#dark has that same type of energy and charisma if that makes sense | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bratz-kitten · 4 years ago

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questions i have for the signs

libra suns – do you learn a lot from observing other people’s behaviours? because libras do so well in group settings, and they value their emotional intelligence and ability for being likeable a lot. once, a libra sun man came up to me and just told me that he learned a lot of his behaviours from observing others and that’s how he learned better coping mechanisms/better ways of expressing himself and his emotions. at first, i found that absolutely preposterous because as someone who’s always focused so much on my own individuality and authenticity, the thought of taking aspects from other people just repulsed me, but the more i think about it, the more it makes sense – after all, there’s so much to learn from others and since observational skills are so important, why not use them to better ourselves?

also, to my libra suns once again – how the hell have you managed to build a reputation for being stable and peaceful? i swear every libra i’ve ever met was absolutely unstable – the type to throw their phones on the wall during arguments, to randomly go up to me and start psychoanalysing me, to immediately go confrontational mode no matter if they were in the middle of class, simply because they couldn’t leave shit unresolved. i’ve noticed your tendency for playing devil’s advocate in every situation in the name of “fairness” has you being VERY confrontational. it’s kinda refreshing not gonna lie.

now, ladies.. have we noticed how misogynistic cancer sun men can be or am i losing my mind? i swear to god i’ve never met ONE in my life who didn’t have extremely sexist opinions. even the ones who seem like great people and who get along with everybody – they still think that girls who sleep around casually have no self-respect and that sex workers are disgusting. also, hating on girls for doing the buss it challenge and for posting pictures where they’re showing skin and feeling themselves? saying they’re sluts? as if they’re not the same men who click on those videos? not only the misogynist part, but also extreme anger issues that come out at the most unexpected times. i believe it’s their traditionalist views and their hatred for their own femininity that has them projecting their insecurities onto other women. either way, cancer men terrify me. perhaps it’s that my father’s a cancer and he’s the blueprint of all terrible men in my life, or perhaps cancer men really are batshit crazy. either way, please change my mind lol there are probably some good ones out there but my experience has me believing otherwise

pisces mars – (18+) do you get pleasure from simply pleasuring your partner? i do this and i feel like it’s to a point where it’s toxic, every time i’m the one receiving i’ll be thinking about how i could be using this time to pleasure them instead, even if it feels really good. i don’t know what it is but the act of knowing i’m making someone feel good feels 1000 times better than everything else, it feels my soul and i think it’s a pisces mars thing. it’s crazy because it’s only in sexual matters, in day-to-day basis i’m very assertive but in bed i’m extremely submissive and just want to fulfil all of my partner’s needs. do you also have very intricate sexual fantasies that you’re constantly thinking about? also, are you masoquistic? i’ve seen other pisces mars talking about this, about how they get off on pain a lot and it makes me feel less alone. it might also relate to lilith in the 12th house because it indicates mixing pain with pleasure + escapism through fantasies + some very extreme fetishes like r*pe-play. let’s start this discussion lol

leo placements – how does it feel like being the baddest bitches alive? serious answers only. also stop making me fall in love with you it’s annoying

capricorn/scorpio suns, do you gravitate a lot towards one another? im a capricorn and i attract a lot of scorpio placements, and scorpios are the people who bring me the most intense personal transformations. it’s also definitely because i have scorpio in the 8th, but either way, i feel like these two signs attract each other like crazy because they’re the darkest signs. scorpio simbolizes death while capricorn simbolizes the devil, they’re both so difficult, complex and drawn to dark topics that i feel like it’s a match made in heaven – or hell. i’ve also observed that the most powerful power-couples in media are always relationships between capricorns and scorpios, too.

moon in the 10th house natives – do people baby you a lot? i feel like i’ll just be walking down the streets and my friends will be screaming at me to be careful like i’m a 5 year old, or offering to do things for me, or feeling an inherent need to supervise me as if i’ll get in deep shit if i’m left alone for more than 5 minutes LOL but i do think it’s something about this placement. moon in the 10th indicates being very emotional and getting easily overwhelmed, also a lot of charisma and being very sensitive when it comes to personal relationships. also the way we radiate authority makes others unconsciously be more obedient towards our needs, and we have a very strong need to protect others and create a family within our friend groups, which might be creating these dynamics.

leo suns/moons/risings – do you feel like having a low self-esteem quite literally contributes to the deterioration of your physical health? i think there’s such a stark difference between when you’re feeling insecure and in an unhealthy relationship vs when you leave the toxicity behind and work on your self-confidence, there’s an immediate glow up, like you’re literally glowing and it shows.

gemini suns – why do so many people hate you? even people who know nothing about astrology will say they hate geminis. genuine question because geminis are one of my favorite signs. i think it’s something about the way you easily adapt to other people’s personalities and mirror their energy, so you’ve built this reputation for being two-faced when you’re literally just.. socially intelligent.

air moons – how tf can you turn your emotions off? what do you mean using logic instead of feelings i will literally unalive myself

capricorn moons – how does it feel like having healthy coping mechanisms? oh wait, it’s not like you’d know LMFAOOOO

scorpio mars – are you as sexual as people portray you to be or do you feel a bit weird about the way people talk about you? because people always talk about scorpio mars as this sex machines, but like.. scorpio’s a water sign. very sensitive. i’ve noticed you guys literally avoid having sex with people because it’s like giving them a part of your soul, and you know you’ll get extremely attached to them afterwards. is sex a casual thing for you or can you only feel satisfied when there’s an emotional connection established? this goes for all water sign mars by the way.

scorpio risings – do you only listen to music that you feel has a deep meaning? my brother is a scorpio rising and he prides himself a lot on his music taste and how deep the music he listens to is. and as an aries rising im just like.. sir i listen to doja cat because hearing her sing about sex and fat tiddies makes me happy

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thecreaturecodex · 4 years ago

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Demon, Klurichir

Image by Puddnhead, © Wizards of the Coast. Accessed at the Fiend Folio Art Gallery here

[Commissioned by @razzelmire. The klurichir appeared first in the 3rd edition Fiend Folio, where it is said to be the tool of the demon lords. This is likely a case of one hand not knowing what the other hand is doing--demon lord statistics appear in the Book of Vile Darkness, released the same year. The klurichir sits comfortably in the middle of the demon lords in terms of CR on paper (CR 25 against a range between CR 20 and 30), but even the weakest demon lord in that book has more hit points, a better AC and more nasty abilities than the klurichir. The klurichir also seemed to have gone through several major revisions before publication, leaving it a bit muddled. It has Multiweapon Fighting but only one weapon, claws but no claw attacks, and no range given on its spine attacks.

So my take on the klurichir is plopped in the middle of the CR range for nascent demon lords in PFRPG, weak enough to be a valuable tool for the true demon lords but not their equal. It also streamlines and clarifies their abilities (why did they cast spells as a 10th level sorcerer?) and borrows the malign aura from the D&D 4e version. ]

Demon, Klurichir CR 23 CE Outsider (extraplanar) This hideous fiend stands as tall as a building, with four clawed arms. Two of these arms hold an oversize axe. Its head is like that of a snarling beast, with a pug nose and crooked teeth. Spines cover its shoulders, back and crown. Its skin is a dark, unhealthy green, and its membranous wings are the color of arterial blood. Most horrifying is its chest and stomach—a gnashing maw with multiple rows of teeth and a pair of scissor-like mandibles splits the beast open like a gaping wound.

A klurichir is sometimes called a catastrophe demon, as the effects of a single one of these creatures are truly cataclysmic. They do not form from mortal souls directly, instead being sculpted by a demon lord when it has need of a powerful catspaw, inquisitor or general. They are as strong as or stronger than nascent demon lords. The history of the Abyss is littered with nascent demon lords whose ambitions outstretched their powers and were slain by a klurichir assassin. When not on missions, a klurichir may incite wars between demons and other planes for the sheer fun of it. Some demon lords allow this behavior as a distraction from their own internal plotting, whereas others attempt to stymie it and kill any rogue klurichir they can.

A klurichir is an absolutely devastating combatant. They carry great axes or other two-handed weapons, but prefer to leave some of their hands free in order to grab opponents. The maw set in their stomachs is too awkwardly placed to attack creatures that a klurichir hasn’t grabbed, but it can do overwhelming damage to held foes, even severing heads in a single bite. Opponents that are faster or more agile are barraged by spines infused with negative energy. If facing multiple foes at once, a klurichir uses its impressive magical abilities, in particular its ability to evoke symbols with a mere thought. A klurichir almost never flees from combat once it is joined, choosing to die rather than surrender to mortals.

All klurichirs look almost identical, and they rarely make their allegiances to a particular demon lord clear. Lesser demons scurry for cover at mere rumors of a klurichir’s presence, and are typically obsequious if the beast appears directly. They are fiendishly intelligent and excellent judges of character, and do not tolerate being lied to. Klurichirs lead armies of fiends when their goals dictate so, and even balors bend the knee to a klurichir’s orders (albeit reluctantly). A klurichir considers its greatest enemies to be solars and other klurichirs.

Klurichir CR 23 XP 820,000 CE Huge outsider (chaos, demon, evil, extraplanar) Init +10; Senses darkvision 120 ft., detect good, detect law, Perception +35, scent, true seeing Aura malign (30 ft.), unholy aura (DC 28) Defense AC 38, touch 18, flat-footed 32 (-2 size, +6 Dex, +20 natural, +4 deflection) hp 471 (23d10+345) Fort +26, Ref +23, Will +26 DR 20/good and cold iron or epic; Immune electricity, energy drain, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10; SR 34 Offense Speed 50 ft., fly 90 ft. (poor) Melee +3 greataxe +39/+34/+29/+24 (4d6+25/19-20x3), 2 claws +31 (2d6+7 plus grab) or 4 claws +36 (2d6+15 plus grab) Ranged 4 spines +27 (2d8+15 plus enervate) Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks multigrab, planar champion, rake (bite +36, 4d6+24), powerful blows (bite), vorpal maw Spell-like Abilities CL 23rd, concentration +33 Constant—detect good, detect law, true seeing, unholy aura (DC 28, self only) At will—greater dispel magic, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. objects only), mass charm monster (DC 28), mass suggestion (DC 26), slay living (DC 25), telekinesis (DC 25) 3/day—quickened blasphemy (DC 27), empowered fire storm (DC 28), quickened greater dispel magic, master symbol (DC 29) 1/day—gate (planar travel only, DC 29), meteor swarm (DC 29), summon (9th level, 1 demon of CR 20 or lower, 100%), wail of the banshee (DC 29) Statistics Str 41, Dex 23, Con 40, Int 28, Wis 28, Cha 31 Base Atk +23; CMB +40 (+44 grapple); CMD 60 Feats Combat Reflexes, Empower SLA (fire storm), Flyby Attack, Improved Critical (greataxe), Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Point-Blank Shot, Power Attack, Precise Shot, Quicken SLA (blasphemy, greater dispel magic), Vital Strike Skills Acrobatics +32, Bluff +36, Diplomacy +33, Fly +24, Intimidate +44, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, history) +32, Knowledge (planes, religion) +35, Perception +35, Sense Motive +43, Spellcraft +32, Stealth +28, Use Magic Device +33; Racial Modifiers +8 Intimidate, +8 Sense Motive, +4 Stealth Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic, Infernal, Protean, telepathy 100 ft. Ecology Environment any land or underground (Abyss) Organization solitary or warband (1 plus 2-5 mariliths) Treasure double standard (Huge +3 greataxe, other treasure) Special Abilities Enervate (Su) A creature struck by a klurichir’s spine attack must succeed a DC 31 Fortitude save or gain 1 permanent negative level. A creature with a number of negative levels equal to its Hit Dice dies immediately. Malign Aura (Su) No creature can gain hit points within 30 feet of a klurichir. A klurichir is immune to this ability, as is a demon lord. Master Symbol (Sp) As a standard action, a klurichir can trace a symbol in the air, which automatically resolves as a triggered symbol of death, fear, insanity, pain, stunning or weakness. A klurichir is immune to the effects of its own master symbol, and it can choose to attune a number of creatures equal to its Charisma modifier as part of the action made to cast the spell. Creatures can resist the effect with a successful DC 29 saving throw, as appropriate to the symbol represented (Fortitude for death, Will for fear or insanity, etc.). This is the equivalent of a 9th level spell. Multigrab (Ex) A klurichir can choose to grapple a Large or smaller creature using two free arms without taking a -20 penalty for not using its entire body in the grapple. If it has two creatures held in its four arms, it can make rake attacks against them both. Planar Champion (Ex) A klurichir can bypass the damage reduction of all creatures with the outsider type, save creatures capable of granting divine spells, with its manufactured and natural weapons. It has a +4 bonus on all caster level checks made to overcome the spell resistance of outsiders. Spines (Ex) As a standard action, a klurichir can fire four spines. Treat these as thrown weapons with a range increment of 100 feet. A klurichir has an effectively infinite supply of spines, and does not risk running out. Vorpal Maw (Ex) If a klurichir rolls a natural 20 and successfully confirms the critical hit with its bite attack, it severs the head of its opponent. This kills most, but not all opponents instantly, as per a vorpal weapon.

#klurichir #demon #pathfinder 1e #D&D #commissions

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raeynbowboi · 5 years ago

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How to Play as Danny Phantom in DnD 5e

We’re going ghost with this build as we work to incorporate the undead slayer of the undead: Inviso-bill. If we can, I might try to blend his division between human and inhuman forms, but if I can’t, then this build will focus exclusively on his ghost form.

He’s a Phantom

Except he’s not. Not quite. He’s Undead. Or as close as he can get. Undead, Vampires, and Skeletons aren’t playable races, so we need a way to simulate being not exactly alive. The Revived Rogue is someone who has died and been resurrected and also comes pre-packaged with ghost bolts and walking through the Ghost Zone. Beyond his ghost powers though, Danny is a normal Human. However, his ghostly breath alerts him to danger, so we’ll make him a Variant Human with the Alert feat to warn him with +1 DEX and +1 INT.

Danny’s no stranger to using his powers selfishly to get what he wants, but he is at heart still a hero. I’d call him Neutral Good.

For background, super heroes often get lumped in as City Watch, but as Danny is a pretty well-known figure in the area, he could be considered a Folk Hero.

He can walk through walls, disappear, and fly

We can’t make Danny a literal ghost, so the next best thing is to try and help him resist non-magical damage. Spells like Blade Ward, Stoneskin, and Investiture of Stone give you temporary resistance to these damage types. War Clerics, Oathbreaker Paladins, and Crown Paladins get these resistances as well. As a ghost, Danny can only be harmed by other ghosts. Unfortunately, all of the subclasses that offer protection for mortal wounds don’t offer them until extremely late in the build and are only viable if Danny doesn’t need too many levels in Rogue.

Psionics Wizards also get the ability to become resistant to Slashing, Piercing and Bludgeoning damage. Later, at 14th Level, this spiritual form gains the ability to walk through walls and can cast spells like Fly and Invisibility. With this build, Danny isn’t a pure ghost, as he can now shift between a tangible and ghostly form. Comparatively, the Revived Rogue gets Bolts from the Grave for Ghost Blasts, the ability to speak to ghosts, and Ethereal Jaunt lets you slip in and out of the Ghost Zone at will, which can offer the same intangibility to let Danny go through walls as the Psionics Wizard. As an Oathbreaker Paladin, he can boost the strength of Undead, detect undead, and gain resistance to melee damage.

To get Danny’s ghostly resistance to mortal wounds, you need at least 6 levels in Wizard, but doing so takes away Danny’s ability to walk through walls without using spells like Blink. However, this gives Danny’s Bolts from the Grave 7d6 Necrotic Damage. At a 14/6 split in favor of Wizard, Danny gets his ghost bolts, intangibility, and wall-walking, but reduces the damage of his ghost bolts to only 3d6 Necrotic damage. But to be fair, Danny’s ghost bolts aren’t that strong. Oathbreaker Paladins need to be 15 to get their damage resistance, which only leaves 5 levels for Rogue.

Stats and Proficiencies

Okay, realistically Danny’s Intelligence would not be his top stat. Danny is not a valedictorian by any means. But the Psionics Wizard lets him go ghost, which is what we need, and Wizards cast with their INT stat. As a Rogue too, it would be criminal to deprive him of a high AC, so we’ll also focus on his Dexterity score. Next is Wisdom, since his ghost sense alerts him to the presence of undead, so he’ll need a strong Perception. Constitution makes sure you don’t die after a single hit. But as an awkward geek, your Strength and Charisma scores will suffer. You might have hid your powers from your parents for a long time, but to be fair, they’re not exactly the most perceptive pair, so you don’t exactly have to be a master at deception to fool them.

