rosalie, guys, I’m sorry, but that girl is definitely gonna vote Republican. Perhaps not right now as it’s become the Trump party of insanity, but the Mitt Romney type of Republicans? Oh yes.

And for the record, yes I imagine she does vote. To step back from politics would be another way she was relinquishing her humanity, and that’s not allowed to happen. So, yes, she goes to the urns, less for the sake of the politics involved and more because like this, she’s still a part of society in some way.

Now, onto why I think she’s Republican, I think it’s both fiscal and social.

This girl was the daughter of a banker who somehow profited off of the Depression, and who then became part of a family with no material needs that would soon become billionaires thanks to Alice. Poverty to Rosalie is a non-issue, as it is I imagine she views it as a much lesser issue than what she’s had to deal with. The humans can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, Rosalie’s infertility is forever.

Rosalie’s empathy is strongest when she’s able to project onto others, and she won’t be able to project onto the less fortunate at all.

Then there’s the fact that the Republican party is all about traditional family values, and pro-life.

Rosalie, a woman from the 1930′s who idolizes her human life and who‘d love nothing more than to get to live out this fantasy, is down for that. And as of Breaking Dawn she’s vocally pro-life, so there’s that.

This all being said I don’t think Rosalie cares to sit down and fully understand these politics she’s voting for, the possible impact they’ll have- that’s not important. What’s important is what voting does for her.

TL;DR: I bet anon regrets asking.

[panharmonium]

the other thing that i keep thinking about, especially now that i’ve been knee-deep in conversation about kakashi’s father for the last couple days, is the amount of politically/socially-charged context kakashi must be constantly navigating as a leaf shinobi, even though we don’t get to see much of it.  

the transformation of the hidden leaf village is obviously still a work in progress, and society never changes overnight.  we’ve heard at various points in shippuden about the still-present divide between hardliners like danzo and the (somewhat) more moderate senju line, and it’s clear that there are still plenty of reactionary/conservative forces at work in the shinobi world, which means there are absolutely still segments of the population who would view the kind of challenge that kakashi and his students pose to traditional shinobi values as a threat.  and back when kakashi first chose to reaffirm his father’s principles, i’m sure it was much worse - the way minato tells it, the entire village and the land of fire turned on sakumo, and it’s not like all those people just disappeared when kakashi finally allowed himself to recognize that all of them were doing something wrong.  they were still there.  they were his neighbors.  they were his colleagues.  he had to live with them.  he had to work with them - he had to work FOR them, even.  to this day, he still does.

like.  i am FASCINATED by the complexities of this situation, even though we barely see any of it.  just...thinking about thirteen year-old kakashi being a member of the Jonin Assembly alongside all of these grown adults who persecuted his father until the “great man who everyone looked up to” couldn’t survive it any longer.  thinking about teenage kakashi lost and “waiting to die” in the anbu black ops, but still breaking every rule to rescue little tenzo from a hardline conservative who tried to have kakashi assassinated.  thinking about adult kakashi, still a member of that same Jonin Assembly, still working alongside people he can clearly remember harassing and attacking his father for saving their lives, being asked to serve as a clandestine hokage under danzo’s nose, because foreign nations trust kakashi where they don’t trust the actual nominee, and then being nominated for real when danzo turns up dead (and having his nomination approved, i might add, by the land of fire, whose government officially blamed kakashi’s father for the damage that resulted from that abandoned mission years before).

we only get hints about the lingering controversy surrounding kakashi and his family via danzo and, occasionally, the village elders, but like.  kakashi occupies such a complex place in the hidden leaf village, because he’s become incredibly respected and renowned by many (if not most) of its residents, but he also spends every day of his life moving within a community where many (if not most) of the older people around him participated in a campaign of vicious harassment against his father, one that ultimately led to his death.  some of them may have had changes of heart after sakumo’s suicide - that seems like the kind of thing that might have shocked some people into reevaluating their positions, particularly given how respected sakumo was prior to that time - and some of them probably died later in the war, but we know there’s still a conservative faction active in the hidden leaf village, and some of those people are always going to be who they are.  and even the people who aren’t - even the ones who regret how they acted - it’s still so complicated!  how do you continue to live and work in that environment?  how do you navigate a history of being harmed in that way, when you still have to collaborate with and/or serve the same people who did the harming, some of whom likely view you with the exact same disdain they had for your father?

kakashi manages it, somehow, though i’ll bet he has complicated feelings about it, even if he keeps them to himself.  and that’s yet another reason why (if i can just take these thoughts on a slight detour to the present) i think kakashi’s relationship with sasuke is so vitally important, especially moving forward.  sasuke’s family was wronged by the village too, in horrific, unforgivable ways - the shinobi system swallowed itachi whole and sacrificed the entire uchiha clan on the altar of a mission, in exactly the kind of evil, inhuman decision-making process that sakumo and obito and kakashi said could never be justified.  the uchiha were victims of the same shinobi system that drove kakashi’s father to his death - the one that said “everything is acceptable as long as the task at hand is accomplished.  people are disposable in service to a mission.”  both sasuke and kakashi’s families fell to a cultural context that refused to acknowledge that it is never okay to sacrifice your comrades for a mission, a cultural context that embraced this belief to the point where even literal genocide became excusable.

if sasuke is ever going to really and truly Come Home, he’s going to need to learn how to navigate this situation.  not to excuse the wrong that was done, and certainly not to give up on getting justice for himself and his clan, but also to figure out, in conjunction with these important tasks, how to continue existing in an environment where so much officially-sanctioned harm was done to his person, and where so many people around him have at least a little bit of history of being suspicious of or uncharitable towards the uchiha clan, even though they obviously didn’t know about the impending coup or danzo’s extermination order.  

it’s an incredibly complicated situation, and even if kakashi doesn’t have all the answers, he can at least understand what it feels like to be in that kind of position.  he’s been navigating something like this for many, many years.  he’s the precedent, someone who can help sasuke wrestle with the perhaps unanswerable questions of how am i supposed to dedicate myself to a place that wronged me like this?  why should i protect people who hurt me so badly?  is there even a way for me to move forward here, if i can’t forgive the ones who took my family away from me?  can this actually be my home again, when i know what it did to my people?

kakashi has obviously managed to come up with answers to these questions that enable him to stay integrated in his community and keep building a future he believes in, though I doubt any of his answers are simple, and i’m sure there are some things that he’s just had to accept will never be fully settled in his heart.  it’s like what he says to obito in an episode i watched recently: “i don’t know anything for sure, either...i’ve thought that this world is hell, too...but...”  it’s the but that matters.  even in the face of confusion and complexity, kakashi has found a way to keep moving.  he’s learned to co-exist with the uncertainty and discomfort surrounding him, and to make his own meaning out of this life, regardless of how complicated his internal relationship with the village might be.  he’s found a way to keep his eyes trained on the light, whatever that light might look like for him, and even if said light is only, as gaara says, “the faintest glimmer.”  he has so much to teach someone like sasuke, who up until recently was responding to that same plea of gaara’s with a fatalistic “i shut my eyes a long time ago.  the things i seek now lie only in the darkness.” 

anyway.  i am just having Many Thoughts currently about the intricacies of the political and social context that kakashi is always navigating, even though he never says a word about it.  and i’m curious whether this family history will ever come up again in the last fifth of this show.  if i were going on instinct alone, i’d suspect that we weren’t quite done with sakumo yet - i feel like we barely even started with him, to be honest (and also - whatever happened to kakashi’s mother???) - but i should know better at this point than to try and predict what this show is going to do, so i’ll just wait and see.

[ask-aurachnid]

Spider-Verse: Part I

Word Count: 2883 Warnings: N/A

Something weird is happening, which is interesting, because Frankie’s bar for what qualifies as weird is incredibly high. From radioactive spiders to animal themed villains, to half the universe turning to dust and temporal anomalies opening across the city, Frankie wouldn’t say they’ve seen it all, but they’ve definitely come close. Still, when a glowing portal opens on the ceiling of their apartment just minutes after their return from an exhausting fight with Green Goblin, it still manages to surprise them.

The gravity it creates is intense, and no amount of webbing shot at the floors and walls can stop it from pulling them in. They barely even manage to pull their mask back over their head before the portal closes, stealing their room from view. 

The feeling of being sucked through a portal is the most bizarre sensation Frankie has ever experienced. It’s like touching a live wire with the way their spider-sense screams. Their body contorts through space time like candy on a pulling machine. They can’t help but yell the whole way, their voice contorting along with their flesh and bones until their journey ends. 

Aurachnid flies, screaming, out of the portal too fast to do anything except slam, face first, into a massive LED billboard before falling to the ground. Ow. 

They take a moment to get air back in their lungs before they begin the process of pulling their bruised body off the cement. All the while, New Yorkers edge around them without sparing a glance. Typical. Once they’re finally upright, Frankie pauses to take in their surroundings. It looks like Times Square, but it feels like something is wrong with their eyes. There has to be. The colors are too saturated, the texture of everything is all wrong, and it gives the appearance of a lagging frame rate. Is that storefront colored with Ben Day dots as a paint job, or did I land inside a comic book?

“JUDOS, where am I?” Frankie asks. 

“Error: JUDOS Offline.”

Before they can get any more confused, a voice speaks from somewhere above them, far too young to be any deity Frankie knows of. 

“Apparently Peni’s formula wasn’t as exact as she thought.” 

Aurachnid looks up to see… Spider-Man? He doesn’t look quite like the Spider-Man Frankie used to know. His suit is mostly black but with red accents and a logo that look spray painted. Not to mention, he looks… cartoonish. His mask lenses are comically large and, instead of telescoping, the edges seem to shift with his expression. His proportions are fine at a glance, but as Frankie continues to look at him, they notice how his head seems a little large, and his wrist and ankles dramatically small. The strange frame rate also seems to apply to his movements as he hops down to stand in front of Frankie. 

As he touches down, Frankie’s spider-sense crawls up their spine and reverberates like mic feedback through their jaw. It’s only done that once before, when Frankie met Peter for the first time. 

“What’s wrong with my eyes?” Gods only know why that is the first thing out of their mouth. “Where am I? Why do you look like Spider-Man but weird?”

Spider-Man(?) laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. “This is probably a bit of a shock, but you’re in another dimension. Some universes have different appearances and physics than others. And I am Spider-Man, at least, the Spider-Man of this dimension. Nice to meet you.”

Another dimension? 

Aurachnid.exe has stopped responding. Restart? Y/N

“Yeah, I’ll integrate that into my belief system. They call me Aurachnid,” Frankie says, holding out a hand to shake. 

Spider-Man shakes their hand, tilting his head in a way that makes Frankie think that he might be younger than them. “Just Arachnid? No hyphenation? You would not believe how particular some spiders are about that.”

Frankie sighs, “No, not Arachnid. Aurachnid. With an A-U-R like ‘aura?’” 

Spider-Man looks confused.

“Never mind. Okay, so I’m in another dimension. How do I get back?”

“That… is a good question,” he says. “You aren’t who I was expecting to come through the portal.”

“That’s comforting,” Frankie deadpans. 

“I need to contact a friend. Hopefully, she should be able to send you back to where you belong.”

“Then lead the way, Spidey.”

That’s how Aurachnid ends up following a strange Spider-Man out of Manhattan and into Queens. Is it the smartest move? Probably not, but it’s not like Frankie has any other way to get home. So, following the weird, cartoon Spider-Man it is. 

⦰⦰

It becomes obvious to Frankie as they follow Spider-Man, that he probably hasn't been at this very long. At the very least, he doesn't have any sort of tricking background. His web slinging technique is stiff, and, once they get out of the Manhattan skyscrapers into the low brownstones of Queens, he loses a lot of forward momentum. Frankie, on the other hand, has no issue springing from one streetlamp to another, even without the aid of their webbing. 

