#and many tarot cards anyways are just black and white

[bluebellthesponge]

sketch for graphic design project, our final project will be submitted into a competition tehehehe!!!

[just-a-ghost00]

What your spirit guides have to say about this connection

Warning : there might be some cuss words in the words/signs/names section.

Group 1 - Drawings scattered on the floor

Tarot : 5 of pentacles, ace of pentacles, The Chariot, 8 of cups, Queen of swords, The Lovers | Oracle cards : Patience, Boundaries

When the opportunity arises, move on. Because if you stay, you're going to be disappointed. This connection won't bring you any satisfaction or happiness. It may even deepen your insecurities. No matter who this person is or how they treat you, on the long term nothing good will come of it for you. Now, the choice is yours to make. No one can force you to forget about this person and cut ties with them if you don't want to. Your spirit guides just want to warn you that it would be better for you not to dwell on this person, because there is someone better waiting for you around the corner. If this person is being disrespectful to you, it is high time you show them what you're made of. Because at the end of the day, your responsibility is to value and take care of yourself. I feel like some of you may feel lonely and long for a deep connection. So maybe this person has shown some interest in you which led you to belive that this could be your forever person, when they aren't. I'm sorry if this triggers you, because my intention isn't to hurt you but to provide useful and important information. I know how difficult it can be to cut ties with someone when we had so much hope and dreams with them. But I have no doubt you can make it through. Your guides want to reassure you on the fact that choosing yourself over this person is going to be beneficial to you. Extra information - Strength Queen of pentacles 3 of pentacles Your guides want to insist on your power and ability to overcome this situation. They know you have what it takes to resist this person and protect yourself. The spirit animal of the tiger is watching over you during this period of your life. You may call to it for advice and help. Your spirit guides also urge you to deepen your connection with them and have faith in the Universe and it's ability to provide you with exactly what you need and deserve. Letters : S O E U S W S E I C L E E G R Words/signs/names : wise, use, sue, sow, woes, sus, Susie, cues, Wess, sis, Cis, cusses, Seoul, soul, Glee, seer, Rogue, mess, Ciel, rouge (French for red), glow, cure, secure, Curie, glue, series, cries, less, lows, lower, roses, girls, Weiss, Solweig

Group 2 - Ticking clock

Tarot : 4 of cups, ace of swords, 8 of swords, 4 of wands, 8 of cups, 7 of swords Oracle cards : Get wild, Sacred sexuality rx

You and this person are currently in seperation. You feel like this person is hiding things from you or isn't comfortable speaking their mind. Many of you may be asking about a future spouse. Spirit wants to draw your attention on the fact that the more you think about this person and focus your energy on them, the more opportunities you are missing. It's like you're telling yourself "I can't be in a relationship right now, what if my future spouse comes into my life then?". You're refraining yourself from living your life, having fun, meeting new people. Your future spouse is not open to your connection currently, is what spirit is saying. Forcing the situation would only keep you apart. They are not ready. And so are you. You have other things to tend to, other experiences to live, other people to meet. Your guides advise you to draw back from this connection from a while and keep to yourself what you are doing. Your FS doesn't have to know. And it is none of their business anyway. If you keep pushing, you'll only be lying to yourself. It's important that you turn your gaze on other matters. Right now, this connection isn't beneficial to you. This isn't to say that this person is bad. This is just to say that they currently don't have anything to offer. Extra messages - 2 of pentacles, Black Numen, White Numen You are in a state of confusion regarding this connection. This is because you are currently in or about to be entering a dark night of the soul, a period of solitude and separation from this person. You won't be picking up on anything from their higher self or very little information. But there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Though you don't know where this path leads, you have to trust that the outcome is going to be positive, whether with or without this person. Right now, you should be focusing on your balance and navigating through the fog.

letters : L E U M T T S L T X M R L V T words/signs/names : Summer, sex, muse, exult, luxe, melt, ex, texts, test, sell, tell, mums, "trust me", serum, mute, Muller, mulet, rest, SUV, vet, "must let", lust

Group 3 - Adventurer's camera

Tarot : The emperor, 6 of cups, 7 of wands, 4 of swords, The Star, Knight of pentaclesOracle cards : The Creator, Withdraw

Spirit wants to confirm that this person is a soulmate of yours. You are destined to get closer to this person after a period of retreat. They are represented by The Emperor, The Star and The Creator. Chances are this person is an artist or a public figure like an influencer. If not, then the person you're asking about is destined to gain notoriety. They are extremely powerful. They are here to help you manifest your desired reality. But for now, a time of separation is needed. You may receive intuitive downloads from this person's higher self to guide you on your journey. Patience is the key word here. This person has a lot of passion for you. But spirit wants to remind you that their role is mainly to guide you, to light the way so that you can follow in their footsteps. They don't want you to get too caught up in what you feel for them. Because they're afraid you might forget your purpose. Extra information - Ace of swords, 7 of pentacles, The Sun By working on your inner truth, you could reach success with this person and also on a more personal level. This time of withdrawal is meant to help you with that. You may be afraid of failure regarding this connection. Know that there is no such thing as failing. You can only make the decision that is right for you. You might not see the full potential of what you have currently and may doubt this connection but your guides want to assure you that there is more to this than you can see. It'll make sense in due time.

Letters : D S U Q O E U M L M E T N C S Signs/names/words : cute, sun, son, lost, lust, muse, Noel, lune(French for moon), comet, comments, dust, moles, semen, men, quests, cloud, cold, muscle, monde (French for world), mounts, Clement, sounds, museums, ondes (French for waves), clones, cents, sold, old, soul, mess, cuss, lone, doms, demons, clues, cums, semen, told, SNS, meme, dots, "see us", SOS, cunt

[deesseshesca]

PAC :What are they gagging about u, again ?

Again… A fucking again. Nothing new, nothing changed. 

Good morning, pretty souls, today we are diving into the same mess people keep their mouth running regarding you. What’s the remix this time ? What have you done to upset the haters ? Like WTF do they want now ? 

FLASH SALE 

For the next 2 weeks all readings on my ko-fi is 20$, only 

GIVEAWAY

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To participate: You must reblog, like and comment. 

Choose the image that’s speak to you and allow yourself to soak ONLY what’s reasoning with YOUR SITUATION 

Rules and Disclaimer 

I am the type of tarot reader to say as it is. Nothing is sugar coated but everything is sent with good intention. If you are not ready to face some truth, you should vagabond somewhere else. 

TW: PANIC ATTACK

Pile 1

Check in : y'all come from a rich abusive household. You are about to run away. Or some of y’all might actually just move. 

What’s the gag ? 

King pentacles 

People are yapping about you,  are  your classmates or close friends . Y’all come from an abundant family heritage and are living the dream some will never get to even grasp. Let’s not forget your amazing composure. You can get anything you want whenever you want. Probably walking around with an Amex card. Book a ticket overseas at least 4x a year. Whole education in private school even high profile nanny. If you  are black, u hear often … « you talk white … ». I fucking hate that statement because what is that supposed to mean 😑… LOSER . They think u must have a very traditional way of thinking. Especially if u are white, they think u lean more towards far right ideologies. And the fact that u call your parents « papa » or « mother » is not helping your case. 

What’s actually gagging ? 

8 swords

Y’all are going through it with your family. I don’t have any vision regarding what’s going on behind closed doors. But I see you pulling a big bright smile after closing the front door of your house. I see y’all acting literally like a robot. The second that your parents ask for something. You do it. No question or critical thinking involved. Y’all are literally suffocating in your household. This time no amount of money, clothes or first class trip is cutting it. 

Bonus💌333, The universe is advising you not to run way. They know you are an individual with good values and you hate acting out of character. But they are giving you the green light to act like a spoiled child and throw a fit. So you can get your own apartment and enjoy a semi independent lifestyle before blowing the big gun. They will hate to see struggle in the real world when u already been through hell in your own home.

FLASH SALE 

For the next 2 weeks all readings on my ko-fi is 20$, only 

GIVEAWAY

There’s one spot left for a free full audio reading

To participate: You must re-blog, like and comment. 

If you want to choose the subject for the next reading make sure to vote on the poll at the end of the post.

PILE 2 

Check in : You guys recently got a face piercing. People around u wondered if u are a sex worker. You come from a small town. Y’all have the perfect hourglass figure or peach. Anyway, your ass is fat. 

What’s the gag ? 

Judgment (reverse)

They feel like too many bad things happen to you. Everyone in town is in your business. Which is not surprising. Like nobody actually minds their motherfucking business ( I’m sorry … I hate when people are in people's business, especially mine . Since I’m a toddler my fav sport is to mind the thinking that pay me … is so annoying when I run around individuals that fucking don’t This is why I never over read in y’all energy even in a collective setting. Like c’mon). I’m sorry pile 2, y’all lost u’re high school sweetheart. Y'all got married but it all scrambles down. They feel like you need Jesus. They think u are bitter, old  and alcoholic women. You need to give your heart to God and turn your life around. 

What’s actually gagging ? 

Queen swords (reverse) 

They are partially right (and i oop-). Nah, I have to stay serious. This is a serious matter. You lost the only good thing in your life. I would be turning bitter myself 2. In that nasty old town, where people never let you be in peace. First because of your mom's reputation then because of your beauty. Out here making fun of u because u gain weight. Bitch people are at the gym killing themself to have your curves. Some are dying on the bed of doctor Miami… for what ? I sense that it is constantly like that. Since you’ve been young they made smart comments about you. When they realize, u only get prettier from there… game over. Now they are calling you fast. Then calling you old, they wish. Y’all are between 25-27 like… ok, yeah ok, pipe down bitch (meme reference). You are pondering on doing a 360 of your life right now. You spend all this time  trying to please people around you and acting according to people's expectations. Now you want to live in a rather carefree lifestyle. Moving to the big city, where nobody cares about you and nobody deem to care. You might want to be a stripper. Not because you are missing funds or don’t have an education. You just want to go wild for a bit. Seeing if you still got it.

 Bonus💌777, When you are ready to share your story that's when great success is going to find you. You might documente your grief on social media or give guideline for other to heal. Some may write a book to help individual going through the trials and tribulations of loosing their ultimate soulmate. Y'all other going to share all the secret tip and tricks of being a stripper.

FLASH SALE 

For the next 2 weeks all readings on my ko-fi is 20$, only 

GIVEAWAY

There’s one spot left for a free full audio reading

To participate: You must re-blog, like and comment. 

If you want to choose the subject for the next reading make sure to vote on the poll at the end of the post.

PILE 3

What’s the gag? 

King cups (reverse)

Y’all must be athletes. The people gagging  are your teammates. They finally saw you crack. Some were even questioned if you were a human being. Because you are always put on a straight face no matter what. I sense that you had a panic attack in front of them. That was the only time you showed emotion and it was this intense. 

What's actually the gaging ? 

Queen swords 

You’ve been carrying a deep sadness since childhood. You guys are extremely disciplined and private. Y’all also give amazing advice. They think you lost it but you actually lost your mind Because you never really had your emotions under control. You barely know how to cope. The only time that this insanity seems to leave you is when you are practicing your sport. You are actually pouring all you have to the only thing that gives you peace. They will never know that.

FLASH SALE 

For the next 2 weeks all readings on my ko-fi is 20$, only 

GIVEAWAY

There’s one spot left for a free full audio reading

To participate: You must re-blog, like and comment. 

If you want to choose the subject for the next reading make sure to vote on the poll at the end of the post.

[turniparts]

So... Life series winners as Omori characters anyone? Individual ref sheets and more info under the cut :D

Okay SO, for starters I will just say that I am biased towards Scott Smajor and that is why I made him the main character. However, I do believe that in the end he does kind of make the most sense for Sunny considering that everyone else fits better as the other characters imo. Also I used tints of blue instead of black and white bc drawing Scott in black and white just simply feels incorrect.

Anyway, Scar and Pearl are just 100% Hero and Aubrey respectively. A lot of Hero's character revolves around his charming personality, which he uses in headspace to get people to do him favors. I feel like this matches up with Scar's "too charismatic for his own good" schtick that usually happens in the life series.

Aubrey reacts to a negative experience where she was abandoned by IMMEDIATELY lashing out at everyone and becoming a social outcast, hanging out with delinquents. I don't think it's rocket science to see that Pearl, who reacted to negative experiences where she was abandoned by going crazy and lashing out at everyone, matches her character really well.

Going from there, Scott as Sunny makes sense because of his abandonment of Pearl in double life mirroring Sunny's retreat from Aubrey and his friends in how the latter reacted.

Then Grian as Mari because 1) Desert Duo(not necessarily romantic, just in how they are inextricably linked), and 2) He was the first winner and with Watcher stuff I feel like his character is best suited to Mari's role in headspace.

