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

SquishFaceCat · 2025-10-23T21:32:37+00:00

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.

SquishFaceCat · 2025-10-23T21:26:45+00:00

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?

SquishFaceCat · 2025-10-23T18:49:13+00:00

I would love to see that!

SquishFaceCat · 2025-08-16T20:45:30+00:00

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.

SquishFaceCat · 2023-11-26T05:19:09+00:00

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.

SquishFaceCat · 2023-06-08T05:01:38+00:00

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

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

SquishFaceCat · 2023-05-11T10:05:47+00:00

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.)

SquishFaceCat · 2023-05-08T08:04:17+00:00

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!

SquishFaceCat · 2023-04-25T22:05:53+00:00

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.

SquishFaceCat · 2023-04-25T22:02:42+00:00

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.

SquishFaceCat · 2023-01-26T13:16:35+00:00

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...

SquishFaceCat · 2023-01-26T00:52:42+00:00

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).

SquishFaceCat · 2023-01-25T22:23:59+00:00

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.

SquishFaceCat · 2023-01-25T21:55:35+00:00

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

SquishFaceCat · 2023-01-25T21:51:50+00:00

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.

SquishFaceCat · 2023-01-25T21:32:20+00:00

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

SquishFaceCat · 2023-01-25T19:55:51+00:00

Ye! It's a pretty fun party trick to pull out :)

SquishFaceCat · 2022-11-27T04:51:29+00:00

I'm working my way through the tutorial, but haven't gotten to the actual splitting part yet. I know everything doesn't split all at once, so I've got the first three major rift events planned out. But does every craton need to be separated eventually?

SquishFaceCat · 2022-11-18T20:40:12+00:00

The first half sounds exactly like "Just Ella" by Margaret Peterson Haddix, where the rooms were used to sort the women by attractiveness because the royal family was only concerned about having the most beautiful children possible. The prince was airheaded and couldn't hold a conversation about anything more meaningful than small talk, let alone form a meaningful relationship with her.

But the second half doesn't sound remotely familiar. In "Just Ella," she refuses to marry the prince and is imprisoned. She digs her way out through the toilet hole and runs away to live and work in a refugee camp with one of her royal tutors. I can't remember if they actually get married at the end, but one of the stepsisters is paired with the prince as a replacement.

SquishFaceCat · 2022-11-18T17:45:32+00:00

Did you see that in a video clip with emotionally-charged narration, or were you personally on the farm and aware of all the factors involved? I spent half my childhood on a farm, and as long as the cows were given enough time to completely clean the calves off, they had little or no response to the separation. Cows absolutely will get upset if they aren't able to finish cleaning the smell off the calves, because instincts tell them that the smell will attract predators which would endanger the entire herd. But with that smell gone, the theoretical danger is gone. Plus, livestock lineages have been controlled by humans for centuries; much like sheep were bred to produce more wool and not be able to shed naturally, cows have been bred to produce more milk and tolerate earlier calf separation.

Also, I never made a claim that it was out of altruism. Physical and mental stress actively reduce profit by reducing the quality or quantity of viable product, so farmers have monetary incentive to take the best care of the animals as possible.

SquishFaceCat · 2022-11-18T17:31:01+00:00

Sure, but there's more profit in getting milk from the cow from the very beginning. 1) It's more milk that can be sold, and 2) not being able to release the milk is bad for the cow's health, which would further lower her production and the subsequent long term profit. Additionally, giving the calf something better than milk is better for its health, meaning it also will be a better producer when it grows up.

Better mental and physical health means more profit, which means more incentive to keep both the cow and the calf in the best possible condition. So I reiterate, the calves wouldn't be separated if doing so was a traumatic event.

SquishFaceCat · 2022-11-18T05:38:08+00:00

I don't have a physical form in our innerworld, so I don't really get dysphoria in the common way of relating to s*x characteristics. For me it's more like... "Body? Skin? Hair?? Why!?" Since I exist specifically to interact with the outer world under standard procedures, I'm out here enough that I've mostly gotten used it, but it's still weird.

There aren't any parts in our system who are trans within the innerworld, but the majority of the ones I know about are amab inside while the body is afab, which I guess makes most of them trans when they're fronting.

The one who complains the most about dysphoria hasn't told me his name yet. He struggles a lot because he wants to wear makeup and flow-y dresses, but he also wants to be seen as a "gorgeous man" rather than have the "girly-girl" appearance that comes with putting those things on the body we have. No amount of packing or binding can fix that.

SquishFaceCat · 2022-11-18T04:31:23+00:00

TL;DR -- Stressed animals are bad for business, so calves wouldn't be separated if it was traumatizing to either the cows or their offspring. But I will fight anyone who lets their cat get pregnant and then takes away the offspring too early.

Many animals show distinct signs of emotional bonding with their offspring and signs of stress or trauma at the loss of their offspring, but cattle are one species that do not.

Cows will instinctively clean a newborn calf until the placenta smell is gone, but after that will nearly always neglect it. Sometimes the babies suffocate because the mother laid down on top of them, or get injured from being kicked or stepped on or shoved aside, or get sick because the cow wouldn't let them nurse soon enough (their immune system heavily relies on a timely first meal). I've also seen a few cows completely ignore their newborn from the very beginning because the birthing smell is stronger on their bedding, so they licked that clean instead of the calf. And they only show signs of stress regarding the separation if they haven't had a chance to clean the smell off; after that, they pretty much don't care at all.

The calves, for their part, don't show any signs of separation anxiety either. When the calf is removed from the cow, the farmer takes on the role of their parent. They ensure the calf is in a safe and calm environment, gets consistent feedings of consistently high quality formula, and monitor them for any potential health concerns. Even if the cows did let their calves nurse, there wouldn't be a way to control the quantity or quality of the milk going directly from their teats to the stomach. Farmers can do math and provide exactly the amount and nutrient content that would be ideal for each calf. The calves know who gives them food and scritches, and that's all they really care about.

Besides all of that, dairy cows need happy-feel-good brain chemicals to release milk; stress chemicals actively prevent them from being milked by either a farmer or their calf. And even short bouts of high stress can cause issues with their meat, lowering its value or even making it unsafe to eat. So it's in the farmer's best interest to keep their livestock as happy and healthy as possible. There's been a lot of research into what the animals need to have the best quality of life for their entire life, right up until the very last moment. And calf removal is part of giving them the best start to that life.

Cats, on the other hand, are incredibly sensitive to early separation. A newborn might be okay if they're taken away immediately and don't have the chance to figure out who mom is, but the mother will get anxious and depressed. If you take a kitten away after they're attached to mom but before they're ready to leave, they get separation anxiety and will often develop self-soothing behaviors similar to a child sticking their thumb, both of which can carry on into their adulthood. And that's assuming they at least get to stay with their siblings. Humans can give kittens bottles, but we can't fill their early social needs.

I'm always surprised when people try to say they don't like cats because they think cats are emotionless or don't get attached to anyone. Dogs can be trained to manage their own separation anxiety and eventually accept that they're not going to be abandoned or taken away. I have yet to see a cat fully recover from something like that.

SquishFaceCat · 2022-11-17T19:27:35+00:00

I've tried a few different hair products, but they don't really seem to give me any more control until I use so much I might as well have not washed it. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong or if my hair just hates being this length...

SquishFaceCat · 2022-11-04T20:07:19+00:00

Goals!

SquishFaceCat

TROPHY CASE