#magician of secret symbols

[weirdlookindog]

Reon Argondian (b. 1962) - Carodej tajnych symbolu (Magician of secret symbols)

[turtleblogatlast]

“Haven’t You Noticed (I’m a Star)” from Steven Universe works so ridiculously well for Leo

[eric-the-bmo]

i think too much about tarot card symbolism for wod ocs

[torpublishinggroup]

Celebrate Pride with Tor Publishing Group!

Rakesfall by @adamantine

They met as children in the middle of the Sri Lankan civil war. Later, in a demon-haunted wood, an act of violence linked them and propelled their souls on a journey through the ages. As they reincarnate ever deeper into the future, a truth emerges: Some stories take more than one lifetime to tell.

Running Close to the Wind by @ariaste

In this queer pirate fantasy, Avra Helvaçi has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world. To avoid capture, he flees to the open sea, where only his on-again, off-again ex aka pirate Captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār can help him survive, profit, and become a legend.

Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin

Something evil is buried deep in the desert. It wants your body and wears your skin. Welcome to Camp Resolution, a queer conversion center where everyone leaves a different person. In 1995, seven queer teens were abandoned here by their parents, but survived. Sixteen years later, they’re scarred and broken, but back to face an evil that threatens the world. 

Kinning by Nisi Shawl

In this alternate history where barkcloth airships soar and former colonies claim freedom from imperialist tyrants, the identity of the island of Everfair still wavers. Victorious in the wake of the Great War, a new threat looms. Can Everfair continue to serve as a symbol of hope for anticolonial movements around the world, or will it fall to forces within and without? 

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by @rebeccathornewrites

Can one of the Queen’s private guard and the most powerful mage in existence leave their lives behind to settle down in their new bookshop that serves tea? This cozy fantasy is steeped in sapphic romance and nestled on the edge of dragon country. 

The Fragile Threads of Power by V. E. Schwab

Once there were four worlds, nestled like pages in a book, each pulsing with fantastical power and connected by a single city: London. After a desperate attempt to prevent corruption and ruin in the four Londons, there are only three. Now the worlds are going to collide anew—brought to a dangerous precipice by the discoveries of three remarkable magicians.

Now available in paperback!

The Archive Undying by @emcandon

This is a story about misplaced faith, complicated love, so much self-loathing, and yeah—giant robots. Plugged into his AI god when its apocalyptic corruption renders him unfortunately immortal, sad gay disaster Sunai takes a die-again-or-die-trying approach to things. Unending life’s tough when intimacy is somehow scarier even than either of the warring police states set on turning you into a weapon or the rogue undead mecha-fragment of your old god that wants to eat you. 

Now available in paperback!

The Bell in the Fog by Lev AC Rosen

A dazzling historical mystery that dives into the shadowy, closeted world of the Navy, emerging in the gay bars of the city. It’s a whirlpool of missing people, violent strangers, and scandalous photos in 1952 San Francisco. 

Now available in paperback!

Celebrate Pride with more titles from Tor Publishing Group here!

[astrocafecoffee]

Destiny Matrix

(predicting some events of your life and characteristics of your fs)

• For entertainment purposes only, enjoy •

•☞ Masterlist

Guys, destiny matrix chart is So gorgeous 😭 , I fell in love. I am new to this, but it's so fascinating, so I am sharing with you guys. Obviously I learnt a lot from ann_matrix_destiny insta page. I explained some of her work here, rest is mine.

✨What is Destiny matrix chart?

-A spiritual and metaphysical chart that reveals a person's life path, soul purpose, and potential.

✨How is it calculated?

-Based on a person's birth date, using a complex system of numerology and astrological correspondences.

💫 How to see some important events of your life?

see this area(perimeter line)of your chart , this will explain many important events of your life.

💚Age of getting married/ meeting with your significant other/ spouse:

- look at your age in your chart, if you see 3,5,6,19,20 at the top of your age then at that age you will get married/ meet your significant other/ start a family. Like in this chart I have shown above '5' is top of the age of 23.5- 24, so this individual will meet their spouse at that age/ get married.

• Going through Transformation in your life :

- if you see 13 or 16 at the top of your age , then at that age your life will drastically change/ you will go through a huge transformation of your life. You will change your location/ your career/ will shift to another country or city.

⚡Moving abroad/ travelling:

If you see 7,10,21,22 above your age then this is the best age for travelling or going abroad.

if you find 21 in your love line(circled part)then most probably you will marry a foreigner.

And if you find 7, 10 , 21 or 22 in this positions then most probably you will go abroad/ find your partner there .

Now , the future spouse part : -

💖 Hints about your future partner :

Look at the number below the heart symbol to know about your future partner. In this chart it's 21.

So, let's explain each numbers -

•Number 1: The magician

- creative and innovative

- skilled and talented

- confident and charismatic

- however they may also struggled with over - confidence and arrogance.

- gemini / Virgo zodiac sign placements

- profession : musicians, writer, public speaker, coaches and mentors , scientist, entrepreneur, marketing and advertising professionals.

- meeting: conference or seminar, art galleries, meuseum, workshop or studio, networking events or industry conference, class or training session.

• Number 2 : High Priestess

- intuitive and wise

- mysterious and enigmatic

- maybe quiet and reserved.

- soft spoken and considerate.

- cancer zodiac sign placements.

- profession: councillors, therapists, psychologist, Nurse or healthcare professionals, social workers, spiritual leaders, energy workers.

- meeting: secret or private settings, libraries, coaching, weddings , meeting in the context of any spiritual retreats.

• Number 3 : Empress

- Full of life , energy and vitality.

- encouraging others to grow and flourish.

- committed, dedicated and faithful.

- Taurus and Libra zodiac sign placements.

- profession: fashion designer , sculptors, teachers and educators,event planer, environmentalists, musicians, healthcare.

- meeting through : parties, gatherings, festival, fair, creative workshops, artistic projects ,meuseum, concerts.

• Number 4 : Emperor

- Natural born leader, authoritative, commanding.

- makes tough decisions with clarity and conviction.

- commited to family and responsibilities.

- zodiac sign: Aries placements.

- profession: executive, CEO, leader or manager, military officer, architect, Engineer, government officials, buisness owner.

- meeting : buisness meeting, job interviews, formal events , official ceremonies.

• Number 5 : Hierophant

- values established customs, rituals, and institutions.

- upholds ethical standards and moral principles.

- prioritise stability and security over change and uncertainty.

- Taurus zodiac sign placements

- profession: spiritual leaders and mentors, councellor , advisor or consultants, traditional healers or healthcare professionals.

- meeting: spiritual or religious gatherings, traditional ceremonies or rituals, educational and training sessions , counciling or therapy sessions, church,temples , mosques.

• Number 6 : The lovers

- collaborative, work well others.

- empathetic and aware of others feelings.

- true to themselves and their values.

- zodiac sign: Gemini placements.

- profession: counselors, coaches , writer , journalist, artist, musicians, public speaker, philosophers , scientist, researchers.

- meeting : social getherings or parties , creative or artistic collaboration, Beauty or fashion events , community or networking meeting.

• Number 7 : The chariot

- Determined, self disciplined.

- ability to overcome any obstacles and setbacks

- has clear direction

- zodiac : cancer placements

- profession: nurses , social worker, military, architect, psychologist, chefs , nutritionist, hospitality professionals.

- Meeting: family gatherings, home or domestic settings, caregiving or helping professions.

• Number 8 : strength

- courageous, brave , have inner strength.

- has capacity to forgive and let go.

- has self discipline and self control.

- zodiac sign: leo placements

- profession: artist , designer, performers , public speaker, motivator, executives, philanthropist, teacher, councellor, athletes, trainers.

- meeting: park or garden, fitness or wellness center, creative studio or art space, festivals, social gatherings.

• Number 9 : Hermit

- quiet, reflective, and introspective often preferring to spend time alone

- serves as guide or mentor

- discerning and concious about every step they take.

- zodiac sign: Virgo placements.

- profession: therapist, counselors,teachers , coaches , writers, editors, healthcare industry, social worker.

- meeting: therapists or counselor office, library , spiritual or religious sanctuary, coffee shop , book store.

• Number 10 : wheel of fortune

- flexible, able to adjust to changing circumstances.

- believes in destiny

- have philosophical outlook on life.

- zodiac sign: Taurus, leo, scorpio, Aquarius placements.

- profession: life coach, astrologer, environmentalists, entrepreneur, investors, historians.

- meeting: a farm , airport, bus station, temple, monastery, party,park , near mountain or river.

• Number 11 : Justice

- impartial and balanced

- they make descision based on reason and logics.

- have strong sense of morality and ethics.

- zodiac sign: Libra placements

- profession: lawyer, judge, counselors, social worker, activists, advocate, journalist, analyst , or spiritual leader.

- meeting: courthouse, law office, government building, council chamber, community centre, places of worship, philosophical organization.

• Number 12 : Hanged Man

- they are reflective , look inward for answers.

- they are open to new settings.

- courageous, deep understanding of themselves.

- zodiac sign: Pisces placements

- profession : spiritual leaders, therapist, counselor , artist, writer, healthcare industry, motivator, life coach.

- meeting : temples , church , meditation room , yoga class , hospital, library, therapy office,art studio, gym.

• Number 13 : Death

- they are like phoenix from the ashes.

- they can navigate difficult situations and come out stronger.

- constantly growing and evolving.

- zodiac sign: scorpio placements

- profession: therapist, estate lawyers, spiritual leaders, scientist, healthcare professionals.

- meeting: counselling centre, place of worship, innovation hub or entrepreneurship centres, hospital, wellness center.

• Number 14 : Temperance

- they strive for equilibrium in all aspects of life .

- they prioritise physical, mental and emotional well-being.

- have creative sides.

- zodiac sign: Sagittarius placements .

- profession: doctor or nurse , therapist or counselor, artist or musicians, spiritual leader, international relation specialist , life coach , designer .

- meeting : art galleries or museums, embassies or international conference centres , community centres, clubs , parks , garden , spiritual center , yoga class.

• Number 15 : The devil

- they thinks outside the box and brings fresh ideas .

- magnetic personality, can attract others.

- unconventional, transformative.

- zodiac sign: Capricorn placements.

- profession: politician, CEO, artist, law enforcement, military, detective , investigators, activists, occultist.

- meeting: historic mansion or estate, a secret rooftop, art galleries, studio , book store, library , cafe.

• Number 16 : Tower

- they seek honesty and transparency even if it's uncomfortable.

- rebellious, resilient, revolutionary.

- they are open to new ideas.

- zodiac sign: Aries placements.

- profession : scientist, inventor, engineer, architect, military officer, crisis manager, technologist.

- meeting: transformation hub, a unique event space or art studio, bookstore, library, co-working space.

• Number 17 : Star

- they have a optimistic outlook of life and believe in a bright future.

- inspiring, peaceful, compassionate.

- creative and imaginative mind.

- zodiac sign: Aquarius placements.

- profession: creative expression, artist , industry related to healing and wellness, science and technology, humanitarian work, counselors.

- meeting: yoga studio or wellness center, botanical garden or peaceful outdoor setting, co-working space, concerts? , innovation hub.

• Number 18 : The Moon

- they trust their instincts and have a strong connection to their subconscious mind.

- deeply in touch with their emotions.

- unpredictable, may surprise other with their actions.

- zodiac sign : Pisces placements.

- profession : psychic or medium, artist or writer, musician, poet , spiritual teacher, healer, counselors.

- meeting: mystical or esoteric shop, secluded beach, art studio, a spiritual or metaphysical bookstore, coffee shop.

• Number 19 : Sun

- they exude self assurance and positivity.

- optimistic, enthusiastic, charismatic.

- warm hearted , willing to share blessings with others.

- zodiac sign: leo placements.

- profession: actor or performer, artist, CEO , teacher or mentor, event planner, musicians, life coach, designer.

- meeting: cafe / restaurant/ hotel , studio , gathering hall, auditorium, music festival.

• Number 20: Judgement

- they are introspective and willing to confront their past and inner self.

- self aware, have deep understanding of their strengths and weaknesses.

- awakened, courageous, honest.

- zodiac sign: scorpio placements

- profession : spiritual teacher or guide , therapist or counselor, life coach, researcher, artist or creative expression.

- meeting: spiritual center or temple, yoga class, a writer's workshop, park , garden , therapy or councilling office.

• Number 21: The world

- they have achieved their goals and fullfill their potential.

- compassions, wise, confident

- adventurous and global minded.( Most likely a foreigner)

- zodiac sign: Taurus, Capricorn, leo , placements.

- profession : global diplomat, artist ( global or universal theme) , cultural ambassador, world traveler, humanitarian work.

- meeting: while traveling, international conference centres , airport, spiritual retreat, international art or music venues.

• Number 22 : The fool

- they are willing to take risks and embark on new journeys.

- spontaneous, carefree , open minded.

- have faith in themselves and universe.

- zodiac sign: Aquarius placements.

- profession: entrepreneur or startup founder, activist, humanitarian work,coach or consultants, designer, scientist,teacher, journalist.

- meeting: spontaneous meet-up or pop up events, inspirational seminars, creative workshops,cafe or coffee shop, outdoor adventure location.

----------------✨✨----------------

END .....( I am tired af 😭)

☞ Healing through marriage

Thanks for reading 💓

-Piko ✨

[dawnslight-aegis]

and that's a wrap on my tarot series! the upright majors, at least. there may be others sometime in the future if I am seized by a combination of insanity and hyperfixation once again.

you might notice a few cards are a bit (or in the case of the fool and alternate chariot, a lot) different! I did a few retakes for consistency/style.

below the read more I've included a bunch of notes about symbolism and reasoning behind my choices if that interests you!

(tag for individual card posts)

0. The Fool: Ardbert was really the only choice for this one. He's our stand-in, our shard, our mirror. Feo Ul is included partially because of lore (they are my co-WoL's shard on the First) and also because they also fit the themes of adventure and new beginnings and exploration. Most of the cards I played pretty loose on the posing vs traditional depictions, but this one I wanted to hew a little closer, which is why he's on a cliff with a foot hanging over the edge a bit, with his axe standing in for the bindle. This is my second attempt at the card -- the first was in Il Mheg, but I moved it to Kholusia (Ardbert's home) and dawn to more closely symbolize that it's the beginning of something. Attempts: 2. Difficulty: 8/10, posing Feo Ul was annoying.

1. The Magician: This card could have had several subjects, chief among them Alphinaud or a more modern G'raha, but I settled on Alisaie a) because the other two cards I had in mind for her (Chariot and Justice) were already taken, and b) the card's focus on physical magic and depicting the "tools of the trade" reminded me a lot of Angelo's creation! So that's why she's here, and why I set the card in Matoya's Relict, among the tools of magicians who came before (Matoya, Y'shtola). I retook the shot because I was unsatisfied with the blurriness/the way the light covered her face in the first one. Attempts: 2. Difficulty: 5/10, simple pose but working with Impact's spell effect complicated things.

2. The High Priestess: Another that I never questioned who would appear on it. Y'shtola's arc is entirely about uncovering forbidden, secret knowledge and wisdom, so she fits beautifully. The blue-white orb and the purple staff depict duality between dark and light, and how Y'shtola walks in two worlds, seeing things that are beyond sight, standing before an altar/holy place to the Night's Blessed. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 2/10. Premade pose, knew where I wanted to place her -- the only thing was finding a prop for her off hand.

3. The Empress: Hoo boy did Minfi give me some trouble. I knew that I wanted our Antecedent, who provides both authority and care for the Scions, to represent the Empress, but I struggled to find a depiction that wasn't, well, boring. Minfilia is deeply linked with the Solar, and I didn't want to lean too hard into Word of the Mother/Hydaelyn territory, so I settled on a triple goddess-like idea. Attempts: 3. Difficulty: 6/10. Not mechanically difficult, just conceptually.

4. The Emperor: Another one that I knew who I wanted but struggled with the concept. Haurchefant is very much emblematic of the stability, structure, and masculinity provided by the Emperor, but it wasn't until I decided to add his equally-Emperor-coded father that things settled into place. Together, Edmont and Haurchefant evoke the image of father and son as well as king and knight, filling both major male authority roles that the Emperor exemplifies. Attempts: 4. Difficulty: 6/10. Same as the Empress.

5. The Hierophant: this one was one of the hardest to choose a subject for -- the WoL's allies are largely a bunch of revolutionary firebrands, and I disagree HEAVILY with the popular choice of placing Aymeric here. So I landed on Alphinaud -- out of the Scions, he is the one most concerned with tradition and the "right" way to do things, with formal education and structure. He wants to bring Sharlayan into the modern day, not upend the institutions that raised him and that he very much still respects, much like how he still respects his very traditionally Hierophant-coded father. So I placed him in his family home with a sort of smug look since he can be a pretentious little shit sometimes (affectionate). The spell effect is from Kardia, and I paid special attention to having the shapes align perfectly with the lines in the background, to give a sense of stability and order to the shot, especially contrasted with Alisaie's more dynamic and chaotic depiction. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 4/10, entirely in alignment.

6. The Lovers: Hrasevelgr and Saint Shiva are a great choice for depicting the Lovers as two people, but no one does the Lovers in one subject better than Ysayle. Invoking the spirit of a woman who died for love in order to bring harmony to her people, but it truly being her own power and her own choice the whole time... it's great. Her pose is her transformation/summoning pose, turned into a gesture of affection, which I was particularly proud of. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 3/10, posing monsters is always a little funky.

