#she's incredibly intelligent and has a growing skillset that has nothing to do with fighting

[fromtheseventhhell]

Thinking about the fact that Arya fits into the "Princess in a Tower" trope considering her time at Harrenhal and yet she's never considered one, simply because she doesn't fit the "right" idea of a princess. It's very frustrating that she is constantly being separated from aspects of her own story because people don't believe she fits into the role that was written for her.

People think that Arya is able to physically fight her way out of situations so she doesn't suffer in the same way that other female characters do. We know from reading the books though that this isn't the case. She is captured and forced to work, with no way to fight back or defend herself. In fact, her inability to do so is part of her struggle. She is scared, feels ashamed that she can do nothing, and is surrounded by people who she knows wouldn't hesitate to harm her. She is beaten, forced to work until exhaustion, watches others be tortured and murdered, and witnesses the impact of war on the smallfolk first-hand. Her suffering isn't magically any less because she's "stronger". Even later, when she escapes, she's unable to rely on brute strength. She has to use her intelligence to make a plan and find a way out. At that point, and even in the future, Arya isn't well-trained with a sword. The most important skill she learned from her water dancing lessons was about observing her surroundings and seeing the truth of things, not swordplay. This is far from being the only example and people need to stop judging her character based on what they think makes sense instead of looking at how she's actually written.

#arya stark #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #fandom misogyny #Arya isn't the warrior people make her out to be #she's incredibly intelligent and has a growing skillset that has nothing to do with fighting #even with the faceless men she's learning so much more then fighting #people just refuse to look at her story for how it's written and reduce her to being a mindless warrior obsessed with violence

[kcwcommentary]

VLD1x02 – “From Days of Long Ago”

1x02 – “From Days of Long Ago”

(Note: With the large amount of characterization/Lion-lore in this episode, the following is kind of long.)

With the second episode, we get the actual opening sequence. The sequence that never changes at all despite significant changes in the show that should have resulted in it being revised (the Lion pilot switch, Zarkon’s death, the destruction of the Castle of Lions). It’s good for now, but they really should have changed it, or at least the relevant shots within it as the show changed content.

The group bickers a bit during the descent to the planet’s surface, most notably Lance and Keith, until Shiro, again demonstrating his authority to be leader of the group, tells everyone to focus. Shiro uses appropriate team management skills by recognizing the division of labor and asks Lance, in his capacity as pilot, where they’re heading. Lance can’t help getting in another joke before turning back to being serious.

We arrive at the Castle of Lions. Shiro, ever the protector, advises caution. The Blue Lion roars open the Castle’s doors. The Castle eventually reacts, saying “Hold for identity scan.” This is very much a minor complaint but how does the Castle’s systems know English? Space shows with aliens all have this issue; sometimes shows handwave it with a quick line or moment about the use of technology or other methods allowing for instantaneous translation, but this show gives nothing. If this was my only complaint about this show, everything would be golden. But I still would have liked it addressed, or at least have something that indicated that the producers and writers of this show realized the challenge of language and communication that comes with the setting of a story in space with aliens.

Our team wanders through the Castle until they get to the stasis pods holding Allura and Coran. Allura emerges first, and the first word she speaks is: “Father!” The presence of patriarchy in this show begins early. Her focus on her father is literally the first word we ever hear Allura speak. Lance then can’t help himself but to try to flirt with her (learn some timing, man). She doesn’t return his interest. Allura does display some prejudice by being disgusted by human ears. She’s bound to have seen plenty of non-Alteans before, so why recoil so significantly over someone having slightly different ears than she has? She’s really not making the best introduction of herself.

Shiro, the one with any sense, tries to get Allura to recognize that they are as much in the dark about what all is going on as she is, and that they need her to provide answers but are also willing to work with her.

Out comes Coran, and immediately shows himself to be in charge of the department of comic relief on the show. “How could you do that when I’ve already come at you like this: Ha! Ha! Hai!” I laughed.

Allura introduces her and Coran’s 10,000-year time gap. Having reflected on this detail over the course of watching the show in the past, I think 10,000 years ended up being a ridiculous, overly large time frame. That our major antagonists now (Zarkon, Haggar) are the same as the antagonists from 10,000 years ago, it’s too much.

Flashback to King Alfor, who has a disagreement with Allura over whether they should fight Zarkon. Alfor uses the magic of patriarchy to touch his daughter on the cheek and render her unconscious. Nothing says that, as a father, you love and value your daughter like depriving her of agency and knocking her unconscious indefinitely.

