#Arcana: The Holy Fool

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

assigning tarot cards to the LL cast and getting to five like no that's too many cards i said THREE. you can have THREE. put some back

[rollthedice-playthecards]

Orokana Makoto, L’Idiot.

[sanctus-ingenium]

Another one of these since i haven't done it in a while! Sketch -> finished illustration

Thoughts & process below the cut :>

Out of Bounds: i deleted the sketch of this off my ipad because i didn't like it, and for months it only existed as a screenshot on discord. finally in january of this year i was like Wait Actually and decided to keep working on it. I didn't achieve the look I was going for (kind of foggy and vague. It came out too sharp and high contrast) but it was fun to throw the kitchen sink at it for an afternoon and then call it done finally. I don't remember which horse this was originally supposed to be, I think Macha?

I reused the pose, you'll find the same one in my Pascal sketchbook from the section on gait studies. That's the cool thing about doing 30 sketches at once, you can finish them up any time you like for a different drawing

The Fool ft Islin: the original concept for this is from [takes a moment to decipher the american date system on discord] January 2022

It wasn't dynamic enough, but I've had this on the backburner for sooo long. I think I completed like 4 cards in between this sketch and the final version lol. But, for a bit of background, this is from my series of major arcana based in Inver, and in particular the events of the 1860s-era book series, Moth Viper Foal (a demo of the first book, Said The Black Horse, is available for free/pwyw in my shop). This scene is a companion to Said The Black Horse, depicting the aftermath of the traumatic fight that caused Islin to storm off. He had been working at the mill as a semiprofessional back alley surgeon when he received an offer to join the church and work as a trained surgeon in their hospital. But when he brought the good news back to his friends it was met with utter rejection, driving him to basically run away to join the church. while gay and trans. thus the card.

he didn't actually bring a bag with him when he ran out but for the sake of the card i drew him with one

Gryfon and Pantera: This is how 99% of holy beast drawings start out, even the super stylised ones. I struggle a lot to draw them in procreate so they start in sai and then i transfer them over. The story of this is already explained in the caption of the original post so I'll just talk about the process which was... honestly torturous. I actually don't like too much textures and effects on things (wild, I know) and this one and Out of Bounds are ones where I kind of preferred it pre-texturising.

The text on the side is the official in-universe report of the event, detailing the casualties, the valiant actions of Gryfon's knight before he died and so on. There's also spoilers in there :>

My main struggle with this art style is how it always ends up slightly TOO sharp and crisp in a way the just a blur filter never can correct. There's not a lot of immersion to break, to be fair, but I think this still does it a little. I need to get more comfortable doing the lines with larger and softer brushes, and allowing imperfections.

[blitz0hno]

Times Milgram has implied 3 kayanosys alters sorted by how much of a stretch I think I'm making:

1. His chess piece in Deep Cover

Kotoko is a highly intuitive person - her subconscious has represented Mikoto with three distinct parts on his representative chess piece, and that could mean nothing, sure, but it's a possibility. also worth noting that when this breaks, it shows two prongs broken off, with the third missing. This is shown twice:

The paint splatters for that half are connected, while the other one that broke off was straying away. This is consistent enough for me to consider it a hint at something.

2. Backdraft, in which Mikoto has 3 lines of paint over him. The other guilty prisoners only get one. It looks eerily similar to the chess piece.

3. His birthday flowers. Everyone else got one distinct flower - Mikoto has 3. I don't remember what they all are but in the depths of Tumblr there's an analysis I'm sure I remember existing so shout-out to that mf.

both his prisoner number and birth date are divisible by 3 but that's a bit of a reach lol

4. These flashes in Double

Why 3 silhouettes? Why is one cut off? Could be for aesthetics, could be a clue.

3 eyes = 3 points of view? Mild stretch, but the art of Milgram strikes me as very very intentional. The repeated vertical "stacking" of the lines in Deep Cover, Backdraft, and these eyes remind me of the concept of structural/tertiary dissociation, but again a bit of a reach

4. His uniform

Would almost rank this above Double's visuals. Sure, nearly every prisoner has three vertical straps across the torso, but Mikoto has 3 horizontal straps across his waist and 3 on his wrists (worth noting that the third wrist strap is broken on the Double album cover, which matches the breakage in Deep Cover's MV). 3 stacked lines again. A pattern is a pattern I suppose.

5. A) how the fuck did he know to do this when Mikoto and John had no clue what was happening to them, B) we never see him with his hair like this after MeMe. He disappeared, like Mikoto is implied to be trying to do in Neoplasm. Presumably, he split and/or stopped fronting, resulting in the theoretical "other" two taking over.

6. This frame in Under: MEOWWWWWW BIIIIIG STRETCH!! He's holding up 3 fingers lol (also emphasizing the wrist straps). I'm reaching the way he reaches for his face under stress but it's Something

Some other things that are almost too minor to consider but I thought about them anyway because this project has driven me insane:

-repeated use of red-green-blue-specific coloring in both MeMe and Double

-John is associated with Christ imagery (crown of thorns graphic in Double, "savior" complex etc.), which is closely linked with the "Holy Trinity." The 3 aspects are all considered equally God, and at the same time, equally their own being. Never understood that until I understood plurality, even though we aren't religious anymore.

