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Thread: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
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2019-06-05, 07:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Due to a dispute on the main M:tG thread, this may be a better place.
Anybody who is interested in color philosophies, here is the place to discuss them! Mods, please leave this thread separate from the other.
I will start by declaring myself a Red-dominant Jund. I like freedom, personal enjoyment, hate restrictions, but am not opposed to tradition if it is set up on my terms.
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2019-06-05, 08:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Hm.
I identify with Red/Blue Izzet....I might be Red/black/Blue but I don't want to be like, a jerk who screws over others, so I'm probably not Black mana enough for that, but I don't really go out my way to be selfless.
more probably my primary philosophy is Red/Blue with a secondary layer of Black/White, not much care for Green. with like, white being the lesser, of the second layer, like I'm probably Red/Blue with some Black Mana there, but I wouldn't go all Grixis on anyone, so Red/Blue Izzet it is.
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2019-06-05, 08:37 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
I'm nearly pure blue, used to be more Grixis but I've mellowed out and gotten less awful to the people around me as I've aged. My secondary color is probably Green more than anything else these days, in a kind of warm/fuzzy "I like nature and harmony and relaxing under trees with ducks" kind of way.
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2019-06-05, 09:17 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
https://still-anchorage-15218.herokuapp.com/
You may want to edit this onto the OP. Its the best test I’ve found for mtg color philosophy.
Also, this article from Medium does a decent job describing color philosophies: https://medium.com/s/story/the-mtg-c...l-c9700a7cf36d
I’m almost pure Black/Blue, but I have enough Green in me that I could reasonably describe myself as Dimir-leaning Sultai.Last edited by Zhentarim; 2019-06-05 at 09:40 PM.
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2019-06-06, 01:32 PM (ISO 8601)
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2019-06-06, 01:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
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2019-06-06, 02:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
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2019-06-06, 02:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
According to the shortest version of this test, I'm White/Blue, Azorius Senate. From what I've read, that seems insulting - the affiliation, not the combination. It also doesn't quite feel right. I don't ask, "How do we know what's right and good," because of course I know what's best for everyone, and all of you will learn to respect it.
According to the longest version, I'm White/Blue/Black, Esper Shard. From what I've read, that seems accurate. I know what's best for everyone, I believe everyone has the capacity and need to improve, and I recognize that power is needed to accomplish anything. So, basically LE meritocratic with a benevolent tyranny streak.
As it happens, I'm unsurprisingly of a mindset that personal freedom is overrated, sorry not sorry Red, and that uncontrolled growth and chaos is necessarily detrimental, sorry not sorry Green and again Red. Structure, logic, and achievement are things that make sense for me. Especially if I'm at the top explaining to you all how to get it right.
Reasonably accurate approximation, I'd say.My headache medicine has a little "Ex" inscribed on the pill. It's not a brand name; it's an indicator that it works inside an Anti-Magic Field.
Blue text means sarcasm. Purple text means evil. White text is invisible.
My signature got too big for its britches. So now it's over here!
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2019-06-06, 03:16 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
"Bant displays a calm and peaceful stability underlying a slow progression towards knowledge, wisdom, and fulfillment. Those of Bant colors are respectful and have an absence of urgency, and restlessness. They believe in building scaffolds rather than cages, and are patient in lifting others up towards a better future. "
Yeah, I can dig it.
Ironically, red is both my least valued "philosophy", as well as my least favorite playstyle. I HATE MtG Solitaire, and that's what a lot of "good" red feels like.
Non-mill Blue is where it's at, where each player is making a conscious decision in timing, resources, and counterattacks. I think that the "game" should be about the part about playing, not the part about building a deck, and it just happens that Bl/Wh/Gr are the best colors for just that.Last edited by Man_Over_Game; 2019-06-06 at 03:20 PM.
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2019-06-06, 07:44 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
If I was one of those fan-made planeswalkers, my entry would read as follows:
Center: Blue/Green
Lost: White
Current: Blue/Black/Green
I used to have a Bant mindset when I was young, idealistic, and naive. I was born into a cult that was all about supporting “the great leader”, and I was 5th generation, as was the current leader when I was growing up in it. We are all born into castes and mine happened to be bred for intelligence, and happened to serve as middle-managers between “conductors” above my caste and “worldlies” beneath my caste. Even after leaving the cult as a teenager, I thought everybody had a duty to build each other up in our society and there was a mutual unspoken agreement to aid anybody who appeared to need help to the maximum extent of your ability. With greater maturity, though, I learned there is no such thing as “morals” or “good” or “bad”, there is only power and those strong enough to seek it. If you don’t build leverage and are genuinely selfless, you will be cut down. I won’t let myself be cut down again.