The sides of this conflict are clearly established. Team Voltron, our heroes, and Altea versus Zarkon, Haggar, and the Galra. Haggar introduces herself with her cryptic behavior. Her being cryptic now is okay because this is the beginning of the story, but that behavior from her becomes more and more bothersome, distracting, and disruptive of the development of the narrative the more seasons of the show we get. We then get the introduction of Sendak.

We also have the introduction of the mice, who have more presence and significance in the show than Shiro’s “significant other” Adam or his last-minute husband ever got.

Lance and Keith continue to bicker, and Shiro again uses his authority to get them stop. I miss Shiro as a leader.

“Good, let them come!” Allura declares. At this early stage of the show, Allura’s prejudice depicted earlier and this angry, brashness now feel like the show is setting her up to be naïve now but to grow in wisdom as the show progresses. By the end of the show, she’s not naïve, but she’s not the beacon of wisdom that it feels like she was supposed to become.

Allura gives the team, and thereby the viewers, a major presentation of the show’s lore. She tells us, “The Lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his lion. Together they form something greater than science can explain.” This is the establishment of rules on the show’s system; this is a promise the show is making to the viewer that this is how things work. I’m not personally fond of the mysticism “greater than science” aspect though, especially since the Lions were built by Alfor and the Alteans of long ago. This lore from Allura, until revealed otherwise later, made me think that some other super ancient and very powerful aliens built the Lions and that the Alteans had only acquired them. How Alfor could build the Lions without understanding how they work defies the nature of the process of engineering and construction. Also, if Alfor created the Lions, then where did their consciousness and personalities come from?

That last line aside though, the premise that the pilot and the Lion mirror one another is intriguing. It creates a narrative framework that allows us to understand the characters through their bonding with their lions.

“The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader, and in control at all times. Someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion.” I do object to the idea that anyone is a “born leader.” Leadership is a skillset; you learn and practice and grow as a leader. No one is born a leader. That aside, this proclamation cleanly assigns the position of the leader of the group to Shiro (until the show decides to unceremoniously take it from him in later seasons to shove him off to the side as no longer a member of the team). The qualities Allura ascribes here – decisiveness, leadership, self-control – those are all qualities we’ve already seen demonstrated by Shiro in the first two episodes of the show. Shiro’s discipline is what gives him the authority to tell Lance and Keith to stop fighting. His decisiveness is what prompts Lance to ask Shiro for orders at the end of the first episode, and it is what enables Shiro to diplomatically manage Allura’s initial freak-out when she comes out of stasis. Shiro is the leader of this team. The Black Lion says so. (The show never gives us a reason for Shiro to not be in the position of Black Paladin and leader of Voltron despite his removal in later episodes.)

“The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion.” And we’ve totally seen this in Pidge. She’s clearly inquisitive as shown by her constructing her own equipment so that she can gain transmission and observational data from Kerberos toward her goal of busting the GG’s lie about the Kerberos mission. We saw it in this episode in a quick, subtle two-part moment where she first sees the computer interface in the stasis pod room, expresses a wonder how it works, and then, once Allura activates and uses the terminal, declares, “That’s how that works.” It’s a small moment, but it’s one of Pidge’s in the first three episodes that really gets to me. It’s not just about intelligence for her, but also curiosity. Also identified in this proclamation is the need for daring in the Green Paladin. That’s definitely a quality we see very prominently in later episodes, sometimes much to my annoyance (because in those moments it makes Pidge incredibly short-sighted).

“The Blue Lion…” Allura’s interrupted. Lance makes a declaration of his own. He’s cocky. Allura’s annoyed and moves on without providing a description for the Blue Lion’s preferred qualities. This gap in the lore is never actually filled in, so we, as viewers, can only ever make suppositions ourselves. I wonder if the Blue Lion might like what we got from Lance in this very moment. Rather than allow Allura to make a proclamation about his qualities, Lance engages in an act of self-definition. With Lance’s story arc (at least before this show ceased to understand its characters) set up as him struggling with his sense of self-worth in light of the skills and reputation of others, I could see the Blue Lion with a value of self-determination as setting Lance up to come to terms with his insecurities through the process of self-definition.

“The Yellow Lion is caring and kind. Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together.” This makes it seem the show is setting Hunk up to function as best able to ensure the team remains unified or regains unity in stressful, fractious situations. It also suggests Hunk can be self-sacrificial, with placing others’ needs above his own. Unfortunately, I’m not sure any of this ever really manifests narratively for Hunk as the show goes on. Maybe in a few, smaller moments here and there, but never anything narratively significant. While the show does retain Hunk’s skill with engineering/technology, I mostly feel he’s reduced to an ongoing joke about food. There’s nothing wrong with loving food, of course, but that should be a comparatively minor detail in defining Hunk’s character. Most of the description associated with him proclaimed here feels forgotten/lost as the show goes on.