-3 prevalent major arcana - the Fool, the Hanged Man, and the Devil - in MeMe; followed up by Death at the end (drastic change).

- 9/3 = 3 (could be a coincidence). Also his bangs are divided into three parts (big stretch)

In conclusion either this all means absolutely nothing or I'm about to boost my "theory maker" credibility tenfold in t3 lmao only time will tell

[j4gm]

SPOILERS!!! REFERENCES AND EASTER EGGS IN F&C ep. 7: THE STAR

Let's see what this episode has in store.

This is an alternate universe where Simon was killed by vampires before he found Marceline. Even the scientific parasite in his breast pocket looks like it has been drained of blood.

Our Simon demonstrating his survival skills. We never got to see him dealing with vampires in his own universe, but presumably he ran into them a few times and is familiar with their weaknesses.

These kinds of vampire minions last appeared in the Stakes miniseries. They are a lot more varied in design now. Also, the architecture of this world is interesting. It looks like gothic palaces have been built into the roots of decaying skyscrapers.

Bonnie's crew has several of the familiar vampire hunting tools from Stakes, including stake launchers and garlic bombs. They also douse some of the vampires in holy water, which was previously shown to harm demons in the episode Dad's Dungeon. This is the first time it's been seen working on vampires.

Marshall Lee has a Hambo mirror decoration. In the prime universe Hambo was Marceline's toy teddy bear, given to her by Simon.

Martin is an interesting choice for Bonnie's crew. In this universe it seems like he never had a son, since the humans presumably never left Ooo for the Islands. It also seems like he's a better person here, willing to risk his life to follow Fionna's noble lead. He has the same jacket as he had in The Visitor, which several people identified when we first saw Fionna wearing it in the trailer.

The cat on Bonnie's mug is Timmy from the episode The Pajama War. The fact she broke it is surely the most heartbreaking loss of this episode :(

The other member of the team is Huntress Wizard, who looks to be a human in this universe for some reason. I don't think Huntress Wizard was originally human in the prime universe.

Baby Finn snuck into this universe, and by the end of the episode was left to be raised by self-repairing battletank single gay dad PepButt. I'm sure he'll turn out fine.

The Cosmic Owl has been flagged up on Scarab's arrest list for "profiteering". Perhaps his neglect of his duties during Hoots has been discovered, or perhaps this is a new crime.

There are loads of new genderswapped characters in this scene. I've already reblogged a post listing all the ones we've spotted so far, so refer to that for details. The most significant is Ms. Abadeer. According to the credits, her first name is Hana.

Even Billy has been slain by vampires.

Princess Bubblegum calls Fionna a dillweed, her go-to insult from the episode Hot Diggity Doom. It's good to hear some Adventure Time swearing from time to time despite the liberties they're taking with the TV-14 rating.

Enter the titular character! Like the other members of the Vampire Court from Stakes, Marceline has taken a new name from the ranks of the Major Arcana of a tarot deck: The Star. Huntress mentions that she is the last member of the court, having outlived everyone beside the Vampire King himself. The fact she can fly suggests she killed and sucked The Fool's soul despite him being a fellow member of the court.

She is seen using her soul-sucking demon powers, inherited from Hunson, on Martin. She also demonstrates that she has no problem drinking blood in this universe, despite the fact vampires can eat the colour red.

Bonnie and The Star have such an interesting dynamic in this episode. It seems like fate is seeking to entwine them, but this has been twisted into a relationship of mutual hatred. Yet The Star is furious when a minion suggests she kill Bonnie, and Bonnie fails to take an opportunity to kill The Star later on. Something is keeping these two immortals in an eternal dance, even in a universe where they are arch nemeses.

A lot of this series has centred around Simon's relationship to fatherhood, and realising that he is a better dad than some of the others he's met will likely end up being a key moment in his recovery.

I believe this section was boarded by Hannah K. You've probably all seen her famous Bubbline stakeplay drawing. This scene must have been fun to draw.

I really enjoyed the parallel of Gary and Marshall getting their climactic kiss while Bonnie and The Star fell together to their deaths, demonstrating that the girls' fall was just as gay as the boys kissing, but in a very different way. We also know from interviews that Gary and Marshall's relationship is supposed to parallel that of early Bubbline in the prime universe. Perhaps Princess Bubblegum got Marceline out of a bad deal with Hunson Abadeer, shortly after their first meeting at Marceline's concert, and that's when they first hit it off.

The dream in this episode's credits features Marceline's house; a home that neither The Star nor this Marshall Lee have ever known.

[makapatag]

The swordgendered, non-binary MC of THE KNIGHT VAGRANT. Raxri Uttara, The Once-Dead, for they were murdered, betrayed by Heaven and the Earth. Shorn of all memory and all cultivation, they must claw their way up the rungs of power once again until their fingers are bloody and raw.

"Stop! Stop! It is better to give up! It will take a million years to get back from where you were!" No matter to Raxri Uttara. Their vengeance is their meditation. One step at a time, until all beings are free. Until the world's mysteries are revealed. Until their will is done.

What is a hurricane to an ant? They are inextricably connected, Raxri would say. They are both immovable and unstoppable. A monsoon of swords.