7. The Chariot: This one has two options -- my co-WoL, Marz, and Tataru/Cid/Nero for the NPC variant. All 4 characters share a singular drive and refusal to let anything stop them once they've set their mind to something, and the 3 NPCs have the added benefit of being associated with a literal "chariot" in the form of airship design. Marz's place on Shadowkeeper has some lore associations (Cylva is her shard on the 13th) as well as being a void mirror to Kaede's sin eater shot. For both I wanted to have dynamic poses to evoke the activity of the card. Attempts: 1 (Marz), 2 (NPCs). Difficulty: 3/10 for both, no major hurdles once the lovely @/karoiseka pointed me at an airship in NG+.

8. Justice: The heart of the Justice card is its emphasis on truth, and no character in FFXIV is more committed to truth even in the face of great suffering than Aymeric de Borel. Because of this, the shot is taken at the top of the Vault, where he confronted his father over his concealment of the truth of the Dragonsong War. The card is usually depicted with a woman holding a sword and balanced scales -- Aymeric is holding his sword in a pose used in statues in the Pillars, and the symmetry of the shot/light and shadow split down the middle is meant to give the feeling of balance. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 1/10. I knew my concept, location, and shader before I even went in, and it came out exactly like I wanted.

9. The Hermit: Originally I had Urianger for this card, who still fits well, but when I moved him to Wheel of Fortune, there was a clear second choice: The Exarch. He even resembles the Hermit, with his cloak and staff, holding himself in isolation and possessing secret knowledge with which he guides the party. G'raha has grown out of this role as of Endwalker, but the Exarch fits it to a tee. I wanted to show his longing to return through his body language and reaching out for the portal that shows him the world he is set apart from. Attempts: 2. Difficulty: 4/10. Nothing major but did have to do two entirely separate cards lmao.

10. The Wheel of Fortune: The one I struggled with the most, conceptually. At first I had a more abstract choice, with the 3 starting city state leaders and Tataru, in a sort of "fate leads to the Scions" idea. But then I remembered that Urianger is a fortune teller who uses a wheel-like weapon with a literal wheel of cards, and, well. Yeah. The man is intimately associated with fate and choice, and the choice to place him on the moon is intentional, to separate him from his more secretive depictions in HW/ShB. He is the one who prepares our second option (flight) while giving us the choice to make our first (fight). Attempts: 2. Difficulty: 7/10. He's up on a high ledge that's not normally accessible and that's always a pain in the ass.

11. Strength: The one that started it all. The original shot of Kaede contained some layer elements I wasn't happy with so I ended up retaking it to better cohere with the others. Strength is about confidence and inner strength "leashing" power, symbolized by the woman and the tamed lion, and there's exactly one good lion model in XIV -- Forgiven Cruelty. It also has the fun side meaning of Kaede conquering and wielding the light that almost killed her. For Moenbryda's, I went with something simple -- her axe to symbolize her strength, but with her archon mark and the Sharlayan Thaliak statue prominently featured, emphasizing her intelligence. Attempts: 2 (Kaede), 1 (Moenbryda). Difficulty: 6/10. Kaede's was straightforward enough (though I had to wait an annoyingly long time for the sky to shift colors correctly), but Moenbryda's involved me floating her up on a building so i could get Thaliak in the shot correctly.

12. The Hanged Man: Holy moly this one was a PAIN IN THE ASS. I knew from the minute I started this what I wanted to do with it -- Lahabrea holding Thancred's ankle as he reaches for Minfilia. The Hanged Man is one that I felt it was especially important to mimic the iconic pose on the card, and this was how I decided to do it, but it took me over an hour and a half to accomplish. Anyway, the Zodiark idol stands in for the Tree of Life, which I really liked. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 10/10. Absolutely infuriating to have to pose 3 actors in three dimensional space like that.

13. Death: I only ever considered Estinien for this card. It stands for transformation and change, for shedding the old to make way for the new, and I chose to depict that by having his old corrupted drachen mail posed behind him like a shadow or an abandoned husk. He has left the hate and the rage behind, but the helmet is meant to symbolize that he always remembers it, and carries it with him so that he can do better. His lance is also vaguely reminiscent of the traditional Death scythe. That spot in Coerthas is where he challenges you in the early DRG quests while controlled by Nidhogg, as well as being just visually striking. Attempts: 1, but it took a while. Difficulty: 9/10. The ground is very much not flat, the helmet is on a minion, and I had to change angles and locations a few times.

14. Temperance: I briefly considered Hythlodaeus here, but Krile fits very well. Calm, competent, but unsure of her own worth. I chose Eureka Hydatos both for its importance to Krile as well as its easily accessible water -- instead of pouring from a cup, Krile is looking at her reflection. This one came together so quickly and easily. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 1/10. In and out of Eureka in less than 20 minutes.

15. The Tower: Originally, before I reshuffled, G'raha was going to be the Tower simply because I didn't know where to put him, and I couldn't think of an ally who is ultimately a destructive force, but it always bothered me because he truly didn't fit. Meteion, though -- despite her innocence and unwillingness, is THE destructive force within Endwalker's story. This card had the highest hurdles -- I had to get 7 friends to help me queue for Endsinger and then leave, and I almost couldn't get my tools to load Meteion in properly. After that it was smooth sailing, however. I used the whole lockout timer, but this was only the 4th shot I took, and it's one of my personal favorites. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 4/10, purely for queuing.

16. The Devil: Addiction, obsession, and control -- Zenos was the only answer for this card. I included Zero as well, despite intending this to be a primarily 6.0 and earlier set, to represent the humans bound in chains to the Devil, using the way she's pinned between Zenos and the scythe to symbolize that she's trapped. Afterward I realized this exact shot and character choice would have also worked quite well for the Tower, as well, but I ultimately prefer the Devil for him. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 3/10. Came together surprisingly easily, despite the fact that I had to make Zero's hat touch pose myself.

17. The Star: Symbolizing hope and new life, I can think of no one better suited than Ryne and the Empty. Ryne herself was given her own new life when Minfilia passed on her power, and the ability to make her own destiny -- and she used that power to revitalize a barren wasteland. My first version of this shot had a photoshopped in central star, but I decided to revisit the concept with an in game effect for the star instead. Helios provided what I needed, with the fun extra benefit of some additional rainbows (happy pride!). Attempts: 3. Difficulty: 3/10. Nothing crazy beyond trying to find a good angle to get the star in the shot, as well as Eden and the rainbow crystal. Second attempt I messed up the framing and had to redo it again.

18. The Moon: The card of dreams, fear, anxiety, and secrets, Gaia is perfect here (and a lovely companion to Ryne as the Star), though I did briefly consider Urianger as well. I wanted to have Gaia on the sand, with the moon hanging between the crystal walls of the Empty above her, but the angles would NOT cooperate to allow me to get the moon in the shot. So, levitation was the only answer. Fortunately it suits Gaia well, especially the distance that it evokes. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 6/10. I hate midair posing.

19. The Sun: Another card that sprang fully formed into my mind. Joy and fulfillment is symbolized by Lyse enjoying the morning light in a free Ala Mhigo, thinking of Papalymo. It also allowed me to get both of these very different characters into a single card, as they are very much a package deal, though I did consider Papalymo for the Hierophant as well. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 2/10. Came together very quickly.

20. Judgement: The last two cards of the Major Arcana are very high concept, with very lofty ideals, so they felt hard to pin down. I thought of doing both my WoLs here, or maybe Elidibus with his three forms for light, dark, and balance. But ultimately I ended up on Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus, as the sort of "final judgement" before the battle with the endsinger, the last step before everything ends. Their literal rebirth, the resolution of Emet-Selch's conflict with the WoL, the not-redemption but understanding reached, our efforts judged worthy -- it all just seemed to fit. The card design is simple but I hope the colors and emotion of the scene carry the weight of the arcana. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 2/10. No major roadblocks.

21. The World: At last we arrive at the end, not only the last posted but the last taken as well. I always knew I wanted Venat/Hydaelyn for this card, as she is the literal heart of our world, as well as an Azem who has reached the end of her journey, as Ardbert was one who was at the beginning of his all the way back at the Fool. But when I didn't use Elidibus anywhere else, I decided to add him here as well, since he also served as the heart of the star for a time. Light and dark united together, watching over Etheirys. The one who destroyed our world in order to save it, and the one who saved our world only to try to destroy it. Perfect symmetry, a completion of the circle. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 9/10. I had to stitch together 3 separate screenshots in photoshop, with the fore and backgrounds cut apart so I could control the opacities separately. Probably the card that took me the longest, but it was worth it.

[moonkissedvisions]

𝖄𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝕿𝖆𝖗𝖔𝖙 𝖇𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖍 𝖈𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖘 ☾

UNVEIL THE CORE ESSENCE OF YOUR BEING, PERSONALITY, AND PURPOSE WITH TAROT CARDS

Introduction:

We understand all Tarot cards as symbols. They essentially represent different aspects of our lives that reside in our souls and our subconscious minds. When we read Tarot cards, we are reading our energy, we are intuitively looking at our subconscious. We think of them as a mirror that reflects the multiple dimensions of our spirit to help us understand situations much better, and make our life more conscious and meaningful.

What are Tarot birth cards?

Tarot birth cards are symbols that shape our identity and lives from the moment we are born. They are our essence, an energy imprint, or even a map - like a birth chart but for Tarot cards- that can unlock a new understanding of ourselves, and all the potential of our life purpose.

Each of us has a pair of Major Arcana cards that represent our core self, so today I decided to explain all combinations. I explained the cards separately so you can combine them and see intuitively how they play out in your life.

Also, be noted that I only explain the "light" manifestation of each of them. So for example, if it says "selfless" the shadow aspect/backward expression of them is the opposite, "selfish". Or if it says "truth-seeker" its shadow would be "know-it-all". If you are curious about the shadow aspect of your birth cards or anything about them you can send me a question and I'll be happy to help.

Hey, don't forget to check out the awesome video link at the end of the post! It's worth watching if you want to dive deeper into the topic. Have a great time exploring!

Now let´s calculate yours!

and hope you enjoy it *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

How do I calculate mine?

The easiest way for me is to use the same method that we use to calculate our Life path number in numerology:

We add each digit of our birth date

m+m+d+d+y+y+y+y

Example: 11/22/1989

1+1+2+2+1+9+8+9= 33

2. We reduce it

3+3= 6

6 is The Lovers and The Devil (6 and 15).

As you can see, we got a pair of numbers that corresponds to a pair of Major Arcana cards.

important: IF YOU GET A 19, YOU HAVE TO REDUCE IT TWICE AND YOU´LL GET 3 MAJOR ARCANA: 19 (The Sun) -> 1+9=10 (The Wheel of Fortune) -> 1+0=1 (The Magician).

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

1 and 10: The Magician, The Wheel of Fortune

The Magician: This energy has the ability to manifest anything. Your essence is skilled, cunning, tricky, scheming. You posses autonomy and initiative. You are an independent thinker. You have a great potential, but you also put in the work and have a lot of fun in the process. You are diplomatic and you reject bias. Entrepreneur. Self-motivated. You are honest and direct.

The Wheel of Fortune: You are lucky or at least, you know how to feel lucky to attract blessings. You understand the cycles of life and therefore you have the ability to co-create with the Universe intelligently. You often get surprised by the events in your life. You know how to use opportunities in your favor. Manifesting is something that you probably did consciously since young.

19: The Sun (ALSO READ 1 AND 10)!

Adding to 1 and 10 cards, The Sun supplies your soul of creativity, popularity, happiness, honesty, harmony and serenity. You are a good friend. You are loyal and bring harmony, love and satisfaction to everyone´s lives. You are a leader, a celebrity, and people look up to you.

2 and 11: The High Priestess, Justice

The High Priestess: You are sensitive and wise. You are aware of the subtle, small details. You are able to find the point of unity, the basics of the Universe, and you understand how everything is connected. You are intuitive, compassionate, and loving. You excel at anything related to the occult, the mysteries of the Universe and human psyche, and anything related to relationships, unions, and secrets.

Justice: You are unbiased, rational, harmonious. You know what´s right and what´s wrong and trust in natural order and the balance of things. You value truth more than anyone else. You are good with law, philosophy, and karma.

2 and 20: The High Priestess, Judgment

Same qualities above for the High Priestess, combined with Judgment.

Judgment: The Judgment card adds in to the HP themes of awakening, spirituality, renovation. You may be someone who questions the status quo and the established norms and structures. You have the calling to awaken other people so you can rebuild and improve the system. You could connect to different dimensions and be a medium or have psychic abilities. You are otherworldly. You are also highly empathetic and sensitive.

3 and 12: The Empress, The Hanged Man

The Empress: You enjoy helping other people, creating, and giving birth to something. You embody kindness, intelligence, expressiveness, communication and abundance. You are dynamic and could be good at doing many things, you likely do all at the same time. You are good at communicating your ideas with others and you give others creative insights.

The Hanged Man: You are artistic, original, altruistic and idealistic. You see the world from a different perspective and you always contribute with clever ideas. You are witty and have the potential to become a genius. You are generous.

3 and 21: The Empress, The World

Here the qualities of the Empress are combined with those of The World card, so your creativity results in perfection, success, wholeness, finding your place in the world, feeling and being rewarded, self-realization. You are someone generous who help people with their creations and you make them realize their special place in the world as well. You are greatly admired. You are positive about people and life.

4 and 13 : The Emperor, Death

The Emperor: You are gifted with stability, strength, structure and practicality. You are powerful, hard-working and generous. You have integrity and good morals. You protect what needs protection and give structure and functionality to things. You are methodical and pragmatic.

Death: Death combined with the Emperor can reestructure and make radical changes to the world. You know when things need to die and be rebirthed in new forms. You can transform the world with authority, integrity and diligency.

In case you got 4 and 22, The 22 can be considered The Fool. You can either consider the Fool along with The Emperor and Death, or only read the explanation above and dismiss it. If you choose to consider the Fool, read below:

The Fool: I picture it as if you were the Emperor but with a good sense of humor, carefree, crazy, not making sense at times, chaotic, and extravagant. It makes me think of "dad jokes". You do not take anything too seriously. You restructured things spontaneously and the result may not make a lot of sense. Or it could be that you make more of a freedom-oriented restructure/change. You are an innocent and energetic leader. Maybe you don´t even understand why people may see you as a leader or follow you, because you don´t even take yourself seriously and are very disorganized, lol.

(edit): When I was writing about this combo, the new president of Argentina Javier Milei came to my mind. He talks about re-structuring the country, making economic transformations, solving the problems of the economy and poverty, and changing the country for the better. But he also has a silly personality, he's kinda funny and people make fun of him, they call him crazy, they even speculate about him having mental illnesses, and he doesn't make sense to A LOT of people. At that time I was lazy to search for his number but I just did and you know what? He is a 4 and a 22. 😳

5 and 14: The Hierophant, Temperance

The Hierophant: You are a teacher, someone wise who shares their knowledge and wisdom. You are patient, merciful, and modest. You guide others to goodness. You respect religion, tradition and family structures with open-mindedness and flexibility. You see everything as an experience and adventure and you like exploring different philosophies without getting attached.

Temperance: You can adapt to different people, ideas and environments, and you can bring different people together with peace, harmony and respect. You have the ability to solve conflicts. This combo makes a mentor, a guru, or a coach. You are balanced in logic and emotions and you are seen as mature.

6 and 15 (or 33): The Lovers, The Devil

The Lovers: Opposite forces, love, complements. You know how to love, not only other people but the whole Universe. You are a sensual person. You appreciate beauty, art and can excel at many different things. You are a gentle person who is good at making decisions that brings in the frequency of love to your environment. Everything you do is coded with love and passion.

The Devil: You are passionate, magnetic. You border limits. You are highly influential in whatever you do. You can control and manipulate others, which is not necessarily a bad thing, it´s just that you understand human psychology and can easily get the attention of others. With this combo you can captivate, tempt and induce lust and desire in others, so you may be working in art, music, writing, marketing, design, even animation and programming.

I also like to think of The Lovers as oxytocin and The Devil as adrenaline/dopamine. Dopamine and oxytocin together make love and bring new life into the world.

7 and 16: The Chariot, The Tower

The Chariot: You are someone intelligent, energetic, analytic, and introspective, who fights for radical changes and the evolution of society. You are a truth-seeker. You are fearless. You challenge the status quo and strive for spiritual and material progress. You are curious and love to learn new things that can change the world for the better.

The Tower: You mercilessly and strongly destruct what doesn´t serve the evolution of society and humanity. You break the equilibrum to build a better one. You are a rebel. You know that the truth always comes to light, and you also make it happen. You show the world what they couldn´t see and that's why you could be triggering. But it´s for the good. You challenge wrong convictions, judgments and beliefs, and you completely destruct them.

8 and 17: Strength, The Star

Strength: You are someone resilient. You know the importance of controlling your actions, impulses, thoughts, emotions and everything you do with mental strength and intelligence. You know that if you manage your own forces, you can achieve all of your goals and also help others do the same. You are very determined and optimistic. You like to work hard, not only for yourself but for others. You are an example of the word management and you like being in charge.

The Star: You give others hope and enlightment. You are inspiring. You can provide a lot of healing and regeneration. You are selfless and generous. You are strong in faith, and that way you can give others the reassurance that they need. You see the good in everything and that is what helps you get you good results and be succesful.

9 and 18: The Hermit, The Moon

The Hermit: You are interested in seeing what others can´t see. You look through things. You are deeply intuitive and contemplative. You search for answers in yourself by being in silence, in solitude, and looking inwards at your subconscious mind. You are wise, capable of offering advice and solving problems or mysteries. You are the healer who heals yourself first. You are personally uninterested in worldly matters and detached from the material.

The Moon: You can see through illusions and imagination because you connect to the dream realm. You are a good psychoanalyst. You are good with the occult. You are attracted to the unknown. You are a researcher, a detective, a healer of the most mysterious diseases. You are deeply spiritual and adventurous.

Carl Jung had this combo as his birth cards and I think this quote from him really represents it: Who looks outside dreams (The Moon), who looks inside awakes (The Hermit). The funny thing is, I didn´t know he had them when I read it and thought about the cards, but I was sure he had to be and I searched it, lol. I also have these as my cards so...