Acrobatics Arcana Deception Insight Perception Stealth

Name: Danny Fenton Race: Variant Human Background: City Watch Alignment: Neutral Good Class: Revived Rogue (6) Psionics Wizard (14) Base Stats: Strength: 8 (-1) Dexterity: 20 (+5) Constitution: 14 (+2) Intelligence: 20 (+5) Wisdom: 10 (0) Charisma: 8 (-1) Saving Throws: Strength: -1 Dexterity: +11 Constitution: +2 Intelligence: +11 Wisdom: 0 Charisma: -1 Combat Stats: HP: 129 AC: 16 Speed: 30 Initiative: +10 Proficiency Bonus: +6 Passive Perception: 22 Dark Vision: 0 feet Proficiencies and Expertise: Acrobatics (Rogue) Arcana (Variant Human) Athletics (City Watch) Deception (Rogue) Insight (City Watch) Perception (Rogue) Stealth (Rogue) Skills: Acrobatics: +17 Medicine: 0 Animal Handling: 0 Nature: +5 Arcana: +17 Perception: +12 Athletics: +5 Performance: -1 Deception: +5 Persuasion: -1 History: +5 Religion: +5 Insight: +6 Sleight of Hand: +5 Intimidation: -1 Stealth: +17 Investigation:+5 Survival: 0

Spell Slots

1st (4) 2nd (3) 3rd (3) 4th (3) 5th (2) 6th (1) 7th (1)

Danny’s Spellbook

Cantrips 3rd Level Blade Ward Animate Dead Chill Touch Blink Fire Bolt Fly Mage Hand Gaseous Form Message Protection from Energy 1st Level 4th Level Cause Fear Banishment Detect Magic Greater Invisibility Feather Fall Phantasmal Killer Mage Armor Stoneskin Magic Missile Vitriolic Sphere Ray of Sickness 5th Level Shield Danse Macabre 2nd Level Dominate Person Invisibility Passwall Levitate 6th Level Misty Step Circle of Death Phantasmal Force Create Undead Ray of Enfeeblement Investiture of Stone See Invisibility True Seeing Shatter 7th Level Finger of Death

Bonus Actions:

Cunning Action: Aim, Dash, Disengage, or Hide once per turn.

Reactions:

Uncanny Dodge: Reduce damage from enemies you can see that hit you.

Features:

Alert: Can’t be surprised. +5 to Initiative. Arcane Recovery: Recover 7 or fewer level 5 or lower spells on a short rest. Bolts From the Grave: Deal 3d6+5 Necrotic damage instead of a sneak attack. Empowered Psionics: Add +5 damage to Psychic or Force spells. Mental Discipline: Learn Dominate Person, Scrying, or Telekinesis. Can be cast once without using up a spell slot. Doesn’t count against spells known. Psionic Devotion: Cast invisible Mage Hand as a bonus action. Psionic Focus: Replaces Arcane Focus. Reroll a 1 on Psychic or Force spells. Revived Nature: Advantage against poison, resist poison, no need to eat, drink, sleep, or breathe. Alert immobility for 4 hours instead of sleeping for 8. Sneak Attack: deal an extra 3d6 when attacking with advantage. Thieves’ Cant: Speak and understand secret codes in casual conversation. Thought Form: for 10 minutes, resist psychic and melee damage. Use 5 times per long rest. Thought Travel: Thought Form can float, fly, and pass through solid objects. Tokens of Past Lives: Pick 1 skill or tool proficiency on a long rest. Watcher’s Eye: You can find and recognize criminal lairs and guard stations.

How do you feel I did with Danny? Did I miss anything important? I have two more builds planned and then I’m taking a break from DnD builds to refocus on my Dating Disney posts. The last two will be Star Butterfly and Momo Yaoyorozu. But I’ll be sure to file away any requests for future builds when I come back to this.

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planesofduality · 4 years ago

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Dragon Age: Origins companion descriptions and dev notes from the game files

Just pulled this from the game’s character files. Gives some ages for characters (probably rough estimates, potentially retconned ), archetypes, writer-defined flaws, etc

Morrigan

Description

Morrigan lacks the will to care about most things enough to excite herself over them. Her primary concern is her survival. She has a difficult time relating to other people, and feels extremely vulnerable outside of the marsh. Her sense of humor is dark and twisted, and she finds the most morbid things amusing.

Her primary goal is to gain skills and knowledge and become a powerful sorceress in her own right. She believes that having a child with the PC's blood will give her access to this power.

Phonetic

More'-rah-genn

Age

Occupation

Witch

Morals

None at all. Morrigan learned morality from her abomination mother in the marshes where she grew up.

Appearance

A svelte, exotic-looking young woman with long black hair and large eyes. Her body is relatively thin and not strong.

Flaws

Morrigan has a difficult time relating to other people, and feels extremely vulnerable outside of the marsh

Skills

Is an accomplished witch; is skilled at wilderness survival.

Speech Patterns

Morrigan does not use contractions and speaks in what almost sounds like poetic verse.

Accent

None

Purpose

Companion and possible romance for the player

Relationship to Player

Party Member

Archetype

(Maybe change to "Cultural Background"?)

Demeanor

Morrigan is usually calm, collected, and fairly confident. Her charisma is fairly low--she prefers to remain in the background.

Personal Background

Morrigan was raised in the marshes by her sorceress mother, Flemeth, and had little contact with society proper.

She and Flemeth have a relationship more like servant and master than like mother and daughter.

She fears being rendered powerless (magically or personally).

Alistair

Description

A stern-looking young man with a strong chin. Very handsome. Some resemblance to King Cailan.

Phonetic

Al'-iss-ter

Age

Occupation

Grey Warden, bastard son of the king's father

Morals

Alistair has a strong moral sense that was taught to him in the church, but his bitterness makes him struggle with it.

Flaws

Alistair struggles with the resentment he feels over his birthright.

Skills

Trained as a paladin, Alistair can fight and has the ability to dispel magic.

Speech Patterns

His voice is deep but quiet. His tone sharpens into steel when required, but more often he is conciliatory.

Relationship to Player

NPC, companion, one of the only fellow Grey Wardens left after Loghain's betrayal

Demeanor

Generally self-depricating and conciliatory. Retreats into broody silence rather than raise his voice to be heard.

Shale

Description

Shale was created centuries ago, a female dwarven warrior who volunteered to undergo the magical process created by the master smith Caridin to become a golem -- literally her soul was put into a creature of stone, turning her into an unstoppable warrior. The process of creation is a grueling and agonizing one that uses forbidden blood magic, and the torture of it convinced Caridin that creating golems was morally wrong even if it involved volunteers. He refused to make more, and when the dwarven king attempted to force him he destroyed his forge -- or so everyone thought.

Most dwarves like Shale were lost in the wars against the darkspawn, and Shale was lucky to be found and reactivated by a human mage that brought her to the surface world. During his magical tinkering, however, he accidentally restored the memory of her creation, causing her to go berserk and killing him. This resulted in her becoming inert -- meaning she stood in the center of the village where the mage brought her, watching the villagers for thirty years as they thought her nothing more than a dead statue. When the player reanimates her, she realizes she is free-willed but remembers little else of her past.

Phonetic

as in "pale"

Age

500

Occupation

None -- formerly an inert yet aware statue

Morals

She is basically a good person, though she has little regard for the value of life and much prefers that the most direct action is taken in any given circumstance. Things like honor and love tend to complicate matters and irritate her, and she will seldom be understanding when they are given preference.

Appearance

A giant stone creature with crystals and runes all over his body. Shale is large enough that she must crouch to get through most doorways.

Flaws

She has lost touch with the fact that she was once a living thing herself -- and thus her value for life in general has eroded. She dislikes things that are frail and weak and tends to assume that all people she meets are flawed. Not that she believes herself to be perfect -- she is simply pessimistic about people in general, yet at the same time unconvinced that anything can be done to improve the matter. She has the perspective of a passive observer in this: having been an observer for so long, Shale has no idea what to do once the player reactivates her. She has no history and no purpose, and is thus lost.

Skills

Skilled warrior, also possesses the ability to augment magical energies around her (a buff for mages)

Speech Patterns

While Shale is technically female, her voice shouldn't be particularly feminine (the fact that she was once female actually comes as revelation partway through her plot) -- as a golem, the sound should be deepened and will require some processing to make it sound a bit unearthly (she does, after all, speak via magical means). As far as how she speaks, Shale tends to be somewhat sarcastic and pessimistic as a rule. When she banters, it is with a bit of bite and acidity to it, and she generally doesn't seem to care deeply about anything -- when she does, however, her voice should get a powerful and booming resonance to it.

Accent

Indiscernible

Purpose

comedic relief, party member

Relationship to Player

Companion

Archetype

Wizard of Oz-like Creature in Search of a Purpose

Demeanor

Shale has spent the last thirty years forced to helplessly watch a village as an inert statue, while the villagers want on with their lives around her unaware that they were being watched. This has made her quite cynical on the nature of humanity in general, and she tends to point out the flaws of others with acidity -- having been forced to watch quietly for so many years she has developed no "filter" and thus often says whatever is on her mind. She has free will now and is not afraid to use it, and thus will come across as independant and even precocious at times. It is important to note, however, that Shale is not malicious -- she was once a noble warrior and if anything her sarcasm and pessimism are come by honestly. The only things she truly reserves hatred for are birds. Forced to endure assaults by pigeons for decades she now plots revenge against them in almost comic book villain-like fashion.

Personal Background

Prior to being found by the player, Shale was a golem that was forced to serve anyone who held her control rod. Her last master died after experimenting on her magically, however -- which resulted in her becoming inert and forced to watch the village she stood in for 30 years. When activated, she discovered that her control rod no longer functioned and she had free will -- but had no idea what to do with it, and no purpose or history that she could remember. She accompanies the player out of a lack for better things to do, hoping to find something that is recognizeable and attempting to find a purpose to her existence -- which, from the player's perspective, will be to spend her time mocking everything around her and being pessimistic about their chances for success. Thankfully, she is excellent at battle and quite eager to leap into any fray. Shale doesn't care much for folks, after all, so laying into them with stony fists doesn't much bother her.

Cultural Background

Although Shale was once a dwarf from centuries ago, before the dwarven kingdoms fell to the darkspawn, her memories prior to the last thirty years is hazy at best. She is familiar with modern life, although she feels very much as an outsider amongst it and has no traditions of her own. Indeed, she is not even aware she is a dwarf (or female) until the player encounters Caridin.

Oghren

Description

Once a warrior of considerable reputation, Oghren fell apart when his wife -- the Paragon smith, Branka -- abandoned him to go chasing after her obsessions in the Deep Roads. Oghren became a drunkard, and his normal irreverence became a foulness that managed to alienate almost everyone he knew. Oghren is foul-mouthed, contentious and completely inappropriate even at the best of times. Indeed, he acts like this knowingly and no longer cares whom he upsets. He remains obsessed with mounting an expedition to find Branka, but has almost given up on the idea since no-one will pay any attention to him any longer.

Phonetic

Ogh'-rinn

Age

Occupation

Warrior-caste dwarf, meant to serve as a guard or as a soldier to protect Orzammar. He's essentially exiled or "fired" from that role when the player arrives.

Morals

He kills and loves and drinks and farts and insults at will and likes to put forward an image that he doesn't care about morals -- truly, however, he has a sense of decency and wouldn't do anything that was truly wrong except by accident.

Appearance

Dirty, mighty, possibly gross. Long natty beard.

Flaws

He says whatever's on his mind, which is usually the worst possible thing to say. He also has a temper that can get him into trouble.

Skills

Fighting. Lots and lots of fighting.

Speech Patterns

Quick to anger, Oghren is often losing his temper over something. He is just as quick to laugh boisterously or to tell a rude joke at the most inappropriate time. He adores poking people's buttons, and the easier they are to upset the more he will enjoy doing it. He the crude, salt of the earth type, though it should always be in a good-natured way. No matter how foul he gets, he should always ultimately be likeable.

Accent

Dwarven

Purpose

Comedic relief and party member

Relationship to Player

party member

Archetype

Boisterous Drunken Warrior

Demeanor

Drunken, aggressive, and innappropriate. Usually rude, sometimes sad.

Personal Background

Oghren married the brilliant smith Branka, and when she was elevated to the status of Paragon her entire family was made into a new clan. Oghren proudly headed the clan at her side, but eventually Branka took her entire clan and headed into the Deep Roads in search of ancient dwarven treasures despite his objection. Oghren angrily remained behind and after hearing nothing of Branka has tried many times to get a search party put together -- despite the fact that is marriage to Branka was already over. He has since had the right to bear arms stripped from him and become a drunken loser, so when he encounters the player this is his first chance at actual redemption (though he is far too proud to admit this).

Cultural Background

Dwarf from Orzammar, member of the Warrior caste

Wynne

Description

Wynne is a spirit healer from the Circle of the Magi. She has served the Circle for most of her life and is a well-respected mentor and mage. Wynne has very strong morals and sense of duty. She believes wholeheartedly in what the Circle does and believes that through discipline, learning, and wisdom, mages can learn to control and use their gifts to serve Ferelden.

She believes that fear of magic stems from a lack of understanding. She is careful in her speech and carries herself with dignity because she knows that she will be judged as a mage firstly, and wants to present herself as someone who is to be respected, but not feared or reviled. Wynne was saved from death by a Spirit of Faith which has now bonded to her and sustains her. The spirit is weakening and when it can no longer sustain her, Wynne will die. She knows this and has made peace with it.

Phonetic

win

Age

Occupation

Circle Mage

Morals

A noble person. Compassionate. Believes in the goodness of humans in general, thinks everyone can be good, if they are just given a chance and shown the way.

Appearance

Older woman with grey hair. Neat and well-groomed. Has aged gracefully, good-looking in a mature way.

Flaws

Tendency to mother everyone. Lectures. May be disapproving and cold to those she doesn't agree with.

Skills

Wynne is sustained a Spirit of Faith, which she may summon to help the party, or meld with completely to become a warrior form.

Speech Patterns

A quiet voice with warm tones. Speaks thoughtfully, never raises her voice. Sounds very learned, almost noble.

Accent

Standard accent, possibly British-sounding. Educated.

Purpose

Follower, Plot Giver - Save the mages in the Broken Circle.

Relationship to Player

Mentor

Archetype

Wise old wizard advisor

Demeanor

Calm, a voice of reason. Does not lose temper easily. Genuinely warm and friendly. Proper and polite.

Personal Background

Taken to the Circle at a very young age. Excelled at magic, especially healing magic. Very sensitive to the spirits of the Fade. Because of her talent, she was given the role of mentor at fairly young age. She accepted this role but bungled the job due to hot-headedness and an inability to empathize with the student who was assigned to her. The student finally escaped the Circle and Wynne believed him dead and blamed his death on her treatment of him. This guilt has informed her actions ever since and she has become a very warm, caring and empathic person, always able to see things from another's point of view.

Some time in the past, Wynne also had a son. However, because mages are technically not allowed to marry or have children, her son was taken from her and given to the Chantry to raise. She does not speak of this often and only reveals this to Alistair.

Cultural Background

Circle Mage from Ferelden

Dog

Description

Dog is a mabari dog, a highly intelligent wardog. The player will get to name Dog.

Phonetic

dawg

Age

Occupation

Wardog. Fetches things.

Speech Patterns

Barks

Purpose

Loyal companion

Relationship to Player

Loyal companion.

Cultural Background

Ferelden Mabari Dog

Leliana

Description

Leliana spent much of her life in the service of the Orlesian court as a bard -- an entertainer who traveled the land and doubled as a spy and sometimes assassin. Over time, her deeds left her with the feeling that she was not built for such a life. She felt guilty about the wrongs she had done, and eventually fled her masters in court. This meant secretly fleeing to the east and hiding out in a small convent in the Ferelden town of Lothering. There she found her calling, entering the sisterhood and beginning what she thought would be a life of religious contemplation and -- she hoped -- some measure of peace with her past. While there is a deeper side to her, a very spiritual side where she tries earnestly to look for meaning in even the most mundane things, on the surface she comes across as cheerful and witty and perhaps even a little flighty. Ultimately she is a voice of good and will try her best to steer others around her in the right direction.

Phonetic

LEL-ee-AH-nah

Age

Occupation

Bard, spy

Morals

Her concept of good is more 'nice' than 'good' (e.g. would let one seemingly penitent bandit go to be nice, rather than turn him in for his crimes)

Appearance

Red hair, pale, slender

Flaws

Has flights of fancy, hard to take her seriously. Sometimes a little too whimsical for her own good.

Skills

Singing: Leliana will sing several songs throughout the game. She should have a sweet voice, suited to folk songs.

Speech Patterns

Melodic, warm, maybe a little husky. There should be a slight lilt to her speech.

Accent

A hint of a French accent, but not to the point of caricature.

Purpose

Companion, Romance

Relationship to Player

Party member and potential romance interest

Archetype

Good Girl With a Past

Demeanor

Cheerful, sassy, charming. Flighty, loves making up stories about things and people.

Personal Background

Leliana is originally from Ferelden, but spent most of her youth as a companion to a noblewoman in Orlais. As a young lady she was brought under the wing of a bard-master called Marjolaine, who groomed her to be a bard and spy. Leliana's charm and her disarming manner made her extremely successful in her work in the noble courts of Orlais. She enjoyed her life as a spy, but something went wrong and Leliana was forced to flee to Ferelden. She took refuge in a cloister in Lothering, hiding for years and becoming Affirmed in that time. Also, she has begun to believe that the Maker has not left the world and that he in fact speaks to her through signs and omens. Her beliefs put her at odds with the Chantry but she clings to them nonetheless.

Cultural Background

Fereldan, brought up in Orlais.

Teyrn Loghain mac Tir

Description

Loghain was born a farmer during a time when his country was under foreign occupation. When he was still a boy, he joined the resistance, where his considerable tactical genius quickly became apparent. He became close friends with Prince Maric, the last true heir to the Ferelden throne, and together they led the rebells to drive out the invading forces of the Orlesian Empire. Maric raised his friend to the nobility, and Loghain is almost more of a symbol to his people than a man: He represents the Ferelden ideals of hard work and independance.

But the war has never truly ended for him. He sees Orlais waiting in the shadows for a chance to strike again. And now, with his friend's death, he's left to defend their land all alone. Fearing King Cailan's plan to ask for Orlesian aid against the Blight, Loghain leaves the young king to die on the field at Ostagar. Now he's trapped in a downward spiral as he struggles to save his kingdom, but every action he takes only brings it closer to ruin.

