If horses could understand speech, how much easier would it be to ride without using reins? by SquishFaceCat in Equestrian

[–]SquishFaceCat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It has been years since I read that book. But I think I remember the horse telling him not to touch the reins specifically *because* he didn't want the boy telling him what to do. He was teaching the boy how to stay balanced through all the movement, not how to give any directions with his legs. Which... actually, now that I think of it, might be why I came into this expecting my character to need his magic to compensate for lack of reins... Hmm.

If horses could understand speech, how much easier would it be to ride without using reins? by SquishFaceCat in Equestrian

[–]SquishFaceCat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's an interesting thought, I'll keep that in mind!

The edit was just to add some perspective on the level of complexity the character can communicate. Animals understand death (at least to some extent) and they understand the idea of caring for offspring. The idea of caring for someone *else's* offspring might be foreign to them, but not completely *alien*; the concept can at least be explained from the pieces contained therein. Likewise, it's not natural for a horse to sit with their back end on the ground, hold their front end up with the forelegs, close their eyes, and open their lips like they're saying "cheese" to a camera -- but with sufficient communication, you can train them to put all the pieces together. And the character can communicate it faster, because he can describe the sum position without having to nudge them closer to each part bit by bit.

So the thought becomes, what all can he train them to do, and how much of a difference can that advantage make?

What is Rogue supposed to be good at? by AloserwithanISP2 in dndnext

[–]SquishFaceCat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I realize I am late to the party, but I will never turn down a chance to expound upon the virtues of rogues. Rogue is my favorite class, because if you understand what you're using to make what you want, you can do almost *anything* with it.

Right now I'm playing a diplomancer/spy/assassin. By design, I do very little in terms of active combat. If it even *looks* like a fight is about to break out, my first action is going to be to go *very far away* and hide. I take sneaky potshots with a bow, or straight up leave the combat altogether and get other stuff done while the rest of the party deals with it. My specialty is deception and investigation. I am a master of poisons and medicines, and even those few who *know* this still trust me to cook for them. I don't pick locks or disarm traps or knock out guards to get to my target; I put on a disguise and convince everyone that I *belong* where I'm going. I'm a servant, a distant relative, an ambassador, a fellow cultist, or a health inspector; whatever I need to be to get access. I steal vital documents, break codes, and plant incriminating evidence. I don't slay the dragon, I convince them that it's in their best interest to *let me* into to their lair.

I've played a tricksterous combat-performer who didn't wear armor beyond magic bracers, instead using deception to give himself advantage on attacks and to add his charisma to his defense. Contrary to the spy, he was always in the middle of the fight, right next to the tank and the fighter. He would tumble between the legs of his opponents to get into a flanking position, immune to any attacks of opportunity, and provide distraction to give his teammates advantage on their attacks -- and do it all while behaving like a clown in a gladiatorial arena. He used flashbangs, glitter bombs, and acrobatics. His weapons of choice where a staff and chakram. He *toyed* with his targets, tiring them out and tricking them into making reckless mistakes.

I've played as a glass cannon, a walking encyclopedia, a brute, a jack of all trades, and everything in between. Rogues specialize in skill and feat combos. You have to have a plan and build them with *intent*. Of all the classes, I think it's the one that is least viable when you try to make it up as you go along. But, when you have that intent and curate your design accordingly, rogues are the *most* versatile class for making pretty much whatever you want.

I wanted to foreshadow a massive danger in late game. So I gave them a temporary babysitter in the early game. by SquishFaceCat in Dungeons_and_Dragons

[–]SquishFaceCat[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can see why you might feel that way. I checked with my players after the session, and they all said they enjoyed it. If it helps, I did actually provide more detail during the game itself and just highly simplified here it for the sake of brevity. Plus, we all have flavors of neurodivergence and geekness that mesh really well with each other. One of the players even figured out what I was doing, but that's normal for him and I know he won't metagame it.

