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ipsen · 1 year ago

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THE FINAL CHAPTER!!!! VERY EXCITED AND THANKS ALL FOR READING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Read on AO3. content warning: sexual content Summary: The world keeps changing. Word Count: 6536 Chapter 19 Master Post

“After nearly a decade of victims, the Torso— revealed to be longtime taxi driver Karao Saeki— is dead. His body was found in a river in the 17th ward, stabbed to death by an unknown assailant with his eyes pried out of his skull. The Washuu Task Force is unable to determine anything else at the time of reporting.

“In addition, tapes of Saeki communicating with Kousei Kaiko, CEO of Kaiko Industries, have surfaced from a raid of his home. The details will have to wait, however, as sorting out the relevant tapes will take some time, or so claims Koutarou Amon, a lawyer and one of the survivors of the Priest’s orphanage.

“In other news, Sen Takatsuki is holding a press conference today to announce her new work: a graphic novel in collaboration with an unknown artist…”

———

“Listen, Sauce,” Hide stared at Haise from the living room, “I think the suit is more than enough.”

“I-I know!” Haise was still in the bathroom, his hands full of gel and his gaze boring a hole into their mirror. “I just— I should make an effort for this! It’s a press conference for the book— er, comic— no, I mean—!” He sighed. “You know what I mean; it’s important!”

“If you say so!” Hide put up his hands in defense. “Frankly, you look ridiculous, but that’s just me.”

“Hina did this for me for Red Tongues! I-It works!”

“Cool! Still ridiculous.”

Touka’s laugh rang from the pantry.

“T-Touka!”

A month had passed since the incident with the Torso, making it December. After another week’s worth of recovery, Haise was discharged from Taiwa, and he and Sen finally finished their work: The Folly of the Hierophants. Sen asked him multiple times if it was too on the nose, but he reminded her that people don’t know about V like she did.

To kick things off, Shiono and Shoeisha arranged a press conference for the day. It would be Haise and Sen’s first public appearance together, so they had to make it count. At least, that’s what Haise thought of the whole thing.

Not only that, but the news of Kaiko Industries’ possible connection to the Torso was being spread like wildfire; once the story hit the shelves, it was going to fan those flames.

“That’s the idea, at least,” Sen had told him. “But you know the public; a little too stupid for their own good. There’s a brilliant mind among them every now and then, sure, but plucking them out from the masses is always troublesome.” He remembered her looking him up and down then. “Sometimes, though, it’s worth it.”

The memory made him shiver, but it also reinforced his resolve. He had to make sure he was presentable for her sake.

After ten more minutes, he shut the bathroom door, making some minor adjustments to his hair, which he had slicked back. To accompany it, he was wearing a simple black suit and matching tie— the only ‘fancy’ thing in his possession. Hopefully, it would be enough.

Touka peeked out from the kitchen, a peeled banana in her hand. “Wow,” she whistled. “Not bad.”

“Meh,” Hide said. “I still think the hair’s too much. None of that signature Sauce floof, y’know?”

She smacked him lightly on the head. “I think the effort will be appreciated.”

“Thank you, Touka,” Haise said, nodding at her in approval. “I think so, too.”

“Gasp! Is our boy being sassy with me?” Hide’s mouth hung open, a hand on his chest. “You hang out with that Sen girl too much, young man! Respect your roommate!”

Haise laughed. “Sorry, sorry… Maybe it’s the nerves.”

“Oh, yeah; this thing’s gonna be on TV, huh?” Hide fetched the remote. “When was it, again?”

“This afternoon, but you don’t have to watch it; Chie must have something for you to do, especially with the other news that’s been going on.”

The two of them, as its collectors, were also overseeing its distribution with Tatara and the rest of Chì Shé, which was apparently more than a theater company.

Hide waved him off. “She wants a bit of a challenge, at least for today.”

It was weird to Haise that Hide was part of an underground effort to collect information on V. Though, given Chie’s ‘job’, it wasn't exactly weird, but the fact that Hide had worked in close contact with Sen right under Haise’s nose was baffling. He had discovered a side of his best friend that he would have never found out about thanks to— wait a second.

“Hide, did you know about Sen’s connection to…” he gestured vaguely— “everything when you signed me up for my job?”

His roommate looked over, confused. “What?”

Touka rolled her eyes. “C’mon, don’t be stupid. If you two were working together on V stuff, then wouldn’t that mean you knew each other?”

“Oh, that? No, we were working anonymously through Chie,” he explained. “Very sensitive information, y’know, and remember the part where I travel the world? Don’t want people knowing my face or name, right? We actually only figured each other out because I signed you up!”

Touka snickered. “So it was sheer dumb luck?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Hide shook his head. “I’m never gonna live this down, am I?”

“That’s right.” She ruffled his hair with a smirk. “Looks like Mr. Nagachika’s finally cracked, Sasaki.”

Hide opened his mouth to retort, but stopped when he saw Haise smiling. “Don’t do me like this, man.”

“Sorry, sorry…” Haise waved his hand about in a poor attempt at stifling laughter. “It’s just nice to know that even you’re human, Hide.”

“Uh, duh? I am extremely human! I have the proper circuit boards and everything!”

Haise laughed again, then headed for the door. “I gotta go now before I’m late. See you later!”

“I’m still right about the hair, by the way!” Hide called just before the door shut.

—

After a few ID check-ins with some vaguely familiar guards, Haise found his way into the back room of the building the conference was held at. Sen was waiting for him there, and she was beautiful. She wore a black turtleneck shirt, a blue flared skirt with gold patterning near the hem below her knees, and a cardigan faintly patterned with tiger lilies. Her hair was bound in a single ponytail gathered on one of her shoulders.

“Well, well, well; someone’s dressed up,” she commented upon seeing him arrive.

Haise rubbed his neck. “I-It is a conference, right?” He showed himself off a bit, albeit hesitantly. “Do you… like it?”

“Hm…”

She came up to him and studied him. Her eyes roamed his body, and at some points, he wondered if she was mentally undressing him. He didn’t mind the idea, and was rather used to it now, but he still swallowed while she adjusted his tie and brushed his shoulder. She smelled good, he idly noted, but that was always true.

“And lastly—” she reached up and roughly messed with his hair, ruining a half-hour’s worth of work — “there! Perfect.”

“H-Hey, I worked hard on that…!” he protested, even though he was laughing.

“You don’t have the face for it, sadly.” Sen shrugged and smiled. “I prefer you like this: all wild and messy.”

His spiteful side wanted to punch Hide the next time he saw him.

“Well, in that case—” Haise took her hair tie, making her breath hitch, and gently pulled it off— “that makes two of us.”

Her hair spilled over her shoulders, and she instantly turned scarlet. Recovering quickly, though, she pushed him with a chuckle.

Just then, Shiono appeared from the front. “Oh, Sasaki! Great timing; they just finished getting ready. You can come up whenever you’re ready.”

She fanned out her freshly loosened hair. “Oh, joy… Ready, Haise?”

He felt his stomach churn at the reminder of reality. “Not really, no…”

“Oh, hush— you’ll be fine.” She linked their arms together to reassure him. It worked… sort of. “Smile at the cameras, speak only when spoken to, and try to look straight ahead as much as you can, ‘kay?”

He nodded stiffly. “O-Okay…”

Even with those instructions, the flash of a camera as soon as they stepped out nearly blindsided him. Meanwhile, Sen smiled with familiar grace and practiced ease at the small crowd. He tried to copy her by waving himself, even though he was mostly squinting at the lights that were already beginning to hurt his eyes. He wished his glasses offered protection; this was gonna get bad fast.

There was nowhere to sit, which he expected, but Haise’s stomach sank to the floor when he thought of how long this might take. Combined with the sheer amount of people here, he was cruelly reminded that he was, in fact, dating a celebrity.

Sen took her spot at half of the mics on the table, while he positioned himself next to her at the other half, hands clasped behind his back. Hopefully, he didn’t look ridiculous, though the mere thought of that probably made it true. It was also kinda hot in here; was anyone else hot?

“Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting so many of you,” Sen said once it was silent, chuckling fakely. It snapped him back to attention. “The last time I saw nearly as many was for the announcement of The Black Goat’s Egg!”

Haise actually recalled the event. He had skipped class that day to watch it on TV, since it was in the middle of the day, once Hide assured him a hundred times that he’d get Haise the required notes and papers. Sen had dressed up far more fancily for that than this one, and now that he actually knew her (in more ways than one), he felt that she’d done herself a disservice.

A few more pictures were snapped, and he swore most of them were of him. It made sense, in a way; he was a novelty, or maybe an anomaly, in Sen’s otherwise lone wolf career.

That said, neither her clothes from that day nor the cameras were his main concern. His main concern was, still, the length of the previous presentation. As an avid reader, he hadn’t minded and wanted to pick her mind apart until it was laid out before him in all its glory, but now that he was standing with her as her equal, he found himself dreading the next two hours of his life. And that wasn’t even factoring in the fact this was televised.

“Well, before we get into questions—” Sen’s voice brought Haise back down to earth, as always— “I’d like to say a few words about the creation of this book.

“Firstly, I apologize to anyone willing to read my scribbles for the wait. Once The Hanged Man’s MacGuffin released, I found that my next idea simply wasn’t taking the form I wanted it to. All of the ideas were there, but the moment they left my mind, it turned into garbage, even by my standards!”

A smile and even a few laughs rumbled through the crowd. She was so good at this, Haise thought while playing with the cuff of his jacket. Maybe he wouldn’t have to do anything but stand here, but that also made him feel bad. It also sounded a little tedious.

“A week became a month and a month became a year, yet the page was still blank. And so, my editor, Shiono, suggested I try to turn it into a graphic novel. He said the new format might be inspiring. And so, after much searching, I chose this one: Haise Sasaki!”

At his name, he visibly coughed and tried his best to smile and bow. “H-Hello! I’m… I’m Haise Sasaki, and it’s… it’s such an honor to work with S— Ms. Takatsuki on her first graphic novel!”

It was probably best that he left out the fact that this was also his first graphic novel, and his first officially published work.