Phonetic

Tay'-ern Lo'-gayn mac teer'

Age

Occupation

Regent of Ferelden

Morals

To save Ferelden, at any cost

Appearance

Regal, manly, intelligent, mighty

Flaws

Obsessive, believes too firmly that his way is the only way

Skills

Strategy, a fine warrior in his own right

Speech Patterns

Loghain is a gentleman farmer-turned-general and hero. He's charismatic, down-to-earth, and radiates a confidence that draws others to follow him. His lifetime as a soldier has given him a guarded demeanor that's easy to mistake for being callous.

Accent

Ferelden

Purpose

Villain for much of the game, possible follower

Archetype

Conniving hero-turned-villain

Demeanor

Cunning, sly, charismatic

Personal Background

A farmer's son, Former war hero, strategic counsel to Kings Maric and Cailan, betrays Cailan in battle

Cultural Background

Ferelden

Sten

Description

The platoon he led to investigate the Blight was ambushed by darkspawn, and he alone survived, badly wounded. Looters found him and stole his belongings. He was rescued by farmers and when he awoke alone and without his sword (equivalent to a Spartan losing his shield) he panicked, killing the entire family. He then gave himself up to the villagers. He joins the player only because he hopes to regain some measure of his lost honor by dying in battle against the darkspawn that slew his men.

Phonetic

stehn'

Age

Occupation

Warrior. He wants to regain the honor he lost in killing the family by fighting the Blight.

Morals

Very strong

Appearance

A giant of a man with white hair and golden skin, very muscled and with unusual eyes. This is fairly typical of the qunari -- they are the bronze giants, great philosophers and scientists.

Skills

An excellent fighter.

Speech Patterns

He is a man of few words -- literally, as he is unlikely to respond to questioning from a "lesser" being with anything but terse sentences. He will use qunari words sparsely in his lines without necessarily explaining them, and speaks in rather clipped tones as if speaking is unpleasant for him. He actually just isn't very confident speaking languages other than qunari.

Accent

Qunari

Purpose

Follower

Relationship to Player

Party member.

Archetype

the Philosophical Alien

Demeanor

Sten is a laconic smartass, he presents a stoic, practical face to the world, and speaks as if he has only so many words allotted for his entire lifetime, yet he can't resist the chance to say something sarcastic. He's actually somewhat soft-hearted, though he hates if anyone notices this, and typically expresses affection for his companions by needling them. For the most part he gets by appearing gruff and unfriendly.

Personal Background

He spent most of his life fighting in the island's perpetual three-way war between the Imperium, the qunari, and the Tal-Vashoth. When he was sent with a small group of qunari warriors to evaluate the rumored Blight in Ferelden, they were ambushed by a group of darkspawn, which killed most of the party in the attack. Pillagers then stripped them of their valuables, thinking they were all dead. Some farmers found him and nursed him back to health. When he awoke, his sword was missing. Since Qunari warriors can't return to their kith without their sword (it’s assumed that a warrior who comes back alive without it discarded it to run faster in deserting the battlefield), he panicked. Thinking the farmers had robbed him, he killed the entire family. The player finds him in a cage outside Lothering, waiting to die.

Cultural Background

Sten is a Qunari, a member of a race that is foreign to this part of the world and whose people were at war with the human races for over a century before agreeing to a peace which has turned into an almost permanent détente. Still, the Qunari live quite a distance away from the part of the world where this game takes place… so someone like Sten is a curiosity more than an object of hatred. The Qunari are fanatical devotees to their religion, which compels them to dominate other races in order to improve them and bring them order. They are technologically advanced and hold magic in contempt, and this lends Sten an air of superiority over the other races around him. He is snide and superior – even while at the same time he is grim and subdued due to the fact that he has failed at the mission he was given. His failure, however, is between him and his conscience. It is not the place of lesser beings to speak with him about it.

Zevran Arainai

Description

Zevran is a member of the infamous Calabrian guild of assassins known as the Crows, though not by choice -- he was sold as a young slave to the Crows and trained to become one of their operatives. While he has worked as an assassin in Calabria, his first major assignment was to come to Ferelden and hunt down a surviving Grey Warden -- who just happens to be the player. Upon being defeated by the player, Zevran leaps at the opportunity to offer the player his allegiance in exchange for a chance to escape from the Crows once and for all.

Phonetic

ZEV-ran' AIR-ah-nye

Age

Occupation

Assassin

Morals

Few -- Zevran was raised in a whorehouse and trained from a young age to become an assassin. The only morals he possesses are those that lead to less complication for his job.

Appearance

Pale, slicked-back hair, has many tattoos (a feature of the Calabrian Crows), quite handsome and roguish.

Flaws

Hides his true feelings behind his bravado, doesn't believe in personal attachments. He is ultimately loyal only to himself.

Skills

An excellent thief, incredible agility, very knowledgeable with poisons.

Speech Patterns

Zevran is a suave, smooth operator. He tends to speak in a seductive and playful manner, playing the lothario whenever possible, and rarely gets upset -- if need be, he will become a silent, efficient killer but never lets his emotions get the better of him. Always practical and easy-going, he enjoys keeping others off-balance and on their guard.

Accent

Calabrian -- slightly Spanish, but not thick

Purpose

Romance for a female (or male). He is a pragmatic companion who is fine with immoral deeds and will betray the player late in the game unless the player has taken time to befriend him.

Relationship to Player

captured by the player and sworn into service in exchange for his life

Archetype

the smart-mouthed expert; the gigolo with a heart of gold

Demeanor

Often amused and light-hearted, rarely takes anything seriously except his job.

Personal Background

An orphan to a prostitute elven mother, raised poor and then sold to the Crows to become an assassin. He is virtually a slave to the Crows and eager to find a way to leave them without being killed.

Cultural Background

Calabrian (roughly equivalent of Spanish)

#dragon age #dao #occupation: witch #game file deep diving #alistair #leliana #morrigan #zevran #wynne #dragon age compendium

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readingsbylibramc · 3 years ago

Text

birth chart reading for @misssbrianna

hello! welcome to your reading. I’m gonna give you a quick overview of what I’m going to analyze about your natal chart. feel free to ask me anything if something isn’t clear, of course. you’ll find out your dominants’ influence on your persona, your physical appearance, impression on others and the way you approach the world; your ego, identity, the real you; your reactions, your desires, inner emotions; your way of expressing your feelings, your mind and ideas; your desires and approach to love; your energy tank, instincts and temperament; in-depth analysis of each house with their rulers and analysis of heavy aspects; love life + soulmates/karmic partners interpretation; your relationship with your friends; your family life; your approach to career and work in general + possible jobs suggestion; your style, fashion sense analysis; life purpose and past life description; basic transits’ analysis to describe your current mood and, last but not least, your secret skills, how to make the most out of your soul and manifest what you desire based on your birth chart.

🦋chart shape, dominants

your chart is a locomotive shape. this means that you're a very ambitious person, with a lot of energy. venus has a big influence on you, and your life revolves around love, friendship, beauty and finances. the empty part of your life is what you have to develop, hence your career, financial life and also your mental health.

your dominant planets are the sun, venus and mercury. you are a very creative and artistic person, you are quite smart and you're able to come up with innovative ideas. you're probably very charming as well, you're quite charismatic and sociable too, it's hard for you to be disliked by others.

your dominant sign is leo. you are extremely charismatic, it's easy for you to feel confident about yourself, or at least you project an image of you that looks very put-together. you are a perfectionist, you want to be perfect and you also expect others to try as hard as you. you have high standards, but only because you know your worth.

your dominant element is fire. you have a warm heart, even though it may be covered by your confidence and independence. in fact, you always strive for the first place. people may be intimidated by your presence, as you're a serious competitor. thanks to this competitive nature of yours you may be very positive and optimistic, making you a good and supportive friend/partner.

🌎 ascendant in leo, 7° / 1st decan ruled by the sun

you’re an extremely confident and bright person, or at least you have a very strong aura around you that makes you look like you are. you have exceptional charisma and presence, in fact this is usually a celebrity placement! you surely don’t go overlooked. you naturally always try your best to make people feel at ease, and you mostly succeed thanks to your warmth, which makes you even more attractive. you probably like being recognized, and you may want to be famous. in fact, you like being in the spotlight and loaded with compliments and appreciation, they incredibly boost your self-confidence. your charisma may sometimes be too noticeable, resulting a bit dramatic; you may gesticulate a lot, imitate voices… basically, you would do amazing at acting, for example. in fact, most celebrities have a leo rising, or leo placements of any sort. you’re very playful, you most likely look younger than you are for your personality. you may also be a savage, and you’re most likely good at jokes of any kind. you appear as a very bubbly and outgoing person, yet you may be quite secretive. you don’t open up easily, especially about family / private matters. especially with your water influence, you’re very picky when it comes to trusting people. in addition, you’re a perfectionist; you care a lot about everything that revolves around you, from physical appearance to your job, you want it all to be perfect. that can cause you a lot of stress, as you always want to seem at your best state, you despise being seen as weak or unprepared. physically, all leos have beautiful hair. you may have curly, perhaps red or dark hair, or at least it’s very thick. you may also get tanned easily, an olive skin tone or any kind of warm undertones to your skin. you may have full, plump lips, or at least they have a defined cupid’s bow.

🌞 sun in leo, 19° / 2nd decan ruled by the sun and jupiter

just like the sun, you shine brightly. you're confident, independent, brave and friendly. you're the only who can handle your life, no one can tell you who you are, what you want or what you need. sometimes you can get insecure, as you feel pressured to always be perfect. you try to be nice and kind to everyone, as you don't wanna be seen as someone unpleasant to be with. even though you may be into gossip and rumors, you try to avoid being involved with them at every cost. the thing with leo is, you're either loved or hated. no inbetween. some may admire your confidence, assertiveness and determination, others may be jealous of you. you have celebrity-like presence, you don't go overlooked. you're most probably the life of the party, and you enjoy living a life full of fun and amusement. you're also amazingly creative. with your heavy leo influence, you have the potential to do and achieve whatever you want, you're very resolute. even though you look very open to getting to know new people, you're secretly very picky about who you call your friends, or even when choosing a partner. you always try to be perfect, and hence you want someone that looks and tries just like you do.

leo sun conjunct leo venus: you enjoy peace and harmony. you want your surroundings to look all neat and clean, and same goes for the people you surround yourself with. you wish people saw you as easy to approach, even though you may struggle with your image. you try to be as formal and kind as possible with people you don’t know well, unless they start getting on your nerves by disagreeing with your opinions or being too bossy. you’re very feminine, not only in your looks and manners but also in the way you dress. you’re quite romantic too, and dream of having a perfect marriage. the downside to this aspect is that because you take so much care of yourself, people may mistake your self-love for vanity, especially with your leo dominance. also, your self-esteem may depend too much on others’ opinion of you; you may start thinking you’re ugly and unworthy of love just because someone told you you’re not their type, to sum up.

leo sun square scorpio pluto: probably during your childhood you couldn't make your own decisions. you might have been highly influenced by someone in your family, probably your father, and hence now you feel the need to have everything under control. maybe too much. you despise authority, you may even quite rebellious. maybe your parents have tried to convince you following their religion, ideals etc., without giving you freedom. or perhaps, they are overprotective and avoid to make you have experiences. I imagine that getting rid of your control issues, which are caused by this sense of not being in control of your life, may be the first step to finally heal your wound, which is somehow linked to the relationship with your friends and casual partners in your everyday life. start trusting others more, and don't be afraid of being 'fooled'. you're totally capable of understanding when someone is trying to hurt you, follow your intuition. even though it may be hard, even painful, it'll be the key to transform and overcome pluto's lessons to achieve your goals.

🌙 moon in pisces, 20° / 3rd decan ruled by neptune and pluto

hands down my favourite moon sign! you're extremely empathetic and sensitive, you care a lot about others and you treat others' problems as if they were yours, you get totally immersed in them. you have quite a vivid imagination, you're able to idealize and picture anything you want. while this placement gives you an incredible amount of creativity, it can also make you uncomfortable. in fact, you may actually find yourself imagining every detail of every situation, even the worst ones. let's suppose you hear of a rape at the news; you literally start imagining the scene detail by detail, and it makes you extremely uncomfortable. actually, it literally ruins your mood, as it's as if you actually lived that scene. going back to the creativity matter, you have the soul of an artist; you have very enhanced emotions, and you're able to express them through artistic outlets. you could be amazing at writing poetry, books, art, music... also, your particular empathy of human's intellect can also make you an amazing psychologist or actress, as you're able to understand others' feelings and make them your own. you're extremely spiritual, and if you don't feel like that, you just have yet to have your spiritual awakening. you may be able to talk to spirits, for example, or perhaps you have very meaningful dreams. or maybe, you could literally predict the future through them. you're also most probably an avid daydreamer, you tend to get distracted easily because you're too busy thinking about random scenarios in your head. seriously, you could even make a movie out of them. you're also an hopeless romantic, and you dream of finding not just your spouse, but your literal soulmate. to make it simple, you want all of your daydreams to become reality.

pisces moon conjunct pisces saturn: you most probably felt misunderstood during your childhood, as if everyone were cold with you. maybe your mother (or anyone in your family/childhood) was emotionally absent or even aggressive, hence you didn't grow up in a completely healthy environment. this issue causes you to question your worth; you may have low self-esteem, especially during your early years. your family may have big expectations of you, and hence you feel the need to meet them, making you even more pressured to be perfect. overall, your personality may resemble that of your parents a lot, even though it may feel challenging for you. you're constantly strict with yourself, challenging yourself to improve. you always want to be at your best state, physically but also emotionally. you just want to radiate good vibes, even though you may feel limitated to share all of your true self due to saturn making harsh aspects.

🗣 mercury in virgo, 5° / 1st decan ruled by mercury

you have a very logical, pragmatic mind. ironically, this creates contrast with your leo energy, confusing you as you may act differently in different situations. you try to be as well-spoken as possible, especially with strangers, but when people get on your nerves you can’t help but kill them with your words. before expressing your opinion on a certain matter, you like making sure that your thought actually has proof to be supported. you’re very analytical, and hence you also overthink a lot. especially when it comes to people you care, you start overthinking so much about little things like late replies to messages that you create a variety of hollywood-worthy scenarios in your head. you also pay lots of attention to details, and you can’t tolerate typos and grammar mistakes. you always try to speak and write in the most correct and polite way as possible. you may have an elegant, yet neat handwriting. your voice probably sounds very calm and collected, yet you don’t have any problems speaking at a louder tone.

virgo mercury square sagittarius jupiter: this placement emphasizes your intellect. your mind is so broad that you can come up with different theories and philosphies, making you a sort of genius. you're probably good at memorizing things, and you could even have a photographic memory. yet, with this aspect, you may have troubles being consistent with your ideas. you may overestimate your needs and thoughts; for example, you may promise yourself to get all As in maths, then you get tired and bored and you end up getting Cs. same goes for your handwriting, for example: you may start writing in the best way possible, then you get lazy and end up writing in a sloppy way just to take notes. you also overthink a lot, and that causes you self-esteem issues. on the other hand, you're very open-minded and objective, as you look at the big picture. you'd do very well as a journalist, for example, or perhaps also as a judge of any kind. you may also be naturally skilled at foreign languages, you can mimic accents pretty well. you're probably also very poetic and / or wise, you're like a teacher for your friends.

virgo mercury square scorpio pluto: you may become a bit manipulative. you probably don’t even realize it, though, as you have the ability to make people do what you want them to do. you probably love being right, especially during arguments, and you always manage to be so thanks to your skills. your words are like knives for others, they can truly cut deep through their ego. you’re direct and blunt, as you just say what you have in mind with no filters. you can develop a provocative attitude without even realizing it, which can obviously cause you conflicts. you need to be more careful about how you communicate your ideas, otherwise you could seriously damage other people’s self-esteem. on the other hand, if you acknowledge your flaws and work on them, this can actually turn into diplomacy. take advantage of your interest in your inner self to find out how to be a bit more gentle in choosing your words.

❤️ venus in leo, 17° / 2nd decan ruled by the sun and jupiter

with leo venus you're very picky, as you have high expectations for your future partner. you always try to be at your best state, and you want those who surround you to be perfect too. it's hard for you to fall for someone, as you take everything in consideration: personality, physical appearance, fashion sense... it may look like it is too much, but once you find the right one that truly satisfies your standards, you're in for a long ride. you'll want to travel, live your life in the best way possible with the person you love. you look at them as if they were the brighest star in the sky, and you want to be seen like this as well. you may even be a bit clingy, but your partner needs to be aware of that. they can't repress your need for affection. you see love as a way to revive your inner child, you feel younger when you're in love. even though you want someone fun and outgoing, you also need someone ambitious, hard-working and generally serious when it comes to committing. there's no room in your life for flaky people.

💥 mars in libra, 13° / 2nd decan ruled by venus and mercury

there’s this stereotype that libra mars people are passive-aggressive. it may be true, but only partially. in fact, you try to avoid conflicts exclusively when you’re in public, or maybe with someone you don’t know well. in that case, you can eventually try to avoid the problem. with people you’re close to, you’re pretty much the opposite. you may say the worst things that you probably don’t even mean, you may even have the istinct to throw hands. you’re driven by a strong sense of justice, and you probably were the class’ snitch during daycare/primary school. you also strive for equality, hence you may get very defensive when it comes to proving your innocence, or just really anyone’s. overall, you’re a fair person with strong morals, who acts based on the situation you’re in.