✯¸.•´*¨`*•✿ ✿•*`¨*`•.¸✯

I hope you enjoyed this post and that it was helpful! Thank you for your support and please, keep supporting me if you like this one 🌷

video about birth cards

PAC: Messages from the Divine Feminine

PAC: Healing Messages

PAC: Your beauty

PAC: Your natural gifts

[felibrary]

COLUMBA

synopsis: rainbow roses represent love and passion. similar to the feelings you’ve harbored for lyney ever since the two of you were children, feelings full of determination and tenderness.you take the initiative to confess your feelings,  the cards are already laid out on the table, the choices have already been written out and decided. besides one: the one that reveals lyneys response. how will he react?

✧ pairing: lyney x reader | wordcount: 2.1k | content and warnings: fluff, angst, confessing feelings | prompt: unrequited love | oneshot

✧ authors note: i might dislike this one even more than the "wish you were sober" one... this one's just so much more choppier</3

✧ tags: @azullumi

event: STARCROSSED 2024

“and a rainbow rose for you!” 

the sly magician winks at you as he reaches out his gloved hand to yours. lyneys slender fingers are gracefully wrapped around the stem of the colorful flower. he looks at you, eyes full of anticipation as he awaits your reaction. 

his eyes twinkle like an amethyst - a gem that gleams and reflects the fluorescent light as it gets shone upon, presenting the purity that lies hidden beneath the depths of the pair of eyes. the irises that are drenched in a deep purple glint with a certain shimmer that you can’t quite make out. if you were to take a guess you’d say that they look hopeful, buoyant, almost fond. 

seriously, who were you to deny him? his smile is probably worth a fortune, it’s blithe practically dreamy. the ash blond is undeniably a beauty among the nation of justice - a seraphic seashell that lies buried in the fine sand, easily seeping through the tiny gaps of the palms as it is held with utter care. petite sand corns disappearing out of sight and the only object that remains in the hands is the mussel. 

it basks in the radiant sunlight and the sand that slipped out of the grasp of the fingers can only watch in envy, as the seashell continues to relish in the gentleness of the person who discovered it. the one who is allowed to see its beauty and all the secrets that are kept sealed beneath.

amid the vague living room light, lyney continues to shine as elegant as ever. his stage presence long-forgotten, revealing his true nature to you, the lyney whom you know, the one whom you grew up with, the one who makes your heart race. the lyney that shows himself to the outside world is simply just the celebrated magician of the court of fontaine but there was much more to lyney, so much more. 

to the people of fontaine he’s like the backside of a playing card, unaware of the image, the number, the symbol that is imprinted on it. but that’s not the case for you. unlike them you know lyney like the back of your hand. the two of you grew up together at the house of the hearth. under the care of father with lynette, freminet and the other children that resided there. 

no matter how many times lyney and lynette tried to trick you with one of their new learned magic tricks, you’ve always seen through them. nevertheless you weren’t able to deny that they were really impressive, especially for children of such a young age. naturally, over the years he grew up to be a grand magician, not only wrapping the audience that was seated in the rich red places in the court around his fingers, but also you. luring you in by coaxing mellow praises into your ear and simple gestures like this one, offering you a rainbow rose a day before a performance. 

an action that never fails to make you swoon.

his incandescent eyes, the ones that glow like a vibrant glass shard that got swept to the shore by the tide, his million dollar smile that is plastered on his pale face, they are the traits that make lyney look simply irresistible. 

(you don't think you could ever reject lyneys advances, after all you’ve already fallen far too deep into the bottomless abyss, also known as love, to search for your path out.)

right now, at this moment you think lyney looks absolutely majestic, heavenly even. taking a snapshot of this wouldn’t be enough to capture the beauty of lyney. neither would a portrait do the job well. the movements of the paintbrush are delicate, swiftly moving around the canvas, but they’re not enough. no matter how many brushstrokes were to be painted, they still wouldn’t be enough. 

(either way he’d outshine every other painting that gets hung next to his. he’s the muse that will always be out of everyone's reach.) 

simply because lyneys beauty, his bare nature, is something to keep etched into your mind, engraving it onto stone so that it will never fade or wash away, no matter the circumstances.

you reciprocate his action, accepting the flower. grasping the rainbow rose carefully, so that the stem doesn’t crinkle and eventually falls into two pieces or the blossom loses its petals. “my, what’s the occasion?” a performance awaits the folk of fontaine tomorrow. you already knew the answer, but, nevertheless you question him. lyneys honeyed voice is a sound you’ll never get tired of. listening to him as he talks never feels like a chore, rather, it feels like a voluntary course that isn’t important at all. but nevertheless you stick around, to not miss what others don't get to see.

“well, as you might already know, a performance awaits the folk of fontaine tomorrow.” the magician responds. you can only chuckle at that, predicting lyney has always been easy for you. 

“is that so? i can't wait.” you give him a small grin and take another peek at the flower. beautiful, you think to yourself as you look up to lyney once again. the corners of your mouth curve into a content smile. lyney stares right back at you and does the same, giving you a bright grin in return that makes your heart pump quickly. 

the brightness of lyneys smile competes with the one of the sun, it’s warm and welcoming. it works wonders like medicine, soothing and curing your wounds with a simple grin. lyney is out of this world, he's charismatic, making you fall for him head over heels. fun to be around, always making you laugh over stupid jokes. and not to mention caring. 

the first two buttons of his white dress shirt are unbuttoned, showing off his delicate collarbone. lyney was never particularly muscular, rather, he had a quite slender build.

“i’ve never put much effort into my physical training as in my shows. after all, i have an audience to bewitch with magic tricks, not my body."  you recall his words and the giggle he let out after.

some strands of his ash blonde hair are out of place, including his dyed one. his maroon colored hair slightly stands out, but you don’t mind, it's similar to the color of a maple leaf, vivid and lively. flying through the wind, admired by passersby as it floats around in the air. out of reach until someone takes the chance to grab it. 

“by the way, where’s the thank you?” lyney jokes in an offended manner. his sultry voice snapping you out of your former haze. 

“hm?” you tilt your head to the side.

“for the flower.” he points at the rose with his gloved finger. 

“ah, right. thanks a lot, it's really pretty.” you thank him by giving him another smile. before casting your gaze down to the rose again, admiring the colorful petals as you remember charlotte's words. 

“for example, magicians often use “rainbow roses” in their flower related performances to represent passion and romantic encounters.” her words stuck to you like a millstone around one’s neck. surely lyney knows what they mean, he’s not unaware what they symbolize right?

it makes you wonder if lyney is aware of your feelings, and possibly even returns them. lyney has always had a keen eye for the beauty of this world, attentively swaying his gaze around and admiring the elegance that lies within each individual. did lyney also see that kind of beauty in you? one that goes even further down, reaching into the inescapable depths. but then he’d face the ugliness that slummers at the bottom, despite that, how is lyney able to love you? 

for you the beauty of this planet has always been lyney. he’s the sun that you bask in, relishing in its warmth as the sun tendrils place delicate kisses on your body. the water that engulfs your body, plattering against your limbs and makes you feel refreshed. he’s the blood that runs through your veins, the one that makes you function properly.  

the question still lingers in the air: does lyney reciprocate your feelings? 

your grip around the rose is tight, fearing that it might slip out of your grasp when you’re inattentive and losing it. you watch lyney make his way to the stage, the crowd already awaits their renowned magician, waiting in and staring in awe as he performs another unpredictable magic trick. 

the air is thick, the tension increases at every passing second, for both you and the crowd. if lyney takes another step, you’ll lose the lyney you know, your lyney. instead you’ll have to watch as he takes up on his persona, even if it’s only for a mere hour, it always feels like an eternity to you, until you get to see the lyney whom you love again. 

besides the sound of lyney who was shuffling his cards thoroughly once again, it was dead silent.

“nervous?” lyney looks up to you, a knowing glint in his eyes. 

“huh?” you’re confused, what is he implying.

“the way you fiddle with your fingers.” he points at your hands with one of the cards, a red heart you notice. “you only do that when you're anxious.” lyney says. “come on, tell me what’s wrong, you know that i’m always here for you, right?” he gives you a reassuring smile, a genuine smile that isn’t there to satisfy his guests. 

sometimes you forget how easy it is for lyney to see right through you. you nod as a response to his observation. “yeah, ironic isn't it? i’m nervous even though you’re the one who’ll enter the stage at any given moment now.” you try to sound steady, trying to convince yourself. but your voice betrays you, it quivers.

“aww.” lyney coos at you. “you know i hate that expression on you, do you not?” the ash blond sighs dramatically, purple eyes still maintaining eye contact, a fond shadow casting over his pupils. “how am i supposed to go out and present, knowing that my best friend is dying from nervousness.” he jokes, shaking his head. before he looks up at you once again with a look that says “don’t worry.”

best friend. 

“lyney.“ you try to gather your courage, how does one confess their feelings to the person whom they adore?  lyney smiles at you “yeah? i’m all ears.”

“lyney, you’re probably already aware of my feelings. but i really like you.  i love you. i've loved you ever since we got introduced to one another, ever since we were children.” you don’t dare to look him into his eyes, too embarrassed by your confession just now. you play with the fabric of your freshly ironed shirt a bit, to distract yourself, as you await lyneys reactions.

“archons, since when were you this sentimental?” lyney laughs out. “that’s what you were afraid of telling me?” he takes a few steps so that he stands in front of you now. “gotten all shy now?” the magician teases before patting your head. the action makes you look up, greeted by lyneys smile . “i love you too. youre like another sibling to me.” he slightly tilts his head to the side. "even though we’re not blood related, it just feels like we’re family, don’t you think?”

“no! lyney that's not what i-” you protest but you get cut off by the announcement.

“and now ladies and gentlemen, presenting fontaines renowned duo, mr. lyney and ms. lynette! a big applause please!” 

“ah!” lyney looks behind him where everything was already set up and put in place. “i suppose that is my sign to leave. farewell!” he inches away from you. “let’s reunite after the show, shall we?” he winks at you and bids you goodbye before rushing off to make his way over to the stage.

you remain glued to the floor, frozen in place after you’ve just gotten rejected. you hope this is just another one of lyneys antics, a joke that he will later on reveal as faux and tell you that he reciprocates your feelings. but you know that he won't. yes, perhaps lyney is a liar, a good one at that. he has lied to a dozen people before, but never once to you. 

the rainbow rose in your head shines vividly in the dim lightning, its petals making it glow beautifully. you’re not sure what came over you, frustration, regret, remorse. you’re not certain. the petals that were once finely attached to the pistil, will be gone, you rip the petals off, one by one.

he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not.

© VYNICITY 2024. stealing, copying, translating, reposting my works on other platforms or feeding them to ai is not permitted.

e/n: "i got sibling-zoned." "that's rough buddy."

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: The Fool's Journey

The Fool’s Journey is the archetypal story told by the Major Arcana of the Tarot.

Use the Fool’s Journey for inspiration and brainstorming, rather than for developing a plot or outlining.

It’s far more powerful for suggesting solutions than for suggesting structure (as is true for Tarot in general).

As a writer, the Fool’s Journey can help you:

Pinpoint the emotions your character should be feeling at each story stage,

Find the next step for a character stuck at a particular stage,

Create conflict appropriate to each story stage,

Access archetypal images and symbols to add depth to your story,

Troubleshoot problems caused by your character skipping a vital story stage,

Assess your own progress as a writer.

The ‘Fool’s Journey’ is the term coined by Eden Gray to describe the story of the Major Arcana of the Tarot.

USING THE FOOL'S JOURNEY

Possible pitfalls - useful for adding conflict to your story;

Feelings in life - the things that might be going through your character’s head,

Outward signs - external events of objects that can represent that stage of the story.

TROUBLESHOOTING

If your story is lacking conflict, find the card which best represents your character and use the “pitfalls” list as a starting point.

If you aren’t sure what your character is thinking at a certain point in the story, find their corresponding card and explore the “feelings” list.

If you need more events in your story that relate to the current stage it’s in, find the corresponding card and brainstorm ideas using the “signs” list.

If you don’t know what your character should do next, find which card their current state corresponds to, and use the exercises to brainstorm scenes for the next card.

If you need the influence of a particular card in your story, consider creating a character who fulfills those functions and makes use of similar symbols.

THE FOOL'S JOURNEY: 22 Cards

0. The Wandering Fool

The hero of the Major Arcana

How is your hero a wise fool?

How will this symbol gain new meaning when the hero returns home after their long journey?

1. The Magician

The Magician uses the way of the intellect to uncover spiritual secrets; he is an active seeker of knowledge and clarity. 

Who is the initiator of your character’s current way of life?

Does your character tend more towards the empirical or the mystical? What conflict does this dichotomy cause them?

Outward signs: A juggler, conjurer or magician, an adept, a bookworm.

Possible pitfalls: Megalomania, being a charlatan, omnipotence.

Feeling in life: Tapping into huge reserves of power, feeling in charge, confidence, a Faustian thirst for knowledge.

2. The High Priestess

The feminine counterpart of the Magician; she represents the mystical path to spirituality as opposed to the intellectual.

Her approach is passive, inwardly-directed, and in no way inferior or less effective to that of the Magician.

What is the character open to and expectant of?

Outward signs: Loss of consciousness, waiting, turning the other cheek, taking part in a ritual, allowing oneself to be guided blindly.

Possible pitfalls: Escapism, doubt, indecisiveness.

Feeling in life: Letting go, trust in the universe, inspiration, feeling loved, peace, going with the flow.

3. The Empress

The power of nature, as opposed to the Emperor, who represents the man-made or artificial.

She can be a source of abundance, creativity, nourishment, and life but at the same time, she can bring about the destructive forces of natural disasters.

How does your character embrace life?

Are they in tune with nature?

Outward signs: A feast, a mother, an artist, going shopping.

Possible pitfalls: Uncontrolled growth, changeableness, inconsistency.

Feeling in life: Creative flow, feeling alive, understanding the cycles of life, belief in abundance.

4. The Emperor

As the Father figure, he is the source of authority and responsibility.

While he may at times seem overbearing or critical, he provides the disciplining influence which is the essence of all learning and spirituality.

How does your character approach their responsibilities?

How do they struggle with discipline or authority?

Outward signs: An authority figure, being told to try harder, being given a routine or schedule, being drafted, a (verbal or physical) beating.

Possible pitfalls: Obstinacy, perfectionism, strictness, hard heartedness.

Feeling in life: To be aware of responsibilities, being cruel to be kind, a realistic outlook, seriousness, being given constructive criticism.

5. The Hierophant

The teacher of religious mysteries and the first suggestion of the underworld of adventure.

The hero must travel through both the (conscious) visible world, and the (unconscious) hidden world to find what is essential.

What character might work as a Hierophant to urge your character to discover the world that they’re ignoring?

What is visible in the character’s world? What is hidden?

Outward signs: A truth-teller, a blunder, an invitation.

Possible pitfalls: Hyposcrisy, world-weariness, “guru-ism”.

Feeling in life: Faith in the divine, profound experiences.

6. The Lovers

Having realised that there is a world beyond that which they had conceived, the hero must now decide whether or not to leave home and hearth and search for it (in the visible or invisible world).

The hero makes this decision with a light, pure heart, and with the best intentions.

This card depicts a pair of lovers because even after the teachings of the Hierophant, love is the ultimate driving force that allows us to make a change.

How does the experience of love force the character to make a choice between their current life and the life they might have?

How do they describe the choice to themselves? Are they accurate?

What are they afraid of leaving behind? How does their desire outweigh this fear?

Outward signs: An object of desire, arguments with parents or guardians.

Possible pitfalls: Intemperance, excessive joy.

Feeling in life: Butterflies, fearless decisiveness.

7. The Chariot

The decision made in the Lovers card has spurred the hero on to leave his home and set off in search of adventure.

Represents the pull of opposites.

What are some signs or symbols that the character has been chosen as the hero of the story?

How does the character set off on the adventure? What spurs them on?

How does the character struggle to keep their two steeds in check?

Outward signs: A new form, or clothing symbolic of a new function; provision of a vehicle; setting out on a journey.

Possible pitfalls: Arrogance, impulsiveness, intemperance.

Feeling in life: Optimism; desire for motion; being poised; increasing awareness; maturity; the first, intoxicating phase of the road trip, before reality begins to leak back in.

8. Justice

Marks the point of separation with the ordinary world.

This is when the hero reaches the first crossing.

The figure of Justice represents the old laws the hero is leaving behind and the new laws (of the new world) that are drawing them into their power.

The character must be ready and willing to take on responsibility, but unlike the choice of the Lovers card, Justice, with her prominent right foot, represents a more considered, rational approach.

What are the rules of the old/ordinary world that the character is leaving behind?

What are the rules of the new/adventure world? How do they differ? How do these differences cause problems for the character?

What responsibilities must the character take on? How do they feel about it?

Outward signs: Lifting the sword of power, training montage, a schedule/roster/plan of action.

Possible pitfalls: Being a know-it-all, prejudice, slyness, overconfidence.

Feeling in life: Fairness to others, making intelligent decisions, just rewards.

9. The Hermit

With the single digit cards ends the Fool’s sojourn in the realms of light.

From now on they are in the dark underworld of adventure.

This is the beginning of the inward journey, and for this reason requires some solitary reflection.

They’ve travelled a long way from The Fool card, where the mountains on the summit of which the Hermit now stands, were far in the distance.

Can also appear as another person, often a Helper, who provides the character with a protective talisman for their crossing.

This is also where the character learns their true name. It may be part of the revelation of the heavenly parents, who are often kept secret from the hero. 

How and where does the character seek peace and quiet?

How are they provided with a talisman for the journey ahead?