Sen, however, had other plans. “I wanted someone with as little experience as me with this sort of thing, but I also wanted someone who was very familiar with the style of my written works. I was very lucky that Haise here—” he flinched when she aggressively pronounced his first name, to the point that he had to adjust his glasses— “checked both boxes and more! He was able to color the canvas where I couldn’t, and the result will be released with the new year.”

She smiled at him, and he caught the familiar glint of affection in her eyes. He returned it with his own, like it was their little secret.

“Now, let’s get to questions.”

The first question was for Sen, and it was probably the most obvious one. “Ms. Takatsuki, what was your source of inspiration for this story?”

“Oh, the usual,” she replied with a knowing smile. “I’ll just say that it’s surprising what you find when you go where people don’t want you to go. I encourage you all to do the same. Experience life and adventure, then maybe you might find what you’re looking for.”

The second one was also for Sen. “Ms. Takatsuki, what were some of the unique challenges presented to you with the graphic novel format?”

The third one? “Ms. Takatsuki—” Yep. Sen.

“Ms. Takatsuki…”

“Ms. Takatsuki!”

For the next hour or so, Sen was pestered over and over by interviewers who were more content with treading familiar ground than taking a chance with a picturesque newbie. Though Haise was partially relieved that there wasn’t much attention on himself, there was a rare instance of irritation welling within him for Sen’s sake, and the way her fake smile widened with each new, more boring question told him she felt the same way. They were supposed to be partners— equals— yet no one was treating them as such.

And then— “Mr. Sasaki?”

He nearly jumped out of his skin. “Y-Yeah?! Er, sorry!” He cleared his throat, suffering some laughs. “Yes?”

This interviewer was younger, and looked a bit more timid than the others. Still, they were the first to take a chance on him. “Could you… Could you tell us what it’s like working with Ms. Takatsuki?”

The silence weighed heavy while the world waited for his answer. “W-Well…”

Sen was looking at him too, with that glimmering, curious gaze of hers. He felt his mouth go dry at the sight.

“Ms. Takatsuki is…”

What could he say that wouldn’t embarrass her? Public opinion wasn’t anything like talking to Hide or Touka; he couldn’t exactly be honest about the whole thing without raising some brows. Then again, this work was going to help connect the families of V to the likes of Donato and Saeki, so really, what was he even worried about?

“She’s amazing,” he said with full sincerity. “And I think you’ll enjoy what we’ve created together.”

Some time was taken for everyone to jot down his answer, and he wondered if he had been too brief. He also felt Sen’s eyes on him, but from the corner of his gaze, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. He did, however, manage to catch her eye twitch when the next person stood, and begged for her attention. She must have thought her reprieve would last longer.

“Yes?” There was a slight sharpness to her voice.

“What are your thoughts on the ongoing investigation of Kaiko Industries and the Torso?”

A new type of silence settled in: anticipation. What did Sen Takatsuki think about the whole thing? Considering the messages and discussions around her work, it was just the type of thing she wrote and advocated for. Would she continue the pattern?

Some of the audience, particularly the older individuals, looked perturbed by the question. Perhaps they were people who disliked attaching real life events and politics to Sen’s works, who disliked the very idea of entwining the horrors of reality with the reliefs provided by fiction. Haise couldn’t understand that perspective. Art was influenced by real life, was it not? Stories about crime and punishment, corruption and exposure— were those not inherently political? It was like those people wished to drain the story of all life by ignoring its very real connotations.

He looked at her now, and saw she was smiling knowingly.

“They’ll get what they deserve,” she said simply.

—

“Agh, I wish I could’ve said more!!” Sen, sitting in the passenger’s seat of Shiono’s car, complained.

The conference concluded without a hitch. After questions, Haise and Sen were asked for extra photos, and they revealed the title of the book as well. Shiono was driving them out now, helping them keep a low profile.

Haise, seated at the back of the car, tilted his head. “Why didn’t you?”

“I like writing, that’s all.” He heard the smile in her voice. “It’d be a waste to face an inconvenience with ‘controversy’.”

“You’re such a sap, Sen,” Shiono commented, chuckling.

“Oh, can it.” But she laughed anyway. “Maybe I am, so what?”

“Well, I think it’s charming. Right, Sasaki?”

She shot Haise a playful glare. “Don’t you start.”

He shrugged. “I thought you preferred the truth, Sen.”

Puffing up her cheeks, she reached over the seat to poke him, and he prepared to defend himself, laughing all the while. However, she couldn’t reach, so she just sank back into her seat and huffed.

“You two are unbelievable,” she muttered.

Shiono cackled. “We just get you, kiddo, and you hate it!”

Haise smiled. They did, didn’t they? Not only that, she believed them too. Shiono was understandable; he was her father, and he’d had nothing but a positive impact on her life. Haise was a bit more surprising, looking back. Seven short months, and now Sen Takatsuki trusted him completely? It felt like a dream.

Then again, he recognized himself in her words, and she recognized herself in his art. They were mirrors, two sides of the same coin; it would be weirder if they didn’t understand each other. Maybe it was that fact that pushed her to hire him in the first place.

Shiono and Sen had begun a new conversation, steered more toward the intricacies of marketing. Haise noted that he would be drawing a few extra pieces of promotional work to assist, but before he could formulate an idea, Shiono changed the subject.

“Do you two have plans for dinner?” he asked

“Uh…” Haise wracked his brain. “I-I don’t—”

“I’ve got a few ideas.” Sen turned over to him, smiling. “Remember? You were gonna cook something at my place.”

Haise was confused at first, but swallowed his question. His chin itched wildly as he responded: “Y-Yeah, I remember…”

It must not have been a very good performance, because she playfully rolled her eyes and faced forward.

Shiono whistled as he turned a corner leading to the 6th ward. “You really snagged a good one, kiddo. A cook? Absolutely crazy.”

She smirked. “I know.”

———

Haise didn’t even get the chance to admire Sen’s apartment before she locked the door, leapt into his arms, and crashed their lips together.

He gasped at the sudden contact as it stoked a flame inside of him. He scooped one hand beneath Sen to hold her steady, while the other groped at her ass. When he found a wall to pin her to, she grunted in approval.

“Is this okay…?” she breathed, tilting his head back and kissing his neck.

They hadn’t done this since he woke up in the hospital, and it only now dawned on Haise that that meant it had been a whole month. “Yes…” he gasped desperately, making a sound between a hiss and a moan when he felt her teeth pinch his skin. “Yes, yes…”

Perhaps that month— a bit more, if they were counting the days before he was kidnapped— had been why this felt a little clumsy. The way Sen was mindlessly biting his neck more than kissing it, the way when she found his mouth again, their teeth accidentally clacked, making them laugh— it was like the resort all over again.

Her tongue briefly swiped across his palate, then she bit gently on his bottom lip and tugged far harder. He let out a throaty sigh, leaning with the force, but he made sure to cradle her head so she didn’t hit the wall. Meanwhile, his hands hiked up either side of her skirt, pressing against her tights in a vain attempt to feel the skin beneath.

Sen broke their kiss to catch her breath. “Tear them,” she said, loosening his tie and unbuttoning his jacket.

Haise helped himself out of the clothing. “What?”

“I mean it—” she let out a sigh when his tongue found the inside of her cheek, chasing the sensation— “Tear them, pry them apart.”

His head was too fuzzy to protest, so instead, after setting her down, he yanked down her skirt, letting it pool on the floor around her feet. Then, he got on his knees and quickly pulled down her tights.

“Haise—!” she began, even as she kicked them off. “I told you to—”

He planted his face into her exposed bush. The effect was immediate as she threw her head back and nearly collapsed on him.

“Fuck—!” she gasped.

He stopped immediately. “You okay?”

He didn’t need to see her glare. “Keep going.”

No complaints there. He followed the pitch and volume of her cries, flicking her clit and teasing her entrance with his tongue. Offhandedly, he remembered some awkward videos Hide had sent him once upon a time, and was almost ashamed at how much he was relying on them now. He was also upset they were working.

She tasted wonderful, though— a cross between sour, sweet, and satisfying. Or maybe those were the hormones talking. Either way, he needed more of her, even if that meant blocking the majority of his airways. He also took one of his fingers and spread her lower lips, massaging them as he sucked her entrance.

Her hands enthusiastically carded his hair, tangling themselves in the black locks, as he lapped up everything that came out of her, wasting nothing. In the meantime, his pants tightened more and more with each lick, cry, and squeeze.

“Bedroom…” Sen managed, half-delirious. “Bedroom, now…”

Haise obeyed her command, removing his face from between her legs and gathering her up in his arms.

“Holy shit…” She clung to him as he carried her over toward the door that he assumed was her bedroom. She planted a few lazy kisses on his cheek and spread open his unbuttoned shirt to access his shoulder. “Wow…”

He nearly tripped on the way there, and she squealed with laughter. “Sorry, sorry,” he said, laughing too.

“It’s fine…” She kissed him, loved him. “Careful, though; don’t get hurt…”

“I won’t.” He relished the feeling of her lips. “Promise…”

He finally identified the bed— a fittingly red color, he vaguely noted— in the dim light of evening, and let Sen fall against the mattress. She grunted at the impact, but the feverish grin on her face told him everything he needed to know. He shed his shirt, tossing it carelessly on the ground, and made to climb on top of her and continue.

“Ah, ah, ah.”

He found his path impeded by her bare foot against his abdomen. It barely hovered over the tent in his pants, teasing it with the ghost of touch. She sat up, more composed now, and far more controlling.

“The pants too.”

He glanced down past it, then took a few steps back. His hands fiddled with the belt, eager to continue—

“Slowly, Haise.”

She crossed one leg over, making a show of it. The display only made him harder, and the way that she teased him by barely lifting a finger— beautiful torture. And she knew it, too. She knew by the sultry sound of her voice, traveling across the room to caress his ears. She knew by the thin string weaving itself into his skin, gently pulling him every which way and encouraging him to obey. A siren’s tapestry, in other words, and one he succumbed to gladly.

