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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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Character Analysis: Sorting the Winchesters

using the @sortinghatchats system

PRIMARY = MOTIVE. WHY DO YOU DO THINGS?

LION Primary’s sense of morality and ethics comes from inside. Things just feel right or they feel wrong. BIRD Primary gets their morality and ethics from the world outside them. They decide what they think is right. BADGER Primary is focused on the good of the group. Who cares if something is technically “moral” if people are getting hurt? SNAKE Primary is a lot like Badger, but instead of protecting the group, their highest law is the well-being of the individual people they love.

SECONDARY = METHOD. HOW DO YOU DO THINGS?

LION Secondary gets their power from being direct, honest, completely themselves. Their “plan” is just keep going until someone stops them. If they see a locked door, they kick it in. BIRD Secondary collects tools and skills. They build things, find things, learn things. If they see a locked door, they go through their box of keys until they find the right one. BADGER Secondary is fair, hardworking, and shows up. They’re good at getting people to trust them, and good at getting people to help them. If they see a locked door, they knock. SNAKE Secondary knows the right mask to wear for each situation. They’re adaptive. They go in the back way. They find the third option. They’re the ones who pick the locks.

I’m also linking to an explanation of “Burning” “Exploding” and “Modeling.” These guys are very psychologically complex & very damaged. Here’s my extended breakdown of the system I’m using if you’re interested. Let’s get started.

JOHN WINCHESTER

It’s kind of crazy that John Winchester is one of the most important characters in Supernatural, but almost never appears on screen. When we first meet him, we have no choice but to see him through the eyes of his sons. To Sam and Dean, he’s a fiery Double Lion: driven, direct, unstoppable, here to right wrongs and kick butts. The difference is that Dean sees him as a heroic “superhero” Lion while Sam sees him as an Exploded Lion, blinded by his own mission and unable to see the damage that he causes.

But then we learn who John was before the tragedy that turned him into a Hunter (and what John would have been like if that tragedy had never happened.) Left to his own devices, John Winchester is a family man who drives a VW bus, who loves his local softball team, fishing, and going to professional wrestling matches with his sons. He’s all about groups, he’s all about community. He’s a soft, happy Badger. That’s probably why Mary loves him – he’s nothing like her toxic Lion family. It’s also why she doesn’t tell him that monsters and demons exist. She doesn’t want to turn his world into a place where he can’t trust people. Mary doesn’t want to give Badger John a reason to Burn.

But when she dies, John is left with an infant, a toddler, and the knowledge that a demon killed his wife. So in order to defend himself he burns hard. His community shrinks to just his sons: he’s going to protect them, and that has to be enough (it’s not enough. That’s why he does so much of that Badger primary helping-the-helpless thing. And also drinks.)

John leans into community, but then pulls away the second he senses things are becoming too stable. This is classic Burnt Badger: he needs that community, he wants that community, but can’t let himself trust it enough to actually depend on it. John has a network of ex mentors, lovers, partners and friends scattered across the country, and he seems to have had a falling out with all of them. The situation with his secret son is also interesting, because here he is cosplaying his ideal life. Innocently bringing his non-Hunter kid to a baseball game.

John has that standard-issue Lion secondary that all Hunters seem to use, and that’s the side of himself that he shows his sons. He wants them to feel safe, so he tries to act strong - but his idea of “strong” is this stoic, violent thing cobbled together from media and his time in the army. It doesn’t allow for doubt, and it doesn’t allow for vulnerability, and he models the hell out of it.

Underneath this oppressive Lion secondary model, John is actually a Bird secondary. The obsessive diary keeper? The guy who puts together conspiracy theory-style wall maps with string? Who decides to fight Yellow-Eyes by tracking down a very specific tool, and gives Dean grief for not respecting his tools enough? Definitely Bird.

DEAN WINCHESTER

When we meet him, Dean Winchester is trying so hard to be John. He is wearing his father’s clothes, driving his father’s car, doing his father’s job, listening to his music, and modeling (what he believes to be) his father’s Double Lion. This is classic young Badger primary behavior. Dean has too many responsibilities too young, he has no real identity outside of his community, and is mirroring an authority figure hard.

He (mostly) stops cosplaying his dad after the first season, and then starts running through the Unhealthy Badger Primary Playlist. He dehumanizes civilians (helpless) and monsters (evil). He ties himself in knots trying to explain why Sam (with his telekinesis and visions) is not a monster, but all the other psychic kids are. Obviously.

And then in Season 3 he just Explodes. He is not important, he is a resource to be used up. He’ll go to Hell to bring back Sam, and he’ll do it with a deathwish and a smile on his face. Dean survives (enjoys) Hell, probably because he’s able to dehumanize the souls he tortures. But that’s a position that only makes sense while he’s down there. Dean is an external primary who gets his meaning from outside himself. He can’t reconcile the person he was in Hell with the person he is topside.

Dean manages to create the most staggeringly unhealthy Badger primary I have ever seen. Somehow, he is a Burnt Badger AND and an Exploded Badger who is ALSO an Authoritarian Badger… who has kicked himself out of his own community. I think his logic goes roughly like this:

At best I am a useful tool (Dad’s “blunt instrument,” Sam’s “grunt.”) At worst I am a violent killer who is a danger to himself and others.

I want a community, but it is irresponsible and selfish for me to form a community with other people who are less flawed than me (see above.)

Sam is Flawed and In Trouble, so it is okay if he is part of my community. Also it’s okay to adopt Cas when he’s in trouble, but I have to back off whenever he seems fine/busy. (It’s that Badger primary need-basing thing.)

Since Sam is Flawed and In Trouble, he does not know what’s best for him.

I am only good and useful as long as I am pouring every ounce of effort into my community (and my community is Sam.)

*Luckily* Sam is in such a bad place for Seasons 4-9 that this system actually… works? Dean is able to put all his energy into keeping Sam in one piece and Sam is beaten down enough that he lets Dean do it. So. Dean’s life has meaning. (But at what cost?)

Something’s gotta give, and that something is Gadreel. Dean gets an angel to possess Sam when he knows that Sam would rather die than be possessed again (and that’s why he has to trick Sam into agreeing…) But from Dean’s perspective - Sam needs to be protected, and Sam can’t be trusted to know what’s best for himself.

Once this is resolved, Sam gets mad enough to call Dean out on his warped Badger primary. But more importantly, for the first time in a long time - Sam is fine. And this means that Dean’s entire world falls apart overnight. Sam doesn’t need him anymore. This is when Dean gets the Mark of Cain, and if there is a better symbol of deep-seated brotherly resentment, I have no idea what it is.