Eventually, the both of them come to an unassuming house, if not for the incredible amount of red and blue Spider-Man memorabilia piled on the front steps. The black-clad Spider-Man knocks politely on the door before swinging it open. 

"Hey Mrs. Parker!" he calls out, stepping inside with familiarity despite him greeting the owner with an honorific. 

Honestly, Frankie had been wondering if his secret identity was someone they knew, but if “Mrs. Parker” is actually May Parker, then they can safely say that this spider is not Peter Parker. 

At the sound of her name, Mrs. Parker walks out of the kitchen, into the living room where Spider-Man and Aurachnid are standing, drying her hands with a floral dish towel. She’s a fair bit older than the May Parker that Frankie knew, but she has a kind face, and she smiles at Spider-Man before raising an eyebrow at the strange spider behind him.

“Hey, kiddo. I was going to ask you how school was, but it seems there’s something more important going on. Who’s this?”

Spider-Man’s mask makes a surprised expression as he turns to gesture at them. “This is Arachnid-with-an-A-U-R. We accidentally brought them to this dimension, so we were heading down to the lair to use the computer. I just wanted to say hi, first.”

Under the mask, Frankie rolls their eyes at the way Spider-Man introduces them. "It's a portmanteau. Arachnid and Aura. Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," they say, reaching out to shake her hand.

"And so polite. You should keep this one around, kiddo," Mrs. Parker jokes with the boy. "Head on down to the lair. I'll bring down some cookies if you're both still around when they're done, but you should get Aurachnid home before they start glitching." 

"Before I start what?" Frankie asks, but Spider-Man starts pulling them out the back door instead of giving an answer. 

In the backyard is a small shed. If this is what Spider-Man meant by "lair," then Frankie is going to be so disappointed. 

Spider-Man grabs a key from somewhere and sticks it in the padlock hanging from the door. At which point, the backyard is flooded with red light as a giant spider logo appears on the door, and instead of swinging outwards, the doors retract into the walls revealing an empty chrome room the appropriate size for an simple shed. 

Spider-Man steps into the room and turns around to look back at Frankie, still standing in the grass. Frankie recognizes the body language from years of living in a city full of tall buildings. Their dads' apartment building has one and their current building has one (though they usually take the fire escape). Frankie knows an elevator when they see one. 

No fucking way. 

"There's no way Queens is zoned for this," Frankie comments, stepping inside. 

Spider-Man just laughs as the doors slide shut and the floor starts to descend. Just the floor.

"Oh, this is definitely an OSHA violation."

There's not even a railing, as the elevator descends out of the short shaft and into an impossibly open space. When Spider-Man said ‘lair’ he meant it. The space is at least three stories tall, with huge, raised platforms, and things suspended from the ceiling by web-like cabling. There’s a god damned Jeep, of all things, and a row of glass cases housing more than a dozen variant spider-suits. Almost everything in the space adheres to the red-blue color scheme, which is a little strange, since this Spider-Man is wearing black and red.

“Dude! What in Hades even is this place? I have two suits that I keep in a bin under my bed, and I can’t even drive, let alone afford a spider-mobile,” Frankie gapes. When they look back at Spider-Man, he’s taken off his mask. Underneath is a young, dark-skinned boy with a grin on his face, but his expression goes solemn before he responds. 

“It’s not actually mine. It all belonged to the previous Spider-Man, Peter Parker. He was killed about eight months ago. Kingpin was using a particle accelerator to try and bring back his wife and kid, but instead Goblin messed it up and brought a trapped of spider-people here. One of them was the one who was supposed to come through the portal, but instead we got you,” he explains with a shrug. “I’m Miles, by the way. Miles Morales.”

Figuring they’re definitely safe from prying eyes, Frankie takes off their own mask, shaking out their hair. “Nice to meet you, Miles. My name’s Frankie Stevens. Trust me, I know a thing or two about dead Peter Parkers.”

Miles raises an eyebrow. “Really?”

Frankie nods. “Yeah. It’s been about a year and a half for me. There was this… alien, I guess? He got his hands on a few artifacts from the creation of the universe, which when combined, allowed him to turn half of all sentient life into dust. He killed trillions, including Peter, May, and both of my dads. I had to get myself emancipated so I could stay in New York.”

“I’m sorry, that must have sucked.”

Frankie shrugs, “Yeah, but what can you do?”

The elevator comes to rest at the end of a narrow walkway connected to the biggest platform in the lair. On one side is the row of glass cases housing what Frankie now realizes are the late Spider-Man’s suits, and on the other side, is the weirdest computer that Frankie has ever seen. Actually, there’s no computer that Frankie can see, but there’s a huge swivel chair, a large array of keyboards and input devices, and a ridiculous monitor array. There’s roughly eight of them, which is already too many, each roughly the size of a standard flat-screen TV, but it’s hard to say, since most of them aren’t even squares. In fact, the central monitor is a hexagon, surrounded by smaller triangle and trapezoid monitors. It makes the engineer in Frankie want to tear their hair out. 

Miles, however, acts like it’s completely normal, pushing the chair aside so he can stand over the keyboard. The screens come to life, and Miles clicks a few things until a girl’s face takes up most of the screen. 

“Hey Peni!” Miles greets. “How are things on your end?”

Peni somehow looks even more bizarre than the weird visuals of this universe, with her impossibly large eyes and exaggerated proportions giving her the appearance of an anime character. She smiles when she sees Miles, but her expression quickly sours into a pout. 

“The good news is that neither of our realities are collapsing,” she answers. “But the device didn’t work at all. So now I’m practically starting from scratch.”

“Well, I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Miles says, grabbing Frankie’s arm and pulling them in front of the monitors, presumably putting them in view of the camera. 

Frankie waves, awkwardly.

“This is Frankie, they came through the portal instead. So, I’d say you’re on the right track.”

Peni blinks in surprise a few times, before her eyes shift to focus on something else. She blows up a wad of bubble gum while she squints at whatever she’s studying. “Wait, I picked up an entirely different person? How did that happen?”

“I would also like to know that. Also, Mrs. Parker mentioned ‘glitching.’ Is that something I should be concerned about?”

“Hopefully not. Glitching is a specific form of cellular decay that affects people who travel outside of their own dimension,” Peni answers. “The formula I used which landed you where you are was supposed to fix that issue. Since glitching is caused when different realities’ atoms interact inside a single object or organism, making sure your atoms don’t change should be the key to preventing glitching. So, since you don’t have the same visual style of Miles, I think that part probably worked like it was supposed to. Though it might have been more complicated if you were from a dimension with different physics or one with a different number of dimensions.”

“Well, at least I have that going for me,” Frankie mutters. 

“Aha!” Peni cheers, seemingly finding something helpful. “I’ve got it! The formula I used for the device was meant to lock onto the strongest signal, in range, from someone with radioactive spider DNA. Since I was standing right next to it, I assumed that it would lock onto me, but according to these readings, I am far from the strongest signal. That honor goes to our new friend Frankie here. The coordinates they originated from were emitting a much stronger signal until after I activated the device. Now your current coordinates are releasing the same strength signal.”

“So, what does that mean?” Miles asks.

“It means that Frankie has the strongest signal by far in the nearby multiverse! With their help, mapping out the nearby web and finding the others would be a sinch! Just a few hours in each universe would be enough for me to get readings and begin deciphering the data within multiversal signatures, instead of just relying on strength. Frankie could act like barium in an x-ray machine, or a really clever signal relay!”

Frankie likes to think that they’re pretty smart. They got into NTSI. They graduated in the 90th percentile of their high school. They reverse engineered a passable version of Peter’s web fluid and they designed a much-improved version of his web-shooters. The point being, Frankie is intelligent, but honestly? They’re only grasping about half of what Peni is saying. 

Why them, specifically? If the multiverse is truly infinite, then there are infinite versions of Frankie. Why do none of them have a signal as strong as the one Frankie is apparently emitting? The whole thing is incredibly baffling.

“So, what do you say?” Miles asks, hopeful.

“I mean, I’m not against it,” Frankie says, “but I’m just curious what that would entail. I’ve got responsibilities in my own reality that I need to stay on top of.”

“You shouldn’t be missing from your own universe for more than a day, probably less. Hopefully, I’d be able to warn you about the portal opening ahead of time, and I’d definitely be able to send you back when I finish my readings. You’d just have to hang out in whatever universe I send you to in the meantime, and tell me what’s there, afterwards.”

“Ah, what the hell,” Frankie shrugs. “Sign me up. I’ll be your multiverse pinball or whatever. ‘Sounds like fun.”

Peni beams at them through the screen. “Ah, arigatōgozaimasu! With your help, we’ll find the others in no time!”

“No problem, I’m always happy to help,” they reply. “So, what now?”

“Well, I got plenty of readings from Mile’s universe last time I was there. Today was just supposed to test if the device worked, which it does. So, you don’t need to stay there any longer. I could send you home now, if you want.”

“Damn, I was kinda hoping to be here for Mrs. Parker’s cookies, but yeah, you should probably send me back. I have a lot of homework to do before fall break.” 

“Understood! Just a couple seconds to calibrate everything…” Peni trails off in concentration. “And here we go!”

Frankie pulls on their mask as an ominous, technicolor portal bubbles into existence a few feet away. Thankfully, this one lacks the extreme gravitational field of the first.

“See you around!” they say, giving a playful salute before letting themself fall backwards into the hole between realities. 

The feeling is just as strange as the first time, indescribable and intense, but surprisingly painless save for the screaming of their spider-sense. Their flesh and bones contort like Silly Putty, as they are pulled back towards their home dimension. And, after a few, incredibly anxious moments, the crisscrossing webs of the multiverse give way to an overcast New York skyline. 

Frankie tumbles, flailing, out of the portal, and there’s no time to right themself before they slam into the rooftop of their apartment building and flip ass over tea kettle. When they finally come to a real stop, they’re covered in bruises, and more than a little sore, but they’re back where they belong.

[theghoststandingbehindyou]

yeah okay i’ll integrate that into my belief system

had a dream that the cool new trend was to drink water but only while standing in doorways because that made the water “more liminal” which was a good thing for unclear reasons

[starry-sky-stuff]

Sorting the Grisha Trilogy

For this sorting I’ll be using the superb sorting system created by @sortinghatchats. A brief breakdown, there are Primaries, the why, and Secondaries, the how. For a more in depth explanation check out @sortinghatchats or @wisteria-lodge. Here’s a link to a great and succinct explanation. 

Disclaimer: Spoiler warnings apply both for the Grisha Trilogy, the Six of Crows Duology and the Nikolai Duology. 

This turned into a very long post so I cut for length.

Alina Starkov has a very loud Lion Secondary that she increasingly grows into as the series progresses. Alina has literally no chill ever, about anything. She’s always ready to throw down. In Siege & Storm, she’s quite ready to tear the Crown Prince a new one for his suggestion that they lower the draft age. All the while Nikolai watches in exasperation because they very much need to keep the generals and royals on side. But Alina can never be anything other than what she is. he is genuinely disturbed by Nikolai’s ability to switch personas because it is so antithetical to her entire personality. Alina is the same kind of Lion Secondary that Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games is — someone who inspires an army and is ultimately used as a symbol and martyr by others for their own gains.