She mirrored his actions with her shirt and bra, and there was a flush to her face that told him there was a touch of regret to her orders. She stared hard at his erection the entire time, not looking away for a second. He wasn’t any better; his eyes hungrily roamed her hair, her face, her hips, her stomach, and her breasts, each area with its own, equally tantalizing aspects.

Once Haise stepped out of the pool made of his pants, Sen’s impatience broke out to save them both. In a surprising show of strength, she seized him by the waist and dragged him on top of her, pinning herself between his body and the mattress and trapping him between her legs. Haise propped himself up on an elbow to not completely crush her, but he liked the heat of their chests pressed flush together, and indulged himself as much as he could.

While their tongues danced their familiar dance, Sen’s hand ran up and down his length through his boxers, and he grinded helplessly against the motion until it slipped in to feel the real deal. The other massaged the back of his head, making him shudder.

Meanwhile, his hand found her ass, squeezing as hard as he could without hurting her. She liked the pain, to a degree; at first, he’d been hesitant to comply with her demands, even after her demonstrations at the resort. However, after everything that had happened lately, he disregarded those doubts and gave it his all, and the cry she gave into his mouth was worth it.

She stopped stroking him and tugged on his waistband. Haise didn’t think twice and helped her expose him to open air. He came up for air from her mouth and reached for the nearby drawer, intent on finding the condoms.

However, Sen’s hand clamped around his wrist, cutting him short. He looked back in confusion. “Sen—” even as the request formed itself on his lips, he wanted to stop himself— “we shouldn’t—”

“I want to,” she interrupted, and her grip tightened. “I’m on the pill, you know. The condoms were always more of a precaution.”

He swallowed. Tantalizing curiosity prickled his neck and made him twitch. “But…”

“I want to feel you, Haise.” There was a shine to her eyes that was desperate, pleading. “Please…”

It was so tempting; more than once, it had crossed his mind to ask if she wanted to try this. But he didn’t know anything about her situation regarding birth control, and then to risk something that would only really cause her pain was enough to still his tongue. In hindsight, he should have just asked.

He nodded slightly, then nodded again. “Okay… You’re sure?”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t.” She gave an encouraging smile.

Yeah, that was pretty stupid. Still— “If you change your mind, I’ll stop.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know.”

He stroked himself a few times to make sure he was ready, staring into her eyes the entire time. The resolve in her jade irises didn’t diminish in any way. When he moved to position himself, she spread her legs.

“Go on.” She shuddered as his head teased her entrance, which was soaked with her juices. It was more than enough.

Haise easily pressed into her, then saw stars.

It felt completely different from using a condom. Skin against skin, with nothing in between. A fire, no longer restrained, finally allowed to roar and consume everything it could get its hands on. It was such an incredible feeling that Haise nearly came on the spot. Sen seemed to feel it too, moaning and squirming like never before.

“Hah… Sen…”

“Haise… Haise…!”

For all that they read and learned from books, their vocabulary was reduced to unintelligible sounds and the other’s name as Haise moved inside her. It was an addicting sensation; he had a feeling he wouldn’t want to go back to condoms.

Sen seemed to be thinking the same. Her mouth hung open slightly, and her eyes were lidded with pleasure, vaguely focused in his direction. Even the slightest movement made her shiver beneath him. She was ethereal to him, his perfect imperfect person. The many images he had of Sen Takatsuki, the author, paled in comparison to Sen Takatsuki, the person; she got mad, she had moments of sorrow, she grinned and cackled when she was happy, and she was sometimes a bit too arrogant for her own good.

She was so unbelievably human.

He loved it.

He loved her.

Haise captured her lips again, trying to get as close to melting into her as he could. She eagerly reciprocated by wrapping her arms around his neck. He drank her like someone dying of thirst, and she opened herself to him, letting herself be drained.

The tenderness was short-lived. His pace sped up, and their voices grew in volume. Eventually, there was nothing left but Sen’s cries, his gasps, the slapping of their hips, and the feeling that he was going to cum soon. He tried to slow down, hoping to prolong the ecstasy for even a second longer, and busied himself by dragging his mouth over one of her nipples. She arched her back in approval and pulled him closer with her arms.

It wasn’t enough, not by a longshot.

“S-Sen…” he panted, shivering and twitching prematurely. “I’m gonna—”

“Inside me,” she whispered, begged. “Please…!”

It was that plea that gave him the push he needed. He slammed their hips together, burying himself as deep as he could, and spilled into her without a second thought. The rush from filling her up instead of a condom made him desperately sink his teeth into her shoulder. She cried out, a mix of pain and pleasure, tightening her legs around his waist and pushing him further into the area. He filled her for what felt like hours— a perfect, euphoric moment frozen in time, filled with their mixing sweat and breath.

Sen’s lips found the shell of his ear. “I love you,” she whispered, kissing it— a gentle gesture, helping him relax in the blissful tension.

He kissed the bruise he’d made in return. “I love you too.” He did so again, harder. “So much…”

It didn’t end there, though.

After catching their breath, she pulled him into the bathroom. Their first bath with each other took three times as long as a bath without. Haise memorized the image of Sen’s body slick with water and soap.

When she reached for the kettle in the kitchen to prepare tea, he grabbed it for her with one hand, while the other found her breast and squeezed a gasp out of her. The kettle was never put on heat, let alone filled. A sweaty imprint of her torso found itself on her counter, though.

Again and again and again, it seemed neither of them could be satisfied, but when the sun finally dipped below the horizon, they collapsed onto Sen’s bed, finally spent.

Sen was the first to break the pattern of noises: “Holy fuck…”

Haise, who felt like he was going to faint any second, could only say, “Uh huh.”

She struggled to her feet, her skin glistening in with sweat under the few hints of light in the room. “Tea? For… whew… for real, this time.”

He agreed with that sentiment. “I… I’d like that…”

Still, the way her bare hips swayed as she left the room, a trail of what he knew was a mixture of their fluids slowly trickling down her leg, made him think she wanted more. He was too out of it to take her up on it, unfortunately, so he just followed her.

Now that he wasn’t fucking her senseless, Haise finally had the opportunity to actually look at her apartment. The first thing he noticed wasn’t the patio overlooking the ward, the small couch and television, or the shiny metal fridge and kitchen.

No, the first thing he saw were the books.

Tons of them, crammed into shelves that lined the walls, and when there wasn’t enough space on those, they were piled on or around them in differing piles. After a while, though, the shelves stopped, and there were just piles shoved out of the way.

“Wow…” he said, drifting toward the nearest shelf-pile. “You have so many!”

Sen looked over from the kitchen. He tried not to ogle her bare chest. “It’s my actual collection. You like it?”

It really was nothing compared to their office. “‘Like it’? I-I love it!” Despite that, he stopped himself before he touched anything. “Er, may I?”

She gestured freely, smiling. “What’s mine is yours. I just hope there’s something here that lovely little brain of yours hasn’t devoured yet.”

He flushed. “We’ll have to see.”

While she got the kettle out, he examined her shelf— one of them, at least— with more interest. It was an expansion of the ones from their office, no longer restrained by a single space, and like their office, the books were vaguely organized by themes. The morals of war, bullshit politics, complications in criminal investigation, the horror of existence itself…

“What did you think of the conference, by the way?” Sen asked, coming up next to him. “Your first one, right?”

“Yeah…” Haise, far too engrossed in her collection, had to pause and think. “I guess… it was a little dull.”

She laughed. “They usually are.” She found a book and haphazardly paged through it. “Especially if you’re the one doing most of the talking.”

“I’m sorry; I—”

“No unnecessary apologies, remember?” Sen put the book away in a completely different spot and kept searching.

Haise pushed back this time and looked at her. “I meant that I’m sorry for you. You shouldn’t have to go through that and get your time wasted, even if it’s important to spread word.”

She found another book and met his gaze. “Thank you, but… It wasn’t all bad.”

His brow raised. “You sure? You were being bombarded by questions, and you looked—”

“Tired, yes.” She dropped the book without even opening it, and it toppled over a nearby stack. “And irritated, and bored, and a bit disgusted, too. But you were there, so that counted for something.”

It brought a smile to his face. “Sen, I—”

She cut him off. “You called me amazing. Did you mean that?”

He looked away, as if they weren’t completely naked in front of each other and covered in red marks courtesy of the other. “Y-You already know the answer, so—”

“I want to hear you say it.” Her other hand cupped his cheek, making him face her. “Tell me, go on.”

He was immediately sucked into her gaze. “Yeah…”

“Yeah, what?”

His hand settled on her waist. “Yeah, I… I think you’re amazing.”

She stood on her tippy toes and kissed him. “Good. I’m glad. Not so bad, right?”

Still humiliating. “Right…”

She glanced at the shelf again. “Did you find something, by the way?”

He followed her eyes, then spotted something familiar. He took out the book and showed it to her with a smile: Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. “Maybe.”

Sen shook her head, smiling. “Wouldn’t you rather read something new?”

“I-It’s a good story!” he defended. “Besides, it’s a, um, nice reminder of everything… How far we’ve come since we first read it, for instance.”

He was no longer a protagonist of a novel, dancing on the strings designed by the authors of his fate. No, he was the author now, drawing his own path to the future. Him and Sen both; they would chart their own course, speak their own words.

“You’re so sentimental,” she said, right as the kettle let out a hissing noise.

Haise decided to put the book on the counter for later. Sen handed him his cup of tea after a while, and they raised their cups together in a small toast. The silence in the air— and the smell of sex too— was enjoyed for a few minutes. The two of them, every so often, stole a glance at the other.

“What?” an amused Sen asked when she caught him.

Haise tried to hide behind his cup. “N-Nothing…”

“Tell me!”

His face turned a dark red. “Just admiring you…”

She rolled her eyes, but she wasn’t faring much better. “Charmer.”

More silence, more time to think, reflect. So much had changed since the coffee shop. Kazuichi Public Park, the White Blades, Cochlea, the resort, and then…

“What do you think will happen to V?” Haise asked, the thought occurring. “Torso’s dead, but he wasn’t the source of the problem…”

Sen shrugged. “Who knows? We’re attacking a very tightly wound organization. They’ve worked their way into nearly every aspect of everyday life, and many people have lived and died under their control without even knowing. The first leak won’t change anything overnight, so we have to keep fighting.”