The entire show, Dean is haunted by that “strong” Double Lion model we see him struggling with in Season 1. Michael, the angel destined to possess him, is Double Lion through and through - perfectly sure of his own rightness, impossible to reason with, straightforward, harsh. And that’s what Dean looks like when he accepts the Mark. His toxic (but functional) Badger primary just burns off, leaving him with that Lion energy, now jacked up to berserker levels.

It takes until the end of Season 10 for Sam and Dean to forgive each other, and start to really understand each other. So the Mark disappears. And leaves behind the Darkness (Amara).

Amara is young, and hurting, hungry and neglected, and tied to Dean in some metaphysical way. So I see her as basically Dean’s id. She is all the aspects of himself that he has been denying and ignoring. His obsessive need to control and caretake Sam was a coping mechanism that got toxic, so he got rid of it, and now he’s got to deal what’s underneath.

And the way Dean “defeats” Amara… that’s when we get to see the heroic Badger primary. He powers himself up with souls, becomes the avatar of empathy, and says, “Maybe there’s a different way. So I’m gonna ask you again. Put aside the rage. Put aside the hate. And you tell me… what do you want?” That brings the universe back into balance.

This is also what kills Dean’s “no chick flick moments” catchphrase, which by now has become emblematic of the sort of toxic masculinity he feels pressured to perform.

DEAN: Come on. You know the drill. No chick flick moments. Come on. SAM: Yeah. You love chick flicks. DEAN: Yeah, you’re right. I do. [Dean pulls Sam into a hug.]

However, Dean is only able to keep this up as long as Sam is okay. He’s building a healthy Badger primary, but it’s not stable yet. He does bring that Lion back (lets himself be possessed by Michael) when Sam needs him to fight Lucifer. But by then… well, Dean has a son, and an actual community that isn’t just Sam. And no force in the world can stand against that, not for long. Dean has gotten to a place where the God of his universe can call him the “ultimate killer,” and he can say – you’re wrong. Dean knows who he is now, and he knows what he wants, and the answer is simple. He wants to exist as a solid foundation for a family. He idealizes the “apple pie life,” but all he really wants is to be able to wave to neighbors when he mows the lawn. He loved being a PA. His fantasy is running a Roadhouse-style bar for other hunters (Sam, Cas) to come back to.

It’s tragic, because we have two men – John and Dean – who are both Badger Birds, both modeling toxic Double Lion because they think that is what the other one wants. Dean is terrified of becoming his father, but consistently framed as the better version of his father… because he’s able to actually drop the Lion model. Dean is able to balance hunting and taking care of a family in a way that John Winchester never did. As Bobby tells Dean, “you are a better man than your daddy ever was.”

Dean’s Lion secondary model can unfortunately slot into his Exploded Badger primary in just the worst way possible. If he’s not careful, Dean can enter a mindless, fearless berserker mode where he just is a knife (the First Blade, Michael’s Sword, the show’s not subtle.) However, this is also his improvisational Hunter skillset, and when eventually he learns to access it safely, it lets him be helpful and powerful. A responsible protector.

We also see a lot of the Badger secondary model he built to raise Sam. Dean uses it around little kids and… continues to use it around Sam. (Sam resents this.) It is really like Season 11 before he breaks that muscle memory and stops trying to parent Sam. And their interpersonal communication gets so much better. By the end of the show Dean and Sam aren’t lying, or fighting, or misunderstanding, or hurting each other anymore.

Now, I think that Dean is actually a Bird secondary, like John. If there is one thing that fundamentally makes a Bird a Bird, is that they interact with the world by collecting tools. “Tools” can be knowledge, people, skills, actual tools – the more stuff you’ve got at your disposal, the more effective you’re going to be.

And Dean’s a collector. He collects skills - he’s the one who knows how to use every weapon in that trunk. He’s the better shot. He can’t just drive, he can drive backwards at speed and use that car as a weapon. He’s memorized John’s diary. (Actually Dean is a big memorizer. He memorizes a lot of things.) Dean is the nerd, and gets so much joy out of knowing minor details (and uses that info a lot more often than you would expect.) He is the king of “I know a guy.” Dean collects people with interesting skills and assets, and calls them when he needs their expertise. Sometimes he even mixes knowledge-collecting and people-collecting, like when he casually gets Roland to teach him to computer hack. Dean has established a system of code-words that he and Sam use if they’re under duress. His ideal endgame is basically Batman – hyper prepared for every situation.

Dean is also tremendously uncomfortable when he doesn’t have a plan. Problem is, he doesn’t like to come up with plans himself… because of his issues with inadequacy and the specific way his primary is constructed. So what you get is Dean bouncing off the walls, saying “we’ve got to do something about Dick Roman!” while Sam (the improvisational secondary) sits there annoyed, telling Dean to chill – we’ve done everything we can, let’s wait until something happens and then we can respond to it. After Dean’s primary gets healthier, we see a lot more of Dean-the-planner. In Seasons 15 the plot to defeat God has about ten separate steps, and then there’s the angel containment unit that Dean builds – and comes up with multiple ways to use.

Dean invents things, fixes things, and the show frames this as healing. His hope for the future is represented through his keepsake box full of photos and little gifts – and notably the brochure for a retirement community.

And I’m going to say that he’s actually not a great improviser. He’s a good actor, but that’s different. When he knows the specific role that he’s supposed to play (and ideally has a costume) then he has a great time. Dressing up as a cowboy, preforming the Braveheart speech while LARPing, the semi-scripted back-and-forth he does with Sam when they hustle pool – that’s easy and fun. It’s fun when he’s done the prep-work, and things go according to plan. That’s why the joke in “The French Mistake” has to be that Dean can’t find his mark and keeps looking at the camera. He’d be pretty good TV actor.

But whenever someone questions their cover, it’s Dean who falters and Sam who picks up the slack. Sam is an excellent time traveler, while Dean stands out and gets arrested in the first ten minutes. After a while he will learn the situation, get himself a costume, and be fine. But he can’t just truly improvise. He and Sam even have a little game where Dean introduces his brother with some kind of ridiculous backstory (antique doll collector) because he knows Sam can roll with it. Sam trusts his strength, power, and quick mind to get them out of trouble. Dean wants to be prepared.