That left Cleo and Martyn as Kel and Basil. These two were the ones I debated the longest, because I feel like they both suit both roles. I went with Cleo as Kel because she's the one who stuck with Scott throughout every life series, like how Kel never gave up on knocking on Sunny's door.

Martyn and Scott were of course the mean gills, and Martyn won through attacking Scott despite all they'd been through together. Basil experienced the trauma with Sunny but still ended up attacking him in his fear. Plus with listener lore I feel like Martyn being the only other person to know the truth makes sense.

Also, whether you look at it in the celestial bodies interpretation(Grian Sun, Scott Stars, Pearl Moon, Martyn Mars, Scar Earth, Cleo Pluto) or tarot cards interpretation(Grian Sun, Scott Stars, Pearl Moon, Martyn Tower, Scar World, Cleo Fool), the omori characters also match up to those.

Sorry that was a lot of explanation for why I linked the specific characters I did. Onto the flowers! Scott as a poppy actually makes a lot of sense even w/out flower husbands, as it's a flower that symbolizes sleep, due to its use in sleeping gas, as well as death, which both match up with how Sunny acted in game.

Pearl is a Datura becuase of its ties to the moon(Moonflowers) as well as its other name(Devil's Trumpet) referencing her Double life character. It is also a very spiritual flower for many cultures, which ties into Aubrey and how she attends church.

Cleo being a succulent feels self explanatory, much like Kel's cactus in game they are easy to take care of and grow under many conditions.

Scar is lavender because of its associations with calming and devotion. Hero acts as the group's peace-keeper, and Scar with this role would do the same. It also has some medicinal properties like soothing headaches and having anti-inflammatory effects, which I feel fits well.

Martyn is a water lily because the season he won was the mean gills season, which I wanted to tie in. Their meaning being rebirth(which also matches the poppy) fits the way that Sunny can only face the truth after Basil nearly kills him. They also symbolize enlightenment, which again aligns with how Basil/Martyn is the only character to know the truth other than Sunny himself.

Grian is the red zinnia because firstly, I wanted him to have a red flower, and secondly its symbolism matches pretty well. Familial love, of course, represents how Mari(Grian in this case) was not only Sunny's big sister, but also acted as a sisterly figure to the other kids. While they are tough flowers, they also symbolize remembrance, pointing towards the death of Mari/Grian. I probably could've kept everyone except Scott and Martyn's flowers the same, but I actually had a lot of fun looking into flower meanings and stuff(sorry if it's not al 100% accurate).

I was honestly surprised with how many parallels I was actually able to find here. This really started as a silly thing I played with in my head because I enjoy both of these medias, but the more I thought about it, the more I went "huh, that actually does make sense", so now here we are.

@easily-distracted-by-fandom , I hope you enjoy the ramble. I also hope that I find more people who know what the heck I'm talking about lmao

Edited in an attempt to make this easier to read instead of big blocks of text lmao

[bread--quest]

[IDs: Three different digital drawings, all in a simple, cartoony style. The drawings are of personifications of various Blaseball teams. The first image is a 3-panel comic showing the Millennials and the Garages, the second is an edited XKCD comic showing the Magic and the Spies, and the third is a collection of various drawings, with tumblr posts assigned to the characters who are "saying" them.

The Millennials are a person with light pink and blue hair in a half-ponytail, wearing a hoodie and with a visor displaying emojis on it over their eyes. They say "girl u r (caps) killing it!", making finger guns and smiling while the emojis displayed on their visor are the double exclamation marks, fire, and 100. They then cross their arms and say "girl idt its (caps) moving anymore" as the visor emojis switch to the fire and two different question marks. In the final panel, they hold out their hands with an expression of distress, visor emojis now the exclamation mark, raised hand, and stop sign, and say "girl u can stop biting", with "girl" and "stop biting" in caps. The third panel also shows the Garages, who have blue sideshaved hair and are surrounded by blue fire, angrily biting at the png of the melted Coin/Boss.

The Magic are a person with dark brown skin and dark green, braided hair, wearing a light yellow ranger's uniform and a pink wizard's cloak and hat. They stand next to a tree and speak into a walkie-talkie, saying "the eagle has left the nest!" with a look of delight. The comic then shows the Spies, who are a person with pale skin and black hair with lavender streaks, wearing a trenchcoat, fedora, scarf, and sunglasses, so their features are almost entirely obscured. They are also holding a walkie-talkie, and say "*khhkht* roger that. alert the agents." *khhhkht*" The Magic turn to them with a look of annoyance, throwing their hands in the air and saying "will you stop that?" (stop that is italicized). The Spies are then drawn in only lineart, with the lines being partially erased and the caption/sound effect "*abscond*".

The various characters shown saying posts are: 1: the Firefighters, who are a person with pale skin, fire hair in a high bun, and blurred fire emojis for eyes, holding a piece of paper that is shown in an inset to read "you have mental illinois" and happily saying "i have been diagnosed with chicago". 2: the Sunbeams, who are a person with light brown skin, short yellow hair, multiple arms and eyes, a slight yellow glow behind their head, sitting in a red area with white bones jabbing up from the ground and saying with a happy expression "(sitting in the pit) you guys really make this hell-hole a hell-home [blushing emoji]". 3: The Jazz Hands, who are a person with light skin and short light blue hair that fades to white wearing a bowtie and top hat, pointing at a purple card reading "xvi" while saying with an angry expression "Pilots, if you keep this shit up you're going to find out why the tower is considered the most evil tarot card". 4: The Crabs, a person with brown skin, short brown hair in a ponytail, a crab claw in place of their right hand, crab-colored patches on their face, and antennae, are smiling while saying "well i can comprehend these manmade horrors perfectly so idk skill issue". 5: The Tigers, a person with light brown skin, short orange hair, and a tiger tail and ears, wearing sunglasses and sitting in an inner tube, grinning and saying "floating down the river styx on an inflatable donut and high-fiving all the lost souls i pass. i'm on vacation". They have one hand raised to high-five another, ghostly hand. End IDs.]

now that we know a team is canonically a Thing that can Do Stuff (like become an Ace??? maybe?? listen just go with it) i feel justified in posting these. also i've been getting too many followers anyway, i need to thin the pack with some good old-fashioned Weird Cringe Nonsense (proud)

[creature-wizard]

Next in The Satan Seller, Mike claims that Sue invokes the blood and resurrection of Jesus to banish a demon that attacks Mike and allegedly throws him off of his bed. (Good thing the demon didn't decide to inflict more lethal damage, right?)

Then Mike soon gets sent off to Vietnam, and it's horrible, and it strains his faith. He comes home, undergoes therapy (which of course doesn't do much for him), gets back to religion (which of course does do something for him), and then for the first time he learns about baptism in the Holy Spirit. At first he resists the idea, but then he accepts it and prays for Jesus to give him the Holy Spirit.

(We're developing a bit of a pattern here - Mike Develops A Problem, Mike Discovers A New Jesus-y Solution, Mike's Problem Gets Solved.)

Also, it's More Misogyny Time:

“I LOVE YOU, honey!” I grabbed Sue around the waist and hugged her the next morning. “I forget whether I told you I loved you or not last night. I was so excited about receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. But—gee, I wish you could have, too . . .” “But I did, Mike,” she said, squeezing me. “Oh, you're putting me on, baby. You didn’t say anything.” “It was your show, Mike. Anyway, one at a time.” She giggled. “But I received right beside you. And I spoke in unknown language, too.”

So Mike and his wife Sue both undergo a vital (according to this book) religious rite together, but it's just Mike's show??? Like, either...

He basically had his own wife convinced that he's the Christian Faith's Main Character, or

He's making up shit to position himself as the Christian Faith's Main Character.

Apparently a side effect of getting the Holy Spirit is wanting to speak out about the occult even more, which again, there is literally no evidence that Warnke was ever seriously involved in. Does he show some knowledge of the occult? Sure, yeah. But it's about as much as anyone might know from some casual dabbling. The rest is all conspiracy theory that has nothing to do with actual occult practice or belief except insofar as edgelords adopted some it after the ideas entered into the public consciousness. The conspiratorial designs he ascribes to his Satanic Illuminati are lifted straight from early modern witch hysteria and antisemitic conspiracy theories.

So anyway, here's what he claimed that he and a friend went around claiming about the occult:

“The problem is that too many people think witchcraft is fun and games—completely harmless but, it is not!” I told them.

“That’s right, Mike,” Dave said. “We discovered that occult practitioners open themselves to mental derangement, criminal tendencies and possible self-destruction or the destruction of other persons.”

“Yes, you're right,” I said in agreement. “I saw that first hand when I was involved in the occult.”

“You know, many witches say that only Satanists and black arts practitioners go off the deep end and kill people or commit other crimes,” Dave added. “But we researched eleven recent major criminal cases in this country which resulted in thirty nine deaths. Occult practices were directly or indirectly linked to each case. We discovered that these cases were not traceable just to Satanists but were linked to specific occult practices, such as tarot cards, astrology, witchcraft, reincarnation, astral projection, ESP, thought transfer, and mysticism.”

“Well, that certainly debunks the witches’ case,” Sue pointed out. “But which practices are considered occult and which are not?”

“In America, about eighty different occults are practiced. Some of the more popular ones are those we just mentioned, plus Ouija boards, spiritualism, table tipping, levitation, hypnosis, clairvoyance, numerology, reading tea leaves, phrenology, colorology, water divining, automatic writing, clairaudience, psychokinesis, pendulum healing, crystal gazing, dream analysis, person programming, mind control, fortune telling, materializations, voodoo, palmistry, meditation, white — magic, I Ching, telepathy, fetishes, talismans, seances . . . ”

So essentially, if you practice literally anything that isn't Pure Wholesome Christianity™, you're a murderer waiting to happen.

Literally all modern magical practitioner take note - it doesn't matter what you practice or not, it doesn't matter if all you're doing is tarot readings, the Satanic Panic targets you. Always has.

[the-foolish-scholar]

The Death Card

The Death card is the 13th card in the Major Arcana of the tarot. It shows the Messenger of Death – a skeleton dressed in black armor, riding a white horse. The skeleton represents the part of the body which survives long after life has left it; the armor symbolizes invincibility and that death will come no matter what. Its dark color is that of mourning and the mysterious, while the horse is the color of purity and acts as a symbol of strength and power. Death carries a black flag decorated with a white, five-petal rose, reflecting beauty, purification, and immortality with the five petals representing change. Together, these symbols reveal that death isn’t just about life ending. Death is about endings and beginnings, birth and rebirth, change and transformation. There is beauty in death, and it is an inherent part of being alive. A royal figure appears to be dead on the ground, while a young woman, child and bishop plead with the skeletal figure to spare them. But, as we all know, death spares no one. In the background, a boat floats down the river, akin to the mythological boats escorting the dead to the afterlife. On the horizon, the sun sets between two towers (which also appear in The Moon Tarot card), in a sense dying each night and being reborn every morning.

-

I am having a hard time right now. But I am okay, and I know that I’ll be better sooner rather than later. Life has been hectic and for that I have not written recently. I moved. I’m in the process of furnishing my own apartment. When I signed the lease for this place, I kept beaming over how beautiful the terrace would be to sit out on and do work. It is one of the most beautiful views that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing in my entire life, and I am honored to wake up to this every morning:

Living in the “in between stage” has been stressful. I need patio furniture, among many other things. I am grateful to have begun this next chapter and taken this next step but boy, change, even when it is welcomed, really fucking sucks. It will all be worth it in the end. I will have a home, instead of just a place to stay.

I’ve also had to reconsider the way I live my life. I deeply desire connection and community with others, but I have had to remind myself that we are not supposed to connect and be in community with everyone. I hate that. It’s such bullshit that that’s the way we need to live. But that’s the only way to stay alive, or stay alive longer at least.

The primary motivation I have to stay alive is to make change, which is ironic considering that I just said how much change sucks. But really, I don’t see the point in living if it’s not spent living trying to change other’s lives for the better.

Where I live now, I don’t have hot water or air conditioning. Not having hot water hasn’t been that bad considering the temperature has been in the high nineties these past few weeks. It’s only cold before dawn, after the sun has been up for a few hours, it’s rather warm. Not having air conditioning has sucked, but I think it’s better, homeostasis wise, to not have air conditioning; or at least that’s what I’m telling myself to cope with not having air conditioning. I feel stupid even writing about this, as if I deserve some medal or badge of honor for living like the majority of the world lives. Hot water and air conditioning are privileges, and living without them, is just living like how most people live, there is nothing valorous about it. Also, did you know, that when the colonizers came and slaughtered all the natives, we lost knowledge of the architecture required to naturally cool homes in the Americas? So the next time when your AC quits running, and your house gets unbearably hot, and you sweat, and you get annoyed, you can curse the Spaniards and the British for killing the architects that would’ve allowed you to have a cool home, without the Consumers bill!