I’m less green than black/blue, but I recognize artificial rules and constraints are merely a passing fashion, unlike the laws of nature. Everything is connected—undermine your natural resources and you are shooting yourself in the foot. Kill a man’s family and he will want to take revenge against you, ect.Last edited by Zhentarim; 2019-06-06 at 08:02 PM.
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2019-06-06, 09:08 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
I use braces (also known as "curly brackets") to indicate sarcasm. If there are none present, I probably believe what I am saying; should it turn out to be inaccurate trivia, please tell me rather than trying to play along with an apparent joke I don't know I'm making.
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2019-06-06, 11:47 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
So I took it again, just because I forgot the exact details and I wanted to see what fancy group I got. And I'm pretty sure I had different questions because my results were not the same. But then I just did whatever the generic number of questions was both times.
Anyway, this time I got White/Red, which is something called a Boros Legion. Don't know what that is, but sounds cool enough.
Results were White: 45 (I swear the first time I took the test it was in the 70s), Red 40, Blue 30, Green 30, Black 15.
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2019-06-07, 09:48 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Because from what I've read, the emphasis is on the supposedly - the Azorius certainly believe they're in charge, and act accordingly, but... nobody else seems to care.
That's not being in charge. That's being deluded bureaucrats.
I'm strongly in favor of bureaucracy. I find it helps keep the masses in their place. But a bureaucracy in power needs to actually be in power. And that's the problem - Azorius is White and Blue, with no Black. Without power to back up their rules, they have no real authority.My headache medicine has a little "Ex" inscribed on the pill. It's not a brand name; it's an indicator that it works inside an Anti-Magic Field.
Blue text means sarcasm. Purple text means evil. White text is invisible.
My signature got too big for its britches. So now it's over here!
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2019-06-07, 11:15 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Last edited by enderlord99; 2019-06-07 at 11:15 AM.
I use braces (also known as "curly brackets") to indicate sarcasm. If there are none present, I probably believe what I am saying; should it turn out to be inaccurate trivia, please tell me rather than trying to play along with an apparent joke I don't know I'm making.
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2019-06-07, 12:31 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Time to consult a wiki...
"The Orzhov guild is founded on the beliefs that wealth is power, that structure breeds wealth, and that guilt creates structure. The guild is a combination of a religion, credit-lending agency, and crime syndicate."
... I admit, I like the sound of it. Religion, debt, crime - three things that pretty much get whatever you want. But it seems more like a self-perpetuating machine, an organization that exists solely to continue its own existence. Sure, in terms of concept, it's very me. Offer people exactly what they want, in exchange for their servitude, it's pretty straightforward. But it doesn't seem to go anywhere.
That, I think, is what the Blue element adds. It adds purpose - a goal of seeking, understanding, improving, perfecting. The White adds structure, the Black adds ambition and power, but the Blue adds function.
Also, amusingly enough, in both of the tests I took, Black was lower than the other two. White first, for me, then Blue, with Black coming after. Which makes sense - I appreciate power, but ambition isn't my highest priority.My headache medicine has a little "Ex" inscribed on the pill. It's not a brand name; it's an indicator that it works inside an Anti-Magic Field.
Blue text means sarcasm. Purple text means evil. White text is invisible.
My signature got too big for its britches. So now it's over here!
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2019-06-07, 02:27 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Before I read the rest of your post, I thought to myself "Okay that guy has definitely got some black there with that statement. Made me snort.
As for my color, I did it a few weeks ago and I remember my black/white being a piddling amount with it being like 60/30/30 Red-Blue-Green. So, Temur with a heavy Red focus.
I find that funny because as a player, I play with white & black decks more than any of the rest, but I think that's because I like their effects/playstyle more so than the Instants of Izzet or Aggression of Gruul. That said, it is still a very good depiction of me. I am all about personal freedom, and if anyone asked me what my strength was I always say "adaptability" (get it, cuz Simic?).
I really respect Orzhov, but I think they all take themselves too seriously/they have more conviction than I do. White and Black to me is all doing what you think it right, whether its right for yourself or right for everyone else. Me, I'm breezy. Yeah, I have opinions on things, but if you disagree or think we should do something another way I'll acquiesce. It's all about the path of least resistance.