For her Primary I would also say Lion. Alina has very firm beliefs and they all come from within. She’s also got that lone wolf outlook that Lion Primary’s often struggle with. Repeatedly, she pushes people away and is intent on doing things alone. There’s also elements of the unhealthy Glory Hound Lion Primary, in that, as much as Alina is motivated by doing good, she’s also motivated by gaining power. Greed and power are such integral parts of her storyline. A Snake would claim they were gaining power to protect their loved ones, a Badger just people in general or maybe Ravka as a whole. But Alina gains power so she can defeat the Darkling and save the world. When she kills Mal, as much as it is to save the world, a part of it is also to gain power, for which she pays a price by losing said power. The very core issue in her relationship with Mal is the conflict between a Loyalist and an Idealist. For Mal, his main priority is Alina. For Alina, her priority is defeating the Darkling. 

Loyal and dutiful Mal Oretsev is an incredibly obvious Snake Primary. His entire motivation is centred on Alina. Everything he does is for her. He volunteers to hunt the stag for her, he deserts the army for her, he stays in the capital to protect her even though he hates it. “You’re my flag, you’re my nation” is a very Snake flavoured declaration of love. Mal is not in this fight because he wants to save Ravka or defeat the Darkling. He was completely okay with him and Alina escaping to Novyi Zem at the end of the first book and leaving Ravka to its fate. He commits to the fight when Alina does, and her cause becomes his cause. 

For his secondary, charming, likeable, Mal is a Badger. One of the first things we learn about Mal is that he can fit in anywhere and has no trouble making friends. Although he has a bit of a Lion Secondary Performance, at his core his a team player. He enjoyed the army because it was a community, and he’s at his lowest in the second book because he has no friends and no community. Part of why he’s much healthier in the last book is that he has a community again and a position within that community. In the White Chapel he can train and teach, and once they leave he has his own little team again. He falls into the leader role in the last book, not because he inspires loyalty the way Lion Secondary Alina does, but because he caretakes and looks after people. When they’re underground, and he constantly goes back to check on everybody and talk to them to make sure they keep up, that’s a Badger Secondary looking after his community. It’s probably not at all surprising that Mal has what @the-phoenix-heart has dubbed the love interest sorting. His priority is Alina, and he shows his love by following her and joining her quest, and in the end, sacrificing himself for her. Mal wasn’t going to die to save Ravka. He was sacrificing himself to save Alina. 

Nikolai Lantsov, whose entire motivation in the original trilogy is to gain the throne of Ravka to save Ravka, strikes me as more of a Loyalist than an Idealist. Either he’s a Badger whose community is Ravka, or a Snake who just has a very wide circle. Considering there’s no evidence of him dehumanising people, I would lean towards Snake. We later learn that part of why he wants to fix Ravka is a promise he made to a childhood friend who died in his arms, which strikes me as a very Snake motivation. An Idealist would be more motivated by the cause of helping Ravka, and a Badger would focus on Ravkans being in need of good leadership. I think much of his character arc in Nikolai Duology makes sense through the lens of a Snake Primary moving his priorities, as Ravka as a whole becomes less important and Zoya becomes more important. His primary was very difficult for me to accurately gauge because I think he actively hides it behind his secondary performance. Once we’re in his head, his motivations are very focused on the individuals he cares about. I think he and Zoya also bond over this Snake Primary that was let down by their parents and so transferred their loyalty onto Ravka as a whole. 

Initially, I thought he had a Snake Secondary. After all, Alina’s description of him being similar to a Matryoshka doll, always putting on different personas, is quintessential Snake Secondary. But when you actually look at how Nikolai solves problems, it isn’t with his charm or guile. Yes, he saves Alina by pretending to be Sturmhond, but they get into Ravka because he came up with a flying ship. In the last book, he saves the group because he just happened to have a secret military base he’d developed for a rainy day. In the Nikolai Duology, he literally came up with a plan for someone else to masquerade as him just in case he ever went missing. He solves his problems by pulling out some old tool or plan he’d previously developed on the off chance he’d need it. Total Bird Secondary. Now, Nikolai has a very good Snake Secondary model. It was something he developed in children to deal with his emotionally neglectful parents, by becoming whatever he had to be to get attention. But at his core, he’s an inventor, it’s what he enjoys doing, it’s what he does for fun, and it’s how he solves his problems. 

The Darkling, who views ozatskaya and even other Grisha as beneath him is a Dark Badger Primary. To the Darkling, only the Grisha are human, and even then he still thinks of him and Alina as above other Grisha. When parts of the Second Army turn on him he dehumanises them in turn. There’s an argument for an unhealthy Lion Primary, who believes wholeheartedly that all the terrible things he does are justified and he’s the only one who can save Ravka. But building the Second Army and Little Palace as a place the Grisha could belong seems to me like a Badger Primary looking to build his community. It’s also explains why he can kill all these people and feel no guilt whatsoever because to him they’re not really people. In the Rule of Wolves he even explicitly says that he whilst he values human life in general he does not value human lives specifically. 

The building of the Second Army is proof of his Badger Secondary. A skilled manipulator, he nevertheless uses genuine emotion and pieces of himself in the manipulation that I don’t think a Snake Secondary would find necessary. If you believe he did develop genuine feelings for Alina, then that would probably be a Badger Secondary who fell for his own performance. A Snake Secondary would probably have pretended to want a relationship with Alina without developing any feelings. His primary and secondary work together to explain why he was so affected by the Grisha turning against him. That’s his community, the community he built up from the ground, and when they turn on him he punishes them for their perceived disloyalty. 

Zoya Nazyalensky is a Snake Primary whose circle includes the Second Army and eventually the whole of Ravka. There’s an argument that she’s a Badger Primary who might’ve been a little burned, and she does treat ozatskaya as lesser than Grisha, but I don’t see the evidence of dehumanisation. Her reason for turning against the Darkling is that he killed her aunt, her only family and to her mind the only person who loved her. A Badger Primary might’ve been more motivated by him massacring Novokribirsk as opposed to a particular loss. Also, her feelings of failure are specific to her feeling that she failed her people — failing to stop the Darkling from killing her aunt, failing to protect the Second Army, failing to stop Nina from being captured. Throughout the original trilogy she’s burned. She’s lost her only person and so latches on to what is hers — the Second Army, Ravka, the Little Palace. She protects these things because they’re hers not because of any ideal. In the Nikolai Duology she unburns and opens herself up to admitting more people to her circle (or admitting that they’re actually in her circle and she does care about them). 

Zoya’s secondary was harder for me to pick. She’s definitely an improvisational secondary. We never see her making plans or being worried about being prepared, she just goes into dangerous situations and things work out for her. Snake Secondary in neutral state is possible. For the most part, she’s not particularly chargey for most of the original trilogy and could be a Snake that just doesn’t care. But she treats Nikolai’s Snake Secondary Model with awe and is, I think, too genuinely impressed by it to be a Snake Secondary herself. Lion Secondary makes more sense given that she’s a natural leader who inspires others more than makes herself likeable. The ending of Rule of Wolves also makes me lean towards Lion, since it’s her running headfirst to save Nina without any plan of attack and she doesn’t try to work her away around the situation like a Snake. She just runs straight into danger. 

Genya Safin, who wants nothing more than to belong, is a Badger Primary searching for a community. It’s why she stays loyal to the Darkling even after he destroys Novokribirsk, because he gave her a community and sense of belonging, and she believes these things are reliant on her loyalty and service to him. For her secondary, probably Badger too. Like the Darkling, she falls into the trap of believing her own manipulations and actually becomes friends with Alina. Also, the fact she spent years working on her tailoring skills seems like a Badger to me. 

David Kostyck, the quintessential inventor, has a glaring Bird Secondary. He’s the one who comes up with inventions, like the discs and the portable light, and is more comfortable in his lab than in the field. As for his primary, I think he might also be a Bird. He’s not a loyalist. If he was a Snake Primary then he probably wouldn’t have turned on the Darkling after Novokribirsk because Genya was still with him. He could be a Badger Primary who turned because of the massacre. But I think he’s a Bird Primary. He desires knowledge, not for the sake of power but purely because he wants to understand things. He strikes me as having a very decided morality. Merzost is bad because that’s a core Grisha teaching that he has adopted in his own system. 

Tolya and Tamar are harder to sort because they get less screen time. Tolya’s probably  double Lion, considering his concern with being honourable and his qualms with morally dubious actions. Also, his faith seems to me to be very felt and that is more Lion Primary. Considering his main role is as the muscle, definitely Lion Secondary. Tamar, who is totally okay with the morally dubious actions her brother abhors and, as of the Nikolai Duology, is in charge of spying is probably a Snake Secondary. Her motivations are less clear. Could be that she’s a Snake Primary who based her loyalties first of Alina then on Nikolai. She seems to be more attached to individuals than to any cause or country. 

In summary: 

Alina: Lion Primary/Lion Secondary

Mal: Snake Primary/Badger Secondary, Lion Secondary Performance

Nikolai: Snake Primary/Bird Secondary, Snake Secondary Model

The Darkling: Badger Primary/Badger Secondary, Snake Secondary Model

Zoya: Snake Primary/Lion Secondary

Genya: Badger Primary/Badger Secondary

David: Bird Primary/Bird Secondary

Tolya: Lion Secondary/Lion Secondary

Tamar: Snake Primary/Snake Secondary

[marrysue]

ENNEAGRAM CHEAT SHEET 🌙

I’ve spent the past few weeks creating a basic guide to the nine types, intended to be helpful for both typing yourself (if you’re new to the Enneagram) and for better understanding your type, other types, and the work that comes with them (if you already know the system). I did my best to organize it in an accessible way that allows for use as a quick reference. If this is the first time you’re ever hearing of the Enneagram, though, there will probably be some unfamiliar vocab words, and it could be helpful to glance over how the system works. For even more obscure stuff that isn’t mentioned in the previous link (like Hornevian or Harmonic groups), search my blog, check out a credible resource, or feel free to send me an ask or DM! Likewise, if you’re interested in something, I’ll be happy to expand on it – this is all abbreviated and there’s more to say about everything mentioned. It’s still pretty long, though, so everything’s below the cut. 

Sources: 

The Complete Enneagram: 27 Paths to Greater Self-Knowledge by Dr. Beatrice Chestnut (much of this post is copied verbatim from this book)

The Wisdom of the Enneagram: The Complete Guide to Psychological and Spiritual Growth for the Nine Personality Types by Don Richard Riso and Ross Hudson 

NINE

Basic Archetype: The person who seeks to harmonize with the external environment was a way of staying comfortable and peaceful, even though this means a loss of contact with their internal environment. Akin to the meaning behind both “fusion” and “union,” this archetype’s drive is to maintain a sense of calm and connectedness through merging with the outside and diminished awareness of the inside.

Key Traits: Over-adjustment and merging; resignation; easygoing nature/affability; indecision

Focus of Attention: Others; what is going on in the environment; avoiding conflict; creating harmony

Basic Fear: Loss of connection, of fragmentation

Basic Desire (and Its Distortion): The desire to be at peace (deteriorates into stubborn neglectfulness of oneself)

Core Emotion/Triad: Anger/Gut

Relationship to Core Emotion: “Underdo” anger; will report not (or rarely) feeling anger; anger leaks out in passive-aggression, passively resisting being controlled by others

Unconscious Childhood Message: “It’s not okay to assert yourself.”

Lost Childhood Message: “Your presence matters.”

