"My father thinks that way too. I find all people delightful but I can't say I don't understand what you mean."

"I don't actively dislike hanging out with people who are just sort of okay but it is not an attitude that has left me with a circle of very close friends."

"I wonder if there are more people here with temperaments you'd find conducive to close friendship."

"It's either that or being the interesting new thing in town has selected for me meeting people who like interesting things."

"Or having an important project to work on. I've found that lots of people are more interesting when being competent."

"Yeah, that's a factor, incompetence is frustrating to be around."

"I tend to think of incompetence as untapped potential."

"That's a very charitable interpretation."

"I think a big part of liking everyone is defaulting to those. Also understanding them very thoroughly. Most people like themselves."

"I've noticed that. You can borrow their reasoning?"

"I can borrow their reasoning, I can borrow their self-doubts, I can want for them everything they want for themselves - whether or not I actually approve of it."

"...that sounds contradictory."

"Don't you want things for yourself sometimes that you don't approve of, or wouldn't do?"

"Nnnot exactly? Not once I think about it."

"Huh. I do. So I don't have trouble adopting other wants that I don't endorse and wouldn't follow through on. If someone wants, I don't know, disproportionate revenge, I can talk with them and want them to have that and also have no hesitation about stopping them if they try to do it."

"Sounds useful to the extent I know what you're talking about. I can - I don't know what I'd be taking revenge for in particular, but I could imagine observing that it would on some level be satisfying to have and then observing that this is not the level on which I actually care about stuff."

"Maybe that's a different framing of the same thing. Observing that something would be satisfying, or relating to the desire, isn't as - helpful, for engagement with people, as wanting it with them and wanting it for them, I don't expect, but then you're probably not often trying to do engagement with people that involves finding them good and interesting and important."

"Yeah, not usually, I am differently specialized."

"I am a big believer in specialization."

"Is desiring disproportionate revenge a thing that often comes up in Valinor?"

"Yes? The wrongs are small and the revenges are also small. People can be petty. Or rather, I think, people size their emotions to the stakes they're accustomed to. Survivors of Utumno do not tend to be petty at all."

"Utumno?"

"The Enemy's greatest fortress; it fell when he did. He kept slaves there."

"Ah. Yeah."

"They mostly don't talk about it. I have not pressed the point. But the difference in outlook is apparent to me within a few minutes of meeting someone."