His brow furrowed. “You have more information?”

“Of course we do!” She took a smug sip of her tea. “You don’t release information as you obtain it, otherwise your adversaries figure out your strategy and kill you. Better to hoard things and trickle it through a funnel, then watch the foundations collapse.”

He chuckled. “I didn’t think about that. That’s smart.”

“It was Hide’s idea.” She waved him off. “Thank him when you see him.”

“You helped him, didn’t you? You and Chie; don’t count yourself out like that.”

“I guess so.”

“Sen.”

“Alright, alright!” She put up a hand in defense. “Thank you, Haise, for acknowledging my contribution.”

They both laugh at that, hearty and full and bare. It was nice, and Haise treasured the sound.

“We kinda did this backwards, didn’t we?” Sen said suddenly, circling the rim of her cup.

“‘Backwards’?” he repeated.

“Usually you spend some time together with someone before having sex at their apartment.” She shrugged. “That’s all.”

“Oh…” He chuckled. “I guess so.”

She tilted her head, amused. “Just a guess?”

“Well… Who decides what’s ‘forwards’ and ‘backwards’ with this kind of thing?” He took a sip of his tea. “We decide our own paths. We’re, ultimately, the authors of our own story, right?”

Though the interview at the shop had sort of fallen into his lap, Haise had chosen to draw in the first place. He had chosen to go to that coffee shop, chosen to accept that job, and chosen to go to that resort.

Perhaps there were obstacles in the way. His mother, his aunt, the complications of his career choice, Rize, and the Torso were some of them, but his choices had granted him weapons to defeat them. Sen, Hide, Touka, and everyone else that he had befriended over the years came to his aid. In choosing them, they had chosen him in return. And that was life, at the end of the day:

Choose and be chosen. Over and over until the end.

Sen’s smile was as soft as velvet. “How inspiring.”

———

The End

THANKS FOR STICKING WITH ME TO THE END

#blank canvas #writing #etoken

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alyjojo · 10 months ago

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March 🌞 2024 Monthly - Cancer

Preshuffle: You’re getting a new perspective on some sort of betrayal that’s occurred, either towards you or someone else and you’re just watching this, could also be something you’ve done. Sharp, painful endings, and fast beginnings. Impulsive behavior. A lack of emotional connection, or just being disconnected from emotions entirely. Trauma response, fight or flight - choosing flight.

Meditation: We were back in the long long hallway and you said “shit, this again?” Because this time it was dark, we couldn’t hardly see anything. You still had your skateboard though! And I said “but you’ll have to fight off whatever comes first, you’re faster” and you’re like “well, I have a hammer 🔨 “ Idk why you had a hammer, building something at the utility closet maybe idk, and you kinda scoffed at me for not having anything, but we would find something to pick up along the way. I found a huge sledgehammer almost taller than I am, I couldn’t hardly carry or swing it, and you scoffed again, took it effortlessly, and gave me your hammer. We never actually got anywhere (or saw anything) before it ended.

Main energy: The Hierophant rev

Could be a spouse, an ex, a parent, teacher or official of any kind, maybe even a boss for someone. A person that is expected to be a good example for others to follow - isn’t. Things that are traditional, rule abiding, moral, conservative or even lessons already learned are being resisted. Because something or someone has hurt you, now where that fits on the spectrum of heartbreak could go from minor to major. Someone hurt you that morally should’ve protected you. A parent or priest would probably be the best examples, especially with Merit Making as an Oracle, showing a monk. You reject religion? Because of all of the toxic bs humans do with it. The wars, pain, monstrous things that happen, why would that exist? That’s fair, you’re not the only one. Idk why either 💯 If you’ve lost someone, you could be pissed off at God, understandably. Idk anyone that hasn’t shaken their fist at the sky like “what the actual fuck?” at least once.

What’s going on in March:

The Devil:

As soon as I saw this, I heard “The Devil returns” and 8 Cups rev shows returning to a situation or person you’ve left behind before. Someone or something that’s really hurt you. There could be an obsession, addiction, or sexual thing tied into this, The Lovers clarifies…could be several people. Or you’re not interested in committing to a relationship because you’ve been badly burned before, some of you reject the idea of marriage (you’re not alone) or the traditional ideas of anything. The Drama Oracle makes it seem like this is gonna be a big deal. You could also be hurt by someone like this, I saw a parent in the past at the bottom initially. A cheating parent fucked up your family? Could be. Or spouse, partner, maybe you. Someone prefers quantity over quality, and the drama is the biting off of the head of whoever has done this, by whoever had figured it out. Sneaky shit. This could be someone who has done this to you before, or was otherwise involved in an addictive cycle, enabling of addictions on some level. You could be ending it or already have, but they’re used to you feeding their monster 👹

8 Cups rev:

Judgment, exactly what I said, someone is coming back around for another go at whatever it is you’re feeding them. A piece of your mind it looks like, but before it was probably what they wanted right? Or they wouldn’t be coming back. Sex, substances, some sort of twisted dynamic you give to in this person. I don’t know if it was ever even conscious on your end, you just cared about them. If a relationship has ended, you heard enough and told them to kick rocks, they’re crawling back to you 🎶 how that came out. They could come back more responsible, good job, more money, or acting like they’ve “become a man” now all gruffly. Doesn’t have to be a man that’s just how I heard it. They’ve changed, so they say.

5 Cups:

You’re sad! They’re being all friendly and buddy buddy with you, got a good job, made some new friends, look at my wares, I’m hot shit now. You’re just like “hey remember that one time you stabbed me in the fkn BACK cuz I do!” Knight of Swords cuts straight through all of the sugary sweet coating on this persons messages and behaviors. Or it’s all switched. Someone is still upset at an ending, a betrayal, hurt that’s been caused. Angry even. Enough to lash out even, but you don’t want to come off as an asshole (some of you might not even care). That’s where this Drama lies. One person left and is all fine & fancy about it, the other person didn’t want it to end at all, and is not fine nor dandy. Could just be a friend. A friend ditched you for a lover? Or a lover hanging out with their friends all the time, both possibilities are here. There could be an apology but it feels lighthearted, it’s no big deal, it’s said to say it and move along. You could feel used and that’s the deeper issue, a partner comes around for sex and then you’re not the priority anymore.

Ace of Wands:

Repeated from the clarifiers of The Hierophant rev, now this one is clarified by 9 Swords. A sexual obsession, fkboy/girl antics, someone being promiscuous, or just shallow. I assume you are deeply worried about the motives of someone, or their actions. Someone is definitely wondering if their person is sleeping around, it keeps them up at night. Or just using them, having a whole roster of bitches on their phone or w/e, I don’t know if you’re saying this out loud. Knight of Swords is at the bottom again, with sneaky shit, but you could be avoiding saying anything which just makes this more intense for you. Are they playing in your face, and sneaking behind your back? Maybe they’ve done that before and there’s residual trauma there, it’s not easy to trust again once it’s broken. Other than lovers - lying, stealing, getting what they want and bailing, you’re worried about that behavior from anyone.

Death:

Clarified by King of Cups, could be dealing with a Scorpio or that’s you. Someone is coming back around sure, but I don’t think you really want to get involved again. You could even love them, or it’s someone that means a lot to you. The Hanged Man with 5 Swords at the bottom shows you don’t want to be mean or seen as that, but you are hesitant. You pull back, you may avoid, you maybe don’t text back right away, things like that, never fully investing yourself into this connection because you don’t trust them flat out. Or it’s switched. Death, Merit Making, and The Hierophant rev is literally coming out to me like “I’m not your mama.” Like you’re not going to teach this person morals, decent behavior, how to be a good person fk that. Not your job. But you can love them anyway. Some, from a distance, and that’s necessary. Some of you just do, especially those of you where this is a parent, and if not sex, you could fear their wrath 😡 So you avoid them altogether if you can. Some of you simply just hold back your emotions and feelings, your fears, and that needs to stop. They can’t know, you don’t tell them. Others of you may be obsessed back, even though they’ve hurt you before, which makes it even harder to stay away when they come back for whatever reason this time. Or you’re the one going back to something obsessive, addictive, sexual, etc.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Heavy Scorpio, Gemini, Pisces & Libra

Oracle: ✨

28 Anger 😡

A very strong and primal emotion, anger sometimes catches us by surprise. At other times it seethes just under the surface, simmering a long while until it boils over, scalding anyone who is close. Anger is based in fear. Fear of loss of control, fear of not being loved, fear of being judged, fear of not being enough. When anger enters your life - be it yours or someone else’s - go beneath the surface and try to address the real fear that has triggered it. Anger doesn’t go away without addressing the underlying fear. Alternately, beware of someone’s anger directed towards you.

Death ☠️

Endless - Harm - Inevitable

Merit Making 🙏

Goodness - Humanness - Morality

Drama 🎭 - Leo Mercury

We enter into March as:

The Carrot Colored Cloak 🥕:

“Don’t quit before the miracle!”

You are being told that changing your direction at this time is not wise. We never know where our miracles lie in the path, often just beyond the boundary of our faith. You may not see it, but it lies ahead. When we do the work that is chosen for us, we are serving a higher order, and if we stop we upset the balance of our lives. Stick with it and have blind faith, an exciting change is coming. You must press on in the direction of your vision, what you’re working for will come to fruition.

What is to be learned in March:

Crimson Dreams 🥀:

“I am feeling the loss of my dreams.”

Crimson Dreams indicates holding back in some way. Are you selling yourself short? More than likely, it’s a warning you might be giving up on yourself. Are you in a danger zone of complacency? Are you allowing yourself to coast along in a situation you might not really want? Unless we are willing to risk, we may never realize our dreams. This is a need for new awareness. Don’t give up on your dreams! This is a wake up call to face your situation and live the life you truly desire, because you can.