How does the character discover their true name? What does it mean to them?

What does this period of solitary reflection reveal to the character?

Outward signs: A hideaway/den/nook, a protective figure, a symbolic gift.

Possible pitfalls: Strangeness, feeling like an outsider, being too concerned with the other world, disenchantment.

Feeling in life: Clarity, inner peace, standing up for yourself, finding yourself.

10. The Wheel of Fortune

The card that clarifies the character’s goal.

What is the character seeking?

What are the weaknesses they must improve before they can reach a resolution?

What figure symbolises this weakness in the character? How does their interaction highlight this weakness?

Outward signs: Missing treasure, a nemesis/enemy/shapeshifter.

Possible pitfalls: Fatalism, misunderstanding your life’s purpose.

Feeling in life: Unpleasant learning experiences, resistance.

11. Strength

Brings the character face to face with their first true test of inner strength.

It follows on from the Wheel of Fortune by applying pressure to the character’s weak points.

The character must “tame the beast within”, accept their shadow side, and welcome their anima or animus.

What happens to try the character’s weakness and test their strength?

What is the shadow side that they need to accept? Why is it difficult for them to do so?

Outward signs: A spirit animal, a wild animal needing to be tamed, another character who is in some respects the hero’s opposite.

Possible pitfalls: Pride, a hardened heart, mercilessness.

Feeling in life: Living life to the full, a passionate attachment to life, showing your claws when necessary.

12. The Hanged Man

This card represents an existential crisis.

This is when the character questions the purpose they took on in the Wheel of Fortune, and in fact, the whole journey up to this point.

While unity lies at the motionless centre of the wheel, and the struggle of daily life on the outside, the character stuck in this stage is the hamster running along the inner surface of the wheel. 

Their whole experience of life is turned upside down, and until their perspective shifts to match their experience, they will be kept suspended.

What causes the character to question their purpose or their way of life?

What mistakes does the character keep repeating?

Outward signs: Something or someone hung, or held upside down, a revolution.

Possible pitfalls: Being caught in a vicious cycle, getting “hung up”.

Feeling in life: Repeating experiences like a broken record, mid-life crisis, inability to get out of your own way, having your patience tested.

13. Death

Death is a card that engenders fear, and the sooner the character learns to accept that fear instead of spending all of their energies trying to avoid the inevitable, the better (at least for them, perhaps not for story tension).

Death requires something to be left behind.

While this will feel like a hard sacrifice for the character, they will never make it while they’re carrying around “dead weight.”

What is the sacrifice the character must make?

Why is it impossible for the story to continue until this sacrifice is made?

How does the character try to avoid this sacrifice?

What are the consequences of the transformation brought by Death?

Outward signs: Bones, corpses, a wasteland, katabasis.

Possible pitfalls: Dying of fear, collapse.

Feeling in life: Ending, the search for peace and renewal, leave taking.

14. Temperance

Between the violence of Death and the Devil, stands the serene figure of Temperance. 

The challenge of Temperance is to find a middle ground between being dead to physical existence (Death) and being chained to it (Devil) by our vices or excessive passions.

This is the key to making it out of the underworld alive.

Who or what guides the character through the (real or imagined) underworld?

How does the character tread the middle path after the loss they suffered in Death?

Outward signs: A guide, a light in darkness, unnatural stillness.

Possible pitfalls: Following false influences, ordinariness.

Feeling in life: Being forcibly dragged along, conformity, level-headedness, health.

15. The Devil

Represents the dark side of the anima/animus, as depicted by the chained lovers.

Often this manifests in a way that entices the character to act in complete contradiction to their deepest values.

For example, killing to save lives, lying to appear honest, torturing people into believing in a merciful deity, etc.

What aspects of their shadow self has the character been suppressing?

What enslaves the character?

How does the character betray all that they have been striving for?

Outward signs: Taking up arms to keep the peace, using the people you love for base gains, a scandal, a seducer.

Possible pitfalls: Being enslaved by the shadow side, leaving the true path, intemperance, lust, power struggles.

Feeling in life: Slavery, addiction, being taken captive, being seduced, doing things you don’t want to do, betraying yourself.

16. The Tower

The destruction of the Tower is the sign that the old world has become too confining. 

The stage at which the character can show a side of themselves that no one would have suspected existed.

It is the sign that you can achieve the unthinkable.

What ideas are limiting the character’s view of the whole?

How can the character destroy these ideas in the most sudden, violent way possible?

How do others react to seeing the character’s hidden (and unsuspected) side?

Outward signs: An explosion, a breakthrough, the revelation of a new self, becoming visible.

Possible pitfalls: Defeat, collapse.

Feeling in life: Chaos, insecurity, surprise changes, escape.

17. The Star

Now we come to the 3 cards that represent a gradual lightening and emergence from the underworld: the Star, the Moon and the Sun.

The worst is now behind our hero, although their work isn’t done.

The Star is there to guide them to the next stage.

How does the character rejuvenate after their hard work in the Tower?

What abundant provisions do they enjoy?

How do they adjust to their new freedom of the world-view that was destroyed in the Tower?

Outward signs: A guiding light in the dark, a safe place to make camp, finding fresh provisions after a long journey.

Possible pitfalls: Forgetting the present while focusing on the future, being lost in daydreams, becoming complacent.

Feeling in life: Trust for the future, rejuvenation, youth.

18. The Moon

Represents a strange, changeable landscape that can easily confuse and trap the hero. 

Although the character has triumphed, they must still navigate the dangerous return journey back to the ordinary world.

The hero must extricate themselves from the temptations of the underworld, return to the world of the living and bring with them the elixir of life, if they are to succeed fully.

The Moon is the greatest threat to losing their true name, but to characters who are prepared and who are adept at traversing their inner landscape, it is also the greatest opportunity.

This is the test of whether a character is truly the master of two worlds, and can cross and recross the treacherous threshold.

How is the return journey different to the outward journey?

How do past landmarks take on new meaning and new danger?

What are the temptations that make the character want to stay instead of returning home?

Outward signs: A changing landscape, a narrow gateway, a difficult crossing.

Possible pitfalls: Being lost in the enchanted forest, losing sight of the destination, becoming enslaved by fear.

Feeling in life: Anger, frustration, mistrust, nightmares, fears, longing.

19. The Sun

The stage at which the character finally leaves the underworld of adventure and returns to the light, ordinary world. 

Looking back from this vantage point, the character realises that the enormous difficulties they just wrestled with actually boil down to a simple solution; that they would have triumphed much sooner had they not complicated the problem.

Now their task is to begin readjusting to the ordinary world, and reconciling the change in their inner world to the lack of change in the outer world.

How does the character re-emerge into the ordinary world?

How has the character changed, and how has the world stayed the same?

How does this cause conflict for the character and their allies?

Outward signs: Blinking against the light, waking up, watching the sun rise.

Possible pitfalls: Clichés.

Feeling in life: Feeling carefree, freedom, joie de vivre, lightness, fun, enjoyment.

20. Judgement

The Judgement card represents a final test of the character’s worthiness to be the bearer of the elixir of life.

If, by some chance, a false hero has managed to come this far, this is the stage at which they will be discovered and sent back to the underworld.

On the other hand, for the true hero, Judgement brings resurrection; a revitalising influence that is the final, freeing reward of their long journey.

What is the final test the character must undergo to prove their worthiness?

Why is the test easy for worthy characters to pass?

How can unworthy characters be discovered and punished?

Outward signs: Being reunited with loved ones, a return to life and vitality, verdure returning to a barren land, an arrest, a trial, a condemnation, an execution.

Possible pitfalls: To fail at cheating (for the unworthy hero).

Feeling in life: Feeling free and at peace.

21. The World

Is the resolution of the readjustment brought about in the crisis of the Hanged Man.

Brings unity to the opposites that have been battling for supremacy over the hero throughout their journey: dark & light, good & bad, action & inaction, male & female.

This isn’t because the world is suddenly free of strife, but because the character has accepted and dealt with both sides of the duality and thus earned freedom from them.

However temporary this freedom might be…

How does the World give the character the ability to disseminate their wisdom (or the “elixir of life”) far and wide?

What makes the unity of the World fragile? What might urge the character into another Fool’s Journey (and give you an opportunity for a sequel)?

Outward signs: A coronation, a homecoming, something in perfect balance.

Possible pitfalls: None.

Feeling in life: Joy, profound satisfaction, a feeling of finally being home.

NOTES

One final revelation about The Fool’s Journey, and indeed about any archetypal journey, is that their writers insist that certain stages of the story need to be taken in the prescribed order.

A character can’t skip building the ego during the “daytime” arc without facing the later consequences: material lack in the ordinary world and possibly ostracism.

Furthermore, an underdeveloped ego is not as great a challenge to abandon in the underworld, and whenever the sacrifice is small, so is the subsequent reward.

Sources: 1 2 3 ⚜ More Writing Notes: On Tarot ⚜ Notes & References

[year2000electronics]

This is a post detailing the full timeline of my Mario AU, Fate of the Stars! Full thing under the cut- it's a bit of a long read, but I hope you enjoy!

THE BEGINNING

The seven Star Spirits have always been there, watching from above… watching with love. Many things in the FOTS world have happened because someone made a wish. Wishing magic is some of the most potent there is. 

TIME OF THE DINOSAURS

Hey, this is where the Yoshis and Koopas’ common ancestors are from!

…Alright, that’s it. NEXT! 

TIME OF THE ANCIENTS

Two distinct factions of humans are formed. Magicians who rely on spell-casting to get things done, and regular old humans who rely on the natural fauna around them to get things done. 

The magicians have a fight that splits them into two: the Ancients and the Tribe of Darkness. 

The magicians eventually get so secretive that they ban basically anyone else from entering into their fold. This happens over centuries.

Amidst all this fighting, the Tribe of Darkness creates the Dark Prognosticus, a prophecy that is set to doom the world. The Ancients create the Light Prognosticus to try and counter it- though only the Dark Prognosticus is TRULY prophetic.

In both prophecies, four heroes are predicted to save the world. These heroes are known as the “Star Children”, and legend says that when they get delivered by a stork (because that ends up being how babies are made here…), they will each come with a mystical star charm that will give them power and guide them on their way.

Both prophecies mention the “Man in Green” as the ideal host for the Chaos Heart that would end all worlds- although in the Light Prognosticus, it is said that the Man in Green has the potential to decide which prophecy becomes true. 

Only the Dark Prognosticus mentions this, but allegedly, one of the heroes would be the “Dark Star Child”, the one destined to turn against the heroes and act as their final opponent. Prophecy scholars across the years have debated which of the heroes would be this Dark Star Child. In the modern era, the common belief is that it would be the “Furious monster king”, although there are one or two fringe theorists who believe the Dark Star Child is one and the same as the Man in Green.

Also happening over thousands of years, the humans who keep using the land’s mushrooms to “power-up” eventually evolve into the Toad species, the mushroom DNA intermingling with theirs causing them to shrink down and gain mushroom cap-like appendages on their heads. We know this species today as “Toads”!

Toads grow to revere the ancient humans of their past and view tallness and “Tall Toads” as a status symbol. A Toad forges the Super Crown, something gifted to a royal and their partner to give them the appearance of a regular human. 

The Tribe of Darkness’ interaction with so much dark magic also changes them. Now they are shadow beings, distinct from humans. 

Regular humans still exist, though, but as the years go on, they become fewer and fewer. 

Koopas become sentient after many Ancients and Darkness Members alike began to keep them as pets, and just like Toads, the lingering effects of being close to magic helps them evolve. They form a kingdom of their own, and the idea of “pet Koopas” quickly becomes abolished.

Sometime during this time are the reigns of Pharaoh Shroomses and Captain T. Ode.

Also during this period, Power Mushrooms are bred with GMOs to make their effects less harmful to human DNA, even if the Toads can never go back.

THE REIGN OF SHADOWS

Three sisters belonging to the Tribe of Darkness- Vesper, Jaydes, and Cerise- become so powerful that they ascend to immortal demonhood. They then proceed to shroud the land in darkness. They forge eight Crystal Stars during their reign to make themselves even more powerful and practically impossible to kill. (They draw this power from the Star Spirits.)

The land is shrouded in darkness for quite some time.

The youngest sister, Cerise, is tasked with hiding the eight Crystal Stars where nobody can find them. Her first hiding place is the eighth Crystal Star, which she chooses to always wear as a necklace. Along the way, however, she falls in love with a hero who’s trying to stop her, a “human” vagabond named Russ Toadstool. It causes her to have a change of heart. Later in the journey, Russ shamefully reveals to her that he’s actually not a human, and is instead Toad royalty who hid his Super Crown under his bandana. Cerise, laughing, assures him she loves him no matter what he looks like. 

She and Russ agree to get married, and Cerise casts away her demonic form to live as a powerless human. Unfortunately, this seems to impact the Crystal Star she carries with her, as it has transformed into a powerful yet disconnected artifact known as the Cobalt Star. She refuses to tell anyone what it does and always keeps it on her.

In the meantime, Jaydes, the middle sister, takes control of the Underwhere forcibly, wrenching it from the grasp of Grambi. She originally intended on commanding an undead army to bring up to the living world, and was waiting for Grambi to be caught off guard.

Four heroes, Russ included, journey far and wide collecting the Crystal Stars using Cerise’s guidance on where she hid them. Then, they use them to seal away the last remaining Shadow Sister- Vesper, the Shadow Queen.

Seeing this, Jaydes quietly decides to just accept a part as Queen of the Underwhere. (Over centuries, she and Grambi fall in love.)

MR. AND MRS. TOADSTOOL

Russ and Cerise’s lifespan extends far beyond human or Toad lifespans. They end up living for almost a thousand years, and still look as young as the day they met! …Does Cerise have anything to say about that??

“Hee hee! I guess being a hero just keeps you young!”

Around 980 or so years pass, with Russ and Cerise’s reign being the longest recorded reign in Toad history. It makes sense! They’re good rulers and people like them!

Meanwhile with the Koopas, they’ve grown to have a steady rivalry with the Mushroom Kingdom. They bring about kinda dumb and not-very-good-at-planning heirs and that’s about it for them. 

At some point during this era (probably near the tail-end), Blumiere and Timpani have their whole devastating romance thing! Yay! 

…And that’s it for the most part! (Though knowing how complex this can get, I may have to add more sometime.)

But after a long and peaceful reign, Russ and Cerise decide it’s finally time to have… a baby.

A STAR IS BORN

Russ and Cerise give birth to a baby girl they name Peach. She’s fully human, thanks to Cerise giving up her power ages ago, and even if she might have some Toad DNA- well, it certainly isn’t enough to make her look like one.

During this time, two human babies are born to a humble young couple! Their names, as you may know, are Mario and Luigi!

Also during this time, the next heir to the Koopa throne is born- and though he may be small now, in the future, little Bowser will soon be the biggest Koopa anyone’s ever seen…

Each of these babies come delivered with star charms. Mario and Luigi’s charms are two halves of one star, symbolizing their closeness as brothers. For baby Peach, she eventually had hers made into a pair of star earrings. And finally, for little Bowser, his star was carefully cut into five parts and fashioned around a collar to serve as spikes. (This obtuse placement would lead people to not realize that Bowser was the fourth star child for years, up to the very last moments.)

THE ORIGINAL SHROOB INVASION

A planet full of hostiles known as the Shroobs descends upon the Mushroom Kingdom, trying to take them by force and possibly drain them of all their vim and all that freaky deaky stuff. 

The Shroobs almost have the royals cornered, particularly the Elder Princess Shroob has Cerise and Russ on the ropes. Cerise realizes that if she finds a way to attack the Elder, the Shroobs will fail to have any orders on what to do next. Doing that, her and Russ agree to make the ultimate sacrifice. 

Cerise pulls the Cobalt Star off of her neck and raises it up, trapping Elder Princess Shroob in there- but also trapping herself in the process. She expects to never come out- and so to the world, she is dead. 

The Shroobs all scatter, now without a queen to rule them. They flee, tails between their legs. The kingdom is safe, but at the cost of their beloved queen. 

Whatever Cerise was doing to extend Russ and her lifespans, it clearly isn’t happening anymore. Russ falls very ill very quickly and starts rapidly aging. He shuts himself away from the kingdom, knowing he wouldn’t want his subjects seeing something so agonizing.

In his few dying days, he smiles, entrusting his advisor Toadsworth to the most important mission of his life.

“Toadsworth… take care of her. Alright?” 

“My baby… my Peach.”

Russ dies. Toadsworth is now the acting royal of the Mushroom Kingdom until Peach is of age to make decisions on her own.

The Cobalt Star is locked away in the basement of the castle. Everyone is sworn to secrecy about it.

YOSHI’S ISLAND

Hey! Welcome to the first actual VIDEO GAME in this timeline! Fed up with my antics yet?!

Seeing that the Mushroom Kingdom is in disarray after the Shroob invasion, the acting ruler of the Koopa kingdom, Kamek, acts fast. The previous royals were killed somehow, and though he has Lord Bowser to take care of, he wants something more. Since he was present to see the baby king, he knows that Bowser is one of the four Star Children, and knows that if Bowser was born, the other three must not be very far behind. He should eliminate these obstacles to the Koopa kingdom’s potential great reign… and he should do it fast.

He orders troops to kidnap every baby in the Mushroom Kingdom they can find, and these babies happen to include Mario and Luigi in their ranks. 

Although Luigi is successfully kidnapped, Mario is rescued by a tribe of friendly Yoshis, who all agree to help baby Mario get his brother back, cos he’s just so cute! And… surely this child, blessed by the stars, with the star necklace… could only bring them good fortune. 