Defense Mechanism: Dissociation – dimming of awareness; immersion in an activity; watering down the experience of life; avoiding feelings, needs, and wants through distraction

Emotional Passion: Laziness – a deadening of feeling; an inability to know what one wants; an inability to contact oneself; a hesitance to voice strong opinions or assert one's will in the world

Emotional Virtue: Right Action – A way of being that is awake and engaged and fully present to our natural impulses to know and move toward what we want and need

Direction of Disintegration (Stress): Six (anxious and worried)

Can Unconsciously Be: Uncomfortable anxiety and sense of threat 

Can Be Consciously Used To: Move Nines out of inertia and stimulate them to action in support of themselves; allow them to go into their heads to analyze themselves

Direction of Integration (Growth): Three (self-developing and energetic)

Can Unconsciously Be: An anxious and confused sense of “doing” in response to extreme situations of not having done enough

Can Be Consciously Used To: Developmentally reestablish a healthy balance between supporting and attuning to others and doing what it takes to further their own achievements; re-engage with their lost sense of initiative and self-interested action

Orientation to Time/Hornevian Group: Past/Withdrawing

Harmonic Group: Positive Outlook

Subtypes

Self-Preservation: “Appetite” – Instead of feeling an ongoing connection to their feelings, desires, and power, Self-Preservation Nines focus on merging with physical comforts and routine activities, such as eating, sleeping, reading, or doing crossword puzzles. SP Nines are practical, concrete people who focus on everyday things rather than abstractions.

Social: “Participation” (countertype) – Social Nines fuse with groups. They act out laziness when connecting with their own inner life by working hard to be a part of the different groups in their lives. Fun-loving, sociable, and congenial characters, Social Nines can be workaholics, prioritizing the group’s needs above their own. This high level of activity makes them the countertype of the three Nine subtypes.

Sexual: “Fusion” – Sexual Nines express the passion of laziness by merging with the important people in their lives. Sexual Nines unconsciously take on the attitudes, opinions, and feelings of others, because it can feel too hard to stand on their own. These Nines tend to be kind, gentle, shy characters who are not very assertive. 

What Nines Can Do to Address Their Personality Patterns: Practice “remembering” themselves; ask themselves what they want; reframe conflict as a good thing that brings them closer to people; work to get in touch with their anger and be more direct; take baby steps toward conflict by practicing giving and receiving feedback; remind themselves that staying comfortable leads to discomfort; use the stress/growth points consciously 

EIGHT

Basic Archetype: The person who denies weakness and vulnerability by taking refuge in fearlessness, power, and strength. This archetype tends to express instinctual drives in a less inhibited way and to push back on whatever might restrict them. A personality with this archetype focuses on asserting control in big ways through an “expansive absolution” characterized by domination and intensity. This approach entails identification with a glorified self (rather than a diminished sense of self).

Key Traits: Anger and the willingness to confront; rebelliousness; punitiveness/revenge; dominance; insensitivity/ruthlessness; (idealization of) autonomy; sensory-motor dominance

Focus of Attention: Power; control; injustice; sources of satisfaction/stimulation

Basic Fear: Fear of being controlled, vulnerable, or harmed

Basic Desire (and Its Distortion): The desire to protect oneself (deteriorates into constant fighting)

Core Emotion/Triad: Anger/Gut

Relationship to Core Emotion: Overdo anger; have easy access to angry energy, overcompensate for more vulnerable emotions by feeling anger instead

Unconscious Childhood Message: “It’s not okay to be vulnerable or to trust anyone.”

Lost Childhood Message: “You will not be betrayed.”

Defense Mechanism: Denial – habitual denial of vulnerability and weakness; “omnipotent control” and the belief that reality can be changed through confident self-assertion

Emotional Passion: Lust – a passion for excess, a passion that seeks intensity, not only through sex, but in all manner of stimulation: activity, anxiety, spices, high speed, the pleasure of loud music, and so on; an unapologetic attitude toward the quest for pleasure

Emotional Virtue: Innocence – a way of being that is free from guilt, pure of heart, and naturally connected to the flow of animal wisdom and nature as a whole; encompasses the ability to wake up to the animal or instinctual level of our functioning and to see and feel how it comes from a pure source in the natural order of things

Direction of Disintegration (Stress): Five (secretive and fearful)

Can Unconsciously Be: An extreme response to an intense experience of stress, a mode of retreat Eights are driven to when their normal reliance on power and action has failed 

Can Be Consciously Used To: Help Eights develop a capacity of careful analysis conducted from a distance in place of overreliance on force, aggression, and bold (sometimes precipitous) action to get what they need

Direction of Integration (Growth): Two (open-hearted and caring)

Can Unconsciously Be: An acting out of the Two habits of “giving to get” and seducing through charm and helpfulness (compulsively and expansively doing things for others, giving advice, expressing physical affection); an unconscious search for the comfort of relationships during stress; a way to act out the disowned need for love they don’t usually allow themselves to feel

Can Be Consciously Used To: Developmentally reestablish a healthy balance between attuning to others’ feelings and needs and asserting their own needs 

Orientation to Time/Hornevian Group: Future/Aggressive

Harmonic Group: Reactive

Subtypes

Self Preservation: “Satisfaction” – Self Preservation Eights express the passion of lust through a focus on getting what they need for survival. SP Eights have a strong desire for the timely satisfaction of material needs and an intolerance for frustration. SP Eights know how to survive in difficult situations and feel omnipotent when it comes to getting what they need. They are the least expressive and the most armed of the three Eight subtypes. 

Social: “Solidarity” (countertype) – Social Eights express lust and aggression in the service of others. A social antisocial person, this is the countertype of the Eights, a helpful Eight who appears less aggressive and more loyal than the other two Eight subtypes. The name “Solidarity” emphasizes their tendency to offer help when people need protection.

Sexual: “Possession” – Sexual Eights express lust through rebellion and the need to possess everyone’s attention. Sexual Eights are intense, charismatic characters who want to have control and influence. Instead of seeking material security, they try to get power over things and people. The name “Possession” refers to an energetic takeover of the whole scene – a need to feel powerful through dominating the whole environment. 

What Eights Can Do to Address Their Personality Patterns: See how rebellion against limits may lead to self-limitation; broaden their view of who has authority over the truth (how do you know you’re not wrong?); learn about limits; consult their heads and hearts before taking action; use aggression as a clue to underlying feelings; reframe vulnerability and weakness as expressions of great strength; catch themselves in the act of avoiding vulnerability and dependence; regularly inquire into their emotional depths and allow themselves to experience more feelings; make their need for love more conscious; consciously use the stress/growth points

SEVEN

Basic Archetype: The person who seeks pleasure in different forms as a distraction from the discomfort, darkness, and downside of life. This archetype’s drive is to defend against the experience of pain using intelligence, imagination, charm, and enthusiasm, and to avoid fear through an optimistic outlook.

Key Traits: Self-Referencing; positive reframing/optimism; hedonism; rebelliousness; lack of focus/discipline

Focus of Attention: Their own inner experience and needs (especially their own thoughts); their own plans and preferences

Basic Fear: Fear of being deprived or trapped in pain 

Basic Desire (and Its Distortion): The desire to be happy (deteriorates into frenetic escapism) 

Core Emotion/Triad: Fear/Head

Relationship to Core Emotion: “Underplay” fear; will report not (or rarely) feeling fear; defend themselves with mental intelligence 

Unconscious Childhood Message: “It’s not okay to depend on anyone for anything.”

Lost Childhood Message: “You will be taken care of.” 

Defense Mechanism: Rationalization and Idealization – finding good reasons for any desired action, thought, or feeling; perceiving people and experiences as being better than they are 

Emotional Passion: Gluttony – an (often insatiable) hunger for stimulating experiences of all kinds, such as good meals, pleasurable interactions with others, interesting conversations, or exciting travel plans 

Emotional Virtue: Sobriety – a state of being that is free from the pressure of the insatiability of the desire for more

Direction of Disintegration (Stress): One (perfectionistic and critical)

Can Unconsciously Be: An anxious resistance or adherence to the constraints imposed by rules and routines 

Can Be Consciously Used To: Help Sevens move out of their dreams and fantasies, and into a more realistic acceptance of standards and limits; help open Sevens up to the possibility of a supportive structure based on standards and precision that can help them actualize their ideals 

Direction of Integration (Growth): Five (focused and profound) 

Can Unconsciously Be: A temporary shut down as an escape from over-commitment and excessive activity 

Can Be Consciously Used To: Developmentally establish a healthy balance between the desire to be involved in the stimulation of the social world and the need to rest and reinvigorate through a healthy withdrawal from the social scene

Orientation to Time/Hornevian Group: Future/Aggressive

Harmonic Group: Positive Outlook

Subtypes

Self Preservation: “Keepers of the Castle” – The Self Preservation Seven expresses gluttony through making alliances and creating opportunities for gaining an advantage. Pragmatic and self-interested, these Sevens find safety through networking and being alert to opportunities that support their survival. The name “Keepers of the Castle” refers to their way of establishing a partisan network of allies through which they create safety and satisfy their needs. Cheerful and amiable, they have a love of pleasure and tend to get what they want.

Social: “Sacrifice” (countertype) – As the countertype, Social Sevens go against gluttony through conscientious efforts to be of service to others. Conscious of wanting to avoid exploiting others, they have a need to be good and pure and to sacrifice their own needs in supporting the needs of others. They have a passion for being seen as good for the sacrifice of their own desires. They express an ascetic ideal and make a virtue of getting on by little. They express idealism and enthusiasm as a way of making themselves feel active and valued in the world.

Sexual: “Suggestibility” – Sexual Sevens express gluttony through a need to imagine something better than ordinary reality. Gluttons for things of a higher world, they are idealistic dreamers with a passion for living in their imaginations. Sexual Sevens look at things with the optimism of someone who is in love; they see the world through rose-colored glasses. “Suggestibility” refers to being somewhat naive and easy to hypnotize. Light-hearted and enthusiastic, they focus on exciting possibilities and pleasurable fantasies, and they believe they can do everything. 

What Sevens Can Do to Address Their Personality Patterns: Make themselves more mindful of the movement from pleasure to pain; don’t mistake pleasure for “treasure”; recognize the pleasure of their pain and the pain that comes from living only for pleasure; recognize anxiety as a side effect of liberation; learn the difference between love and pleasure; reference others as a way of balancing freedom and connection; see all the ways they go to “then” to escape from “now”; allow for a fuller experience of pain and other uncomfortable emotions; risk living in the present; consciously use the stress/growth points

SIX

Basic Archetype: The person who, given the fear of impending threat, seeks to find safety through the protection of others or by taking refuge in their own strength. The drive of this archetype is to scan for danger in a scary world and defensively manage fear and anxiety through fight, flight, or friends. 

Key Traits: Hypervigilance; theoretical orientation; orientation to authority (sweetness, obedience, or defiance, depending on the subtype) and hierarchical worldview; doubt and ambivalence; contrarian thinking; tendency to create self-fulfilling prophecies 

Focus of Attention: Potential threats and how they might cope with them; doubting and questioning themselves

Basic Fear: Fear of being without support or guidance

Basic Desire (and Its Distortion): The desire to be secure (deteriorates into an attachment to beliefs) 

Core Emotion/Triad: Fear/Head 

Relationship to Core Emotion: Overdo fear, but vary in their level of awareness that they act from fear

Unconscious Childhood Message: “It’s not okay to trust yourself.”

Lost Childhood Message: “You are safe.” 

