#xtestament

[ill-be-istj-if-no-one-else-is]

Even as an INFP I found your Typing STJs rather true and helpful. I just wanted to say that even if Te's lower on the spectrum like it is with me as an INFP, I too will seek out relevant information or answers to questions. Whereas my ISTP Dad will break everything down, only to get to the point maybe half an hour to an hour later, and my INTP sister who will begin questioning my methods and questions, and if that drives me crazy, I can't imagine how much it might drive an STJ crazy.

Hi!

I can see that happening, with lower Fi and I’ve heard similar complaints from my ENFP brother getting frustrated with my ISTP father. To be fair, this also happens to some extent the other way around to high Fe users when dealing with moral issues, where Fi users want to have lots of context on issues of morality and Fe users are just like “okay but this is what we need to do”. I feel like it might be heightened in that logic is more inflexible? But also I am a Te user and so it’s easier to say “this really annoys me” than “huh, I probably am very annoying to this other person.”

But yes it drives me absolutely up a wall. You know the Carl Sagan quote about how, to make an apple pie, you must first construct the universe? I mean, technically yes, everything is connected and the conditions that led to the evolutionary development of apples and wheat and cows and sugarcane and such all track back to universal constants and the fundamental laws of physics, but like...you don’t need to create the conditions for the evolution of the apple to make an apple pie. The apple is already there. And more notably, if I want to eat an apple pie tonight, I can make the apple pie now and learn about the physical constants of the universe that made apples possible later. I can in fact do that while eating the apple pie.

But I think it comes down to all functions have their frustrating quirks. Te can oversimplify and either end up having to brute-force a solution, or miss something important. Ti on the other hand can neglect to acknowledge that sometimes, you have constraints that make it unwise to try and understand every tiny aspect of a vast and complex system, or fails to understand that an elegant solution is great, but an inelegant solution to a crisis today is better than an elegant one a month from now.

[emsartwork]

Have you ever thought of doing an MBTI webcomic series? Or are you just doing all this for amusing doodles? Because I think you doing an MBTI webcomic series would be awesome.

As cool as that would be, I have zero plot ideas for that kind of thing… It would also be a lot of characters to juggle(16 at least). I guess if I was to do something, it would be a gag comic, similar to the stuff I’m doing now, just with the character designs staying the same for each type 😅 thanks tho!

[fictionalcharactermbti]

Do INFPs and ISFJs have a lot of similar characteristics? I ask because you seem to change several INFPs into ISFJs so I am a little curious.

They very much can. They both can seem to relate to people on a one on one basis. For the ISFJ this stems from their Si being more dominant than their Fe (an otherwise outward people function). For the INFP this is due to their dominant Fi simply being a more one on one people function. 

My earlier typings were far more generous towards typing characters as INFP, stemming from a lack of understanding the true nature of INFPs. They are rather rare even in the fictional world. Several INFPs have also been retyped as ISFPs on this blog. There is a large misunderstanding in how secondary Ne influences the INFP. For ISFPs are on Fi journeys just as the INFP is, but their journeys differ in one (ISFP) being able to physically actualize their Fi in their lives in some concrete way, while the INFP usually is never satisfied in this same way. Their journey is more in understanding their first function, Fi, than it is in actually becoming one with it. 

The INFP is known as a wanderer for a reason and it isn’t for basic reasons, but due to their non-step questing in life. Their quest to constantly find meaning in their own existence. This is not something many actually due to the amount and extent that the INFP does. Hence, my retyping of many previous INFP characters. 

[ill-be-istj-if-no-one-else-is]

Ok so, I am rather aware that this miiight... possibly be due to an unhealthy understanding of inferior Te or just being an unhealthy INFP in general. It has frequently come to my thoughts that despite being able to accomplish 3 to 5 major tasks that needed to get done, there is that nagging, lingering thought that I either have not done enough or that I have not done anything all day. So how would one train inferior Te so that it is proud and content with what has been accomplished?

Yeah I don’t know if this is inferior Te or MBTI at all - it could be, but even if it is my advice here is general, namely: tell that thought that you’ve heard it, then ignore it.

I mean I am not a therapist and so they may have strategies for like, gently but thoroughly dispelling that thought or placating it or whatever and you should listen to them if that’s an option but if not, a whole lot of advice comes down to either “acknowledge your negative feelings and then tell them to fuck off.”