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2019-06-07, 02:32 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
I guess that's one of the problems of the whole MtG color philosophies. There's not much room for ambivalence, acceptance or kindness. Even White is the cause of most Protection effects and the cards Crusade and Jihad. Not even Colorless is good for "acceptance", when most Colorless cards are either machines used for murder, or Eldrazzi.
Bant seems to be the closest there is to the concept, and it's less of "you're fine as you are", but rather "it'll take some time for you to see what's right. Don't worry, we're patient".
MtG is not a kind universe, I guess.Last edited by Man_Over_Game; 2019-06-07 at 02:34 PM.
5th Edition Homebrewery
Prestige Options, changing primary attributes to open a world of new multiclassing.
Adrenaline Surge, fitting Short Rests into combat to fix bosses/Short Rest Classes.
Pain, using Exhaustion to make tactical martial combatants.
Fate Sorcery, lucky winner of the 5e D&D Subclass Contest VII!
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2019-06-07, 04:41 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Honestly, this seems to be a Fantasy trope in general.
from what I've observed across many fantasy universes, acceptance, kindness and tolerance are not generally widespread in most universes. this is because most fantasy universes want combat and you can't really have that if everyone just accepts everyone else, unless you go for an anime style tournament and competition set up. but....well not everyone likes that set up. not for everything.
The kindness/acceptance ideals not being a big thing in fantasy holds true across DnD, WoW, WH40k, Exalted, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, and so on. and thats not even counting the monstrous always chaotic evil races, because elves hate dwarves and dwarves hate elves. Elder Scrolls has it own share of racism even if it is or was mostly conquered by one empire. things like that.
Mt:G isn't really different in that regard. its prejudices are just divided along philosophical lines rather than cultural or racial ones, though you can argue that what mana colors someone holds to is often their culture.
Personally I think all MtG colors have the potential for acceptance and kindness, even Black. White and Green are obvious, Red's emotions allow it to empathize, Blue can think through anothers viewpoint, and Black in my opinion is not above recognizing that accepting others and being kind can be beneficial to themselves, nor does Black mana really care what you are- anyone can be powerful, anyone can work towards their own gain, they just have to seize it, and the reason why they want to use this power doesn't matter. I'd even say that individual rights and liberties is an inherently Black mana philosophy rather than White mana philosophy. Black mana is also the will to survive, a trait it shares with green mana.
you may disagree, but I don't care. its not my place to tell anyone what to believe. only what I personally believe that is intuitive to me. though as I am Blue/red/black I have a bias against white/green.Last edited by Lord Raziere; 2019-06-07 at 04:42 PM.
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2019-06-07, 05:24 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
This brings up an interesting point....
For the guilds in Ravnica, which one was there to ensure that the guilds don't kill each other? Or is that just something that only the Guildpact (Jace) is in charge of?
That'd give a clear idea as to which colors are most aligned with respect and mutual understanding.Last edited by Man_Over_Game; 2019-06-07 at 05:25 PM.
5th Edition Homebrewery
Prestige Options, changing primary attributes to open a world of new multiclassing.
Adrenaline Surge, fitting Short Rests into combat to fix bosses/Short Rest Classes.
Pain, using Exhaustion to make tactical martial combatants.
Fate Sorcery, lucky winner of the 5e D&D Subclass Contest VII!
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2019-06-07, 05:36 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
I know very little about the underlying philosophies, but I ended up White / Blue / Green (Bant) all close together, with Black and Red way lower than the other group and similar.
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2019-06-07, 05:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Well I've only read the original Ravnica trilogy.
The Boros Legion was law enforcement, the Selesnya was basically healers and people promoting unity with a hive-mind and such, the Azorious were the law makers and all three were the ones who were allowed to have representatives as a tribunal in the court of law to judge criminals.
I don't know how it changed, but the other guilds never had such legal powers: Golgori are basically the recyclers, Simic and Izzet the R&D, Orzhov are basically just a mega-corp, Gruul are a bunch of gangs/tribes with no organization that some people don't see as a legit guild, Dimir was secret for millennia, and Rakdos are basically an entire cult of Jokers and people who get off on torture and destruction.
so yeah, by original trilogy Ravnica canon, the three guilds trusted to enforce things fairly were Boros, Selesnya and Azorious. however it must be noted that the Azorious's leader Augustin IV tried to destroy the guildpact so they can put Ravnica under martial law and create place of pure order and such, so fascism by any other name in the Dissension novel, and that White mana organizations in other Mt:G stories has been fascist at times as well.
I would not rely on White mana being inherently good.