Defense Mechanism: Projection and Splitting – psychologically defending from an internal sense of fear by unconsciously projecting it out or “getting rid of it,” imagining that it originates in the outside world, often in another person; making one person or group all bad or all good as a way to feel less fear; locating the “badness” (or source of fear) in a clear way as to more easily cope with it 

Emotional Passion: Fear/Anxiety – fear of the unknown, anxiety and obsessive worrying about potential threats to well-being, self-doubt and uncertainty, guilt and shame related to sense of self, or a conviction that someone means harm; apprehension, tension, or uneasiness from anticipation of danger

Emotional Virtue: Courage – a way of being that is awake to the dangers inherent in the world and at the same time able to access a natural sense of confidence in meeting them

Direction of Disintegration (Stress): Three (competitive and arrogant)

Can Unconsciously Be: Frantic action or anxious striving, arrogant and competitive belief that the groups they belong to or ideologies they believe in are better than others

Can Be Consciously Used To: Shift attention away from fears and anxieties and focus instead on the worthiness of their goals, the positive aspects connected to impressing others with their good work and sincere pride in achievement 

Direction of Integration (Growth): Nine (relaxed and optimistic)

Can Unconsciously Be: A devolution into inaction, inertia, shutdown, and unconscious merging with others when anxiety causes withdrawal from life

Can Be Consciously Used To: Reestablish a healthy balance between watching out for dangers to well-being and being able to relax in the security of supportive relationships 

Orientation to Time/Hornevian Group: Present/compliant 

Harmonic Group: Reactive

Subtypes (particularly important/distinct for this type)

Self Preservation: “Warmth” – Self Preservation Sixes express the passion of fear through a need for protection, for friendship, and for banding together with others. In seeking protective alliances, SP Sixes endeavor to be warm, friendly, and trustworthy, which is why they bear the name “Warmth.” This most “phobic” of Sixes has difficulty expressing anger, feels uncertain, and engages in a lot of self-doubt. For SP Sixes, fear manifests as insecurity, and they focus on relationships as a way of feeling safer in the world. 

Social: “Duty” – Social Sixes express fear through a need to deal with anxiety by relying on abstract reason or ideologies as a frame of reference. Obeying authority through knowing what the rules are helps them to feel safe in the world. Unlike the SP Six, this Six has more certainty and can be “too sure” of things as a way of dealing with the anxiety of uncertainty. Social Sixes focus on precision and efficiency. They adhere to whatever the guidelines are as a form of having protective authority.

Sexual: “Strength/Beauty” (countertype) – Sexual Sixes express fear by going against fear – by becoming strong and intimidating. Trusting themselves more than others, these Sixes have the inner programming that when you are afraid, the best defense is a good offense. They take on a powerful stance, both in what they do and how they look, as a way of holding the enemy at a distance. Their anxiety is allayed through skill and readiness in the face of an attack. 

What Sixes Can Do to Address Their Personality Patterns: Recognize that uncertainty is an inevitable part of life; remember that we tend to find what we seek; get out of your head and into your body; learn to discern the difference between intuition and projection; consciously claim whatever you are projecting; work to be more aware of your authority issues; recognize “fight,” “flight,” and “freeze” as fear reactions; learn to feel, manage, and let go of fear; have more faith in response to fear 

FIVE

Basic Archetype: The person who withdraws into thinking and detaches from feeling as a way of taking refuge in the inner world. This functions as a way of finding privacy and freedom in a world that seems intrusive or neglectful or overwhelming. The central drive of this archetype is to find security by minimizing needs and using resources economically so that external demands can be limited and controlled. In Fives, the natural human need for people can be displaced into a thirst for knowledge, such that internal support comes through information and firm boundaries instead of social connections.

Key Traits: Centrality/prioritization of thinking; emotional detachment; fear of engulfment; autonomy and self-sufficiency; hypersensitivity (feeling particularly vulnerable to emotional pain)

Focus of Attention: Managing inner resources; potential impingements on their privacy from the outside; mental (rather than emotional or instinctual) aspects of life; minimizing needs; analyzing and thinking 

Basic Fear: Fear of being useless, incapable, or incompetent 

Basic Desire (and Its Distortion): The desire to be competent (deteriorates into useless specialization)

Core Emotion/Triad: Fear/Head

Relationship to Core Emotion: Stave off fear by skillfully avoiding it

Unconscious Childhood Message: “It’s not okay to be comfortable in the world.”

Lost Childhood Message: “Your needs are not a problem.” 

Defense Mechanism: Isolation – unconscious separation of an emotion connected to an idea from the idea itself; compartmentalization 

Emotional Passion: Avarice – a fearful grasping of time, space, and energy, motivated by an underlying, unconscious fantasy that letting go would result in catastrophic depletion 

Emotional Virtue: Nonattachment – a way of being that is oriented toward letting go of the need to grasp what feels necessary to staying safe, and opening up to a deeper experience of the natural flow of life 

Direction of Disintegration (Stress): Seven (hyperactive and scattered)

Can Unconsciously Be: An acting out of nervousness in social situations; a manic scrambling for control 

Can Be Consciously Used To: Expand the ability to share more of themselves with others by intentionally using humor, playfulness, and intellectual curiosity to help manage social anxiety; support an engaged focus on interacting more deeply with others through creative thinking and a genuine interest in people 

Direction of Integration (Growth): Eight (self-confident and decisive) 

Can Unconsciously Be: A comfort with feeling free to act in powerful ways to protect themselves, erect walls, or push people away

Can Be Consciously Used To: Reestablish a healthy balance between withdrawing and moving out into the world; reclaim the ability to engage more actively, more fearlessly, and more powerfully in the world 

Orientation to Time/Hornevian Group: Past/Withdrawn 

Harmonic Group: Competency 

Subtypes

Self Preservation: “Castle” – The Self Preservation Five expresses avarice through a focus on boundaries – a need to be “encastled” in a sanctuary where they feel protected from intrusion and have control over their boundaries. SP Fives have a passion for being able to hide behind walls and know that they have everything they need to survive within those walls. They are the least expressive of the three Fives and they try to limit their needs and wants so that they can avoid being dependent on others. 

Social Five: “Totem” – The Social five expresses avarice through a need for “super ideals,” relating to others with common interests through knowledge and shared values (rather than emotional connection). In this Five, avarice is connected to knowledge. Needs for people and for the sustenance that relationships provide get channeled into a thirst for information. “Totem” refers to a passion for high ideals, the need to individualize experts and seek knowledge connected to whatever ultimate values this Five adheres to. Social Fives engage in a search for the ultimate meaning to avoid experiencing life as meaningless.

Sexual Five: “Confidence”: (countertype) – Sexual Fives express avarice through a search for ideal exemplars of absolute love. This is a Five with a romantic streak. The name reflects their need to find a partner who fulfills an ideal of trust. The most emotionally sensitive of the Fives, they suffer more, resemble Type Four more, and have more overt desires. They have a vibrant inner life that may be expressed through artistic creation but are still cut off from others in many ways. 

What Fives Can Do to Address Their Personality Patterns: Challenge false beliefs about scarcity; remind yourself that scarcity breeds scarcity; find direct ways to fill yourself up on the outside; become more aware of the choice to detach from feelings; make efforts to feel more emotions more often; make a point to see the upside of emotions and emotional connections; recognize that your sense that there’s nothing to fix is part of the problem; get in touch with the fear that motivates distancing and wall-building; move forward into life instead of withdrawing inside yourself  

FOUR

Basic Archetype: The person who experiences an inner sense of lack and a craving for that which is missing, and yet can’t allow for the attainment of what might provide satisfaction. This archetype’s drive is to focus on what is lacking as a step to regaining wholeness and connection, but through an over-focus on the experience of a flawed self they become convinced of an inner deficiency that provides fulfillment. While this entails an understandable frustration with regard to deprivation, an over-identification with the frustrated, deprived state leads to an inability to take in that which would provide fulfillment. 

Key Traits: Inferior self-image; focus on suffering; emotional sensitivity and empathic ability; aesthetic sensibility; push-pull patterns in relationships

Focus of Attention: Their internal experience; their emotions; the emotions of others; interpersonal connection and disconnection; the state and underlying emotional tone/status of relationships; what others think or feel about them; whether or not they are achieving authentic connections with the people around them

Basic Fear: Fear of being without identity or personal significance

Basic Desire (and Its Distortion): The desire to be oneself (deteriorates into self-indulgence) 

Core Emotion/Triad: Shame/Grief/Heart

Relationship to Core Emotion: Overdo an attachment to grief/shame

Unconscious Childhood Message: “Its not okay to be too functional or too happy.”

Lost Childhood Message: “You are seen for who you are.”

Defense Mechanism: Introjection – the internalization of painful feelings as a method of protection; the process whereby what is outside is misunderstood as coming from the inside; identifying with and swallowing another person whole so that whatever they represent becomes a part of your identity 

Emotional Passion: Envy – a sense that what is valued and needed is outside and somehow unavailable; a belief that others have something you don’t 

Emotional Virtue: Equanimity – a way of being that is both engaged with emotional life and above the ups and downs of being overly consumed with specific emotional experiences 

Direction of Disintegration (Stress): Two (overinvolved and clinging) 

Can Unconsciously Be: An effort to be liked through giving compulsively, an attempt to buy others’ love or acceptance by giving up needed things

Can Be Consciously Used To: Bring themselves out of their self-absorption, intense feelings, and isolation; find creative ways who express who they really are and open themselves to connecting with others

Direction of Integration (Growth): One (objective and principled) 

Can Unconsciously Be: A way of punishing themselves through self-evaluation, self-discipline, and structure 

Can Be Consciously Used To: Gain support needed for growth; take action to manifest ideals; gain a sense of control and accomplishment; find peace and containment amidst a life in which they can get lost in the ups and downs of their shifting moods 

Orientation to Time/Hornevian Group: Past/Withdrawing 

Harmonic Group: Reactive

Subtypes (particularly important/distinct for this type)

Self Preservation: “Tenacity” (countertype) – The Self Preservation Four is long-suffering. As the countertype of the Fours, SP Fours are stoic in the face of their inner pain and they don’t share it with others as much as the other two Fours. This is a person who learns to tolerate pain and to do without as a way of earning love. Instead of dwelling in envy, SP Fours act out their envy by working hard to get what others have and they lack. More masochistic than melodramatic, these Fours demand a lot of themselves, have a strong need to endure, and have a passion for effort.

Social: “Shame” – The Social Four suffers more, feels more shame, and is more sensitive than the other two Fours. Envy fuels a focus on shame and suffering as they employ a strategy of seducing others into meeting their needs through an intensification of pain and suffering. They experience a sense of comfort in feeling melancholy. Envy also manifests in lamenting too much, taking on the victim role, and focusing on a sense of their own inferiority. Social Fours don’t compete with others as much as they compare themselves to others and find themselves lacking. 

Sexual: “Competition” – Sexual Fours make others suffer as an unconscious way of trying to rid themselves of painful feelings of deficiency. In denying their suffering and being more shameless than shameful, they express their needs more and can be demanding of others. In seeking to be the best, they express envy in its manifestation as competition. They express “an envy that wants,” unconsciously turning their pain at inner lack into feelings of anger about not getting what they need from others. 

What Fours Can Do to Address Their Personality Patterns: Challenge your unwavering belief in your inferiority; actively work to reverse your self-debasing tendency through efforts of self-love; recognize envy, competition, and masochistic behavior as danger signs; observe and accept your emotions instead of over-identifying with them; notice and work against your desire to create drama and intensity; learn to see hopelessness, suffering, and longing as a defense against living and opening up to possibilities; align your desires with what’s possible; apply your idealism to seeing the worth inherent in yourself and others; actively shift your attention to see the positive

THREE

Basic Archetype: The person who seeks to create an image of value and success, and to gain the admiration of others, through active efforts in both work and appearance. This drive provides defensive protection in a world that rewards achievement and attractiveness and emphasizes what things look like on the outside.

Key Traits: Other-directedness; achievement orientation; focus on success; competitiveness and the drive to win; image manipulation and self-deception

Focus of Attention: Achieving goals and tasks; creating an image of success in the eyes of others; things to do; obstacles that might block their goals; others and how they are responding to the Three’s presentation

Basic Fear: Fear of being worthless or without inherent value

Basic Desire (and Its Distortion): The desire to be valuable (deteriorates into chasing after success) 

Core Emotion/Triad: Grief/Shame/Heart

Relationship to Core Emotion: Underdo grief/shame, habitually numb out feelings so they don’t get in the way of working to reach goals 

Unconscious Childhood Message: “It’s not okay to have your own feelings and identity.”

