Which also reminds me: "zen" approaches work well. i.e., DON'T ACCEPT THE FRAMEWORK. Distraction, humor, paradox, abrupt changes of frame... and if you're going to tell me that you don't feel like my feelings are valid, I CAN TAKE IT, but only in proportion to how much authority I feel is being copped over me. You'd be amazed how far you can get with me with "Kin? Do you need to go walkies?!?" Less clinic, more schoolyard. Smile when you say it.

@zebratron2084 all this time, I've never asked--what are Jovians like? 'cause that's where I'm nominally from, and so far most such things have fit me a little too closely for comfort (holy shit I am such a Sagittarius it isn't even funny, also Year of the Pig yep lol)

@JulieSqveakaroo I just always thought they were so damned monastic and stuffy. But granted, Dragon has always kinda felt like the "wild card/TBA" faction personality-wise, hasn't it. n.n (cc: @KoBunny for more experienced opinions <3 )

@zebratron2084
@KoBunny

I can see that, but I almost always played as the InkedMonk subset, not the Musashi sword-scholar... because I need to be able to enjoy myself while RPing.

Also why I commonly played Scorpion or Unicorn.

@LexYeen Oh my god, if each and every one of you would forestall the Deepak Chopra stuff with me in favor of just carrying around seltzer bottles marked "TIGER CONFLICT SOLUTION," that would be so appreciated. XD

It's real, real hard for me to be mad after someone's made me complicit in a classic gag. Christ, they might as well call that @anthracite's First Law Of Tiger Handling.

@LexYeen And actually, for that matter, reflective listening is probably a good approach too. "Huh, Kin. I dunno, that sounds kinda... militant/paranoid/crusty/unfair to me. Huh, I wonder, what if maybe you..." seems to work pretty well, though admittedly it's probably real tone-dependent and I could see many ways it could be screwed up tbh. n.n;

I mean, tigers and zebras are still fundamentally pains in the ass. n.n;

@LexYeen But yeah, I REALLY REALLY REALLY like to feel like I'm invited to the academic seminar on whether I'm full of shit or not, especially if people laugh at (or in any way shape or form acknowledge) my opening joke. ^___^; Being invited to speculate on the question, "Is Kin full of shit?", instead of feeling like I'm just the caged exhibit, can be very comforting, especially if it's an informal round table. Wine and cheese preferred.

@LexYeen I think people in general tend to underestimate how interested I am in that question, how full of shit I am. ^_____^

Come to think of it, I think a lot of my annoyance to the Brad Goodman approach is that it tends to feel like an assumption that I DON'T ALREADY KNOW DAMN WELL I'VE GONE BARKING MAD FOR A BIT BECAUSE MY NEURAL SOUP HAS GONE OFF AGAIN.

@LexYeen I've got no answer for you there except for "it's funny, isn't it." If there's anything besides coincidence/selection bias behind the fact I've gravitated to Zebra and Tiger, I honestly have not identified it. I _think_ it's coincidence, since I have so many characters who would, you know, be considered solids in billiard terms. :D

@LexYeen The tiger, well... I've been a lot of big cuddly-but-ferocious cats in my day, and that's probably NOT a coincidence in the slightest.

Canonically, Valis, the frilly zebra-boi character you see in my icon, has the willpower of a Grape-Nut, so he's probably not the best mascot for my personal temperament issues. I do worry it's kinda false advertising of a kinder, gentler, older self than I can muster in the Trump Era. n.n;

@LexYeen Also, this has all been INTENSELY therapeutic, and hopefully of some help answering @literorrery's intensely valid (to borrow a term! *evil giggle!*) questions, so...

I think I owe you this, Ms. Van Pelt.

*plinks a nickel in your jar*

#cheaptherapy
#fivecents
#getittogetherblockhead

@LexYeen Usually, all I need is help reaching my own shutdown keys. I already HAVE routines in place for dealing with meltdowns, but having a security team overreact and drag me off to the War (read: Big Serious Discussion) Room totally disrupts that and makes me want to kick & bolt. Most of my potential meltdowns could probably have been shut down in Stage 1 just by helping me DO that and not locking me in the panic room for "my own safety."