Anyway, my point is, it has been good to live like this. My rent is significantly cheaper, allowing me to have more spending power and better stimulate the local economy, giving more hard-working Salvadorans a share of the wealth that the US government hoards. Living without the luxury that I grew accustomed to in my youth, not only makes me more thankful for having had it in the first place, but it also reminds me of why I must fight for change and live my life in a strategic manner to try and make that luxury more accessible to others, or to at least try and make sure others can have their basic needs met.

The mangos are so good right now. Also the jocotes. And of course the bananas. I feel such bliss whenever I bite into a piece of fruit, the supermarkets and even the farmers markets back home cannot even begin to compare to what can be found down here. There is so much more that I need to try, I just need to keep eating with the seasons. I’m so excited for annona season, annona tastes like strawberry cheesecake! And the jewelry that I’ve been able to buy from local artisans, it’s so beautiful. It feels so much more special to wear knowing that it was made with intention and by the hands of the person that I’ve bought it from. I wish that I could buy more jewelry but I need to watch myself and not carelessly splurge all the time.

I’ve also been easing back into my routine post move and everything. I went to the beach for my birthday and I had an amazing time! It’s been good to be back in the gym after being away from it for a bit. I really love getting to plug my headphones in and just sweat. And to get to wrap up my workout by swimming laps? I feel like a royal! I’ve also really enjoyed the class that I’m taking at the UES. It’s been quite the challenge, but rewarding at the same time. The faculty and my classmates have been a delight to work with! And the material we’re covering, it’s so fascinating! I made the collage below to express what I couldn't in Spanish:

Things with Tizziana at the UCA are slowly but surely progressing. I need to hunker down in the library and get back to some more spiritual oriented readings; I’ve been dedicating so much reading time to my class at the UES, and I’ve been indulging myself with books by Nicholas Sparks and Emily Henry… The research itself is going really well. I’m in a very good place with the project. Allowing myself to drift from the original proposal was scary, but I am content with its evolution. I’m also thinking of next steps! I know I want to stay down in El Salvador for the foreseeable future, but I intend to apply to a few different graduate programs, around the world. I’m extremely excited to see where my studies will take me!

But yeah, life is good. Wouldn’t have it any other way. I am living every moment consciously, trying to learn from everything life tries to teach me, trying to change, for the better, while trying to create change, for the better.

Z

[thedarkmirrorsworld]

TW: Short mention of tools used for Suicide and a mention Abuse, plus some small Toboso Yana slander.

The Fashion of The Queendom of Roses

What I imagine the Queendom to be like is a place full of cute, yet obscure, and maybe even macabre, things. Their fashion shows this. According to Dice King, there are several in-depth meanings to the Card Suits. I’m not going to go into the whole quotation, but I will give a basic rundown of them now.

Hearts: Though this Suit may look simple on the surface, the Hearts are more interesting than just “love”. Hearts mean passion, which then correlates to the fire element. When going to it’s roots in the tarot, we see it’s parallel with the cups, both of which deals with emotions.

Diamonds: Like it’s name, Diamonds are more monetary-based. They are down to earth and focus on specific things that interest them. Diamonds in the tarot go towards the pentacles, which has to do with finances and new beginnings.

Clubs: Similar but yet wildly different to Spades, Clubs are your Wands of the tarot. They normally represent death and destruction, but in the tarot, they represent your core, your inner self. What makes you tick and tock. Contradicting, yes, and quite peculiar, but interesting nonetheless.

Spades: And finally, the Spades. Similar to Clubs, Spades also mean death and misfortune, but they are more intellectually based. Swords, the tarot equivalent, means basically the same thing. They are the element of air, which could be either freezing cold or scalding hot. They are also the most powerful suit in the deck.

Now, onto the fashion!

Hearts: Japanese Lolita Fashion

Starting off simple, we have the famous Japanese Lolita fashion! I have to be specific about what type of Lolita I’m talking about thanks to a certain book, but anyway. Due to rising social pressures felt by women, they decided to essentially take back their femininity and create a kawaii (cute) world for themselves. Taking inspiration from Victorian European garments, Lolita is known best for it’s frilly petticoats, lace, and soft colors, with many cutesy elements to top it off.

Diamonds: Ouji Fashion

Ouji Fashion is a subtype of Japanese Lolita. It’s basically the masculine version. From what I can find, Ouji means “Prince” in Japanese and is also nicknamed Boystyle. The main garments of the outfits are shorts or trousers, ruffled blouses, coats with tails, waistcoats, and top hats, with the focus being a dainty, yet refined, boyish look.

Clubs: Yami Kawaii Fashion

Due to the mental illness and disorder stigma in Japan, Yami Kawaii has been born. Directly translating to “Dark” and “Cute”, Yami Kawaii has also come to mean “Sickly Cute”. Thanks to the Menhera Movement (menhera meaning a person with a mental illness or disorder), and figures such as Menhera-Chan, Yami Kawaii has really sparked the people’s interest. The main garments are normally pastel and grey-scale colors, with items such as noose earrings, ribbon tied box cutters, painted pills bottles, and syringes with hot pink liquid.

Spades: Gothic Japanese Lolita Fashion

The darker version of the original, Gothic Japanese Lolita has become just as wide spread as it’s more softer sister. Having the same elements and garments, the Gothic style also incorporates a vampirism or church funeral look with crosses, coffins, rosaries, red/black makeup, etc to match the coordinate (outfit). The style was popularized by a Japanese musician and designer named Mana.

Clock Town Event, Based Off Of The White Rabbit:

As we can see here, Deuce’s hometown is more on the Heart and Diamond side of things, with soft colors and accessories, but more masculine silhouettes and cuts. I believe the reason Deuce and his mother are not Hearts or Diamonds themselves is because of their personalities and possibly even their lifestyle.

From what we’ve heard about of Mama Spade, she’s a single mom trying her best to raise an honest son. She even cries when she hears that her son gets in trouble. This might lead one to believe that she’s just a dainty little thing, but then we see her and go “Hot Damn”. Lady definitely went through a delinquent phase just like her son.

We can assume that since she is a single mother and her job is literally the Wonderlandian version of FedEx, the family isn’t as well off as they wished they could be. Therefore, they literally cannot afford to be Hearts or Diamonds. The coordinate that Deuce is wearing is most likely one only for the Clock Town event. For as a Spade (both in name and in aesthetic), he would also most likely never wear that sort of coordinate if it wasn’t for the fact that he lived in Clock Town. This leaves one question: Why live in Clock Town if, A, you would grow up the social outcast, and B, not be able to afford the lavish lifestyle?

My Theory: Mama Spade chose to be a single mom because of Deuce’s father, or someone similar in her life.

As we all know from Black Butler, Toboso Yana has a knack for making her characters’ pasts as close to Hell as possible. Because of this, I personally believe that if Twst wasn’t a Disney game, she could’ve made it much, much worse (even though some parts already are). It would make sense that she would try to sprinkle as much trauma as she could into our beloved Twst characters. Being so, it would make sense that Mama Spade was either abused by Deuce’s father in some way, or would in some sort of peril if she stayed with him (this can also go towards anyone else in her life that would have to do with baby Deuce). The best thing she could do was leave. Clock Town was, in her eyes, the best option for her baby. And in the most part it was. Deuce grew up safe and sound, just with a phase she could remember all to well. Crying over her son being a delinquent makes more sense now, because she doesn’t want him to have to go through what she went through. But everything turned out fine in the end. Deuce grew out of his phase (mostly), went to NRC, and made a bunch of friends that came back with him for the Clock Town event… Except Ace. Like bro. Even Mama Spade ships those two.

But yeah, that’s my take.

Remember, this is just an analysis, so take what I say with a grain of salt. That’s all for Day One! Bye!

[windmills123]

what if... you told me all about your fansession (i would love to learn more about it)

no way the real moss guy in my inbox... heehe... im actually really excited to ramble about this!!! =D back when i first read hs i made many fan characters but i got an idea to make a fansession where, instead of the 12 zodiac signs it was the 22 major tarot cards..... and it kinda went from there!

because obviously 22 character session would be insane i at some point formed out 6 kids who were having The Session, and the rest of the characters were "npcs" made by sburb. but yknow, more humanlike than the carapacians, so kinda akin to the trolls. oh yea i changed some of the sburb worldbuilding for this, so i suppose its an alternate version of the game.... ;p also the session would take place around 2019.

okeeey anyways heres the players!

ester olsen (the star) is a knight of hope from sweden who's foolish and hyperactive but also very hopeful and loyal like a dog, she's internally a deviantart kid who draws exclusively on ms paint and sburb's quest for her is to become a typical hero. her land is a field with a country town inhabited by animal people.

her older brother emil (the chariot) is a rogue of breath who moves trough life very fast and always thrives to make progress by any means, and also takes care of ester... because hes awesome... his land is a giant sea of energy kind of similar to terezi's.

elio cassini (the sun) is the heir of light, he's just a really lucky boy who likes jrpgs and magic spells. he's anxious and keeps to the rules but well meaning; best friend of ester. he learns to accept the dark sides of the world instead of escaping from them. his land is an orange desert full of broken glass, ancient bones and mysteries.

elio's sister is nastia the maid of space (the empress)! she's kind of a snarky girl next door who likes art, gardening, fashion and baking but she struggles with persistence. her land is a field of giant flowers.. and frogs of course ;p

selene's the mage of void (the moon). (no surname i thought of for these two..... whoops....) she's the oldest one and also very lonely, although she isn't expressive she tends to cling to other people. she used to like weird and fascinating things, her land is a broken apart mountainous area flooded by dark water!

then selene's younger brother rasmus the prince of time (the emperor)! hes your average delinquent scriptie kid who tends to get into fights (usually with ester), but he's never completely malicious. his land is a fiery lava pool that's hard to navigate.

the goal is still to make the next universe via a frog, but theres no derse and prospit and instead dreaming just teleports your ghost self to a random location. there's still a fight between dark and light though, but this time it's the magician card (light) and the high priestess card (dark) who have their forces battling it out, which is pretty much everyone else, on a skaia stand in which is no longer a chessboard and now just a black and white planet. they're also the final bosses in place of king and queen, and they get stronger the session goes on so the party needs to act fast!!!

idk how to summarise the whole duration of the session to be honest because too much stuff gets involved.. but basically they do make it out in the end! (with some major character deaths though... hehh..)

well uhh this makes wayy more sense in my head lol, but i hope you like it! =D i have some drawings but i havent really made anything properly rendered that has all of them... also i would love to hear about your fansession!

[evegoldenwoods]

My Tarot Card Collection

I've been wanting to write up some notes on all the decks I have for a while. I quite like collecting tarot card decks, and I wanted to make a little catalog of them. Also, I mostly use tarot cards for solo ttrpgs, not for readings, so I thought that would put a fun spin on how I think about them.

 I've also included an image of the guidebook used for each. In every case I've tried to use the easiest to access book, so where there's a pamphlet inset with the deck, I've used that as the reference. I'll make note of where this isn't the case.

 I’ve recommended a solo rpg to go with each game. Sometimes I’ve chosen ones that are explicitly designed to be played with the tarot, but sometimes I’ll recommend ones that just call for playing cards. You can adapt these to tarot decks by removing the major arcana, and playing cups as hearts, diamonds as wands, clubs as pentacles and spades as swords. If the game also calls for jokers, add a major arcana for every joker required.

 1. Thoth tarot deck

Created by Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris, art by Frieda Harris

This was my first ever tarot deck, inherited from my step-father when I was a teen. The actual deck is basically unusable these days, because one card got dog bitten, and a couple others have been warped and faded from exposure to sunlight. So they stand out in the deck when drawing. But I have a lot of affection for the cards anyway.

Notes:

- this deck is very easily accessible, but print quality probably varies a good bit. Worth reading reviews and finding a decent printing.

- the suit names for this deck are wands, cups, swords and pentacles.

-this is the biggest deck I own, which means that the art is clear and easy to read and can have lots of interesting details. Conversely, it's hard to lay out big spreads with them.

- the energy of this deck is horny af. It was partially designed by Aleister Crowley, and it shows. This sometimes feels exciting and rebellious, and sometimes feels like a slightly lecherous older man standing by your shoulder and leering.

- the art is absolutely gorgeous. It's always exciting to look at and the characters are full of personality, especially the court cards.

- the guidebook is tarot: mirror of the soul, which was written for this deck specifically, but doesn't necessarily come with it, you might have to buy it separately. It's good long explanations of the symbols as well as questions to prompt reflection.

- the cards have a lot of explicit symbolism in them, which can be a handy set of references for solo rpgs, and they're at like, a oblique angle to the regular raider-waite deck, so they can make for a fun shake up if you use that one a lot.