Red may be a lucky color ❤️

#cancer #monthly tarot reading #astrology #march 2024 #monthly #tarot #Spotify

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fullmetalfears · 2 years ago

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One of my favorite aspects of crossovers is trying to combine the worldbuilding of one franchise to another. Trying to transplant ideas and concepts so that even when one set of characters is fully in a different location, you still see the full potential of the characters in a new location.

For this AU I just adore playing with the fears. In specific, the fact that the fears are in a new world means that they reflect the fears of the people within it. The fears being a reflection of our own fears is something I think is generally underutilized in fics. So it would make sense that they would change in confronting entirely different cultures and "magic systems" as it were. In FMA's case, Truth already exists and precides as its cosmic force as it were. The fears combining into Truth and then morphing it to have properties of the fears and Truth is just such a fun option. It lets us make alchemy that much more horrific, change the homonculi to have more fear related powers, but also, gives us other options when it comes to Jon's abilities.

With the change in fears, it felt correct to change what type of avatar Jon became. We have a system where Jon uses alchemy to distill essentially pills of fear to consume. It's not satisfying but it works to keep him from hurting people especially when there aren't written statements anymore. However, it has a different consquence where Jon can transition between fears without 100% realizing it. Foxy wrote a "confession" earlier. They're statements but their connotations are different as well as how they're given. To put it bluntly, Jon becomes a confessional of sorts for people who have faced fears. The hierophant, aka a "priest" but also a companion who gives advice.

Jon slowly transitions from being an avatar of the Beholding to becoming an avatar of the Maker. He listens and gives advice, as the people speak their "sins". He is judgemental to those who wrong him, and he is not afraid to make you feel such shame that it boors into your immortal soul.

It's fitting, how someone who became a god even for a brief moment, knows how to put the fear of it in others.

~Luna

#fullmetalfearsau #fullmetalfears au #jonathan sims #fmf worldbuilding

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zerolostwalks · 1 day ago

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Noticed a weird card amongst the Major Arcana of one of my new tarot decks. Which of course nudged me to compare all the major Arcana cards.

Really, the changes make a weird sort of sense for the decks that changed things (Mostly Disney Alice and Labyrinth)

The High Priestess;

Which in the Fairy Deck is just Priestess, and in the Disney Alice deck is The Mystery

The Hierophant;

In the Fairy deck is now the Priest

The Lovers;

In the Labyrinth deck is now The Dancers and the Disney Alice deck is now The Pair

The Hanged Man;

In the Disney Alice deck is Suspension.

Death;

In the Labyrinth deck is Fate and in the Disney Alice deck is Transformation

The Devil;

In the Labyrinth deck is The Demon and in the Disney Alice deck is Temptation

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fangtastic-vampyra · 1 year ago

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not a bad idea huh..

SOOOO... IVE BEEN TAKING PHOTOS ALMOST DAILY, NOT TO BE A THOT, --

BUT, TO , SEE MY CHANGING EXP, TO, SEE, THE TOLL OF THINGS HAPPENING SUCH AS BEING TARGETED , A SRA, AND MKULTRA VICTIM.

I LOOKED VICTIMIZED IN '16, - broke up with Vainemoinen.

DRUGGED OUT BUT VERY CREATIVE lol... IN 17, 18 & 19 .. DECENT "HEALTHY" WEIGHT, "8" , WHICH I WOULD KILL TO BE THAT SIZE, ON T AND EATING AND BEING RAPUNZEL WELL CASSIUS IN MY PRISONER TERRET UMM... RAPUNZELS CASTLE REFERENCE..I GOT BIG, LIKE "ALPHA" VOMITS DUDE BIG. UGH >_> IM TRYING TO BE WHAT I LOOK LIKE. LOLOLOL. I WANT TO BE A LEADER, AN INFLUENCER, A GUIDE, A LIFE COACH, A NURTURER, A DOCTOR. I WANT TO FREAKING HEAL PEOPLE.

SLEPT A LOT, WAS TRAUMATIZED FROM ER AND PSYCH WARD, AND RECOVERING, PHYSICALLY, AND MENTALLY, A LEISURELY MOMENT, THEENNN THEY MADE IT TO WHERE WE CANT SMOKE INDOORS.. UGH THAT WAS HORRIBLE, I WAS SO WORRIED I WAS GOING TO GET CAUGHT.. UM, THEN, IN 20, AND 21, I WAS IN THE PSYCH WARD AGAIN, ETC, AND EVEN WENT TO JAIL AND GOT OUT ON $300 BAIL..... CONT. INTO...

22ISH WAS LIKE IN A MENTAL HEALTH COURT PROGRAM BC... MY OUTPATIENT PROGRAM RECOMMENDED ACT UH THEY ARE OK...GOT A FELONY FOR USING PEPPER SPRAY (ON AN ELDERLY BUT EXTREMELY CREEPY VETERAN DUDE THAT HAD SUPPORT POLICE ETC ALL ON HIM AS A COAT)...

THEY REDUCED IT TO A MISDEANOR, GOT MORE POLICE BRUTALITY, 5 MANLETS THREW ME ACROSS THE ROOM.. YAH IM A DUDE BUT IM AFAB OKKKK. IM STILL IN A FEMALE BODY. RESPECT IT OR ILL DO SOMETHING BACK. IM THE BADDEST "WITCH" THERE EVER WAS. MANLET SLAMMED MY HEAD INTO A POLICE CAR, THEY HAD A CHAIN ON MY WAIST, ATTACHED TO MY CUFFS LIKE IT WAS FUCKED UP BRO.

CUZ OF HURRICANE IDA '22 WAS SPENT AT MY MUMS, GOT A LIL HIGH, UH, DRUGGED OUT PIX, BUGGY EYES AND WHATNOT, IDC, I THINK DRUGS SHOULD BE LEGAL... CUZ I WAS HIT BY IDA, AND SHIT, I WAS AT MY PARENTS, UHM,

AT THE END OF 22.. DEC... ALMOST ON CHRISTMAS I GOT MY OWN APARTMENT, NOW HELPING MAN AND HIS SON, I AM A FRIEND OKAY.. VAMPIRE THOUGH ^_^ VAMPYRA WITH WIFI, AND MET A LOT OF LONELY ASPIES, I THINK DEW & TOXICITY MAKES ME LOOK LIKE ONE, HEAD SWATTING AND REPEATED ATTACKS MADE ME UM, SORT OF DEAF.,.ISH??? I WEAR CONTACTS, SO THATS ANOTHER DISABILITY, BUT I BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF .. HEALING... URSELF.. <3333 yOU Are the person you have to live with forever, make it a good trip, make ur mind a good place to be, make ur life ur dream, if u dont like ur life, make better decisions... everyone deserves a 2nd chance...I feel like SOMETIMES GOD HAS A KID'S FACE..Priest, Hierophant, etc.. Priest/ess.. Arcane/Left hand path, but still jovial towards helping random others.

(YOU CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH PHOTOS, SOMETIMES THEY ARE ALL U HAVE OF SOMEBODY ETC, UR MEMORYS.. AND WRITING THINGS DOWN..EDIT.. OR DONT.. BE CREATIVE, DRAW SOMETHING.. PAINT.. AND ME? I HAVE HAND ARTHRITS SO I.. LOVE JOURNALING ON COMPUTER AND YOU CAN JUST NEVER GET ANOUGH OF LOOKING BACK)

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leam1983 · 3 years ago

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Rummaging Things Around

I have a thing in mind. A vaguely Lovecraftian thing, inspired by my re-reading Champion of the Worms, by Mignola and McEown. The early stretches are basically a pastiche of a pastiche, but that's never stopped me before...

So we have this guy - sort of a failed academic with something like a decent brain to call his own, that gets pulled out of a life of relative non-ambition by a more successful relative. The uncle's long been a curator for a bunch of obscure exhibits and more or less lives like the Dieselpunk Forties never ended and Eldritch Horror were real. He's the type who speaks six languages, unearths remote tribes the world over and somehow finds ways to show even the people of the 21st century that yes, here sometimes be dragons anyway.

Dropout is brought in to help his uncle with the curation of his new exhibit in an obscure little New England town, and it's through piecing things together that our main guy realizes the object of the exhibit-to-be is Hyperborea, also known as Ultima Thule - the very continent Nazi occult weirdos spent years chasing in the hopes of anchoring their theories about the Aryan race to anything at all. Hyperborea is Antarctica, of course, and briefly consisted of a few landmasses that weren't yet covered in ice, several million years ago. The story goes that the archipelago was colonized by an extant Hominid species, a forgotten branch of Humanity that has strengths and weaknesses altogether different from the Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon species that both preceded and followed them. They grew in secret, mastered art, language and philosophy - even dove into the mysteries lying beyond mere intellect and intuition.

Then, they vanished. No fossil records, no bones, no traces of their civilization - nothing except what our Uncle character finds.

And what does he find? Two burial sites that would make Tutankhamen absolutely green with envy. The catch is is laden in dark portents and the other one has an almost messianic undertone - as if opening this particular tomb would somehow usher in Mankind's next stage in History.

It's a small museum, Uncle's on the frail side, and his wing's curator isn't exactly on-the-level... Things get leaked, pictures are taken, and thieves get involved. As greedy as you'd expect and far too confident after overpowering an older man, an out-of-shape thirtysomething and a dumpy idiot in his sixties, they crack open the bigger, more festooned sarcophagus.

Things... take a turn for the worse. The Hyperboreans, as it turns out, owe their disappearance to their falling under the insane sway of a death cult. A Great Old One-esque monstrosity more than likely claimed them so completely it erased Hyperborean civilization from the map, leaving its priest to serve as the hierophant of things to come if anyone were to awaken him again. If an entire culture's drank the Kool-Aid, it follows that someone hell-bent on spreading destruction would receive Grade-A Messiah treatment, complete with a beatific burial site that just so happened to send the wrong impressions to a bunch of credulous grave robbers, millions of years ago.

Fighting back against zombies, spirits and other monstrosities, Uncle and Dropout lose the curator. Eventually, Uncle dies. Dropout is alone, barricaded in the same room as the second stone coffin, one that's etched out of crude limestone and that's had every carving and identifying marker chipped away by chisel. Someone did not want anyone else to find thar second tomb, and did not want anyone to open it.