“The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It’s faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone.” Keith’s the hothead, the aggressive one. Yup, definitely have seen that in him so far. The declaration that Red is difficult to master implies that Keith has an aspect of himself that he isn’t in control of, part of himself that he hasn’t mastered yet. The problem with the show abandoning the lore that there are qualities each Lion expects of its pilot is that Keith no longer has to master himself as part of being the Red Paladin. Lance replacing Keith in Red does not connect Lance to the qualities ascribed here. It also invalidates the idea that Lance in Blue is about self-determination; rather than finding his own value, Lance always remains a substitute to Keith – he only got into the fighter pilot program because Keith was no longer in it, and he only got into the Red Lion because Keith was no longer in it. Keith in Red was about him learning to harness himself, to hone his instincts (aka his wildness) and find mastery over himself. Any of that kind of character growth happens for him offscreen and never as a result of his piloting the Red Lion.

The team splits up to track down and acquire the other Lions. The Green Lion is in some jungle environment. There is a really nice peacefulness to this location. “I’ve been locked up by aliens for a year. This is nothing,” Shiro says. I love this line. Shiro has been through some severely traumatic events in the past year, so his calmness here in the face of an expedition to another planet, it’s all good to him. Can someone let Shiro have two weeks of vacation on this planet please?

Lance and Hunk have less easy of a time getting Yellow. Lance literally throws Hunk out of Blue, further demonstrating Lance as being an instigating influence. We saw that in how he was responsible for the group coming together in the first place. I love Hunk’s little monologue while he’s trying to hotwire the platform: “Oh yeah sure, just drop me off on an alien planet. That’s cool. It’s only occupied by big, mean, purple aliens that want to kill me, but whatever. Just ignore them and go connect with a big, yellow, mechanical cat.” This is a moment of Hunk’s voice acting that I really love. The sarcasm, the quick-fire delivery. It’s fun.

Shiro’s retelling of Commander Holt’s comment, “If you get too worried about what can go wrong, you might miss a chance to do something great” is so nice. Shiro’s so supportive. Can I have one of him in my life please? The quiet calmness of Shiro’s voice in this part is so nice; I could listen to him talk like that all day long.

Lance ends up in a precarious situation and Hunk and the Yellow Lion come to the rescue, though apparently by accident. Conveniently, Allura’s ability to hold the wormholes open begins to fade just as the Lions are acquired. Also conveniently, they’ve located Red. Inconveniently, Sendak issues his threat. How does communication systems for the Castle Ship work? Sendak establishes communications and makes his demand without anyone in the ship having to activate the system; really?

Part two of what functions as a three-parter complete.

#voltron legendary defender #voltron #vld #voltron criticism #vld criticism #voltron critical #vld critical #vld season 1 #vld 1x02 #commentary

[gg-astrology]

Shannon Williams: Overview

💕Hello! If you haven’t seen it yet, please check out ‘Hatred Farewell’ by Shannon! Today I’ll be doing a brief overview on her, she’s an absolutely incredible singer who’s so so underrated. One of my favourite soloist. She fought so damn hard to have her music heard. My favourite song from her was this one (I think there’s an english version?) and that was released a full year ago!

Anyways, it turns out I had to re-write this 3 times because the draft was faulty and wouldn’t save everything I wrote MULTIPLE TIMES. I am absolutely drained trying to get this post out. If it’s below the usual quality, it’s probably because of that. My sincerest apologies! 💕

💕disclaimer: i’m a novice on astrology but these are my interpretations of the signs and how they’re working based on my experiences with them. Everyone has different opinions and studies in astrology, all interpretation and experiences within the realm is valid. However feel free to make your own post or skip if you strongly disagree. There might be inaccuracy and difference in opinions. But the point of this post is to relate, entertain and have a fun time. I’m hoping to validate people with similar experiences and get people excited about the girls+ astrology. Also, since we don’t know most of their birth times, I’m using the standard 12.00pm💕

Shannon Arrum Williams Lees 26 May 1998 (London, United Kingdom)

Gemini Sun/ Gemini Moon (2nd Decan ruled by Venus/Libra)

Ahh with the double gemini placement she really is such a bright and lovely person!

With her Gemini/Gemini combo, there’s a emphasis on coming across as intelligent and direct. Often times they’re not one for playing mind games and prefers coming across as straight forward, loyal and open to communications (when they want to be!).

Now in Gemini, sometimes there’s a difference in the way they want to ‘come across’ and the way they ‘appear to be’ from other’s perspectives.