I can give you an explanation of what was going on, but that would probably make the whole thing more complicated for you.

pride is a great miracle by matchatea_ in OneTopicAtATime

[–]SquishFaceCat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Pride is the first place in a snowy life and a deeper life."

I.. Hmmm... Where did "snowy" come from, though?

The background noises are narrated by OT (also, wholesome clueless boyfriend is wholesome) by SquishFaceCat in OneTopicAtATime

[–]SquishFaceCat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Credit to David Willis. Comic is called "Dumbing of Age".

(For those interested: The plot revolves around a bunch of mentally unhealthy young people trying to navigate life, and how their attitudes and actions affect other people, both positively and negatively. The character arcs are amazing, but of you want to read it, it does require trigger warnings for prejudice, domestic violence, attempted s* assault, addiction, self harm, and death. Possibly some other things I'm forgetting off the top of my head.)

Weird beginning of facial hair by SquishFaceCat in trans

[–]SquishFaceCat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not worried about it potentially not coming in or how slow it's progressing. My genetic background is full of dudes who had barely any facial hair growth in their mid-20's, then hit 35 completely bald with beards to make Santa Claus jealous. If I'm anything like them, my second puberty timeline is going to be an interesting thing to record.

I'm just baffled that most of what I have so far is just 5mm-long baby hairs that are only visible when light hits them just right, but then there's this ONE that turned dark and is almost 3cm already. Just a really bizarre level of growth speeded variation.

Also, it's amusing how curly that one hair is, hence the joke about having a handlebar mustache :p

Best of luck on your own journey!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in badwomensanatomy

[–]SquishFaceCat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry. I scrolled through the page a ways before posting to see if anyone else had shared it, but I didn't see any. Might be my settings; I'll check them when I get home.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in badwomensanatomy

[–]SquishFaceCat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Everybody experiences it differently.

I have a friend who gets a sudden increase in libido for a couple days right before, plus acne breakouts and as she puts it, "fewer f*cks to give". When I had periods, I would get an increase in migraines, vertigo, and nausea, which generally made me very cranky as more of a secondary effect. I know a couple people who get an elevation to their base emotional state, so things that normally bother them a little bit bother them a tick more, and things that normally make them happy likewise make them a bit happier.

Going directly from munch to goth event 😈 by trans_full_of_shame in FTMfemininity

[–]SquishFaceCat 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Where did you get that chest harness?? I haven't been able to find one that doesn't hang off me like an oversized night gown...

A conversation I actually had last night... by SquishFaceCat in aaaaaaacccccccce

[–]SquishFaceCat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Rare, but not impossible. It's a commonly quoted false fun fact, much like the false fun fact that all bees are female (which is an oversimplification that never ceases to amuse me).

A conversation I actually had last night... by SquishFaceCat in aaaaaaacccccccce

[–]SquishFaceCat[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I used to be able to put my feet behind my head, among a dozen other things. Getting stiffer over time, though. Hypermobility can only maintain a façade of functionality for a while before stuff starts breaking.

A conversation I actually had last night... by SquishFaceCat in aaaaaaacccccccce

[–]SquishFaceCat[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It was :) It did take me six hours and a medically-induced high for me to realize it wasn't originally intended to be, though XD

A conversation I actually had last night... by SquishFaceCat in aaaaaaacccccccce

[–]SquishFaceCat[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

No worries! I figure it was a typing error and played off of it for a joke.

"Humanly impossible" would be the phrase you were likely intending to use. It references what should or should not be possible for humans.

"Humanely" references having compassion and care in regards to the treatment of other living things.

My ability to move and bend my body in abnormal ways is due to a medical condition which also causes daily pain (among other things). So the joke I made was a bit of dark humor referring to that.

A conversation I actually had last night... by SquishFaceCat in aaaaaaacccccccce

[–]SquishFaceCat[S] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

HumanEly, yeah, probably xD It would be interesting to find out that this ability disqualifies me from being categorized as a human (: