#and has most of her points in strength and persuasion

[vahanians]

btw this is callux aka scorch tongue

[youredreamingofroo]

Fanged Temptress

Special

" The last adventurer who laid their hands on this card was very unfortunate and unskilled... Losing most of their health and eventually losing the card itself... She was displeased with their novice-ness... But something about you... Yes... You possess an aura... I think the Temptress will like you. "

Simblr Trading Cards by @buttertrait and @squea !! I love looking at others' cards... Thank you both for making this template!!

⬇ An in-depth look into Nirvana's card stats below the cut ⬇

On picking up :

" Your spine aches, your face becomes flush and your fingers tingle. You're on edge, but gain a new sensation... A new lust for others and their blood. " Passive - Temporary HP loss + RAGE!! Buff : Upon picking up the Fanged Temptress, you lose -15 HP temporarily, and gain RAGE* for 30 minutes. *RAGE!! : You're perturbed by something... you don't know what- but it makes you angry!! It's time to kill. +25%-45% Damage Buff for 30 minutes

In bag/inventory :

" Unbeknownst to you, this card has been draining you of your health points with every hour that you've traveled together [with the card]. On the bright side, it seems willing to help you persuade the being that you converse with. " Passive - HP loss : The Fanged Temptress will occasionally drain anywhere from 0.1% to 1% of your health - This can occur up to 5 times on occasion, and will not happen again for a long while. -0.1%-1% HP Loss up to 5 times at a time Outside-of-Battle usage - Persuasion buff : Using the Fanged Temptress in conversation will sway the other party into agreeing with you, whether it be an argument or a flirt. (Not guaranteed to work for bigger/smarter enemies/NPCs) +100% success rate in decisions ( +60-90% for larger/smarter enemies/NPCs )

In battle :

" The Fanged Temptress is a well-known legend, She's dangerous and alluring, it's time to put this card to the test and see if it holds up to the legend herself. " Passive - Attack buff : Nirvana Lucia herself grants you a spiteful kiss and a slap on your cheek for every turn. +5% Damage done to enemies ( Plus an extra 5% if the enemy is a hunter of any kind [Monster, Animal, etc] ) In-Battle use - Defensive move : The Fanged Temptress is infamously known for her alluring words and enchanting eyes, perhaps seduc- *ahem* perhaps persuading the enemies will get them to deal a little less damage to your fragile body. -15% Damage dealt to the opposing party ( Plus an extra 10% if the enemy is a hunter of any kind ) In-Battle use - Attack move : The Will of Nirvana Lucia courses through your veins, a little nip on the arm could be enough to send an enemy to the nearest Hospital- or better yet, their grave. +25% Damage done to enemies ( Plus an extra 10% if the enemy is a hunter of any kind )

On death :

" You collapse to your knees, your life flashes before your eyes, with the earliest memories first to newest memories last... but wait! You're pulled away from the light and back to reality. You scrounge for your Special Limited Edition "The Fanged Temptress" card but... it's nowhere to be found... " Special - Resurrect 1 : Upon taking Grim's hand, you realize this is a gamble- Let go and face life once more- Or continue on and meet the sweet embrace of death's bed. You'll be prompted to choose Life or Death when you die... Special - Resurrect 2 - Temporary total HP loss : When you chose Life, the Fanged Temptress was displeased that you couldn't hold your own in a fight, crawling to her for life. She deems a worthy punishment for your mockable strength. You lose 25% of your Total HP for 30 minutes [ Cannot Heal above 75% total HP for that 30 minute time period - Stackable debuff ] Special - Resurrect 3 - Card loss : When you chose Death, the Fanged Temptress couldn't help but scowl at your weakness, She'd had sucked enough life out of you for you to finally become feeble enough for death, pathetic. 50/50 Chance to lose " Fanged Temptress " card on Resurrection

[ellimisms]

Concept: D&D homebrew oneshot based off Animorphs where you each play as one of the main characters of the Animorphs series.

The morphing system would be a modified Wild Shape mechanic, altered to two ends: first, to better fit the book's lore, and second, to make class factor into it more so each character is more unique. Probably each character would be able to use some of their class actions (just for an example, Action Surge for fighters or Rage for barbarians) while in morph, and morphing would restore hit points to 100%.

There would be a skill check associated with morphing--it'd be a Wisdom-based skill that you could gain proficiency in. Roll at advantage when using a familiar morph or becoming another human, disadvantage for things you're scared of or morphing while badly injured. Do a morphing check whenever you're in a new morph for the first time to see if you can get control of it; the actual number to beat is up to the GM based on what the animal is.

Also there would have to be some sort of mechanic to prevent TPKs--the main crew has a LOT of plot armor in the books because they can't die (until the end), so there'd need to be something to keep the PCs alive. Maybe if you "die" you don't actually perish, but instead something very bad happens to the party (you get infested, maybe?)

Infestation would be another new mechanic, though a pretty simple one; if a PC gets infested, the GM just starts controlling that character as the yeerk. The player can try to interrupt what the yeerk's doing, but has to roll a nat 20 with disadvantage (no bonuses from skill proficiencies)--it's supposed to be nearly impossible in the books so that's fairly lore-consistent.

In terms of the actual characters you can play:

Jake: Fighter, probably Battle Master subclass as that's more strategically focused. Not much else to say to be honest--I think he'd be proficient in persuasion, since he's supposed to be a good leader.

Marco: Rogue, maybe? Frankly his strengths don't match up with a specific class--maybe multiclass rogue/bard or fighter/bard because I know for a FACT he can and does cast vicious mockery.

Rachel: Barbarian for SURE, probably the Berserker subclass though I find the idea of her being a Wildheart pretty funny and thematically accurate.

Cassie: Probably a Druid or Beast Master ranger--I'm not sure where I stand on allowing caster classes since that doesn't exist in the real world but neither does morphing. Which one she is just depends on that.

Tobias: Who even KNOWS with this guy. Since he's stuck in morph it matters less, but I'd actually go with warlock--his patron is the Ellimist, since he's the one who seems to be able to argue with the Ellimist the most. It's either that or sorcerer, but he doesn't really gain any powers from his andalite bloodline so that seems less accurate.

Ax: Fighter, but it'd be different because he is an andalite. Just off the top of my head I'd make him be able to deal slashing damage on an unarmed attack (maybe just make his unarmed attack count as a sword attack) and increase his movement speed.

A group could also choose to discard these characters and play as a bunch of original characters if they so chose.

Anyways I'm probably the only person in the world that cares enough about both Animorphs and D&D to create this but oh well have fun.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Is Wukong emotionally intelligent in the book?

He has!! Multiple times throughout the chapters he has shown that he can very much read people's intentions and emotions and has tried to placate them when they are upset. There are countless examples in the book of how Wukong always reassures Sanzang that he can handle anything if there is a demon because he notices that he was uncomfortable. Wukong showing off his strength at the Gold Horned and Silver Horned Demon Arc if a good example of mine but Sanzang does often get the feeling that Demons might be near and Wukong always responds in kind. Or even when earth deities describe demons ahead enough to make Sanzang almost faint in fright.

A good example I can think of is when Wukong is fighting the One-Horned Rhino King, one of his toughest enemies due to his heavenly treasure. When the Heavenly Army Wukong requested start to get dishearted from losing their own weapons, Wukong is the one to rally them, forcing himself to be cheerful and confident even when his party has been kidnapped and the odds are against them. But he never stops trying to find new solutions to the problem. Wukong here shows have far he has come, not letting his temperament get the better of him but rather knowing he has to take the lead and find a way for his soldiers to succeed.

There is also the example of Wukong pointing out that Lady Earth Flow is a demon and that Sanzang shouldn't help her inc case she tries to kidnap him. But Sanzang admits that even if she is a demon he cannot just abandon someone in need. Wukong understanding that Sanzang isn't going to bend his vows even for the sake of his own life knows at this point they can compromise on their beliefs and instead agrees to help as long as Sanzang stays close and Sanzang agrees.

He is also great at persuasion and manipulation which I do believe calls for emotional intelligence as well. Like when getting Bajie to scout of ahead when he didn't want to or manipulating Bajie into more laborious tastes with the promise of something he knew Bajie would desire, mostly food. Good examples are like carrying the dead king in the Lion-Lynx Arc or when trying to buy food in Jupiter's Rival Arc. Wukong knows how to play people as well as comfort them.

I have also talked about how much Wukong cries during Xiyouji and I think it shows how often he shows how he is expressing his own emotions. Wukong never holds back on how he is feeling and always shows that he expresses himself even in the most shameless of cases. He feels very deeply and often laments in other poetry to express these feelings or even in the case of the Hundred-Eye Demon Arc he relates to another woman who is grieving her husband as he is giving the loss of his party.

But Wukong has also shown a lack of tack as well, his blunt opinions coming off as unempathetic or even crude when he tries to get right to the point. These are usually at the state of the journey when Wukong is still learning to care for others but they are still to be noted in his early days. When he is trapped by the One Horned Demon he is willing to risk Sanzang's life to drown the cave, with the promise to bring Sanzang back from the dead if it works, or in the Lion-Lynx Demon Arc where the demon pretends to be Sanzang and agrees to the same conditions if he attacks the wrong one (it didn't and luckily Wukong's losing this kind of mentality early on but damn). Also how he suggests in the Spiritual Touch King Arc when he suggests that the family to buy new children to not sacrifice their own as a way to solve their solution as they are so rich. Or even in the Red Boy arc when he suggests that the child is better off dead if all his family has died and there is no need to save him.

These are logical to some degree but they do show Wukong's ruthlessness in thinking in the early stages of the journey. How he changed from being willing to risk others or dismiss other people's feelings not because he was unaware but because he didn't care enough. Even how he treated Sanzang, from being annoyed by his fear to changing to reassuring him that he is there is seen as a gradual change in response. Wukong goes from being willing to risk Sanang's life to weeping over his staged deaths, promising vengeance for his shifu on two different accounts. In the Southern Hill King Arc and in the Camel Ridge Arc.

I think it's a great shown of character on his part.

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders #334: Koyanskaya of Dark

today on Grailfinders we’re building Koyanskaya one final time. this time, of Dark! as much as I would love to complain about having to look at her face for even one second longer than necessary after Tunguska, this build was actually pretty interesting to set up. after all, there aren’t a ton of ways to fling meteors at people.

we can get that, plus make the build super literal by being a Shadow Sorcerer. we’re also going to make her a Shepherd Druid so we can summon some of that slaughter beast troupe, and so you can turn into a fox. or really any animal you want, aside from maybe a Tyrannosaurus.

with all that out of the way, let’s get started on the third and final koyanskaya build, below the cut! (if you’d rather just read the character sheet, that’s over here.)

next up: What if I say I’m not like the others? What if I say I’m not just another one of your plays?

Ancestry & Background

I know we went harengon last time we made koyanskaia, but 1. she doesn’t use guns in this one so the “hare trigger” pun isn’t as funny, and 2. we need a feat first thing, so now she’s a Custom Lineage. they didn’t really have a race for the congealed suffering of millions of animals anyway, but at least this gives you a +2 to Charisma, as well as some Darkvision to style on those hominids, and the Weapon Master feat for +1 Dexterity and proficiency in four weapons of your choice, like a whip, and three other, better weapons. fun fact, I built this whole thing using the trial quest, where koyanskaya’s locked in her third ascension, so I straight up didn’t realize she had a whip until the build was practically over. hence the bad feat. egg on my face, but I don’t think there’s a better way to get good weapons in this build anyway, level nine spells are a pain to build around. 

but, the more things change the more they stay the same- she’s still a Faceless, giving her proficiency in Deception and Intimidation. there are some people who would call her voice lines persuasion attempts, but I try to make these builds system-agnostic.

Ability Scores

your number one ability this time around is Charisma- you managed to fool one of the greatest Chinese sages of all time and the entire FGO fanbase into thinking you were Tamamo. one of those feats is more impressive than the other, but I’m madder about the latter, so it’s still staying in the script. also all your magic comes from being who you are- inspiring, and a charisma trait.

your second highest score is Wisdom. animals are great with animal handling, and you sure are animals! also most godly casters get their stuff from wisdom, and you are a god. somehow. what the hell is going on in your final ascension is still pretty unclear to me.

anyway, moving on! number three, Dexterity. you like whips and hate armor, that one’s pretty open and shut. fourth is Constitution because you’re so good at not dying you don’t even die after we kill you a good million times.

all that means your Strength is a little low. I’m sure dark has the same human hurty powers as light, but you fight with a whip and magic, and neither of those are strength-based, so we can ignore the greatswords this time around.

finally, we’re dumping Intelligence. you weren’t even raised by wolves, and just thinking about Tunguska makes my head hurt so I can’t imagine how badly it affects the people living it.

Class Levels

1. Sorcerer 1: sorcerers get their specialties right off the bat, so as a Shadow sorcerer you start off with Eyes of the Dark, an extra 60’ of range on your darkvision. on top of that, at level three you get the Darkness spell for free, and if you cast it using just sorcery points you can see through it.

speaking of, you learn Spells starting this level that you can cast using your Charisma. I wasn’t able to get a true curse to complete dark’s goddess morph, but I got fire and poison coming your way, plus plenty of other debuffs to help you squash humanity. one of the best is also one of the earliest- Silvery Barbs. when a human of your choice tries to make an attack, check, or save and succeeds, you can make them re-roll. if they fail this time, you can give a nearby beast advantage on their next attack, check, or save for a little bit. it’s a debuff for some, a buff for others, just like most of your skills.

you also get the Mind Sliver cantrip to eat away at people’s saving throws, as well as Light, Thunderclap, and Booming Blade because hoo boy there sure was a lot of that in Tunguska that day.

finally, you get Mage Armor for a +3 to AC and plot armor so thick that even after turning yourself into a raid boss you turn into an egg instead of dying, and then come back to life twice to boot.

two more things- you have proficiency in Constitution and Charisma saves, as well as Persuasion and Religion. we’ve already gone over your charisma, as well as the fact that you’re at least part god.

two, you have the Strength of the Grave, so once a day you can stay at one HP when you should be knocked out by making a charisma save of five plus the damage taken, letting you get ready for another round of raiding. worth noting, however, this won’t save you from radiant damage or critical hits, so if we ever get a rerun make sure to pack Gawain and Kojirou. wait, they’re hominids… Tamamo Cat and Asterios maybe?

2. Sorcerer 2: second level sorcerers are a Font of Magic, giving you sorcery points equal to your sorcerer level each long rest. you can spend them to make new spell slots, or spend spell slots to make new points. this isn’t an equal exchange, so this is just and extra spell slot a day right now.

speaking of spells, I know Dark doesn’t get Sleep in-game, but it’s a hell of a debuff, especially at low levels. I choose to believe that if Tunguska happened during part one, she’d be a sleep spammer. you cannot prove otherwise.

3. Sorcerer 3: third level sorcerers get Metamagic, little beast things that make you a little harder to deal with. by spending sorcery points you can make a spell either Heightened or Careful, the former making it harder for one creature to save, the latter guaranteeing up to five creatures save. you’ve got some big AoEs coming, it’ll be nice to make sure your animals survive. or just. make sure that one annoying human bites it. they’re mutually exclusive, but I’m sure you’ll make the right choice.

you also start getting second level spells this turn like Spray of Cards. this is our first “turn into a giant shadow fox” option. it’s not quite cloaking your entire body in darkness yet, but it will blind nearby creatures for a round and deal damage at the same time. maybe the real curse was the 52 pickup we made along the way.

4. Sorcerer 4: fourth level sorcerers get their first Ability Score Improvement, so bump up that Charisma. we also pick up the Infestation cantrip this level for some poison damage and a humble start to our murder troupe, as well as the Flaming Sphere spell. this fulfills our fire damage quota, and is a cheaper meteor to throw at people when you just can’t be assed to burn a ninth level spell slot.

with this spell, you can summon a 5’ tall meteor that floats around, and anything next to it needs to make a dex save or they’ll take damage, then as a bonus action you can move the ball around and even ram it into people. it hovers, but it can jump gaps, and even set stuff on fire around it.

5. Sorcerer 5: fifth level sorcerers get Magical Guidance, letting you spend sorcery points to re-roll failed skill checks. boom, instant business acumen. you’re welcome. you also get third level spells now, and I can think of no greater curse than Hold Person. you force a wisdom save on someone, and if they fail they’re Paralyzed for up to a minute, with rerolls each round. paralyzed creatures can’t do anything on their turn; automatically fail strength and dexterity saves; and not only do attackers get advantage to hit them, but those attacks automatically crit when they hit. this spell only works on humanoids, but so do you, so it’s fine.

6. Sorcerer 6: sixth level shadow sorcerers get your third ascension’s buster attack, the Hound of Ill Omen. with this, you can summon a direwolf as a bonus action, with the caveat that it’s only medium sized and technically not a beast any more. when summoned you sic it on a target, which it then exclusively moves towards and attacks, ignoring everything in its way- thankfully, it can phase through walls. it’s biggest strengths are that it can knock enemies prone for more advantage on attacks, as well as give its target disadvantage on saves against your spells while it’s next to them.

to make the most of this, force your enemies to make a billion saves with Melf’s Minute Meteors, tiny rocks you summon as an action and then can flick a few of them at enemies each turn. when they hit something, they explode and force nearby creatures to make dexterity saves. it’s thematic, and denying people their spells is basically buff removal if you think about it.

7. Sorcerer 7: seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells. we still don’t have any summons, but at least you can Dominate Beasts now. if they fail a wisdom save, you can control the beast for up to a minute, linking you two up telepathically and letting you command them with your mind. these commands can be general, or you can spend your action to take over their body exactly. at higher levels you can increase the length of this power for up to eight hours. sadly we can’t extend your body out for several miles like in Tunguska proper, but this is still a great way to spy on people or get stuff sneakily.

8. Sorcerer 8: eighth level sorcerers get another ASI, letting us cap off our Charisma fairly early and get a point into Dexterity to boot. that being said odd numbers do nothing, so it’s not great right away. if you’re confused as to why we’re doing this then you might be under the effect of Confusion. if you didn’t fail a wisdom save and aren’t randomly doing things, you’re probably safe though. yeah, we’re still trying to find a debuff that can replace curse damage. tbh anything can be a curse in D&D, so I guess all these spells are fine?

9. Sorcerer 9: you know what’s better than fine though? fifth level spell slots. we still can’t summon animals, but we can Animate Objects and say they’re animals! with this, you can “summon” up to ten “animals” of small or tiny size, or add in some larger “animals” for double the cost per size larger they are. tbh the biggest and smallest animals are usually the best picks, but it’s totally up to you how you do this. at max level you could summon up to two huge creatures, so I guess that’s the break bars covered for your boss fight. murder troupe acquired!

10. Sorcerer 10: tenth level sorcerers get another kind of Metamagic, and the Distant spells will double the range you can cast a spell. you’re going to get some big blasts by the end of this, and trust me, you don’t want to be standing right next to them.

we also get another great “curse damage” option this level from the cantrip Chill Touch, which hits someone with necrotic damage and prevents them from healing for a round. you can also empower your beast backup with Skill Empowerment, giving a target creature expertise in a skill they’re already proficient in. you can still only get your wolf to do wolf things, but now it wolfs harder than ever before.

11. Sorcerer 11: eleventh level sorcerers get sixth level spells like the Investiture of Flame! eh, eh? see what I did there? Investiture, like the taigong wang thing.

anyway, you can cast this and for up to ten minutes afterwards you’re immune to fire and resist cold, force nearby creatures to take fire damage just for being near you, and can shoot fireballs as an action, forcing a dexterity save on everyone in a line. now baby you’re a firework! or a meteor. guess we’ll find out soon enough.

12. Sorcerer 12: at level twelve we get another ASI:, so let’s round up our Dexterity and get another debuff to curse humans with at the same time with the Slasher feat. now you can reduce a target’s speed once a turn when hitting them with your whip, and a critical hit gives it disadvantage on all attack rolls.

13. Sorcerer 13: we’re still a ways away from being a meteor, but at least we can start doing some serious ecological damage thanks to the Fire Storm spell. with this you create, well, a fire storm! the storm takes up a total of 10 10’ cubes that connect to each other, forcing all the creatures inside to make dex saves or take a ton of fire damage. this spell also sets everything in it on fire, but you can choose whether or not that includes plant life. but if you ever wanted to be able to spell out “NFF rulez, Tamamo sux” in big burning letters now you can.

14. Sorcerer 14: at level fourteen you can Shadow Walk as a bonus action, moving up to 120 feet from one area of dim light or darkness to another. I choose to believe that’s how you get into space for your NP. I mean, it’s dark up there, I’m sure it counts. that’s also why your third ascension wears such a big poofy dress- a spot of permanent darkness beneath you everywhere you go.

15. Sorcerer 15: eighth level spell time, and the only one we want it Dominate Monster. it’s like dominate beast, but it works on every kind of creature for up to 1 hour at base level. it’s also an eighth level spell instead of a fourth level spell, so it’s waaaay more expensive. still, a lot of NFF services’ minions are definitely not beasts, so you’ll need this to keep them tamed.

16. Sorcerer 16: sixteenth level sorcerers get one last ASI, and the Elemental Adept feat will help your fireballs ignore resistance and also turn any ones rolled on damage into twos. it’s simple, but it’ll get very useful in just a second.

17. Sorcerer 17: we finally made it. level nine spells, at last. also you can cast Subtle spells, which makes them uncounterable, but there’s nothing subtle about Meteor Swarm. you can launch a meteor up to a mile away, hitting four different spots at once and forcing a dexterity save on everything in the area. it deals 20d6 fire and bludgeoning damage respectively, so that elemental adept we just got kicks the damage floor of this spell up a good 20 points per creature caught in it. it also, of course, sets everything in the area on fire. it was the crown jewel of the Ishtar build, and it still is here. idk what to tell you, big rocks go brrrr.

18. Druid 1: we could’ve hopped over to druid whenever we wanted, but I wanted to get to the Meteor as fast as possible. if you’re not confident in your party’s ability to stick together for nearly 20 levels, feel free to slot this in earlier. as a first level druid you learn a new language plus a new way of casting Spells. now they use your Wisdom and they can be switched out each day. grab the most powerful spell in the game, Druidcraft, and Primal Savagery as your cantrips. there’s nothing wrong with a power pick this late on, and at least PS is thematic.

our druid spells may be weak, but we’re here for buffs anyway. Protection from Good and Evil can protect your precious beasts from celestials, demons, and aberrations, which I’m sure humans are, and you can use Faerie Fire to improve their offense by lighting up some humans so they can’t hide and their attackers all get advantage to hit them.

19. Druid 2: second level druids get to turn into Wild Shapes- we’re already almost 3000 words in, so here’s the cliff notes- only your physical stats change, it’s limited to CR ½ creatures, and you can do it twice a short rest. if you die as a beast you turn back and take the excess damage directly. also no you can’t use your whip while a fox, at least not well.

more importantly, you’re a Shepherd now, allowing you to copy beasts of the world and recreate them at any time to gain their power via a Spirit Totem. as a bonus action you make a summoned spirit that has a 30’ aura, and you can move it as a bonus action- while the options are named after specific animals, you can customize them as you wish. the Bear gives creatures you choose temporary HP and advantage on strength checks and saves. the Hawk lets you spend a reaction to give a creature advantage on an attack and gives allies advantage on perception checks. the Unicorn also grants that advantage, and healing spells also heal creatures in the aura a bit.

you also learn the Speech of the Woods, so you can speak Sylvan and talk to animals.

20. Sorcerer 18: our final level gives us the capstone ability of the shadow sorcerer, the Umbral Form. as a bonus action you can spend six sorcery points to transform into the shadow beast (see I’d told you it would come back), giving you resistance to all damage but radiant and force, and you can move through solid objects to boot, though you take damage if you’re in one at the end of your turn. it lasts for a minute, giving you big “boss monster” vibes. but you’re not the boss monster, that’s coming on the 15th.

Pros & Cons

Pros:

you have access to an ungodly variety of debuffs, so you’ll almost always have something that you can use to trip up an enemy, no matter who they are. you’ve got: sleep, save decrease, disadvantage, damage on movement, blindness, forced movement, paralysis, mind control, heal block, slowdown, and getting knocked prone. combining slasher and your hound can knock someone down to only having ten feet of movement per round, so unless you’re facing a bunch of monks you can shut down humans pretty damn easily. …ah right Wang’s a monk, and Nikitich has a dragon. maybe that’s why you lost?

you can also fire off some serious DPS against crowds, with powerful fire spells boosted by your elemental adept feat, plus you can make the spell heightened and use silvery barbs to even the most problematic of human targets will be easy to hit!

you also get a lot of utility by being able to turn any bird you see into your personal spy camera, and turning any spy camera you see into a bird! …well, it flies around and pecks your enemies, at least. also you can make the party better at anything they’re already good at! expertise is such a good feature they gave it to like three classes already, but why should bards rogues and rangers have all the fun?

Cons:

at lot of that utility I just talked about comes from dominate beast, and there’s plenty of situations that won’t be much help to you. conversely, animate objects can only work on the objects around you, so again, it depends heavily on what you can scrounge up on your own. you always can go in guns a-blazing, but trying for any sort of subtlety will be harder for you.

as flavorful as the druid dip was it doesn’t help much with the overall build. wild shape only lets you turn into CR ½ or worse beasts, so it’s useless in combat, and you could already spy on people as an animal before, and Dominate Beast lets you do it without actually being there so you’re not in danger if you’re found out! Druid has one of the best spell lists for sure, but a) we only have level 1 druid spells, and b) your wisdom isn’t great, so by the time you get them they’re almost always going to miss unless you’re terrorizing commoners.

Koyanskaya’s supposed to be a schemer, but having to dump intelligence this build really hurts that. sure you could probably get away with not involving your int score in your roleplay, but I would’ve loved to make it higher if I could’ve. this also means you’re more likely to be eaten by a mind flayer but they aren’t hominids so it’s fine.

[tabbyofwisdom]

Don't ask me why I'm doing this now. Maybe it's because we're hitting the one year anniversaries of the end of the show, but here's a thesis that I've been ruminating on as to why I believed the symbols from the psychic pointed to Ted.

Presented below the break

My thesis, if it can be called anything, is that each of those symbols were meant for each of the three romantic interests in Rebecca's life, that they symbolized that they were one part of what Rebecca wanted and needed but that they were not the right man. I'm going to break down each symbol. Also, I don't remember reading anything like this but if someone has written something like this, I apologize.

The Green Matchbook: This was for Sam. Sam came into Rebecca's life and showed her that she could have fun again. That love can be fun. In season one, Sassy says, "No, the real Rebecca is silly. Strong, yeah, but not cold." She's relearning fun. But Sam is too young. The power dynamics honestly are really cringy. It's one thing to date someone more than half your age, it's another to date someone you pay that's more than half your age. Aside from that all, their life experiences are totally different. His is just beginning. Rebecca is, to use a metaphor, a phoenix. She's starting it all over for the second time, but she's got a lifetime of experience.

Shite in Nining Armor(honestly, this 'sign' was so stupid, imo): This one is obviously John Stamos Wingsnight. Rebecca's relationship with him was all about learning that love is leaving yourself open to being heartbroken. He obviously was not the person that was meant for her to be that open with......but he was age appropriate.

Upside down, drenched, but safe: Ok, this is the big one and the most controversial. This is boatman. She falls into the water but ends up being fished out by him. Their evening is all about Rebecca learning to let go. She's always dressed to the nine's and is always put together. She never lets her hair down, to be colloquial . That evening she lets herself be Rebecca. 100% her. Silly, in command, sweet, hopeful. We get to see the person Sassy knew but with the strength and stripes that she has earned through her marriage. Flashing back to a year ago, I was so happy to see this. I thought, "This is it. This is Rebecca and now that she's let herself be herself, she can be that with Ted." 😒 I have SO many issues but I'm just going to focus on "Sunflowers". As a woman, I was so nervous throughout the episode. If I was in a foreign country, by myself, fished out of a canal by a strange man, and he threw his phone into the canal(thus eliminating any type of communication) and then he made a joke about how my drink was not spiked, I'd be out of there faster than a Ted Lasso spit take. Again, I was so happy to see Rebecca let herself be....herself but I was just uncomfortable the entire time. When he kissed her foot due to 'habit' I was like, NOPE GIRL, GET OUT OF THERE. He's weird at best. I think the writers were going for "meet-cute" of the 90s and 00s romcom persuasion but we've all come to realize that those movies are rife with misogyny and creepy male behavior and while we may still look back with fondness for them, we don't like to see it in our new media. It wasn't cute. Beyond all that, if you're looking at this through a literary lens, you've seen the two signs so far but the wrong men for Rebecca. Logic would dictate that the third is not right either but that we're close to the end of our journey.

I felt like these signs were pointing the way for Rebecca to realize her feelings for Ted(apparently I was deluding myself). I'm reminded of a post that broke down the response of Darcy and Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice after the first proposal. They both individually went out and worked on themselves and then came back together after they had realized their faults and worked on them. But the key is that they didn't do it, Darcy does not do this, in order to try again. To try to get the other one back. It was a realization of things, in this case pride and prejudice, that they individually worked on because it was pointed out to them. I bring this up because I see Rebecca's signs, and Ted's therapy(but I'm not going to get into that right now) as them working on themselves. Through these three men, Rebecca learns, or re-learns, things about herself and about what she wants out of a relationship. She gets back to herself, but with the wounds she gained. She is a better and stronger person. They are sign posts pointing to where she should go and where she should be headed. Follow these signs and you will get your lighting.

Rebecca wants someone to have fun with, to feel safe enough to be open to being hurt, and to be herself, wholly and completely. Who in our little show does that for her? There are so many instances where Ted proves time and again that he is all these things. From the insistence of Ted's that Rebecca join the team for the exorcism to his joy at seeing her join the team on the bus in Amsterdam and his laughter at her singing. The absolute care Ted takes to make sure she always feels safe and always has an option to say no, or to voice her concern and the forgiveness he gives her for her sabotage plans. With Ted, Rebecca was always able to be herself. It's slow to come out but through his use of "Oklahoma" we get pure, honest Rebecca. Through Biscuits with the Boss, Ted takes the time to get to know Rebecca, not Ms. Welton, but Rebecca. Ted gets to see the huge generous heart Rebecca has. By the last season Ted is open enough to ask "Am I a mess?" and Rebecca can respond that of course but she is too and that's why they get along.

The show didn't go the way it seemed to logically be going and many of us were left heartbroken and confused. There are many more signs that can be talked about (the September 13th connection, the way Rebecca can tell when Ted is having a panic attack, etc. etc.). Those are for later posts.

If you're still reading, thanks! And you're as crazy as I am :)

[admrlthundrbolt]

How Did You Love (Polnareff x Chubby Reader)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the battle against Lord Dio, Polnareff might have met his match. Who is this beautiful yet sullen swordswoman?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi you guys, I'm back at it again. Polnareff has to be one of my favorite characters. So it was exciting to finally write something for him. He's sappy as always, but when isn't this Frenchman a bit of a ham. Anyways, I hope you enjoy.

---------------------------------------------------------

Peering around another corner, Polnareff was annoyed at their enemies love of lavish things. I mean what kind of evil Over Lord needs this large of a castle! It was a maze of unnecessary twist. Though he and his comrades were infiltrating it, so maybe it was a good idea. He was giving this guy to much credit.

Rubbing his forehead, he gave a silent thanks to Jotaro. If it wasn't for the Joestar heir, then he would still be under the thrall of Dio. Being a dark mage, it was little work for him to persuade people to do his bidding. Such methods of persuasion included mind manipulation. Shuddering at what small amount of memory he had from his time under Dio's control. Those were definitely unpleasant times.

Movement from the courtyard ahead shook him from the past. Searching the area, he was surprised at what he saw. A full figured woman was strolling around the courtyard with an umbrella shading her. She was a radiant beauty, that he had never had the pleasure of gazing upon. Though her eyes were sad and familiar.

He called out to her. “Pardon mademoiselle, I seemed to have lost my way. Could you direct me to the owner of this manor?” He put on, what he believed, was his most charming smile.

You barely acknowledged him. “I do not enjoy conversing with liars, Monsieur.”

A shocked expression crossed his face. Had he really been found out this quickly? “I truly am lost, would you not take pity on a poor traveler?”

The glare you cast his way forced a shiver down his spine. Though he wasn't sure if it was one of fear or want, perhaps a mixture. “I have no doubt that you are lost. The lie comes from you stumbling onto this keep. It is well hidden, by magical and non magical means.” Facing him, you closed your umbrella and placed the point on the ground in front of yourself.

An uneasy feeling forms in the pit of his stomach. Taking a step back, he rest his hand on the sword at his hip. “It seems that i’ve been found out. What will you do with me?”

“Take care of you.” With that you tore you tapered katana from it’s scabbard, from within the umbrella. Crouching a bit, you arched the weapon towards his chest.

He dodged away and brought his own sword up for a rebuttle. Only to find it blocked with the umbrella head. Leaping back he tried to take a moment to gather himself.

You didn't give him the chance though. Rushing to him, you struck at him once more. This time he was expecting it. He perried the sword and brought his other arm up for the blow that followed. The force you put behind the hit shocked him. Looking at you, you would never guess that such a delicate flower had such strength. That was only if you ignored your eyes. They held a ferocity that he had seen in no other being. But the lingering sadness called out to him.

Stepping into him, you brought your face to his own. “Perhaps you need more persuasion.” Your lips were a breath apart at the exclamation.

His breath caught in his throat at the intimacy of the action. His chest heaving in enamor and exertion in equal parts. The moment of distraction was enough for you to get a slice into his bicep. Hissing in pain, he countered your next strike. “Why are you here? What could a man like him provide for a woman like you?”

Striding back, you scowled at him accusingly. While he was the first person in a long time to give you a decent fight. You didn't owe him any explanation. Still there was a part of you that was intrigued to know why he was asking. “For information. My brother is missing and he’s the only one who’s had any answers.”

His shoulders sagged at your response. “He’s lying to you.”

The fire in your eyes blazed anew. Bashing your sword into him, your volume rose to a level that he wasn’t expecting. “How would you know!”

A thick knot of emotion form in his throat, causing his voice to crack. “I worked for Dio once too. He told me he could help find my sister’s murderer. It was only after the Joestars saved me, that I realized how cruel he was.” Tears welled in his eyes as he forced out the next part. “Turns out that the monster who killed sweet little Sherry, was working under the same man who promised to find him.”

Your face had become a blank mask. Doing everything you could to hold your resolve. To hope against hope that this man was lying. But your eyes revealed it all. Blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall and full of a sadness that Jean Pierre knew all to well. “What am I supposed to do? “

It tore at his heart how broken her tone had become. “Join me, join us. The Joestars are just and fair. They will help you with your journey.”

A sudden cry of anguish left you. Lashing out, you disarmed him, and he allowed it to happen. “It can’t be that simple. Changing sides isn’t going to magically solve everything.”

Gazing at you, he saw that a few tears escaped down your face. Even crying your were still one of the most beautiful things he had ever beheld. “Its a better option than not getting results under a madman.” Holding his hand in your direction, he waited with baited breath.

Your body slumped as you sheathed your sword. Heaving a heavy sigh, you placed your hand on his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He made light conversation with you, knowing that you wouldn't be in the mood for much more. Though when the subject swapped to the Joestars you seemed to get interested.

“So these Joestars have been fueding with Dio for over a century?”

“Yes and from what Joseph told me, his grandfather even considered Dio a brother.”

A sullen smile graced your lips. “He told me a story of his brother from the past. Though I'm sure it was just another way to manipulate me.”

He wanted to embrace you. Reassure you that he would do everything he could to reunite your sibling and you. Instead he spotted the rendezvous camp, that his friends were waiting at. Calling out, he waved his arms. “I’ve brought an ally.”

When you both got close enough to easily talk to the group, he turned towards you. As an introduction started to leave his lips, he noticed an odd expression on your face.

Eyes wide and watering, you brought a hand up to your open mouth. “Kakyoin.” You said it in a whisper, but he knew in that moment how much meaning the name held.

“Kakyoin!” You sprinted into your brother’s open arms. Tears of joy streaming down both of your faces as you embraced.

Your cheerful smile was the most beautiful sight he had the privilege of beholding. In that instance, Polnareff vowed that he would spend his life keeping you as happy as you are right now.

[cloud-monki]

Whenever I start consuming some sort of story I usually start asking myself: who would the characters be in a dnd campaign. Not who’d they play, who’d they be in a dnd-like world, so I’m doing this with 100 gfs. I will also be including mystic and blood hunter, but not any other stuff except the officially published stuff. I’ll only be trying to say which class and subclass fits them the most. Feel free to comment or suggest.

Rentarou: let’s start off with our main man himself: rentarou he was one of the characters that I had to do the most process of elimination. I considered bard, barbarian, cleric and heavily considered blood hunter (he actively hurts himself and pushes himself beyond his limits causing some kind of ailment, also he’s frequently called love monster), but I ultimately decided on paladin because although rentarou is aggressive at times, he would mostly want to help, support and defend his girlfriends and paladin is a weird mix of support, defense and damage. As for the subclass, devotion seems like the right one, although the most basic of paladin subclasses it is arguably one of the most defensive and supportive ones, also the tenets feel in line with Rentarou. He would mostly have healing or buffing spells. But let’s be real, Rentarou would probably be level 20 in every class.

Hakari: a difficult one to think of, but in dnd Charisma is not exactly charm, If not force of personality and people skills, and well, I’d say she’s very forceful, additionally we can see that she can be very scary at times, intimidation is also part of charisma, so add a point to that. Now we know that charisma would be her main stat, so we would have to go with either: bard, paladin, rogue, sorcerer or warlock. Now for the longest time I had her be a wild sorcerer before uploading this post, but arcane trickster is right there (the only thing is you’d need to change the spell casting ability to charisma instead of intelligence). It’s a subclass that is defined by trickery and enchantment in class that can is already very strong in charisma checks if needed. She would probably have high deception, persuasion and a lot of enchantment spells.

Karane: barbarian is the obvious pick, it’s strength based and has rage. Now the subclasses were where I really struggled, because none of them felt right, is what I would say before glory of giants. Although you make a case for the others that aren’t Path of the Giants, like maybe ancestral guardians because she has a big family, maybe beast because tsundere = cat, maybe zealot, because she was technically chosen by a god, maybe berserker because that’s like the base subclass or maybe battlerager, because why the fuck not? And even though it’s not perfect it does have one thing that all the others didn’t, it being a subclass that somewhat focused on being able to physically overpowering others, which sounds weird, but the ability to turn giant and being able to toss people around is something that we don’t really see in other subclasses. Also she would focus on grappling more than normal.

Shizuka: also an easy one, a wizard is as connected to books as they are with spells, also high dexterity and high intelligence makes a great wizard. Now also like Karane, the subclass is difficult to decide on, so process of elimination: shizuka is literally incapable of being aggressive so that knocks out bladesinging, evocation, necromancy and war magic. She also doesn’t really create or change things, so bye bye conjugation and transmutation. She doesn’t really have a relationship with time so no chronurgy nor divination. She doesn’t really fuck with other people’s minds, so illusion and enchantment are both a no. And that leaves us with abjuration, graviturgy and scribes. I ended up choosing abjuration, mostly because of the vibe, although shizuka has (accidentally) fucked with gravity before and is very dependent on her book, abjuration just feels like shizuka, she’s a gentle soul with a big heart even for Rentarou’s family standards. She’s eager to protect and help anyone she can, also it’s funny to think that maybe all the abjuration magic she uses on herself is actually people not wanting to hurt her. She’d use protective and crowd control spells.

Nano: eccentric and intelligent are two words that describe nano, those are basically the words that describe everything mystics are. Apart for that, mystics can work as utility and skill monkeys , something nano would be. Awakened makes the most sense to me because it’s very much about having high mental capacities and utility.

Kusuri: this one was also very easy: alchemist artificer, it’s just a medieval chemist. She’d also have a lot of buffing, debuffing and some damaging spells and infusions.

Hahari: this one is was the hardest one yet, but one thing I do know is that Hahari would definitely be a support. I ended up thinking of Divine sorcerer. This is mostly because she’s persuasive, she’s good with people (we don’t really see it, but she is), she’s intimidating and she was also born powerful, rich and beautiful. Now as I said before I wanted her to be a support and lookie here a support subclass that also manages to also have a trait that is also somewhat in line to who Hahari is, divinity. For some reason, whether accidental or purposefully, Hahari has had a fair bit of divine imagery relating to her, the biggest example of which is that she was called “The Mother of All Humanity” in chapter 43. She’d probably be a buff and debuff character.

Kurumi: … I’m starting to regret this. I’m going with barbarian (not just cuz the other tsundere is), but because rage could easily be reflavored as her craving some food. Then there’s the perfect subclass for her: beast, mostly because there’s a bite attack, also quick honorable mention to storm herald, which can emulate her very cold demeanor. She would also probably have high constitution, considering how much she can eat.

Mei: Mei’s a cleric, any questions? Ok, but really apart from Mei being the class that has been delegated to purely support makes sense, but also clerics are different form paladins because paladins are loyal to ideals, clerics are loyal to gods, and I can say with confidence that Mei probably views Hahari as a goddess or something similar. I was considering order, because, it’s Mei, but life I think makes the most sense, because, at least for Mei, Hahari represents life as she was rescued by her and is a very maternal figure, as well as the fact that she deals with Hahari losing blood a lot.

Iku: first thing of note of iku is that she has extremely high constitution, being able to receive pain like a champ and train for hours without end. Secondly, she’s strong, it’s not brought up often, but she is. Thirdly, she’s dedicated (obviously), that’s why fighter makes the most sense and who is the most dedicated fighter archetype, that also has additional tanking capabilities? Samurai. She would probably also use a warhammer (or a reskinned warhammer) as it’s the most baseball-like weapon in the game.

Mimimi: I think mimimi would be the type of person I’m to consider makeup as an art from, either way bard just makes sense. High charismatic and dexterous characters that shine in a crowd. Also college of glamour because of pretty.

Meme: while rogue would make the most sense in theory, I actually think monk would work best, but that’s mostly because of the subclass: way of the shadow, which is just ninja monk. Specifically the features “shadow step” and “cloak of shadows” makes it so the monk can teleport and go invisible whenever they want as long as they’re not in bright light. It just makes sense to give the character that can basically teleport whenever be able to basically teleport whenever.

Chiyo: i guess being a paladin runs in the family AYO. Anyways, yeah like the said paladin makes sense to as she is a person that is very obedient and believes in order and rules. She’s as well as a pretty aggressive person at times, but means well. Oath of the crown is the obvious choice as it’s all about law and order.

Naddy: I originally thought “hey, fighters make really good cowboys, maybe even better than ranger. Let’s find one a subclass that represents freedom or something similar” as I didn’t really know what to do with Naddy. Then I saw the banneret fighter, and that was just Naddy, an inspiring warrior whose feats inspire others to do the same, who not only fights for them but supports those around her. Which makes sense Naddy has been seen inspiring others and helping them get over stuff. She would use pistols or hand crossbows.

Yamame: Yamame is the most druid-ass non-druid character I’ve ever seen, although in dnd a Druid with high constitution and strength but low wisdom would probably not be that great. Side tangent aside shepherd druid just makes sense, apart from them being able to speak with animals and being one of the most defensive and supportive druids, let me just show you a blurb of the flavor text: “These druids recognize that all living things play a role in the natural world, yet they focus on protecting animals and fey creatures that have difficulty defending themselves.”, this is yamame.

Momiji: although a lot of classes can heal with their hands in dnd, mercy monk made the most sense to me, not only does it use wisdom (being in tune with the world around them) and dexterity (how good you are at moving you body). It also made sense since (although it isn’t making people fall asleep) monks can temporarily paralyzed people. They are also people that are dedicated to their art.

Yaku: i don’t think y’all expected something different: Alchemist Artificer. She’d probably have more healing or buffing stuff that Kusuri.

Kishika: we can’t really translate kishika being a baby into dnd (apart from it just being a personality trait), so her knightly personality will be the main focus. Though devotion paladin and kensei monk makes sense, paladin if we want to lean more into her chivalry part and monk for more of a fast and heavy hitter type of deal, I think that cavalier fighter is best of both worlds. Fighter already has a lot of attack and even more with action surge and cavalier has both the flavor of a honorable knight that protects the innocent and someone who is able to swing their sword a lot.

Ahko: Ahko was the hardest one, so I tried to boil her characteristics down, she’s very physically unfit, she loves cute things, she loves sharing the things she loves and she’s some one who is really good at keeping the family happy and together. I ended up with peace cleric, because while she doesn’t really have any religious stuff in her character or worships someone, the rest just made sense, it’s high wisdom, meaning she has high insight and can help and figure out the other girls, it’s a full spell caster, not usually the most fit in the group, it represents kindness, community, and resolution of conflict. As well as the fact that like half of the subclass’s features are bonds. Honorable mention to redemption paladin, similar flavor, but just too beefy for Ahko.

Uto: We can agree that she’d be a bard, I’d like to think that most of her attack spells are just her trying to play music but ending up hurting others. Now for the subclass lore bard makes sense to me, being a pretty basic subclass, while having some abilities that fit in with her personality like cutting words in which and I quote “you learn how to use your wit to distract, confuse, and otherwise sap the confidence and competence of others.” Uto literally did this to basically every gf In her introduction to the family. Also additional magical secrets, which basically makes it so she can have any spells she wants, very Chuuni.

Mai: Much like her “sister” she admires someone so deeply that it’s borderline religious, so she’s also a cleric. Light would probably be her subclass, because it’s not just the burn everything subclass it’s also about rebirth (Mai trying to be more like Mei), truth, vigilance (being a vigilant maid) and beauty (her sister of course.

Momoha: Drunken Master Monk just makes sense in a purely flavor-wise sense. Her Buddhist themes make sense as monks are largely based on Buddhist monks. They’re wise, using a lot of wisdom, which makes sense since ethics could be considered a very wise profession. Also alcohol (although drunken masters aren’t technically constantly fucked up, but yeah).

Rin: as you may have seen, some characters with duel personas or twists haven’t really been represented fully which I’m sad I can’t really do, but it would mostly boil down to roleplay, but Rin is a special case because Eloquence Bard fits her royal personality, love for violin and unsettling interest for violence. Of course Rin really isn’t a violent person herself, but enjoys seeing other be violent, boom a support class. She’s very charismatic, boom bard. She’s very elegant, boom eloquence college. She’s at times creepy or unsettling boom fear spell or others that are similar and unsettling words from her subclass.

Suu: might seem weird, but Suu is character that has a very firm and strong belief that she holds as an unshakable truth and uses her passion to convince others to think so as well. That’s a paladin. Now the subclass was even harder to figure out, but even though I’m not 100% confident saying this, but vengeance makes the most sense, she seeks retribution for the unfair treatment of numbers!

Eira: monks are the class for martial arts practitioners, and open hand monk is the most basic monk of monks.

Tama: Druid kinda makes sense for her, as she is all but physically a cat, she can make the remnants of her human form disappear for a bit with wild shape. And while moon might seem like the obvious choice as it encourages high usage of wild shape, I think that dreams makes more sense, as it’s about rest, tranquility and sleep, something Tama really care about.

Saiki: First things first, a Talented charismatic preformer, sounds like either a sorcerer or a bard, more so a bards, but she is pretty abnormal. Wild magic sorcerer is probably the best option, the amount of raw abnormal and chaotic energy just radiates off her. She would just have a mismash of spells that just don’t combo well or combo weirdly.

And that’s all the girlfriends for now, I’ll probably make a update when we get to 30 gfs. This was really fun to think and ponder about, even if it took me like 200 days, but hey I’m posting this like 12 hours after the premiere of the first episode of the anime, so it was probably fate.

Thx for reading this far, bye.

[keouil]

木漏れ日

“how are you this happy this early in the morning?” maki groans. 1k. yuta/maki. fluff. also on ao3.

To say Maki was not a morning person was the understatement of the century.

Her alarm had been going off for the past five minutes, and would very likely keep assaulting every fibre of her being if she didn’t at least silence the damn thing. But as it was she was entirely too comfortable snuggled up in her covers now, sirens be damned. Let it wreak havoc all over the entire compound for all she cares. If she had to wake up at the ass crack of dawn, Toge who occupied the room next to her and had sensitive hearing, should also at the very least be mildly inconvenienced. If she was going down, she was taking down everyone with her.

Not only was Maki being forced to wake up in ungodly hours no other human should ever be, she also had to trek 5 kilometers of mud and river to get to the peak of Mt. Takao. Just thinking of marching out in the morning cold made her want to call in sick and convince Yuuta to just find another hiking partner, despite Gojo’s firm insistence it had to be her because Toge has the stamina of a toddler and Panda is a chronic complainer. 

Her alarm goes off again. 

Maki yells into the bed.

-

“Remind me why I agreed to do this again?”

Yuuta turns back to face her, an easy smile tugging on his lips. While Maki felt like death warmed over and was sure her face was showing it, Yuuta was the picture of perfect posture and the very embodiment of a morning person. After ignoring her alarm for half an hour and drifting back off into sleep, it was of course that moment Yuuta chose to announce himself as her personal morning call. He banged on her door and kept asking if she was awake already and wow, doesn't the sun look so good today? Maki only barely managed to restrain herself from breaking down the door.

“Because,” Yuuta chirps gleefully. “No one knows this trail better than you do?”

“No one else hikes this trail aside from me,” Maki drawls, rubbing her swollen eyes. The lazy drag of her feet sloshing against the grass paralleled Yuuta’s steady pace. The sun was just shy of rising, streaks of aurora lights blanketing the forest. “And since when did you take up hiking anyway?”

“Since Gojo-sensei told me I needed to gain more endurance and body mass,” Yuuta peers overhead at the canopy of ikimonogari chirping through the trees. “Strength building and whatnot.”

“You have enough strength,” Maki points out.

“Not as much as you,” Yuuta shrugs. 

“Well blink twice if you need help,” Maki quips back, gesturing for them to sit down at the nearest ledge. They’ve been trekking non-stop for half an hour and while she was an outdoors person, she wasn’t suicidal. “No, seriously, I know Gojo-sensei can get really persuasive.”

Yuuta laughs then, and it’s a fresh thing; like mildew springing from the earth. “No blackmailing was involved,” he crouches down next to her at the shallower end of the rock, the one with jaggier edges. “I don’t mind doing all the physical stuff.”

Maki considers this for a moment. “I don’t, either.”

Yuuta looks over at her, smiling. “I know.”

“How are you this happy this early in the morning?” Maki groans.

They were on hour two of the hike now, and Yuuta hasn’t shut up since. It’s the most Maki has heard him open his mouth since he was introduced on orientation, and it would have levelled her if she still didn’t feel so foggy at waking up so early and being forced to do brunt work right away. She was the most active member of their year when it came to sports and motor skills, but she preferred to do the work on her own time. And preferably not a time when she felt her fingers about to freeze and breathing wasn’t followed by puffs of condensed air. 

“What do you mean?” Yuuta chimes at her side, oblivious to her sour mood.

“I mean,” Maki bites out, rubbing her arms at her side. “That you didn’t strike me as a morning person. At all.”

Yuuta looks amused. “It’s the eyebags, isn’t it?” he says. “It makes me look like I never sleep. Panda told me I look like a sickly Victorian boy the other day.” 

“Well, actually,” Maki considers him, appraisive. “Now that you mention it..”

Yuuta waves her off. “I get it,” he concedes. “And to be fair I was an insomniac most of my life. But turns out it was just all that restless cursed energy I didn’t know how to control.”

“And now?” Maki prompts. 

“Now?” Yuuta glances at her, a little shy but still looking like sunlight filtered in. There’s a slight dusting of rose on his cheeks Maki convinces herself is just because of the adrenaline. “I’ve never felt more alive.”

[starrook]

character deep dive

NAME: alcryst

BODY

height: 5’7/171cm

strength ★★★★☆ (strong, but not build like a brick shithouse so he’d give himself a 2)

dexterity ★★★★★ (what that +3 to dex cap do king. suited to delicate tasks!)

health ★★★★☆ (was never a sickly child and has a great immune system)

energy ★★★★☆ (bundle of nervous energy most of the time, always alert. around friends though he is a lot more calm and self-assured.)

beauty ★★★☆☆ (in the eye of the beholder. personally i think he’s cute but in a rat sort of way. alcryst would rate himself a 0/5. realistically he’s probably average.)

style ★★☆☆☆ (doesn’t have much personal style as he’s stuck with diamant’s hand-me-downs most of the time. he’s exploring that with the different colors and hair clips and boots, but still doesn’t care too much about fashion.)

hygiene ★★★★☆ (has a haircare routine, if alcryst skips out on it it fucks his whole day up, he won’t feel like himself without it). 

SKILLS

perception ★★★★★ (noticeably observant of other people’s actions and habits and tries to anticipate their needs, ex. offering celine tea that helps her sleep, knowing that citrinne trains at night and lapis sends money to her family.

communication ★★★★☆ (when he’s not being alcrysty he’s very well-spoken and gets his point across well. he always speaks his mind for better or worse)

persuasion ★★☆☆☆ (scores low mainly due to the initial impressions he usually makes. i’d like to think that people who really get to meet and know alcryst are more readily swayed by him, but that’s not everyone)

mediation ★☆☆☆☆ (prince alcryst “allies? with ivy? fuck no” of brodia has a hard time staying objective and generally picks sides. It’s one of his weaknesses vs it being more of a strength for diamant)

literacy ★★★★★ (likes philosophy books? get him away from me)

creativity ★★★☆☆ (he’s come up with a lot of creative ways to put himself down haha. sometimes i think about that line from his boucheron support that goes like “NO we can’t go from 100 to ten, that’ll exclude one of the zeroes. i feel sorry for that poor zero, cut out because of a weakling like me” like christ man, bars)

cooking ★★★★☆ (he’s always tasting his food while he cooks so that it doesn’t turn out to be dogshit, so alcryst’s food usually turns out tasty. he’d be good at one of those palette testing games from hell’s kitchen where you guess the food just by taste and texture.)

combat ★★★★☆ (he’s alive right? that counts for something. alcryst pulls his weight)

survival ★★★★☆ (i think alcryst would know enough to survive in the wilderness for a while)

stealth ★★★☆☆ (has startled people by being too quiet when he approaches them)

street smarts ★☆☆☆☆ (has only ever known life as a prince and grew up fairly sheltered)

seduction ☆☆☆☆☆ (LMAOOOOOOO)

luck ★★☆☆ (not the -1 modifier…)

handling animals ★★★★★ (confused a wolf out of attacking him and then made friends with it… that’s talent)

pacifying children ★☆☆☆☆ (does not know how)

MIND

intelligence ★★★★☆ (i can’t remember how the fandom hc of alcryst being good at complicated math started but he’s smart prommy)

happiness ★☆☆☆☆ (TOUGH TO ANSWER. alcryst is still grieving his father and he’s going through a difficult time in his life)

spirituality ★★☆☆☆ (i dont know why i find it hard to see alcryst as religious. like i can’t see him praying to the divine dragons.)

confidence ★★☆☆☆ (he’s gotten a little bit better!)