With the world slowly succumbing to chaos outside and with nothing else to do, Dropout opens the second sarcophagus. What he finds inside is a... different kind of undeath, one that feels less like a perversion of life and more like one heck of an obstinate man that absolutely, positively refused to give in to death. The dessicated mummy reaches out with a dusty moan, grabs ahold of Dropout's neck - and pulls him in for a kiss.

When he finally breaks away, gagging and heaving, Dropout somehow instinctively knows that this contact served as a means to copy his thoughts, linguistic and situational skills, and awareness of the situation. As for the mummy, it's sitting up in its sarcophagus and lounging in it for a few moments, stroking its beard for a few breaths.

"Six million years, eh?" it says, its voice going from sepulchral croaks to a precisely-toned and conversational King's English over the next minute or so. "Well, I have to give you credit - you lot at least look like you never went snooping about in places where sane men aren't expected..."

It catches itself. "Ah, well, there was this one chunk of you with a thing for portents brought about by sulfurous fumes - Athenians and the Pythia, hm? Overall, however, if we're generous? Barring brief moments of potential concern like MKULTRA or some of your Feds keeping an eye on the Ayahuasca fad? I guess you could call yourselves blessedly ignorant."

The second mummy grins, which isn't a pretty sight. It scoffs. "I know - I look horrendous. Past a certain point, it really doesn't matter who or what your keeper is, man-flesh is as man-flesh does - but you're not here to listen to me ramble, are you? The Serpent is loose, the world will be devoured, End of Times, yadda yadda - unless you help me climb out of this thing."

The dropout screams. Shenanigans ensue.

#personal prompt #tossing ideas #cosmic horror #comedy-ish cosmic horror?#cosmic horror-slash-doctor who sorta thing?

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cantfoolajoker · 4 years ago

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persona users and their arcanas

i compiled a list of all confirmed persona users (p1-p5s) and sorted them by arcana out of curiosity to see where most of the users are. the list goes in order starting with fool and ends with the unnumbered arcanas, and i believe i got every user we see, but i could definitely have missed a minor character or two.

some notes: - fool, magician, lovers, and fortune are tied for highest amount of users. temperance is the least with no users. - the only attendant that was counted was elizabeth due to her confirmed wildcard status in p4a2, which slots her as a persona user on level with aigis and other protagonists. - i tried to list any major discrepancies between arcanas. mainly, aigis (for having 3 different confirmed ones across wildcard, persona, and slink), akihiko and shinjiro (persona and slink), and adachi (arcana switches midway through). - arcanas that share numbers were merged, like magician/councillor and strength/hunger. - reverse persona users are also noted - sho is not a persona user, so he was not listed. minazuki is. labrys and shadow labrys are also separate entries for the same reason.

0. Fool (includes Jester) P3 Protag Tohru Adachi (P4G) Aigis (P4A(2)) Elizabeth (P4A2) P4 Protag P5 Protag

I. Magician (includes Councillor) Yuka Ayase (P1) Junpei Iori (P3) Yosuke Hanamura (P4) Morgana (P5) Takuto Maruki (P5R)

II. Priestess Maki Sonomura (P1) Fuuka Yamagishi (P3) Yukiko Amagi (P4) Makoto Niijima (P5)

III. Empress Yukino Mayuzumi (P1) Mitsuru Kirijo (P3) Haru Okumura (P5)

IV. Emperor P1 Protag Akihiko Sanada (P3 - By Persona) Kanji Tatsumi (P4) Yusuke Kitagawa (P5)

V. Hierophant (includes Priest) Kei Nanjo (P1) Shinjiro Aragaki (P3 - By Persona) Metis (P3 The Answer) Zenkichi Hasegawa (P5S)

VI. Lovers Lisa Silverman (P2IS) Ginji Sasaki (P2IS) / Reversed Yukari Takeba (P3) Rise Kujikawa (P4) Ann Takamaki (P5)

VII. Chariot Masao Inaba (P1) Aigis (P3 - By Persona) Chie Satonaka (P4) Ryuji Sakamoto (P5)

VIII. Justice Hidehiko Uesugi (P1) Katsuya Suou (P2EP) Ken Amada (P3P) Goro Akechi (P5)

IX. Hermit Jin Shirato (P3) Futaba Sakura (P5)

X. Fortune Jun Kurosu (P2IS) Takaya Sakaki (P3) Naoto Shirogane (P4) Labrys (P4A(2)) Shadow Labrys (P4A(2))

XI. Strength (includes Hunger) Koromaru (P3) Tohru Adachi (P4G)

XII. Hanged Man Baofu (P2EP) Chidori Yoshino (P3)

XIII. Death Reiji Kido (P1) Eikichi Mishina (P2IS) Elizabeth (P4A)

XIV. Temperance None

XV. Devil Reiji Kido (P1)

XVI. Tower Anna Yoshizaka (P2IS) / Reversed

XVII. Star Ulala Serizawa (P2EP) Akihiko Sanada (P3P) Teddie (P4)

XVIII. Moon Maya Amano (P2IS & P2EP) Akinari Hoshi (P2IS) / Reversed Shinjiro Aragaki (P3P) Minazuki ( P4A2)

XIX. Sun Tatsuya Suou (P2IS & P2EP) Tatsuya Suduo (P2IS) / Reversed

XX. Judgement (includes Aeon) Eriko Kirishima (P1) Aigis (P3)

UNNUMBERED. Sumire Yoshizawa / Faith (P5R) Sophia / Hope (P5S)

#text tag #persona #persona 1 #persona 2 #persona 3 #persona 4 #persona 5 #p1 #p2 #p3 #p4 #p5 #p2is #p2ep #this took a hot second to do but it was kinda fun tbh

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thehouseoforion · 5 years ago

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The Heirophant: Master of Tradition

Being raised in the Catholic Church, it took me a long time to not solely connect The Hierophant to religion in general, especially ones I may have observed in the past. But the truth is, the Hierophant has much less to do with religion and much more to do with the pieces of our past that bring us joy and reassurance and remind us of who we are.

The Hierophant is the 5th card in the Major Arcana, placed between the Emperor and the Lovers, at the beginning of the Fool’s Journey through the first 21 cards of the Rider-Waite tarot structure. It is often also referred to as 'The Pope,' or 'The Priest' in many other decks.

This card, ruled by Taurus, is multifaceted in that it can act as a guide and also a query. The Hierophant is all about rituals both spiritual and beyond. While it is often associated with religion, it can also be a reminder to return to the roots from whence you came.

When the Hierophant appears in a reading, it is often because you have or will soon begin to experience the advantage of having some sort of mentor or guide in your life. This teacher has the authority to gain your trust and help you to nurture whatever skill or path they are coaching you on.

In the same vein, this card can indicate that you are acting as a guide for others. Either way, regardless of who the teacher is and who the student is, the knowledge being obtained is sure to be reliable and the experience transformative.

When you pull the Hierophant in a reading, it can also be an indication that it is time to bring tradition back into your life. Perhaps you have been living quite free-spirited and while that certainly comes with its benefits, we cannot know where we are going unless we know where we come from. This card could be urging you to do something as simple as making time for friends with a weekly dinner or explore an old path that brought you joy but that you may have neglected along the way.

In a tarot reading about love, the Hierophant often indicates nuptials to come. It is the commitment card of the Major Arcana and it can mean that your relationship is moving towards milestones, ie. moving in together, getting engaged, or married. It also tells us that the values and goals we hold are the same as our partner’s, making a long-lasting commitment very possible and likely to be successful.

When it comes to a tarot reading about career or money, this card encourages you to work with a team to get the best outcome. While you may be tempted to be creative, the Hierophant asks you not to stray from the tried-and-true method. Often using conventional methods can render the best results. Thinking outside the box has its time and place, just not when the Hierophant is present.

In a tarot reading about health, the Hierophant suggests that taking the route of using conventional medicine may be the best option for you at this time. Additionally, it can encourage introducing healthy activity into your daily life, especially if you have struggled recently with depression or anxiety.

The Hierophant is a really wise card, which is why I am always thrilled to see it in my spreads. Often I get so caught up in trying to inundate my life with new things, waiting for what's next, or simply neglecting the things that once brought me joy because they require work, that I lose the calmness that comes with the familiarity of tradition. If you pull this card in a reading, try and examine how you may have strayed from your roots and what you can do to return to them.

#tarot cards #tarot #tarot card #the heirophant #thehouseoforion #THOO

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nijimurakyo · 4 years ago

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Please do Kakyoin and Pucci for the ask hcs thingy! (Or Josuke if you don't want to do/have already done one of those two!)

👾 KAKYOIN 🍒

sexuality headcanon: i love self-projecting (plus!!!! i think araki confirmed it idk) so he's bisexual!!!!! :D

gender headcanon: non biney. they've got no binary. insert video game pun here today no gender no nothing

a ship i have with her: ignoring all the other gross fans of it (i am looking AWAY) i rly do think j*takak works in a character foil for each other sorta way, plus it's just funny to me bc I think they fake-date but for real fake

a brotp i have with them: I THINK HIM AND ABDUL GET ALONG LIKE GENUINELY THATS UH *INCOHERENT MUMBLING* FUCKING they often talk abt mythology together and the fact that abdul also had his stand since childhood tells me they'd get along so well (plus that's why he wasn't there for the death 13 arc he'd believe kak plus that baby's a fucking tiyanak) and polnareff too even tho she's so mean to him (bc pol and kaks dynamic reminds me of me and my kuya ^__^)

a notp i have with him: well i don't wanna say any of the ships but y'know. anyone else bc as much as I'm "eh" towards it at least jotaros her age shipping him w anybody else makes me feel so gross

a random headcanon: having met his pinoy relatives (from mom's side) they were convinced hierophant was a dead relative's spirit for a long while guarding him bc pinoy superstition and all, that's why his mom scolds her family for making him think that way bc she hasn't grown out of hierophant. ALSO that's what he discusses with abdul!!!!!

general opinion over them: hugest cc ever oh my GOD the way most people treat him makes me froth at the mouth i only trust certain people about her but he's also another genuinely great character and i feel like even if he could've been used for great potential his final battle with dio wraps up his character nicely so he's played his part well.