Unassuming by nature, they are nonetheless wracked by a deep, indescribable sorrow, depression, guilt, and anxiety, which they push through by taking things one step at a time. Extremely versatile, Raxri is not one to master a single Violent System or Magickal Praxes, choosing instead to learn as many different systems as they can.

Name: Raxri Uttara Epithets: Once-Dead, The Heaven Dancer, The Swordhand, They Who Danced Against The Heavens Cultivation Level: 4 Mortal State (Accumulation Stage of the Desire Domain) Arcana: The Holy Fool Star Omen: The Water Bearer Blood Type: Air Violent Systems: Whorl Hand, Adamantine Sword Magickal Praxes: Mantra, Mudra Signature Technick: << ADAMANTINE SWORD: ADAMANT LIGHTNING STRIKES >> Likes: All food (especially rice meals), betel nut chewing, smoking, reading manuscripts, learning new Cultivation Systems, killing, stronger opponents, learning new technicks and magicks Dislikes: Poetry, writing, too sweet pastries, those that willingly misinterpret the Law, philosophy

THE KNIGHT VAGRANT?

THE KNIGHT VAGRANT is a spiritpunk progression ultrafantasy web novel in the universe of HINGSAJAGRA, a world wrought from Monsoon Asia and Esoteric Buddhism. Monsoon Asia Disco Elysium Xianxia.

Art by: @coldhazzard!

[crescentmoonteas]

IF YOU REGRET / RESET THE GAME

art by Lyn @jazlyn_jin!

hi! want to experience all the highs and lows of IYR/RTG (IF YOU REGRET / RESET THE GAME) but have no idea where to start or what Lyn and I are even going on about? no problem! here's a starter pack/summary post that'll get you up to speed in no time 💫

the tldr is that it's a roleswap AU where Haru is the protag and Ann is the traitor. the "not long enough; need more context" (doesn't roll off the tongue quite like tldr though) is below the read more!!

NOTE: this AU contains spoilers for both vanilla Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. you've been warned!

most of the information for the AU is very neatly summed up (and comes with extremely good art by Lyn) in this thread on Lyn's twitter. below is more of a neat recap containing some plot points and stuff that you can use for reference or whatever.

what does IYR/RTG mean?

it means "if you regret, reset the game" and is a lyric from the song Axe to Grind from Persona 5 Strikers! it's a reference to how the roleswap is essentially a 'reset' of the canon game.

how did the AU come about?

two years ago I (Ash) posted a silly tweet about a roleswap AU "but it's just the Thieves put in a randomiser" and Lyn saw traitor!Ann and went wild. anyway two years passed and we're now back working together to make the AU a reality! sort of! we're not Maruki! maybe!

new roles!

🍀 Haru: Fool/Wild Card

🪶 Goro: Magician

⚡️ Sumi: Chariot

🦚 Yusuke: Lovers

👾 Futaba: Emperor

🌀 Morgana: Priestess

👑 Makoto: Hermit

♟️ Akira: Empress

🐈 Ann: Justice

💎 Ryuji: Faith

new personas!

🍀 Haru: Eurydice + Tyche + Atropos

🪶 Goro: The Mórrígan + Crowley + Hereward

⚡️ Sumi: Raijū + Cerberus + Anubis

🦚 Yusuke: Oshichi + Kikuri-Himei + Suzaku

👾 Futaba: MYDOOM + Sputnik 1 + ELIZA

🌀 Morgana: Babel + Seraph + Adam

👑 Makoto: Ophelia + Rapunzel + Vivian

♟️ Akira: Le Horla + d'Artagnan + Raoul

🐈 Ann: Daphne + Medusa + Persephone

💎 Ryuji: [SPOILER] + [SPOILER] + [SPOILER]

new confidants!

Wakaba Isshiki is now the Judgment Arcana

Jin Akechi is now the Devil Arcana

Nozomi Akechi is now the Tower Arcana

Kasumi Yoshizawa is now the Moon Arcana

new palaces! (and some returning ones!)

Madarame (Greed)

Shun Nanami (Wrath)

Kobayakawa (Boasting)

Makoto Niijima (Acedia)

Fumiko and Atsuto Kurusu (Pride)

Wakaba Isshiki (Envy)

Kamoshida (Lust)

Holy Grail (Sloth)

Yaldabaoth (every single sin at once)

Maruki (Sorrow)

new all out attack screens! (screens to be drawn, here's the phrases they have!)

🍀 Haru: Lucky Strike

🪶 Goro: Any Way The Wind Blows

⚡️ Sumi: Danger! High Voltage

🦚 Yusuke: Après Moi, Le Déluge

👾 Futaba: GG NO RE

🌀 Morgana: I Said No Running

👑 Makoto: Lifeguard On Duty

♟️ Akira: Checkmate

🐈 Ann: That's All Folks!

💎 Ryuji: [SPOILER]

new plot changes!

Kawakami now works at Crossroads part-time rather than the maid service. there is no maid service in IYR/RTG.

Crossroads is also the place where Haru winds up spending most of her time due to the high number of confidants there and their lax rules about having birds in the bar

there's also a new waitress at Crossroads called Ren!