humor ★☆☆☆☆ (doesn’t always recognize jokes for what they are and is bad at telling his own)

anxiety ★★★★★ (naturally anxious)

patience ★★★☆☆ (no patience for himself)

passion ★★★★☆ (feels very strongly about everything)

nice         ☆★☆☆☆     mean

brave       ☆★☆☆☆     cowardly

pacifist     ☆☆☆★☆     violent 

thoughtful ☆☆☆★☆    impulsive 

agreeable ☆☆★☆☆     contrary

idealistic   ☆☆☆★☆     pragmatic

frugal        ★☆☆☆☆     big spender

extrovert   ☆★☆☆☆     introvert

collected   ☆★☆☆☆     wild

ambitious / possessive / stubborn / jealous / decisive / perfectionist

SOCIAL

charisma ★★☆☆☆ (questionable rizz)

empathy ★★★★☆ (cares for other people more than himself)

generosity ★★★★☆ (5 stars reserved for citrinne)

wealth ★★★★☆ (prince of brodia, enough said…)

honest   ★☆☆☆☆ deceptive (not very good at lying)

leader   ☆☆☆★☆   follower (born follower, always a follower)

polite     ☆☆★☆☆  rude (has been on both ends of the spectrum tbh)

political ★☆☆☆☆  indifferent (prince of brodia, he always has an opinion)

BELIEFS

higher power ★★★★★ (they a fuckin dick tho for bringing sombron and the hounds back from the dead but not his dad)

fate/destiny ★☆☆☆☆ (i think it would be the brodian mindset)

magic ★★★★★ (see higher power)

soulmates ★☆☆☆☆ (can’t imagine himself having one)

good and evil ★★★★☆ 

luck ★★★★☆ 

PRIORITIES

family ★★★★★ 

friends ★★★★★ 

love ★☆☆☆☆ (is not holding out for love of his own because he doesnt know if he’ll need to marry for political purposes… but it would be nice)

home ★★★★☆ 

health ★☆☆☆☆ 

praise ★★★☆☆ 

justice ★★★☆☆ (not out for revenge)

truth ★★★★☆

power ★★★★☆ (getting strong 4 brodia)

fame ☆☆☆☆☆ 

wealth ★★★☆☆ (brodia’s wealth not personal)

others' opinions ★★★★☆

[torntruth]

☢️ ⸺ SPECIAL :

* based off of fallout 4 perk board and what those perks mean more exactly to each stat. modified because a lot of them have to do with VATS , so i'm taking them outside of VATS and using them as a basis in battle.

S (TRENGTH) , 4. piper's ability to get out of dangerous situations is dependent on other factors opposed to brute strength. melee is not her go to. she probably wouldn't be able to carry a ton's worth of junk for your sole survivor.

P (ERCEPTION) , 6. general perception allows her to perceive threats in a timely manner and even aim for certain body parts. an ode to AWARENESS , where piper is more than capable of knowing a lot of creatures weakness based on experience.

E (NDURANCE) , 6. piper is generally very physically fit and has an increased resistance to physical damage. she can be rather hard to take down. C (HARISMA) , 9. exceptionally skilled in charming and persuading other people. a lot of which means producing a convincing lie. an ode to LOCAL LEADER and INSPIRATIONAL specific perks that points out her abilities as a companion. this really only lacks being a 10 because sometimes her good karma alignment keeps her from being brutally intimidating. this also means she can not be intimidating , she will threaten and coerce , it is not her favorite course of action though.

I (NTELLIGENCE) , 5. she has the ability to use scrap to fix up her guns and her property , including a printing press she's been acutely taking care of for years. she has certainly spent no time understanding how to make drugs or how science orientated weapons work , she has a certain choice in weapon.

A (GILITY) , 6. piper has actually used stealth to her advantage quite often , it's just more in tune with charisma. this is more in junction with the fact she has a preference of handguns and can deal quite a bit of damage with them. L (UCK) , 6. sometimes her ability to get out sticky situations is luck , most of the time it's charisma and perception , but she has been known to get in quite a few critical hits. IMPORTANT EXTRAS , she has the 'gift of gab' perk. gameplay wise , that's extra persuasion for your PC , writing wise that notes that she's exceptionally talented certain persuasion categories.

[fictionadventurer]

For the Cinderella asks, I want to hear more about Paper Wings!

This was a Cinderella story set in my Lost Library universe, where humanity exists on the shattered remains of continents that float in the sky and have only recently developed flight technology to travel between different lands. It's a mix of Edwardian aesthetic and technology (we have early electricity and planes) with Age of Exploration swashbuckling.

Except that this story ignored most of that in favor of a small domestic tale that came from combining Cinderella with Mansfield Park and Persuasion. The premise was that Cinderella's father was an airship captain undertaking dangerous exploration to faraway lands. He left her in the care of an aunt and provided money for her upkeep, but he doesn't come back when promised, the money runs out, and the relative resents having to house Cinderella on her own dime, so she makes Cinderella do menial labor to earn her keep. It's now been years and everyone assumes he's dead, but Cinderella feels she can't leave for another place, because if her father does come back, how would he find her?

Meanwhile, an irresponsible flirt of a prince comes into the neighborhood. (Cinderella's aunt cares for a library connected to a university, and he came there to study). Cinderella's cousins try to charm him, but he becomes intrigued by Cinderella, who heavily disapproves of him. True to Mansfield Park form, it becomes a matter of honor for him to charm her into falling in love with him, until he unexpectedly falls in love with her instead.

The "paper" part of the title comes from Cinderella having a genius for crafting things out of paper, and (in some versions of the idea) befriending people who run a stationary shop that also sells things like paper decorations and adornments and toys that are very popular in this land. The ball is a festival that features lots of these paper ornaments and Cinderella wants to attend, until her aunt forbids it, and then a godmother character (and/or the friends at the paper shop) arrange for her to attend with a dress decked out in lots of paper flowers.

But to get back to the point--at the ball, to Cinderella's consternation, she catches the attention of the prince, who insists on dancing with her, and who publicly proposes to her at midnight. Cinderella, horrified, flees just as a rainstorm comes up that wrecks most of the adornments on her dress. The prince comes to her the next morning to return her lost slipper and to push his suit again, and despite strong urging both from him and her aunt, Cinderella absolutely refuses to marry him. Things get much worse for Cinderella after that, because her aunt think her even more of a burden now that she turned down a marriage proposal from the most eligible possible man. I wavered on whether she'd stay with this family and continue to endure poor treatment from them, or if this turn of events helps her to find her strength to head out on her own and get a job elsewhere.

Well, anyway, this story was supposed to explore whether the prince ever could reform in a believable way. So years later, he comes back into Cinderella's life. After his disappointment in marriage, he took the other path his father demanded in his quest to make him to take up responsibility, and he got a job. As a mail pilot. Which is prestigious and glamorous enough for someone of his rank, thanks to the danger involved. Getting into a lifestyle where your hard work and skill is all that gains you respect--and where you're in constant danger of death--has a way of rearranging your priorities, and he comes back as a much more honorable and noble person. Cinderella doesn't believe it, but his work with the mail intersects with her work at the library (or the mail job she took after leaving the library), and so they have to interact. And since he doesn't renew his attempts to win her, she gets to have lots of little Pemberley moments showing that he has truly reformed.

Eventually there's another much more informal dance at the airfield, where Cinderella finds herself actually falling in love with him--only for some disaster to interrupt the festivities and her prince having to run off into danger to save the day, and Cinderella helping him somehow. And then Cinderella does fully fall in love with him and she accepts his proposal and they live happily ever after.

There's a lot in this story, and it felt like at least two separate Cinderella retellings. I couldn't choose between the possible paths, or figure out where to start the story or what elements to cut, so it fell into the background. It's more a loose collection of possibilities than a story. But I'm fond of some of those possibilities, and so it lingers in my brain despite the small chance that it'll ever come together.

[nachtwacht-monster-manual]

Volume 1 Nightwatch Profiles

1. Vladimir

Vladimir is with his 200 years the oldest warrior of The Nightwatch. The drop of blood incorporated in his ring, symbolizes who he is: a vampire. That drop was not accidentally processed into a ring, because just like a circle a ring symbolizes eternity, an eternal life. Very fitting for someone who has two centuries on his counter.

[Fake ink: the most famous vampire is Count Dracula (origin: Transylvania)]

Traits

Smart, reasonable, great persuasiveness, courteous, 200 years old.

Strengths

• Can turn himself invisible.

• Can switch to vampire speed, which makes him faster than a whirlwind.

• He can hypnotize humans and some creatures with his eyes, but only for short amounts of time.

Weaknesses

• One guess… garlic, of course! As soon as he comes near garlic he looses all his powers.

• Shuns bright sunlight and because of that often wears sunglasses.

• No reflection, which he has to hide from normal people.

Archivist’s note: We barely see Vlad wearing sunglasses in the show, and we also rarely to never see him use these mentioned hypnosis powers. It’s unclear when these books were written in the timeline of show production, but this leads me to believe these profiles were written before or during show production. The discrepancies are the biggest with Keelin, but more on that in the notes on her section.

While the text in the weakness section does not state that the loss of power to garlic is impermanent, we see in the show that it does not have lasting consequences on him.

2. Keelin

Meet Keelin. Attached to her necklace is a golden feather. That refers to birds and thus the ability to fly. The most special gift of an elf is… that she can fly. Hence the feather. But there’s more… to the ancient Egyptians the feather is a symbol of truth. Keelin has a strongly developed intuition that has never steered her wrong. That too is contained within the image of the feather.

[Fake ink: typical are the pointed ears]

Traits

High EQ and thus high empathy, good at improvising, has a strongly developed intuition, is positive and shrewd.

Strengths

• An expert in making all kinds of magical concoctions.

• The elf dust in her long blonde hair gives her magical powers.

• Has wings and can therefore fly.

Weaknesses

• Chaotic and sometimes overconfident.

• Freezes up in small rooms because the tiniest movement can damage her wings.

Archivist’s note: There’s a big difference between this profile’s Keelin and the show’s Keelin, this being the wings. As far as I am aware, Keelin has never had wings in the show or movies, and as the monster manuals are mainly episode retellings by Vega, they don’t show up in the manuals’ stories either. The picture included with her profile in this volume does picture her with translucent wings, though.

The discrepancies in the profiles are also present in volume two, who’s profiles are the similar to volume one except for a different layout, some reworded text, and the addition of some facts such as birthday and favourite foods, but the discrepancies are removed from volume 3 onward.

I suspect Keelin may have been conceptualised with wings in earlier versions of her character due to the many different connotations of the word “elf” in Dutch, which include the typical elves English speakers will imagine when hearing the word, but also include pixies, fairies, fey, sprites, brownies, certain spirits, etc. It is almost used as a catchall term for a certain type of folkloric creature.

Keelin’s most obvious connection to these connotations, the wings, were eventually cut from her character, but the influence is still visible in the “elf dust” in her hair (which due to these connotations can just as well be translated as fairy dust or pixie dust).

3. Wilko

Werewolf Wilko has a leather bracelet with an incorporated wolf fang. Both the leather and the fang are two obvious animal symbolism. In Wilko’s case the fang especially is a strong image of his special gifts: exceptional power, bravery and above-human senses. The wolf fang symbolizes the close relationship between animal and nature and thus also between Wilko and Nature.