It’s a pretty great system. You do want to acknowledge the feelings - suppression is never the answer - but there are a lot of feelings that when you get down to it are really useless except for making you feel bad. This applies to seriously so many questions I get where my answer is “just do it,” to wit:

“I have a crush on someone, how do I tell if they like me?” = lingering thought of “if they don’t like me I will put myself at risk for rejection which will be painful so instead I will never try unless I can find out that I’m guaranteed success”. Result if you give into this thought: never making a move. Thing you need to say to your brain: “It’s true, rejection sucks! But I can’t read the minds of other people and if I don’t try, I’ll never get a chance, so stop it with the freakout about rejection preventing me from potentially achieving a really good thing..”

“What is this person saying?” = lingering thought of “if I ask them they’ll think I’m stupid”. Result if you give into this thought: never knowing what they were saying. Thing you need to say to your brain “I wish I could know what they meant automatically - it makes things much less awkward! But I have to go ahead and ask, otherwise I could risk a serious misunderstanding, so shut up about overthinking what is honestly a pretty simple and understandable question.”

And in your case: “You haven’t done anything.” Result if you give in “it’s true, I haven’t accomplished anything, I need to either work until I collapse or stay in bed worrying.” Thing you need to say to your brain: “I know there’s a lot to be done and it seems as though today didn’t make a big dent in it. But here are 3-5 things I did today. It was productive! I’ll get more done tomorrow as needed! But resting is also a thing I need to do so that I can continue to be productive and healthy. So shut up because exhaustion won’t solve anything.”

[emsartwork]

Regarding my last ask, have you thought about collaborating with a writer to do so?

I haven’t actually! I don’t know of I have the time for another big project, but short comic strips could be doable.

[ill-be-istj-if-no-one-else-is]

Well to be fair the initial answer was roughly 2 months ago (or 54 days if one is counting.) During that time, with the information given, I was placed by you as a College of Glamour Bard. As it was in your eyes the college that used imagination the most due to fey energies and all that. Fast forward to today, I began to wonder where you would place such a bard. I did, however, fail to mention MBTI in this as part of the composition of the two types of parties.

Oh geez I have no idea what the fuck I was thinking 54 days ago then

[ill-be-istj-if-no-one-else-is]

So after reading all your D&D answers, a question has finally popped into my head. Using myself as a reference based off of a previous answer, what would be a well put together party that has an INFP Glamour bard in it? From there what kind of party, using the same Bard, would be full of hijinx and shenanigans?

I mean, the classic party setup is Tank, Healer, magic damage dealer, right? Bards are the ultimate jack of all trades and serve in a sort of support/filling in the gaps role most of all; going through the classes and considering that glamour bards are good at illusions/tricking the enemy but aren’t great with weapons or healing:

Barbarians and Fighters: straight-up melee tanks. You should have one of these.

Rogues and Monks: melee, but more evasive and squishy. They can be tanks in the sense that they can draw the fight away and then dodge it, but if something does land a hit you’re sort of fucked. If no one wants to be a barbarian or fighter then at least have one of these.

Sorcerers, Wizards, Warlocks: typically damage-from-afar types but squishy, though warlocks can be powerhouses. Usually someone wants to play a caster but if no one does, you might be able to get by with one of the other jack-of-all-trades classes below given that you can do a lot of illusion/abjuration magic.

Clerics: the core healer. You sort of need one; no other class has quite the healing capacity nor resurrection. If no one wants to be a cleric you may be able to get by with a bard, a paladin (only other class that can resurrect besides clerics), and another class with healing (ideally druid)

Paladins combine healing and tank/melee.

Druids combine healing and casting, plus they can soak up a lot of damage if they have beast shape.

Rangers combine a little bit of healing and ranged fighting. Good if you have a travel-heavy campaign with an emphasis on survival stuff.

I still think Mystics kind of suck but put them with the casters though I think some can heal?

Anyway have a cleric, any of the melee types, and any of the caster types OR a druid. If you have a druid you might be able to swap the cleric for a paladin if someone really wants to play a paladin which they usually do not. After that, people can do what they want.

Basically if you have a 3 person campaign and you want to be practical, bards are not the best idea, but if you have 4+ bards are a great idea. Bards are always good for hijinks in any combination.

I’m kind of intrigued by the INFP Glamour bard because INFPs don’t usually strike me as masters of deception which is sort of the glamour bard deal. They seem more like college of lore types.

[ill-be-istj-if-no-one-else-is]

For the D&D thing because I am both amused and curious. INFP, 7w6, tritype 794 (If it even matters). I do not have one thing I aim for but many just like my interests. A heavy daydreamer, because of course I am. Stuck between a sense of wanderlust and homebody life style. Part of me seeks to entertain and part of me seeks to be unnoticed, but have my work acknowledged. Hopes for a better world, while also writting poetry and stories on the side.

Well I feel like we have to go with bard because the main thing to go with is poetry here. Probably college of glamour, which I think is the one most in the realm of imagination.