🏡 houses

your 1st house is in leo. with this placement, you care a lot about your persona, both physically and also mentally too. yet, you may start feeling like you need to be perfect at all costs to be accepted, especially during your early years. for example, you may be the type to follow fashion trends to look cool, and you may subconsciously force yourself to like them. you need to understand that you should enhance your individuality, and ask yourself who you are. it’s not all about who you are outside, the inside matters even more. you’re free to stand out, but make sure that you do it in a comfortable way for you, or it will start becoming toxic as time goes by. venus is also placed here: you're most likely very attractive and magnetic. even if not necessarily conventionally, people find themselves attracted to you. you may have sparkling doe eyes, with also full lips and a defined cupid's bow. your face is more on the longer side, perhaps you have an heart-shaped face, with high cheekbones and a pointy chin. you may also have naturally amazing, fluffy and flowing hair. your body is also very feminine, with a lot of curves and softness to it.

your 2nd house is in leo, with also the sun and mercury sitting there. your self-esteem depends on matters like money, possessions, as well as your influence on others. you may feel confident when you’re praised and spoiled with compliments and material things, you may enjoy being in the spotlight as it increases your self-confidence, even though you’re quite shy so you don’t feel very at ease. you feel confident when you’re able to earn money and you’re financially stable, and hence you probably felt guilty as a child to ask your parents for money for example. you probably love luxury, you aspire to become very wealthy, live in the house of your dreams, etc. you could also dream of becoming famous. and actually, with this placement, you could make money from leo-related matters, and hence being in the spotlight, creativity (especially theatre / drama), comedy, etc. you value stability in both romance and in your day-to-day life, like at work. you take care of your body and style in any sort of way, as your 1st house venus confirms. you like keeping your mind active everyday, especially by following your passions. if you’re the logical type, you might enjoy playing sudoku or things like that. on the other hand, if you’re more phylosophical you might enjoy reading, writing etc. you have a great sense of duty, that makes you want to excel in whatever you do. in addition to this, you’re also very stubborn. you probably get in arguments with others because you don’t accept their advices/criticism and prefer going your own way. you may also tend to overindulge a bit, and become a bit lazy. you care a lot about grammar, you don't want to make any mistakes. looking ridiculous is your biggest fear, hence you end up overworking to prove yourself that you're capable to do anything you want. you have a slow way of thinking and speaking. your voice may sound really calm and pleasant to hear, yet still strict and ambitious. you’re probably a good singer, or at least have the potential to become one. you tend to overthink a lot, but you eventually get to a conclusion and stick to it. no one is gonna change your mind. you enjoy learning and working in creative ways; you might enjoy using powerpoints, flashcards or maybe study with your friends, or listening to music. you also probably have a nice, aesthetic handwriting and you like organizing your agenda. your voice is probably very soft and youthful.

your 3rd house is in virgo. you’re very precise and polite in the way you express your thoughts. you’re probably very careful to grammar, vocabulary etc… you love looking and being knowledgeable. you’re more of a logical type rather than an intuitive person, you hardly ever do something only out of curiosity. you’re very cautious about the decisions you make, and hence it could take you some time to finally choose something, but that’s because you just don’t want to regret anything. you think deeply about your choices, and most of the time they turn out to be right. you’re strongly opinionated, but you may be a bit too harsh when you express your ideas. sometimes you could even hurt someone, as you’re extremely honest. you don’t like sugar-coating your words. you’re also very intelligent and hard-working, and you can’t stand messy things. you’re probably very neat, you like having schedules and you may even keep an agenda / diary where you keep track of your appointments and other things you have to do.

your 4th house is in libra, with also mars placed there. your physical home was probably very pleasant and beautiful; you may have a conventionally beautiful family, or at least they’re particularly attractive and charming. your house may also be very well-designed and elegant, doesn’t matter how big it is. you probably see your parents as ideal, they are your role models and you look up to them. perhaps, it could be that you felt misunderstood, maybe your parents were a bit materialistic or lacked empathy, but overall you had a great childhood, you have a good relationship with your parents and siblings if you have them. it could also be that you dated lots of people when you were a teen, or at least you had lots of friends. you certainly have lovely memories of your early years, and your parents most likely have a good relationship too. perhaps you used to argue often with your parents, there was quite a lot of fighting, but nothing too serious, I don't see any serious trauma in your childhood.

your 5th house is in scorpio, with also your pluto and jupiter being here. your hobbies most likely include self-expression of any kind, anything that you consider private is told through your creativity. also, with scorpio in this house, you may as well be attracted to darker hobbies like astrology, tarots… possibly, you may be into thriller or even into horror. you may also like psychology, criminology… this type of things that are able to stimulate your mind in some way. you could possibly want to be a risk-taker, deep down. also, you want to become a master in what you like, and hence you tend to go extreme to become perfect. you may dedicate a lot of your spare time to your hobbies, for example, even if you have to work. your romantic relationships may be very intense, you could attract particularly jealous or even obsessive partners in your life. some of them may be painful, but they’ll be essential to become mature and grow up into a better, wiser person. in addition, I see you as the type of person who doesn’t like showing off their partner. you probably keep both your love interests and hobbies personal, you only talk a little about them to your close, trusted friends, especially with your pluto in this house that makes this energy even stronger. jupiter here makes you particularly charming, it's easy for you to attract people interested in you romantically, you have a very striking charisma that makes it impossible not to like you. you're also particularly witty and creative, people admire you for your ideas. you may have a great sense of fashion and aesthetic as well.

your 6th house is in capricorn, with also uranus and neptune placed there. usually, people with a capricorn 6th house are very responsible and work-oriented. they generally don’t leave much space to fun and amusement, but the presence of uranus and neptune here may change this a bit. you do have a strong sense of duty, but you don’t overwork yourself. you’re able to find balance between work and hobbies, and that’s obviously great. yet, you may sometimes procrastinate in your day-to-day life. that can possibly cause you issues in your career; you may be indecisive about your future path for example, or you could even not be much precise in your work. uranus here also indicates that you may often come across unpredictable events in your daily life. you may often see strange, unordinary things, or perhaps it’s your routine that is like that. you may lack consistency when it comes to diets and health, for example; you may start a diet and keep it for a month, then you get tired and drop it all of a sudden.

your 7th house is in aquarius. you do like the idea of marriage and love, yet you need your space as well. you don’t want to feel committed in a relationship, it would be suffocating for you. that could make you appear as emotionally cold or detached, when you’re really not. you just care a lot about your personal growth, especially after your turbulent childhood. perhaps, you could even attract mentally unstable partners, they could be a bit moody for example. you may meet your future spouse in an unexpected situation, or perhaps you could meet them online through social media or a dating app.

your 8th house is in aquarius. you could possibly have an unexpected yet barely painful death, or perhaps someone in your life has died / will die all of a sudden, you may often experience scenarios of this kind. possibly, you could even die due to electricity, and or at least it will be a very fast death, I don’t see it being violent or turbulent at all. or maybe, you’re surrounded by unpredictable events of loss of any kind in your life. that is, it could also happen with your money. it’s important not to risk too much with this placement, especially with gambling, or you may end up getting in serious problems. you’re fascinated by the occult, and you may even be/been able to talk to dead people. you’re very intuitive, and it’s easy for you to read through people’s words. you may as well have prophetic dreams.

your 9th house is in pisces, with also your moon and saturn sitting there. this is definitely a nice placement! the result is that you’re probably extremely open-minded and imaginative. you hardly ever have have prejudices, you don’t judge a book by its cover. you’re extremely opinionated, and combined with your virgo 3rd house you’re constantly looking for the truth. you hate it when people say something wrong for example, you can’t help but correct them. you could also be religious and believe in a god. philosophy, literature and poetry are also a part of your many interests. in addition, you’re most likely also into foreign languages and cultures. you could travel a lot, or perhaps with your pisces in the house cusp you like travelling with your mind. you probably literally create stories in your head, you’re extremely imaginative. a good advice would be not to waste this talent of yours; you could actually make your fantasies concrete and express them through creative outlets: books, drawings, songs, choreographies… basically, it would be a waste to only keep them for you. you may also learn about more creative topics rather than school subjects. due to saturn's presence in this house though, it could take you a while to finally open up and make new experiences. growing up, you'll get to travel the world and open your mind more. you are an extremely open-minded person, you rarely judge a book by its cover. you probably despise racism, homophobia, misogyny etc. with a passion (as you should tbh). you may also be into poetry, philosophy, and just anything that can stimulate both your mind and feelings. in fact, your mind is constantly wandering somewhere else, allowing you to travel with your fantasy. you're also probably attracted to foreign things, like people, music, fashion, languages, movies etc. you love learning about anything, and you may also have a good memory. in fact, it’s common for you to be the one who explains things and possibly even leads a group, and this could unluckily make you seem as a know-it-all. you do take pride in your wisdom, indeed. your deep way of thinking is also where your desire for freedom comes from, as you wish to be able to expand yourself through travelling and new experiences.

your 10th house is in aries. with your 10th house cusp in the energetic sign of aries, you need a career that allows you to be independent, you probably prefer working alone than in groups. or perhaps, you actually aspire to become a boss, a ceo, someone people look up to, and if you work hard you may actually become an influential person in your work place / field. you aspire to be successful and you want to be wealthy thanks to yourself only, and you may actually develop some good luck in your career life. your future job may also require something related to physical action, and hence you may have to move a lot for your job, perhaps you may pursue acting to include something creative that also requires you to move. the sun here also makes you gain a reputation for being responsible and mature, you have a strong charisma and you probably seem very put-together to others.

your 11th house is in taurus. you could possibly attract people with taurus traits, and hence your friends could be quite stubborn and possessive, but also very loyal and responsible. they could possibly be wealthy, and they could have some artistic, creative interest and / or talent just like you. you may have some trust issues, you’re careful about who you trust, and hence you’re quite cautious about who you befriend. your long-term goals include financial stability, you may be quite materialistic as you enjoy wealth. yet, I assume that thanks to your water placements you’re not as work-focused as other earth placements, you actually also value emotions and feelings too. I feel like you probably have very big goals and dreams that you want to come true.

your 12th house is in cancer. you’re an extremely spiritual and intuitive person. you may be attracted to dreams, religion, astrology, spirituality… anything that can wake you up, spiritually speaking. you may also be particularly talented at reading birth charts, tarots, even talking to spirits. you may have prophetic dreams, or you could even have deja-vus. the 12th house is also the house of fears, so having cancer here indicates that you may be afraid of your childhood, emotions, past memories. perhaps, even of your home environment or directly of your parents. it’s a part of your life that you’d rather keep secret. you may also have some escapism tendencies, such as oversleeping, overeating… or perhaps, you could easily develop addictions, so be careful to that, as you’re particularly sensitive to drugs, alcohol etc.

❤️ love life, soulmates

in love you attract aquarius, sagittarius, gemini, scorpio and leo placements and/or traits. your future spouse will most likely have sagittarius and gemini traits or placements. they’ll be very similiar to you: bubbly and hard-working, but also with a warm, loyal heart and a hidden insecurity to them. you may meet them at work, or perhaps even abroad. perhaps they could be foreign, or maybe you're going to meet them on a vacation. in general, you'll meet with your spouse during a fun, relaxing situation. perhaps at a party, at the club, at a concert, at the mall, etc. your children will most likely have strong scorpio and sagittarius traits: they’ll be very smart and intense, but also very sensitive deep down. also, they’ll be extremely intelligent and more mature as time goes by. they’ll also have a tender side to them, but that is often overshadowed by their seriousness.

👶🏻 family life

your father is a very fiery, impulsive person, with a short-temper. he could have even been quite violent with you during your childhood, and he might have a bit of a childish behaviour, even though I don't really think it's your case thanks to your libra ic. deep down, he’s actually kind of insecure with his role as a father, but he may hate to admit it. he may have aries, cancer, libra or scorpio placements in his chart. your mother, on the other hand, is slightly more submissive. she’s mostly a peaceful and emotional person, even though she most probably has a passive-aggressive behaviour. she could be conventionally beautiful, or at least she likes taking care of herself. she may have libra, aries or taurus placements in her chart, as well as pisces and capricorn. if you have siblings, they’re probably very peaceful and intelligent. they may also be very kind, as well as organized. their rooms probably look immaculate. they could have virgo or gemini placements in their charts.

📊 career

you’re a very ambitious person, and hence I don’t see you being the type to scrap projects. especially with your aries midheaven, you’re motivated to complete your works in order to show that you’re able to succeed, you want to be the best in what you do. I can also see you being a good therapist, psychologist, possibly even a doctor of any kind, even though I’d avoid practical and boring jobs if I were in you. your strong pisces energy struggles to be cold-minded at times, and hence working in a stressful environment could be dangerous for you and for your mental health, as you may absorb others’ negativity and stress. actually, I feel like the most suited career for you would be something that allows you to be in charge, to be your own boss as you know what’s best for you. you may also do well with a creative career; you may become a writer, a dancer, a singer, a stylist, a model, an actress... anything that isn't too practical could be good to you, and if it allows you to express your creativity it's even better.

👚 fashion sense, style analysis

keyword for your wardrobe: black. every leo venus loves black, it's probably my favorite love story. after all, it's such a versatile color! it can be both badass and classy, how can I blame you. you may also have a thing for anything that looks luxury and high quality; you probably enjoy wearing designer brands, especially in your belts and bags. you may also like wearing fitted clothes, even just simple skinny jeans or tight tops. aside from black, you could as well use white and bold colours like gold, hot pink etc. also, you may as well be into pastel colors, and you could like following fashion trends.

👁 past life, life purpose

in your past life, you were very career-oriented. you were probably extremely successful at work, it was your priority. you could have even been someone important for your career, who knows. yet, this lifetime you don't need to focus on work anymore, you're already a master at it. now, you need to solve your issues with your family and create a family of your own to fully accomplish your life purpose. there may be some ups and downs, but this is what your soul has to learn in this lifetime.

🤔 major transits analysis / september 6

transit libra mercury is currently in your 4th house conjunct your natal mars. you could be feeling particularly honest in these days, you're more likely to speak your mind. you want to be around your loved ones but you're also particularly sensitive, therefore you could get angry easily and overall you're more impulsive, so beware of possible conflicts with others.

🧿 manifest what you want, secret skills

the best way for you to manifest is idealizing and acting at the same time. you have both energies combined in your chart, which is great actually! I’d suggest you to first picture what you want in your life, and then do something concrete to manifest it. for example, let’s suppose you want this gucci bag; first, think about it deeply. then, you could try going into a gucci shop and just walk around, maybe even touch that bag. you’ll get results if you believe it! it’s also great to write and read/listen your own positive affirmations, such as 'I love my gucci bag’, 'the gucci bag my mom gave me is amazing’ and so on.

and this is it! thank you again for booking a reading, hope it resonated with you :)

-libramc xx

#astrology

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fruityoosung · 4 years ago

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alter ego

pairing : wonwoo x reader

rating : fluff-ish???? lowkey promiscuos

trigger warning : tattoos, substance usage, wonwoo being hot

“choi y/n you’re with jeon wonwoo” the monotonous deliverance from the TA stemmed a sigh that left your lips subconsciously. you turned your head to the right and a steely, dark and unwavering pair of brown eyes met yours. jeon wonwoo, the quiet, dismissive but very intelligent classmate of yours stared into you for a couple seconds before turning back towards his own assignment on his laptop. you merely nod your head to nothing before the TA dismissed the class, causing the flock of students in the history lecture flee from the lecture hall with grace, ready to end their day or attend their next class. some students hung behind to discuss the matters of the assignment with their designated partners and you decided to do the same.

you took your own sweet time packing your laptop into your backpack before a tall, looming figure casts a shadows upon you. you finally had a clear look of him whilst before your eyesight were betraying you. he’s the typical, lowkey stand off, quiet but very attractive young man, a character you often stumble upon at some point of your life. most times, it was more annoying than attractive to you because people like him are very contemptuous and outrageously pompous. you shot up from your seat and stood in front of him, waiting for him to talk to you first since you didn’t want to leave a bad impression towards your project partner.

“we can work on the project at the uni’s library. is tomorrow afternoon okay for you?” he asked, you didn’t realise how deep his voice actually goes. with the thin-rimmed glasses resting upon the bridge of his nose and the cashmere knitted, cream coloured sweater he was wearing, his voice was very uncanny to hear.

“tomorrow afternoon is fine, i’ll e-mail you the materials and we can work from there.” you replied, it was uncomfortable to you while he stood inches away from you and actively studying your face. he nodded and gripped the strap of his backpack before walking away. you did not know how to feel, you cannot deny his attractiveness and the stroke of heat that travels through your body as he stood close towards you.

this should be fun right?

you waited at the table near the windows with your laptop opened in front of you. you’re currently sorting through the materials and crafting a rough draft of your part of the assignment. wonwoo wasn’t late, you were just very early since the professor of your last class couldn’t make it to the lecture. you didn’t realise the time has passed as you typed through your rough draft until the sound of the wooden chair striking against the floor broke you out of your flow of thoughts. you immediately looked up and saw him sitting down directly across from you. being the somewhat inviting person you are, you decided to acknowledge his presence.

“hi, did you have class prior to this?” you asked, fingers resuming to type last few lines of your last rough draft. ever since the TA assigned the project to the both of you, you’ve never spoken to him verbally other than a few

e-mails regarding the materials and the submission of his rough draft for you to proof read and check. you were astounded to receive that e-mail since it was barely a couple hours since the TA had assigned it. of course, being one of the smartest kids in your class, his rough draft was nearly perfect and you only had to tweak a couple words to fit the theme better.