Lost Childhood Message: “You are loved for who you are.” 

Defense Mechanism: Identification – locating and matching a specific image or model; becoming what others value; creating a compelling image (to defend against the pain of not being seen and loved as you are) and mistaking that image for the totality of who you are

Emotional Passion: Vanity – living for the eyes of others; presenting a false image to inspire admiration; living life in anticipation or fantasy of the experience of another; the drive to shine, attract attention, either through the development of sex appeal or through achievement or success (based on established, universally accepted criteria)

Emotional Virtue: Hope – a state of trust that it will all be okay, that everything will work out; an experience of optimism and receptivity to what life brings; a letting go of the need to push things forward and see results 

Direction of Disintegration (Stress): Nine (disengaged and apathetic) 

Can Unconsciously Be: A place reached after working to the point of collapse; numbing/narcotization 

Can Be Consciously Used To: Learn to be more in their bodies; to include different points of view when completing a task; to slow down and broaden their focus of attention; let go of the need to control things 

Direction of Integration (Growth): Six (cooperative and committed to others)

Can Unconsciously Be: Anxious need for security 

Can Be Consciously Used To: Re-establish a healthy balance between moving forward and pausing for reflection; tap into a deeper emotional level within themselves, highlighting their need to allow for support from others; consciously insert a healthy round of questioning before moving ahead so quickly; assess what is happening at a deeper level than normal

Orientation to Time/Hornevian Group: Future/Aggressive

Harmonic Group: Competency 

Subtypes

Self Preservation: “Security” (countertype) – The Self Preservation Three has a sense of vanity for having no vanity. This Three also wants to be admired by others, but avoids openly seeking recognition. Not just satisfied with looking good, the SP Three strives to be good. They are determined to be a good person – to match the perfect model of how a person should be. Being the perfect model of quality implies virtue, and virtue implies a lack of vanity. SP Threes seek a sense of security through being good, working hard, and being effective and productive.

Social Three: “Prestige” – Social Threes focus on achievement in the service of looking good and getting the job done. They act out vanity through their desire to be seen and have influence with people. They enjoy being on stage in the spotlight. Social Threes know how to climb the social ladder and achieve success. These are the most competitive and most aggressive of the Threes. They have a driving need to look good and possess a corporate or sales mentality.

Sexual Three: “Charisma” – Sexual Threes focus on achievement in terms of personal attractiveness and supporting others. In this Three, vanity is not denied (as in the SP Three) nor embraced (as in the Social Three), but is somewhere in between: it’s employed in the service of creating an attractive image and promoting important others. These Threes have a hard time talking about themselves and often put the focus on others they want to promote. They put a lot of energy into pleasing others and they have a family/team mentality. 

What Threes Can Do to Address Their Personality Patterns: Embrace failure as a road to deepening your experience of yourself; reframe your definition of success; notice what gets left out when you are driving toward your goal; question your focus on what others value as the basis for who you think you are; discern the difference between actions motivated by image-making purposes and those that address real needs and desires; discover who you are separate from your image; don’t wait for a breakdown to alert you to the need for growth; reclaim and value your feelings; increase your ability to just “be” 

TWO

Basic Archetype: The person who seeks to please others as a way to evoke affection. The drive to win others’ approval through indirect methods, such as seduction and strategic giving, is a way to obtain emotional and material support without having to ask for it. This strategy also provides a way to try to get others to take care of you while still defending yourself against the pain of having someone important reject a direct request to meet a need. 

Key Traits: Strategic helpfulness to create indispensability; seductiveness; emotionality and emotional sensitivity; romanticism; hedonism and compensatory overindulgence 

Focus of Attention: Key people; relationships; people’s needs and feelings; managing their presentation based on what they think others will like; achieving relationships 

Basic Fear: Fear of being unworthy of being loved

Basic Desire (and Its Distortion): The desire to be loved (deteriorates into the desire to be needed) 

Core Emotion/Triad: Grief/Shame/Heart

Relationship to Core Emotion: In conflict with their shame and sadness

Unconscious Childhood Message: “It’s not okay to have your own needs.”

Lost Childhood Message: “You are wanted.” 

Defense Mechanism: Repression – making specific perceptions or emotions unconscious; insulating the psyche from a deeper source of pain so that the personality can remain functioning; burying feelings that might impede achieving a connection with important others (e.g., anger). 

Emotional Passion: Pride – aggrandizement of the self-image; the unconscious need to puff oneself up so one can be exactly what others want or need; valuing and investing in an idealized self image rather than the real self 

Emotional Virtue: Humility – a way of being that is free of the attachment to be better than you really are in order to know that you have value; resting in the knowledge that you are “good enough” as you are

Direction of Disintegration (Stress): Eight (aggressive and dominating) 

Can Unconsciously Be: Release of repressed rage; a furious attempt to set boundaries that should have been set far earlier 

Can Be Consciously Used To: Learn to be more direct and assertive as opposed to using indirect means to get needs met; allow for more freedom in interactions with others; reframe conflict as a good thing 

Direction of Integration (Growth): Four (self-nurturing and emotionally aware)

Can Unconsciously Be: Shame, moping, dark feelings; overindulgence in the martyr complex

Can Be Consciously Used To: Establish a healthy balance between focusing on the self and focusing on others; expand access to authentic emotions; reclaim a healthy ability to self-reference (to balance out their disproportionate focus on others); accept and express needs with more confidence

Orientation to Time/Hornevian Group: Present/Compliant 

Harmonic Group: Positive Outlook

Subtypes

Self Preservation: “Privilege” (countertype) – Self Preservation Twos “seduce” like a child in the presence of grown-ups as a way of (unconsciously) inducing others to take care of them. Everyone likes children, and the SP Two adopts a youthful stance as a way of getting special treatment well beyond childhood. As the countertype, it’s less easy to see pride in this Two because they are more fearful and ambivalent about connecting with others. The title “Privilege” reflects this Two’s desire to be loved and prioritized just for being who they are, not for what they give to others. Related to the youthful stance, these Twos are playful, irresponsible, and charming.  

Social: “Ambition” – The Social Two is a seducer of environments and groups – a powerful, leader type whose pride manifests as a sense of satisfaction in the conquest of an audience. This is a more adult Two in whom pride is the most obvious; the Social Two cultivates an image of being an influential, super competent person worthy of admiration. The name “Ambition” reflects this person’s desire to “be on top” and as a result of this lofty position, receive advantages and benefits. This Two “gives to get” the most and always has a strategic angle when expressing generosity.

Sexual: “Seduction/Aggression” – Sexual Twos seduce specific individuals as a way of getting needs met and feeding their pride. Similar to the “femme fatale” archetype (and male equivalent) this Two employs the methods of classical seduction to attract a partner who will meet all their needs and give them whatever they want. The name “Aggressive-Seductive” suggests a character who is appealing, but who also wants to wield some power. Energetically like a force of nature, this is a person who becomes irresistible, who inspires great passions and positive feelings as a way to meet needs in life. 

What Twos Can Do to Address Their Personality Patterns: Inquire frequently into the presence of needs and feelings; remember that real feelings create and enhance, rather than thwart, connections; learn to accept feelings and the emotional growth process; liberate yourself through healthy separation; say “maybe” on the way from “yes” to “no”; accept, but manage and contain, your emotions; open up to receiving from others by living more from your real self; focus on the freedom that boundaries provide; find the sweet spot between inflation and deflation; allow constructive conflict to enliven your relationships and strengthen your sense of self; face your pain in a conscious way so you can let it go 

ONE

Basic Archetype: The person who seeks to be good and do “the right thing” to satisfy an urgent need to be virtuous and responsible and to avoid fault and blame. This drive provides a defensive protection in a world that demands and rewards good behavior and punishes bad behavior.

Key Traits: Inner critic; over-control; virtuousness; perfectionism and criticality

Focus of Attention: Trying to make things as right as possible; errors and imperfections; things perceived as perfect 

Basic Fear: Fear of being bad, corrupt, evil, or defective 

Basic Desire (and Its Distortion): The desire to have integrity (deteriorates into critical perfectionism)

Core Emotion/Triad: Anger/Gut

Relationship to Core Emotion: At odds with their anger; anger arises from inner conflict and judgement; report experiencing anger as resentment, a low-level, background, tamped down anger that things aren’t as they should be

Unconscious Childhood Message: “It’s not okay to make mistakes.”

Lost Childhood Message: “You are good.”

Defense Mechanism: Reaction Formation – turning something into its polar opposite to render it less threatening (e.g., being excessively nice to someone with whom you are actually angry); focusing on and experiencing more acceptable “good” emotions and pushing “bad” feelings into the unconscious 

Emotional Passion: Anger – resentment, frustration, self-righteousness; resentment of the “bad” conduct of others and frustration at the difficulties of trying to achieve perfection

Emotional Virtue: Serenity – a way of being that is free of attachment to specific ways of doing things, to having to conform to the right way; a patient, relaxed feeling that goes along with feeling a sense of completeness and wholeness, a feeling that everything is as it should be and that nothing needs to be changed or perfected 

Direction of Disintegration (Stress): Four (moody and irrational) 

Can Unconsciously Be: Painful contact with depressive and melancholic feelings; bitterness and dark mood

Can Be Consciously Used To: Provide a sense of relief at the release of what Ones have have spent considerable energy holding back; allow for greater emotional freedom; live more authentically by lessening the over-control of feeling

Direction of Integration (Growth): Seven (spontaneous and joyful)

Can Unconsciously Be: A temporary escape into bad behavior or stimulating activities, followed by self-recrimination and regret

Can Be Consciously Used To: Reestablish a healthy balance between responsibility and relaxation; see that it’s okay to have fun, lighten up, and choose pleasurable options; shift attention away from the control and stress of trying to make things go right all the time

Orientation to Time/Hornevian Group: Present/Compliant

Harmonic Group: Competency

Subtypes

Self Preservation: “Worry” – Self Preservation Ones are the true perfectionists of the three Ones. They express the passion of anger through working hard to make themselves and the things they do more perfect. In this subtype, anger is the most repressed emotion; the defense mechanism of reaction formation transforms the heat of anger into warmth, resulting in a friendly and benevolent character.

Social: “Non-adaptability” – Social Ones (unconsciously) consider themselves to be perfect; they express anger through focusing on being the perfect model of “the right way” to be. They have a teacher mentality that reflects an unconscious need for superiority. In the Social One, anger is half-hidden – there’s a transformation of the heat of anger into cold. This is a cooler, intellectual personality type in which the main theme is control.

Sexual: “Zeal” (countertype) – Sexual Ones focus on perfecting others; they are more reformers than perfectionists. The only One who is explicitly angry, they act out anger through their intense desire to improve others and get what they want. They feel entitled in the way a reformer or a zealot can feel entitled: they believe they have a right to change society and get what they want because they have a higher understanding of the truth and the reasons behind “the right way to be.” The countertop of the Ones, they are more impulsive and outwardly angry – they go against the ‘counter-instinctive” tendency of the One to repress anger and impulses. 

What Ones Can Do to Address Their Personality Patterns: Observe the “improvement paradox” (constant striving for improvement keeps you resistant to real growth), accept the perfection of imperfection, relax the inner critic, understand there are many “right” ways to do things, don’t be so hard on yourself, develop more compassion for and acceptance of yourself, prioritize pleasure and play, incorporate more humor and relaxation, own your positive attributes and value your feelings 

[angelnumber27]

yeah okay I’ll integrate that into my belief system

guwop x old lady

[mbti-notes]

Hi. My boyfriend is a Trump supporter and I'm more liberal. I'm infp, he's esfj. We try not to talk politics much but it feels like I'm losing my integrity dating someone who has opposing views on things that matter. I do however love him and want to make things work. Where's the middle ground to make genuine peace?