SAM WINCHESTER

Sam Winchester is a Snake primary. His person is Dean. It really is that simple. That is the single great truth of his existence: he can’t hurt Dean. That’s how he manages to shake off Lucifer, that’s how he escapes his coma vision-quest at the end of Season 6, and in Season 7 (when he can’t tell what’s real and what’s not) it is very specifically Dean who grounds him and brings him back.

DEAN: I am your flesh-and-blood brother, okay? I am the only one who can legitmately kick your ass in real time. Believe in that. Believe in me, okay? You gottta believe me. You gotta make it stone number one and build on it. You understand? SAM: Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

Sam is about to close the gates of Hell - but Dean tells him not to, and he doesn’t. Ruby can tempt and manipulate him, but Sam doesn’t go over the edge until she tricks him into thinking Dean has rejected him.

The issue is that (after Jess’ death) Sam has one person. So whenever Dean isn’t there, Sam’s Snake primary Burns completely. He becomes entirely amoral. No part of him cares, and he becomes “Soulless” Sam.

“Soulless” Sam is very much still Sam. That’s just what he looks like when he Burns. We see that particular brand of obsessive, workaholic pragmatism when he goes up against Gabriel in “Mystery Spot,” when he kills an innocent nurse so he can power himself up to defeat Lilith, and when he manipulates Lester into selling his soul, to get the whereabouts of Demon Dean. Sam has never been especially *guilty* about any of this. Again and again, we see him drawn to situations where he can be solitary and powerful. He does see the appeal of burning, and staying that way.

(Honestly, Sam Winchester is a very scary person. He does a good job of hiding it, because he’s soft-spoken and eats kale and puts a lot of effort into seeming less physically threatening. But occasionally he’ll do something that reminds you - oh yeah, Sam’s a really big guy.)

So if you’re threatening Dean, that means Sam will be coming for you like the Terminator. Because he’s a Lion secondary too. Once Sam works through all issues, he’s the leader who stands on things, gives inspirational speeches, leads the charge, and can’t lie. (Watch him try lie to Jack about the Mal’ak box, it’s killing him.) When Sam is stressed and out of bandwidth, he gets blunt and direct and usually a little harsh. All of Sam’s greatest temptations are power upgrades, which is very Lion secondary. It seems like Sam is the one who started all of those fights with John, and it’s because as a young Lion secondary, all he really wants is to fight with someone safely.

Snake Lion is a very simple and straightforward sorting. But Sam’s problem is that he is living with two self-sacrificial Badgers who model self-sacrificial Lion. And if that wasn’t enough, they are killing themselves with the weight of this Lion secondary which is actually… just how Sam is. So, of course he is going to start thinking he is evil and selfish and flawed.

“I remember looking at this picture of Sir Galahad, and he was kneeling, and— and light streaming over his face, and— I remember thinking, I could never go on a quest like that. Because I’m not clean. I mean, You think… maybe I knew? I mean, deep down, that— I had demon blood in me, and about the evil of it, and that I'm— wasn’t pure?

Sam feels corrupted and monstrous, which the show frames in terms of demon blood and being Lucifer’s perfect vessel. I think most of it comes back to being a Snake among Badgers. And he’s got this big powerful lion secondary, all smashy and destructive around two careful birds.

Lucifer is also a Snake Lion, and he is everything Sam fears he might turn into. A selfish brat who smashes things because he’s bored. And ultimately, Sam can’t quite defeat Lucifer on his own. He needs Dean to defeat him, because Dean is the moral center of Sam’s universe. If Dean believes he’s good, then he is good.

John lied to Sam about the existence of the supernatural, which was a terrible move. Because now (in addition to thinking he is rotten at the core) Sam also thinks he’s a liability. So, he builds the Bird secondary model that he spends most of his screen-time living in. This is Sam the researcher, Sam the language nerd, Sam the true crime nerd, Sam the computer expert. These are all skills that he taught himself so he could be useful to his father and older brother (and begin to deserve the care and attention he gets from Dean.)

Sam also has a Snake secondary model that he built to compliment Dean’s rapid-fire Actor Bird, and seems to have strengthened it in order to survive Hell. It’s not a particularly healthy model, and after he becomes more comfortable with his Lion secondary he drops it. Eventually Sam even stops lying on cases. He is exactly who he says he is: an authority figure who knows how to fix the problem.

When Dean is safe, Sam tries to do the Snake thing and adopt his Important Person’s morality. But that doesn’t work, because Dean’s morality is so bonkers that even Sam realizes it’s unhealthy. He eventually starts building something that looks a lot more Bird. He becomes interested in organizing hunters, he becomes interested in magic. Basically Sam needs a project in order to be happy. When Gadreel traps him in his body, that is the fantasy he constructs. Working a case forever. Rowena cautiously becomes a sort of mentor figure, and I think Sam is inspired by her Bird primary.

Sam’s big moment comes at the end of Season 9, when he has the opportunity to close the gates of Hell, symbolically killing the “darkness” he sees within himself… and realizing that killing the darkness will kill him too. The ending of Seasons 9 and 11 are almost identical. Sam and Dean learn that the darkness was never really the enemy, it was never that simple. The goal was never to defeat the darkness. The goal was self-acceptance and balance. The goal was to find peace.

tl;dr

JOHN WINCHESTER: Badger primary that burns when his wife dies / Bird secondary. Double Lion model that he uses to raise his sons, because he believes (incorrectly) that the best thing he can do is Be Strong for them.

DEAN WINCHESTER: Badger primary that is a combination of burnt, exploded, or both – until the Mark of Cain and Amara help him work through some issues / Bird secondary, Badger secondary model he built to raise Sam. Double Lion model he built because Dean (like his father) thought that was the only way to be strong. But he eventually manages to throw it off.

SAM WINCHESTER: Snake primary that burns whenever Dean (or Jess) is not around to keep him on the straight and narrow. He first tries to model Dean’s Badger primary (which does not work) before switching to a Bird primary (which does) / Lion secondary that takes him a while to trust. Bird secondary model that he built to make himself useful to John and Dean when they were out on hunts. Snake secondary model he built to hunt with Dean (that is not especially good for him.)

#long post #sortinghatchats #shc #love this analysis so much

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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What would you say are some tell-tales signs of someone being a Snake Secondary even when the person is unaware of it ? I’m a Lion Primary but my Secondary is a mystery. I don’t know whenever it’s burnt, buried under model(s) and / or performance(s), or if I’m just unable to have a clear picture of myself, probably a mix of all this, but I know it’s not Badger Secondary.