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2019-06-07, 07:06 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Hmm. Honestly I think it’s more that each color represents a spectrum. White representing purity and unity can be channeled through concepts of forgiveness and redemption. But they can also be used as a rationale for atrocities. I believe fascism was once called out as being a kind of white/green philosophy just taking the worst aspects of a view of natural order.
Personally I think acceptance and kindness would pop up the easiest from a white/green/red combination that tries to focus on the best of each color.
It should probably also be worth pointing out that MTG is a battle game. So the “friendly kindly bloke who would never harm a fly” would pop up a lot less frequently than the warlike aspects of the color wheel.
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2019-06-07, 07:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
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2019-06-07, 08:32 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Indeed. White can be more universally oppressive while Green is more about might makes right, social darwinism, eugenics, dog eat dog world, alpha males and pack mentality. which black opposes, because green's philosophy is about how strength is inherent and how you can't fight that, while black is about strength is earned and defying fate for your own desires.
its why I don't necessarily see any mana color as inherently good or evil, nor particularly like any portrayal of them as just another form of alignment. like a philosophy by itself doesn't determine whether your a good person, there is question of application, of how far does the philosophy extend. and we're not given a clear line about who is and isn't one mana or another, there is no hard requirements in order to be this philosophy or that philosophy. in theory five perfectly normal friends can be each a different color and all get along well in their daily lives. one would be the emotional one, one would be the moral center, one would be the smart guy, one would be environmental guy, and one would be that cynical friend who probably cheats at games.
its a question how much holding yourself to a manas philosophy is about what you choose or whether its about letting it take over your life, how zealous do you have to be before you stop being colorless or whatever. given how how common the colors are, and how many people use mana, it doesn't seem all that rare or need particularly strong or extreme beliefs in one mana or another. people just naturally seem to gravitate to one or the other.
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2019-06-07, 09:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
"Three blokes walk into a pub. One of them is a little bit stupid, and the whole scene unfolds with a tedious inevitability." - Bill Bailey
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Spoiler- Pick a random character
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2019-06-07, 09:46 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Likely the most driven environmental scientist in history. Perhaps a bit of a showboater needs to have their name plastered over every paper that even mentions their research, but uses their publicity to further enhance their field.
Yeah I never played the set or read more than the brief synopsis about the setting. But I get the impression all the guilds in Ravnica are at least a little ****.Last edited by Dienekes; 2019-06-07 at 09:49 PM.
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2019-06-07, 10:22 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
I bet he even has his own show where he depicts himself as “saving the world”, even selling biodegradable merchandise to fans around the world to pad his bottom line.
Edit: This got my gears turning—I work 3 jobs—Pharmacy Tech, Public School Teacher, and Private Tutor. I am unapologetically out for myself and maximizing my profits as an individual, but a degree in Environmental Entrepreneurship would have been better than the generalist degree I got in undergrad. I may look at masters or doctorate programs that are similar.Last edited by Zhentarim; 2019-06-07 at 10:39 PM.
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2019-06-08, 12:54 AM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
Last edited by Dienekes; 2019-06-08 at 04:02 PM.
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2019-06-09, 08:23 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
If you could pick to eliminate two of the Ravnica guilds, which would you pick (assuming you want the city to function as well as possible)?
I honestly think that the easiest to eliminate are Gruul, Selesnya, and Dimir. Gruul serves very little purpose in the plane, except maybe to prevent the guilds from becoming complacent (and they did that anyway). Selesnya is just a cult: if they were eliminated, the plane would lose some of its national parks... and basically nothing else. Almost nobody knows Dimir exists: if they were gone, most people's lives would continue exactly as they were before.
Compare that to the loss of Azorius or Boros (no government or law), Orzhov (no money), Rakdos (no freedom of speech), and Izzet or Simic (no technology), and I think there is a good case to be made for eliminating those three guilds.
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2019-06-09, 08:58 PM (ISO 8601)
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Re: MtG: Color Philosophy Thread!
I’d pick Rakdos and Gruul—both are very disruptive.
Steve Irwin was RUG, but I’m basically picturing him except constantly plugging his merchandise throughout the show, doing science on screen, and regularly publishing research on the side.
As for my results simplifying down to 35% black, 35% blue, 20% green, 5% white, 5% red, I seriously wonder what the hell is so green about me. I get the 35% blue and 35% black—I’m a curious and ambitious person, but 20% green—I don’t really get it.
I’m now working 3 jobs because I will be massively wealthy, whatever it takes to make it.Last edited by Zhentarim; 2019-06-09 at 09:00 PM.