When Kamek finds Luigi, he eagerly pulls out Luigi’s star necklace, elated that he found one of the Star Children, but- ah. Why’s this star purple? …Must be one of his rotten minions who busted it. Unless… This was the mysterious Dark Star Child? Well- either way. He’s either covering for his idiot minions, or… Well… If this WAS the Dark Star Child… Perhaps he wouldn’t rise up and take over Lord Bowser’s plans if he never knew he was the Dark Star Child.

While deciding what he should actually do with Luigi, Kamek places a fairly strong cloaking spell on Luigi’s purple star necklace that makes it appear as if it’s gold like Mario’s. He tells no one about this, not even Bowser. (I’d remember this moment if I were you. Who knows if it might crop up later?)

STARRY CHILDHOODS

Mario and Luigi grow up in the Mushroom Kingdom, thanks to their parents living in the rural country. Their parents were close personal friends with Toadsworth, so they would often bring Mario and Luigi over for playdates with the young princess Peach. They all realized their kids were three of the fabled Star Children, but decided not to tell them so their lives would be peaceful and they wouldn’t be burdened with a sense of great responsibility. 

Bowser, meanwhile, is getting trained by Kamek and the rest of the Koopa kingdom to be a powerful heir to try and finally dethrone the Mushroom Kingdom as the leading monarchy. Kamek’s a bit of a hardass who believes that the Koopa kingdom can rise above the Star Children prophecy if they rule the world before anything can happen to it.

Mario and Luigi get bullied on the playground by their cousin :( 

Eventually, word travels around that a wrecking crew led by a human named Spike are building a city for the remaining humans of the world to congregate known as New Donk City. Although the population is currently small, they hope to make a bustling metropolis, and Mario’s parents are more than happy to join them. They move away, taking the brothers with them, and they lose contact with the Toadstool family. 

DONKEY KONG

Hi! Welcome to the adult era! The bros are in their 20s now, and attempting to do what every up-and-coming youngin dreams of: Starting a business! That is to say, a plumbing business…  They go for gold, quitting Mayor Spike’s wrecking crew (their cousin Wario complains because he busted his ass getting that job for them) and trying to start the Super Mario Bros. plumbing company.

Mario’s girlfriend at the time, Pauline, is kidnapped by a rampaging beast known as Donkey Kong. The mayor of the city, Spike, apparently captured the Kong to use his incredible strength to do things like demolish old buildings. Poor guy! 

Nobody’s sure what to do, but at just the right time… Mario rises to the occasion, climbing all the girders and dodging barrels to fight the beast and get back his girlfriend. 

Mario is hailed as a hero! Their plumbing business immediately booms, and everyone just can’t seem to get enough of Mr. Jumpman. Spike is ousted as the mayor for his abuse of animals and also pissing off the Kong Country, dude, why the hell did you do that. 

As the search for a new mayor begins, things heat up for Mario. People seem to keep calling their business not for plumbing, but to try and get Mr. Jumpman to do more and more extreme favours for them, or just to try and get a photo and an autograph. (Poor Luigi usually silently gets handed the camera…) The pressure really starts getting to Mario, and he and Pauline end up breaking up, seeing as the people of New Donk City are REALLY trying to push for them to get married so they can be the “perfect sweethearts” after he rescued her. 

Mario’s had enough. He and Luigi move away from New Donk, and decide to try starting their business back home- back in the Mushroom Kingdom. 

SUPER MARIO BROS.

(...That’s a bit of a misnomer. Mario is the only one going on this adventure.) 

Mario and Luigi’s plumbing business is going really well! So well, in fact, that the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom herself has invited them to come fix her pipes… Could she be? The cute little girl they talked to so many years ago?

The bros arrive at Peach’s castle, and they catch up with a now-adult Peach, who Mario immediately falls for. He’s trying not to rush anything, especially after the Pauline fiasco, so he tries to hide his crush, but the two of them are getting along really well! 

Suddenly, in the middle of Mario and Luigi’s plumbing job, a giant monster bursts through the wall- it’s none other than Bowser, king of the Koopas. After years of being raised and trained to become the perfect heir for the Koopa kingdom, he’s ready to strike, kidnapping the princess as leverage to try and get the Mushroom Kingdom to surrender. 

Mario can’t help himself- he sees someone in need and SPRINGS INTO ACTION! He chases off after Bowser, venturing across the land to try and find him in the Koopa kingdom to rescue the princess.

…Luigi, naturally, stays behind, too meek to try, and assumes that Mario was just better-suited for the job. After all, LUIGI wasn’t the one who beat Donkey Kong… Maybe he can start off with something smaller next time… Yeah… Next time. 

Mario rescues the princess and beats Bowser, and gets a kiss on the nose and a cake for his trouble! The Toad citizens all welcome him back, but thanks to the Mushroom Kingdom having a much smaller population density, he actually finds it quite nice.

 Mario realizes something- that Bowser isn’t going to go away, is he? And everywhere he goes, the vulnerable, the innocent, his FRIENDS… They need someone to help them. Mario knows what he needs to do. He hangs up his plunger permanently, deciding to become a full-time hero.

…And Luigi can stay home and do the laundry!

SUPER MARIO BROS. 2

Mario has a dream where he and his friends go on an adventure! Wow! The baddie at the end of the road is some bat thing called Antasma? Who says he’s going to feed off Mario’s nightmares? Too bad Mario stomps him almost immediately. Guess his dreams were too happy… Better luck next game, buddy. 

SUPER MARIO BROS. 3

Bowser’s pride is wounded after his humiliating defeat at the hands of Mario. He decides to put out a summons in his kingdom calling for more minions to join his side- a royal army. To his surprise, someone answers his call, but it’s not any minion he was expecting… Instead, he sees seven starry-eyed orphans, proclaiming themselves to be eager recruits in Bowser’s new army- The Koopalings. This is hopeless. How’s Bowser going to get anything done with these clowns?! Still, for some reason, he feels a pang of something deep in his heart, a feeling deep down of knowing what it’s like to be a kid with no real parent figures… He steals the wands of seven of Kamek’s head Magikoopas and entrusts them to the Koopalings (much to Kamek’s dismay), telling them to go conquer seven of the Mushroom Kingdom’s neighboring countries, and they do. 

Meanwhile, Peach is fretting over letters from these other counties, begging her for help as all their leaders have been turned into animals. Before she can do anything, of course, she’s kidnapped by Bowser. During her tenure, she feigns innocence to Bowser and keeps asking about his “new soldiers”, getting Bowser to tell her all about them. She secretly sends Mario letters warning him on each new Koopaling’s ability. 

Mario manages to defeat the Koopalings and get the princess back from Bowser. Kamek is mad at Bowser for stealing the magic wands, but is honestly impressed with how adept the Koopalings are at Magikoopa magic. He decides to take them on as his apprentices, and only forges two replacement wands- One for himself, and one for his second-in-command, Kammy Koopa. 

SUPER MARIO LAND

Mario gets a distress call from Sarasaland, one of the kingdoms he just helped save from the Koopalings. This time, instead of their ruler being turned into an animal, their princess- Daisy- has been kidnapped by an alien named Tatanga! Of course, Mario is happy to help, so he goes off on another quest to help her. 

Most of the bosses of this land are just repeat visits from Mario’s cousin, Wario, who’s being paid off by Tatanga to be a nuisance. Mario is so tired of this. He wants Wario to go back to New Donk City and leave him alone. Please.

Mario saves Daisy, and the two of them become good friends! Daisy reveals she’s more of a warrior princess than anything, and would be glad to help pitch in on Mushroom Kingdom protection whenever she can. Mario says he’ll keep in touch.

SUPER MARIO WORLD

Mario is cashing in that offer IMMEDIATELY. He asks Daisy if she can keep an eye on the Mushroom Kingdom for a bit so he, Luigi, and Peach can take a well-needed vacation further into the rural country. As it turns out, this was a terrible idea, because the Koopalings were spying on him this whole time and immediately chase after them with Bowser to kidnap Peach when she has her guard down. DAMMIT! 

Mario and Luigi realize very quickly, though, they came to this place for a reason, even if it was subconscious… This is the land of the Yoshis! Although the original Yoshis who took care of them are quite old now, they meet a young Yoshi about their age who agrees to help rescue the princess. (That is THE Yoshi now, but I don’t really do much with him. But he’s here!)

Mario and Yoshi go off to rescue Peach. Luigi says “no really I’ll stay here don’t worry about me”. 

After this adventure, Bowser finally bites the bullet and officially signs the adoption papers to make the 7 Koopalings his children. 

SUPER MARIO 64

Another day, another slay for Super Mario. Peach kidnapped, you know the drill. But THIS time, Bowser has turned the entire castle into HAUNTED PAINTINGS! Mario’s adventure will take him no further than the castle gates, but boy, will it make him work up a sweat regardless. 

The only major thing of note here is that in Big Boo’s Haunt, a certain boo meets Mario for the first time… And he takes note of the power of paintings. He wonders- If there’s a way to get Mario in a painting… perhaps there’s a way… to keep him there… 

Luigi is at home baking a nice quiche. 

SUPER MARIO RPG

Mario has to help Geno repair the Star Road after Smithy broke it, or else the Star Spirits won’t be able to grant wishes or anything! 

Peach and Bowser also agree to help. Bowser is reluctant but agrees.

Geno recognizes Mario, Peach and Bowser as three of the Star Children, but doesn’t really care to ask where the fourth one is because he’s got other shit he really wants to be dealing with right now.

MALLOW IS ALSO THERE.

PAPER MARIO 64

Bowser, immediately after helping repair the Star Road, goes right back up there to steal the Star Rod from the Star Spirits and grant his own wishes of invincibility. THAT BASTARD.

Not much to say here as of right now. It’s Paper Mario. Kammy Koopa is there. Peach is kidnapped.

In this version, the Star Spirits do recognize Mario as one of the Star Children, though- the “child blessed by the stars”! Yes, they remember him. They consider themselves as part of Mario’s family, in a way. After all, they were always looking out for him. Who do you think made sure he got dropped off with the Yoshis? Who do you think gave him all those invincibility stars? 

Luigi stays at home. He’s getting increasingly frustrated that he missed the “being a hero” boat, and now it’s a self-feeding cycle of him being left at home. He makes a wish, with all his heart, that one day, he’ll be allowed to shine just as bright as Mario…

LUIGI’S MANSION

Normally, the Boos were some of the lowest class of species in the Koopa kingdom’s court. They were shy. They were wishy-washy. Nobody paid any mind to them. But one day, a shooting star fell from the sky, and landing on the ground was a magnificent jewel that seemed to be from the stars itself. Big Boo, the one from Super Mario 64, as the leader of the boos, fashioned a wonderful crown out of the gem, and once he put it on… it gave him power unimaginable. 

Re-christening himself King Boo, he constructs a mansion near the lab of the annoying ghost-hunter Professor E. Gadd as part of his grand scheme. He filled it with portrait ghosts, with inspiration from Bowser’s haunted paintings and help from the ghostly painter Vincent Van Gore. And then came the piece de resistance… Unlike that fool, Bowser, his first move wouldn’t be to kidnap the princess. No. He would instead kidnap… the plumber. 

Mario gets a flier in the mail, saying he’s won a FREE MANSION! WOW!!! He eagerly lets Luigi know, and goes on ahead to accept his new house- he can’t wait to move in! 

Luigi waits for him to get back. And waits… and waits… Aaaand waaaiiits… 

…Mario isn’t coming back. It’s been days. Maybe he finally abandoned Luigi and went off to be a hero forever- No. No way. He should check the mansion. He should. Right? Yes. So, with legs shaking like jelly, he packs his bags, and prepares to go see his brother…

Of course, Luigi finds a mansion full of ghosts, and helps rescue E. Gadd from their pranks. He ends up defeating all the portrait ghosts in the mansion, and even survives the horrifying realization that Mario is trapped in a PAINTING! 

Luigi beats King Boo, feeling like he just barely survived, and a stunned Mario hugs him for at LEAST five minutes, sobbing into his shoulder that he’s so proud of Luigi.

Luigi quietly mumbles that he would maybe like to go on an adventure with Mario next time Peach gets kidnapped. Mario agrees, saying he’s sorry he didn’t reach out sooner and felt like he was just trying to protect Luigi. Now, he sees Luigi doesn’t need protecting, and can be a hero in his own right!

WARIOWARE INC.: MEGA MICROGAME$ 

WOW AN INTERLUDE!!!!! This is basically the only Wario game on the list, so enjoy it. I might do a Wario Land at some point to include Captain Syrup. If I’m feeling generous. Wario returns to New Donk City after the events of Super Mario Land and this is what he’s been up to: Collecting a gang of misfits to have them work for him for MEAGER WAGES. 

The microgames are a big hit, though! 

Waluigi probably works for Wario in this universe.

SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE

It��s time for you to put your money where your mouth is, Mario! Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toadsworth, and a few Toads are on vacation to the luxurious Isle Delfino, hoping that they can kick back and relax FOR ONCE after the haunted mansion fiasco. Unfortunately, two things are happening: First of all, the isle is covered in this icky paint-like goop (It’s moving!) (Now now boys, don’t touch that stuff!), and second of all, an impostor is running around wearing MARIO’s face?! MARIO HAS BEEN ARRESTED?!

Despite Luigi and Peach’s objections, Mario is declared guilty, and his sentence is to clean up the entire island. But how is Mario going to do THAT?!

Luigi is here to help! He explains that Professor E. Gadd occasionally gives him presents in the form of wacky inventions, and Luigi brought his latest one along because he hadn’t had time to unbox it yet. When he does, it’s almost too perfect- It’s a robotic nozzle machine known as F.L.U.D.D.! 

As Mario works hard to clean up the Isle (Peach and Luigi have tried to help, but the Piantas yell at them for it.), Luigi takes on some missions of his own trying to uncover the identity of the mysterious Shadow Mario. Nobody sets up his bro like that and gets away with it! 

Peach, meanwhile, tries to convince the locals to rally with Mario… to varying success.

The Koopalings are probably around Isle Delfino somewhere, but they’re not actually attacking Mario or anything, most of them just seem to be relaxing and enjoying the island. It’s only clumsy Morton who lets slip that they’re purposely staying back to “LET NEW GUY HAVE HIS FUN”. …WHO’S THE NEW GUY?!

Luigi and Mario’s quests meet up when Peach is kidnapped and taken to Pinna Park, where Shadow Mario reveals himself to be… BOWSER JR?! 

That’s right. Bowser just couldn’t get enough of that fatherhood and had another kid through ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION VIA A STORK. DO NOT INQUIRE ABOUT THIS FURTHER. Of course, Kammy Koopa spoils him rotten despite Kamek’s protests (and outlawing giving him a magic wand), so she commissions a paintbrush invention from E. Gadd that allows Jr. to create magic graffiti that can help him, harm others, and, importantly, disguise him as people.

Jr. is convinced that Peach is his mother. This is bad. Peach eventually gets yanked away by Bowser to go, like, sit in a hot tub. Mario and Luigi chase after him, with Mario using F.L.U.D.D to destroy the hot tub and with Luigi tasked with getting Peach off of that hot tub before it falls. 

Everyone winds up safe, except F.L.U.D.D, but with Luigi’s help, he makes a miraculous recovery! 

Mario asks Luigi when he got so good at tinkering. Luigi admits it was his primary hobby when Mario was off on his adventures, and E. Gadd just helped him hone his abilities.

Bowser and Jr. return home, defeated. Jr. admits he knows Peach isn’t really his mama, but was having so much fun fighting Mario he didn’t want to stop. The Koopalings are all super proud of their baby sibling and welcome him to the team. 

MARIO & LUIGI: SUPERSTAR SAGA

IT’S A MULTI-KINGDOM AFFAIR! When two ambassadors from the neighboring Beanbean Kingdom show up and offer a gift to Princess Peach, everything goes haywire when her voice gets stolen! The assailants reveal their true identities- the evil witch Cackletta and her cronie Fawful! They seek to activate the Beanstar, an artifact that can grant wishes (Star Spirits, I’m looking at you suspiciously…) that was put into a deep sleep and can only be awoken with a pure voice. 

Mario and Luigi are on the case! Their journey takes them across the strange cultural frontier of the Beanbean Kingdom, meeting up with Queen Bean and the young Prince Peasley- who seems to have taken quite a fancy to Luigi! Most of the wackiness is part of their long, drawn-out plan to make sure Peach is alright, as well as chasing after Cackletta and Fawful.

Cackletta gets the shit beat out of her by the bros at Woohoo Hooniversity, but we’re just getting started. Fawful sucks up her essence, and through Shenanigans, she ends up possessing the body of Bowser, going by Bowletta. Yes, this gives Bowser boobs for some reason. Yes, this is as weird as it sounds.

Although the bros try their best to out-maneuver and trick Bowletta at every turn, eventually, the cards do fall in her favour, and the bros are forced to do a final gauntlet into Bowletta’s castle, which includes fighting the Koopalings as well as Fawful himself, who seems like he’s had it up to here with Cackletta’s mistreatment of him. 

The bros go inside Bowletta to fight Cackletta’s Spirit, she flips them off whenever she attacks, they beat her, Bowser is fine, Peach gets her voice back, Luigi and Peasley make out sloppy style, THE END. 

PRINCESS PEACH: SHOWTIME!

You didn’t hear this from me, but this is kinda a fusion between Princess Peach Showtime and Super Princess Peach. I will not be adapting the Vibe Scepter. It’s mostly an adaptation of Showtime, but with the idea that SPP had that Mario and Luigi get kidnapped.

Before Bowser can even brainstorm up his next plan (Yes, because we all know it’s coming!), the Mushroom Kingdom finds itself encased in a dome of enchantment, turning all its citizenry into nothing but stage actors, mere puppets for the one, the only, MADAME GRAPE! She seeks to put on the greatest show the world’s ever seen- one that never ends! 

