With My Dying Will, I'll . . .

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Skys tend to be particularly protective of Lightnings, due to the tendency for Lightnings to act as proverbial canaries-in-a-coal-mine. When you rely on someone to attract trouble, or know they have a tendency to, you start worrying a bit.

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Nah, I’m just a sky ;) But for the record this is exactly how mists respond to being known

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Flame Types When A Teammate Won’t Pull Their Weight

Storm: That’s fine they’re not pissed at all they’ll just do all the work anyway. And honestly, they were probably going to do most of the work regardless, because most storms harbor a certain tunnel vision, a deep seated belief that it is their way or the high way. They will hold their teammate’s incompetency against them for life, but they were going to do exactly the same amount of work either way, so it doesn’t make much a difference in the long run. Some storms will realize this, others won’t.

Sky: As the one who ends up having to figure out how to make things work with this teammate, they’re probably the most stressed out about it -- they likely feel pulled in multiple directions, since they want to understand where everyone is coming from and find the best solution for everyone. There is a real danger for Skys in conflict situations like this to internalize the problems as their own, so it’s important for them to remember to maintain some detachment.

Sun: They believe the best in their teammate! Following Thunder types, they’re the most likely to be the one doing this, so they’re a lot more forgiving of it when it shows up in other people, and are likely to approach the problem from a standpoint of cheering the other person on. Everyone has bad days, right? The Sun is here for you and will believe in you when you can’t believe in yourself!

Thunder: “Hey, if they don’t have to do their job, why do I have to?” mentality where they’ll start screwing off too and then justify it with, “but so and so isn’t doing anything either!”; they might not call it out, but they will notice when other’s get different treatment from them, and they will see it as unfair, even if they’re honestly being treated better -- the grass is always greener, and all. Thunders are also likely to be the ones slacking off in a team, since they need to feel indispensable in order to engage fully.

Rain: Third most likely to be the one slacking off, though if they realize it’s dragging their team members down they’re more likely to step it up -- they might need to take a quick break and splash some water on their face to get back in the game properly, but they’re more likely to course correct than Thunders and Suns, even if they do still tend to be very laid back. The amount of work a rain type does is directly proportionate to how much work is left after their teammates have chosen their tasks, so they’re equally likely to be the overworked one, too -- so if a rain is flagging, they might also be pushing themselves too hard! They’re unlikely to hold it against a teammate who’s slacking off unless they notice that affecting the team, at which point they’ll deal with the matter by approaching the person directly.

Mist: Will talk shit about the person slacking off, even if they themselves aren’t working very hard or are doing the same things. Unlikely to approach them directly, but everyone is seeing this, right? Everyone knows that this person isn’t doing their part? Good. As long as they know everyone else knows, they’re pretty content and will continue doing their own thing. It’s unlikely their work has anything to do with someone who’s slacking off, either -- which might be due to planning on their part or weird coincidences.

Cloud: It’s fine. They’re doing all the work anyway and this person was just intruding, so if they could just go do nothing somewhere out of the way, the cloud will be content. They don’t have anything to say on the matter, either, unless someone is slacking off by trying to divert the cloud from their work -- in which case there is nothing on earth that is more terrifying than their wrath.

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Sky Flames and learning a new skill

Storm -- Probably the most organized about it; they’ve got a method that they probably stick too, and they keep track of all the best resources to learn from -- they’re the sort who could put together a masterlist of resources for other people interested in X thing or Y skill, and they will try out all those resources until they find the ones that work the best; they push themselves hard and tend to pick up new skills fast, though often to the exclusion of other interests or hobbies for a while.

Sky -- The sort to pick out study buddies! They work best when they’re being held accountable, even if it’s just because they told someone they were going to do X thing or learn Y skill; it’s even better if they can have someone they feel comfortable with around to help them; even very introverted Sky flames tend to be people reliant, so this can make or break the experience -- they’re unlikely to be very driven if no one else is involved.

Sun -- Learn best if they keep it fun and lighthearted; Sun types don’t like to exert themselves too much over things that aren’t that serious, so unless something grabs at their passions, they’ll probably work on it a little, drop it for a while, come back to it and work on it a little -- rinse and repeat. Eventually they’ll get the hang of the basics, but they really shine when they’re able to find their niche in a skill -- for example, when learning a language, they might find it a lot easier if they practice their target language through popular music rather than reading newspapers, that sort of thing.

Thunder -- Honestly, they’re mostly learning this new skill for bragging rights, or to impress someone else -- so the more they can show off, the more likely they are to actually stick with it. Because they’re so influenced by how they look to other people, Thunder types are likely to have a smattering of skills that they never fully master, but which they can pull out when they need them -- a jack of all trades situation.

Rain -- They don’t panic over the little details, and this allows them to grasp the basics really fast and then fill in the details over time; they sometimes can appear more skilled in a discipline than they really are because they have such a good foundation; they also are likely to cement these skills in their brain a lot more through consistent practice, so even years without practice don’t have much impact on their actual mastery.

Mist -- Work best if they can mix and match disciplines -- if they want to learn to paint, it’s better if they’re also able to match it with something else they’re interested or skilled in, such as make up or style; because of this, they tend to learn disciplines that relate to each other easily, and branch out from there. This can create a very deep and layered understanding of their various interests, and gives them a deep insight into how these interests work on a more meta-cognitive level -- but it does mean they’re less likely to just pick something up without much consideration. The skills they have are probably skills that they find very useful to begin with, or have natural talent with, and then build on over time -- they don’t tend to follow their passions or heart.

Cloud -- Good at independent study and motivation; less good if they have someone peering over their shoulder and checking their work. They’re unlikely to want to interact with other people learning whatever discipline they’ve set their mind to, though they have no problem observing other people’s work and incorporating what they like about it into their own routine. The skills they learn tend to be related to their interests above all else -- they’re unlikely to learn a skill because it would be useful to someone else, or even just on the idea of “useful” and more likely to learn it because they’re curious or passionate about it.

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Types of Flames and . . . Not Fitting In

Storm -- That’s okay! They’re totally fine on their own, and don’t need other people in order to succeed and get the job done. What they can’t get through teamwork they can get through sheer hard work.

Sky -- Well, if no one wants them around, they can respect that, and they won’t necessarily hold a grudge (though it’s not out of the question) -- but they’ll probably be pretty torn up about it.

Sun -- Even if things aren’t going their way, it’s how they respond that matters -- so they’ll make the most of the situation and power through it. They’ll do their best, and give it their all, and even if the group doesn’t accept them, no one will be able to fault them either, per se.

Thunder -- Will probably keep trying to get the group to accept them; the type to play the class clown and keep attracting attention, even if it’s negative attention, or else the type to make a big deal about how much better they are than the people rejecting them to cover up. They’ll also stick to groups that are familiar, even if they theoretically have the option of finding people they’re more compatible with.

Rain -- Also very persistent -- okay, so maybe the last time didn’t go so well, but if it’s an environment that they’re stuck with, they want to make sure no one’s going to have hard feelings about it.

Mist -- They’re very good at making themselves into whatever they need to be to get what they want out of a group -- if a group rejects their real self, they probably won’t trust them much, but they are perfectly capable of finding a niche that hasn’t been filled yet and making that work for them.

Cloud -- It’s not so much whether the cloud fits in with a given group or whether a given group fits in with the cloud -- if a group rejects a cloud-type, they probably won’t notice.