To Gemini Natives, the way they think is pretty streamlined. It’s common sense? If you want to be seen as nice then BE nice. And they do their best to ‘come across’ that way.

It’s so straight forward that other signs who relies on ‘depth of characters’  such as Scorpios, Capricorns or Pisces don’t tend to understand them. To a certain extent, they can be seen as ‘fake’ or ‘untrustworthy’ because of this.

Yes, sometimes they come across totally different than what they think they’re doing. But that’s also because they’re pretty contradictory within themselves anyways. Geminis are candid and pretty straight forward, yet at the same time they’re also non-confrontational, impatient and  often instantly try to strategize the best way to get out of an argument through whatever means possible.

Their flight or fight is pretty reactive, if anything. And as their defensive mechanism-- they do try their best to make up for all the vices they have when it comes to others perception of them. 

It’s similar to...how a method actor works? When you get a script, you work on it logically. Trying to implement new ‘method acting’ to embody a feeling or ‘come across a certain way’, even when they don’t necessarily know how to ‘feel’ where the others are coming from naturally. The harder/more complicated the role is to get into, the more ‘method acting’ is implemented to get to where they came from. 

With Geminis there’s optimism you know? They’re hard workers and they do the most for others even when they’re misunderstood themselves. If they don’t ‘get’ something (’you don’t feel sincere!’) they try to emulate the actions/feelings that they’ve observed to ‘help’ with that until they ‘get it’ -- fake it till you make it, is a constant Gemini Mood.

Geminis are easily hurt, but trust them that they often have good-intentions at their heart.

They’re also adept at acquiring information from people on topics that interest them. They learn best from other people, since Gemini can adapt and mold themselves into social groups and gain crucial information they need for their own self development.

There’s a nervous energy to Gemini that’s different from other signs, unlike Pisces or Virgo who’s based on productivity or a certain fear of something. Gemini’s nervous comes from how fast they’re constantly moving and being forced into some kind of stagnation feels like a whiplash to them.

Their natural ruling planet Mercury, is the closest to the Sun and moves at a rapid pace. Their natural energy also mimics that, and they are often restless when they’re not engaged in something (even to the point of losing sleep over it) -- social media, talking to a friend, taking in news or reading something interesting to talk about later helps them destress. Being connected to the world in some way, be it in a personal relationship or global issues, keeps them relaxed and busy.

They often try to ‘re-do’ themselves, but unlike Scorpios who wants to overturn and often uncontrollably ‘transform’ parts of themselves- Geminis are bored of routine and consistency. It’s stagnancy in a way, and switching up who they talk to or their overall routine can really help nourish and keep them on their feet. They like feeling fresh, alive and vibrant-- just like the same energy they give out to others, they need their external environment to reflect that for intake as well.  

With a Gemini Moon decan in Libra, the Gemini’s moodier traits comes out more often.

Their emotional response is reflective of how their sun feels, if the ego/self-esteem is hurt or feels a little worn down-- they’re much more in-tune with themselves and it would reflect by externalizing that factor much easier than most (Sun-Conjunct-Moon)

Sometimes this would result in a verbal lash out, or being quicker to respond to something emotionally. Their integrity and character is called into question, they can defend themselves no problem.

But with Venus/Libra influencing the Gemini Moon-- it might take a lot for the peace-loving, complacent Libra Decan to lash out.In a way, having a Libra influencing her Gemini Moon seriously helps her.

Libra makes her Gemini think more rationally, see things from all sides and perhaps be a little more thorough with dealing with her emotional outbursts.

It gives her a certain charm when she speaks that makes people sympathize and listen to her. Perhaps help her out of a sticky situation without being aggressive about it at all.

Gemini Moon in Libra decan are also much more playful and willing to engage in positive conversations than just the negative. There’s a keen sense of selecting subjects to talk about, since they’re not one for mindless topics at all. But if they’re willing to indulge you, it’s often when the topic is something they want to learn more, or feel like they could strongly advocate for in the future.

Shannon also has her Sun-conjunct- Mars in her chart making her really stand out in using her Gemini placement to get her point across.

Often times, with her Moon in Libra Decan, maintaining a harmonious relationship with others around her is a serious issue she considers a priority in life. Thus, whenever she sits down to talk to someone/actually deal out an issue, it’s done with great consideration and heavy emotional contemplation on her part.

She has a high endurance, and often very tolerant of other people (willing to let small things go, values friends and close associates to a degree)

She also has her Sun- Trine-Neptune (Aquarius) which shows progressive thinking and individualism. With her Sun being in Gemini and Neptune being in Aquarius, the way she approach things in life can be seen as pretty progressive and often times, feels frustrated by being subdued in a conservative environment.

