Rizz-ible

June 4, 2023 6:05 AM

A word survives and thrives because it continues to quench an explanatory thirst; it meets a need or desire. And any word carefully examined will reveal itself to be a wormhole — an ongoing exchange between the past and the present. The prevalence of charisma implies a widespread belief in the power of it, and also in the ability of extraordinary individuals to change history. Weber’s terms still echo: Something magical and dangerous, something unfathomable, is afoot when charisma is present. “The pertinent question,” pondered the cultural theorist John Potts, “is not whether charisma actually exists, but why it exists.” from The Secret History And Strange Future Of Charisma by Joe Zadeh
posted by chavenet (9 comments total)

I’m of the generation that will never be able to think of the word without connecting it to rolling dice.
posted by gottabefunky at 8:53 AM on June 4, 2023 [13 favorites]

I failed a roll for intelligence before understanding what you said there, gottabefunky.
posted by k3ninho at 11:40 AM on June 4, 2023 [2 favorites]

Excellent article about the Tyrannosaurus Rex in the room.
posted by JohnR at 5:32 PM on June 4, 2023 [1 favorite]

I need this article because I am surrounded by middle schoolers who talk about having rizz, rizzing people, and being rizzlers allfuckingdaylong (when not trying to sneak to the bathroom to have brawls over online chess. No, I am not kidding.) Their Valentine's to each other included notes like "Eres un RIZZLER" or "Du hast RIZZ!" which is as adorable as it is ridiculous: they are sweethearts but literally none of them have rizz. They are 12 and 13 years old, after all, and, in their defense, no one does at that age. For example, this one wannabe-rizzler whose entire aesthetic is modeled after Bad Bunny: he is an Honors student but downplays it and tries (?!) to get in trouble a lot to impress the ladies (in three languages!!) But even he isn't perfect, recently freaking out and essentially claiming "cooties" were a reason he could not work with his assigned group of sweet female classmates (who were eager to work with him!) So much for being a true rizzler?! With that being said, perhaps I should make this assigned reading for the entire class in order to help their realize their full potential.
posted by smorgasbord at 9:49 PM on June 4, 2023 [6 favorites]

There are several ways to survive in the Wasteland and people often dump all their points into Strength and Agility, but there's a very viable build that focuses entirely on Charisma and Luck. If you pour all your points into the Charisma skill point tree, you'll find yourself with some really interesting perks such as:

• Lady Killer/Black Widow: Members of the opposite sex suffer attack bonuses and are easier to persuade in dialogue
• Animal Friend: Pacify wild animals and tame them to do your bidding.
• Party Boy/Party Girl: Grants resistance to alcohol and additional bonuses.

And while this build focuses primarily on Charisma & Luck, throwing in a few points towards Intelligence is going to carry you into the end-game.
posted by Fizz at 5:56 AM on June 5, 2023 [1 favorite]

I’m of the generation that will never be able to think of the word without connecting it to rolling dice.

Mine mentally adds “uniqueness, nerve and talent”.
posted by Hypatia at 10:00 AM on June 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

I can tell I'm getting old because "Rizz" sounds idiotic to my ears. In case any youths are reading this, yes, the words I am using convey my meaning directly without a single trace of irony. You will find no "caps" here. The way you talk is ridiculous, and I am not expressing this "low key", I am saying this to upset you, on purpose. The key is high. Also your favourite twitch streamer is probably objectively a horrible person. Find out their real name and google it. I'll be off now and let you get back to your Fortnite dances or whatever it is you do.
posted by signsofrain at 12:01 PM on June 5, 2023 [2 favorites]

I've had one person in my life who reminds me a bit of the Stefan George character but without the reactionary politics (quite the opposite). He had a huge "following" -- hundreds of people, each of whom felt like they were one of his best friends. Since he passed, the community that formed around him has largely maintained the close bonds they developed through knowing him. His memorial services -- there were a few -- were legendary events in our circle. Fortunately, he used his powers for good (and some really entertaining mischief). He mostly wanted to see people love and do good by one another while having a really good time. We often only half-jokingly called ourselves a cult and still joke he'll most certainly be reincarnated as a cult leader or prophet type.

One thing I distinctly remember about him -- and I wonder if this is a characteristic of the type of charisma that George possessed -- is that you always felt like he was being completely honest with you in a profoundly radical and unconventional way, like his soul was just wide open, and it was open for you specifically. He may have been bullshitting some or a lot of the time but that sense of utter, even outrageous, sincerity was unlike anything I've ever experienced from anyone else. It's so hard to put into words but, whatever it was, it really shifted the reality of so many people who knew him.

I'd never really understood charisma until then and I kind of wish everyone could have the experience of knowing someone benevolent with that level of charisma. It's kind of like witnessing a sublime spectacle of nature for the first time -- the first time seeing the ocean or the Grand Canyon or something equally beautiful and overwhelming yet also dangerous. It's breathtaking and it changes you in way that's very hard to put your finger on.

It also made me realize, on a visceral, gut level how people fall into dangerous cults (including secular ones) and religions that center around one person.
posted by treepour at 1:15 PM on June 5, 2023 [3 favorites]

Party Boy/Party Girl: Grants resistance to alcohol and additional bonuses.

Grants the delusion and illusion of resistance to alcohol and subtracts 1d6 from all other attributes and the illusion is only effective on other alcohol consumers.
posted by srboisvert at 3:53 PM on June 5, 2023 [2 favorites]