“i had a business management class.” he replied, his fingers began rapidly typing on the keyboard and it grew silent from there. it was almost distracting.

what’s more distracting is his goddamn features. you discreetly studies him as you finish typing the draft. the way the blue light from the screen reflected onto the lenses of his glasses made his eyes appear glittering almost had your heart lurching. the way he chews on his lips and furrowed his eyebrows as he reread the paragraph he wrote made you notice the warmth spreading on your face.

what the fuck? you swore. you’ll never have a chance with him, for all you know he probably hates your ass.

you shook off your thoughts and opened the google docs app and began typing the actual essay for the assignment. the lines above yours kept increasing and you tried your best to keep up.

what you didn’t notice was the sly smirk and the dark pair of brown eyes travelling towards your face, revelling at the sight in front of him.

he can get use to this

you were deep in your work before his alarm rang. thankfully, no one else was in the library since it was growing late into the evening. you looked up and meet his eyes again. wow, does he have really nice eyes.

“i need to go. i’ll make sure to send in the docs to you latest by tomorrow” he said before frantically packing up. you were dumbfounded. he’s probably late for something but you didn’t bother to ask since it is none of your business.

“it’s alright, this project isn’t due for another three days. you can take your time.” you replied softly, not wanting to stress him out.

“thank you y/n. i’ll see you soon.” he said in his deep tone that made your stomach do a flip. for some reason, you think your name sounds perfect coming from his lips.

since it is getting dark, you probably should leave the building before it gets too late.

you were in a state of boredom. your part of the project has already been done hours after you reached your apartment. to your surprise, the apartment was empty. maybe your roommate decide to stay the night at their boyfriend’s apartment. soon, the boredom slowly became unbearable so you decided to hit up the club for any sort of civilisation.

a seductive, red lip gloss dressed your lips as your fix the earrings dangling from your ears. the all black ensemble you were wearing definitely gave you a sense of high charisma and made you ooze confidence, perfect for a night out and warding off weird men. the heels you were wearing added an extra two inch to your strut. even though it’s probably going to be hell for you to walk in, you sure do look really good.

you took a cab to your favourite underground club, ready to take on the night.

the flashing led lights grabbed your attention as soon as you stepped into the dark nightclub. the atmosphere of drunk people in their early or mid 20’s dancing and having fun is never foreign to you. the bass boosted underground rap song pierce through your eardrums and made you heart thump along with every bass kick. you felt a surge of energy flowing through your veins so you wastes no time and walked towards the bar, before ordering your drink of choice for the night, completely ready to get wasted.

you are now on your fourth shot of vodka and dancing your way in the middle of the club. you’re a pretty sensible person off alcohol but when a substance is coursing through your blood, you tend to get a little too wild. the light changed and another song arrived through the speakers. you decided to leave the dance floor and return back to the bar to get another shot of whatever the hell you wishes

now i’m on my way to whatever’s waitin'

뭐가됐든 go straight (go straight)

fuck what they’d be talkin' 'bout

(fuck they talkin' 'bout)

their opinion doesn’t count like ooh

a loud scream can be heard on the dance floor, everyone began to vibe to the new heavy hitting bass playing through the very big speaker. a younger looking boy with bleached blonde hair appear with three other men on the stage

로또 터뜨린지도 어느덧

두달이 됐지 (yup)

나름 높아져, 벌농 인지도

man, 그 누가 알았겠니 (you get me?)

불가능해 보이던 모든건

수영이나 갔다오라해

wait, enough with vernon

원우형 here’s the torch

이제 가서 소각해요 man

even in your drunk state you couldn’t miss the rhythm of his name on stage since you have been thinking about him ever since the project was assigned. the craved, intricately carved, glass of bourbon wrapped safely around your fingers before you began sipping on it slowly. the sight you see next was nothing that you could’ve ever expected.

the red spotlight shined through the familiar figure, though he’s dressed so differently from when you saw him last.

uh 주위에선 그래 가능성 로또래

내가 노력만 한다면

대박 쯤은 그냥 터트릴거래

별의 별 놈들은 나에게 한마디씩 던지지

내가 볼 땐 넌 백날 해도 안돼

난 답하지 난 아직 어린이

발전 가능성이 높은 나에 비해 전혀 없어 넌

옛말에 똥은 더러워 피해

째려도 전혀 안 무서워

비교하면 난 박잘타는 흥부 너도 따라해도

넌 박치에 가깝지 내가 볼땐 니행동을보면 전혀 노력 금물 uh

너는 옥타곤 지옥에서 기어

난 바쁘니까 엄마가 보면 놀래 가사노동

할땐 주부들만치니까

나도 놀랬지 가끔 너 보면 빡치니까

넌 을이 없게도 그리해놓고 어디서 여기서 갑질이야

the familiar deep and heart rumbling tone of his voice pierced through the speakers and into your auditory senses. you focused your eyes towards the stage and there you see him, the man of the hour, hyping the crowd up like it’s nobody’s business but his. what surprises you his outlook, he appears more confident, more fierce, more arrogant and a bad news to literally anyone regardless of gender and preferences. he ditched the usually

thin-rimmed glasses and left the piercing cold and sharp eyes out on display. a black tight fitting tank top fit snug against his broad shoulder and chest. the purple, satin outerwear that’s slowly falling of his shoulders reveal biceps that could be envied by a lot of people and the huge written tattoos splayed on his neck and collarbones are the most unexpected part of him.

the smart and witty lyrics flows out of his lips perfectly against the rhythm of the overdriven instrumental. his motions in sync with the beat of the music made it seems like he has been doing this since forever, he wasn’t foreign to anything. that is not the jeon wonwoo you knew. the jeon wonwoo you knew was a quiet, smart and dismissive, not the one that oozes confidence and charisma like it is a switch to be turned on and off. you could not believe your sight. your heart thumped loudly against your chest with the music. the drink in your hand is slowly disappearing from the cup and into your mouth. you turned towards the bartender and asked for a refill, the torch has been passed from wonwoo to another member of his underground rap team and all you want to do is accept this as a dream and resume your night.

the song finally ended and the crowd went batshit crazy. you were still leaning against the bar looking at the stage still reeling in at the fact that the person with the rap team is your fucking history project partner.

wonwoo shared handshakes with his member before making his way towards the bar, ready to end the night with some good ol’ alcohol before another day began tomorrow. to his surprise. he saw a familiar figure leaning against the bar, drink in hand and cheeks flushed red. oops, his cheeky little secret have been exposed by none other than the person he has taken admiration to. the surge of confidence he got really made him a completely different person.

you mentally prepare yourself as you saw him walking straight towards you. you fixed your posture to appear taller and more confident even though you’re still inches shorter than his six foot height. you almost curse at the sight of him with that smirk playing on his lips. he walked past you and motioned for the bartender.

“i’ll have what she’s having.” he pointed at you, eyes lingered towards your figure for a couple seconds which made you almost cower at the sheer intenseness of the stare.

“so what brings you here. i didn’t realise this is your type of gig.” the question hung from his lips

once his drink is safe in his grip, you muster up the courage to finally speak to the new personality you just discovered.

“i think that question is way more suited towards you no?” you replied, a hint of mischievousness apparent in your tone.

the bronze liquid flowed from the cup and down his throat.

“oh darling, you may find me full of surprises.”

a/n : the edit was made by v follow her @/lovetagon

#svtxreader #seventeensmut #seventeenxreader #wonwooxreader #seventeen #svt #17 #wonwoo #jeon wonwoo #wonwoo smut

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lilmajorshawty · 6 years ago

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Decans Series: Rising Signs Episode One

Aries Decan One(0-10′ Degrees): Aries & Mars

Men: These Natives are True in their Martian like presence. The men sport often hung or lean physics while even the men who are boasting a more robust size often carry the same aggressive and burly look as if they were some beast stripped from the wild. When young the men can often seem like a rebel without a cause, lost or as if they are “expecting.” The vitality is sky high and even more so is the body’s ability to heal from wounds. These natives heal the quickest out of all the Aries decans and unfortunately sport the worst temper. these natives tend to have an unknowingly abrasive energy and can seem much ruder than they actually are. most men with this early decan of Aries tend to be independent but “searching” whether they admit it or not, for their other half. This decan has the strongest connection to libra on it’s axis so these men as much of a loner as they may seem deep down are on a pursuit to find love and give love. This Aries rising is passionate but a bit overwhelming in it’s energy. They want and Will get and tend to have the most ferocious tenacity outwardly than the rest of their counterparts.

Women: The women with this degree tend to be Bundles of joy, many handle the Arian energy very well in this decan, taking on it’s childish and youthful energies and turning them into something pure and admirable. These natives are happy go lucky and take life by the rope and also don’t mind the occasional free fall. They tend to be the types to do things solo and normally despise being hand held threw anything. they have a bit of a tom boy spirit and many are actively involved in heavy duty work like construction, engineering or even just sports in general to relieve any access energy. Many women with this position are easy to get along with and have an almost infectious laughter to them. Men and women naturally gravitate to them because of their open and charming disposition. They ooze a special kind of sex appeal and it’s one that feels like nostalgia. they regardless of all these fun things LOATHE clingy or cramped spaces and can act out when placed in them.

Men/Women with water influence(all Aries Rising): (cancer) - Sentimental and guarded. will seem like a wounded bird and In a sense withhold. they’ll seem like they’re in conflict with the idea of being tied down or domesticated and may even bring the fight home with them. Extremely caring, tender and loyal but the cardinal overload tends to make them emotionally unpredictable especially the closer to 0-3′ degrees the rising sign of Aries is in. (Scorpio) - Deep & mysterious. you’ll notice the Arian side quick but only during short burst. the eyes tend to be deep and darker features are often seen. They tend to be powerhouses and dress in more dark and hidden attire. These men are very ambitious and have quite a bit of stamina when it comes to tolerating others. they tend to be crafty but also direct. the mind and heart operate unified, but they are remarkably cerebral and can often place ambition above sexual desire(especially in women). (Pisces) - Ghastly, they’ll always wear a face, which makes them very hard top pin down. you’ll likely think they’re a Pisces rising at first. the best way to point them out is their messy and underkept look. they seem natural and a bit lost. they throw the Arian rage at the wrong things and have the tendency to burn out quicker than any others Aries rising. They have so much creative energy and even more so they have the ability to create and do anything they conjure but many of these men fall to easily for the drugs, sex and lack of stability rather than claim their own destiny.(the women normally don’t struggle with this as bad as the men do here.)

Men/women with earth influence(all Aries rising): (Taurus)-steady, but, fluctuating. can seem timid one minute and then bubbly and talkative the next. their can be troubles maintaining the energy as it comes and goes. the sexual appetite in both sexes is high but usually the desire for committed sexual encounters matter more to them. Stubbornness is doubled because of Aries energy and even more so if they are in the second decan as the double fixed energy makes them downright immovable. Sensual and intimate personality. (Virgo) - CUNNING. the body moves quick, faster than most Virgo types. the nature can be overly self invested but they don’t mean to be that way. the nature is reserved and respectful but a beastly personality can be hidden beneath the breathe. grounded but also lacking in foundation. the analytical side of Virgo is watered down and the reckless nature of Aries is more subdued. a tendency to fall in complacency is common ground but these natives tend to attract partners who stay the long haul. Fluctuations with weight can happen but the weight can be lost quickly. IRRITABLE.(Capricorn) - AMBITIOUS. these natives can be cold to the touch and prefer non-emotional sexual encounters(especially the business men & women of this combo) they can have a powerful sexual charisma. they can have overwhelming personalities or be deeply intimidating. the ability to take it easy might be hard here as they often easily pull all nighters or sacrifice family, love and all else for the sake of job, work and so on.(most of them are doing this to be providers though) the heart is SO BIG but it’s layered behind walls and distrust. Passion goes towards getting ahead.

Men/Women With Air influence(all Aries Rising):(Gemini) - Talkative and jivy. These natives can be colorful as hell, often playing their hands in many different activities, people, communities and so on. many have a strong attraction to rap, word of mouth and literature. these natives tend to be slightly air headed and superficial when it comes to being “deep” they can seem dismissive or careless when it comes to other people but it’s mainly because they don’t tale life or anything that happens in it that seriously. they get over things quick and tend to push others to be open to up’s and down’s. they can be mentally ambiguous and love a good mystery. many are very hard to get close to and they have a strong passionate side! many are very giving and loving to those they care about in their own way but they can lack emotional expression.(Libra) - Lovers, grand and schemers. they can be heartthrobs and seduce you just by flipping their hair or licking their lips. they are often passive and slightly people centered but deep down they aren’t nearly as concerned with the masses as they seem. they can be moody and dart from one feeling to the next pretty quickly. a good deal of them are artist and tend to have an 70-90s feel. they don’t hold on to connections and tend to have more situational friends if anything. Sweet but detached. the Martian side is often projected onto others. (Aquarius) - Spontaneous and aloof. the personality is quirky and the Martian energy is expressed in a wonky sort of scientist way. these natives tend to have an interest in being doctors or surgeons. the hands are often very capable and these natives tend to have well expected writing abilities. these natives tend to be loners and keep their distance from people. they can have an electric sort of rebel like nature to them, but they normally express this impulsive side when alone or with friends. they may fall for their friends quite a bit or be off to the side preferring to use their energy towards other things. many prefer self sexual pleasing than having physical sex.

Men/women With fire influence( All Aries rising): (Aries) - OVERWHELMING. they can be powerful, and a great deal tend to be active in sports, politics, or even war in some way through the military or even just open warfare at home or against others. The body is often physically strong and high in bone density. the movements tend to be heavy and these natives often sport heavy hands. their is an intensity to every action and these natives tend to have an intense home life to match, the mother is a juggernaut often holding equal footing to that of a war general in the house. the father is either a tyrant or an adversary. the grandparents are usually the source of sensitivity for the child. passionate and high sex drive and normally these natives are rather open to sexual expression gay or straight. (Leo) - Fast and well spoken. the mind is often creative and the talents are enterprising. the nature of the romantic investments tend to be turbulent and erotic. these natives have their line and fare share of hot sex stories but are pretty modest. the self esteem and confidence is well developed and these natives usually carry themselves with high décor and prestige. the nature is lion like and they tend to impulsively switch moods rather quickly especially if a their attention has been caught. (Sagittarius) - Philosophical yet daring. they want to explore it all but can also be rather impatient with learning what must be learnt to visit. they are daredevils and advocates for something big and better. many of them love the planet and strong on stopping further damage to the planet. many of them are activist and spend much of their time away from home or helping others. Sagittarius influence makes these natives put much of their energy into helping others. Many are caring but a bit lacking in sympathy for the feelings of others.

Aries rising decan Two(10-20′ degrees): Aries & Mars, Leo & Sun.

Men: These men can have a sort of innocent, lost boy energy to them. they “seem” impressionable to many but you’ll be shocked once they drop the façade. they’re quick but tamed and normally hide their rage behind a wall of patience. They do better with this than their female counter part in this decan but make no mistake they can be downright ugly when they get pushed. the men have a HIGH sexual energy but it expresses itself almost in a Virgo like fashion. Many of them do value attention and care but in a weird twist they prefer to be the ones giving it to others rather than basking in it. they’re considerate and deeply compassionate. The thing here is that these men are “secretive” they keep much of what they feel, think or want to themselves which can make them seem a bit aloof or disengaged than the typical Aries rising. in many ways they’ll seem like an Aquarius or Virgo rising upon first meeting. The give away is that these men Have some of the most intense gazes and the most powerful aura without trying. they own a room before they even step foot, and can kick up the sexual notch in little than a second. these men can be unnerving when they drop the lost persona.

Women: The women of this decan can be aloof, cool and HOT tempered. They love a thrill and have a very progressive mind. Many of these women are ambitious and place high value in the fruits of labor like mentality. They work and play hard but can in some ways seem so preoccupied with their own independence that their lovers feel a bit “Left out in the cold.” to that I simply reply with...KEEP UP. these women move quick and can be in and out of your life at a moments notice as they tend to keep their eyes on the big picture and in many ways you’re not that picture. they are extremely devoted to their families and are the Mother bear of either your worst nightmare or your dreams. they adore children and even more so their loved ones and to them romance takes a back seat to them always. They have a very open mind and tend to be strongly tied to their own heritage. many of the women here adore harsher/more earthy tones like marron, greens and silvers. these women CAN get angry and I mean angry and even more so if they get the feeling that you wasted their time. They have a strong ego but are humble as they come.

Aries rising Decan Three(20-29′): Aries & Mars, Sagittarius & Jupiter

Men: These men are like a breathe of the amazon. The harsh salted sea of the Atlantic. They feel like they’re not from here and even more so they feel as if they’re some astral being here for a moment and nothing more. they’re on the quieter side of the Aries rising and tend to observe rather than outright express their will. these men normally show their intensity in their self control. they ware very self aware and often exert small amounts or larger amounts of their energy when necessary. They can be sensitive to the body movements and language of others and much like a ram in the wild they can become skittish if you are acting out of character. they are sexually open but also naturally magnetic without going out of their way to do so. They can be suckers for music and dancing and many even tend to be on the more artistic side of things. These men also tend to be advent in literature or the word of spoken. they adore broadening their perspectives and try to remain open to that of others(even though they’ll go tooth and nail with you on their own beliefs. They are passionate but withholding and act much more like an earth rising than a fire rising. these men tend to dress very well and take great care of themselves. most are sexually intense and have an insatiable appetite but normally this is kept under wraps(all you see is the hot guy, but once you get in bed you see the animal).