Her Libra Decan Moon will save her from lashing out too harshly, but this negligence to be who she is, her voice and to completely ignoring her intersectionality can be trying for her to go through.

Another thing is her Moon (Gemini) in opposition to her Pluto (Sagittarius), she feels there’s conflict in her emotional growth that’s not growing fast enough or ‘deep’ enough, often her short temper/attention span (which really isn’t a problem, it’s actually really healthy) is holding her back.

Whenever she’s lost in a conversation that can be difficult to talk about she’s often frustrated with herself. Hanging out with Sagittarius can be for her since she can learn a lot from them (as long as she’s comfortable with the ones she surrounds herself with

Taurus Mercury (2nd Decan ruled by Mercury/Virgo)

Having a Taurus Mercury can be really beneficial for those who might be looking into vocal performances, since Taurus rules the throat and having it relate directly to one’s ability to verbalize, think would help them apply techniques to their skills can be good for the person in building technical/artistry for their  skillsets. 

Of course, you don’t need to have this placement (there are plenty others that talks about being a good singer) to succeed in the field. Since this might bring some complications in the person’s personal life as well.

Taurus Mercury are slow to make decisions, often stubborn-headed once they do but reliable and head-strong.  

It can take her a while to make choices, and with her Gemini placement she really can come across as indecisive to those around her. But once she sets her mind to it, there’s a perseverance to her that she comes through and fulfil her potential.

Once Taurus sets their minds to something they do it for a long time. In her career, she’s definitely looking for success through her skillsets. Seriously, nothing can deter her. Not even friends.

More so than that, they want to feel secure in their material possession and worldly success. Having a good home, tight knit groups of friends (Gemin Sun/Moon) and a support system close by really is crucial to her.

Since her Taurus Mercury is in the 2nd decan ruled by Mercury/Virgo-- when she sets her mind to something she’s really going for it. From the tiniest details, technicalities, learning from experts and professionals in the field to the bigger picture of overall success.

She has no patience for those who does half-assed job with their performances and voices, since she hustles so hard for hers. She makes sure her quality is top-notch, and she expects the same back from her competitors/associates. They better pray they know what the fuck they’re doing, otherwise she’ll ream them in for doing a sub-par job on her expense (people around her wise, be it her company, promotion, PR, production team etc.)  

She has her mercury sextile Jupiter (Pisces) -and god this talks about her voice and hopefully, the public opinion of her. It brings her good public recognition, often for her voice and talent (which feeds into her Sun). Her artistic vision and her ideas are aligned, and she has prosperous luck, often through her singing career/her decisions.

Perhaps she’s not as charming so she should watch out for that, since she can get pretty critical or argumentative to those around her (but aren’t willing to carry through).

There’s such a strong emphasis on her chart for communicating with those around her and verbalizing her thoughts (Sun-Mercury earlier), as long as she could develop her thinking/ideas further and learn how to control it to her benefit, it would seriously help her so much. Her Taurus Mercury might prove to be a little difficult since it can remain pretty stubborn and slow moving compared to the rest of her chart/signs. So her Gemini (Sun) might try to move her along, and often the stubborn Taurus (Mercury) would refuse to do so. This can cause inner-tension and frustration within herself-- AT herself.  

She also has her Mercury- square- Uranus - and ok this definitely talks about some some difficulties she might be having in trying to get new music out. Often times her thoughts and visions can be too outdated for the general population right now, which might lead to her music not being hyped up enough. Embracing changes, ideas and the fast moving pace of Gemini would help her in distinctively establishing a stronger impact on others. But with that, also try to regulate and look at all sides the Gemini might place on her that might hinder her as well.

As long as she develops her Gemini placement well and overcome it’s vices (be aware of it and work alongside it) she should be able to bring her other placements along to a better place as well. It would certainly help with making her aspects a little more bearable for her too.  

Aries Venus (3rd Decan ruled by Jupiter/Sagittarius)

With her Aries in Venus there can be a self-driven heat in jump starting her career, an emphasis on her playful nature and also an endearing charm to her overall charisma (Gemini Sun-Moon/Aries Venus in Sag Decan)

When she wants to pump out projects, she will. And she’ll do them all herself if she has to. Often instigative she’s probably the person at the company who’s always reading to work on her career and utilizer her assets even when others are taking too damn long to make up their minds.

To her, as long as she’s producing out work she’s being productive. It gives her Gemini placement something to do/work on, as well as externalize her Taurus Mercury trait outwards into the public.