- I don't think you can really talk about this deck without talking about Crowley, since he was such a wanker, but at least half the deck is Frieda Harris's creation, and while I don't think I have much evidence to assert that she was a better person than him, I think she at least contributed enough to make the deck interesting

 In terms of using this deck for solo rpgs, I think it best suits ones that are either a bit darker and edgier, or very mystical. I'd think a game like Anamnesis (by Samantha Leigh/Blinking Birch Games, found here: https://blinkingbirchgames.itch.io/anamnesis) pairs really well with this deck, since the thoth tarot gives you both characters and symbols to help elaborate on your answers to the questions.

 2. Little Monsters Tarot

Book by Olivia Ephraim Pepper, art by Peony Coin Archer

I got this deck in a kickstarter, and it was the start of me planning to collect tarot cards more seriously.

Notes:

- these cards are very small and neat. Easy to shuffle and to lay out, and they have nice rounded edges. A good travel deck.

- The suit names for this deck are wands, cups, coins and arrows

- the art for this deck is subtle and elusive. Because it's black and white, and because it's in many ways quite simple, without a lot of additional symbolism, the meaning can feel a bit loose. It's also got a very gentle feel, like each card is a little woodland creature peeking out from under a bush at you.

- by contrast the guidebook is ferocious and cutting. It doesn't hold back at all, and gives very challenging paragraphs that really push you. It's probably the book that feels most like talking to a really good therapist, one who forces you to interrogate your perceptions and challenge your assumptions. (I mean all of this in a deeply complimentary way, to be clear. I think this book is by far the most incisive and insightful of any of the ones I own, although sometimes it can also feel very dictated, like it doesn’t leave quite as much room for your own interpretation)

- There's some slight smudging on my copy of these cards, and compared to some of the other decks I own I think the quality of the print is a little lower, but it's never affected my engagement with the cards.

 If I were ever inclined to do a reading, I think this is the deck I'd turn to, and I think it's similarly useful for solo rpgs with a more autobiographical bent, the ones that are also tools for self reflection rather than fiction writing. For this deck, I recommend trying something like Galatea by S. Kaiya J. (here: https://mirror-lock.itch.io/galatea)

 3. Star Spinner Tarot

Art, design and writing by Trungles

I've been a fan of Trungles artwork for ages, but it was when I read about the gimmick of this deck that I knew I had to add it to my collection. Gimmick is probably the wrong word, it sounds cheap, and I think the choice made here is the opposite of that, a beautiful enrichment of the tarot.

Notes:

- The box this comes in is sleek and neat, but sturdy. The cards are a little bigger than regular playing cards, and they shuffle easily and smoothly.

- the suit names for this deck are wands, chalices, coins and swords.

- The art for these cards is lovely, with soft lines, lots of curves, and a pleasing restricted palette. All of it fits with how gentle these cards are. There's lots of inspiration from classic folklore artists like Ivan Bilibin or Edmund Dulac, and also from classical paintings. The devil on the devil card is reminiscent of Michelangelo's interpretation in all the best ways.

- this is a very soft and gentle deck, and also a very queer deck, but without ever falling into cute simplicity. It has moments of yearning, and sorrow, and blatant desire, but it's always very tender.

- the guidebook gives simple and direct summaries of the cards' meanings, without delving too much into the art or other notes behind them. It's very straightforward advice.

- So, the special thing about this deck is that it has four copies of the lovers. A pair with a man and a woman, a pair with two women, a pair with two men, and a pair that stand apart, representing asexual or platonic love. you can shuffle all four in, or choose whichever one suits the querent best. All the poses are different, but all of them are gorgeous.

- I do think some of the suits in this deck were given more love than others. The chalices, in particular, use the cards to retell the little mermaid, which is such a brilliant choice, none of the others really live up it. Wands uses fairy imagery, coins has rabbits, and swords is based on the traditional raider waite imagery. I would have loved to see the other suits get the same treatment as chalices, but alas.

 I think this deck plays perfectly off solo rpgs that sit in that folklore/fairytale/romance space, especially ones that are cute and cosy. Though in general any game you play with these will be softened by their gentle character, so you can always use it to tone down a game that you're worried will get too dark. I'd recommend trying this deck with a game like The Tea Shelf, by K-Ramstack (found here: https://k-ramstack.itch.io/the-tea-shelf)

 4. Crow Tarot

Art, design and writing by MJ Cullinane

This deck was recommended to me by a coworker at an old job. Of all the decks I own, it's the one that's clicked with me the least, but it's hard to pin down why. I don't think it's a poorly designed deck by any means, it just doesn't quite resonate the way others do.

Notes:

- the print quality is very high. The cards come in a nice solid box, and they're beautifully slippy and easy to shuffle. They glide through your hands.

- the four suits are cups, wands, swords and pentacles

- The art has an odd quality. Looking at it in 2023, it has an effect that reminds me strangly of large model generated art artifacts, though this deck was handpainted long before "AI" became a thing. The colour palette is strong and consistent, and the cards have a nice aged effect on them. I think the composition of the cards is less strong than other decks I own, though

- I think I find the crows a bit visually impenetrable. They're posed doing all kinds of things, but they're always animals, and there's something kind of distancing about that. The deck is designed to reflect the playfulness and mystery of crows, but it ends up feeling kind of mushy to me, like I can't properly grasp what it's trying to say.

- the guidebook pictured is the inset one that comes with the box, and I do like the way it's written. It starts with keywords and an interpretation of the card visuals, then moves on to advice/direction. There's also a separate printed book that contains much more information, and honestly you could almost use that in place of the deck, because it's where the things I find interesting about the work are most obvious. You could play by flipping through it to random pages and get a pretty good result.

 As I said, this is a deck I don't really vibe with, but if you were going to use it for solo rpgs, I'd recommend it for fiction about quests or journeys, something high fantasy that's situated in nature and takes you on a trip through a world. Maybe it would work well for The Lonesome Cartographer, by Wren the Forrester (found here: https://wren-the-forrester.itch.io/the-lonesome-cartographer).

 5. Botanical Tarot

Art, Writing and Design by Kevin Jay Stanton

This is another kickstarter deck, which I felt immediately charmed by when I saw how different it was to anything else I owned. Physically, I only backed the simple version of the deck, with a small inset booklet, but I also got access to the digital version of the larger and longer compendium, which I think I would recommend picking up.

Notes:

- These cards are shorter than the crow or starspinner tarots, but wider, more square in shape. They feel very smooth and soft, and they’re a bit thicker than the previous two, which makes them slightly harder to shuffle. That said, they still slip through the fingers quickly and easily. They have gilt edging, which has started to fade slightly at the corners after a year or two of use, but is mostly still holding strong.

- the suits are cups, swords, coins and wands

- The art for these cards is so striking and interesting. Each card has a plant, a detailed and vivid drawing of which is the core image of the card, set against a black background. The suits have images of their namesakes from history, so coins have old coins on them, swords have old swords, etc. The court cards all have different historical crowns. It’s all extremely beautiful to look at.

- Kind of like the crow tarot, the art is such a wide swing that it can be hard to interpret when you’re looking at the card alone, but I mind it less here because the images are so beautiful. I feel like they draw you in with a mystery that’s answered by looking up the booklet. And then that pushes you on to think more deeply about the drawings.

- There’s almost no text on the cards, just a number and a tiny drawing of the suit, or a letter and a tiny drawing for the court cards. And then for the major arcana, each one has its own unique symbol. Some are guessable, like the inverted pentagram for the devil, but others you’ll have to flip through the booklet to find unless you use the deck super regularly.

- the guidebook is simple and straightforward, a useful reference when you’re in the middle of a reading, though it’s quite small and dense, so sometimes the text can be hard to read. And it’s printed on very thin, flimsy paper, so you have to be careful with it. Again, I do recommend getting at least a digital copy of the compendium, because that has a lot more info that really helps to clarify the cards.

 I think this is a great deck for games that have a deep historical touch, or that invoke a kind of ritual atmosphere, and obviously it’s great for anything that has plants in it, but I also think you can use it more generally to inflect games with a tone of solemnity and strangeness. I think this would play great against I shall not spare myself this journey, by Cave of Monsters Games (found here: https://cave-of-monsters-games.itch.io/i-shall-not) or NeoCrystal Elegy by A Yolland (found here: https://ayolland.itch.io/neocrystal-elegy)

 6. Corrupted Tarot

Created by Wyrmwood, this deck features art from over 70 people

This is… another crowdfunded deck. Damn Eve, you buy a lot of these… And this is another one where I thought the core concept was really strong and unique, so I went for it.

Notes:

- This deck is medium sized, about the same as the Starspinner Tarot, and the cards feel very soft to the touch. They shuffle relatively well, although they sometimes stick together slightly. They have nice silver gilt on the edges. For art reasons, I really wish this deck was bigger, but I’ll get to that in a sec. Of all my decks, I think this one makes the most pleasing sound when shuffled, a whooshing noise that’s very attractive.

- The suits are swords, cups, pentacles and wands

- Because this deck has so many artists, the art is relatively inconsistent. I think it does an okay job of using the dark backgrounds to pull it all together, but compared to the single author decks, it’s undeniably fragmented. Whether this is a negative or not will depend on your own preferences. There are a few cards I don’t love, but overall the energy of it really works for me.

- The concept of this deck is that the art depicts the reversed meanings rather than the upright ones. The cards are all meant to have dark, tragic, spooky and sinister energy. I think that it generally does a really good and fun job of this, without straying into depictions of evil/villainy that rely on tired tropes.

- In spite of that premise, this deck feels very empowering and energetic. It has a lot to say about facing down your own demons, picking yourself up and starting over. And also about embracing the dark and powerful sides of yourself.

- The inset guidebook is actually excellent, it tells you who every artist is, gives links to their socials (maybe not as useful if twitter fully goes down, lol, but I hugely appreciate the effort) and talks about how and why they chose the images they did, on top of what the card means. It’s so efficient in such a small amount of space.

- It’s honestly funny to compare this to the little monsters tarot, which has such lovely and delicate art but genuinely bites a lot harder when it describes some of the cards, versus this one which is so theoretically spooky but actually quite friendly and kind

 Like, obviously this deck works amazingly for any kind of rpg with soulslike energy, both because it has the dark exterior and because the actual message is about keeping going in the face of adversity. But in general I think you can use this deck wherever you want to ratchet up tension and add a spooky undercurrent to the story you’re telling. I’d recommend trying it with Where Crimson Flowers Bloom by Mitchell Daily (found here: https://mitchelldaily.itch.io/crimsonflowers)

 7. Literary Tarot

My most recent deck, at least for now. This was part of a big charity project run by a non profit called the Brink Literary Foundation, and I was curious enough about the concept and the images to back it.

Published by the Brink Literary Project

Notes:

- The concept of this deck is that each card has been paired with a novel. They got a lot of famous writers to contribute cards, which as a gimmick is a bit tiresome, but I don’t think it ends up taking too much away from the deck. And some of the choices are genuinely interesting.

- These cards are a bit bigger than the Corrupted Tarot, and a bit thicker, though not as thick as the Botanical Tarot. For some reason, they’re by far the hardest of my decks to shuffle, very sticky and heavy in the hand. That can be a bit annoying, and it means you have to shimmy back and forth to get them all in place, which is causing the gilt edges to wear off faster than it has on other decks.

- The suits for this are very gimmicky, they’re quills (swords), ink (wands), light (cups) and parchment (coins). My problem with this is the same as for the Botanical Tarot, which is that using shorthands or alternate names means you have to double check everything unless you use them super consistently.

- This is like the Corrupted Tarot, where the art is done by multiple people, but this one had a more assertive art director, and so all the cards have a consistent colour palette, and the artists styles are within a similar range, so the deck looks very unified.

- Some of the card choices are a little weird, and some I like better than others. The most striking one was the Cold Equations as the reference for Temperance. I think that really shifts the meaning of the card from being about healing and serene balance to being a kind of merciless rational calculation. Which is certainly a new take, so I’m not complaining.

- Like some of the other decks, this has two guidebooks, a little inset one and a bigger extra book that you can buy separately. In this case, I don’t think you need to rush out and buy the bigger book. It’s a nice treat, with stories about how the cards ended up being assigned to stories, and there are some cool extras that show the process of designing the art for the different cards, but you’ll do just fine with the simple guidebook imo.