Shido is a complete nobody in the AU and is not relevant to the plot at all

the confidants that have been swapped out are either dead (sorry Sae) or they no longer need their confidant chain doing due to the lack of Shido in the AU

Ohya is now having a great time with her reporting partner and probably drinks a somewhat reasonable amount now maybe

Haru's dad is alive and well and still a complete asshole

Ryuji is fine :) stop asking questions about him :)

[greenboyfriend]

choose a kaiju! (tarot card reading)

source image/kaiju 1: this kaiju has dyed himself green, blue and red to deter from his menacing fish mouth and beady black eyes. he even has spots! image/kaiju 2: this kaiju definitely listens to lofi hip hop. the swirly colorful lines on his head are indicative of his massive brain, just as his bright yellow spandex are of... something else. image/kaiju 3: this kaiju is just a frog.

1. .・。.・゜✭

right now is a wonderful time to relax! there are some opportunities ahead for you, but at the moment, it seems like a good idea to enjoy some peace and quiet. calling a truce may be important in order to realize this. know that you're surrounded by love, you have a firm base to stand on and you're protected by those around you. in your future, you will be presented with a new opportunity. to harness this, you must focus on what will produce tangible results & being practical, while also leaning in heavily to your intuition. let go of expectations, of how it "should" be, or look. work with what you have, but don't be afraid to do some exploring for new supplies. overall, you will need to be true to yourself in this upcoming endeavor, and really tune in to your gut reactions/intuition. and yes, that means chasing that pipe dream! go for it!! the most important thing is that you follow your heart... even if it seems kinda crazy at first!!

(page of pentacles reversed, the fool, 10 of cups, page of cups reversed)

2. .・。.・゜✭

holy cow!! 4 major arcana! this is probably an important moment in your life. these cards seem to imply that the time to act is now, or soon. you may be reluctant to get things into gear, but consider the potential your actions may hold. allow new developments to unfold. you will be surprised at a new turn of events, and will gain a greater perspective concerning your purpose. this is a powerful movement, you're going from the known into the unknown. you may even feel caught in the middle of things. however, you'll receive the answers to your questions soon, or otherwise see the obstacles in your path clear. it may be somewhat tumultuous, but you must keep your serene center, like the eye of a hurricane. it's good to be unbothered!

(the wheel of fortune, death, the high priestess reversed, the star)

3. .・。.・゜✭

lots of turning points for y'all today! im thinking that you're going to be moving into a new frame of mind soon. this way of thinking has an air of innocence, especially towards yourself; you're being "acquitted" from your negative thoughts. surround yourself with things that make you feel good- good thoughts, good people, good everything! this change will help you discover old patterns & cycles, and will even show you your role/purpose. expect a change in fortune. every cause has an effect- how does thinking positively affect you in the long term? you're set to find out! you may also have to take responsibility for something, admit the truth, or do what must be done. karma is important. this may take the form of some sort of journey, where you're physically moving locations. it's time to pick up the pace!

(6 of cups reversed, the wheel of fortune, justice, 6 of swords)

thanks for reading! shoot me a message/ask to book a reading! ^.^

[fictionkinfessions]

I feel like there are two gripping claws inside of me, pulling me side-to-side with nails sunken into my pelt. Using me as the rope in their endless game of tug-of-war.

I feel so much sorrow, so much bitter malady lays on my tongue when I say her name; when I think of her. How desperately I wish to entangle my own clawed hands into her soft fur once more- hold onto her like a coiling python; we both know she was nothing more than prey. She is nothing more than prey to me. The snake still sleeps for the hare it has slain.

The anger I feel is no longer just. It is not righteous or pure and holy; it is tainted and vile and venomous. I go from one light to another, from my darling rabbit I depart and hunt for that who is brightest. Wires to wires, electricity to electricity. I don't think he even bled.

If they knew what I'd done they'd hate me. They already do, I am well aware of that.

Under what is either aspen or birch, I sit in solitude; it is better this way. Where my searing gaze will not bore into flesh? Where my hands will not reach out and rip; tear limb from limb what could never be mine. A body that is my own, a name, a face, a voice.

This is not the path I chose. This is not who I was ever meant to be, and yet I march forth; I must continue to cull the herd of fools before they lead me to my own demise.

The Embodiment of The Fool of Major Arcana,

FOLLY [💭][REGRETEVATOR FICTIVE]

x

[stvlti]

the last of the (false) prophets | a Dune fanmix

I've made the general Dune Part II mixtape and I've made the ironic FeydPaul mixtape, it's time for a Paul-centric playlist. This one is also made in the context of Part II because that film has bewitched me mind, body and soul 😔

► TRACKS

01. Eat the Acid - Kesha /// 02. Brutus - Emma Blackery /// 03. DNA - Kendrick Lamar /// 04. THE REV3NGE - Joey Bada$$ /// 05. Burning - Yeah Yeah Yeahs /// 06. Darwinism - Halsey /// 07. Found Heaven - Conan Gray /// 08. Only in My Dreams - The Marías /// 09. Routines in the Night - Twenty One Pilots /// 10. Jesus Lived In A Motel Room - HYUKOH /// 11. Shine On You Crazy Diamond (Parts I–V) - Pink Floyd /// 12. Writer In The Dark - Lorde /// to be continued...