What I’m about to list is neither conclusive nor exhaustive, and you still can be a snake even if nothing on this is you. I tried to give non-clicheed answers, everyday stuff instead of stereotypical things, because hopefully that’s easier to identify with.

Here are a few things I have in common with other snake secondaries in the community.

- making weird connections nobody else sees, and having them work only in that particular situation

- asking ‘Does it work?’ more than ‘Is this the (right) way to do this?’ [birds also do this]

- not studying or prepping for an exam/a presentation/etc. much, and still coming out alright somehow

- enjoyed making up stories as a kid, about cool stuff you did, or cool friends you have, or cool people you met, etc.

- being good at individual conversations, but bad at networking

- getting frustrated if people don’t want to try new things, especially if their old approach is obviously not working or you have just shown them a better way

- figuring stuff out while writing about it -> discovery writing [lions also do this]

- enjoying/don’t minding weird solutions that work, being proud of coming up with these clever ideas on the fly

- getting opportunities you have not asked for, and for no apparent reason

- feeling like an asshole if you’re too exhausted to bother with people-pleasing any longer

- getting annoyed and contrary with any advice that includes 'plan’ or 'prep’, because you know from experience that it will not work for you [lions might also get this]

And here are a few things I do that I think is also snake secondary:

- getting along well with very different people I don’t necessarily like or agree with in a professional context (different temperaments, political opinions, upbringings, etc.)

- hopping from one personal project to the next without feeling guilty about not finishing any; it will get done, it’s just not its time yet.

- getting antsy if things get too set in their ways, too predictable, too boring

- loving snake secondary characters

- wanting to have at least three different kinds of clothing styles in my wardrobe, because it’s fun to look like you’re someone else on any given day

- being constantly surprised when people aren’t professional enough to leave their personal grievances behind while trying to work together

- not being surprised when you get to know coworkers in a private context, and they turn out to be very different from their work-selves

- making up words in the moment that don’t really exist, but hopefully people understand in the situation [though I think that’s also the German in me]

Snakes of the community, what did I miss?

#shc #snake secondary #saving for later

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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Good evening! I was hoping to hear your thoughts on something, if thats alright? I am working on figuring out my secondary at the moment and need a person to bounce off of. So… here goes. I invest in the people around me. But i am very aware that i am doing so. It is very consciously done. I understand the benefits that come with being a good, nice person and so i do it. I’ll bring you food i make from scratch. I’ll help you when you’re in a tight spot. I’ll be the shoulder you can cry on. I really do enjoy helping others but there is usually an underlying reason why i invest in those around me besides me simply being a nice person. Now, most all people like me. But the couple that don’t, really REALLY don’t. I always ask them why they don’t out of sheer curiosity. I wonder what i did wrong. What could i possibly have done to make you disdain me? Each of them said to me basically, “I can see through you. I know who you really are.” That scared the shit out of me. Instantly, my defenses went up. It was like i barricaded myself from them, even though i had no real reason to do so. I cut contact with them. Then, later on i start questioning myself and my actions. I get filled with self doubt. Am i the good person i thought i was? I brought my neighbors homemade cookies, but did i REALLY care about them at the time? I lend a helping hand whenever i can, but do these people actually mean anything to me? Or did i just do it because i am some sort of narcissistic psychopath? Am i only nice as a means to an end? I freak right out. I suddenly dont know who i am. I dont understand myself. It really screws with my brain because, you know, being a really nice psychopath seems a bit oxymoronic. Is this indicative of any specific secondary? Or am i just crazy? I dont know my primary either, btw. I think ive narrowed it down to bird or badger but im not sure yet. Thank you for your time!

Okay, first and foremost: you were doing good. And in my book, in this random stranger on the internet’s book, consistently doing good is all that matters. I’m not as interested in what you think in your head as I am in your actions. If you bring me a cookie because you think it makes you look kind, I will happily take the cookie and think you’re kind because that was a kind action. And maybe this is an overly simplistic, overly pragmatic point of view, but this world is way too complicated to judge people on anything but their consistent actions. Many people have “bad” thoughts; it’s what we do and the words we choose to share that shape who we are out here in reality. In your personal, internal reality? Whether or not that internal you is good is up to you and you alone. But I believe that simply recognizing that doing good things affords you benefits (people may reciprocate, people give you positive attention, you feel the ease of a clear conscious, etc.) doesn’t automatically invalidate your efforts or disqualify you as a good person. None of what you wrote sounds crazy. In fact, it sounds incredibly human. Evolution has wired us to be community-minded creatures, meaning we feel good when we help others. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying it. And seeing you worry about being a good person tells me that you most likely are.

Okay, I better quit the philosophy talk while I’m still making a modicum of sense. Onto your sorting.

The entire question of whether you can be a good person because you are consciously choosing to act like one is dancing the line between being a Secondary or a Primary discussion. You said you might be a Bird Primary, and I’d definitely lean that way since you’ve heavily implied that you consciously choose what is “good” as well. But ultimately that was just the implication. I suggest you examine how you came to the conclusion that investing in people is “good” as a starting place for determining your Primary. If any part of it is a subconscious instinct to help people, I’d say there’s a good chance you’re a Badger instead.

As far as your Secondary, feeling like you have a part of yourself that you don’t usually show others, this second motive idea, all sounds like a Bird or Snake. The way you describe barricading yourself from others when you were scared also sounds like the social armor Circumventing Secondaries use. And then you keep using the word “invest” which is one of those key Built Secondary words. I’m not about to suggest cooking from scratch is a Built Secondary hobby only (anyone can enjoy that), but it does sound like you’re using food as one of the tools in your repertoire to put people at ease. So, I suspect you’re a Bird Secondary. You don’t give any information on how you solve problems with no social element, however, so I suggest also examining how you solve these Single-Player problems to confirm or refute my impression. For instance, you can look at how you cook, especially when tackling a new recipe. Or if you discover you are missing an ingredient while cooking, how do you handle it? Or can you not relate to that at all because you always keep your pantry full and prepared? While all you’ve given me here reads like a Bird, I still see a possibility of you being a Snake Secondary, so you should try to examine how often, if at all, you find yourself trusting and acting on your gut reaction alone. Snakes will be comfortable with this, but Birds won’t be.