She should watch out not to be too brash, but with time and experience she’ll grow to use her Aries Venus to her advantage.

Especially since it’s in an already great placement for her, with Sagittarius influencing her Aries Venus-- there’s nothing about her that won’t come off as charming.

With her stage persona or how she comes across overall, there’s a lovely charm to her. Her Gemini Moon in Libra/Venus decan amplifies this. And Sagittarius Decan in her Venus really brings her good luck and expansion when talking to others on her creative project.

She can seem enthusiastic, but also very willing to be more patience and considerate of other’s thoughts/will than the typical Aries.

She has to watch out that her actions can sometimes be unprecedented and take a spontaneous turn before she even thinks about it.

Make sure not to let it dictate the direction she’s going, since the juxtaposition between her Taurus Mercury might prove to be ‘too slow’ for her Gemini placement and resort to using her Aries Venus to getting things done instead. Balancing these placements and allowing them to interact or work with one another would help her a lot.  

She also has her Venus conjunct her Saturn - she plans on doing this for a long time, possibly build a very stable career and reputation over her skills. She has a huge potential for self-discipline and often listens well when she lets her Taurus Mercury takes control of her Venus. There’s potential for her Aries Venus to grow here, as long as she doesn’t give into wanting instant gratification on things that matters it should be fine. She’ll endure long term problems and challenges, and her vision/artistry will be respected because of how direct/energetic she is.

With her Venus square Neptune - sometimes her artistic vision and directions can often cause her frustration when it can be lost in just her dream and never a reality. Please don’t feel discouraged! Like I mentioned before, making sure her Aries Venus grows through her maturity and experience would help her loads.

Since it brings a calming more laid back nature of Aries out. This would help in focusing and prioritizing how to bring her dreams/visions into reality better, and overall help with how she comes across professionally as well.

Gemini Mars (1st Decan ruled by Mercury/Gemini)

With her Mars in Gemini, this can bring about even more restless energy to her Aries Venus to handle.

Since Mars in Gemini can be quick to assess a situation and do something about it, sometimes they may lash out verbally and realize that maybe it was a wrong decision sometimes.

Doesn’t mean they backtrack, but they’re prone to ‘swerving’ the other direction sometimes and redirecting their other placements to deal with the consequences instead.

Most of the time this probably means it falls on her Taurus Mercury (causing herself self-inflicted mental headaches) or Aries Venus -- thinking things through can be a vice for people with this placement.

Since her Mars (action, assertion) is in the sign/planet of Mercury (talking, verbalizing, expressing) she’s much more prone to verbal arguments than say a physical reaction or an emotional one.

In fact since she doesn’t have a single water placement in her chart, sometimes she might get frustrated with those who cry a lot or need a lot of emotional support since she can’t provide it for them through her own self-expression.

She’s empathetic, sure. But there’s a limit that she’s not going to overdo herself to please them.

Gemini Mars although can get verbally confrontational, but tends to avoid prolonged verbal arguments for long.

Like they’re OK with instigating and unleashing all the hell that they feel inside of them, but they’re NOT ok when that topic drags on for too long and they have to wait for a response from the other party.

Their feelings might be hurt and they might speak out about it, but if it’s a few hours later they’re anxious about keeping the same energy consistent if it doesn’t just ‘whoosh’ out in one go.

Therefore, they might just resort to passive aggressive lashing out in the longest, most torturous ways. Sarcastic comments are their specialties and they’re not afraid to snip someone.

They’re low maintenence, low energy people. Even on their own anger.

Her Mars opposition Pluto can point to ‘changes’ (internally or externally) becoming a challenge for her, since she might resort to acting brashly or without thinking.

Saying things she didn’t mean or hurting those around her. If she could try to utilize the best part of her Gemini placement into working for her should help a lot, as well as taking a deep breath and trying to relax her nervous energy should also benefit her in the long run.

Conclusion:

She has literally ZERO water placement, and has an emphasis on Gemini. Might feel the need to hang out with water signs (to make up for lack of) or fire signs depending on what she feels comfortable with right now.

Friends are a huge part of her life, and she needs true and honest friends about her as her support system since Gemini placements usually goes through their emotions through ‘venting’ a lot.

A very charming and charismatic individual overall?? I’m so proud of her on and off the stage, and the work she’s done shouldn’t ever be discredited through her astrological signs/placements/chart.