Mario and Luigi are down for the count, of course, but it seems that something within Peach is keeping her safe… She doesn’t know why, but she feels the urge to look up to the stars and thank her late mother. 

Now, Peach must embark on a journey as the only one left, and rescue the brothers she’s come to care so much about. Will she do it…? Or will it be curtains for her? 

SUPER MARIO BROS. WONDER

DID SOMEBODY SAY BOWSER?! (No, nobody said Bowser.) 

Mario and co. get invited to another of the Mushroom Kingdom’s neighboring kingdoms, the Flower Kingdom (If you’re counting, now that makes around 3 neighboring kingdoms that Mario probably visited during Mario 3!) by Prince Florian. This time, it’s not an act of hostility… but this time, Bowser invites himself along, turning himself into Castle Bowser with the weird and wacky power of the Wonder Flower. 

Jr., Kamek, Kammy, and the Koopalings also get the fun effects of the Wonder flower, and are now wreaking havoc across the kingdom! Who can possibly help us?! 

WHY, PRINCESS DAISY, OF COURSE! She was part of this cross-kingdom party too! Now, Mario, Luigi, Peach and Daisy all get to go on a wonderful adventure! (...Pretty standard aside from all the Alice In Wonderland nonsense, though!)

PAPER MARIO: STICKER STAR

Whew! That all has been nuts, huh? Isn’t it time we just got a stupid fucking adventure? 

 Peach decides to throw a STICKER FEST!! A festival dedicated to stickers! With a fist clenched, with an eye twitching, after two or three different ruined vacations, she says surely you all know that we can’t mess up with something as simple as a STICKER FESTIVAL. Right?

Wrong. 

As it turns out, the Sticker Comet that passes by once every millenium is called the Sticker Star, and holds a race of sentient, hedonistic stickers on them. They love to grant wishes- (THE STAR SPIRITS SWEAR IT’S ACTUALLY NOT THEM THIS TIME.) But the stickers’ wishes are twisted, and never really get you what you want, aiming to turn you into a powerful being they can catch a ride on to feed off your energy. They have something of a cosmic rivalry with the Star Spirits, and normally stay away from the Mushroom Kingdom so they won’t fight more, but… 

 Bowser just had to Bowser it up, didn’t he? He crashes Sticker Fest, thinking that it’s just some dumb thing the princess is doing, but once he touches the Sticker Comet that just landed, well… you know. The six Royal Stickers go zooming away- one lands on him, and he starts going nuts for power. Alright, man, you go have fun with that! Peach also gets kidnapped. Alright, man.

Mario and Luigi reluctantly set out on an adventure to go get those stickers back- and they’re constantly tailed by a bratty little sticker named Kersti, who reveals she’s next in line to be one of the Royal Stickers, once she’s of age to succeed her dad. And she thinks the Mario bros are smelly and should stop getting in the way of the Royal Sticker Court.

Along the way, they beat up five of Bowser’s minions who have gone nuts with power- A preteen Goomba who wished to be stronger for Bowser’s army, a Pokey who wished to not be so lonely, a Blooper who wished for fame (Hey, hasn’t Mario yanked that guy’s tentacles off before?), a snowman who wished to not melt, and a Piranha Plant who wished for… more food. 

Kersti slowly realizes that the wishes her people give are the furthest thing from benevolent, and in the final battle, sacrifices herself so her father, the last Royal Sticker, can be removed from Bowser.

Hooray! The day is saved! Everybody would like a nice nap now please.

LUIGI’S MANSION: THE LAST RESORT

I had to change the title because I am putting a game called “Luigi’s Mansion 3” after a game called “Luigi’s Mansion 2”.

After their stupidest adventure yet, Peach and the Mario bros are all too happy to check into an all-expenses-paid five-star hotel after they get a letter inviting them to go. After all, Bowser seemed pretty wiped, too, and who else would be out there to get them? Cackletta? No, she’s super-dead. Wario? No, he’s too busy on the grindset. King Boo? Ha! No, he’s trapped in a painting! 

The group get greeted by a bunch of cheery-but-stiff-faced bellhops, as well as the owner of the hotel herself, who insists you just call her Hellen. They all get comfortable for their stay, and separate for the night. 

…Luigi wakes up in a cold sweat. Something is very wrong. He just has a gut feeling. He looks around the hotel, trying to find Mario and Peach, but to no avail. The entire hotel seems darker, somehow. Suddenly, he’s face to face with a grinning Hellen, who backs away to reveal- Not only is she a ghost, but she broke King Boo out of his painting because she’s his BIGGEST fan. King Boo reveals that he’s trapped Mario and Peach in paintings, and wants to save the best for last- The meddling plumber who GOT HIM SHUT AWAY IN THE FIRST PLACE!! 

Luigi manages to escape, and on the first floor, finds E. Gadd who is once again caught in the crosshairs. Now, the two of them (Make that three of them- E. Gadd reveals he was going to give this to Luigi on his birthday, but is forced to reveal it early… A slime clone of Luigi called Gooigi. He is so… unnerving. Why would E. Gadd make this as a birthday present.) must work together to recover all of the elevator buttons, slowly ascend up the floors of the hotel, and confront Hellen Gravely and King Boo at the very tippy-top, locking them in a ghost-keeping chamber that E. Gadd made.

PAPER MARIO: COLOUR SPLASH 

Yes, I’m spelling it like that.

Mario, Peach and Luigi all take a trip to Port Prisma, a more beachside area of the Mushroom Kingdom! (Luigi asks that if there’s something crazy can you please keep him out of it. He’s tired from the hotel.) 

Surely nothing bad will happen.

Unfortunately, because Bowser is a knucklehead and tried to dye his shell rainbow in Port Prisma’s rainbow fountain, he accidentally mixed it all together to create ugly Black Paint, and is having an ill-informed Giant Rampage across the kingdom. And the Koopalings get to help, too! 

Mario and Peach team up with Huey, a paint bucket, to beat Bowser because why not? Let’s just throw Peach in there for funs. 

Huey sacrifices himself and it’s very sad. Luigi gets to put his karting license to work. 

MARIO & LUIGI: DREAM TEAM

Okay but can we get that nice nap for REAL?! 

This time, the gang chooses to go to the relaxing Pi’illo Island, whose tourism is entirely based on sleeping and having nice dreams. 

…Hey, remember back in Super Mario Bros. 2 when a bat-thing named Antasma tried to feed on Mario’s nightmares but failed spectacularly? Well, he’s baa-aaaaaack…

Antasma’s goal is to collect the Dream Stone and gain enough power to put the entire island into an eternal sleep, ruling it as the king of nightmares. Obviously, we can’t let that happen. …Oh, yeah, and he convinced Bowser to work with him and kidnapped Peach as a sign of goodwill. DAMMIT, GUYS, SHE HAD SUCH A GOOD STREAK GOING.

Mario and Luigi team up with Prince Dreambert, former prince of the kingdom who had been frozen in stone for years, to chase after Antasma. It’s also revealed that Luigi has immense power in the dream world- Dreamy Luigi has the force of ONE HUNDRED MEN. What the hell?! Maybe it’s because he has his head in the cloud so much… Who knows?

And BTW Antasma betrays Bowser this time and not the other way around. That was fucking stupid, what happened in the real game. I didn’t like it. 

During the final battle, Antasma idly comments on Luigi, saying he wishes he tried to influence him to do his bidding, nearly salivating over his dream-power, but also saying he… “senses something dark within Luigi”? Whatever that means. Oh, well, he’s a crazy bat anyways, let’s just attack him and make sure Pi’illo Island never has to deal with him again. Bye-bye!

(Also I have nowhere to put this but Antasma can totally turn people into nightmare vampires. Isn’t that cool? I think it’s cool. It’s why I added it.)

SUPER MARIO GALAXY

Have you ever just wanted to say “Fuck it, let’s go to space”? Bowser has. 

It’s the Star Festival! Which is NOT THE SAME AS THE STICKER FESTIVAL, OKAY? There’s a lot of stuff out there in space. Give us a break. Besides, THIS one orbits the Mushroom Kingdom every 100 years. But, of course, Bowser has to take his chance to mess everything up as per usual. He lifts Peach’s castle into space using a UFO, and before Mario and Luigi can stop him, Kamek casts a spell that launches the both of them into deep space.

Mario wakes up on a strange planet separated from Luigi, where a creature called a Luma guides him to the gateway to the starry sky. There, he meets an… interesting character. Miss Rosalina is icy, short-tempered, and a total recluse, only interacting with the Lumas on her ship. She’s like a doting mother to them, and is protective over them to an extreme degree.

When one of the Lumas begs her to help Mario, she’s reluctant at first, but when she hears Peach is in trouble, she loosens up a little. Although still extremely wary of Mario, she agrees to help.

Mario’s primary goal is to find Luigi, knowing he can definitely help lend a hand looking for the princess. He eventually recovers him in that ghost galaxy he was stuck in. How ironic.

Over time, Mario and Luigi learn more about Rosalina’s past. Apparently, although not from the Mushroom Kingdom or even their planet, she was on a very similar planet with a human family of her own. That is, until the Shroobs invaded and drained her planet of all its resources, leaving her as the sole survivor. She keeps a watchful eye over the Mushroom Kingdom in fear that the Shroobs will one day return to it. If she can’t protect her home… Perhaps she can protect another place.

(Side note: as of this part in the story, Mario and Luigi don’t know jack about the Shroobs, so to them, it’s just a story about hostile aliens who… might attack the Mushroom Kingdom?)

They get Peach back from Bowser, and stop him from creating a new galaxy. Obviously the whole WELCOME NEW GALAXY!! thing doesn’t happen in this AU. I need this galaxy, thanks. 

The gang bids farewell to Rosalina. She’s still pretty shut-off, but with a mumble, she promises to visit sometime.

PAPER MARIO: THE ORIGAMI KING

You ever wonder what those wacky Toads get up to on their days off?

Yeah, me neither. One day, Peach gets jumped by a little origami boy named King Olly and turned into origami, which he plans on doing to the entire world. He does this because he believes he was brought to life only as a mockery, and that he should show the entire world that origami is beautiful, rather than these unsightly lumps and grooves everyone seems to have. 

Bowser gets stapled for his time. That’s what you get, idiot. 

Olly manages to successfully kidnap Luigi as well, but can’t seem to be able to fold him into origami. It’s like something within him is protecting him… SIGH… Olly begrudgingly says he’ll “just fold Luigi last”. He and Olly have a lot of conversations about their siblings.

Mario goes to unfurl the streamers that block Peach’s castle, and along the way, he meets Olly’s sister, Olivia! She wants to stop Olly from turning the world into origami because, well, she likes the world! Along the way, they fight the Legion of Stationery, craft supplies turned giant by Olly’s magic. They also rescue the Origami Craftsman, who reveals that he wrote a message about Olly being a lovely king on him before he folded him to life. It was an act of love, not shame.

The gang manage to beat Olly, and before he can finish folding 1000 cranes to make a wish (The Star Spirits apologize. They really did forget about that method.), Olivia changes his heart, and instead wishes that everything folded by her brother would be unfolded. She sacrifices herself, and Olly, weakened, becomes unfolded as well. Mario is very sad. Luigi wonders if he should ignore the implication that the sunny, bright sibling is left to clean up the mess of the dark, broody sibling. That’s probably nothing.

SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY

Anyways, who wants a GLOBE-TROTTING FUN-VENTURE?! This totally isn’t the calm before the storm, before you ask!!!!! 

Bowser decides to go for it, this time. And he means REALLY go for it. HE’S GONNA MARRY PEACH!!! Peach, obviously, isn’t as big a fan of this, but you know what that means! MORE KIDNAPPING! Mario now has to chase Peach across some of the outer Kingdoms way, WAY across the map- although some are familiar. Tostarena, for example, is a town in Sarasaland now, instead of just the Sand Kingdom! Just like the Seaside Kingdom is now a secluded spot on Isle Delfino! Et cetera, et cetera. 

The Koopalings replace the Broodals. They’re all packed onto one boat. It’s as awkward as it sounds. 

Mario has a teary reunion with Pauline, who’s now the mayor of New Donk City. He’s glad to see she’s doing so well for herself. 

Luigi is by Mario’s side this time, of course, but since he doesn’t have a buddy from the Cap Kingdom, he does struggle to keep up quite often. Oh, well! That’s life, he supposes!

Wario also keeps popping by because he wants Mario to say hello. No, say hello like he MEANS it. He’s grimacing. He’s grimacing again. IS THAT REALLY ANY WAY TO TREAT YOUR COUSIN.

Mario manages to stop the wedding before Peach can even think of saying “I do”- but it’s not like she would ever say that anyways.

LUIGI’S MANSION: DARK MOON

Oh, wow! This time, Luigi isn’t getting tricked by winning a free thing! How novel! Yes, this time, E. Gadd has sent a letter inviting Luigi over to research ghosts with him in a place called Evershade Valley, which is apparently a habitat for many unique ghosts, and likely where all of Hellen Gravely’s hotel staff- as well as she herself- came from! 

When Luigi gets there, though, trouble finds him quickly. He gets knocked out as soon as he arrives, he hears King Boo’s laugh in his ears… and when he wakes up again, he’s… HE’S… A GHOST?! 

AAAAAAAAHHHHHH-

A voice tells him to stop screaming. Eldstar? Is that you? GRAMBI, MAYBE?? The voice speaks again, groaning that he NEEDS to stop screaming, because he’s NOT DEAD. Luigi turns to see that on the usual monitor he’d contact E. Gadd on, there’s someone else instead… A mysterious scientist with his face obscured.

He introduces himself as Professor Evershade, the leading scientist in Evershade Valley. He confirms that E. Gadd has been kidnapped by King Boo, and if Luigi wants to beat him, he’s going to need to piece together the Dark Moon, the ancient artifact that was buried in pieces here in Evershade Valley. It alone has the power to seal King Boo’s fate. 

Evershade goes on to explain that Luigi’s new ghostly form isn’t permanent, it’s just a temporary power-up that Evershade invented. He can turn a button on a remote control to activate and de-activate ghost mode at will whenever he wants. Luigi navigates his way through the various mansions of Evershade Valley, using the ghost power-up to solve various puzzles within it. 

This is where things get interesting. During the final mansion, when Luigi finally frees E. Gadd, Professor Gadd quickly rushes to tell Luigi he’s been deceived- but it’s too late. Appearing before the two of them, applauding sarcastically, is Professor Evershade. He whips off his hat and tears out his scarf, revealing that he’s a ghost- AND that he’s actually… LUIGI?!

Evershade begins to explain. Around this time, he becomes more of a recluse, with certain events that happen in the near future discouraging him from going on adventures with Mario. (You’ll know it when you see it. It’s in Partners In Time. But Luigi doesn’t know that yet!) He throws himself into ghost research with E. Gadd, but E. Gadd eventually passes, leaving Luigi as the lone researcher in Evershade Valley. The seal on E. Gadd’s containment cell for King Boo breaks after years of neglect and people just assuming it’s fine, and he immediately goes to find Luigi, ending his game for his insolence. Thanks to the power of King Boo’s crown, most weaker ghosts find themselves unable to disobey him… And now, that includes Luigi. Enraged and spiteful after being forced to work under his worst enemy for years, he formulates a plan. Apparently, some time in the future, something called the Cobalt Star gets unveiled from Peach’s basement, and Luigi, knowing about this, goes down to the basement to steal it for himself, so he can invent a time machine. 

But why, Luigi asks? Why would Evershade invent a time machine and go back WAY before he was supposed to be killed?

Evershade responds simply. He doesn’t want to change some other version of him’s future- HE WANTS HIS MORTALITY BACK. And he was using his device to temporarily steal it… from HIMSELF. This is the final nail in the coffin that E. Gadd was warning Luigi about… The Dark Moon will grant Evershade the power to swap his mortality with Luigi… PERMANENTLY. 

Him and Evershade get into a fight, and Luigi manages to win, with him chastising Evershade for falling so far from grace. Evershade, in turn, chastises him for being naive and not seeing the obvious. “This is the way that we are, Luigi. It’s the way we were always going to be.”

WHICH PROBABLY MEANS NOTHING.

But, y’know, how did Luigi end up trapped in Evershade Valley in the first place? That powerful barrier isn’t going away… perhaps Evershade was working with someone?

YES. KING BOO. But it’s OUR King Boo- the King Boo of the present. Evershade freed him in exchange for the king lending some of his power to help trap Luigi here. Oh, my, Evershade offered him freedom AND the fact that the present version of Luigi would become a ghost permanently, therefore being forced to work under him? Count him in. 

King Boo is beaten. Luigi looks fear right in the eye. E. Gadd seals him inside the Dark Moon- Evershade DID say it had the power to seal fates! And he’s proud knowing that this sealing surely won’t break with time. 

Evershade, pride wounded, tries retreating back into his time machine, before realizing… he’s fading away. Luigi just prevented his own terrible future. 

But, y’know, as they return home, E. Gadd thinks… Is time travel really possible with that Cobalt Star? And if it is, is it actually in Peach’s basement? And- hey, wait a minute, if Evershade told them about that… did he find it out from E. Gadd too, who now… found it out from Evershade? Did- did they just create a time paradox?

Ugh. My head hurts.

MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER’S INSIDE STORY

Luigi returns home just in time, as Mario quickly drags him out the door to go to Peach’s castle- apparently there’s an emergency conference. Looks like E. Gadd might have to wait a bit on that Cobalt Star follow-up!

All of the Mushroom Kingdom is getting immobilized by this disease called the Blorbs, and they need to- Oh, what the hell, why is BOWSER here?! Get out of here, man.

Anyways-

Bowser comes back like five minutes later after he ate a weird mushroom from a vendor. He accidentally ends up sucking Mario, Luigi and Peach right up, along with a Star Sprite named Starlow. So that’s why those guys are in there.