🌙 PUCCI ⭐

sexuality headcanon: he's gay. *pointing* fruit (affectionate)

gender headcanon: i like to think of him as a trans man!!!

a ship i have with him: sorry pucci you deserved so much better also i don't ship him w anyone ¯\_( ͠° ͟ʖ °͠ )_/¯

a brotp i have with him: MAN it's gonna sound weird but if he were to get a redemption arc with aus I'd say jolyne, yes it's bc I remember that comic where he says he'll officiate her foo fighters wedding since she can't marry ermes. Yes I'm emotional thinking about him and jotaro too, it's also gonna take a lot of therapy and i don't think they'll ever think of him as great but him and weather...... fuck..

a notp i have with him: EASILY DI///OPUCCI GIRL HELP HE WAS 16 WHEN THEY MET........ i like to think that dios his fucked up roommate and also: pucci being his kids fucked up godfather

a random headcanon: him finding out he could insert random music discs into people to play them like a radio was entirely by accident when he decided to look cool by flinging one at someone like a frisbee only to find out it wasn't a memory or stand disc, he's seen them so much he just mistook it as his stand disc

general opinion over him: hes such a tragic character but also so beautifully written, araki knows to give villains fucked endings but he's one of the few who got a respectful death (choked out by an 11-year old which in comparison, is better than i don't know eternal limbo as a detective, infinite death loop by 15-year old or sent to space never to die EVER), he deserves good things but also he was a priest there had to be some sort of retribution for that (what word was it i forgot)

⚓ JOSUKE 💎

sexuality headcanon: SHES GAY BABEY!!!!!

gender headcanon: trans man who uses she/her!!!! luv the self-projection here

a ship i have with her: COME ON THE JOSUYASU DUOS SO ICONIC THEY LIKE TO FUCK AROUND AND FIND OUT!!!!! luv rowdy teenagers in love what can I say :]

a brotp i have with her: listen. listen dude. yukako and her hair buddies and SERIOUSLY when them and okuyasu were having a lunch date during that one episode r*han punches a kid i couldn't stop thinking about their friendship 🥺 also twins au lives in my mind rent-free

a notp i have with her: jos////uhan shippers don't look at me or I'll dropkick you into the nightmare dimension i SWEAR TO GOD YALL DONT KNOW WHAT A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP LOOKS LIKE AND IM NOT GONNA POINT OUT THE OBVIOUS REASONS WHY ITS BAD

a random headcanon: she's a gardener ^__^ people think she's the one helping her mom with it but it's the other way around, she's the one who bought the stuff for her and assists in uh. dirt activities!! idk if it's also canon but her mom does know about crazy diamond, she had to tell her dad that josukes ok and to stop worrying

general opinion over her: BABY YOU ARE MY. ANGEEEEEEEEEEEEL!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY best jojo and favorite jojo i *vibrating at the speed of sound * she's so cute and awesome and I love her sm 🥺🥺🥺🥺 the one thing keeping me from wishing j*seph out of existence was her how the fuck the worst jojo produced best jojo i once asked myself, well that's simple it's bc he didn't raise her 😌 girlboss milf tomoko did and that's fucking awesome

#ask games #asks #mx-kirayoshikage #I DID ALL OF THEM WELL BC IM IN A MOOD also theres no other asks #ty for sending btw ^_^#noriaki k #enrico p #josuke h #op #long post

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st-just · 5 years ago

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Imperial Religion

Because the proudly feudal sprawling empire’s state religion is probably pretty important, right?

Since a few of you have never worked outside the Commonwealth before, as request, a very brief summary of the Empire’s governing superstitions.

Imiran Orthodoxy is not exactly the official name of the Empire’s established Church (the exact translation of which varies from place to place, but is something like “The Ancient and Perfected Order of All The World As Decreed By Its Makers”, and so ‘Orthodox’ suffices. Despite an overwhelming reputation for stagnant and inflexible conservatism, in theological terms it’s really quite ingeniously flexible. The spirits of the world are sharply divided into ‘Celestial’ or ‘Heavenly’ Gods (who remain safely apathetic to what words are placed in their mouths, and so can be granted supreme cosmic authority on the basis of no evidence at all) and ‘Terrestrial’ gods, which is to say spirits which actually exist in the world and-as is their wont-demand tribute or worship from the unlucky mortals at their mercy.

Whenever the Imperial armies place their priests in charge of administering another conquered land, they quickly annex whichever gods aren’t likely to show in person and take offence into ‘the heavens’, give title and office to amenable local theocrats, and sanctify whatever local superstition predominates as the divinely ordained path for whichever province has just found their occupation blessed from above. (In properly august theological circles it is generally accepted that all Heavenly Gods are simply different masks of expressions of the Divine Will, but it is only among certain radical and militant sects that this filters down to preachers and lay followers).

The matter of terrestrial gods is somewhat complicated by the fact that they actually exist in the world and can take actions to defend their own interests, but Church offers them the same deal it offers newly conquered priests-endorse the new order and be offered a spot near the top of it, with an honoured place in the Great Chain of Being as a warden of nature or the earth, and mandated deference and regular sacrifices from local humans. Even those who merely abstain are usually simply ignored, though actively attempting resistance are quite vigorously persecuted as expressions of the ‘Thousand Gods Heresy’.

As might be expected, the Church is a vast edifice of corruption and waste, with a sizable number of offices existing purely to provide the children of important families with prestige and income and mesmerisingly complex networks of overlapping and conflicting responsibilities. Its beating heart is indisputably the holy city of Imir, rapturously described as the First City, where the Divine first taught humanity the secrets of clay and bronze-an entirely empty boast, clearly, but given that certain ancient declarations instead credit it as where Ishilde-of-the-Towers taught her followers how to forge iron, consistency is probably too much to expect. Regardless, Imir is ancient, and in the modern day is largely built over its own ruins, both literally and metaphorically. The Hierophant is probably the third- or fourth- most powerful individual in the empire, but these days his court is by all accounts mostly concerned with decadence and marriage politics-an ancient tradition to take a wife from the family most sacred to each Heavenly God having grown somewhat logistically difficult as conquest and diplomacy expand the pantheon. Actual authority thus largely devolves to regional prelates and administrators, with only radical-tinged institutions such as the Witch-Finders really even aspiring to any sort of centralization. (Given the numerous civil wars and one ruinous demonic incarnation it took to achieve such a domesticated Hierophant, the Imperial Court is doubtless very happy to keep it this way).

The region of particular interest for us is the Grand Ducky of Abhari-which, like the Southern Marches more generally, is hardly a stronghold for the Orthodox. The peculiarities of conquest-a religious war centred around the issue of necromancy-meant that the majority of indigenous priests-at least the upper ranks-and spirits had to be publicly condemned and punished after their surrender, and a frankly unique change in doctrine imposed from above. Two hundred years later, things have stabilized, but the region is still a religious tinderbox. Outside of the imperial elite, ancestor-worship and mortuary cults are utterly ubiquitous, with at minimum three legitimate Reapers known to be active in the region, and doubtless many more still trapped in ancient prison-temples.

In preparation for our arrival, I would strongly advise reading the available materials on the Path of Light, Abharan mystery cults, and Hierocratic tendencies amongst Marcher Witchfinders. I look forward to working with all of you in person.

Peace and Reason,

Academic Hira

Personal letter to other members of the Illyrin Committee's Abhari mission, later published as part of a general report on the resulting crisis.

#writing #worldbuilding #abhari #this is theoretically a writing blog

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nadziejastar · 5 years ago

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If you were to put together a deck of KH Tarot cards which characters would be which?

Ooh, this is fun. It’s like the characters in Persona.

Sora - The Fool

“The Wild card is a playing card that can represent any other card, or something that has an unexpected effect on a situation. It is like the number zero… empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself.”

The Fool represents new beginnings and carefree adventure. Though this card could indicate foolishness, it is more optimistic in the sense that it stands for pure actions and being free from the constraints of your present life. More than likely, there are important decisions coming your way. This Arcana is originally the only one that doesn’t have a number, thus it is considered as the Arcana number 0. The Fool Arcana tends to be the “jack of all trades”. Mythological figures of the Fool Arcana are often heroes, fools, or the protagonists of their own mythological stories.

Donald - The Magician

“Attaining one’s dream requires a stern will and unfailing determination.”The Magician is symbolic of action and power in your life. Its positive connotations illustrate someone who is a smooth talker and good at all aspects of communication. This card suggests using your strong will power to move forward and take action. A common trait shared between members of Magician Arcana is their strong vision and aspiration for the future, and fulfilling their inner potential.

Kairi/Naminé/Xion - The Priestess

“The silent voice within one’s heart whispers the most profound wisdom.”The High Priestess is a spiritually intuitive woman full of mystery, wisdom, and understanding. A journey of self-discovery goes hand-in-hand with the presence of this card in your spread. She stands for things yet to be discovered in your life. Individuals associated with the Priestess Arcana are usually quiet, reserved, hardworking and very intelligent. They are often modest and shy.

Aqua - The Empress

“Celebrate life’s grandeur…its brilliance…its magnificence…”

The Empress stands for all things motherly. A nurturing, loving problem solver, she indicates successful business ventures or other positive, productive opportunities to come. She suggests moving forward to fulfill your full potential. The Empress Arcana often belongs to women of authority or wise and motherly figures. Characters under this Arcana may also be cold-hearted in personality, but still present a high degree of care and concern towards others. And like queens, they are also very elegant in character.

Terra - The Emperor

“Only courage in the face of doubt can lead one to the answer…”

The Emperor, as the counterpart to the Empress, stands for all things fatherly. He is structure, order, and authority in your life. While moving forward in your endeavours, this card indicates that assertiveness and rationality will take you a long way. In tarot readings, the Emperor symbolizes the desire to control one’s surroundings, and its appearance could suggest that one is trying too hard to achieve this, possibly causing trouble for others; some elements in life are just not controllable. Characters of the Emperor Arcana are often male leaders or father figures (or both). Often times, the Emperor character is troubled by something very personal and doesn’t know how to deal with it.