Tracklist updated on 18 Nov 2024.

► META

I think the song choices are pretty self explanatory, so I'm not gonna write a big long song-by-song breakdown this time. I do have some notes on the choice of cover artwork and the pov of this playlist though.

If it isn't apparent by now, Paul isn't my fave character in Dune canon – Feyd-Rautha is. So why am I making a playlist dedicated to a character I don't even love?

In my years of consuming and creating art for my fandoms, I don't think I've ever come across a morally grey character that's half as complex and intriguing as Paul. Sure, I'm familiar with corruption arcs and self-styled messianic figures (Light Yagami from Death Note comes to mind). I've written for and continue to love characters who underwent cataclysmic deaths and resurrections, and came back wrong (see: Jason Todd from DC/Batman). And sure, Paul's character arc can similarly be boiled down to these familiar story beats of resurrection and corruption, but he's no angel at the start of his journey. He's aware of the trajectory of his story in ways these other characters aren't by virtue of being a seer of prescient visions. To walk clear-sightedly into his own ruination is such a fascinating thing to me.

Those familiar with the Major Arcana suit of the tarot cards will know the significance of The Fool: he is at the start of his journey, appearing to walk leftwards off a cliff with an optimistic smile because he's as yet unburdened by higher knowledge of lurking dangers. Like The Fool, I have Paul facing leftwards on this cover (flipped horizontally from the original Dune 2021 IMAX poster), because he too is embarking on a transformative journey when he enters the Arrakis deserts. The difference is, of course, that he becomes aware of his terrible destiny as a messianic figurehead for a holy war as soon as he sets off for this journey. And so it isn't with carefree optimism but the knowledge of his ruin hanging heavily on his shoulders that he takes his first steps into the desert.

The other major difference between the playlist cover and the Fool's tarot card design is how much smaller Paul's figure is in the composition of the whole image. The desert background easily dwarves his figure, which is something I've always loved about the IMAX poster. Despite all his visions of futures where he ascends to the mantle of a messianic leader, he is still just, at this moment in the canon timeline, a child. Small, and all alone in his journey. Not even his mother Lady Jessica would come to understand the weight of the transformation he will undergo.

Many of the songs on this playlist were ones that didn't make the cut for my general Dune playlist. But as I went along I realised it's grown into a love letter for Paul's character from the perspective of a sympathetic reader. "Found Heaven" and "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" only make sense as monologues addressed to Paul.

Your heart is breaking as you leave that door

You never meant to start this holy war

But you're trapped, pack your bags

Don't look back

Don't be scared, little child

You're no demon

Rewatching Dune Part I really brought it home for me just how much of a child Paul still is when he enters the Fremen's deserts. He is frightened out of his mind by the knowledge that he will come to be the figurehead for whom millions will wage a holy war to the devastation of entire planets and deaths of billions, and it's a burden for him to bear alone. Did anyone ever stop to tell him not to fear?

Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun ...

Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky ...

You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,

Blown on the steel breeze ...

Come on you raver, you seer of visions,

Come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!

If I'm not mistaken, "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" was written for Pink Floyd's own Syd Barrett, a genius lyricist whose declining mental health forced him to quit the scene too soon. Obvious parallels to Paul's madness aside, I like the metaphor this adds to Paul as not only a prophet but a painter / artist – which he is to an extent. He is an architect shaping the world into a future only he sees. The tragedy is of course that visionary artists often go where their lovers can't follow.

Now she's gonna play and sing and lock you in her heart

Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark

I am my mother's child, I'll love you 'til my breathing stops

I'll love you 'til you call the cops on me

But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power

I'll find a way to be without you, babe

[atamascolily]

Walpurgisnacht as 'The Hanged Man'

Since the trailer for Walpurgis no Kaiten strongly suggests a tarot theme, I've been thinking about what other cards from the Major Arcana might play a role. Given that Walpurgisnacht is upside down, 'The Hanged Man' seems like a logical possibility.

'The Hanged Man' in the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck, illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith (1909).

'The Hanged Man' is an interesting card, because the pose itself was originally a mode of execution in medieval Italian city-states for traitors that was meant to be as degrading and humiliating as possible, but it has since shifted to be a kind of sacrificial holiness (often represented by saints, martyrs or other religious figures), embodying a kind of culmination of a spiritual path, where one descends into the land of the dead/the unconscious and returns with insights that are integrated into the psyche. This parallels the kind of mystical union or spiritual transmutation sought out by alchemists like Goethe's Faust (a major influence on PMMM as a whole).

The glowing halo around the figure's head is echoed by the mandala around Walpurgisnacht, which represents creation as well as destruction. The figure is also suspended from a living tree, which mirrors Walpurgisnacht's trees, although hers are (seemingly) dead.

In my own Tarot deck, the equivalent is "Intermission," featuring a magician wrapped in a chains and hanging upside down above a stage, which I think neatly summarizes this archetype. It's the nadir and seemingly lowest point, but it's not the end, it's the pause right before the dramatic and triumphant comeback. It's also fitting, because this card is the twelfth out of twenty-one cards in the Major Arcana, thus coming in at roughly the halfway point of the Fool's Journey.