A-NY-WAYS, you remember Cackletta’s minion, Fawful? Yeah? Well, now he’s BACK, baby! With a vengeance! He plans to take over both the Mushroom and Koopa Kingdoms using his genius, and his first step? Trapping those meddlesome Mario bros. inside Bowser! 

Bowser and the bros. now have to work together to stop Fawful from unearthing the Dark Star, an evil entity the Star Spirits THOUGHT they buried, HELLO, does nobody LISTEN to them anymore?

The Dark Star has no relation to any of the Star Children, but it does believe Bowser to be the Dark Star Child, taking his form in order to better conquer the world. Around this time, Fawful goes from being Fawful to a souped-up Dark Fawful… then downgraded to itty-bitty bug form, crawling inside Dark Bowser to help him there.

Bowser SAVES THE WORLD!! Wow, that… felt kinda good, actually. He never realized how fun it was hanging out with the bros. when he’s not attacking them… But- he’s still tough! Yeah! Don’t even think about assuming otherwise!

MARIO & LUIGI: PARTNERS IN TIME

Now that everything’s calmed down, E. Gadd FINALLY has the chance to ask Peach about looking in her basement for the Cobalt Star. And… lo and behold, there it is! Peach remembers it was her mother’s, and that they kept it sealed down here for a reason, but nobody can really remember that reason anymore, least of all her. 

E. Gadd reveals a time machine he built, with a spot to slot that Cobalt Star RIGHT in! But before he can step in himself, the castle gets STORMED by these purple aliens- we, of course, know them as the Shroobs, but to the Mario bros, they’re unknown, and for Peach, they were just a hazy vision she saw in her nightmares sometimes. 

Mario and Luigi try to fight them off, but they get knocked out and shoved inside the machine, presumably so the Shroobs can make sure they don’t cause any more trouble. When the bros. are woken up again, they’ve been transported to the “present” again… just not a present they know. This present has… Bowser and Luigi on the same side? Seems weird. Also unrelated. The princess also seems immensely frustrated at this. She orders her guards to knock out the brothers again so they don’t cause trouble (at least, that’s what they gleaned from her alien language), but they manage to get the upper hand, beating the Shroobs back. The only problem? The princess decides to repay this insolence by leaving them STRANDED. IN A PRESENT THAT ISN’T THEIRS. 

Luigi is freaking out a little. Pacing back and forth. The works. Mario has an idea, though… This present doesn’t seem TOO badly scuffed by whatever those Shroobs did yet… maybe he can pay some old friends a visit.

He drags Luigi across the land for a bit, until they reach it- the Star Road, home of the Star Spirits. But, this time, there’s this GATE installed? (“This wasn’t here before,” Mario complains! “Maybe it’s an anti-Bowser measure in this timeline”, Luigi shrugs hopelessly.) The gate claims it needs to tests if the brothers are pure of heart. It gives Mario a pass with flying colours, but Luigi… It deems less than worthy. It says he’s a coward, he’s got darkness in his heart, and even accuses him of lying- He’s openly sobbing at this point as Mario starts hammering the gate in blind fury. The gate is like “WOAH WOAH STOP OKAY IT WAS A TEST I’M SORRY”. It reveals it was testing Mario and Luigi’s bond as brothers, and they passed, and that it REALLY DIDN’T MEAN ANY OF THAT STUFF LUIGI CALM DOWN. Luigi does eventually stop hyperventilating, and goes through the gate, but he does wonder… He wonders if maybe that gate wasn’t lying about everything.

Anyways, Mario finally reaches the Star Spirits, and chews Eldstar out for that stupid gate (“Not our fault, your brother is a real character”). He explains that he and Luigi are from a timeline where Luigi is a good guy, and something has gone terribly wrong thanks to some time-traveling Shroobs, and could they please have a time machine to use PLEASE. Eldstar nods sagely, agreeing that they seem like they’re the “true” versions of the bros. They temporarily present Mario with a watch that lets them time travel. Yay! 

The next few parts of their adventure involve the bros desperately trying to give chase to the Shroobs, but each time they try to catch them, it seems the Shroobs are one step ahead, and they’re left in yet another alternate present. 

Luigi starts noticing a fairly concerning pattern. That previous timeline had Luigi as Bowser’s right-hand man… And the more they travel, the more he sees it… A timeline where Luigi is turned into a vampire by Antasma, a timeline where the Dark Star forcibly implants itself onto Luigi, a timeline where Luigi is adopted by Cackletta and is Fawful’s main minion, Professor Evershade’s timeline is back again, a timeline where Luigi becomes Mayor Spike’s secretary, a timeline where Luigi is a Yoshi-hunter, a timeline where he just kinda snaps one day with no explanation… Why is it that Luigi is turning out evil in every single timeline…?

Finally, the bros manage to catch the moment in the past the Shroobs keep frantically returning to, as they keep going back to around that time, trying to influence something. That time… is when Mario and Luigi were babies. 

Mario ends up bumping into Baby Mario before the Yoshis do, and the poor guy is crying about his brother so much that Mario has no choice but to take him along with them. Luigi asks if it’s okay if they’re meddling with time like that, sweating. Mario shrugs. The Shroobs have been doing it literally the entire time, why shouldn’t they?

Mario wants to get to Baby Peach as soon as he can to try and solve the mystery of what the Shroobs are after, but Baby Mario is indignant, crying and crying until he knows for SURE his brother is safe. Mario gives Luigi a pleading look- could he please go rescue his baby self?

Luigi nods. Of course. He won’t let his brother down. He runs off to the place he remembers only faintly- the Koopa kingdom before Bowser’s castle was built. He does find where his baby self is being kept, but he hides behind a rock to try and get the jump on Kamek, waiting for the right time. He waits in the shadows, spying on Kamek as he mills about.

That’s when he sees it- He sees Kamek lifting up his star necklace, sees that it’s purple, sees Kamek grumble and cast a spell so it looks gold. His blood runs cold. His face goes pale. He thinks he’s going to be sick. The Dark Star Child. The one everyone thought was just a myth. The one everyone shrugged and assumed was “probably going to be Bowser, anyways”. Luigi. Luigi was the Dark Star Child all along. He was the Dark Star Child and he didn’t even know, he didn’t know, was this why? Was this why Mario shot off before him? Was Luigi joining him a fluke? A mistake, because nobody knew what he truly was? THE DARK STAR CHILD? THE ONE DESTINED TO BE MARIO’S ENEMY ALL ALONG?-

Mario texts him from his corresponding watch, asking if he’s got his baby self yet. Luigi tries to shake off the impending panic attack and quickly nabs his baby self when Kamek isn’t looking, trying to will himself to stop shaking. He rejoins Mario when Mario flies a hot air balloon down to him, and they head to Peach’s castle to finally battle the Shroobs.

When they get there, Princess Shroob is shrieking in frustration, stomping her foot. The bros look confused, to say the least, but nearby, Russ, Peach’s father, catches them up. He’s figured out the Shroobish thanks to his language studies, and does a rough translation of it- apparently the bros came in just after Cerise sealed herself into the Cobalt Star, along with someone else… The princess is furious, she’s been trying to prevent THIS EXACT EVENT dozens of times over. She doesn’t understand why it isn’t working. But then- she realizes. She abandons the past entirely, zipping back into the present. 

Before the bros give chase, Russ stops them with a weak smile, telling them he’s proud of them, and… to say hello to his little girl for him. The bros nod, and they zap to the future, taking the babies with them until they can defeat the Shroobs.

Back in the present, Princess Shroob begins RIPPING APART THE TIME MACHINE. All this time, she’s been trying to stop their old leader from being sucked into the Cobalt Star, and she never realized the Cobalt Star was buried deep inside the machine, FUELING IT! SHE NEEDS TO DESTROY IT! She smashes it onto the ground, and both Cerise and Elder Princess Shroob are freed, the younger sister cackling, grateful to be united with her older sister at last. 

The brothers and the babies team up to defeat the monstrosity, and they KILL her. For good this time. The intergalactic conquerors flee in terror, deciding to leave the planet alone for good, now in mourning for the queen they just got back. (Good riddance, you pillagers.)

The brothers use the time travel watch one last time to return their past selves back home. They drop them off at their parents’ house, which is… roughly how they remember their parents finding them, anyways. They breathe a sigh of relief- apart from having some new alien-related childhood trauma, it seems they managed to keep the timeline intact. 

Meanwhile, back at Peach’s castle, Peach gets to say a true goodbye to her mother. Cerise explains that she used the time-warping powers of the Cobalt Star to extend her and her husband’s lifespans, and it won’t be long now before she falls to the same rapid-onset aging that got her Russ. She kisses Peach goodbye and wishes her good luck before asking to be taken to the town of Rogueport to live out her last days, saying it “reminds her of her beloved one”.

Rogueport, huh… 

PAPER MARIO: THE THOUSAND YEAR DOOR

This part of the saga starts with Peach traveling to Rogueport after her mother passes on, wanting to connect with her past and the stories of her parents more. She meets a mysterious merchant who presents her with a mystical box, and before you know it… she gets kidnapped. Poor girl.

Mario receives a letter inviting him to join Peach in Rogueport. She attaches a treasure map she got from the merchant, and the intrigue leads Mario to packing his bags right away! He asks if Luigi is ready to go, but Luigi shakes his head, seemingly really shaken by the events of Partners In Time. Huh. Guess he’s got a phobia of aliens too, Mario thinks…? Anyways, Mario heads out. 

In town, Mario helps out a Goomba, Goombella, protecting her from Lord Crump and the X-Nauts, a mysterious sci-fi organization. Goombella has Mario take the magical map to her professor, Professor Frankly, who reveals that the map is a map to the Legendary Treasure of Rogueport, that lies beyond the Thousand-Year Door, and can only be opened by the seven Crystal Stars united. Treasure hunt! Treasure hunt! 

Over time, as Mario collects the Crystal Stars, he realizes the X-Nauts have captured Peach, and that the “treasure” may not be what it seems…

Meanwhile, Bowser is on a quest to rescue Peach from her kidnapping, because ONLY HE CAN KIDNAP HER, DAMMIT! He’s also trying to find the Crystal Stars, but is turning up absolutely nothing. 

Meanwhile meanwhile, even though he said he wanted to stay home, Luigi shows up in Rogueport, practically shaking… with excitement! He’s been contacted by Princess Eclair! The compass! The Marvelous Compass! He’s going to help her! He’s going to help everyone! He’s a hero! See! He really is! What was that you said about a ‘manic episode’?? He has noooo idea what you’re talking about! Ha ha! Boy, is Blooey giving you the stinkeye, too?! He definitely isn’t messing his whole quest up, see? This PROVES he’s a hero, right? RIGHT??

The Thousand-Year Door is opened, thanks to Mario getting tricked. Sir Grodus drags Peach through the Palace of Shadow, and offers her up to the Shadow Queen… The exact vessel that the Shadow Siren Beldam picked.

After all… Peach does have a shadow’s DNA within her, deep down. Perhaps it could be reawakened…

(We’ve known this part for ages, but for Mario and Peach, this is the grand reveal that Cerise was once a demon, a Shadow Sister.)

Before the Shadow Queen can get too far with that, though, Mario uses the power of the Crystal Stars to seal away the demon once more. With the combined power of the Stars being used against her AGAIN, and Mario being one of the Star Children, instead of simply being sealed away, she’s defeated- for good. 

Peach wakes up, and Mario takes care of her during her slow recovery. Although a little shaken by the experience, there is one thing she doesn’t regret… She was glad she got to experience memories of her mother through her aunt’s eyes.

 Also, if you’ve been keeping track, that means Peach is technically cousins of sorts with the Shadow Sirens! Surprise!

SUPER PAPER MARIO

Ahhh. What a lovely, regular day. Nothing will happen here. On this day. This regular day. Peach and Luigi definitely aren’t recovering from world-shattering revelations or anything. 

Oh, no! Peach got kidnapped! Better head over to that silly Bowser’s place! Ha ha- ...Wait. Bowser’s saying he was just doing his minion pep-talk to head over to Peach’s place. If HE didn’t kidnap Peach… then who? 

All of a sudden, teleporting in is a mysterious man in a cape and hat, proclaiming himself to be Count Bleck, a follower of the Dark Prognosticus. He reveals he’s the one who kidnapped Peach, and then proceeds to kidnap Bowser, all his minions, and Luigi. Mario managed to escape the fray.

He awakens to a mysterious creature known as a Pixl floating near him. She introduces herself as Tippi, and explains that while he was out, Count Bleck apparently forced a marriage between Peach and Bowser, as their union causes the creation of something known as the Chaos Heart. This gives Count Bleck the ability to create the Void, something that will end all worlds if given the chance. Oh, jeez.

Tippi brings him to a place called Flipside, where a wizard known as Merlon explains that Mario is one of the four heroes of legend, a hero mentioned in the Light Prognosticus. Mario questions this, and Merlon explains that the Dark Prognosticus is a dark, foreboding book that foretells the end of all worlds. The Light Prognosticus is a prophecy written to specifically counteract the dark one, foretelling that four heroes will save all worlds. Both prophecies mention that a “Man in Green” will be the deciding factor to which prophecy comes true. 

Merlon also explains that the heroes are described as being “blessed by the stars”- and Mario realizes that THIS is where the idea of the Star Children comes from. Of course, Mario’s known for a LONG time now that he was one of the Star Children (Between various people telling him and him witnessing it himself as his baby self wore his half-star necklace), but MAN, what a realization- that this thing people have been calling you for a good chunk of your life is actually a WORLD-SAVING HERO. IT’S YOUR DESTINY. Now, he has to collect the 8 Pure Hearts and stop Count Bleck from destroying all worlds, along with reuniting with the other 3 heroes- The other 3 Star Children.

Mario finds Peach knocked out in Flipside after she was teleported away from Castle Bleck, and he finds Bowser in the Bitlands, trying to rule over an old abandoned castle he found. Bowser takes a bit more convincing, stubborn as he is. Kamek, weeping, begs Bowser to go save the world, and that he IS one of the Star Children, and he’s SORRY HE NEVER TOLD HIM. Bowser rolls his eyes, flatly telling Kamek that he knew he was one of the Star Children way before this. (“It was kinda obvious, Kamek.”)

Luigi, meanwhile, is less fortunate, having never escaped Castle Bleck. He’s eventually tracked down by Bleck’s secretary, Nastasia, and is brainwashed into becoming Count Bleck’s newest minion. MR.L, THE GREEN THUNDER! Of course, the Count makes it known to his other minions that he suspects Mr. L is the Man in Green, and having him on their side should ensure their victory and fulfillment of the prophecy. 

Along the way, the three heroes are constantly made to duel with O’Chunks, Mimi, Dimentio, and the aforementioned Mr. L, Bleck’s minions sent to stop them. 

The group comes to an impasse when they fail to prevent the destruction of one of the worlds- Sammer’s Kingdom. The Pure Heart is nullified, turned into rock, and they seem to be stuck. This is when Dimentio shows up, snapping his fingers and seemingly killing the heroes. (After taking a quick pit stop to kill Mr. L, too, of course!) This allows them to go into the Underwhere and ask Queen Jaydes to restore the Pure Heart. Jaydes agrees, and as Mario goes off to find Luigi beneath the River Styx, Jaydes and Peach catch up as aunt and niece. 

Once they gather all the Pure Hearts, the heroes make the long trek to Castle Bleck, and are taken out one by one- O’Chunks and Bowser keep the ceiling from falling down, Mimi and Peach fall down a pit, and Dimentio seemingly… attempts a murder-suicide with Luigi??

Either way, Mario faces off against the Count, and the other three heroes show back up in the middle of the fight (with Luigi saying he has literally no idea how he wound up alive). They use the power of the Pure Hearts to defeat Bleck, and he reveals that he’s been waiting for this moment.

Of course, Bleck is Blumiere, a man from the Tribe of Darkness who was forbidden from seeing Timpani, a human woman. When Blumiere’s father cursed Timpani and made her disappear, Blumiere, in his depression, stole the Dark Prognosticus, vowing to end the world since it is not a world he can truly be happy in. Not without Timpani. And, of course, Timpani is Tippi, the woman cursed into becoming a Pixl. 

Before Bleck can be killed, stopping the Void, Dimentio knocks him out of the way, claiming that the Chaos Heart won’t disappear if he continues to control it. He reveals his plan to create a perfect new world where he rules it as a god. He also exclaims that he’s going to unlock the true power of the Chaos Heart by fusing it with its ideal host- the Man in Green, the Dark Star Child, Luigi… They’re all yours, Mr. L!~ 

Luigi, thanks to a mind-controlling Floro Sprout that Dimentio secretly planted within him, fuses with the Chaos Heart without second thought, becoming a horrible man-chaos monstrosity, a three-way fusion between himself, the Chaos Heart, and Dimentio, very humbly named “Super Dimentio”. I don’t think you have to guess who had the naming privileges. Dimentio mocks Mario using his beloved brother’s voice, his beloved brother’s face (But not his smile. That is not how Luigi smiles.), and happily proclaims that the four heroes “used up” all the Pure Hearts, therefore leaving him as the invincible king of all worlds. 

Meanwhile, in Dimension D, where Dimentio has teleported Bleck to die off in a little corner where he doesn’t need to see, Bleck and Tippi are found by their minions, who proclaim that they truly do love the Count, despite everything, and that he can’t give up- and THEY can’t give up on Mr. L! Luigi or not, their friend needs their help! The love that they’re showing- for Bleck, for Luigi, for the minions, for Tippi… It’s enough to summon the Pure Hearts, restored once more. After all. love is NOT a finite resource! Overjoyed, Tippi brings them back to Mario and co.