#very interesting!!!#I relate to this anon so much #this is where a lot of my snake vs badger sec confusion comes from #<- conscious vs unconscious stuff like anon said #but I’m pretty sure I’m a snake since I use a lot of social armour and pretty much all of my MP interactions #are done with some kind of intended purpose #and I just have a badger performance I layer over top that I enjoy #shc #sortinghatchats

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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You know how badger secondaries think negatively of taking shortcuts? Could the same be said of bird secondaries about failing to do prep work/showing up visibly unprepared? (and if so, what if anything is the parallel for snake or lion...?)

heads up, @wisteria-lodge has asked the community if we’d like to help answer asks to get to them more quickly, and this is one that was sent to me! for reference, i’m a birdpri/badgersec with a snakepri model and a whole host of secondary models.

if we're talking about general hang-ups that particular secondaries tend to have? then yes, badgers can disapprove of shortcuts, but i think they suffer from "failing to do prep work" fear/judgement as well (it's a built secondary thing more than a bird secondary thing).

to break that down a little more, badgers generally like things done so that they understand what's happening (because then that means Everyone can understand what's going on! it's only fair!!), and "shortcuts" tend to not conform to this preference.

ime birds suffer more (than the other secondaries) from fear of missing out-- they want All The Knowledge, so they're often baffled (at best) when others don't.

lions look at all this prep work and get impatient. even if they've picked up some planning skills, at some point it just becomes a waste of time and energy.

snakes don't mind prep work as much as they mind not being able to do what they want to do, in whatever way that works. i suspect they're most prone to deliberately "ask forgiveness, not permission." (lions can do that, too, but not as intentionally.)

#shc #sortinghatchats #ooo this is very interesting

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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on secondaries ~

(this is kind of an exercise for myself. I'm going to run though an explanation, and see how many words/terms I use to do it.)

Secondaries are about problem solving. That can be a serious problem, or a problem like “boredom” (which is how secondaries relate to hobbies.) But the question is how do people solve problems. That's it.

PART 1 - SINGLE PLAYER

BOOKKEEPER BADGER chips away at a problem in increments. Things are done throughly, all scaffolding in place. No corners are cut. Usually a community's load-bearing support beam (even if they are personally unpleasant.) Would rather do something well than quickly.

COLLECTION BIRD collects knowledge, skills, tools, contacts. If they want something that doesn’t exist out in the wild, they make it. Tend to have a lot of weird, seemingly unconnected skills. The kings of "work smarter, not harder."

~ these are Built secondaries (or Prepwork secondaries) because the more time Badgers and Birds have to build, the happier and more successful they are. ~

Lion and Snake are much much better known for their interpersonal "multiplayer" skills, that’s what you normally see in fiction. But here's how I see their single-player working:

EXPERIMENT LION "what happens if I plug the thing in the thing?" There's a lot of throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks. Dive in, figure it out as you go. For examples, think of the more "science flavored" Lion secondaries, like Tony Stark, Lord Asriel, or Merlin (of Merlin.) It's a rarer character type, but it's there.

ENVIRONMENT SNAKE "what have I got to work with, what have I got in front of me, how can I look at it/use it in a new way?" This is Ferris Bueller making his Rube-Goldberg contraptions, or Maria from the Sound of Music making clothes out of curtains. There is also a pot-stirring element to Single-Player Snake: if it turns out that you don't have anything to work with, then do something that changes up the status quo, and react to the fallout. (This a favorite tactic of Jack Sparrow, and the Joker.)

NOTE: I've also seen these guys called "Storage Bunker Snakes," which I think is a metaphor that steps on the toes of Bird a little: when I think of a storage bunker, I think of a collection.

Once interesting observation (thank you @reds-burrow) is that Lions and Badgers work by changing their surroundings, and Birds and Snakes work by adapting to their surrounding. I think this is why a Coiled Spring Badger who has been prepping for a long time before finally releasing can look a lot like a just-go-for-it-and-see-what-happens Experiment Lion. And a Rapid-Fire Bird who is really comfortable in their environment can look a lot like an Environment Snake just coming up with things on the fly.

PART 2 - MULTI-PLAYER

We've all got to interact with people (some more than others.) So how is that accomplished?

COURTIER BADGER - There is no acting, they become whoever they need to be in the moment. Mostly this means mirroring the energy or whatever group they're in, and shifting accordingly. This is still a Built secondary, because better you know a group/person, the easier and more effectively you can match them, and the more trustworthy you will seem.

ACTOR BIRD - They have different personas or roles they have prepared beforehand, and which they are able to pull out when needed. Often Actor Birds give their personas names like "Professional!Me" or "Artsy!Me." It's likely that they modeled at least one after a character or another person. It's also likely that they enjoy or rely on costumes.

BEACON LION - We all know this one from fiction. The person who's going to be completely authentic, and if they alienate people then so be it. They hate lying. They feels safest and most powerful when they just put themselves out there and speak their truth. BUT in real life these guys have to face-change just like everyone else. Their metaphor is a raising or lowering of intensity. They are always themselves, but they can be a louder or softer version of themselves.

MASQUERADE SNAKE - Another favorite from fiction. These guys are a slightly different person with everyone they interact with, and while every mask is them, they don't need to believe what they say the way a Badger does. They're also good at choosing what kind of impression they want to make, and telling 'creative truths' - how do I phrase something to get this person to listen to me?

This group is interesting, because you can break it down in a few ways. The Prep-work (Badger & Bird) vs In-the-moment (Snake & Lion) divide is still definitely there. But I think it's interesting how Badger and Snakes talk about their mirroring and masks as being fundamentally *them.* But Birds talking about personas, or Lions talking about raising and lowering intensity will go... that's constructed, that's something different from *me.* Badger & Snake shifting pulls from the unconscious self, Lion and Bird pulls from the conscious self. @sevilemar is right, that is a real difference.

In which case, I guess for me it comes down to:

PREP-WORK (Badger + Bird) vs IN-THE-MOMENT (Lion + Snake)

DELIBERATE (Lion + Bird) vs AUTOMATIC (Badger + Snake)

YOU MOVE (Badger + Lion) vs I MOVE (Bird + Snake)

(And Neutral? Neutral is what you get when your multi-player is not actively face-shifting (and even Lions face-shift a little.) So... when you're existing in your single-player. And there's no reason you can't be having fun with your single player around people.)

#shc #this is so so good #I love this breakdown

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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Finally, my HP sorting is confirmed

Not to long ago, while I was Googling random Harry Potter questions, I found the Sortinghatchats blog here on Tumblr and was fascinated by their comprehensive breakdown of the houses, the way there were primaries and secondaries and models. For a very long time, I’d considered myself a Slytherin/Ravenclaw hatstall. I did this because I took the Pottermore test three times, each time getting Slytherin. Then, when I found a test that had all of the Pottermore questions that broke the answers down by percentages, with each answer increasing or decreasing the percentage of a particular house, I found that I was sorted into Ravenclaw by a single answer. But still, even though I used the term “hatstall”, it didn’t feel quite right.