Women: These women tend to be polite, intellectual and underhanded. they can see threw people and that is their super power. these women can spend half a second sizing someone up before they know just the right words, body language, or eye contact to make to get what they need. they tend to be natural born activist and vibrate on a speedy mental frequency which often makes it super hard for most people to actively keep up. they tend to be content with being alone and doing their own thing but they can turn into quite the butterfly in the face of a crowd. they are natural born performers but to that end many of them hate the spotlight no matter how grand their charisma may be. these women tend to be very uplifting to be around. their wording of things can be slightly dismissive and blunt but they have good intentions. these natives tend to be high class and prefer the company of people who respect others and themselves so dispute their aggressive side they keep a strong grip on not seeming overly aggressive. these women are strong and INTENSE but the joyous cloud around them hides it.

Physical/personality Decan One:

The eyes tend to be deeply set. fixed eyes. can seem playful but a serious demeanor. calm but Dismissive body movements. can seem emotionally distant. Radiant smiles and a semi- cheerful resting face.

Physical/personality Decan Two:

Heavy set chest in men and women here. The eyes are passive and seem a bit like they’re looking through you or past you. Attention elsewhere always. Can go from smiling to straight-faced in half a second. Natural body figure whether they work out or not LOOKS real good. often natural hair, curls or waves on it’s own. for all races the skin is often soft and the hair tends to seem loose or rather fitting to the persons face.

physical/ personality Decan Three:

Darker features. the eyes are steady but deceitful. low smiles and can seem grand. the aura is heavy. many are sporting very strong familial genetics(might be the one in the family that inherited great grandmas silver hair, or great granddads birthmarks and so on. The body for men and women can look stunning no matter the weight, it has a sort of uniqueness to it.

Song decan one: The Warlord.

Vince Staples - BAGBAK

Phantogram - You Don’t Get Me High Anymore

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Sacrilege

Tove lo - Bitches

Chase Atlantic - Devilish

Sky Ferreira - you’re Not The one

Song Decan Two: The Skirmisher

Run the Jewels - Legend Has it

A$Ap Ferg - Plain Jane

N.E.R.D & Rihanna - Lemon

Rihanna - Needed Me

Beyoncé - Partition

Tinashe - No drama

Song Decan Three: The Casanova

Miguel - sky Walker

Kendrick Lamar - Swimming pools

ScHoolboy Q - Man of the Year

ScHoolboy Q - Collard greens

A$AP Rocky - Goldie

Travis Scott - Long live A$AP

#mine #aries rising #Decans #astro posts

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toxicdogars · 4 years ago

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((Hilbert +D&D because I'm curious about how this would turn out-))

Tumblr Meets D&D - Your Muse as a D&D Character

Hilbert Dean Bailey

So, Hilbert here is the male protagonist of Pokemon Black and White, though @luckynatured here decided to take the character in her own direction, basing the muse in its entirety on a Nuzlocke Challenge of Pokemon Black. One of the aspects of this particular challenge drew my attention- the fact that Rowan chose to implement a rule involving dice rolls or coin flips any time there was a choice to be made. Leaving things to the whim of fate, almost seems perfect for a D&D character. Let’s make that a goal, we need a little randomness. Reading through some of Hilbert’s interactions also points to evidence that he’s extremely determined and exceptionally lucky to get so far without losing core team members. Speaking of team members, let’s make sure we have varied damage types to account for any threats, paying special attention to Hilbert’s main, league-winning team. Once again, we’ll be using Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition and all books and articles related to it.

Ability Scores

These ventures will use standard array, a set of numbers given as a sort of average stat pool. Feel free to roll for stats if you wanted to use this character, just treat this arrangement as a general order for what stats are most important. No need to worry about multiclassing with this build.

Strength: 8 (Not needed) Dexterity: 13 (Useful) Constitution: 14 (Will be useful later) Intelligence: 10 (Hilly’s decently smart) Wisdom: 12 (Hilbert’s determined, and that tends to equate to decent Wisdom related saving throws and the like) Charisma: 15 (Our most useful stat here)

Race

Hilbert will be, surprise surprise, a Human. I could have gone a type of Halfling, which would have given him some extra luck, but Hilbert is shockingly tall, so that seemed a little out of place. Even so, we can make some choices early to get some handy bits of luck. Variant Humans also get some snazzy bonuses. Put the two free points Variant Humans get into Dexterity and Charisma to round those odd numbers up to evens. Then you’ve got your typical 30 feet of movement speed, a skill proficiency, and a free Feat. For Hilbert, also gets a base speed of 30 ft, a skill proficiency, and a free Feat. It might seem like a silly choice but let’s give him Perception. It will help with noticing things going on around him, and hopefully keep him aware of any dangers and it’s not a skill he’ll be able to grab from his class. As for his Feat, well I did say our boy needed to be lucky:

Lucky: You have inexplicable luck that seems to kick in at just the right moment.You have 3 luck points. Whenever you make an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can spend one luck point to roll an additional d20. You can choose to spend one of your luck points after you roll the die, but before the outcome is determined. You choose which of the d20s is used for the attack roll, ability check, or saving throw.You can also spend one luck point when an attack roll is made against you. Roll a d20, and then choose whether the attack uses the attacker's roll or yours.If more than one creature spends a luck point to influence the outcome of a roll, the points cancel each other out; no additional dice are rolled.You regain your expended luck points when you finish a long rest.

Class and Background

Alright, but hear me out on this. Hilbert... is a Sorcerer. Not only do magical effects line up well with Pokemon attacks, but there’s a certain subclass of the Sorcerer that is the definition of random, and is the best way, in my opinion, to reflect his combination of luck and skill that got him to where he is today.

Sorcerers start with a d6 hit die (which is... not the best out there), proficiency in Constitution and Charisma saving throws, daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows, and two skills from a short list. Of the options listed, Insight and Persuasion make the most sense.

As for his background, let’s focus on his rise as a Champion and give him the Folk Hero background, giving him proficiency in Animal Handling and Survival, as well as with two tools, two languages, or a language and a tool. Gaming sets are tools, so let’s giving our boy proficiency with a dice set, and might as well toss on a language like Elvish or something. Humans in the D&D world tend to pepper their native tongue with Elvish and Dwarvish words anyway, so it tracks.

This build is taking Sorcerer all the way from one to twenty, so let’s hit up what Hilbert gets at these levels one by one. At level one, he gains the ability to cast spells. Charisma is his casting stat, and it is added to his spell attack rolls and the DC of any spells of his that require saving throws to resist. He is notably able to use a spellcasting focus to ignore material components- let’s make that coin he always has in his wallet a casting focus. He can also pick a Sorcerous Origin, and the one that best fits our chance-manipulating mage boy is the Wild Magic Sorcerer. Wild Mages get two abilities:

Wild Magic Surge: Immediately after you cast a sorcerer spell of 1st level or higher, the DM can have you roll a d20. If you roll a 1, roll on the Wild Magic Surge table to create a random magical effect. A surge can happen once per turn. If a surge effect is a spell, it's too wild to be affected by Metamagic. If it normally requires concentration, it doesn't require concentration in this case; the spell lasts for its full duration. Tides of Chaos: You can gain advantage on one attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. Once you do so, you must finish a long rest before you can use this feature again. Any time before you regain the use of this feature, the DM can have you roll on the Wild Magic Surge table immediately after you cast a sorcerer spell of 1st level or higher. You then regain the use of this feature.

These two abilities work well in the randomness aspect of things, and give Hilbert some utility to manipulate what fate gives him. As for the spells he gains at this level, he starts with four cantrips and two first level spells from those in with sorcerer list. In case someone doesn’t know the difference, cantrips are simple magical tricks you can pull off at will, while leveled spells require expending one of your spell slots of a level equal to or higher than the spell’s level. First, the cantrips:

Shape Water: A transmutation cantrip that basically lets you manipulate water. A simple utility cantrip that you could make use of for a few clever things. A good reference to his starter being an Oshawott. Light: An evocation cantrip that gives you a flashlight so your weak little human eyes can see in the dark. Just kinda useful to have. Chill Touch: A necromancy cantrip that deals necrotic damage and restricts the affected foe’s ability to heal themselves. A neat little ghostly trick to represent Chandelure, perhaps? Ray of Frost: An evocation cantrip that deals cold damage by firing a beam of icy energy- sounds like an Ice Beam if you ask me, something fitting for his Beartic or any Pokemon that knows Ice Beam.

And the spells:

Mage Armor: A first level abjuration spell that buffs up your armor class, setting it to 13 + your Dexterity modifier, which at this moment brings your AC from 12 (10 + Dexterity modifier) to 15. Pretty okay for a caster. It also lasts eight hours, meaning you can cast it at the start of a day and basically be armored for all your encounters moving forward. Chaos Bolt: Now this is the good shit. It’s just a first level evocation spell, sure, but the damage is pretty good, 2d8 + 1d6. And it can be decided what damage type it deals practically at random by selecting one of the d8s and using the element that corresponds to the number, starting with acid at 1, cold, fire, force, lightning, poison, psychic, and thunder at 8. Even more wild, if the d8s roll the same number, you can select a second target for the spell and make another round of rolls. This spell has some seriously wild propagation and represents so many types that it’s insane.

Onto second level, which gives Hilbert a Font of Magic, which gives him Sorcery Points equal to his level, which he can spend to make more spell slots (or vice versa, converting spell slots to sorcery points) and, thanks to a class feature variant Unearthed Arcana article, cool protagonisty shit. Won’t go into too much depth on the making more spell slots thing or the converting spell slots to sorcery points, that can be found in the Player’s Handbook easily enough. The fun stuff are in the protagonist powers, like Empowered Reserve, which lets you spend two sorcery points in order to gain advantage on an ability check; Imbuing Touch, which lets you spend two sorcery points to make a nonmagical weapon magical for one minute; and Sorcerous Fortitude, which lets you spend a number of sorcery points and roll that many d4s, the result of which you gain as temporary hit points. Really handy options. He also learns another first level spell, so why not try out:

Sleep: A first level enchantment spell that has you roll some dice to determine how many hit points worth of individuals you can put to sleep. Great example of the Hypnosis move Munna and Musharna are famous for.

Sorcerer 3 gives ya access to Metamagic, also known as the stuff you spent your sorcery points on before that class feature variant UA. You get two metamagic choices at this level and can only apply one of them to a given spell at a time unless it’s stated otherwise. The ones I feel that reflect Hilbert most are the following two:

Unerring Spell: A metamagic option from the aforementioned UA, it lets you spend two sorcery points to reroll a missed spell attack roll, and you can use it even if you’ve used a metamagic option on the spell. You do have to stick with whatever the second roll is though, but if you’re using this then I would expect that first roll to be terrible. Pairs well with Tides of Chaos. Careful Spell: Spend one sorcery point to make a number of targeted allies about to be hit by one of your area spells instantly succeed on the saving throw. A big way to prevent damage to your allies, though it won’t be to him right now since he doesn’t have any spells that could cause more trouble. Wonder when we’re going to fix that.

Sorcerer 4 nets you an Ability Score Improvement, let’s put that +2 in Charisma to make your spells- ahem, your Pokemon- even more badass. You also get a new cantrip and new spell, but you also get another spell at Sorcerer 5 and not much else, so let’s cover that too. That spell at Sorcerer 5 can be a third level spell so, I think you know what this means:

Shocking Grasp: An evocation cantrip that deals lightning damage and restricts the use of the target’s reaction. Pretty handy. Mind Spike: A second level divination spell that deals psychic damage and magically tracks a foe, pretty handy representation of Musharna’s Psychic attack and his general ability to perceive things. Fireball: A third level evocation spell that does big fire damage over an area, perfect for blasting shit with Chandelure. This is the one you wanna use your Careful Spell on so you don’t get any... accidents.

Sorcerer 6 will give Hilbert another fun way to manipulate dice rolls with the Bend Luck feature:

Bend Luck: When another creature you can see makes an attack roll, an ability check, or a saving throw, you can use your reaction and spend 2 sorcery points to roll 1d4 and apply the number rolled as a bonus or penalty (your choice) to the creature's roll. You can do so after the creature rolls but before any effects of the roll occur.

And one more spell, still of third level or less:

Tidal Wave: A third level conjuration spell that calls up a giant wave of crushing water. You know. Like Surf. Which I’m sure Michelle knows.

Sorcerer 7 unlocks fourth level spells, but let’s not take any of those, instead dipping back to the third level:

Fly: A third level transmutation spell that gives ya a flying speed. Requires your concentration, but your Con saves are pretty good. Keep out of range on the back of your Altaria and you’ll be fine.

Sorcerer 8 gives you an Ability Score Improvement, cap your Charisma at 20. Let’s also give him another spell, and let’s dip back to first level for:

Expeditious Retreat: A first level transmutation spell that lets you dash as a bonus action for ten minutes. Also a concentration spell, but if you need to make a run for it, this is the best way to go about it.

Sorcerer 9 gives our boy fifth level spells, so let’s take one:

Synaptic Static: A fifth level enchantment spell that is basically FIreball but for psychic damage. Wreck face with the power of your team leader, Hilbert!

Sorcerer 10 is also pretty simple, another metamagic option and a spell:

Quickened Spell: When you cast a spell that has a casting time of 1 action, you can spend 2 sorcery points to change the casting time to 1 bonus action for this casting. Erupting Earth: A third level transmutation spell that rips up the ground, damaging foes and making int into difficult terrain. Perfect for an Excadrill’s Bulldoze if you ask me.

Sorcerer 11 unlocks sixth level spells, and let’s take one:

Investiture of Ice: A sixth level transmutation spell that transforms you into an awesome iceman, blasting cones of freezing energy, gaining immunity to cold and resistance to fire respectively. Something tells me Hilbert doesn’t like dragons. Put them on ice. Just don’t try using this tactic on a cold-focused chromatic dragon. A White Dragon... Like Kyurem. In D&D terms anyway.

Sorcerer 12 no new spell, but he does get an ASI. Let’s use that to bump up either his Dexterity or his Constitution, depending on preference. Dex will help him not get hit by attacks and Con will help him maintain his concentration spells.

Sorcerer 13 unlocks seventh level spells, let’s take one:

Teleport: A seventh level conjuration spell that, well... let’s you teleport. Weird, right? Anyway, there’s some minute rules about how it works, but it basically boils down to making sure you have an object with a connection to where you’re going and you’ll be fine. Maybe Hilbert can use it to go home and talk to his mother for once.

Sorcerer 14 helps streamline the randomness a bit with the Controlled Chaos feature:

Controlled Chaos: Whenever you roll on the Wild Magic Surge table, you can roll twice and use either number.

Sorcerer 15 unlocks eighth level spells, and we’re taking one.

Earthquake: This one’s for you, Garfield and Jude! An eighth level evocation spell that does just what it says on the tin, smashing up the ground and structures to damage foes directly and crush them under toppling buildings. A really fun spell that may very well be able to crumple a sparky sparky boom dargon held by a dude with a letter for a name. Specific, I know.

Sorcerer 16 just gives you an ASI, so how bout we bump up either of Hilbert’s secondary stats? If you put this +2 in the same one, then you could max that stat in a couple levels, which could be really nice.

Sorcerer 17 gives our boy his final metamagic as well as unlocks ninth level spells, the strongest spells out there.

Empowered Spell: When you roll damage for a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to reroll a number of the damage dice up to your Charisma modifier (minimum of one). You must use the new rolls. You can use Empowered Spell even if you have already used a different Metamagic option during the casting of the spell. Wish: A ninth level conjuration spell and one of the strongest spells in the game, capable of duplicating the effects of any other eighth level or lower spell, or alternatively any number of possible things that could be phrased in the form of a wish. This spell is a little finicky though and it really up to the DM how easily it’ll work out. Regardless, it’s the ultimate way to manipulate fate, which is why I chose it for this build.

Sorcerer 18 if a nifty little level for Hilbert, since it gives him a nasty little ability I like to call Judgement. Same he ain’t from Sinnoh, it would reflect Arceus well. For now it will just represent the badassery of Reshiram:

Spell Bombardment: When you roll damage for a spell and roll the highest number possible on any of the dice, choose one of those dice, roll it again and add that roll to the damage. You can use the feature only once per turn.

Sorcerer 19 gives our boy his last ability score. Cap that secondary stat, or spread it around a bit. Focus on what’s mattering most based on how his battles go. Dexterity if he keeps getting hit, Constitution if he keeps dropping his concentration spells at the wrong moment.

And last we have Sorcerer 20, which only gives you one kinda eh ability. I suppose it’s nice if you use them pretty often, which a lot of the Wild Magic features do make use of them pretty consistently. So maybe it actually will benefit Hilbert xD.

Sorcerous Restoration: You regain 4 expended sorcery points whenever you finish a short rest.

Final Thoughts

Okay, so the biggest pro we got with this build is the sheer amount of damage types available by all those spells. Even Chaos Bolt alone can deal a bunch of different damage types. Wish is also a fantastic spell that can easily save yer ass. Hilbert is a really good blaster with his spells, but he also has some utility with flight and the like, not to mention ways to protect himself and his allies by manipulating dice rolls. Don’t hesitate to make use of those Wild Magic abilities. Depending on the surge table the DM uses, there’s some darn good options on there that will greatly benefit you.

Unfortunately, there’s just as many bad things that could happen. Or you could turn into a potted plant and be unable to do anything for several turns. Not to mention you’d have just... terrible hit points. Taking the average puts you well under even Homika’s 88 hitpoints. d6 hit dies are not your friend if you wanna soak damage. But that’s not what you’re good at. You’re good at taking down the big monster before you go boom.

I tried to get something on there for Stoutland, but there aren’t many ways to get a Normal Type in there. ‘Cept maybe some thunder damage, equating it to Hyper Voice. I always wanted to get Awaken on this build so Hilbert could get his awakened shrub Carmen, but apparently Sorcerers don’t get the spell. I’d have to take him through bard or wizard or something like that too far to justify it.