Because this deck uses stories for each card, I think it’s great for games where you’re developing a story. If you’re using a solo rpg to design something for a bigger group game, or to explore characters that you want to write about in a novel/short story/whatever, then having this deck can give you a cool range of literary references to think about and try out. I’d recommend trying this deck with a solo rpg like The Last Noita by Yuri Runnel (found here: https://yurir.itch.io/the-last-noita) or Little Shepherd, Little Spy by PsychHound (found here: https://psychhound.itch.io/little-shepherd-little-spy )

 This ended up being so much longer than I expected! If you made it this far, thank you for reading the whole thing <3

[yungfrieda]

9/14/2024

i went out in search of some shred of wisdom today.

the urge to do so came from discomfort in considering the surmounting Issues At Hand (of which there are always several). my impulse was to grab a drink. instead, i scrolled through some events and saw the grand opening of an apothecary & spirituality store in my old neighborhood was occurring today. i decided to attend on a whim, knowing that i would be meeting Carlyn at Barnes & Noble later that afternoon to chat. i'd hoped to find books in this new shop and was disappointed not to find any, but browsed the selection of bracelets and stones and oracle decks anyway.

the owner of Mystic Moon, the original store of this kind on that street, invited me toward the back of the shop to consider a reading. i strolled slowly and found myself absently chatting with a reiki & bodywork practitioner, who had fallen asleep or into some meditative rest as i browsed his pamphlet.

right as i turned back toward the front, a prayer circle had begun to form. the mediums, channelers, practitioners, and readers came together to congratulate the owner on her success and many opportunities in the future. as everyone gathered, we began by rubbing our hands together to activate the energy in our individual bodies and joined hands. creating a joint intention together, even with strangers, felt really communal. after our prayer, i tried to sneak out of the psychic den unannounced but was met with a swift introduction by a medium who'd asked me to take another turn about the room. i stopped to talk with younger black guy, perhaps slightly older than me, with several oracle & modern tarot decks on display and a cutout of Keanu Reeves as Neo in The Matrix, posing behind his table.

earlier, as i rode along the highway to get to this place, i contemplated on the person i'd consult with today. i considered the factors that would make me the most comfortable: did i trust mediums? would reiki be effective or just placebo? in the present, i felt i was the most familiar with tarot and thought his collection really eccentric - so i decided to book a reading with him.

all in all, it was fruitful. he mentioned several aspects of myself i've been reflecting on in the past few weeks, for example, my propensity to dissociate and overindulge - relating to my initially self-selected "Emperor" card in terms of maintaining some semblance of control over the chaos which has nothing to do with me.

"Ah. Control," was the reaction of the reader when I pulled it, with a certain nod. then he spurred out several cards in the same deck, with a rapid fire. he fixed his eyes upon two cards: "Failure" and "Debauch" on top, laid closest to me on the table. we talked a lot about failure and what it means to perceive it, as well as the protections in place on my journey by concealed or "veiled" guides in my life. he mentioned things i've considered, but have not integrated - meditation as means to return to myself, cultivating inner connection there. we talked about finding familiarity in the known and unknown. not being so afraid of the unknown that i am driven to unproductive and harmful action. recognizing what i need is meant to be attracted in it's own way, when i'm attuned to it instead of distracted. we talked about intuition and timing, how it's important for me to collaborate with the larger universe, the source instead of either fighting against it or running from it - being an active participant in my own life.

these are things i know. but it was affirming to hear them from someone else. as the reading concluded, he mentioned asking for guidance in the unknown. that's new to me. i have not exactly been asking for signs...

after my reading, i got to pick out a Matrix pill with a small piece of paper inside. on this strip was a quote from the movie:

"The answer is out there, Neo, and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to"

it's currently on my white board, behind a magnet. i came home feeling a sense of emptiness after feeling like my trip to procure some form of guidance was unsuccessful, but after writing about it... i find myself feeling differently. it's nice.

[hisclockworkservants]

SCP Foundation art, SCP Tarot Card - Two of Cups: Doublehorses.

Doublehorses by DrBerggren: http://scp-wiki.net/doublehorses

Author Page | Art Hub | Patreon | Twitter | DeviantArt | Lofter

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

closeted | jjk

pairing(s): jungkook x reader

summary: Jeon Jungkook doesn't like you and you don't like him. Your friends and his friends decide enough is enough and they lock you in a closet together to settle your differences. Mhm.

warnings: language; implied slut-shaming; alcohol consumption; fuckboy?Jungkook x (technically noona) fuckgirl?reader, ft all other BTS members being... helpful? lol; enemies-to-lovers

–

“Jeon Jungkook? I don’t really have any thoughts about him. Isn’t he kind of a fuckboy?”

“Oh, her? Ah, there’s nothing to say really. Doesn’t she like to mess around?”

Those were your opinions about each other, which was now why both you and Jeon Jungkook were stuck in a closet in Kim Taehyung’s parents’ house.

“Taehyung, let us out right now!”

“Not until you two stop hating each other!” announced the booming, baritone voice of Kim Taehyung on the other side of the door, slightly tipsy and yelling over the loud music.

“We don’t hate each other,” came the silvery growl behind you. Jungkook shoved you slightly to the side so he could slam his fist against the heavy wood. You scowled, jerking away from his touch. “Stop being stupid and open the door.” His short ponytail at the back of his head swayed as he tried to shoulder the door, only for you to hear more bodies press against it.

“Nuh uh, Jungkookie,” Park Jimin snickered, sounding drunker than Taehyung even though the two of them had probably consumed the same amount. “Can’t muscle pig your way outta this one.”

Taehyung and Jimin burst into giggles on the other side of the door as Jungkook fumed next to you, long black bangs flaring as he clicked his tongue and rolled the sleeves of his black sweatshirt up, eyes narrowed, jaw tense.

You threw up your hands as Jungkook backed up and ran into the door with a loud thunk!

Nothing except Jimin, Taehyung, and squeaky laughter adding to the mix.

“We don’t even talk to each other,” you muttered as Jungkook shook his head vigorously and prepared to rear up again like a stubborn horse.

“And that’s the problem!” Kim Seokjin tittered in between bursts of laughter. “We’re all friends, except the two of you that like to pretend the other one is a fucking tree rather than an actual person.”

Jungkook collided with the door again and the single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling flickered ominously.

“Who cares?” Jungkook roared, throwing his head back and pushing his hair away from his face with two hands. You rolled your eyes as he smacked the closet door.

“We do,” said a fourth, trying to be the voice of slurred reason. “In order for our shared friend group to have harmony, we two should work out your differences in a civil, dignified manner and discuss the root of your negative relationship.” You made a face and glanced at Jungkook, who made a similar confused expression. How much did Kim Namjoon drink? He sounded like a drunk philosopher.

“Locked in a closet is not civil, Namjoon,” you pointed out.

“Yeah, but it’s funnier,” Jung Hoseok laughed cheerfully, knocking on the door. “You two good in there? Not ripping off each other’s heads yet?”

“We don’t hate each other,” Jungkook repeated, giving up on fighting the door now that five people were holding it down. “I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“What’s the reason then?”

“Huh?” you shouted through the door. Jungkook rolled his eyes at you and you rolled your eyes back.

“What is,” Taehyung repeated, slower this time, emphasizing each syllable. “The reason that you guys are so hostile towards each other?”

“Did he eat some snacks you hid one time?” Seokjin piped up. “Because that would piss me off too.”

“That already pisses you off, hyung,” Jimin cut in. “You always bring it up.”

“Because he does it all the time! No matter where I hide them!”

“Your hiding places a pretty bad, hyung.”

“Namjoon! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Eh?”

“The side of reason and being right!”

“Hah…”

Jungkook clicked his tongue again and shoved his hands into his loose cotton pants. They were black and white striped and looked more like pajamas than actual pants. He hadn’t even bothered to get dressed to hang out with his friends. What a weirdo. You sighed, looking away, staring at the wall instead. Why look at Jeon Jungkook? Everyone looked at Jeon Jungkook. You didn’t need to add to that ego.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“Why are you wearing hyung’s shirt?”

You glared at him from your periphery. He was leaning against the wall, hunched over, glaring back.

“First of all, this is my shirt,” you snapped. “Second of all, they’re all your hyungs. Be more specific. And third of all, Yoongi only borrowed it because he said he was cold and this was one of the few things that fit him.”

Jungkook shoved his tongue into his cheek, looking at your black-on-black long-sleeved shirt with a moon tarot card design. He narrowed his dark eyes, giving you a piercing stare. You ran a hand through your hair, cocking your head away from him haughtily.

“Yeah, but you knew which hyung I was talking about.”

“Because only one of them has borrowed this shirt, idiot.”

“That’s not very nice,” Hoseok chided from the other side of the door. “No name calling in there!”

“You’re not very nice,” you retorted at the door, suddenly remembering that they were out there listening. In fact, one of the loons had turned down the music so the five of them could hear the exchange better. Mature of them.

“Why don’t you two say something you like about the other?” Namjoon suggested. “Compliments might help lessen the tension.”

Your eyes shifted to Jungkook’s clenched jaw, a vein popping on his neck. Yeah, okay. He noticed you looking and you jerked your head away, staring at the wall again.

“This is stupid. Why do we have to do this?” you complained.

“You look pretty good from the back.”

You flinched, irritation rising. Did he just–?

“For an older lady, that is.”

A muscle in your eye twitched. “Yeah, well, every guy says I look good from the rear view.”

“That’s not a compliment, Jungkook,” a deep, raspy voice from the bottom of the door.

Jungkook lifted himself off the wall, making a noise of surprise. “Yoongi-hyung? How long have you been there?”

“The whole time,” Jimin giggled. “He’s been pretending to be asleep.”

“I can’t sleep anyway,” Min Yoongi grumbled. “You guys are loud as fuck.”

“Nah, you just wanted to listen to the shitshow of these two,” Taehyung teased. There was the sound of a hand smacking of a shoulder and a disgruntled grunt at the bottom of the door.

Seokjin called your name loudly. “Yah! You haven’t said anything, backhanded or not!”

You grimaced and glanced at Jungkook again. He still looked surprised and, for a single second, you thought he looked pretty cute with his big round dark brown eyes and parted pink lips in an ‘o’. For a single second, he didn’t seem like that ‘hot guy’ that literally everyone, not just women, but men too, everyone was head-over-heels in love with, Jeon Jungkook, ‘hot guy’ with tattoos and a handsome face.

Blech.

You shifted your eyes away and stared at the corner. “I guess you might not have only one brain cell. Maybe you have two or three.”

“Ooh, nice, that’s a great one,” Jimin agreed behind the door. “Three is being generous, noona, well done.”

“Shut up, Jimin-ssi.”

Ugh, this shit was so dumb. And what kind of closet was this anyway? It was full of coats. A lot of them were more neutral colors, but there was the occasional muted jewel tone. Why did Taehyung’s family need this many coats and why was this closet on the upper floor? Some of them were neatly tucked in clear plastic covers. Oh. Probably to prevent them from getting moth holes, huh.

“Why do you hate me, anyway?” Jungkook muttered. “I’ve never done anything to you.”

“I don’t hate you. I just don’t like you,” you huffed.

“Why not? What did I do?” he sighed, reaching over and placing his hand on your shoulder.

You whipped your head around, narrowing your eyes. “Don’t touch me.”

He removed his hand, backing up with his hands in the air. “Whoa, okay, jeez. It’s just kind of hard to talk to you when your back is to me.”

“Hmph, why? Precious Jungkookie wants attention? Wants everyone to dote over him and love him?” you mocked in disgust, crossing your arms.

He twisted his lips. “… distracting, that’s all,” he mumbled.

“Hah?” You leaned forward, raising an eyebrow. “You forget how to talk?”

Jungkook looked away from you, frowning. “Sometimes, yeah. You’re kind of pretty.”

You blinked at him. What? You didn’t expect him to say that.

“In some lights, anyway.” He pointed up. “This one is pretty dim, like you.”

That was more like it. “Takes one to know one.”

His eyes shifted back to you. “What? A pretty person to spot pretty?”

You growled and scoffed, rolling your eyes. “See, this is why I can’t talk to you. You’re so full of yourself. All you ever do is think about is showing off how much better you are. How cool you are.”

“That’s because that’s all they ever talk about.”

You paused at his downcast tone. Your eyes drifted from the wall to his face. Jungkook wasn’t looking at you. His eyes were on the ground and he was rubbing the back of his head, frowning.

“I envy the way others talk about me. They always have such a perfect image pictured.” He inhaled deeply, slumping against the wall again. “It’s hard to live up to the picture everyone has of me in their head. Sometimes I don’t even want to try anymore so they give up and leave me alone.”

What?

His dark eyes shifted to you, half-shrouded by his long dark hair, tan skin glowing even in this dim closet light.

“I envy you,” he snapped, irritated edge to his voice. “I know you hear all that crazy shit they say about you, but you do whatever you want anyway. People call you a slut and you just invite all the hyungs over to your place and watch movies all night. People say you dress weird and you show up in big fur coats and wacky t-shirts and knee-high boots. People say you don’t know what you’re doing, but you can calculate your change faster than the cashier with the fucking computer.”

You gawked at him; jaw slightly slack. It took you a second to collect yourself. “It’s… not that hard. It’s basic math.”

“Hmph, yeah, well, I suck at math,” Jungkook muttered. “I’m not smart like Namjoon-hyung.”