Enter the Sortinghatchats blog and quiz (take the quiz here https://ejadelomax.itch.io/sortinghatchats you won’t regret it).

I read up on all of the primaries, secondaries, models, performances, and burning, read about various character sortings, and then dove into the quiz. I got Snake Primary, Bird Secondary, with a tentative Lion primary model. My sorting was validated, even if there was the very surprising Lion in there. And the best thing about all of it is that the blog made the sorting make more sense.

I’m not a Snake primary just because I’m ambitious or cunning, as those aren’t my most defining traits. I’m a Snake primary because my morals come from within and I’m loyal to the people I choose to be loyal to. I’m a Snake primary because those morals go out the window when someone hurts me and mine, and the only reason I don’t act on my more vicious impulses is my multifaceted fear of prison. I’m a Snake primary, and possibly a lion model, because my family has explicitly told me to stay away from people who have hurt me and mine because they know my wrath will get me in trouble if I’m not careful, because it’s gotten me in trouble before. I’m a Snake primary because I have empathy for the suffering in the world, but I know there’s not much I can do about it, and while I feel bad for not being able to do more, I don’t feel too bad about not overextending myself when I need to save my energy to keep my own head above water.

I’m a Bird secondary because I research eeeeeeverything, get stuck on certain topics for long periods of time, and love a plan. Why do I know the origin of the F-word or that Stalin had a cannibal island? Because I can. Why do spreadsheets make me happy? Because they’re orderly. I can improvise if a plan goes south, but I don’t like to, and I’ll stumble over myself while my brain cobbles together a new track to take.

It was really cool to have this sorting quiz validate my “hatstall” idea about myself with way better terminology. Now to find more Snake/Birds in media that I actually like more than the Lion/Badgers (such a difficult process).

#happy that you found the system OP!#sortinghatchats #shc

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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How does one recognize an internal primary ? Do they give off some specific vibes or have some specific traits ?

Internal Primaries (Lions and Snakes) got the title of Internal because they tend to be more attuned to and trust their inner voice to guide them over external influences. While External Primaries feel wrong making a moral decision without first taking into account what those around them believe is right, Internal Primaries feel wrong ignoring their internal moral judgement for what others tell them they should do.

Some writers translate this as a surety, a confidence in oneself. Some writers translate this into passion or stubbornness. But can External Primaries be confident, passionate, stubborn people too? You bet. When it comes down to it, while I do think vibes are important (that's actually the first thing I check when I sort), the only way to be sure is to watch how they make moral decisions, what they fight for, what they let go, what they choose when they're stuck between a rock and a hard place.

#!!! great post #sortinghatchats #shc

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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Hiya! Quick question for you - I'm autistic and so the social part of any secondary doesnt make sense to me, do you have any information about the non social aspects? Thank you!

Snake: improvisational & circumventing (aka situational)

When you need something done, you look around at what you have to work with. Then you take what's there and come up with a way to do what's needed on the fly. You look for shortcuts or other ways around the problem, so if it doesn't work, you change your approach, tweak what you're doing, or use something else that's lying around. Because what's there is seldom what you usually use to accomplish a task, you end up using things in weird ways. I cleaned a watering can on the inside with a rag and a fork once, or fished out something that had fallen under my cupboard with an umbrella. You don't mind surprises, and you find yourself reacting to them without thinking. Generally, you don't like plans or schedules, but in some situations planning a little is just good sense (storage bunker snake).

Bird: circumventing (aka situational) & built (aka foundational)

When you need something done, you look to yourself and the skills and tools you brought with you. You look for shortcuts or other ways around the problem, so if your first skill and/or tool doesn't work, you change your approach and you look at what else you have in your kit that will get it done. Because you want to be prepared for a lot of different situations, you will probably collect skills and tools in advance as best you can. Making plans helps you choose what tools to bring to what situation, or what skills to learn in advance. Generally you don't like surprises because you couldn't prepare for them, and it might take you a moment to react. But if you are in a situation you know well, you don't mind so much because you already know what needs to be done (rapid fire bird).

Badger: built (aka foundational) & straightforward (aka inspirational)

When you need something done, you look for something that will work in any situation, always. Skills can be learned and forgotten, tools can be collected and discarded; the one thing you have found to be true no matter what is to just do what needs to be done. Finding shortcuts feels like cheating yourself out of an opportunity to understand something from the ground up and make it your own, step by step. Because your work is slow and steady and constant, you don't generally like surprises. They divert your time and energy in a random direction that has nothing to do with what you are actually working on. But if you already have a solid foundation of knowledge and experience, and your conviction is strong, surprises will not faze you. As such, they are a welcome challenge and ultimate reaffirmation of the way you do things.

Lion: straightforward (aka inspirational) & improvisational

When you need something done, you look around at what you have to work with. Then you take what's there and use it to just do what needs to be done. If it doesn't work, you haven't tried hard enough. If you are forced to do it another way, you feel like you haven't really done the work, and you don't need shortcuts because you have already chosen the easiest method anyway. Skills can be learned and forgotten, tools are temporary means to an end; the one thing you have found to be true no matter what is that if you stay true to who you are, you can solve any problem. Because your conviction is strong, you don't mind surprises. They have little influence on where you are going.

#very good post and very good addition!!#I think this is gonna be really helpful for untangling my secondary too #so thank you!!#shc #sortinghatchats

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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Gut reaction - check. Nothing rules my decision making like it. But I have no cause. Closest to it is my self preservation drive. Getting behind a cause or doing something for it in my life always meant taking away from my family that already doesn't have enough. I'm a 9w1, so I do not like to rock the boat, but that also means I have either in your face fiery when I get angry or much more sly tactics when I do do that. I am much more similar to my grandma than I would ever like to admit, cold, selfish, secretly sly, but I am not openly manipulative to the family or openly talking shit but then expecting reapect or care. After I was the target I decided I was done playing a good grankid. I could only be forced by life to do my duty, sadly, to me it proved many times how little choice do I have. I haven't talked to her in 3 years, while my friend constantly tells me how awful her family members are but she is still in contact with them when she doesn't have to be and I don't get it. Do I even remotelly sound like a lion still?