Eraqus - The Hierophant

“It is indeed a precious gift to understand the forces that guides oneself…”

The Hierophant is a symbol of education, authority, conservatism, obedience to rules and relationship with the divine. The definition of a “hierophant” is a person who interprets sacred mysteries or esoteric principles, and the term was originally used to name ancient Greek priests who did so. Characters of the Hierophant Arcana are often older than the protagonist, and are typically quite wise and logical. The most common connection between Hierophant characters, however, is their association (and obsession) with the past.

Elrena - The Lovers

“There is both joy and wonder in coming to understand another…”

The Lovers Arcana initially represented two paths life could lead to, and thus a symbol of standing at a crossroad and needing to make a decision. Today, however, it is portrayed more of a symbol of love and romantic relationships, although it can also be a symbol of finding agreement with an ordinary friend or even two conflicting elements within.

Goofy - The Chariot

“One of life’s greatest blessings is the freedom to pursue one’s goals.”The Chariot reveals some sort of journey. With a positive connotation, this journey will most likely be a progression of some sort. It could also be the final success you have been working for. Portrayed as a king leading a chariot made up of two differently colored horses. The Chariot Arcana is a symbol of victory, conquest, self-assertion, self-confidence, control, war and command. Characters who are of the Chariot Arcana are typically very driven individuals, who have a personal goal that they aim to achieve at any cost. Combat-wise, they also tend to focus on physical attacks rather than magic.

Even - Justice

“To find the one true path, one must seek guidance amidst uncertainty…”

The Justice card is all about karma, fairness, and balance in different affairs in your life. It does not suggest an outcome that is either for or against you, but accountability, dignity, and integrity are all liked to its presence. In tarot readings, it means that one will have face a trial of their justice. Commonly, characters of the Justice Arcana are concerned with matters of fairness, and otherwise are very stoic individuals.

Ienzo - The Hermit

“It requires great courage to look at oneself honestly, and forge one’s own path…”

The Hermit is a card symbolic of seeking some sort of spiritual enlightenment. Solitary introspection and contemplation are also associated with the Hermit. Perhaps some soul-searching and reflection are required on your part. Similarly, Hermit Arcana characters share the commonality of placing themselves in situations that hide them from the public eye. Hermit individuals hide away from others or act in more supportive roles rather than putting themselves in the spotlight.

Luxord - Fortune

“Alongside time exists fate, the bearer of cruelty.”The Wheel of Fortune stands for fate, luck, changes, and a new direction in your life. While it also shows ups and downs, the overall feel of the card is a positive one indicating changes for the better and good fortune. Human characters of the Fortune Arcana are usually individuals who attempt to seize their own destiny in spite of fate and are typically involved with making important choices and decisions in response to what life throws at them.

Riku - Strength

“Only with strength can one endure suffering and torment.”

The Strength card shows a presence of self-assurance and confidently facing problems in your life. It suggests a person who enjoys power but has the capacity to exercise great self-control in all matters. Portrayed as a young woman holding up a terrifying beast, the Strength Arcana symbolizes an imagery beyond the Beast and Beauty, and is associated with the morality about the stronger power of self-control, gentleness, courage and virtue over brute force. A commonality between characters of the Strength Arcana is their strength of heart. Strength characters are not upset easily and typically portray the fortitude that the Strength card represents in readings.

Dilan - Lust

“Clearly distinguish between your ego and your intuitive self.”

The Hunger/Lust Arcana is not found in standard tarot decks. The Lust Arcana is the Thoth tarot equivalent of the Strength Arcana, numbered XI. Lust symbolizes the danger of losing control, of being consumed by power. The card also implies strength, but strength which comes through Dominance. It is not true power, but the pure bliss of abusing power.

Ansem - The Hanged Man

“In the face of disaster lies the opportunity for renewal.”The Hanged Man suggests some sort of metamorphosis through breaking patterns, letting go, or going through a period of transition. Although it could indicate having to give something up in order to gain a fresh perspective, it has neither positive or negative connotations. In Tarot readings, this card’s appearance can be seen as an advice to take the time necessary to reflect over one’s upcoming actions. Hanged Man characters are sometimes self-sacrificial, but are more often notable for being caught between two different extremes, parties or stages in life.

Lauriam - Death

“Free yourself from a past that no longer serves you well and proceed toward the future with all your heart.”The Death card shows some sort of dramatic change in order to have a new beginning. It is often associated with some sort of loss, failure, or destruction. While it is associated with foreboding and doom, the Death Arcana also symbolizes metamorphosis and deep change, regeneration and cycles. In the earliest Tarot decks, it was the only Arcana that didn’t have a name, but the depictions of an ominous skeleton bearing a scythe led people to call it Death.

Demyx - Temperance

“Find balance in your life and approach problems with a calm demeanor.”

The Temperance card suggests divine intervention, optimism, balance, and harmony. The positive overall presence of this card in your spread reveals high levels of self-confidence and control in your endeavors. Characters of the Temperance Arcana are often struggling to find a balance in their lives and in their hobbies.

Braig - The Devil

“Making the wisest of decisions requires one to escape from the desires of temptation.”

The Devil is about all things negative. Anger, violence, temptation, fear, and doubt are just some of the terrors associated with this card. It suggests feeling trapped perhaps in an unhealthy relationship, an addiction, or a lie. Portrayed as a hermaphrodite devil over two naked and chained figures, the negative aspect of the Devil Arcana represents the urge to do selfish, impulsive, violent things, and being a slave to ones’ own impulse and feelings. Human characters associated with the Devil Arcana are often “devilish” individuals; they can be greedy, proud, lustful, or otherwise of poor character. It is not uncommon for this type of character to have somewhat of an antisocial tendency, often not caring much for the needs or well-being of others.

Aeleus - The Tower

“See things as you want them to be in order to make them become that way. Knowing the worst is behind you can give strength.”

The Tower is all about unexpected events and changes coming up in your life. However, the changes are along the lines of something catastrophic, disastrous, and overall negative. The Tower Arcana is commonly associated to overly arrogant, prejudiced and authoritarian organization, which walk to their own ironic demise. Furthermore, it is also more generically used as an omen of doom and disaster. It can be seen as the worst card of the deck, as it rarely has a positive meaning. Human characters of the Tower Arcana can be arrogant, and typically find themselves in bad situations where they themselves have fallen from grace.

Roxas/Ventus - The Star

“The time of your renewal is approaching. You have chosen the right path to restore your mental and physical health. By being brave enough to choose the riskier roads, you will inspire those around you.”

The Star’s presence signifies a period of respite and renewal for you. This renewal may be spiritual, physical, or both. It is a light in the darkness, illuminating your future and your past. The Star is symbolic of hope, renewal, and beauty. It suggests a period of spiritual tranquility, happiness, and positive opportunities. The overall feeling of this card is optimistic and serene. Characters of the Star Arcana embody their arcana’s traits of hopefulness and joy.

Isa - The Moon

“The struggle to reach your potential may bring about many conflicts in your life, but the results will be beautiful.”

The Moon is an illusive and confusing card. It suggests the presence of risks, secrets, and some level of mental confusion. It is associated with creativity, inspiration, dreams, madness, illusions, fear, fantasy, the subconscious and trickery. In tarot readings, it can also represent being attuned subconsciously to the world around, gaining the ability to sense things without being told about them or without anyone else knowing. Characters who are of the Moon Arcana are often similarly psychically-attuned, but a more common trend is their projection of their own fears and faults onto others. They often tend to have trouble accepting themselves for who they are and, because of that fear, try to correspond to an ideal person. And like the Arcana, there is a hidden depth as to why they act in their behaviors.

Lea - The Sun

“Let your light shine. Be confident in the sacred power of your original nature.”

The Sun, being the opposition to the Moon, is a card full of life, joy, and energy. It reveals positive achievements, successful endeavors, and an overall manifestations of good fortune in your life. It symbolizes happiness, joy, energy, optimism, and accomplishment. Occasionally, it is also associated with one’s initial happiness. Persona of the Sun Arcana commonly excel in Light and Fire-based attacks. They are typically mythological figures directly related to the sun, light, or fire. Characters of the Sun Arcana almost always (ironically) find themselves in terrible situations, the situation belying the underlying optimism present in nearly all of them. Also, as the Sun Arcana portrays accomplishment, some of these characters have deep thoughts about the meaning of life and manage to find their answers.

Xehanort - Judgement

“The fruits of your decisions are coming and you will receive that which you deserve. The path at your feet and the direction it is leading you are clear. You will see your ultimate desire through to the end.”

The Judgement card is representative of some sort of change or transformation, likely one that has already occurred. It could mean the presence of a spiritual or professional calling and making decisions that will lead to your success. The Judgement Arcana, in tarot, is associated with realizing one’s calling, gaining a deep understanding of life and a feeling of acceptance and absolution.

In gameplay, the Judgement Arcana is commonly associated with a balance of Light and Darkness. Figures of the Judgement Arcana are usually related to Judgement Day myths or are gods tied directly to the judgement of humankind. Characters of the Judgement Arcana are well-aware, quite intelligent and view the world with infinite possibilities. Most powerful when combining their intuition with their smarts, their thought process is among the most vast and realistic.

Mickey - The World

“You must find your purpose to accomplish it. The same with dreams; you must first be aware of it to make it exist.”

The World card means satisfaction and success at a journey’s end. Fulfillment, rewards, certainty, and positive outcomes are all things directly associated with the presence of this card. It often appears as the final triumph arcana, creating miracles and aiding the protagonists. The World Arcana is a representation of the world’s totality, the symbol of fulfillment, wholeness and harmony. The World Arcana is commonly associated with Social Links, where its power is based upon the protagonist’s bonds with others.

#kh #kingdom hearts #kh meta #persona #tarot

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