[Fake ink: noticeably hairy]

Traits

Brave, honest, adventurer, tough. Can decide and act quickly.

Strengths

• Above-human strenght, fast, agile.

• Iron-strong senses (hearing, vision, taste, smell).

Weaknesses

• Sometimes impulsive. Stubborn and fiery.

• When he gets into contact with silver he changes back to his human form. Silver blocks his transformation to a werewolf. He can thus be kept prisoner with a silver chain.

Archivist’s note: Wilko’s profile is the most in line with what we see in the show, which doesn’t surprise me. Where there are many versions of vampires and elves have certain connotations in Dutch, werewolves are quite straight-forward. The only discrepancy I could spot, which I’m not certain of since I haven’t watched the episodes in a while, is the notion that silver forces him to return to human form. In the show, it harms him instead (in both human and werewolf form), which I do feel makes more sense for a weakness.

[simplegenius042]

Fallout 2 OC - Finidy Mona (The Chosen One)

More information under the cut:

Here's my Chosen One of Fallout 2, Finidy Mona, the 22-year-old granddaughter of Elrand Brandt, and the next Elder in line to lead the Arroyo tribe after her mother. After the recent passing of her grandfather, several failed harvests and rampant sickness take hold of the tribe, which leads Elder Mona to send out her daughter Finidy to retrieve the Garden of Eden Creation Kit (GECK) to save the village, and Finidy takes this as an opportunity to prove herself to her village and mother, despite having failed the Temple of Trials (to her credit she got halfway through it). With a deadline hovering over her, Finidy goes off into the Southern California Wasteland to retrieve the GECK and save her village in her grandfather's Vault 13 jumpsuit, his flask and a spear. If only New Reno crime bosses, gangs, fascist regimes and all sorts of monsters weren't in her way. But hey, at least she gets some help along the way.

Finidy is a quite the beautiful and healthy intersex woman at a height of 5 feet and 11 inches, with overgrown wild hair tied in a low bun, with enough energy that outdoes all the other villagers. She had inherited her grandfather's hazel eyes, with exceptional strength and dexterity towards the Wasteland's environment. Her wardrobe changes from her grandfather's jumpsuit to jackets and leather armour to fancy clothes given to her by the crime families and finally Enclave power armor while infiltrating the oil rig. She's pretty decent at keeping her hygiene up even in the Wasteland.

As Elder Mona's daughter, and the next in line to inherit the title of "Chieftess", she was taught everything she needed to be taught to do the title right and exceed her own mother. Her ability to communicate and mediate in conflicts is impressively thorough, and is the most combat, stealth and survival efficient of Arroyo, and her cooking is to die for. Finidy is also extremely creative, both in methodical plans and improvisation, and had gotten what her grandfather failed to receive; The Rizz (TM). Alert but not paranoid, Finidy is quite comfortable walking about without worry that an animal will attack her, and her luck wasn't as terrible as her grandfather's. Persuasive and literate, Finidy has a natural charm that just lures people in. However, future chieftess she may be, she is inexperienced with technology and the likes of children (though the latter isn't as bad as how Elrand viewed them).

Finidy's intellect, while not as advanced as her late grandfather, is still pretty impressive. Her spirituality is as high as her passion to help the village under any means necessary, and her humor can chink the armor of the most serious man (well... except one, though his status as "man" is debatable). Her anxiety only comes up during unexpected and/or high stress situations, which can waver her confidence, especially in regards to the deadline and retrieval of the GECK. When it's all over, while she's exhausted and saddened of what she's lost, she is still able to find the silver lining. Patience though... could be improved.

She's a lot more polite than her grandfather was, though she can't refuse a bite in her words when speaking to some... unpleasant individuals. Though naive and inexperienced in such a hostile world, Finidy is brave, while she would prefer a peaceful solution, she will not hesitate to use violence if she thinks its necessary or she believes the person deserves it. Finidy is impulsive, and often times agreeable. Though she starts overbearingly idealistic, Finidy manages to wring it back, but keeps her hope. Finidy manages to spend more caps that she really should keep for something else. Though having living in an isolated village for majority of her life, Finidy loves the outdoors and excels at talking with people. She's young, impulsive, the daughter of the chieftess and also related to the man who drove the Master to despair after pointing out super mutants can't clap cheeks... of course she's a bit wild. Finidy is ambitious in proving her mother and village proud, and is stubborn in achieving this goal, the crime families and Enclave be damned! Surprisingly, Finidy can get jealous easily, and is quite possessive over her lover/s.

Finidy is charismatic and empathetic, qualities she needed to learn as a future leader (though the only authority she will ever truly bow down to is that of her mother's), though she has quite a temper. Generous when she needs to be, and responsible enough to keep tabs on her wealth so she doesn't lose everything (despite being a big spender). Though, unlike her grandfather, she has a high libido, and gets around often. She's cute and flirty, but often times obedient (in a non-sexy way, though useless full disclosure, she is a bottom) to the whims of others, especially if they have something over her (though she gets back at them) and due to her village's isolation, is more gullible than her grandfather (though she slowly loses this gullibility like her grandfather... though it takes longer for her to get there until she reaches the Bishops).

Finidy kind of believes in higher powers? Like most of it is mixed in with the belief her grandfather is looking out for her, and some others she gains on her journey. A very big believer in fate and destiny, as well as magic. However, while she does believe there are people who are driven by maliciousness and greed, and not everyone is as noble and generous as they appear to be, she does try to believe there is an explanation for their evil deeds, but never excuses them (especially the likes of President Richardson and Frank Horrigan, as well as John Bishop). Finidy is under the belief her grandfather's spirit has blessed her with luck, though whether she believes luck and karma exist is entirely for convenience.

Finidy's top priorities are the survival of her family and home, and while on her journey, ensuring her companions and lover/s safety. She does her best to take care of her health, to reveal the truth and take into account other's opinions. While she is mindful of praise (a desire she used to want for but is replaced by the weight of responsibility and duty she knows she has to commit to), dispensing justice, and ensuring some wealth, they aren't top priority but if given the opportunity she tries. Power and fame are hardly what she wants and is a little annoyed she gets some of it anyway.

Her SPECIAL Stats include:

Strength (7), Perception (7), Endurance (4), Charisma (8), Intelligence (7), Agility (10), and Luck (6).

Tag Skills include:

Melee, Lockpick and Speech.

And lastly main Perks:

Magnetic Personality, Awareness, and Toughness.

Template below:

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders #329: Sakamoto Ryouma (Lancer)

today on Grailfinders we’re building the best argument for a completely superfluous Grailfinders episode, Sakamoto Ryouma (Lancer)! it’s Sakamoto, but again! in-game it’s a stronger version of the original, but here we take all the builds to level twenty regardless of their rarity. what I could do to differentiate this build from the first stumped me for a while, but I think I’ve hit on something.

Ryouma’s still an Echo Knight Fighter to summon his wife as a bonus action, but now instead of a monk and a rogue, he’s a Lore Bard to learn some buffing spells for oryou’s super-saiyan mode.

check out their build breakdown below the cut, or their character sheet over here!

next up: you better watch out, you better watch out, you better watch out! you better watch out!

Ancestry & Background

I won’t bore you too much here, it’s exactly the same as before (except for one thing). Variant Human, so that’s +1 Wisdom and Charisma, Stealth proficiency, and instead of that UA feat we’re getting Magic Initiate for some Druid spells. Primal Savagery is how oryou will be attacking most of the time now, using her acidic claws instead of your piddly strength score. you also embrace modern technology like weather stations with Druidcraft, and Oryou can keep you safe thanks to her Protection from Evil and Good. Ryouma’s still a Soldier though, so that’s some History and Intimidation proficiency for you.

Ability Scores

this one’s 100% the same. highest to lowest- Charisma, Dexterity, Wisdom, Intelligence, Constitution, Strength. I would love to be able to stat up oryou this time around, but sadly Ryouma’s still the main servant.

Class Levels

1. Fighter 1: this Ryouma’s a bit more martial since he’s a knight class, so he’s starting off as a Fighter. this means his starting proficiencies are completely different, getting proficiency in Strength and Constitution saves, as well as Insight to see through political bullshit and Animal Handling to stretch the definition of “animal” to its breaking point. and “handling”, for that matter.

also, starting as a fighter gets us oryou’s Fighting Style earlier, so pick up Unarmed Fighting, just in case those claws don’t work out. if you’d rather grab something for Ryouma, I’d just go with Two-weapon Fighting and reflavor a rapier as a light spear, with a shortsword in his off-hand.

you also get a Second Wind once a short rest, giving you back some HP as a bonus action thanks to the power of oryou’s healing spit. …she does really have healing spit, right? I didn’t just hallucinate that while forcing my way through the event?

2. Fighter 2: second level fighters can make an Action Surge once a short rest, adding an action to your turn so you can fight like there’s two of you. because there is.

3. Fighter 3: as a third level fighter you become an Echo Knight, letting you Manifest Echo as a bonus action. now oryou can float around in her own space without using your action to move, as long as she’s within 30’ of you whenever your turn ends. it has a good AC but only one HP, so expect to spend your bonus action bringing oryou back a lot. while she’s out you can swap places as a bonus action, and you can attack and make attacks of opportunity from her space. primal savagery doesn’t count as an attack for this, so I guess oryou’s relying on her fists when she’s not hanging around you. that’s disappointing, but we’ll find a way to make her awesome later on.

also, you can Unleash Incarnation once a day to make an extra attack from the echo’s position. if you want to let oryou use a dex weapon, I won’t tell anyone, promise.

4. Bard 1: bouncing over to bard gives you proficiency in Persuasion, as well as the ability to cast Spells using your Charisma. you can also give Bardic Inspiration to your allies Charisma Modifier times per day, letting them add a d6 to any one attack roll, save, or check they make in the minute after you hand it over.

to be more specific about spells, you have Blade Ward to be protected by oryou physically with resistance to weapon damage, and Mage Hand to have her carry random stuff around, for your cantrips. you also get spells like Distort Value to be a smooth-talking bastard that can convince a whole town to sell him their rice supply, Heroism to make everyone else more ardent supporters of restoration, Feather Fall so oryou can save your frail ass from falling, and Thunderwave so she can punch people so hard they go flying.

5. Bard 2: second level bards are Jacks of All Trades, so now you’re at least half-proficient in every skill. you also have a Song of Rest, so you can add more health to your party over short rests. your gf with one hit point will be grateful.

you can also use Unseen Servant now; in case you need to send oryou off on some errands. a vastly, vastly weaker version of oryou, but an oryou none the less.

6. Bard 3: third level bards can learn up on some Lore, giving you an extra three proficiencies, like in Deception, Arcana, and Athletics. this is still Ryouma after all, did you think I’d forget deception? this is also the level you get Expertise in two skills, doubling your proficiency bonus in Insight and Persuasion.

you also get second level spells like Gift of Gab. Ryouma’s good with words, but you probably aren’t. at least, not as good as he is. with this spell you can undo any unfortunate wordings and rewrite your last six seconds of dialogue.

when you want painful dialogue, you can use Cutting Words to spend inspiration on weakening a creature’s attack, check, or damage roll. if your wife only has 1 HP, she’ll need some protecting too. only a little.