Take this as a grain of salt, because I don't know you enough to actually make a judgment on your primary yet. (You could submit a 'sort me' post to me or @wisteria-lodge and @sevilemar I'd love to do it, sounds like fun. If you like it, of course).

But I can't see any loyalist energy in this post as of now. And possibly a snake secondary. Your tactical relationship with your family is near identical to mine (Lion-Snake). How you play a role of good grandkid, being sly and able to play a role to survive is very, very snake sec. Although you seem to be sleeker than I am, which is understandable given you are 9w1 and I'm 8w9.

I still think you are probably Lion, most of us don't have any cause to speak of. But your emphasis on what is right for me (ergo, self-preservation) sounds like a cause to me. And you put it above your loyalty toward your family which is an Idealist thing to do.

Don't forget that we are constrained by the society and resources. Sometimes, the cause could be as simple as survival and self-preservation. It doesn't have to be glamorous to be Lion cause.

My aunt (Badger-Lion) is in the same situation as your friend here, she despises her father (my grandfather) but stays regardless, because it's her duty. While you and me (both Lion) wouldn't tolerate it in any shape or form.

Probably Lion-Snake, hey welcome to the club!

PS. @sevilemar would Snake primary be a possibility here though?

#shc #sortinghatchats #lion snake

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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So I THINK I’m a double snake who spends most of the time modeling a lion secondary (mostly to my own detriment) but I was wondering if there were some ways to be more sure?

Like I have one or two people, mostly because I’ve lost most of my others just because I don’t have the energy to spare keeping more than a few people close, and I’d do anything for them.

I can’t plan ahead worth a damn, it’s just not natural for me, so I spend most of my time filling a gap as well as I can. Like is this what you need? I can do this. Please let me do this. I’m good.

But that^ seems very badger, minus not having a plan. So like am I burnt or am I missing something obvious on wisteria’s list?

I’m by no means an expert, so take this all with a grain of salt. I’ll tag @sevilemar as they’re a double snake who might have more insight than I do as a bird badger. (Also if I messed up your pronouns, lmk and I’ll edit this part!)

Biggest thing that sticks out to me— “I only have a few people because I lack energy to have more than a few.” It begs the question, and one only you can answer: do you desire a large circle but lack energy, or are you satisfied and proud of your people? I think this can help you indicate your primary. Try to determine where you get your energy from rather than how you use it.

Secondary wise— the planning (or lack thereof) does make you seem like an improvisational secondary, but your statement of “I can do this, please let me help” is, indeed, extremely badger. As a burnt badger secondary myself, it sounds very much like something I’d say, and probably have said in some capacity in the past. I suspect you have an improvisational model, but are actually a burned badger underneath all that. However this is mostly secondary stuff, and I can’t determine your primary based off of what you’ve provided.

My take: unsure primary (probably burned), burned badger secondary with a lion or snake model.

#very interesting #shc #sortinghatchats #snake secondary #badger secondary

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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i feel like it's a Thing, for burnt Badgers, to kick ourselves for all the things we don't manage to do - relationships forgotten, projects abandoned, hell, even chores we haven't finished. and all the shortcuts we take. honestly i feel like i've burnt my badger a long long time ago, when adhd started to kick in and messed with both my social capabilities and executive functioning

(for context - @wisteria-lodge asked members of the shc community to help with answering asks! I am a lion/bird with badgerpri and badgersec models)

Yes I agree! I think it can be present in any secondary but with badgersecs work is tied to one's identity and self in a way that can exacerbate these feelings when one's badgersec gets burnt.

I'm sorry to hear that your secondary is burnt, anon. Putting some things which you might find helpful below the cut:

-if something is worth doing, it's worth doing badly.

-in my experience, neurotypical people tend to expect neurodivergent people to accomplish tasks in a specific way that they consider the best or right way, and that may not be the best or right way for you. I think the badgersec's tendency to look for the Right Way to do something can exacerbate this for some people. While I don't have ADHD, here are some resources that people I know with ADHD have found helpful:

Dani Donovan's comics, tiktoks and anti-planner:

HowToADHD's youtube channel:

ADDitude magazine (this is a trade magazine so please read with that in mind)

Hope these were helpful!

#shc #sortinghatchats #adhd #burnt secondary #executive dysfunction

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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To the anon that sent in this ask, just know you’re definitely not alone in feeling this way. (Seriously, just take a look through the #burnt lion primary tag!) I’m a Burnt Lion, and trust me, I feel for you.

For a long time, and still even now, I also felt that a gut instinct wasn’t good enough- not a good enough reason to look into things, to do or not do something, to challenge things, to trust in yourself. That a gut instinct was somehow inferior to the methods that the other primaries trust in. To be blunt, I believed that going off a gut instinct was stupid.

But the thing is, nobody is going to be 100% right all the time- no matter what Primary methods you use to shape yourself and how you think. If 4 friends go on a road trip, use different ways to get there, but end up in the same place at the same time, would you tell me that one of them went the wrong way? Of course not! Doing something differently doesn’t make it wrong! :)

Your Primary should make you feel strong, and if trusting yourself and your gut gives you strength, just try to focus on that feeling and follow it! I started out with the super small things; “I like this shirt so I’ll buy it.” “I like this image so I’ll make it my desktop background.” etc. As simple as that! Soon you’ll start to find that you’ve become more in touch with your inner compass, and you’ll slowly start to build up trust in yourself and your gut feelings.

I wish you the best of luck on your Unburning journey, anon! We’re all cheering for you!

Do you have any advice for a Lion Primary who doesn’t want to be a Lion Primary ? I feel like I should be a Badger Primary (more people-focused and fair) or a Bird Primary (more analytical and thoughtful) or even a Snake Primary (loyal to people to the bone). I feel impulsive and thoughtless and brash and like a gut instinct is not good egnough.

First things first: Are you also a lion secondary, nonny? Because impulsive, thoughtless, and brash are things I’ve heard from burned lion secondaries, or people who do not know how to appreciate directness, honesty, and decisive action. It usually has nothing to do with lion primaries, and I’m curious how the two got connected in your mind.

The second thing I’m curious about is the reason why you think you can’t have badger, snake, or bird values. Lion and bird primaries are the most versatile in their beliefs, and I bet there are thousands of lion primaries out there who believe wholeheartedly that fairness and a focus on people and community are the right ideals to give their life to.