My usual go-to for 'The Hanged Man' in PMMM is Mami, who models that same pose in the original series, but I can't deny there are also parallels with Walpurgisnacht. It will be interesting to see if Walpurgis no Kaiten uses them in any fashion, or if the creators will go in a different direction instead.

[novemquadragintillion]

⚠️ major spoilers LotM 2: Coi - chp 1034 ⚠️

OK I'm still disappointed that Zhou/Klein couldn't tell the Tarot Club all his secrets himself, but damn!!! I'm ecstatic about Volume 6 overall!! Celestial Worthy despairing was SO GOOD. LUMIAN GOT TO MEET MR. FOOL!! AND LUMIAN GOT TO DRAW A MAJOR ARCANA CARD?!!!!! HELP THIS IS SO BADASS SJDJDJJSJSJSJ

He first drew "The World", drew again, and then drew The Chariot!!!! (I wonder if that will be major foreshadowing later..??). LUMIAN IS MR. CHARIOT!! :D So that's the card that represents the Red Priest/ Hunter pathway!!

The Empress card is for Franca in the future, for the Demoness/ Assassin pathway!!

LUMIAN GOES TO HIS FIRST TAROT CLUB MEETING!!!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHH

JUSTICE CURTSIES AND SAYS HELLO TO MR. FOOL AGAIN!!!!! 😭💖

Lumian meets Madam Temperance (Sharron!!), who I guess is a Tarot Club member with a Card too!!

Gehrman Sparrow/ The Fool appears at the end of the bronze table!!!! :') YESSSSSS

AND THAT'S THE END!! Holy shittt. I'm screaming internally <3 It's so cool that Lumian is The Chariot!! I like it!!! This is insanely exciting!! I wonder what will happen in the future now!! Lumian will continue to go after the Sq0 throne or Above the Sq throne, and the resurrection of Aurore!! He has to continue to look into the situation with the Primordial Demoness too.. why did the Demoness blur out the ritual process for Sq0 within the Card of Blasphemy I wonder? And meanwhile Lumian will have to eventually fight Medici... Sksjdjsjsjsjdj

What will Gehrman Sparrow do? Can he exist in the physical world and help?? It was depressing when Mr. Fool told Lumian that it's inevitable that Mr. Fool will lose against CW :( I hope he gets to live life more normally before that... will he and the other transmigrators ever get back home?

Meanwhile, I need to look for more Lumian fan art sometime!! I want to see depictions of him as or with the Chariot card, and the dream team with their 'modern' clothing :') Also Demoness Lumian, I'll look for that too!! ok time for me to stop rambling

[galaxyglowtarot]

What does The High Priestess Tarot card mean?

The High Priestess Upright Meaning

The High Priestess is a Major Arcana, or "trump" card, that represents human wisdom. The High Priestess can be viewed as a kind of female Pope (a Papess), or the ancient Egyptian Priestess of Isis, the even more ancient snake and bird goddesses, the Greek goddess Persephone, or Eve, before the fall.

For the accused heretics who were burnt at the stake for revering her in the 14th and 15th century, the Priestess symbolized the prophecy of the return of the Holy Spirit, which was perceived as the female aspect of the Holy Trinity.

In terms of the Major Arcana ordering of cards, The High Priestess appears in the sequence as soon as the Fool decides he wants to develop his innate powers, making a move toward becoming a Magician. The High Priestess is his first teacher, representing the inner life and the method for contacting it, as well as the contemplative study of nature and spiritual mystery.

The High Priestess Reversed Meaning

The High Priestess card reversed suggests that when you have problems, it's usually because you are so attracted to your inner life that it has become an addiction in itself. It blots out your interest in ordinary reality, friends, and family -- the connections that hold us fast to our worldly identities.

Don't take this card as permission to abandon the world. This is a reminder to balance your outer identifications with internal cultivation, so you can more effectively bring the spiritual world to the material world.

The High Priestess Advice Position

The High Priestess advises you to adhere to your chosen spiritual practice on a more regular basis. If you want the benefits of evolution, you'll have to cooperate with spirit. We all have distractions, demands -- a whole life full of reasons why we cannot find the time to retreat into our inner sanctum.

Until you consider this as vital to your well-being as the need to eat and sleep, you are likely to be eternally restless and deeply dissatisfied. A spiritual routine that suits your temperament, practiced every day, is the most trustworthy path to freedom.

[blazerwyvernmaster]

Abel, The Pious Adventurer

Hmmm...so you guys picked thr most plot important character who I can't say much about due to spoilers.

Spoilers that I...will probably never show because...he's not really going to be in any official material of mine.

...eh.

Basics

Abel is a mysterious person who seems to have some sort of connection with the world of shadows, as well as the personas that the party wields. They claim to have been "reborn" a few years ago, which aligns with a devastating event that created the shadow world, The Dark Garden.

He wants to understand and support humanity and seems to not understand the new modern world. Still, he makes extreme efforts to fit in with the other people around him.

While he does not like violence and actively seems to want to stop you from committing acts of violence, he eventually decides to fight with you in order to defeat the shadows.

Outside of The Dark Garden, he can still use his abilities, which is something no other character can do.