“You’re good at a lot of things, Jungkook.”

“Like what?” he accused, putting you on the spot.

“Uh… you can draw. Namjoon draws like a five-year-old.”

Jungkook snorted. “Taehyung can draw.”

You raised an eyebrow. Honorifics, where? “Not realistically like you can. It’s a different style. Weirder.”

“I’m not weird,” Taehyung said through the door, voice half-muffled.

“Yeah, you are,” Jungkook replied without looking away from you.

“You’re kind of like an alien. In a good way,” Jimin added hastily.

“You’re kind of like an idiot,” Taehyung shot back.

Slapping sounds ensued outside the door.

Jungkook scratched his head, messing up his black hair. “I’m just saying I wish I was a little more like you sometimes.” He coughed. “Only sometimes.”

You ran a hand through your hair. “Well, I kind of wish I was like you sometimes,” you admitted, looking away from him. “I wish people would say nice things about me like they do for you. I wish people would praise me without reason. I wish people would fall in love with me like how they fall in love with you, without even knowing you.” You scoffed bitterly, flicking a hand carelessly. “Instead, they just play pretend and mess with my feelings because they think I’m easy.”

You left out a heavy sigh, weight off your chest. You hadn’t meant to say all that, but oh well. It was out there now.

So dumb.

“Then, when they find out I’m not, it’s my fault for some stupid reason. Like it’s my fault you painted this fake picture of me in your head.”

You felt something touch your outstretched hand. You jumped, seeing Jungkook’s right hand touching your fingertips, hand ink standing out against his flexed fingers. You almost pulled back. Almost. Then you caught the look in his eyes and stopped, mesmerized by the seriousness in his dark brown orbs.

“I meant it when I said you were pretty,” he whispered, barely audible.

Your eyes widened.

Your pulse raced through your veins.

“You… you said only in some lights,” you whispered back.

Jungkook lifted himself off the wall. One step. Two steps, towards you. You could have backed up. You could have slapped his hand away and yelled at Taehyung some more to let you out. Men were stupid. They ain’t shit. They play with your feelings and only want to use you. Dudes are just fuckboys.

Except Jungkook confirmed he wasn’t, just now.

And you confirmed you weren’t the female equivalent of a fuckboy – a fuckgirl?

For some reason, that made this different now.

This moment.

Jungkook looked down at you, tilting his head, brown eyes curious. You spread your fingers a little more and laced them with his, pressing your fingertips against the back of his hand as he pressed his against yours. You tilted your head the other way as he leaned down.

“I said you’re pretty in some lights,” he breathed. “You’re beautiful in all of them.”

He stopped just above your lips.

Pausing.

You lifted yourself up to close the gap, holding his hand tightly.

Mouth to mouth, resuscitating something that was almost dead because of misunderstandings and surface judgements, whispers and rumors clouding the truth, because everybody talks, everybody talks, everybody talks… too much.

For some reason, you expected Jungkook to smell musky or woodsy, something manly, but, in actuality, his cologne was light and sweet, barely there, like a fresh summer’s breeze. It was you that smelled more intense, your coffee and cream perfume mixing with his fruity scent, dominating a little, just like how you pressed harder into his soft lips, capturing them, surprised that was pleasant, almost sweet but with a hint of spice, the tip of his tongue teasingly brushing against your lips, and you drew back, narrowing your eyes at him.

He smiled a little, squeezing your hand lightly.

“That was nicer than I thought,” he murmured.

“You’re not that bad yourself,” you muttered, frowning a little at the heat rising in your cheeks.

“You guys still alive in there?” Yoongi asked gruffly from the ground, his voice drifting under the door.

“Did they kill each other? Should we open the door?” Seokjin wondered.

The doorknob began to turn.

Jungkook started and reached for the door.

You jumped and reached for the door.

A thin crack of light appeared.

Your hands intertwined, grabbing the doorknob and yanking it closed before it could fully open, both swiftly locking the door together with a firm click. The doorknob shook, confused noises on the other side of the wood.

Jungkook stared at you, brown eyes wide. “I… I just… thought we were getting somewhere,” he whispered under his breath.

You scratched your cheek with your free hand. “Yeah… we were getting somewhere... with this.”

The doorknob rattled violently.

“Excuse me, you two?” Taehyung shouted through the door. “Why the fuck is the door locked?”

“Uh…” you started.

“It’s jammed,” Jungkook shouted back.

“Nope, it’s definitely locked. I heard it,” Yoongi said from the floor.

“That bastard,” Jungkook hissed quietly, stepping closer to you.

“Why is it locked?” Jimin accused, sounding peeved. “Hmm? You two doing some naughty stuff?”

“Scandalous,” Seokjin and Hoseok gasped in unison.

Jungkook glanced at you and you shrugged, mouthing, maybe? He mouthed back, I thought you weren’t easy. You chuckled, speaking softly to his chin.

“We already spent all that time being hostile to each other.”

“So, you admit to the hostility.”

“Sure, if it helps your delicate baby brain sleep at night.”

His free arm wrapped around your waist, pulling you to his chest, kissing you again, holding your hand tightly, muttering against your lips, you’re kind of annoying, and you muttering back, you’re actually annoying, and him smiling between gentle kisses.

“I have to find the key, fuck, what the hell are they doing in there?”

“Are you sure you wanna know Taehyung?” Yoongi yawned from the ground. “What if you open the door and you’re scarred for life?”

“They were supposed to find common ground, not get handsy!” Taehyung shouted back, bounding away with Jimin’s disapproving sigh following. In the closet, Jungkook let go of your hand, kneading your waist as you wrapped your arms around him, both of your hands on his broad back, moaning softly into his lips as he sighed into yours, the kisses more audible now, hands exploring as Yoongi sat outside the door, clicking his tongue knowingly.

“You’re handsome, huh,” you breathed against his kisses.

“In some lights?” he teased.

You laughed, slipping your hands under his black sweatshirt, running your fingertips on his skin, making him gasp into your kisses.

“Yeah, in some lights.”

Outside the closet, Yoongi and Namjoon sat side by side, Seokjin and Hoseok long gone from secondhand embarrassment. The sounds from the closet were escalating, clothes rustling a little too much for two people who supposedly hated each other. But, as Yoongi and Namjoon discussed calmly, there were plenty of signs that indicated that those weren’t their true feelings.

“If you think about it, they’re a good fit,” Namjoon chuckled, amused as he heard Jungkook yelp. “This whole stuck in the closet thing was more fruitful than I thought.”

Yoongi laughed, raspy and full.

“Why do you think I suggested it?”

--

masterpost

[dem-obscure-imagines]

Choosing Destiny

Pietro Maximoff x Reader

Fandom: Marvel/MCU

Summary: Pietro has never believed in fate or soulmates or destiny…well, until he meets you…

Note: I know it was recently confirmed in canon that Pietro and Wanda were 26 during Age of Ultron, but for my own purposes, I’m going to pretend they were only 23. WandaVision spoilers if you squint, but not really.

Warnings: Mentions of death (he doesn’t die tho)

Word Count: 3.5k

Reader is: Female

Pietro Maximoff didn’t believe in prophecy. He didn’t believe in soulmates, either, but that was another matter entirely. His entire life, he’d been making decisions. Important ones. And he wanted to believe that they mattered. That his choices determined his outcome. He didn’t want his hands to be tied when it came to matters like that, to his destiny or whatever.

And yet, at twenty years old, approximately three years before his life would change forever, the fair rolled into town. Wanda wanted to go. She always wanted to go. It helped take her mind off of everything. And besides, with the fair came the psychics that would set up their stands, charging a handful of coins for a reading on your future. Your destiny. Your soulmate.

Wanda was very into it, as he knew she would be, and so, reluctantly, he handed over the money and she sat down across from the psychic, who took Wanda’s hands, shivering slightly before she reached for her tarot cards and shuffled them. “I do see a soulmate in your future.” The psychic told her. “He’s tall. Heroic. I see a long cape billowing out behind him and there’s a…strong association with the color yellow. He’s very intelligent, wise. He’s quiet, but he has a lot to say. He will help you through difficult times.”

Wanda chatted with the psychic for a while longer before they finished her reading, and when she was done, she handed Wanda a small rose quartz stone, which she admired before tucking it into her pocket.

“Let’s go get something to eat.” Pietro nudged her onwards towards the food carts.

“Don’t you want a reading?” Wanda asked him.

He scoffed. “I don’t have a soulmate.”

“I beg to differ.” The psychic said softly, beckoning him closer. “Tell you what, this reading is on the house. Take a seat.”

Wanda pushed him closer to the chair and he rolled his eyes, but sat down anyway. His foot bounced up and down. He was antsy, always antsy. Impatient. And on top of it all, a skeptic.

The psychic reached for his hands and he gave them to her. As soon as she made contact with his skin, she gasped.

“Oh you have a soulmate alright. She’s incredibly powerful. I can feel her energy radiating just from your touch alone. You’re going to meet her soon. Not right away, but definitely in the next few years. I sense…some tension. Some resistance, but inevitably, things will work out.” She reached into a pouch hanging from the table and pulled out a butterfly charm. It was small and silver and made of metal and when she pressed it into his palm, it was cold to the touch. “You’ll know it’s her when you see a butterfly.”

Pietro was disbelieving, but he nodded, tucking the charm into his pocket.

“How about that, huh?” Wanda asked as they started walking away. “You have a soulmate after all.”

“We’ll see…” Pietro shook his head. “I still don’t buy it, though, for the record…”

“Sure.” Wanda smirked, unconvinced. She’d seen the look on her brother’s face she knew that look. And she knew that whether her brother liked it or not, he believed the slightest bit that there was someone out there made for him. She liked to believe it, too.

***

There were not many belongings Pietro had inside the walls of the Hydra facility he was transformed in. But one of them was the silver butterfly charm he had gotten at the fair that day. He always kept it with him, and he’d fought tooth and nail to be able to keep it when he’d gotten admitted.

When he was in his cell all alone, he’d take it out and look at it, study the intricate patterns on its wings, and then tuck it back into his pocket, his fingers fiddling with it.

He remembered the day when his transformation happened, although he didn’t like to think about it often. It stirred up weird emotions in the core of his being. Being…altered in a way like that. Changed into something he was never meant to be. Most of the moments from that day, his brain had tucked away, had hidden from him, but when he first stepped into the room with the stone, it had seemed to…come alive.

He watched with wide eyes as it released itself from the staff it had been held inside and floated in front of him. And in the glow of the stone, a figure manifested herself in front of him, a girl who was a bit shorter than him. She had giant butterfly-shaped wings spread out behind her and she landed in front of him, as real as he was. Vivid and beautiful. He stared at her for a long time, waiting for her to speak.

And she did.

“Pietro…” She’d spoken, her voice soft and sweet, but also…worried? He couldn’t tell. “I need you to be okay for me. Breathe, alright?”

“I…I don’t understand. What do you mean?” He asked, but she didn’t respond. It was like she was separated from him somehow, somewhere different in space and time although she was standing right there in front of him.

She reached forward and rested her hand against his cheek. “I’m here, now. Just breathe…”

And then everything went black.

When he came around, everything started…changing. For a few days, every step he took was at superspeed. He’d run into walls without really meaning to, rush forward feet at a time when he’d only meant to move a little. He was hungrier than he’d ever been in his life. He’d always loved food, but now, he felt like he was starving all the time when he was eating more than he ever had. His enhanced body burned through it like it was nothing. His hair started to turn blonde and then white, leaving the top half of his head a silvery bleached color that rivaled the snow. He barely recognized himself in the mirror anymore. Barely recognized this person he’d become.

The choice he’d made, the choice he and Wanda had made together, had sent him on a different path, had altered his destiny. And he wondered if he’d ever pay the price for it.

***

The day came, as he knew it would. His home town in Sokovia was being hoisted into the air, higher and higher every minute. The air was thin and he had trouble catching his breath. He was used to running, now. It was part of him, his speed. It was a gift. A blessing. A “miracle” as the scientists at Hydra had said. He couldn’t help but believe them.

He heard something approaching the border of the city, something big, and when he ran to the edge to see what it was, he was surprised, but pleasantly so, to see a Helicarrier rising, a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo emblazoned on it. He looked around and spotted Captain Rogers standing nearby with the Black Widow, so he ran over.

“This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?” He asked.

“This is what S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposed to be.” Rogers nodded, looking on proudly.

Pietro considered it for a moment before replying with a smile, “this is not so bad…”

It was then that he spotted her flying across the gap. The girl with the butterfly wings. And he couldn’t stop staring, his blue eyes fixed on her for a long moment. She said something, but he didn’t hear her, so distracted by her presence. He knew it had to be her, the girl from his vision.

“What?” He asked, blinking a few times. She giggled and the other two Avengers standing beside them chuckled knowingly.