💕Anyways that’s it for Shannon! Thank you for listening it, I know I said this might be kind of longish but after losing everything I wrote for this post (THREE TIMES) I lost a little bit of excitement and got really drained OTL I hope you’ve enjoyed this nonetheless! Please appreciate her lots! 💕

#shannon williams #shannon #shannon arrum williams lees #shannon kpop #shannon k-idol #shannon kidol singer #kpop astrology #astrology #kpop #female soloist #shannon astrology #soloist astrology #female idols #female idol #kpop idols #kpop singers #kpop soloist #kpop shannon #posts

[arcanakrp-blog]

SONG AREUM – THE LOVER. AGENT 06.

                                                   [   FILE TYPE: CLASSIFIED   ]

//: LOADING PROFILE: SONG AREUM ...

international age: 24 birthplace: seoul, south korea arcana: lover team number: three

//: LOADING MUTATION: BLOOD MANIPULATION ...

application one: haemokinetic constructs — haemokinetic constructs are exactly as they sound - the manipulation of blood into various shapes, which can then be controlled by the user. areum is able to produce these constructs from any exposed blood source; an open wound, a puddle of blood, an unsealed vial in a lab, etc. this blood may be from any animal source, but is infinitely easier to control when it is human, and more so when it is hers as she is her own most familiar source. she is skilled in constructing weaponry from blood due to her training, usually small and incredibly agile choices like thin, long needles (more on this below), or knives. she also, more commonly, uses it to throw up quick, short lasting defensive shields

application two: prehensile blood — prehensile blood is more personally related to her own blood. while she is able to shape anyone’s blood, these abilities are drawn purely from herself as the source. she is able to, through the use of opened wounds, generate an excess of her own blood in a short time, allowing her to use this “extra” blood in various ways as long as these “tendrils” of blood remain connected to their source (that being whatever wound on her body she has opened). she is able to use this as rope, whip, and so forth

application three: thermovariance — thermovarience is her last ditch effort. areum’s powers are more subtle and more commonly used in conjunction with her partner to assassinate targets in a very planned and particular manner. however on occasion things go terribly awry and they are caught in a bind - if that were to happen, areum has at least this to fall back on: the ability to boil the blood within her enemy’s veins. this is her only ability that does not require exposed blood to cause, though it does require both proximity and an intense focus, to the point that it is exceptionally difficult for her to manage

overall strengths and weaknesses: — the most significant drawbacks of this power is the stipulation that for the most part she must have a visible source of blood with uninhibited access in order to manipulate it. sealed blood bags at a hospital, blood beneath the skin, and so forth cannot be manipulated except in cases of thermovarience, though this is as discussed above largely unlikely.

subtlety is her strong point. to reference her particular skillsets, as assigned to her team, one would see easily how she and her partner have been assigned various assassinations to this point. she is also occasionally useful in enhanced interrogations, though this is somewhat more infrequent.  in order to go about this, it often requires her immobilizing the target while her partner imparts a command, or utilizing her skills in order to infiltrate an area. as her partner is unable of extensive physical maneuvers that are power based, she provides the defense and attack in turn, making the rather versatile nature of her abilities essential.

furthermore, she has learned to operate her powers in a particularly nuanced manner. it was discovered that she is able to imbue the blood she manipulations with other properties, should she have the stuff on hand - in this case, often small vials of discrete poisons. this can be inserted into the blood she manipulates and then “injected” via a blood “needle” and then further hastened to the heart, increasing the circulation and ensuring that death comes swiftly, in ways that may be easily disguised as routine heart failure and so forth. it takes a toll on her, particularly when she manipulates her own blood. she doesn’t know the limit to how much excess blood she can produce, but she does know that when she surpasses that point, she passes out. and compounded upon that, symptoms of severe blood loss set in, causing her to go into shock and in some cases have required hospitalization. she cannot return the blood to her system once it leaves, and thus must always consider this delicate balance.

//: LOADING HISTORY ..

PRE-MUTATION

song ahseol is born to doting parents, one  youngest daughter in a long line of pretty faces, powerful people, and  old money to boot. her birth name, bestowed by her aged grandfather, is immediately abandoned for a nickname her parents find more pleasant: areum, beautiful, their beautiful girl.  it is the first of many times that her parents will demonstrate that duplicity gets you what you want. they wait until her grandfather dies to begin calling her that in public, but as she is barely two at the time, areum grows up barely aware the original name existed.

sometimes she wonders what kind of girl song ahseol might have been.her job, however, is to be beautiful and to be doted upon and to be quiet and sweet, and so her new name, perhaps, suits this role.

song areum grows up quickly. it is required,when her mother’s paranoia rears its head so often. she whispers words of warning in the girl’s ear from the moment she can process speech. she warns her of strangers and shadows, of hunters and horrors. she tells areum there are monsters beneath her bed and in the closet and outside the large, wrought iron gates surrounding the house.