Personality

Abel is a very kind, curious, and trusting person, believing in the power of humanity and peace. He loves everything about the new world (except the bad stuff) and is extremely empathetic and compassionate, almost to a fault.

He is very emotional. That combined with his compassion, trusting nature (which to many is seen as gullibility) and curiosity tend to lead hik down odd paths. He may not know a lot about this new world, or himself, but he's determined to help others.

Combat

His persona doesn't exactly take shape early on into the story, but eventually it does.

I'm not entirely sure what to make his persona yet.

I was thinking either Baldur from Norse Methology or John the Savage from the Brave New World.

Baldur was an Aesir and the son of Frigg. She dreamed that he would die, and to avoid this, made every object swear to not hurt Baldur. Except mistletoe, which Loki used to kill him by crafting a spear(or arrow) out of it. He is prophesied to return someday after Ragnarok.

John is a character from Brave New World. He is a part of a group of people living in a place known as The Savage Reservation, where people who do are jot a part of the titular new world are from.He is taken to the new world by the main character Bernand. Unfortunately, he rejects society's values and prefers to live as people did in older times, which eventually leads him to be both shunned and dehumanizing, leading to his suicide.

As a party member, he specializes in

High speed and endurance, with lower strike damage from fists/gauntlets.

Wind spells.

Recovery magic, including healing and status recovery.

Confusion and Forget status ailments

Defense debuffs.

Good almighty damage??

He is strong against wind, ice and light attacks. He is the only member of the party to be weak to a physical element, that being strike damage.

Arcana and Story Arc

Abel is the Star. He is wandering through a world that is unfamiliar to him, a world that is dangerous and often threatening, with hope. He is constantly being treated as a nuisance and a fool by those who don't know him, but his positivity and faith never wavers.

He eventually decides to attend a church, has a pleasant enough time, and wishes to be as kind and caring as the good people in the Bible were... but suddenly stopped going after getting to a certain section. Plus, the people have been using the holy word for somewhat nefarious purposes; to put fear into the hearts of the people and to shun others, which he dislikes.

[aria-i-adagio]

Writerly Thumbprint Tag

Rules: look back on your work, both past and present, finished and unfinished. what are five (or more!) narrative elements, themes, topics or tropes that continuously pop up in your work?

This was fan. And fear not @atypicalacademic, I have arrived so you need not be alone in feeling pretentious. Tagging: @motherofqups, @hoochieblues, @hollyand-writes, @niffty24, @ankoku-jin (only if you would like, of course), and if you would like, but aren't tagged, feel free to play and tag me back.

Under the cut because someone is a bit wordy.

Have a little grief with your mourning? Yeah, yeah… severely traumatized teenager starts writing about death and twenty years later is still writing about death…trite… I get it, but at least it is more writing about living past death. The Opposite of Falling ended up being me working through a number of olds griefs and the sense that in many ways, the process of mourning and the right to grieve had been stolen from me. Dema (MC/apprentice) begins without even the knowledge of what she has lost, just an inchoate sense of grief. The rest is her process of digging through what is missing and climbing back out of the grave. Adrian (Hawke), on the other hand, is painfully cognizant of everything he has lost, and is tying himself into knots to avoid losing anyone else: haunting and ever-present grief. And in a third category, we have Evyn, who is ‘refusing’ grief and telling himself that it is necessary to ignore it in order to survive. (Which may be true, but eventually all debts come due.)

Masks/The Fiction of Relationship Who knows you? Does anyone know you? And if no one does, is it because you never allowed your mask to slip? Or because they refused to see when it did? Both The Arcana and Dragon Age have been productive sandboxes to play with this theme. Dema questions at points whether she is real in any meaningful way or just artistry on the part of Asra. DA2, and then Inquisition, raises the question of just how much did Uncle Varric lie? Even within Varric’s narrative the distinction between the Champion of Kirkwall and the person of Hawke. And depending on how you read/interpret/ignore DA:I commentary the extent to which anyone in Kirkwall knew or didn’t know Anders. I’m diving further into this one with Evyn and Sindre, and the line at which the mask one creates for a purpose subsumes the authentic self. It’s going to be fun.

The Gospel According to Biff Have you read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Jesus’s Best Pal (Christopher Moore)? You haven’t? Go read, my dear one. I’ll be here when you get back. This theme is about losing the person you love most, even as you still have them by your side. At first, to the cause they’re chosen, and then eventually to pastiche created of them in legend. Wondering if you did know them at all. Raging that these others who claim to love them know nothing at all of them (and will only consume them). Desperation to protect the beloved, but to turn them away from their path would be its own kind of betrayal. The protector is unable to save the beloved without destroying them in a different way. Adrian’s (Hawke) arc is where I am really digging into this theme, and it overlaps with both of the themes above. He’s twisting and turning to avoid experiencing anymore loss, and fighting against a mask that was crafted for him, along the questions about a mask he might have created in his own mind for Anders.