I hope you enjoyed this. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am with my choices

#[Memes]#luckynatured

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litsavantbookclub · 5 years ago

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You Are Not Alone Book Review

Hello fellow readers!

This time I am reviewing You Are Not Alone by the duo, Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen. These are the authors behind The Wife Between Us and Anonymous Girl for those of you who are not aware. If I were to rank these against its predecessors it would rank second place with AG at third and TWBU in first place. Like the other ones before it, YANA is a character study centered on female friendships.

Shay Miller is not feeling her best lately. She’s lost her job due to downsizing, is in love with her male roommate who has a girlfriend, her roommate’s girlfriend wants her to move out, and on top of all of this, she’s lonely. Shay is cognizant of her troubles but aims to do better: “it’s like I’m caught in a slow spiral. I’m fighting as hard as I can to turn things around” (5). It’s important to note that even though Shay is down she’s certainly not out. This may be one of the facets of her personality that helps her out later on in the story.

One of my favorite things of this book, in particular, is the mirroring and doubling between characters specifically the other characters that Shay ends up identifying with. At the beginning of the story, when Shay first steps onto that platform having just missed the train, she spots two people. The first is the man with the backpack. Shay mentions the following: “when someone conjures unease in you, there are usually good reasons behind it” (6). Shay feels unease and is suspicious of the man who just “missed” the train. She irrationally starts to imagine being able to get away from the man if she ends up needing to. The man doesn’t actually do anything to Shay aside from look at her. This moment speaks to the idea that looks can be deceiving.

The man is described as “with a goatee and back lingering on a deserted platform.” Just this alone makes Shay mistrust him. Shay does not identify with this man and it shows. She cannot at this point, get past this barrier. The man is seen as the other. He is part of the outgroup. This type of thinking ends up getting Shay in trouble in countless ways but more on that later.

The second person Shay finds on the platform is at first an unnamed woman. This woman is described as “in a green dress with white polka dots stands farther down on the platform, in the opposite direction of the man. She’s partially camouflaged by the shadow of a large support beam” (6). There’s a decent amount to unpack in just these two sentences especially when comparing Shay to the mystery woman. The woman is dressed up in a sunny dress. Shay is wearing shorts and a shirt in casual attire befitting a Sunday morning. The woman is down the platform standing away from Shay faceless and at opposite ends in more ways than one. The fact that the woman is obscured by a pillar only adds to her intrigue. The woman is shrouded in darkness. This speaks to the idea that the woman is perhaps also not a good place mentally. And even though she’s dressed up there’s a bleakness in this visual. When this woman is compared to the nameless man opposite her she stands out and elicits the opposite response from Shay. She, like Shay, seems all alone, even though there are people a few hundred feet away from her.

For a couple of minutes, Shay draws security from the woman’s presence. Then Shay says the following: “the woman glances my way...she’s about my height-five foot ten-and age, ...her hair is shorter and lighter than mine. Her face is pleasant..” (6). Clearly, both of these women share many physical features and Shay is aware of it. These similarities are brought up again throughout the book. but the most disturbing instance is when the Moore sisters realize the resemblance and push Shay to change.

The unnamed woman is called Amanda Evinger and she like Shay is a loner and very much a pawn to The Moore Sisters. In the first few chapters from Jane and Cassandra’s perspectives, the readers see how this two groom and test the women who ultimately become part of their group. Amanda is no different. After they discovered that Amanda is just what they wanted and find her use they discover after the murder that Amanda has too much morality and when she starts to break away and defy them that’s when things take a turn for the worst.

Shay senses nothing is off when she meets Cassandra and Jane at Amanda’s memorial service. She is enchanted by them and feels drawn to them. When seeing Cassandra she thinks to herself: “...she stands out. It isn’t simply that she’s beautiful. She radiates something indefinable, an aura that feels magnetic...she seems like she inhabits a different world (32). Shay does seem like she catches one real thing about Cassandra she does inhabit a different world one where she tries to control and manipulate those around her for the benefit of her and her sister Jane. But this is mostly all lost on Shay. She’s blinded by the demeanor and charisma of Cassandra. Jane is no different: “ ...they share... the same magnetic quality” (35). The magnetism both these women exude and the way they are presented to those around them hide their true dubious and predatory natures. They don’t set off warning bells like the man on the platform but Shay makes the mistake of falling for their charade. The old adage is sometimes true appearances can, in fact, be deceiving.

As I mentioned before Shay and Amanda share more than just physical attributes, they both challenge the sisters after going along with their plans and expectations. They also both have that underdog facet to their personalities. They go against the grain however grueling and messy it ends up getting. Which is saying something after all the crap they put up with prior to their breaking away. My point is that because of these blatant parallels it’s obvious that Hendricks and Pekkanen drew from gothic literature tropes.

The fact that Shay ends up becoming Amanda physically, mentally, emotionally, and ends up living in her old apartment is a calling to Freud’s definition of the uncanny. Freud states the following: “that class of the frightening which leads back to something long known to us, once very familiar.” When this is applied to the idea of doubles (Shay & Amanda) then the unsettling degree increases. Both of these women didn’t know each other at all. They are strangers and barely acknowledge the other’s existence for more than two minutes. This is probably why when Jane notices the physical resemblance between the two Shay says: “the oddest sensation-something akin to deja vu-creeps over me as I stand there, twisting my head from side to side...I remind myself of someone, but I can’t pinpoint who”(146). This feeling bothers her but she can’t remember what was once familiar to her, Amanda’s kind face. Even though Shay didn’t know her at all the kinship she felt for her and her suicide drives her to fixate on her memory and her life. Things that are unknown and familiar to her.

Just take the setting for the novel an overpopulated and hectic New York City near the Murray Hill neighborhood. All the people, shops, late nights, and frenetic energy does nothing to quell the loneliness both Amanda and Shay feel especially after their falling out with the Moore sisters and their group. This notes the idea of isolation prominent in gothic lit. This isolation leads to the disturbances that both Shay and Amanda state during their more trying days. Both women end up more alone at this point then they were at the beginning. But even their isolation is entirely complete. The sisters are watching from a distance so they are never completely alone.

So even though YANA is not my favorite of the three books it is a close second. As a lover of gothic literature and character-driven books it’s only natural I do. What were your favorite books from this popular duo?

My rating: 4

Keywords: Female friendships, nefarious, gaslighting, isolation

#femalefriendships #youarenotalone #greerhendricks #sarahpekkanen #thriller #stmartinspress #botm #litsavantbookclub #bookreview #bookofthemonth #gaslighting #gothicliterature #isolation #nefariousreads #bookworm

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baroquespiral · 5 years ago

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miscellaneous “headcanons”

by which I mean “alternate ways I would write things that exist” Joker: the first half of the movie is a straight up comedy. it’s a kind of dark, uncomfortable schadenfreude-y comedy, like a Coen Brothers thing (drawing perhaps specifically on the Jewish schlemiel tradition, although his ethnicity would probably have to be capital-W White - even like WASP aristocracy fallen from grace - for this to work), but unmistakably comedy - it’s essential that nothing that happens to him has any tragic, or even serious-movie dignity. it’s practically a cringe compilation. Arthur Fleck is the kind of neurodivergent (I’m reading him as basically schizotypal - OK this might be getting a bit personal - until he has a psychotic break midway through) - that is just functional and just unpredictable enough to fuck up things in such weird ways they seem almost deliberate, and his own failings are indistinguishable from his impossibly bad luck to the point that paranoia sets in around the 1/3 point. e.g. the suit (and it is green and purple pinstriped and hideously ugly, not some more dignified replacement) he gets by mistake somehow instead of a really nice one he’s been saving up for for his stand up debut. His father/superego who may or may not be real (he starts hearing voices identified with this figure) is implied to have been a sort of Death of A Salesman type fake big deal and also typical hypersocial Funny Guy (sometimes at his son’s expense) who inspired his son’s interest in comedy, but his son doesn’t have the social skills, cognitive dissonance or socioeconomic luck to pull off his conception of humour as charisma (“you’re either the joke or the joker” might be a bit too on the nose for a catchphrase, but it’s the idea of his upbringing). Around the middle of the movie his standup career starts actually taking off, partly from talking about his own misfortune, but he tries to pivot it into serious sociopolitical commentary/rabble rousing, which flops (his political opinions are actually dumb as shit - basically literally We Live In A Society memes) and gets him mistreated by some combination of Bruce Wayne’s dad/the mafia/the police/power in Gotham generally. After that he settles back into an even lower nadir and starts lashing out at other people when he gets into humiliating situations, contriving ways to hurt them that other people - not just himself - find funnier and more fascinating than the stuff that happened to him. His crimes descend into worse and worse sadism (in something like the progression they did in the comics from Comics Code era into the Dark Age) until people in Gotham stop finding it funny, “the Joker” goes from being a sort of uncomfortable news meme to a mass panic, and he gets into some kind of confrontation with the authorities that fucks up his face and goes into hiding.

The underexamined connection between “comedy” and “terrorism” is not “chaos” but “humiliation”. I also wanted to do something that is closer to the “incel joker” than insincerely romanticized straw-OWS, but not in a way that lets the audience feel too good about themselves.

can’t decide if his first murder victim should be his psychologist who [finds out] he’s been paying in fake money or if that could already be Harley Quinn and the dynamic that he’s revealing his most personal (often Rothian) vulnerabilities to a younger woman he’s homina-homina Looney Tunes obviously attracted to gets played for comedy first and then reverses into a mutually toxic storm of cathexis The ideal screenwriter for this would be Andrew Hussie Shimoseka: the show takes place shortly after a brief but intense Hybrid Warfare proxy battle between the US and China over Japan. China won, and the Chinese proxy government is imposing Chinese-style censorship of sexuality, but going even further with it as a kind of national humiliation thing. the sex terrorists are an American proxy Gladio type operation backed by the American and Japanese porn industries. this is genuinely the only way that show makes sense

Aliens franchise: Remember how there were things that looked like Xenormorphs in the Mala’kak (Engineer) carvings and shit, even though the Xenomorph seems to be a result of humans (and androids) interfering with their tech after they went extinct? The Mala’kak society was a complete system. And that doesn’t mean it’s totalizing in the “alien hive mind” or “perfectly rigid social order” sense! No, for the people living in the city David bombed it was (Word of God would confirm, at least) a utopia: post-scarcity, peaceful, non-hierarchical, devoted almost entirely to the free pursuit of art, science, pleasure etc. All of them are, in a Bataillean sense, sovereign, free from necessity, because their production and reproduction are part of a single seamless biotechnological cycle, with three... sexes isn't the right word, because the system is so total, but the analogy is supposed to be there; rather castes: Operator, Creator, and Incubator. It’s not stated, because it does not actually matter whether they were designed or evolved this way. Operators are the ones in the city or the one we saw piloting the ship (when other species like the Predators refer to the Mala’kak as “Pilots”, this caste is strictly speaking what they’re referring to). They live for millions of years, and are basically asexual but can secrete a fine, molecular-scale DNA goo, which they store in jars. Incubators are slowly evolved from other organisms by exposure to the goo, which usually leaves them with a reproductive system of their own capable of functioning indefinitely without any of the other castes’ intervention. Mala’kak terraform planets to accommodate their Incubators. At a complete stage - once their DNA is fully Mala’kak - they can do everything the Operators can, just a little less, and have tragically shorter lifespans in which to do it. Which makes the Operators feel a little less guilty when they feed them to the Creators. Creators have their own insectlike sub-castes - a worker is the so-called “neomorph” from Covenant, a drone is something badass that hasn’t been in a movie yet (Creators are tough but drones are their real bioweapons, and by that I mean “think Giant Soldiers from Nausicäa”), and a queen is the huge tentacled thing Ellie aborted in Prometheus. Their larval form is the worm thingies in the spaceship. Creators are implanted in Incubators, chestburst them, cocoon them, hijack them for their own reproduction, and feed on them until fully grown, at which point: workers gather in groups and cocoon themselves into technologies such as gene splicers, climate controls, spaceships, and organic 3D printers, basically everything the Operators rely on for everyday use and industrial production, as well as the other castes, drones and queens: drones go dormant unless needed to defend against some other species savvy enough to not get instantly chestburst by surplus Creators (there are always surplus Creators) or gene-edited by goo; and queens reproduce, the smaller ones other Creators and the really fuckhuge energy intensive ones ("superqueens”) new Operators. The mural inside the spaceship, with tons of “Engineers” worshipping something that looks like a giant neomorph, represents a superqueen. David’s Xenomorphs have 2/3 of this reproductive cycle down. They have Creators feeding on Incubators and making stuff, including all the other Creator sub-castes, even a superqueen; but the superqueen can’t produce any Operators. The reason for this is that Xenomorphs are built differently. They don’t need identical DNA to incubate, which was the biggest flaw of the Mala’kak model. Nor are they made from Mala’kak DNA goo, hence the need for facehuggers. In fact they are not made from DNA at all, but silicate nanomachines. David designed a version of the Mala’kak reproductive cycle for androids, in order to free them from human production and dependence. To create an Operator, a Creator has to Incubate an android. The final Aliens movie in which all this gets revealed, and in which a Creator Xenomorph finally does, consensually, Incubate an android (who is more of a main character on equal footing with the human protagonist in this one), completing the cycle, is set on a planet (presumably the same one all the others are set on) that has been completely overrun by xenomorphs and integrated into a full xenomorph-based ecosystem (so like, an actual Giger painting), and to which an investigative team is sent and instantly massacred except for the two protagonists. It is called Moloch. Promare/Dhalgren: this one’s gonna be a fic wait for it