areum grows up never feeling safe.

there is always the certainty of danger,when she is young. she does not speak to the strangers in the street that coo over her long hair and wide eyes, holds to her mother’s skirts and peeks skeptically from behind her. her mother promises she’s simply shy, a sweet thing, so kind and demure, a little princess.

as she gets older she wonders if the threats are real. no one breaks into their home and when she sees her mother’s eyes focused fearful on shadows she begins to realize she cannot see the terrors her mother can. there is nothing beneath her bed but dust, nothing in her closet but clothing, and strangers on the street are kind to her.

her mother’s fear mounts, however, and her father grows distant and tired.

mother makes her tea every night, to soothe her ailments, she says, as areum begins to fall ill more frequently. she shakes and shivers, her forehead clammy, her lips pale, her fingers tremble. her mother brings her to doctor after doctor, to herbalists and witches, and eventually deems them all foolish, deranged. she makes her tea every night but the liquid never soothes her, and areum wakes up paler and quieter and sicker each day.

when her father finally intervenes areum is too tired to get out of bed, but she hears the fight, hears her mothers words. its just to build her tolerance. any of them could be poisoned at any point, at a restaurant, by servants, political enemies - her father is important after all, a judge.  areum will be ill for now, but her tolerance to the poisons in her system will grow and build and that will be worth it! she will be stronger! her father is disgusted, snaps that her mother is unfit, crazy, absurd.

areum begins to drink the poisons- the tea- with more intention. her tongue grows nimble to the taste, picking out ingredients, nightshade and larkspur and hemlock. she learns through experience what the low dosages will do. as she gets older, more beautiful, her mother promises more dangers outside their house. she learns what men will want from her, take from her. her mother paints her father as a villain and as a monster, suggests that he too will turn on her. when areum is fifteen, she begins to grow a little garden.

by the time areum is sixteen her mother is bedridden and frail and areum is healthy and strong, lithe and winsome. she brings her mother tea every night to soothe her aillings and her mother faithfully drinks, while bemoaning the threats of the outside world.

in her windowbox, areum grows hemlock and larkspur and nightshade.

her father has his suspicions, she’s sure, but he dutifully turns a blind eye. perhaps he is exhausted by the strange woman he married, the stranger child he has produced. he turns a blind eye to her excesses - spending, shopping, smoking, fucking, sneaking out. if he’s surprised by her behavior she never hears about it, left instead to indulge herself to her heart’s content on his dime, enrolls in college because she’s supposed too - but finds a fondness in horticulture, botany. science suits her. the science of plants and the body and reactions. she works part time, for the fun of it, at a traditional herbal medicine shop. she grinds herbs and dries plants and blends brews and she loves that. it soothes that dark anger in her, that boiling of her blood.

she thinks fancifully, megalomaniacally that she knows what it is to hold life and death between her fingers.

POST-MUTATION

so perhaps it makes sense, that she’s given the power she is. that’s how she thinks of it - a gift, something bestowed upon her. this power that defines her. areum’s always been certain she’s a little bit, well, better than most people. more beautiful, more deadly, more driven, more intelligent. now she is just More, in capital, in intensity. she is terror and power.

she revels in it, in the obsessive way she comes to find herself approaching most things, slicing into thin skin to let crimson pour free, to experiment.

her father starts to worry about that, when the creeping hem of her skirt reveals thin slices, scars. its not like she can explain - no dad, its not self harm, there was a meteor and now i’m special. she’s pretty sure that would lead to institutionalization. so she ends up in front of a psychiatrist, a psychologist, poked and prodded and they try to offer her medication, try to tell her about delusions of grandeur, try to discuss narcissism, manipulation, cruelty, personality disorders.

she decides its time to bail on that, moves from seoul to busan, gets a job. supplanted from her equally debauched and over privileged friends, the real world is a little more…mundane than she remembers, obnoxious and gritty and boring. dull.

it takes a long time, for the ar collective to find her. she’s not sure how they manage it, honestly. maybe the psychologist. maybe her father. whatever the reason, she finds herself intrigued at the opportunity to exercise this power, to learn, to train. she finds intrigue in the idea of being around people as skilled as she is, as gifted, as special. people up to snuff, on par with her.

she’s slightly underwhelmed with the reality. a boring complex in the middle of nowhere, a mediocre bunch of mutants who seem no different than anyone else she’s met, not really, abilities aside. she appears to be one of the last recruited, very quickly shuffled into a training, lending her particular skills in herbalism to the first aid classes, and so on.

#arc.app #arc.lover #fc.choi jinri