The Holy Fool/The Holy Innocent I am somewhat conflating two tropes here, and that is without getting into the various permutations of the Holy Fool in hagiography and literature. …But I’m not going to write that essay right now. The Holy Fool is in the world, but alien to the social structures and mores. In their displacement and confusion they ‘unmask’ the world as it is as not being inevitable, but as entirely contingent on the extent to which people participate in it ways. We don’t have to be cruel, or duplicitous, or greedy, or any other number of traits we tell ourselves are necessary to get by. I hope this came out in how I wrote Julian Devorak, who I really don’t think ever quite ‘gets’ the world he inhabits, and his alienation from it feeds much of his despair. (And if I ever follow up on my instinct to write the type of story Muriel should have gotten, Muriel is definitely holy fool material.) The Fool, however, is not the prophet, because the Fool’s central trait is their lack of understanding and their innocence. They couldn’t quite explain what is wrong if they tried, and it is through their existence as someone who doesn’t quite understand which challenges the status quo, rather than any positive action on their part. (Hi Rhys!) This same trait can also make the Fool quite frustrating to the people around him. (Again: hi, Rhys!) Of course, sometimes, the Holy Fool becomes self aware and begins to understand the world around them and actively engage in criticism or change. In which case we move to….

Anyone who Thinks God is on their Side is as Dangerous as Hell (“My angelic Aleksey will kill the tsar…”) This is, I think, largely construed as a negative trope, and I most definitely am exploring the negative side in ‘fml, the silly omegaverse bit grew out of control' project. In the real world, with the various concurrent rises of religiously flavored nationalism, it is clear enough how someone believing God is on their side (or letting their useful idiots believe god is on there side) is absolutely terrifying. Institutionalized religion is general the servant of the status quo, the regressive, and the oppressive. But the prophetic side of religion does not need to be inherently conservative or regressive. The prophet is directly engaged in attempting to transform society, and often to transform society in a way which brings about greater justice. (Points to the books of the Prophets in the Bible, that wonderful section of the Bible that conservative evangelical Christians really don’t like to talk about.) This engagement brings the prophet into conflict with the state, more often than not leading to their demise. The prophet, however, may need to kill the tsar. (Or blow up the Chantry, you know…)

So, as you can see, I do use my degrees in Theology and Counseling, just not for what I am supposed to be using them for.

I am also having way too fun incorporating overt GENDER FUCKERY into the current project. (Which will also apply the theology and counseling degrees.) But we don’t have time to unpack that right now.

[congregamus]

V. THE HEIROPHANT

Five in the minor arcana suggests conflict of some sort. Depending on some suits, or interactions with other cards, to varying degrees, Four stabilizes, and Five destabilizes.

That seems out of place with THE HEIROPHANT, doesn’t it?

Wouldn’t you think the Pope would represent a high level of order? Wouldn’t you expect relative peace from that? Apparently, not. (I confess that I have ample cause to be against the clergy as a class, and that is certainly a destabilizing element in my life personally, but this isn’t necessarily about me, though it is as much as anything I touch is.)

There are some interpretations of this card that say “a change in relationship/s”, which I think does a decent job of addressing its deeper destabilizing essence.

The interpretation that suggests “a change in relationship/s” is taken from the superimposition of “The Fool’s Journey” over the cards of the Major Arcana. At this point on the path, The Fool has become dissatisfied with materialism and seeks spiritual guidance. This is both a change in relationship to self and to community, to friends and intimates, a change redoubling focus from the outer to the inner, and its first halting steps into the world of spirit. (I must do a great disservice to the image of Charon here and relate this association, crudely, to the “overcoming” of the Man-beast and the “soothing balms” that this generates in the language of mythology and poetry.)

Whatever one may say about Simon of Galilee, one does not associate him with *wisdom* as one does with THE HIGH PRIESTESS (his partially-erased foil, Mary Magdalene). It is worth noting that, in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the room in which His Holiness is enthroned seems similarly made to the one in which the Papess sits, at least in term of the pillars of Boaz and Joachim, which are realized for her in vibrant color, while being washed out for the Pope, perhaps even having lost their association with the Mysteries.

The person who later came to be called St. Peter, to whom the Keys of the Kingdom were given — (per Rome, as a kind of one-time event which emphasized the specific inheritance over the highly accessible revelation) — is known in fact primarily for his *inability* to understand and his tendency to *misinterpret* Jesus. This is bad enough, but it ignores still his infidelity to his Teacher at the moment of crisis. What self-betrayals must one within the institution cosign to become Archbishop, Pope, or Patriarch? For the Institution — as a category — is most violent to those who wield its power, even sometimes when they do so responsibly.

The ‘hier’ (Gr. ‘sacred’) of THE HEIROPHANT is naturally the same root as hierarchy. (Arche = power.) It is entirely appropriate to say that Peter (through the spiritual arm of the Western Church, militant and triumphant) wields sacred power. It is demonstrably false to claim that his inheritors may be described as wielders of sacred magic ("miracles"), as was reported of him by the author of Luke-Acts.

And so we come to the arcane in this card, or what this card would hide in plain sight: which is to say broadly and without nuance that the power available to THE HEIROPHANT is institutionalized sacred power, its rigid relationship to superimposed structure in direct antithesis to the chaos of the pneumatic, which will ultimately reject the rigors of the unreal. When this is incorporated fully into THE FOOL’s cosmology, it triggers the next scene in card VI. THE LOVERS.