It’s quite a shame that the national conversation in American politics gets reduced to what is essentially sports betting and entertainment. This problem manifests as binary thinking that doesn’t allow any space for the careful deliberation that is required to address complex political, economic, and social issues. Talk to enough people and you will see that most people’s political views can’t be neatly divided into red or blue. Just because someone votes for one particular candidate/party, doesn’t mean that they agree with every little thing that candidate/party ends up doing. For example, surveys have shown that many Republicans dislike Trump himself but they still vote for the promises that he makes to enact conservative policies. Many Democrats are much more progressive than the party itself, but they’ll still vote blue because some progress on the issues is better than no progress on the issues (or, worse, regression).

How does this relate to your question? Trumpism has indeed fractured many relationships in the past four years. Sometimes, for good reason. While it’s possible to find middle ground on many political issues, some beliefs and values simply cannot be reconciled. For instance, you can’t believe in racial equality and be a white supremacist, can you? Is there middle ground to be found there? Would you “compromise” and say that it’s okay to be racist in your mind as long as you don’t wear a white hood and harass people? No.

You mention “losing my integrity”, which means that what you’re actually concerned about is morality rather than politics - there is a difference between them. I’ll give you an example of the disconnect between morality and politics. If you ask people whether they support a specific policy that improves education or healthcare, more often than not, they’ll support it, since few people are so extremist as to want to dismantle the entire education or healthcare system. But once you attach the policy to a political candidate/party, people start to divide themselves along their "team” or tribal allegiances. They’ll refuse to support a policy that they would otherwise agree with just because they don’t want to “help the enemy”. Political psychology is riddled with irrational decision making.

If morality is your actual concern, then here’s my suggestion: For the moment, forget about which candidate or party your boyfriend supports, because it’s far too easy to fall into binary thinking or crude stereotypes by doing that. Don’t use a person’s political beliefs to assume their moral beliefs, because, as per above, people’s beliefs and values rarely align perfectly with the party that they vote for. So, instead, focus solely on what his moral beliefs are.

When you say “losing my integrity”, clarify what that means exactly. Which beliefs and values would someone have to hold in order to constitute a violation of your moral beliefs and values? For instance, if you believe in equality, then you should not be able to tolerate beliefs and values that promote hate, prejudice, and discrimination, right? In other words, what are your moral “deal-breakers”, with regard to the issues that you care about? 

Once you’re clear on that, examine what his moral beliefs and values are to see exactly whereabouts you agree or disagree. You must go through this step of clarifying where you both stand morally before you engage in a political discussion. Start by clarifying the moral beliefs, then discuss which political party one should vote for with those beliefs, based on the policies/legislation that each of the parties have a proven history of supporting/resisting. This process is not only a good way to clarify the true nature of the conflict in the relationship, it also serves as a good foundation on which to persuade people to change their political beliefs to better reflect their moral beliefs, should you choose to advocate and persuade.

Are you really in a “relationship” when you don’t communicate about the things that matter to you and thus don’t really know each other? Are you the kind of person who’s content living in your own little world, enjoying your couple’s paradise, without a care for what’s happening around you in the rest of society? If that’s who you are, then fine, bask in your privilege and ignore the politics. If that’s not who you are, then you need to talk about the differences with him and try to work them out, otherwise, the conflict is only going to simmer in the background and create underlying suspicion or resentment that ends up damaging the relationship at some point in the future anyway. 

There are times in history when political upheaval requires individuals to take a firm stand for what is right and against what is wrong. It seems that we are living through one of those periods, so how long can you keep your head buried in the sand and still feel like a person of integrity?

[romulussy]

hunger games au where they're from one of the districts with careers like i don't know, fucking, district one or district two or district four or some shit, and kendall or who the fuck ever gets reaped and it's all like "no biggie a career kid will volunteer" but that doesn't happen for whatever the fuck reason and then papa logan roy is all "you better win, either way you're coming back in a coffin" and yeah

(2/2) and then and then after the reaping they're all huddled in the room going "what the fuck, like literally, what the fuck" and "why didn't the fucking kid volunteer that's what they're fucking for isn't it?" and roman is all "it's fine you just need to kill twenty-three other children kenny, no biggie" and kendall's all "shut up you're literally not fucking helping" and then it's all "wait if you're a victor.. we can get out from under dad" and papa logan is all very foreboding and not helpful

okay i have to come clean and admit that i never read the hunger games as a kid because i read the blurb once and decided i’d like it too much (flawless logic i know) and i didn’t watch the movies either so i am only like vaguely aware of what the fuck goes on. But sure. Yeah. i’ll integrate this into my belief system.

[cross-d-a]

Why Anakin is still the Chosen One

Here are some tired thoughts before I go to sleep:

Anakin literally tells Rey to bring balance to the Force like he once did. He defeated Palpatine in episode VI and brought balance then. Yeah, Palpatine apparently lived but that doesn't mean Anakin didn't bring balance.

Ever since Force Awakens I can't help but think that this whole sequel trilogy is an allegory for our current political state, specifically: Neo-nazism. The Empire is modeled after Nazis. There's no question. Fascist totalitarianism wrapped up in a genocidal Empire?? Yeah, no thanks.

But then we've got the First Order. They're trying to revive past ideals, trying to revive the Empire. They're a whole mix of people: born into a fascist family like Hux, original Empire loyalists like Pryde, children stolen and brainwashed into it like the stormtroopers-- racism and hate comes from a lot of different backgrounds (it can be taught, it can be learned), but they all tend to latch onto certain beliefs and political structures. It helps the First Order that (from what I can tell) the New Republic was a copy of the first. From the prequels it's easy to tell that it's a broken system. The Empire didn't just spring up out of nowhere. Palpatine was a crafty son of a bitch but even he couldn't sway billions upon billions of people to his side. Those feelings of hate and prejudice and greed had to already exist- Palpatine just took advantage of it and stoked the flames (not even gonna go into real world parallels here).

There is a reason why I'm talking about this. I'm talking about Anakin, who was raised a slave. Who was already a victim of hate and all the evils in the galaxy because he was a SLAVE. A little boy who only wanted to help people, who wanted to break the system that allowed him and the rest of his people to suffer. Then he was freed and thrust into a position of privilege within the system that made it possible for Anakin to be born a slave. And there he was, told over and over that he was the Chosen one. That he must bring balance. But it wasn't the kind of balance he sought since he was a little boy. I think Anakin just wanted everyone to be equal, and the kind of balance the Jedi believed in didn't necessarily mirror that since they were an integral part of the Republic.

But I digress.

I'm bringing up Anakin's childhood in slavery (and arguably, his whole life of slavery) because Anakin is was folded into this Nazi-like Empire which went against everything that he believed in as a child. Everything his mother believed in. Palpatine and the Empire twisted him and yes I love Anakin to death and he is such a victim of circumstance (and he is such a nuanced, interesting character), but he did some pretty terrible things as Darth Vader. He became everything that he ever wanted to fight against.

And then he said no.

He watched Palpatine torture his son. He watched Palpatine try it use his son. And we all know how much Anakin values family. Anakin chose to end fhat circle of hate and suffering. He was the first one to stand his ground and save the person he loved and actually succeed- and with that action he became the catalyst for defeating the Empire.

The thing about Anakin is that he has always been the catalyst. His birth was a seemingly impossible thing. The Jedi discovering him set in motion both Palpatine's plan and the Jedi's defeat. And then Palpatine's eventual destruction.

I'm not discounting every single other person in the Star Wars universe who has suffered or fought for what is right (shout out to Ezra 'spark of the rebellion' Bridger). But there is no doubt that without Anakin we would not have a Star Wars series. Everything revolves around him, whether it's believing he's the chosen one, believing he is the villain we must defeat, or knowing he is someone we must live up to and emulate.

Without Anakin's sacrifice, without him remembering what's truly important (family, love, freedom), the Empire would not have been defeated. Luke would have died. Leia probably, too. Palpatine would have utterly destroyed the galaxy (maybe we'd see some actual Dark!Rey way down the line). Anakin stood up, stood his ground and said No.

The real reason why Anakin is the Chosen One is because he IS that catalyst. Because he did rise from oppression and servitude and had the strength to say No.

I'm going to bring up the Neo-Nazism again: the New Republic rose up to replace the Republic. The First Order rose up to emulate the Empire. I would argue that the First Order became so powerful because the structures that allowed the Empire to rise in the first place still existed.

Yoda says in the original trilogy: There is another. (Yeah you know what like I'm talking about) You could argue that it's Leia (it certainly meant to be at the time). You could argue that it's baby Yoda (my boy!!). But I would argue that it is the next generation.

You see, you can't just defeat evil once and be done with it. We certainly hoped we would when WWII ended, but the fight is never done. Neo-Nazis still exist. Terrible, terrible people still exist. And maybe it's learned, maybe it's passed down through the family-- you can learn to hate in a lot of different ways. The structures that allowed Nazis to rise up like they did still exist today. We still face racism and homophobia and anti-Semitism. The battle is not over.

That's why I think these sequel movies are important (despite my problems with it, but I won't go into that here). I would love to think that after episode VI everyone lived a happily ever after. There was no more evil, no more suffering and slavery and thoughtless killing. But it doesn't work like that. Even though that's the ending I want, even though that's the ending I sometimes need-- every generation faces its own threat. Its own call to the past.

I have my own confused reservations about Rey parentage, but I adore that she rejects the legacy of hate. We see what she is capable of. We see that (just like Anakin) she could give in to what she thinks is the lesser of two evils. (It's okay as long as the people I love get to live, right?') We see that she is fully capabale of it even. She struggles with it, much more (I would argue) than either of the other two movies. She struggles to reject that part of herself and she struggles to acknowledge that she is born from that legacy (as so many would). Who would be proud to know they came from a family of Nazis? Not many people I hope.

And maybe it's because her parents chose to "be no one" that she is able to find the strength to think "maybe I don't have to go down this path." I would love to know more about her parents and how they chose to completely defy expectations, but I'll content myself for now with this:

Rey chose to reject the legacy of hate, and instead followed Anakin's own defiance. She's choosing her own legacy: combatting of hate and violence. Embracing love and hope. Learning from the mistakes of the past.

In a way, Ben Solo is right: let the past die. We must destroy the hatred and intolerance of our past. We must tear down the structures our forefathers put in place that allowed this hatred to arise and take over the galaxy. But he's also wrong. We have no way to know how to be better than our forefathers if we don't remember their mistakes. If we don't remember what they fought for and believed in. That's why "a thousand generations live within [Rey] now." She chose to follow the legacy of love and hope that the Jedi embody. And yes, the Jedi have their own problems, but that doesn't change the fact that they did their best to fight for what they thought was right. And, this is something to remember:

Yoda said: We are what they grow beyond.

Luke and Leia continued on that legacy of hope where Anakin and Padmé and Obi-Wan were unable to continue. They succeeded where those three failed. And, I hope, Rey (and Finn and Poe) will be able to succeed where Luke and Leia and Han couldn't. Where the Jedi couldn't.

It's up to everyone that comes after us to remember where they came from and discover how to grow beyond where we failed.

And now I'm back to where I began: Anakin. He tells Rey to bring balance to the Force like he once did. We hear many other voices (Luke's, Yoda's, Ahsoka's, even Kanan's and Ayala Secura's), but to me Anakin's was by far the most prominent. I love that we hear Obi-Wan's voice first ("These are your final steps"), and perhaps this is a parallel to Obi-Wan trying to call Anakin back to the light so many years ago. But Anakin's is so prominent. Ben and Rey are extremely important each other (and there is so much to unpack there), but Anakin's final push is what gives Rey strength and hope.