7. Bard 4: fourth level bards finally get an Ability Score Improvement, so you can bump up your Dexterity for better spearing an better dodging.

you also learn the Friends cantrip to force your way into conversations, and the Aid spell for our first taste of healing. is giving your echo an extra 5 HP a good use of a spell? god no. could it be cool? maybe! at least you can also give that buff to a couple other friends at the same time.

8. Bard 5: at fifth level you are a Font of Inspiration, so your inspiration dice refill on short rests as well as long ones. they’re also d8s now, so they’re more effective over-all. on top of that, you get third level spells like Mass Healing Word to top off the whole party in one go.

9. Bard 6: sixth level bards get Countercharm, but that’s pretty much useless, we’re here for Additional Magical Secrets, a feat that I will never get tired of pointing out comes before the first magical secrets. basically, you get two extra spells, and they can be from any spell list. use Tidal Wave to send a little splashback at your enemies, and Primal Savagery again to use charisma instead of wisdom. it’s still tied to just you, but now we’re using your good casting modifier.

for his normal spell Sakamoto gets Motivational Speech, a slightly more offense-based heroism, because by this point Acquisitions Incorporated might as well be bankrolling this build.

10. Bard 7: seventh level bards get fourth level spells, and now oryou can finally set off completely on her own with the help of the spells Phantasmal Killer.  every turn the target has to make a wisdom save or they’ll take psychic damage. real simple, but real effective.

11. Bard 8: use this ASI to bump up your Charisma for stronger spells and more inspiration, and now you can Charm Monsters. I mean, you already charmed one!

12. Bard 9: ninth level bards have a better song of rest, and you can also use fifth level spells like Scrying. literally just. send oryou off to spy on people.

13. Bard 10: tenth level bards have d10s for inspiration, plus another round of Expertise! now you’ve got better animal handling and deception. you also get Thunderclap for a free oryou punch, and another round of Magical Secrets!

now you can Summon Draconic Spirit for a full oryou summoning with much more than 1 HP. they get a bunch of resistances, and she even shares one of them with you! on top of that even at the lowest level you can cast it at, oryou will be able to make three attacks each turn! if you just want uppies, you can use Freedom of the Winds to get a piggyback ride from oryou, giving you a flight speed, as well as advantage against being grappled, restrained, or paralyzed. oryou can also yeet you away from an incoming attack or spell, and if you land outside of its range, you take no damage. of course, this also means your ride is over.

14. Bard 11: remember how I mentioned Ryouma conned a whole town out of their food? now it’s time to use it. Heroes’ Feast gives everyone who partakes a panacea against disease and poison, immunity to poison and being frightened, advantage on wisdom saves, and increased HP, all for 24 hours. this is the benefit of being a 5 star.

15. Bard 12: use your last bardic ASI to receive the Gift of the Metallic Dragon. with this, you can cast Cure Wounds once a day for free or by spending spell slots, and oryou can shield you or your allies as a reaction, adding your proficiency bonus to their AC, and you can do that proficiency times a day.

16. Bard 13: thirteenth level bards get seventh level spells like Etherealness. for up to eight hours you can travel around the ethereal plane without having to worry about anything on the material plane, creatures or objects. this seems out of place for Ryouma, but tbf literally every servant should have this spell.

17. Bard 14: at level fourteen your Peerless Skills lets you add inspiration dice to any ability check you make. you’re two people, you should roll like two people. well, one and a half. you both have your weaknesses and it evens out.

you also get one last round of Magical Secrets, turning yourself into oryou in one of two ways! if you want raw power, Tenser’s Transformation gives you plenty of extra health and stronger attacks, but if you want a more thematic transformation, there’s always Draconic Transformation, giving you blindsight, a breath weapon, and wings.

18. Fighter 4: going back to fighter gets you yet another ASI, so bump up your Dexterity for more lancing.

19. Fighter 5: fifth level fighters get an Extra Attack each attack action, that’s two per turn, four with action surge, and up to five with unleash incarnation. sorry it took so long to get this, I just felt the dragon stuff was higher priority.

20. Fighter 6: fighters are awesome, so we get to end this build with another ASI! this time we’re getting the Gift of the Chromatic Dragon, allowing you to add elemental damage to your weapon for up to a minute, and you can react to gain resistance to one instance of elemental damage proficiency times a day. now oryou protects you from everything!

Pros & Cons

Pros:

you have a lot of Protection, so actually getting a solid hit in on you is tough. you have a pretty good AC, plus many, many ways to increase your AC or your save or reduce incoming damage.

you’re also great outside of combat, with tons of expertise in social skills, high charisma, and a way to add even more dice to your skill checks. you will definitely be the face of the party. either you or oryou, at least.

I know I bring this up every time, but flying is awesome. it nullifies most enemies, and it’s just a really cool way to get around.

Cons:

you need all that protection because you’re a politician, not a fighter. you have barely over 100 HP, so a sneeze will put you into power word kill range.

echo knight is super fun, but this time it’s hard to use in combat for us, since oryou’s in-character options for hitting anything are “attack with a -1 to hit” or “hope the DM is kind enough to bend the rules for you.” without a good way to deal damage, the echo knight stuff is just an easily popped balloon.

our biggest goals don’t happen until late game, so for most of the campaign your build will be more awkward than anything else.

[exclted]

deep character dive!!

tagged by: the whole damn dash tagging: you. yes, you.

NAME: lucina ummm lowell

BODY

height: 172cm / 5′8

strength ★★★★☆ (canonically, lucina makes multiple statements about being "stronger than she appears" and can evidently lift like a gymbro so... high on the scale)

dexterity ★★★★☆ (ok miss triple backflip in that one cutscene)

health ★★★★★ (physically she is like. great. doctors love this bitch)

energy ★★★☆☆ (she is not very energetic by nature, though is quite keen on endurance and can muster it when needed)

beauty ★★★☆☆ (she's like. i don't know. a very large demographic to which fire emblem appeals would 5 star this one but tbh? lucina is very handsome i think, very conventionally attractive, but it's so low on her priority scale LMFAO)

style ☆☆☆☆☆ (i don't even have to say it)

hygiene ★★★★☆ (loses a point because at times of high stress she's prone to forgetting to take care of herself, but nobility is as nobility does yknow)

SKILLS

perception ★★★★★ (extremely important survival skill so)

communication ★★☆☆☆ (can she communicate a point? yes. eloquently? absolutely not.)

persuasion ★☆☆☆☆ (erm. not if she's making a point to try, anyway)

mediation ★★★☆☆ (skills include: picking you up by the scruff and dragging you away like a kitten. source: inigo probably)

literacy ★★★★☆ (she's literally The history book fan of ever)

creativity ★☆☆☆☆ (owain won that genetic war)

cooking ★★☆☆☆ (im not even gonna get into it)

tech savvy ★☆☆☆☆ (in a modern au, owain has to teach her how to take a screenshot)

combat ★★★★★ (self explanatory)

survival ★★★★★ (also self explanatory)

stealth ★★★☆☆ (but is it really stealth if nobody could possibly recognize you because in this world you do not exist?)

street smarts ★★☆☆☆ (she can get by. maybe)

seduction ★☆☆☆☆ (one star because despite being like chronically dense, lucina is never short on people to swoon over her)

luck ★☆☆☆☆ (source: didnt wanna look up the stat)

handling animals ★★★☆☆ (does she try? no. is she awkward? yes. and yet i feel like animals probably generally like her)

pacifying children ★★★☆☆ (same thing as above LMFAO lucina looks helpless in a crowd of children but trust me they are so enamored)

MIND

intelligence ★★★★☆ (she's an idiot but like only in ways a smart person can be yknow)

happiness ★★★☆☆ (we don't have time to unpack this one)

spirituality ★★★★☆ (it's complicated but like when you meet god u kinda gotta believe in her ykno)

confidence ★★★☆☆ (depends tbh)

humor ★☆☆☆☆ (i do not need to elaborate)

anxiety ★★☆☆☆ (she... is good at appearing collected but that bitch is so stressed and nervous and worried fr)

patience ★★★★☆ (her bestest bud ever is literally the most insane long-winded man on the fucking planet and she listens to every word out of his mouth with so much genuine interest sho she's GOTTA be)

passion ★★★★★ (that is all that she is babey)

nice         ★☆☆☆☆     mean (if she ever says anything mean it's not because she's trying to be yknow)

brave       ★☆☆☆☆     cowardly (hello woman who was prepared to go back in time and save the world by herself)

pacifist     ☆☆★☆☆     violent (she voices her opposition to unnecessary violence but also understands it is unavoidable in a lot of scenarios)

thoughtful ☆☆★☆☆    impulsive  (absolutely depends)

agreeable ☆★☆☆☆     contrary (she is not the type to argue really)

idealistic   ☆☆☆★☆     pragmatic (she's kinda been forced into realism)

frugal        ☆☆★☆☆     big spender (will spend money but doesn't like. do it in excess)

extrovert   ☆☆☆★☆     introvert (her social skills bestie...)

collected   ★☆☆☆☆     wild (self explanatory)

ambitious / possessive / stubborn / jealous / decisive / perfectionist <- (but only stubborn in the refuses to die kinda way.)

SOCIAL

charisma ★☆☆☆☆ (sighs)

empathy ★★★☆ (i think she's fairly empathetic but also kinda awkward abt it)

generosity ★★★★★ (what's hers is yours tbh)

wealth ★★★☆☆ (i mean she is nobility but also was broke in the time she spent as marth and like... idk how them church paychecks be lookin)

honest   ★☆☆☆☆ deceptive (lucina can NOT lie to save her fucking life)

leader   ★☆☆☆☆   follower (um. lord.)

polite     ★☆☆☆☆  rude (nobility taught her good)

political ☆★☆☆☆  indifferent (um... lord)

BELIEFS

higher power ★★★★★ (met naga so like)

fate/destiny ★★★★ (does she believe in it? 100%. does she believe it can be changed? um yeah no shit)

magic ★★★★★ (blinks in fire emblem character)

soulmates ★☆☆☆☆ (i don't think she's given it much thought)

good and evil ★★★☆☆ (it's not THAT black and white)

luck ★★☆☆☆ (ummm also dont think she gives it much thought)

PRIORITIES

family ★★★★★★★★★★★★ (yeah)

friends ★★★★★★★★★★★★ (yeah)

love ★★☆☆☆ (it's NOT a priority in any capacity but it's nice. waves at larcei)

home ☆☆☆☆☆ (um. home is kind of. like. gone. so.)

health ★☆☆☆☆ (miss DOES NOT TAKE CARE OF SELF.)

praise ★☆☆☆☆ (she doesn't think she deserves it so she foesn't look for it really)

justice ★★★★☆ (...lord)

truth ★★★★★ (it's important to her yeah)

power ★★☆☆☆ (not a priority but like. i do think she's a little sad about not becoming a proper exalt (read: a lot))

fame ★☆☆☆☆ (she doesn't care/doesn't think she is worth it but also. wants it quietly despite viewing it as unobtainable. oh to be among the history books with all her favs)

wealth ☆☆☆☆☆ (doesn't care tbh)

others' opinions ★★★☆☆ (sweats. unscripted moment)