“I said, I’m (Y/N).” You offered your hand and Pietro shook it, squeezing it slightly as he did so, and hesitant to let go once he was finished. “Fury reached out to me. Figured you could use all the help you could get.”

“We’d definitely accept an extra set of hands.” Rogers nodded. “What are your powers.”

“Flight, energy manipulation, enhanced strength…” You listed off. “There are kind of a lot. I can do whatever you need me to do. Be wherever you need me to be.”

“Priorities right now are evacuating civilians and killing robots.” Natasha said.

“That, I can do.” You nodded. “And you’re…?”

“Pietro.” He offered, smiling softly as he did, an unfamiliar warmth tingling in his stomach.

“Pietro.” You repeated, trying the name out. Your pronunciation was a little off, but he couldn’t help but grin at the attempt. “Alright. Well, let’s go kill some robots then, Pietro.” You let your wings flutter, and when you did, your feet lifted from the ground.

He smirked, getting a bit competitive as soon as you’d challenged him. “You’re on. Try to keep up.”

As the two of you rushed off into the city, Steve and Natasha watched with knowing looks, taking another little moment.

“Twenty bucks they’re together by Friday.” Nat said. “Maybe sooner.”

Steve shook her hand. “You’re on.”

***

The battle went smoothly until it didn’t, and as soon as Pietro took fire, you felt the hit in the center of your being. It shook you to your core, and once you’d shot the quinjet that had hit him out of the sky with a powerful stream of pink energy, you landed beside him, his body still and his breathing weak, holes mangling his limbs and torso.

“Pietro…” You whispered, tears stinging your eyes. You summoned your energy to your palms, but it was…different than it usually was. Rather than its typical pink color, the energy you summoned was yellow. It was warm. But you trusted your power and you held the energy over him.

His breaths were shallow, strained. You watched as, very, very slowly, your energy pieced him back together, the holes in his body closing up, repairing as if by magic, as if he’d never been shot in the first place.

He struggled to try to say something, but you just cupped his cheek and shook your head. “I need you to be okay for me. Breathe, alright?”

“But—”

“I’m here, now. Just breathe…” You told him, still pushing energy into his chest, but more slowly, gradually. You felt his pulse and waited as his heartbeat returned to normal, his breathing forced, but becoming more natural as you knelt beside him. “Take a minute. Take your time. There’s no rush.”

He nodded, struggling to sit up, his arms and legs shaking really badly. At some point, you felt like your power hit a wall. There wasn’t anything more you could do for him. He was healed.

“Do you feel okay? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He nodded, staring at his hands for a long moment, looking at his fingers and moving them. “I’m…thanks to you, I am.”

“I think we’re gonna have to get out of here pretty soon. Can you stand?”

“I’ll try.” He decided.

You stood up first and offered your hands to him, pulling him upright with unexpected strength.

He’d definitely pulled something in his leg, and that became obvious as soon as he took a few steps.

“Do you want me to try to—" You started to ask, raising your hand, but he grabbed onto it, lowering it.

He shook his head. “You’ve done enough for me today. Thank you.”

You pulled his arm around your shoulders and supported his weight while he limped.

Captain Rogers walked over and looked at the two of you, paying special attention to Pietro.

“You alright, kid?”

“I am now.” He answered, nodding.

“Get back to the Helicarrier. Both of you. This’ll all be over soon.”

“Yes, sir.” You nodded. The two of you walked most of the way back to the Helicarrier in silence, Pietro sneaking unbelieving looks at you every so often.

Meanwhile, Rogers walked up to Clint. “Did you see what happened?”

Clint nodded. “He almost died. But she…she just…healed him. Like magic…”

Steve considered it for a moment, nodding. He looked back and watched as you helped Pietro onto one of the boats, the two of you sitting together. And he decided in that moment that you might not make a bad addition to the team…

***

As soon as Wanda made it back to the Helicarrier, in the arms of the Vision, no less, she ran towards you and Pietro, disbelief on her face when she saw him. Mascara and eyeliner were smudged around her eyes from crying and she looked paler than he’d ever seen her before.

“Wanda,” He walked towards her, taking a painful step forward.

“You idiot!” She wailed, throwing herself into his arms. “I…I thought you were dead! I…I felt…”

“I know. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He apologized, his voice soft. “She healed me. She…saved my life.”

“Who did?” Wanda asked and Pietro motioned to where you were sitting.

You stood up and prepared to introduce yourself, holding out your hand, but she engulfed you in her arms instead, pulling you into a tight hug.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” She cried into your shoulder. You held her a little tighter in an attempt to comfort her. “I don’t know what I would have done if…”

“Don’t worry about it.” You told her quietly. “He’s safe. You both are.”

Wanda nodded and pulled away from you, looking up at her brother with teary eyes. He smiled down at her. And then his eyes settled on you and he pulled you into his arms, hugging you tightly.

Pietro Maximoff, at one time in his life, hadn’t believed in fate. But now, without a shadow of a doubt, he did.

***

“You want me to be a what?” You asked. You were sitting in the conference room that the Avengers, including their newest additions, had all crammed into in the remains of the Avengers Tower. They were scheduled to move soon, but before they relocated, Captain Rogers had gotten ahold of you through Nick Fury and called you there to “discuss an arrangement.”

“We want you to be an Avenger.” Clint Barton, the one you’d previously only known as ‘Hawkeye’ explained. “I saw you. You saved the kid’s life. We…we need that kind of power. All the help we can get.”

You looked at Pietro and his eyes were locked on yours, a serious look on his face.

“Look, I’m flattered. I am.” You forced yourself to focus away from the handsome speedster and on Stark instead. “But I’m just…I’m a college kid. I’m graduating in like a month. I have finals and…and I…I don’t know if I’m cut out for this.”

“You are. Cut out for it, I mean.” Natasha insisted. “We’re not going to force you, but…you’d be a great addition to the team.”

“Can I think about it?” You asked. “I just need to get through college. Get my degree, and then…then I can…maybe look into this hero stuff.”

“Take all the time you need. We’ll be here if and when you come around.” Captain Rogers said.

“Cool.” You nodded. “Thank you.”

You left the conference room and you thought you were alone, but as soon as you walked through them, someone else did too.

“Promise me you’ll think about it?” Your ears picked up the all-too familiar accent of one Mr. Pietro Maximoff.

You looked up at him and you hated it, but your heart raced just looking at him, a blush creeping across your cheeks. You couldn’t deny he was handsome. Incredibly so, in fact, but you couldn’t just give up four years of work for a man at the drop of a hat.

“Why do you want me here so bad?” You countered, raising an eyebrow.

He took a few steps closer to you, framing your cheek with his large, warm hand. “Do you believe in fate?”

You thought about it for a moment. “Kind of. Why?”

“I didn’t. I didn’t until I met you.” Pietro said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the silver butterfly charm, hanging from a thin silver chain. “A long time ago, a psychic told me I would know my soulmate when I saw a butterfly. And…the moment I saw your wings, I knew…”

He was quiet, shaking his head as he reached for your hand, setting the necklace in your palm. “You saved my life. The least I can do is returning the favor at some point.”

“Okay.” You said, closing your hand around the charm. “I’ll think about it. I promise.”

***

You went back to school. It was hard, but you focused on your studies and before you knew it, finals week rolled around. Your wings, for the most part, weren’t active. They only came out when you needed them, and therefore, you were able to blend in pretty seamlessly. No one looked at you differently, although, watching news coverage from the Battle of Sokovia, you’d hear your peers whisper rumors about the mysterious Butterfly Girl who had appeared and disappeared right after.

Tony Stark had been approached for a statement on who she was and where she’d come from and if she was a new member of the team, but he hadn’t commented, which you were grateful for.

Aside from that, everything was…well, as normal as it can be when you’re a superhuman, you supposed.

Your brain fried, your eyes burning, you looked up from your textbook only to spot Pietro standing in the doorway of the building. You stared at him for a long time, unsure if he was a hallucination or your eyes playing tricks on you after so many hours staring at your textbooks.

He jogged over as soon as he spotted you, a mischievous look on his face. It was weird, seeing him force himself to move at a normal pace. At a speed which had once been normal to him, but was now much, much slower than he was capable of moving.

“What are you doing here?” You asked him, taking your headphones off and setting them on the table, looking up at him.

“I knew you must be getting close to the end of your semester. I…well, I wanted to know if you had made your decision yet. I’m…impatient.” He admitted, causing you to giggle softly. “And I figured…maybe buying you a coffee could help you make your decision a little faster?”

“It certainly couldn’t hurt.” You laughed.

“Alright, perfect.” He grinned. “What do you want? I’ll go get it right now.”

You told him your usual order and he walked to the coffee shop tucked into the on-campus library, retrieving two drinks and bringing them back a few minutes later. You cleared out some of your stuff so he could sit across from you, and so, when you motioned him to the chair, he did.

“What are you studying?”

“Psychology.” You replied, wiping the sleep from your eyes. “God, what time is it?”

“Almost ten.”

“Great.” You chuckled, shaking your head. “I’m not nearly done studying.” You raised your drink to your lips. “Thank you for the coffee, by the way.”

“Of course.” He grinned, resting one hand against his fist and reaching for your hand with the other, which you gave to him, allowing him to fiddle with your smaller fingers. He was a fiddler, you’d noticed. Always had to be moving, even if it was only a little bit. “So…?”

“So what?” You asked, amused at his antics.

“Are you going to come to the compound when you’re done?”

You were quiet for a long time, before you nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I…I think I am.”

Immediately, a smile overtook his handsome features and he gave your hand an excited squeeze. He leaned over the table and captured your lips in a sweet kiss, leaving you stunned for a few seconds afterwards, staring at him with wide eyes.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized immediately. “I don’t know why I—”

You grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him in, pressing your lips onto his again, in a kiss you’d been wanting to give him for over a month. He kissed back passionately, his lips soft and desperate, his scruff tickling you gently.

As soon as you pulled apart, he switched sides of the table, sitting next to you and cupping his hands around your cheeks. He pressed a long kiss to your forehead and then another quick one to your lips, causing your heart to race and the butterflies in your stomach to dance around. And in that moment, you knew that whatever you believed about soulmates and fate and destiny…it all went out the window.

You knew whatever you did from here on out, whatever choices you made or paths you took, it would always lead you straight to Pietro Maximoff. And you couldn’t have been happier about that…

[hardboiledteacozy]

Great Ace Attorney and Tarot

It is an inevitable truth that every time I get into a fandom, I end up assigning characters a ✨ Major Arcana Tarot Card ✨ and DGS has been no exception. Beware spoilers for DGS & DGS2 in my ramblings below because for the life of me, I still can't pick just one for each card. To an extent, I narrowed it down to 'what card would they have if they were in a Persona game?' and that helped a little. Anyway, long-ish character meta ahead:

The Fool - Obviously Ryuunosuke, as the protagonist and the character starting this journey. As far as card depiction goes, I can picture him huddled up in the trunk, holding the daruma

The Magician - Herlock comes to mind for this one, as the first to guide The Fool on his journey. He is the one who holds knowledge and secrets, as well as the one with the tools to reveal truths

The High Priestess - Iris, as another keeper of knowledge, one who can trust her intuition because she has so many resources already within her grasp. Also a keeper of a secret, knowledge that is only revealed until much later (in this case, the fact that she is Klimt's daughter)

The Empress - Having some trouble with this particular card. On the one hand, it would be fun to have Susato and Kazuma as Empress and Emperor, visually speaking. On the other hand, the Empress card is sometimes associated with motherhood and fertility/bounty. It would be interesting to have Courtney and Maria here, as a mother-daughter duo, since Courtney is not only one of the few canonical mothers in-game, she also has a fertile career right until the moment her secret is out. Therefore, it would be interesting to have The Ring be a central part of the imagery.

The Emperor - Another card I'm stumped with tbh. Jigoku would be an interesting choice, as a supposedly stable figure in power. Stronghart is another strong contender here, especially paired with Courtney as the Empress, but again, I'm stumped

The Hierophant - I have three choices here, especially going with the Persona games logic. The Hierophant is a figure of authority who serves as a guide for the protagonist, so my obvious first choice is Mikotoba. Sholmes is another good contender, but I think I like him better in the role of Magician. Otherwise, Gregson or Hosonaga could potentially work here too, although they're not quite in the role of guiding our protagonist and therefore probably work better as other cards.

The Lovers - In order not to let my shippy bias show here, I am going with Susato and Rei/Haori. I considered having Pat and Rolly for this one, but I tried to stick to characters who impact the plot as a whole and not just one case. With Susato and Rei, we have duality/dichotomy, with Susato dressed as Ryuutaro, and instead of having Cupid for the 'love is blind' motif, we have lady justice with the 'justice is blind' one, which I feel would be a neat touch

The Chariot - Another hard one. I have in my notes 'the resolve of Ryuunosuke Naruhodo' which ??? I have no idea what I even meant with that one other than perhaps a depiction of Ryuu taking the reigns and guiding the proverbial Chariot. So this could just be Ryuunosuke's card, past his first step as The Fool, as he finally finds his own way and isn't just walking in Kazuma's footsteps.