Anakin reminds Rey of the past. He reminds Rey that He broke free from that cycle of hate and that she can, too. Anakin is so, so important. He's the prime example that you can end the hate. End the violence. You don't have to be a Nazi like your shitty grandfather.

"Be with me. Be with me," she repeats over and over and over again. She trying to connect with the past. She's trying to understand her position in the universe. And she does, once she accepts her heritage. Once she accepts where she came from. And Anakin is there to help her take those final steps.

This whole sequel trilogy is about legacy. It's about repeating the mistakes of the past. It's about desperately trying to live up to expectations and failing them. It's about desperately trying to forget where you come from and trying to find yourself amidst the echoes of a chaotic past.

And, as always with Star Wars, it's about finding hope in the darkest of places. It's about love and family and saving the people who can't save themselves. This is the legacy that Anakin Skywalker left behind when he saved Luke from Palpatine, and this is the legacy that will continue to be remembered for every generation to come after that.

So Anakin Skywalker is still the Chosen One. He's that bright little slave boy who grew up twisted and lonely and got beaten into submission, yet still found the strength to claw his way back to the light. We all have that strength within ourselves to be better people, and now Rey can carry on that lesson and pass it down from generation to generation.

[painted-crow]

Submission time #6

Primary Mess

Hi, I’m having trouble figuring out my primary. Could you please help? Secondary wise, I’m a Lion with a Bird model. My family culture is definitely Snake, which probably has influenced my morals. My mother especially is a VERY loud Snake primary. 

Paint: Good to know!

Just a reminder to everyone about how the submission format around here works, the original submission will be indented and my comments/responses will be in blue, like this.

Because this one is structured around the quiz, I'm also going to be coloring the quiz questions in pink, just so they're easier to pick out.

I doubt Badger because I'm not really attached to my community. I was at one point, but I doubt some of their beliefs so I've drawn away. Snake I've been evaluating all my relationships and there's no one I trust that much or who I'm that close to. I don't think it bothers me as much as a snake either.  Lion just feels like too much. I'm not that righteous. Bird, I don't think I'm that adaptable. Also I doubt I have a system, Idk tho.

Okay, so you're probably an Idealist! You disconnected from your community because of beliefs/ideals, which is a very Idealist thing to do (although it's less firm if the beliefs that pushed you away were extreme--Loyalists will definitely draw a line if their people start hurting others). Importantly, you don't sound very upset about it, which is also very Idealist.

Remember that Lions don't have to be confident or righteous. Burned Lions in particular distrust their own judgment.

Remember that not all Birds are flexible. Some cling hard to their systems, unwilling to change or adjust even small beliefs. Others have a core to their system that they're very firm about, and everything else is adaptable (I'm one of those). Others are willing to change basically anything given enough time and evidence. Systems aren't flexible by definition.

We can Fall/Burn if an integral/core part of our system collapses, or if we lose our confidence in being able to perceive reality accurately enough and make decisions about it. Fallen Birds aren't what you'd describe as flexible, either.

Sorry in advance for this being so long.... 

Ambivalent answers: (had trouble with)

If people in your family or community disagree with you, is it hard to act against their wishes?

I don’t care about whether or not my community disagrees with me. I would probably feel judged to some degree, but honestly that makes me feel even more stubborn in my decision. I barely know most of the people in my community, they’re only acquaintances. If I cared about what they thought, I would go crazy. 

My family is a different matter. I would listen to them and take their opinions into account, but in the end I need to think my decision is right. I’m the one who has to live with it, so I should agree with it too. Sometimes I’ll bend because I may not care too much about the outcome or I can have the outcome fit what I want by listening to others' advice. I have avoided conflict in the past with family members by just shutting up, but most of the time I have a very vocal opinion. (That may relate to my secondary tho.) 

I think out of all the answers, I agree with, “Yes, because I have to live with and around them and they can make my life more difficult with their disapproval.” “It might be hard, but I’ve got to do what I think is right.” and “I don’t care about what the larger community says, but if people really close to me are against something, then I’m less likely to go through with it.” It honestly depends on what the situation is. 

This seems like more evidence that you're an Idealist primary. Leaning towards Lion so far.

Would you lie to an acquaintance to save their peace of mind?

The key word in this question is acquaintance. I wouldn’t really feel guilty telling a stranger the straight up truth. Lying just makes your life more complicated. It easier to tell people the truth and no one deserves to be lied to. I think that ties into my Lion secondary. I tend to simply tell the truth at most given opportunities. It's just easier. I will hide the truth though. Lying makes me feel icky but simply choosing not to tell someone something doesn't feel quite as wrong. Sometimes I feel guilty about telling the truth about personal things because, “oh no, now this person has power over me and I don’t know if they’re trustworthy.” However, that doesn’t happen too often anymore. I just don't tell anyone when I'm in pain. It's none of their business and why should they care anyway? They have better things to do. 

I am usually more careful with my friends though. I still will tell the truth most of the time. It's too hard to keep up a lie and it makes me feel bad. I think the exception to the no lying thing would be if I think the person will attack me for telling the truth. I don't need that kind of emotional abuse. 

So basically I chose, “I would if lying made my life easier and it wouldn’t make me feel bad at all.” I didn't think I wouldn’t lie is precise enough. I wasn’t sure exactly what they meant by acquaintance. Like how well do you know this person? Also can I trust them not to lash out at me for telling them the truth?

Since you said lying makes you feel icky, I don't think that's the answer you want to go for--"I wouldn't lie" seems closer to what you mean.

When you’re making a decision and you’re stuck, what should you do?

Honestly, this question makes me feel weird. I need to find what makes sense, but I also have to be able to agree with my decision feelings wise. I will listen to advice from other people and try to learn at least a little about the topic before making a decision. I would probably also freeze up, especially if it’s a sudden decision or there are too many options to choose from. 

I chose the, “I need to take a breath…”

This still has me leaning towards Lion for you.

Does disagreeing with your closest friends about something important to you make you love them less? 

No, they’re my friends because of who they are, not what they believe. (which I realize is basically almost the same thing, but idk how else to explain) As long as they don’t believe something horrible that involves hurting people our friendship won’t be affected. Your political views or opinions about certain things aren't going to affect our friendship. I may respect them less but it wouldn’t be over something minor or because of one situation. I don’t think I would have been their friend or even liked them very much if they were “bad” people. It takes time for me to really establish someone as one of my closest friends so by then I know them pretty well so something like this is less likely to happen. 

Huh, interesting! You might have some Snake to your Sorting.

Which of these statements is more true for you?

I think I would choose to stand by the people I love. There are always exceptions though. If it was about standing with them for a cause, it depends on the cause. If they’re standing for something wrong, like against basic human rights, I don’t think I could support them. I have to be able to stomach it. I trust that my people wouldn’t do something like that though. If it was against a person, I’m afraid I would be biased towards my people. Once I commit I'll stick by them. You can’t just abandon people you love, what’s the point of loving them if you don’t support them? 

If you're a Lion, I think you have a Snake model--or you have Snake ideals coded as "good" in your intuition. This seems like a strong possible Sorting for you.

You might yet be a Snake with a Lion model, though.

Vehement answers: (strongly agree)

What’s your top priority?

Automatically my mind went to a specific goal of mine. I felt guilty immediately because shouldn’t it be family? Making the world a better place didn’t even come close.  I ended up choosing my goals and feeling incredibly guilty about it. It just seems selfish to say that, but I wanted to be as honest as possible.

Remember, primaries are aspirational, and your knee-jerk reaction isn't necessarily your truest one/what you really think. (The fact that you think it *is* kind of supports the Lion theory, lol.) It's just surface thoughts, or what you've been conditioned to think.

It'd help the quiz if you picked an answer you don't feel guilty for prioritizing. You should feel right in choosing your answers, even if you don't always live up to them.

Would you feel worse abandoning a stranger in need or turning our back on your closest friend?

This one was easy, my closest friend. If it was a stranger who really really needed me I would feel guilty, but I would feel worse abandoning someone I’ve loved for years.

Again, this is either Snake or Lion with a lot of Snakey loyalty baked in.

Loving people is a lot of trouble.

Agreed. Worth it? Idk.

xD

What if everyone you loved left you? They betrayed you, abandoned you, or died, and you’re hurting. What keeps you moving forward?

This one was easy. I don’t think I would survive that. I lost a friend in the past and was just really upset and angry about being abandoned for a long time. I would just harden up and stop letting people in. I would basically just work. Set goals and throw myself into accomplishing them like a machine.

Huh, I don't really know what to say about this Sorting wise. That sounds rough though, I'm sorry you had to go through that :c

What if you realized that absolutely everything you thought true was wrong? The authorities you’d trusted, the beliefs you’d held, the wrongs you’d fought against?

I chose, “I’d have to go sit by myself in a corner….” That trust being broken would be shattering. I don’t have too much faith in authorities, probably because they’re not close to me. Yes, they affect my lives but I have no personal attachments to them. However, having conflicting beliefs is one of the things that really hurts. You don’t know which belief is right, and what if the one you decide is right is really wrong? If all my beliefs were actually proved wrong I’m not sure I would know what to do with myself. 

Not to read too much into this, but the word "trust" here is interesting! What is it you're trusting? You say yourself that it's not trust in authority. Other people are important to you, but it seems like you don't lean on them too heavily for your own morality. It seems like you're talking about trust in yourself, and that's the core of a Lion's primary.

You can’t help everyone in the world who needs it, but you wish you could.

I help people when I can and when I see someone who needs me and I choose to walk away I feel guilty. I don't worry about it enough to choose the "It makes me feel like a bad person sometimes," answer.

Fair enough! This doesn't contradict any previous information, so let's keep moving.

Do you listen to your intuition? 

This one was fairly simple? Umm it depends, when I have nothing else to go on, yes. Sometimes it's wrong and sometimes it's right. I can trust it with moral decisions most of the time or about certain people. If I get weird vibes, I’ll usually be more wary. Thinking about it now, I’m realizing that I do tend to avoid things that make me feel wrong, and the decisions I’m most assured in usually feel right. I do like to validate my feeling when I can though. I don't value being overly emotional or acting on pure emotion because it can cloud your judgment. I try to validate my feelings with proof before jumping in to things. 

Yep, that's a Lion response! Lions can be cautious and want to back up their intuition with evidence, or give decisions time and consideration, but overall they're going to be most confident and stable-feeling when they follow their intuition.

Someone points out a flaw in your logic. Their argument makes sense, but there’s something about it that just bothers you. Do you change your ways because of what they said? 

Not right away, no. I would have to go think about it, but it’s pretty unlikely that I’ll change my mind, especially if it's about a moral viewpoint. When it comes to a moral viewpoint, I have usually had an internal debate with myself already. What do I feel is right about this and what is wrong? Unless it really really bothers me and what they pointed out makes me feel like a bad person, I won't change my mind completely. I very firmly believe there is no one yes or no answer to important moral questions. It depends on the circumstances.

That feels very Lion to me, especially the "unless the dilemma makes me feel like a bad person" bit. You have Snakey values, but the source of your moral decision making seems to mostly come from your internal compass.

I’ve taken the quiz multiple times, and read all the primary posts and the ones I've stuck with longest are Snake and Lion. I have thought I was a Bird or a Badger too though. 

Please feel free to ignore this if I'm being annoying. 

I can see why you landed with the Internal primaries, yeah--and I'm with you, I think you're almost certainly one of those two and you model the other.

I do think you're a Lion who's modeling Snake, though. Your intuition says that Snake ideals are good and worthy, that it's right to be loyal to those you care for--but it sounds to me like you're thinking and talking about it in a very Idealist flavored way.

It's ultimately up to you to decide, but I hope this helps!

--Paint