What broke my heart a little is that you “feel […] a gut instinct is not good enough”. That’s burned lion talk, and I don’t know how to help you with it. All I know is that lions are still allowed to think about their gut feeling, analyse it, figure it out, and make sure it’s right before acting on it. As far as I know (and correct me if I’m wrong lions), that’s even standard lion primary protocol?

The only two lion primaries I know a little bit about here in the shc community are @wyrdnis and @wisteria-lodge They both are two of the most reflected, thoughtful, and kind people I know. If nothing else, I hope it at least shows you how versatile and awesome lion primaries can be.

—-

Thank you wisteria for sending this ask my way, and thank you wyrdnis for talking about it with me. I still don’t know how much of this are your ideas and how much are mine, and I’m really looking forward to your thoughts whenever you get around to your own post.

#sortinghatchats #sorting hat chats #shc #burnt lion primary #lion primary

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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What’s the difference in Lion’s method in shaping armies and Badgers way of making communities? What do Lions do that’s so inspirational and what do Badgers do differently? And why are they both seen as inspirational secondaries?

I’m not sure you’ve seen this great post on Inspirational vs Situational or Straightforward vs Circumventing - it’s a really neat take on what makes Lions and Badgers ��inspirational” in comparison to Snakes and Birds. I’d summarize it as them being dependable, as in, you know that once they’ve settled on a course of action they will then also pursue it in the way that they’ve signalled at the start. They don’t stop halfway through and go “actually wait this is probably the better way, let’s do this instead”. This is not in any way to throw shade on Snakes or Birds - in a lot of situations realising that what you’re doing isn’t working and finding a better way around the obstacle is the superior option! The sunk cost fallacy is a thing! But for an outside observer who is considering whether to sign up with this, the idea that after they committed the plans could just radically change to something they wouldn’t have agreed to is probably off-putting. Lions and Badgers are also very what-you-see-is-what-you-get, so there’s also not the concern that you might find that the thing that drew you in about the person turned out to be part of a mask. So I can see why Lion and Badger get the inspirational reputation.

As far as the differences, well: Lion is even more direct and also very immediate. There’s something hugely powerful about someone who sees something that needs to be done and just goes for it, obstacles unimportant, no prep work needed. Badgers, OTOH, need the warm-up time and will not be setting any speed records anytime soon. I also suspect Badgers are often going to be more detail-oriented than Lions and more focused on the minutiae of how you get somewhere simply due to that integrity of method thing. It doesn’t just matter that you reach your goal, you need to get there right, you need to make sure you don’t cut any corners. This is definitely a trait you want in, like... your quartermaster, your strategist, the person organising logistics. You need people like this in order to make sure you get where you’re going in good shape. But it’s not what you want in your visionary leader. You want someone who doesn’t let themselves get bogged down in the details, always keeps their focus on the goal, and can rally people and react if an unexpected curveball hits - and that’s Lion.

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applesaps-sorts · 2 years

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I can see what you mean with no identifying with your Secondary because the description doesn’t fit. I’m slowly getting used to the idea that I might be a Badger Secondary but it’s hard because executive dysfunction is hell and means I get very little done.

Yeah, this tripped me up so much as well. I'd read these Badger secondary descriptions that were like "hard-working! reliable! trustworthy! get shit done!" and be like - ha ha ha no definitely not me. But all that stuff is about outcome, about using the Badger Secondary tools and being *good* at them. That's obviously the ideal scenario, but it's not a requirement. People with ADHD or autism (*waves*) or depression or all sorts of issues that affect their executive function, their ability to just buckle down and work can be Badger Secondaries.

What I found it more useful to lean into when figuring this out were smaller things:

* hobbies. I have a lot of hobbies where there's a decently linear relationship between effort and outcome - crafting things like knitting, sewing, at one point jewellery-making, food things like cooking/baking/making chocolates, writing, etc. There is something really soothing about "you put work in and you get results out", especially if the results are in the form of incremental progress. I also have a really, really high tolerance for grinding in video games, and in fact to some extent want an element of grinding. Games that just drag me along their path with no ability to go back and replay something until I'm satisfied with it or put in extra effort to gain some extra rewards leave me feeling off-balance and insecure!

(also, I think I just explained how I keep getting myself addicted to idle games.)

* multiplayer mode. Executive dysfunction hasn't affected my Courtier Badger at all, in fact that one is likely closer to Exploded than anything else (sob). Mirroring people in social conversations and bringing out the parts of me that match them (and on occasion molding myself to match them - this is where the explosion comes in) is incredibly natural to me. I still remember how I tried to explain how I handled work to a probably-Lion-Secondary friend. Well, I told him, you just sort of... become the professional version of you! You're still you but you're just, like, boxing up some opinions and interests and mannerisms that don't belong at work until after hours and muting certain emotions a bit and magnifying other parts, isn't that what you do all the time anyway? He looked at me as if I was from Mars, lol.

* what I felt guilty about. Because even though I can't always access the toolkit, I absolutely do the Badger integrity-of-method thing. There is a Right Way to do things and that way matters. (In fact, I think this may exacerbate the executive dysfunction, because if I can't do something Right I might not do it at all.) If I manage to use a good memory and logic skills to get an A in an exam despite not having studied for it, I feel bad about it. Even if I clearly do have enough of a grasp on the material, I didn't get there in the right way and so I don't think I deserve my success.

This one is a little hard to explain because it feels so utterly obvious? But a while ago I saw a Snake secondary write about how they finagled their way out of needing to do homework at school and they took pride in this and the concept just completely blew my mind. I would never in a million years be able to be proud of not doing my homework, that's a completely alien mindset to me.

* similarly, this yearning to be able to be the reliable one, the trustworthy one, the pillar, the one everyone comes to when they have a problem. I read the SHC description of Badger Secondary as the quietly indispensible one who isn't particularly visible but without whom everything would come crashing down going "I want to be that so bad". I am guessing not everyone has that reaction.

* what happened when I did manage to use Badger. Because even with executive dysfunction, sometimes things clicked, sometimes I was able to spend a day or an afternoon just steadily working away... and this was the best thing in the world. I'd be floating on clouds come evening. None of the other Houses' tools gave me nearly the same feeling.

Hope that gives you some starting points! It's definitely tricky to figure out you're a Badger if you have these sorts of difficulties - honestly, I'm not sure I'd have managed it if I hadn't finished university and started working and discovered that my issues are a ton more manageable as an employee with fixed work times/workplace and a team I'm accountable to. That allowed me to use my Badger more and made it easier to recognise (and easier to recognise how happy it made me).

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