(We could also have the Phoenix Wright omnibus since it is a literal chariot lmao)

Strength - I feel like van Zieks is a great contender for the Strength card. He's endured so much, and he constantly has to grapple not only with his own grief, but with his Reaper persona. If the card is usually depicting a woman controlling a lion (not necessarily fighting it, mind), then Barok could be depicted holding onto the reaper (perhaps as Klimt himself). Another good contender here is Kazuma, and we have a nice duology in his two outfits (black and white) as he grapples with his own sense of worth and his desire for revenge despite the fact that this might ruin more than just his own life.

The Hermit - Soseki Natsume is my obvious choice here, given that he's a pretty literal shut-in. Another interesting choice, though, is van Zieks again, given that he kept himself distant from society after Klimt died.

The Wheel of Fortune - Since the Wheel of Fortune card is usually depicted as an object and not a person, my first choice here are the Scales of Justice, which go up and down again and again and literally determine fates. As for characters, I have two fun contenders who've been down on their luck a lot: Enoch Drebber and Soseki Natsume.

Justice - A dual depiction of Hosonaga and Gregson would be interesting for this card, since they both pretty much serve this role in their respective countries.

The Hanged Man - The Hanged Man is all about a willing sacrifice, of putting yourself in an uncomfortable position for a greater cause. This brings me to three distinct (but very related) possibilities: Kazuma, who's gone through with the whole study tour thing because it will serve the purpose of avenging his father. Genshin, who was willing to sully his name and 'sacrifice himself' so he could get back to his family. And finally, Klimt, who chose to become a weapon to serve the greater purpose of justice, right up until the point where he wasn't anyway. An interesting depiction for this one would be the Genshin & Klimt fight, in the moment Klimt is killed, as this is perhaps the moment both men willingly sacrifice so much

Death - So many possible depictions for Death. A very obvious one is Courtney and Wilson, as coroners. Klimt and the Hound would also be good contenders. Otherwise, Kazuma in his white outfit, perhaps with the red hachimaki streaming behind him from his neck, to symbolize new beginnings

Temperance - I love the image of Susato pouring tea for this one, as the card is about balance, patience, and moderation, and Susato embodies those qualities quite well

The Devil - McGilded is an interesting choice here. Ryuunosuke makes a deal with the devil, so to speak, on his first case. But this brings us to the Actual Devil he makes the deal with: Stronghart himself. Stronghart definitely embodies the drive and excess this card can represent, so he'd be a good contender for the Devil card

The Tower - Impending disaster. It's hard to pick which one to focus on, but I have two interesting choices here. One is Nikolina holding Darka, as this event leads Ryuunosuke down the path to become a lawyer when Kazuma 'dies'. My other choice is also a literal tower, so to speak, with Barry and Mr Vigil, right before Vigil jumps from the office window. A direct impending disaster, not to mention one that will have ramifications that extend ten years into the future

The Star - Gina, as the character who needed to have strength to carry on despite everything that's happened to her. She loses her faith after Gregson dies, but in the end, she doesn't stray from the path she had set out on

The Moon - The Moon card is about hidden knowledge. It also hints at danger, sometimes? So there's two interesting contenders here, Mme Tusspells, who holds the secret of the Professor's identity in her museum, and Maria Gorey, who brings the Ring to court during the 2-5 trial

The Sun - I had this one for 'World' but I just realised it works well with 'Sun' too. The completion of the journey, a joyous celebration. For this one, I have Ryuunosuke and Kazuma crossing swords at dawn, with the promise that they will meet again. This also happens to mark the literal end of the game, as they do this in the credits too

Judgement - This one symbolises an awakening or new beginnings, so I also think of Kazuma for this one, much like what I said on the Death card. Another interesting interpretation could be the secret will hidden in Karuma

The World - The completion of the journey, ending at the beginning for a new cycle. For this one, the daruma with both eyes painted on, thus having it be a direct contrast to The Fool card and a callback to it.

And this is all I have to say on the matter so far. As far as actual depictions go, I'm thinking of a frame surrounding each picture, with in-game quotes related to the character or idea depicted. I only have phrases for The Fool and Magician, namely:

"I'm no expert." / "I'm just a student." on either side of The Fool, and "Hold it, Mr. Sholmes!" / "Elementary!" for The Magician.

And if any of these have sparked your interest/creativity, then by all means, come yell at me and show me anything you write/think/draw because I could talk about tarot all day hahaha

[zippityzap]

Sonic Tarot Card Project: explanations for character picks

Recently I completed a summer-long project where I created Sonic themed versions of the tarot major acana. I put a lot of research and thought into what characters to assign to which cards, and I wanted to explain my rationale behind each one! (Everything’s under the read more cut because this is a very long post!)

To start off, let me explain why I did this project in the first place. This summer I watched Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure for the first time, and in Part 3, Stardust Crusaders, the majority of the stand abilities are named after the tarot major arcana. Thanks to cultural osmosis I vaguely knew the meanings of a few of the cards and I realised that one of the characters suited his assigned card pretty well. I was curious if this matched anyone else and so once I finished watching that part, I did research on tarot and found that yeah, a lot of them do match! That got me interested in tarot and since I like combining things I’m interested in, I decided to make Sonic versions of the cards.

I do want to note that while Jojo did inspire this project in a lot of ways, I tried not to let my character picks be influenced by Stardust Crusader characters, although there did end up being some picks that did coincidentally happen to match nicely anyway. Also, I’m not gonna lie, ever since picking these card choices I’ve been highly tempted to draw Sonic as Polnareff.

Anyway, on to my explanations for character choices!

0: The Fool (Charmy Bee)

The Fool represents innocence, spontaneity and recklessness. I believe Charmy’s happy and carefree nature, along with the simple fact that he’s essentially just a little kid who likes to have fun makes him a great fit for this card

1: The Magician (Infinite)

The Magician represents creation and strength, but also manipulation and narcissism, a good match for Infinite and the powers of the phantom ruby. (I was also very pleased to notice that the traditional art for the card has an infinity symbol- everything lined up very well!)

The Rider Waite version of the card also depicts a sword, a wand, a cup and a pentacle; the suits of the minor arcana. I have attempted to depict these with various objects from the Sonic series, namely Infinite’s sword from the IDW Forces prequel comic, the sceptre of darkness from '06, a chaos emerald, and a ring respectively.

2: The High Priestess (Princess Elise)

The High Priestess represents secrets, repression, and the unknown, which I believe fits with Elise’s initial desire to control her emotions and her sadness. (Admittedly this is one of the looser character/card connections for this project, but my two other picks for this card I felt were better suited to different cards)

3: The Empress (Vanilla the Rabbit)

The Empress represents nurturing, fertility and childbirth, all traits that I believe make this card a good pick for a kind, caring mother like Vanilla

4: The Emperor (Dr Eggman)

A card fitting for the leader of the Eggman Empire! The Emperor represents authority, power, and tyranny, all traits Dr Robotnik desires, if not possesses in many continuities.

5: The Hierophant (Espio the Chameleon)

The Hierophant represents wisdom and tradition, and in both upright and reversed forms it has large connections to the concept of social conformity. Perhaps I’m drawing more from the various comic versions of Espio, but he comes across to me as someone who is hyper-aware about how he presents himself.

Fun fact: a hierophant is essentially another word for a religious leader, although I’ve never seen it used outside the context of tarot. I assume the religious connection is the reason why in the OST of the Jojo part 3 anime, Kakyoin’s theme is called Noble Pope.

6: The Lovers (Amy Rose)

The Lovers represents love, communication, and passion; and Amy is certainly a character who wears her heart on her sleeve! She’s a good example of a character who I feel fits a number of different cards, however there are no other characters who suited The Lovers quite as much as her.

7: The Chariot (Sonic the Hedgehog)

The Chariot represents journeys, wanderlust as well as the ambition and willpower to achieve your goals, which I believe is the perfect match for Sonic’s adventurous and heroic spirit. This was one of the first cards I decided on and it’s probably the one I’d defend my interpretation of the most.

If you’re wondering why there’s dark and hero chao in the artwork too, it’s because the original card art depicts the titular chariot being pulled by black and white sphinxes, and this is my way of calling back to that.

8: Strength (Maria Robotnik)

This card pick might seem unusual at first if you take the word ‘strength’ at face value, however considering the original card art depicts a maiden peacefully taming a lion, perhaps the Strength card represents inner strength, courage and determination rather than physical strength. These are traits that I believe Maria possesses.

9: The Hermit (Knuckles the Echidna)

The Hermit signifies awareness and independence but when reversed can mean isolation and resignation, traits that parallel well with Knuckles and his duty to be the protector of the Master Emerald

10: The Wheel of Fortune (Big the Cat)

The Wheel of Fortune represents fate, karma and luck! This is admittedly a bit of a cheeky dig at myself since I’m awful at the Big fishing levels in SA1 and mostly got through them through luck. But that’s not to say the card doesn’t apply to Big himself! His frequent cameos do have a bit of a fate/destiny vibe to them and in IDW Big is lucky enough to manage to avoid the metal virus for quite a long time.

11: Justice (Vector the Crocodile)

The meaning of the Justice cards is… pretty much what it says on the tin: fairness and clarity. Of course the Team Chaotix detective agency represents this as a whole, but that trait especially shines through with Vector himself. He may be a little money oriented, but doing what is morally right always takes priority.

12: The Hanged Man (Shadow the Hedgehog)

The thing about Shadow is that he’s a fairly complex character which means there are a number of cards in the Major Arcana that match him well, but I knew early on when tackling this project that I wanted to assign Shadow to The Hanged Man. This card represents change, release and sacrifice, which all align well with the character arc that Shadow goes through during the course of SA2 and beyond.

13: Death (Tikal the Echidna and Chaos)

Despite the morbid name of the card, (and the admittedly macabre scene I’ve depicted) the Death card is not an inherently negative card to draw. Yes, it can mean endings and grief, but it can also mean letting go and new beginnings. The story that Tikal and Chaos go through in SA1, their anguish and how they later find peace, is something that I think pairs well with this particular card.

Fun fact: this is the only card in this project that has two significant characters on it rather than just one. I felt I needed both of them to be on the card in order to fully represent its meaning

14: Temperance (Blaze the Cat)

The Temperance card signifies balance, harmony and patience, which matches Blaze’s very poised and graceful demeanour. Admittedly I had a little bit of trouble deciding on a card for Blaze since the High Priestess and the Hierophant are also good matches for her.

15: The Devil (Rouge the Bat)

The Devil card represents temptation, seduction, and materialism and well… look, Rouge is one of my favourite Sonic characters, I’d be one of the first people to tell you that there’s a lot more to her than what initially appears, she is so much more complex than just sex appeal and a gemstone obsession. However, I felt there was no other character that matched the traits of this specific card better than Rouge, and so my choice was decided by that.

16: The Tower (E-123 Omega)

The Tower card represents a number of things; disruption, disasters, sudden changes etc, however the trait that made me believe that Omega would be the best selection for the card was violence.

17: The Star (Miles ‘Tails’ Prower)

Tails’ character arcs normally centre around him gaining independence and self-confidence and learning to believe in himself. He is also largely characterised by his unyielding faith and trust in Sonic. These traits are the reason why I believe The Star card represents him well, as it symbolises hope and faith.

18: The Moon (Shade the Echidna)

The Moon card symbolises mysteries and the unknown, and when Shade is first introduced in Chronicles, she and the rest of the Nocturnus Clan are certainly presented as mysterious. The Moon can also represent misconception, which fits well with how Shade was initially unaware of the true nature of Ix’s plans.

19: The Sun (Cream the Rabbit)

The Sun, when drawn in an upright position, has a lot of positive meanings! Freedom, fun, happiness, good luck etc. Cream’s cheerful and optimistic disposition makes her a good match for this card

20: Judgement (E-102 Gamma)

The Judgement card symbolises liberation, awakening, redemption and second chances, all of which I believe represent Gamma and his character arc in SA1 well

21: The World (Metal Sonic)

In the upright position, The World card symbolises triumph, completion, strength and happiness while in reversed position can mean failure, anxiety, lack of self-confidence etc. I had both positioning of the card in mind when connecting it to Metal Sonic; he is devoted to the tasks given to him and is self-assured in his belief that he is the true/superior ‘sonic’ yet he repeatedly finds himself at the hands of failure. But he doesn’t let previous failures hold him back, thus starting the cycle anew. (Another connection to the World card as it also symbolises cycles)