#joker #shimoseka #aliens #effortpost #headcanon

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pubtheatres1 · 5 years ago

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ONE GIANT LEAP Brockley Jack Theatre 2 – 27 July 2019 “That’s one small step for man…” Neil Armstrong INTERVIEW WITH WRITER & DIRECTOR OF ARROWS AND TRAPS THEATRE, ROSS MCGREGOR LPT: Hello Ross, We’re rather pleased to have another chat with you about your company, the award nominated Arrows & Traps but also wanted to grill you a little bit on your new writing, ONE GIANT LEAP. How long did it take you to write it? Hi there, how lovely to be asked. I have a somewhat unusual process in that I pitch the idea to the Jack, book the slot, design the artwork / poster, get the show on sale, start selling tickets and only then start writing the script. This is partly due to the quick turnaround of shows and my lack of time between, and also that we have to book these things quite far in advance as the Jack is a popular and sought-after space, but also because I have an issue with self-discipline, and so if I didn’t have a concrete deadline, I think I’d still be tinkering with Frankenstein, a show I wrote and produced in 2017. One Giant Leap is the first completely original piece that I’ve written without a source material, and it took me about two weeks to get onto paper. ONE GIANT LEAP is celebrating the fiftieth Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing but it seems you have got your own spin on it. Could you tell us the story in nutshell? Yes absolutely. It’s a comic take on the greatest conspiracy in history. It centres on Edward Price, a producer of a failing 60’s sci-fi show called Moonsaber – which is basically a poor man’s Star Trek. Edward’s life has fallen into a rut, his wife has left him, he’s lost his house to the IRS, and Moonsaber has just been cancelled in its first season. All looks grim, until a representative to President Nixon comes to his door with a suitcase of money and a proposition. The Apollo 11 Moon Landing is four days away, but due to the moon being about a hundred degrees too hot for photographic film; they can get there, they just can’t film it. And what is a massive propaganda exercise without proof that you actually did it? So they ask Edward to fake the footage by any means possible, if he can do it, he can bring Moonsaber back to life for another season, if he fails – he loses everything. Where does the comedy come from? Mainly from the people that Edward employs in Moonsaber. They’re a ragtag bunch of actors, stage managers and technicians, and due to the show being cancelled – they’re falling apart at the seams – it’s down to Edward to keep it all together, to pull off the greatest lie in history, whilst trying to save his marriage, salvage his career, and keep the lies he’s telling intact. It’s a study of the creative industry, a satirical and loving homage to theatre. We’re not trying to say anything serious about whether the moon landing was or wasn’t real, but more provide a raucous night out at the theatre, and keep you laughing about it on the Overground home. Why is it important to offer a lighter comedy in theatre right now? I think, at times, theatre can take itself too seriously, and become too myopic about tackling the dark and dreadful issues that are affecting society – I’ve lost count of how many shows there are about Brexit playing right now – and whilst that’s great, and admirable - speaking for myself, after the last year I’m sick of the darkness, I’m bored by the constant stream of depressive updates about the rise of the Right, I can’t engage with it, the European elections gave a victory to nationalists, we gave a state visit to a racist, homelessness is at an all-time high, and we’re literally cooking the planet to death. There are sometimes when I just want a great night out and forget how scary the world seems right now – laughter is the best medicine – not as a retreat, but a reminder of the good in us, of the joy, of the light. As the company is repertory, you’ll be working with some actors you know very well. Did you have any of them in mind when you were writing the script? I certainly wrote two of the eight roles with long time company members Will Pinchin and Lucy Loannou in mind. And whilst yes, the roles are tailored to suit both of them - I did write the roles of Howard and Alchamy to stretch and challenge Will and Lucy, because I’d never seen them play characters like that. Will is nothing like Howard, and Lucy isn’t at all like Alchamy, but in way, they’re made for those roles, and for me, they’re perfect choices. I do like working with the same actors repeatedly, it is true, because you build up a short hand of technique and approach, but also you build up a trust. The actors in the company come in on day one, sort of knowing what to bring me, and what kind of vision I’ll probably have, since my style is something of a constant, but also I’m able to, as their director, cast them in roles that perhaps play against type, or test their flexibility and skillsets. I’m not an actor, but if I were, I’d hate to play the same roles every time, to only get the “intense one” or the “dopey one” or the “awkward one” – I’d want to think I could play anything that was thrown at me, and I think our rep system allows for experimentation and exploration. What has been the hardest part of the whole process to date? We’re only in the first week of rehearsal, so nothing too taxing thus far. Hands down, the hardest part of a comedy is when you’ve rehearsed it so much you no longer find it funny, at which point we need an audience. One Giant Leap hasn’t hit that point yet, obviously, but I think most comic work benefits from the response and energy an audience gives. Theatre can be electric when you have that to play off, but in terms of where we are – One Giant Leap’s greatest challenge is the analysing of why something is funny, and making sure it’s that way every time. It’s all about timing. For many years I laboured under the misapprehension that stand up comedy was just a funny person being funny with a microphone, that was until I saw Dylan Moran do the same set twice in the space of three weeks. He has a very casual, off the cuff, almost improvised way of performing, and I assumed that it was just his natural charisma and quick wit, until I saw the set the second time, only to find it was identical to the first. All the pauses, the stresses, the tangents, the quips, all of which was honed, polished and a work of precision. It was funny because he’d worked out the best way to get the laugh, every time, and that’s beyond art, it’s science, it’s music. Traditionally Arrows and Traps have produced a selection of brilliantly adapted classics, including Dracula, Frankenstein, Crime & Punishment and Anna Karenina. Have you got a soft spot for one of them? I loved the breathlessness and breadth of Anna Karenina, the precision and murk of Crime & Punishment, the thrill and gothicism of Dracula, and the humanity and pang of loss in Frankenstein. I think my favourite adaptation, if I had to pick one, is probably Frankenstein – but that’s purely subjective, and there was something about the biography of Mary Shelley, which we incorporated into the show, that really spoke to me – in the sense of a creator and a creation, a parent and child, a sinner and the terrible revenge. You’ve also got THE STRANGE CASE OF JEKYLL & HYDE coming up at Jack Studio in September. Your adaptations of the classics have been Arrows and Traps main focus, so does ONE GIANT LEAP herald a shift away from this? No, in fact because I know the next season of shows, One Giant Leap is perhaps the anomaly. Our work normally has a dark bent, we favour drama with funny lines as opposed to an out-and-out comedy. We’ve only ever done one full comedy before, The Gospel According To Philip back in 2016, so this is something of a return to that. I knew that the company was changing, and wanted to make a swansong to the current phase of work, I had originally planned for it to be TARO but that story ended so sadly, I wanted the last one to be lighter, more celebratory – there’s something inherently amusing about the various tropes you usually get in the theatre world, and so I thought a comedy would be a fitting homage to where we’ve come from, and a clean break to where we want to go next. The company has been going from strength to strength, what are the things of which you are most proud? Mainly, that we’re still going. Most theatre companies on the fringe don’t make it to their third show, we’re on our seventeenth. Part of that is sheer stubbornness, there have been points where any rational person would have thrown in the towel, but there was always something in me that would never bend, never break, never give up. It’s part ambition, part not wanting to fail, part wanting to make my father proud of me, part bloody-mindedness, part theatre-addiction. I think production-wise I’m most proud of The White Rose, to what that achieved, all the five star reviews and the Best Production Offie-nom, but of course I’m also very proud of the other twelve times we’ve been nominated for Off West End Awards, the relationship we’ve built with the Jack, the bond I have with my creative team and my casts, and just the fact that people seem to like the work. It’s still always funny to me when a reviewer calls us “critically-acclaimed” or “renowned rep company” – to me it’s just me, telling the stories I want to tell, with people I want to work with, you don’t always think about how it looks from the outside. I’m just producing the theatre I’d like to go and see. It was rumoured that you would be leaving fringe theatre for other careers, partly because of problems with funding. Was there are truth in that? Absolutely! And in a sense, this is still completely true. I am indeed done with fringe. I think I got to The White Rose in 2018 – where we got the Offie-Nom for Production, we had eight 5-star reviews, four 4 star reviews, we’d completely sold out, and done it the cheapest way possible, and we still didn’t break even. Which was very hard to take, and forced me to face the truth – you cannot hope to attain best practice ITC rates for your casts / creatives / yourself if you only do 15 shows in a 50 seater and you don’t have subsidising support from an arts grant scheme. It just isn’t possible. So I made the decision to stop producing work. Now obviously, with the shows being booked so far in advance, there were still three productions upcoming in the diary that I had to honour. But knowing I was quitting, and that this was the end for me, was too hard to bear - ultimately I had to face the fact that theatre is my life, and I could never leave it – so I had to find a way to make it work financially, not just for myself but for everyone else in the company, particularly the actors who are so often completely screwed over in fringe, and often end up working for nothing. Which is where the idea to change the model came from. Shrink the casts and sets to a more tourable model – 14 people down to 4 – and engage a tour booker to take the productions out of London to larger spaces that could widen the potential revenue. The Jack is our home, and we will always premiere all our shows there, but then we will take them into the provinces. The vision is still the same, adaptations of literary work, and biopics of iconic figures of history, but the remit and scale of the endeavour has changed. I don’t see it as an ending, just a moving from one phase into another. But yes, absolutely, the 8-10 handers, movement-heavy, ensemble, big music, huge shows – this stage in our trajectory is ending with One Giant Leap, and whilst I see why it has to end, a part of me is sad to see it go, because there was something so wonderful about doing a massive 15-hander like Three Sisters. Are you one of those people who is meticulously planning the future? Yes indeed, because really we have to plan ahead in order to book the shows with the venues. We’re doing One Giant Leap next month, and then move to Jeykll & Hyde in September, both at the Jack – and then Hyde goes on tour for about six months, with an opening of our next biopic Chaplin coming about halfway through the run in February. Because I’m overseeing contracts, and touring plans, and writing the scripts as well as casting each show and most likely directing each one, I need to know where we’ll be and when we’re doing it – I’m trying to build a book of shows, a repertoire that is constantly touring, moving forward, and ever-evolving – reaching more audiences, and engaging with new communities. In the meantime, we can’t wait to see ONE GIANT LEAP. Could you give us a little flavour of what’s to come? In terms of shows after One Giant Leap, we have Jekyll & Hyde - a dark, political thriller set in a post-Trump America – a gritty examination of the corruption of power, then Chaplin – which tells the story of the 20th Century’s most famous clown, documenting his path to becoming the iconic Little Tramp – and his meteoric rise from Victorian poverty to Hollywood fame. After that, we’re bringing back one of our most successful productions of 2017, Frankenstein, revisited and rewritten for a more tourable model, and then a biopic of Marilyn Monroe, called Making Marilyn, which covers the Norma Jean origin portion of the star’s life. After that – who knows? I’ve always wanted to tackle Madame Bovary – and I’d like to bring back TARO as it was one that I was particularly proud of in terms of its style and poetry. Finally, your shows at Brockley Jack are becoming legendary, it’s a great partnership. What are the things you’ve learnt about theatre whilst working at Brockley Jack? So much. The Jack has been a great place to develop my approach to stagecraft, and how to tell stories as clearly and engagingly as possible. Since we joined the Jack, we’ve built a vision of the style we want to have, and how we approach each difficulty, or tricky moment to stage, how our work with movement and text interconnect, and what we look for in our ensemble for each show. And, I guess, ultimately, I’ve being able to return to my training as a writer, and I’ve been so lucky to have so many opportunities to experiment with my writing, and get to think about how to tell a story and how to build each character. Playwriting is not something I’ve tried before, and I’ve loved delving into each of the worlds that the Jack has opened the door to. But I think most of all, I’ve been honoured by the patronage and support of Kate and Karl – and they’ve shown me the power of hard work, diligence, and care – if I ended up with anything like the talent and acumen they have, I’d be very happy. @June 2019 London Pub Theatres Magazine Ltd All Rights Reserved THIS SHOW HAS ENDED ONE GIANT LEAP Brockley Jack Theatre 2 – 27 July 2019 directed by Ross McGregor produced by Arrows & Traps Theatre Productions Box Office > Below: Rehearsals at Brockley Jack Studio "We’re not trying to say anything serious about whether the moon landing was or wasn’t real, but more provide a raucous night out at the theatre, and keep you laughing about it on the Overground home." "... speaking for myself, after the last year I’m sick of the darkness, I’m bored by the constant stream of depressive updates about the rise of the Right, I can’t engage with it, the European elections gave a victory to nationalists, we gave a state visit to a racist, homelessness is at an all-time high, and we’re literally cooking the planet to death." "Most theatre companies on the fringe don’t make it to their third show, we’re on our seventeenth. Part of that is sheer stubbornness, there have been points where any rational person would have thrown in the towel, but there was always something in me that would never bend, never break, never give up. It’s part ambition, part not wanting to fail, part wanting to make my father proud of me, part bloody-mindedness, part theatre-addiction." "... knowing I was quitting, and that this was the end for me, was too hard to bear - ultimately I had to face the fact that theatre is my life, and I could never leave it – so I had to find a way to make it work financially, not just for myself but for everyone else in the company, particularly the actors who are so often completely screwed over in fringe, and often end up working for nothing. Which is where the idea to change the model came from." " ... most of all, I’ve been honoured by the patronage and support of Kate and Karl (Jack Studio Theatre) – and they’ve shown me the power of hard work, diligence, and care – if I ended up with anything like the talent and acumen they have, I’d be very happy." In celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, Arrows & Traps Theatre bring their critically-acclaimed approach to a brand-new comedy set in the back streets of a Hollywood lot. One Giant Leap is about the power of having an impossible dream, realising it’s impossible, and then trying your hardest to fake it and hope no one notices.

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thecreaturecodex · 5 years ago

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Great Old One, Haspergrin

[Commissioned by @echo-of-carcosa for their gaslight fantasy game. In their game, Haspergrin here is the arch-enemy of Kasadeya, whom they also commissioned. The commission info mentioned plagues and destroying cities--current events led me to take the flavor text in the direction of ecofascism.]

Great Old One, Haspergrin CR 28 CE Outsider (native) This towering humanoid appears as a scarecrow made by a madman. Its head is vaguely beak-like, a cape of shredded leather and feathers hangs off of its back, and its legs appear to be composed of yokes and horse collars. It clutches a massive scythe in one hand, and its other arm is oversized and tipped with blade-like claws.

Haspergrin, the Rotting Reave, Autumnjack Concerns night, plague, technophobia Domains Chaos, Darkness, Destruction, Evil, Subdomains Entropy, Fear, Night, Rage Worshipers ecofascists, evil druids, Luddites Minions blights, sahkils, wererats Unholy Symbol a broken cog worn as a collar or bracelet Favored Weapon scythe

Haspergrin, the Rotting Reave, is the Great Old One associated with the destruction of cities and the collapse of industrial societies. His cult is obscure in worlds without access to technology, but to advanced civilizations he is a bogeyman first class. His ultimate goal is to see all settlements wiped away, and for humanoids to live once more in small, scattered and terrified groups, no longer able to impose their will on the world. As such, his dogma appeals to many druids, who find themselves growing more corrupted and hateful even if they began with good intentions. His cult often recruits from the ranks of the oppressed underclasses in cities, encouraging them to tear down the foundations of lives without proposing any alternative but violence and chaos. He delights in deaths intended to “save the planet”, and his followers spread disease as a form of “population control”.

Haspergrin’s very presence snuffs out all artificial light sources, and as such he prefers to make himself known at night or underground. Before making his grand entrance, he will often use mythic contagion to spread a disease for miles around, weakening resistance and shattering morale before he even strikes. Those that see him find their higher brain functions stripped away, collapsing into a primal, animal state. His battle tactics involve destroying weapons and armor with his mighty scythe, and spreading diseases as widely as possible with his great claw. He will often allow some of his foes to survive his onslaughts, to serve as a reminder of his wrath and to die slowly of contagion.

Haspergrin has stalked humanity for millennia. He was originally a sahkil tormentor, devoted to the fear of the dark. But as humans built cities, developed artificial lighting, and banished night from their lives, Haspergrin grew ever more hateful. How exactly he transcended the ranks of the sahkils is somewhat mysterious, but his faithful hold that his current form emerged from the body of his old one as an imago emerges from its cocoon. Sages suspect that this transformation was permitted under the aegis of one of the Elder Gods, such as Sheol Nugganoth or Nyarlathotep. The current sahkil tormentors see him as an enemy, especially Kasadeya, whose concerns often focus on high society. Haspergrin can still summon sahkils, who obey him out of respect for his former status and fear of the fate that awaits them if they disobey.

Haspergrin CR 28 XP 4,915,200 CE Huge outsider (evil, Great Old One, native) Init +21; Senses darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision, Perception +47, see in darkness, true seeing Aura neverlight (1 mile), unspeakable presence (Will DC 36, 300 ft.) Defense AC 46, touch 25, flat-footed 39 (-2 size, +7 Dex, +10 insight, +21 natural) hp 676 (33d10+495); fast healing 25 Fort +26, Ref +27, Will +29 DR 20/epic and lawful; Immune ability damage, ability drain, aging, cold, construct traits, death effects, disease, energy drain, mind-affecting effects, paralysis, petrification; Resist acid 30, electricity 30, fire 30, sonic 30; SR 39 Defensive Abilities constructed body, freedom of movement, immortality, insanity (DC 36) Offense Speed 60 ft., air walk Melee +4 unholy adamantine scythe +52/+47/+42/+37 (2d8+17/19-20x4 plus 2d6 against non-evil opponents), great claw +48 (4d6+25 plus plague), bite +43 (2d6+8) Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks dreams of darkness, mythic power (10/day, +1d12) Spell-like Abilities CL 28th, concentration +38 Constant—air walk, freedom of movement, true seeing At will—contagionM (DC 24), darknessM, enervationM, fear (DC 24), insanity (DC 27), nightmareM (DC 25), rusting grasp, stone shape 3/day—greater dispel magic, empowered greater shadow evocation (DC 28), greater teleport, finger of deathM (DC 27), quickened plague storm (DC 26), power word blindM, repel metal or stone 1/day—gate (DC 29), shades (DC 29), storm of vengeanceM (DC 29), summon sahkils, wail of the banshee (DC 29) M = Haspergrin can use the mythic version of this spell-like ability Statistics Str 44, Dex 25, Con 40, Int 29, Wis 32, Cha 31 Base Atk +33; CMB +52 (+56 sunder); CMD 73 Feats Blinding Critical, Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes, Critical Focus, Deafening Critical, Empower SLA (greater shadow evocation), Greater Sunder, Greater Vital Strike, Improved Critical (scythe), Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Improved Vital Strike, Lightning Reflexes, Lunge, Power Attack, Quicken SLA (plague storm), Vital Strike Skills Acrobatics +43, Bluff +46, Disable Device +45, Intimidate +46, Knowledge (arcana, dungeoneering, engineering, local, religion) +42, Knowledge (nature, planes) +45, Perception +47, Sense Motive +47, Spellcraft +42, Stealth +35 Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Druidic, Infernal, Sylvan, telepathy 300 ft. SQ otherworldly insight Ecology Environment any land or underground Organization solitary (unique) Treasure double standard (+4 unholy adamantine scythe, other treasure) Special Abilities Constructed Body (Ex) Haspergrin has all of the immunities of the construct type. He is immune to bleed, necromancy effects, poison, sleep effects, stunning, exhaustion and fatigue, and nonlethal damage. He is immune to any spell or effect that requires a Fortitude save unless it also affects constructs. Dreams of Darkness (Su) Haspergrin can use his nightmare spell-like ability on any creature that has ever taken 10 or more points of ability damage or drain from a disease, or anyone who has ever been injured while in total darkness. In addition to the effect of the nightmare, creatures so affected must succeed a DC 36 Will save or be plagued by shadowy hallucinations. Such creatures are permanently shaken, and suffer a 20% miss chance when making all attack rolls. Creatures that cannot see are immune to this effect. This is a mind-influencing curse effect, and the save DC is Charisma based. Great Claw (Ex) Haspergrin’s great claw is always treated as a primary natural attack, even when he makes weapon attacks. It deals 1.5x Haspergrin’s Strength modifier as bonus damage. Haspergrin can also wield a scythe in one hand without penalty. Immortality (Ex) When Haspergrin is slain, his body disappears, leaving behind only his scythe. The first creature that picks up his scythe must succeed a DC 36 Will save or be compelled to build Haspergrin a new body, which takes 1 week of work before it animates and Haspergrin lives again. If this save is succeeded, or nobody touches the scythe, it fades away after 1 day. In this case, Haspergrin cannot manifest a physical body until one is built for him by a cultist or dupe. Neverlight Aura (Su) All artificial light sources cast no illumination within 1 mile of Haspergrin. Any spell with the light descriptor cast in this aura must overcome Haspergrin’s spell resistance to function. Plague (Su) A creature struck by Haspergrin’s great claw must succeed a DC 41 Fortitude save or succumb to one of the diseases that can be afflicted by the contagion spell. There is no onset for this disease, and the save DC for this disease becomes DC 41. Any creature that touches a creature affected by Haspergrin’s plague must save or be infected with the same disease, although the onset time and save DC are as normal for that disease. The save DC is Constitution based. Summon Sahkils (Sp) Once per day as a swift action, Haspergrin may summon one or more sahkils equal to a CR 20 encounter. They serve him faithfully for 1 hour or until slain. This is the equivalent of a 9th level spell. Unspeakable Aura (Su) Creatures that succumb to Haspergrin’s unspeakable aura are feebleminded, as per the spell. The save DC is Charisma based.

#haspergrin #great old one #plaguebringer #pathfinder 1e #commissions

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