Dimentio is caught off guard by the appearance of the Pure Hearts. They seem to bring Luigi back to consciousness for a moment deep within the fusion, and he is able to temporarily take control. But when Mario gets to speak to his brother, what he doesn’t expect is to see Luigi’s lip quivering, black tears streaming down his distorted face. He tells Mario to just let him go- that he’s a monster who was never good enough to be his brother. He’s lost all hope. But Mario won’t let it end like that. He cries out that he REBUKES his destiny. He’s not a hero because he was FATED to be, he’s a hero because he CHOOSES to be! He doesn’t do good things because it was written in a dusty old book, he does it to see people smile! He didn’t tolerate Luigi because he didn’t know he was the Dark Star Child- He LOVES Luigi! Because he’s his BROTHER, dammit! 

WE CAN CHOOSE OUR OWN DESTINIES, LUIGI! AND I CHOOSE TO SAVE YOU! BUT I CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOUR HELP! 

Mario reaches out a hand- and Luigi’s massive glove touches itself to his. In the last few moments before Dimentio takes control again, he manages to make it so that his body is vulnerable to the Pure Hearts, and Super Dimentio’s invincibility vanishes. As Dimentio regains control, he lets out a scream of frustration. The heroes will pay for this!

But it’s too late. The Man In Green has chosen. Despite every force in the universe trying to make Luigi fulfill his destiny of becoming Mario’s darker half… Luigi’s love for his brother trumps it all. His goodness shines through, thanks to the goodness of the people he surrounded himself with. Super Dimentio is defeated by the heroes, and goes down shrieking. Before he and Luigi unfuse, Dimentio laughs, revealing that he’s left behind a shadow of his power to continue controlling the Chaos Heart. Even as the horrific fusion gets dragged into the Underwhere where it belongs and Luigi gets spat back out, there’s no time to celebrate. The world is ending within MINUTES if something isn’t done.

Bleck and Tippi agree to use the Pure Hearts to banish the Chaos Heart, knowing they will sacrifice their own lives in the process. They renew their vows, and in a flash… they’re gone. 

The Star Children return to the Mushroom Kingdom, waving the people of Flipside goodbye. Luigi promises he’ll visit the Bleck minions soon. They all settle in, and realize… they’ve gotta have a talk.

AFTER THE STORM

Mario feels like he’s going to collapse under the pressure if he has one more GRAMBI-DAMNED PROPHECY HE HAS TO FULFILL. OH, HE IS SO SICK OF BEING A STAR CHILD. SO. STAR-DAMN. SICK. SICK OF IT. S-I-C-K. He wants to be a hero on his own terms, not because he’s destined to be one! But if he does, doesn’t that just mean he’s playing into this dumb prophecy anyways? He’s so tired of carrying peoples’ legacies on his back. The other three point out to him that in the end, wasn’t it Tippi and Bleck who defeated Dimentio and sealed away the Chaos Heart? And wasn’t it Mario himself who directly told the universe he wasn’t going to play their games anymore? Mario does have to admit that’s true. He breathes a sigh of relief, feeling a sense of… freedom. It’s been a while, but he finally feels like he can rest.

As for Peach, she’s always struggled with a sense of feeling like she doesn’t belong anywhere. After all, both her parents died/disappeared into the Cobalt Star when she was just a baby, and she was left with nothing but a kingdom full of Toads and so, so many questions. Even though she wasn’t expecting to be in the lineage of a thousand-year-old shadow demon, it’s… a bit of a relief, finally knowing. And through learning, she realizes that she’s always had a home- among the people who love her. 

Bowser was always trained to be the best Koopa he could be, and what he thought he was, he was proud of! His entire kingdom was proud of him, wanting him to be the first Koopa to ever triumph over the Mushroom Kingdom! But he realizes… he’s much happier being a do-what-I-want antihero instead of constantly aiming for absolute conquest all the time. And he’s gonna tell Kamek that. …Though Kamek has considerably mellowed out over the years, too. Maybe Bowser’s always been forging his own path!

And Luigi… Oh, boy, Luigi. Everything comes spilling out at once. His feelings of inferiority, his impostor syndrome, his jealousy, his fear, him seeing Kamek disguise his star necklace, realizing he was the Dark Star Child all along, being horrified by himself, being constantly pushed by the universe to be a darker version of Mario, witnessing a dozen bad futures of himself… It was a lot. And- he’s still not sure any of those issues got solved… But he’s going to try his hardest to stand by his friends and let them in when he’s feeling like the world’s collapsing around him. He’s gonna tell them what he feels- even the ugly ones that he’s repressed for so long. He’s gonna live every day in spite of what the prophecies tried to twist him into. 

[gargyshmub]

DELTARUNE; Gargy's Fairytale Theory

So, lately I've kind of had an itch in the back of my mind about DELTARUNE, more specifically the secret or hidden bosses in the game and a little correlation they all share. I'll try to keep this under 100 pages but i promise nothing (tee hee hee)

If you've played the game to the extent you're looking at a tumblr blog dedicated to it, you're probably familiar with the character's jevil and spamton. These are the two characters coined by the community as "secret bosses", since you have to stray away from the games intended path to find them (in most cases.)

When you defeat spamton in his 'NEO form', a neat little song will play with his dialogue "a real boy!", this is a nod to the fable/fairytale "pinochio" I'm sure everyone's familiar with. It's a story about a doll that comes to life in search of becoming 'a real boy'. This corrilation made me realize there are A LOT of similarity's between pinochio and spamton. The strings, his regular form being a mockup of a doll, even his goal to become "big", its almost like becoming a 'real boy'. He knows he's not 'real', and just like at the end of pinochio, he too becomes renewed (reneo'd).

This made me wonder if the other secret boss, Jevil, represented something other than the Joker card. Then I realized whenever he was hit in his fat empty head it actually sprung out like a jack-in-the-box. I initially discarded this since it wasn't really a fable or fairy-tale, but if you do some digging you'll find it actually is!!!@! back in the 1400's somewhat, the jack in the box was originally named 'The Devil in the Box', essentially it's a story about a man who trapped a devil in a boot in order to save a village in france at the time, kinda like that one story about the court jester who got locked away by his magician friend in order to save their kingdom (haha. hahahahha. thats from deltarune. hahaha.) just to run home my point, jack-in-the-box; Devil in the box. Jack; Devil. What way could you fuse them together? Dack? Jackil? maybe some other 3rd way that has some importance to Yea thats right you know you've always known its Jevil.

Obviously, in deltarune fashion, its easy to overthink most elements in the story. Granted, toby will make an entire 2nd game about a hypothetical character you've never met but no you've only ever POSSIBLY met through a 1/100 chance door where he'll show you his asshole and then disappear into a million pieces, but yea, it's easy to make certain correlations that aren't even really there. In this case however I'd say that there's one more correlation that seals the deal that makes this theory WORTH theorizing.

Yea gaster. even though he's not even technically a character yet, every piece of information regarding him seems to lead people to believe he's not only the narrator at the beginning of the game, but he's also the 'man' behind the tree (since the way you find 'his sprite' in undertale is almost exactly similar ['theres a room in-between, theres a room, in-between']). I'm assuming you know what there is to know about gaster so im not gonna go into it, so onto the correlation.

I've read before someone talking about how gaster represents easter eggs in video games, not only physically (egghead) but metaphorically (the way you find him, his implied involvment with the secret bosses, the fact he gives you an '''''EGG''''' when you DO find him). Well if he is technically involved with the secret bosses, wouldn't that make him a fable too? I'm here to tell you he is. he is HUMPTY DUMPTY from SECOND GRADE FAIRY TALE PLAY.

I've already gone over his physical and metaphorical symbolism relating to eggs, but the story of humpty dumpty is also very, haha, hahahaha, hahahhahahaha

Humpty dumpty sat on a wall (The Core)

Humpty dumpty took a big fall ("Fell into his own creation")

All the kings horses and all the kings men (Who did gaster work for again?)

Couldn't put Humpty together again ("He was shattered across time and space")

What could this mean? for the future it means that if this theory is right, EVERY secret boss we meet is gonna represent not only a lightworld object, but an actual FAIRTY TALE, a FABLE. I mean, how many fables are out there. I know theres one in particular, one that the game is named after, one that has to do with an ANGEL. an ''''ANGEL'''' with ''''TATTERED WINGS''''''.

but then again idk

EDIT: ALSO LITTLE MISS MUFFET THINK ABOUT THAT UNDER-HEADS LITTLE MISS MUFFET SAT ON HER TUFFET

Last edit: also this has no grounds as an actual theory but uhhh that mf that made the Undertale RED boss fight got hired on the team. Huh. I wonder what Red was a reference to. Huh.

[chouettecrivaine]

Odile's Soliloquy [Honkai: Star Rail]

Fandom: Honkai: Star Rail

Characters: Sparkle

Notes: 1.2k words, reader is referred to as prince but it's symbolic, sparkle has definitely disappeared an undescribed loved one of yours at BEST (and killed at worst)

Sparkle was a woman of many talents. An ardent method actor, she could become anything she wanted to be. Since the beginning, her name deserved to be up in lights, glittering over an entire city and catching the ardor of all. This talent of hers only grew until she could don any mask, becoming more mirage than person. Sparkle could be anything. She could be anybody your heart desired.

…except the one your heart desired.

Sparkle was used to flimsy desire. The things that sparked her attention lost it just as quickly. She wasn't used to being enthralled so thoroughly, much less by something she couldn't attain. Sparkle knew she was a woman of taste, though, and she trusted that her enrapture was well founded.

Unfortunately, such trustworthy taste didn't seem to have blessed you as it had her.

The one who had your heart was, quite frankly, a fool - and not even in the fun way. But the universe was made of contradictory sameness, and like always attracted like. They couldn’t see a trap whilst standing inside one, and Sparkle always knew that they’d need to be dealt with as soon as they started poking their nose in the Fools’ business. 

Though, in the end, their presence wasn’t quite as burdensome as Sparkle once thought. They had something that Sparkle had been vying for - someone who occupied her thoughts far more often than she’d care to admit. And yet, despite the fact that you had decided to cast a blundering fool in such a pivotal role, Sparkle couldn’t force herself to be mad at you. After all, what understudy doesn’t secretly wish for the trap door to open beneath the lead’s feet and render them useless for the performance?

So maybe she pulled the lever, cut the rope on the sandbag, loosened a few screws on the lights. Actress or magician? Only someone as gifted in the arts as Sparkle could pull off both in one act. Hidden up her sleeves were numerous cards and secret tricks, all of which gave her the leg up in the battle for your affections. More than simply act the part, Sparkle could become anyone she wanted to be, so of course she jumped right into the role she had been vying for and placed herself snugly at your side. Your partner’s actions were hardly difficult to replicate, and their words weren’t exactly taxing prose. The only admirable thing about them had been their devotion to you - but even then, their adoration was nothing compared to hers. A candle could never compete with dazzling fireworks, after all.

Sparkle knew long ago that she found her calling as a body double, fancying herself a black swan masquerading the lovely, cursed princess. She could pirouette around your questions with ease and take your hand in hers without suspicion. Sparkle was your trickster, and you, her idiot prince; truly a match made in whatever paradise the Aeons fashioned for the departed.

But then, as usual, she got bored. 

She wasn’t bred of you, but of something she thought would always be her weapon of choice; the monotony of a mask. She felt her face plastered into the same smile every day, a plastic facade she could never force to drop an inch. Sparkle wanted more from you: she wanted to feel the maniacal grin on her face once she revealed her plot; she wanted to feel the smug, victorious smirk on her face as she watched yours crumble; she wanted to grimace and scream as she tore into her own chest, trying to claw at the stabbing pain as you ran away. There was so much potential, and an artist such as herself couldn't be expected to hold back at such a critical junction in her career!

Shows that outran their welcome were rarely remembered fondly. Sparkle had prepared for her grand finale, ready to reveal her identity to you just before the curtain closed. When finally she allowed her mask to clatter to the ground, abandoned, she bent her knees and curtsied. Thank you, thank you, for attending the show! What thrilling twists! Way to end with a bang! Her hair fell over her shoulders and swayed by the sides of her face, hiding the uncertainty that turned her appreciative bow into one that hoped to beget your forgiveness.

She had expected a shriek, perhaps a gasp of utter shock - anything but the bemused laughter and sardonic slow clap that met her ears. Rising slowly, Sparkle matched your easy smirk with one of her own, as if she was in on the joke. 

Is the show really over? That’s what you seemed to ask. Sparkle had spent so much time watching you, both closely and from afar, that she could read the unspoken question in the tilt of your head, the slight shrug of your shoulder. Your gaze burned her like a spotlight shining down as she forgot all of her lines.

Well. If all it took for such an adoring audience was to don the mask once more, who was she to deny you an encore?

Sparkle didn’t need to hide herself in entirety after that. Her plan had been successful, after all. Your foolish oaths of true love had been broken by her facade, just as she wanted. But you didn’t run and try to assemble the pieces of what she forced you to break. Instead, you grabbed her hand and changed the steps, pulling her along the stage while she mimicked you as best she could. Sparkle remembered then why she never coveted the true romantic leads before - for any romance to be interesting, there needed to be a heartbreak in the central act.

No matter how precisely she danced, Sparkle realized that the romantic overture would never play while she was center stage.

Most Fools believed that love meant nothing. Everything meant nothing in the vast gaze of the Elation. She knew you would make a fine Fool when the discovery of her facade meant little to you. For whatever reason, something about this costume of hers brought you joy. Her actions brought you memories of true happiness, and when she donned that ugly simpleton’s mask, you could pretend everything was the same as it had been before. Yet, in the form of her that was as close as she could get to ‘true,’’ you never called her name or looked at her softly. You had seen through her disguise from the beginning. If she didn’t need to hide, then you didn’t need to pretend to care.

But now, her greatest tool had become her greatest weakness. Why should she have to hide her emotions when she wanted to let everything out? You had managed to tear her to shreds, and she was restless with the desire to rip off the costume and hear seams pop, show you her tear-stained cheeks and blood red hands so you could kiss it all away. Sparkle was no longer playing a part; she was feeling, which was the one thing a mask could never do.

Having the tables turned on her had been her greatest dream as a bored Fool. But now, she was something far worse than a Fool; a simple idiot who wasted her time wishing it was her name that spilled from your lips with such sincerity. She wanted it more than anything; the day when you pierced through the final mask, when you saw through the puppet named Sparkle and unlocked who she was in her core.

That would be the day when she could shed her swan feathers and finally be yours.

[book--brackets]

Green Rider by Kristen Britain (1998-present)

On her long journey home from school after a fight which will surely lead to her expulsion, Karigan G'ladheon ponders her future as she trudges through the immense forest called Green Cloak. But her thoughts are interrupted by the clattering of hooves as a galloping horse bursts from the woods, the rider slumped over his mount's neck, impaled by two black-shafted arrows. As the young man lies dying on the road, he tells Karigan that he is a Green Rider, one of the legendary messengers of the king, and that he bears a "life and death" message for King Zachary. He begs Karigan to carry his message, warning her not to read it, and when she reluctantly agrees, he makes her swear on his sword to complete his mission "for love of country." As he bestows upon her the golden winged-horse brooch which is the symbol of his office, he whispers on his dying breath, "Beware the shadow man..."

Karigan's promise changes her life forever. Pursued by unknown assassins, following a path only her horse seems to know, and accompanied by the silent specter of the original messenger, she herself becomes a legendary Green Rider. Caught up in a world of deadly danger and complex magic, compelled by forces she cannot understand, Karigan is hounded by dark beings bent on seeing that the message, and its reluctant carrier, never reach their destination.

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (1872)

Princess Irene lives in a castle in a wild and lonely mountainous region. One day she discovers a steep and winding stairway leading to a bewildering labyrinth of unused passages with closed doors - and a further stairway. What lies at the top? Can the ring the princess is given protect her against the lurking menace of the goblins from under the mountain?

The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton (1936-1985)

Jo, Bessie and Fanny move to the country and find an Enchanted Wood right on their doorstep. In the magic Faraway Tree live the magical characters that soon become their new friends – Moon-Face, Silky the fairy, and Saucepan Man. Together they visit the strange lands (the Roundabout Land, the Land of Ice and Snow, Toyland and the Land of Take What You Want) atop the tree and have the most exciting adventures – and narrow escapes.

The Last Binding by Freya Marske (2021-2023)

Robin Blyth has more than enough bother in his life. He’s struggling to be a good older brother, a responsible employer, and the harried baronet of a seat gutted by his late parents’ excesses. When an administrative mistake sees him named the civil service liaison to a hidden magical society, he discovers what’s been operating beneath the unextraordinary reality he’s always known.

Now Robin must contend with the beauty and danger of magic, an excruciating deadly curse, and the alarming visions of the future that come with it—not to mention Edwin Courcey, his cold and prickly counterpart in the magical bureaucracy, who clearly wishes Robin were anyone and anywhere else.

Robin’s predecessor has disappeared, and the mystery of what happened to him reveals unsettling truths about the very oldest stories they’ve been told about the land they live on and what binds it. Thrown together and facing unexpected dangers, Robin and Edwin discover a plot that threatens every magician in the British Isles—and a secret that more than one person has already died to keep.

Ash by Malinda Lo (2009-2011)

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher (2020)

Kara finds the words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring this peculiar area—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more one fears them, the stronger they become.

Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark (2020)

In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die. 

Standing in their way is Maryse Boudreaux and her fellow resistance fighters, a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter. Armed with blade, bullet, and bomb, they hunt their hunters and send the Klan's demons straight to Hell. But something awful's brewing in Macon, and the war on Hell is about to heat up. 

Can Maryse stop the Klan before it ends the world?

The Chronicles of Chrestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones (1977-2006)

Cat doesn't mind living in the shadow of his sister, Gwendolen, the most promising young witch ever seen on Coven Street. But trouble starts brewing the moment the two orphans are summoned to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Frustrated that the witches of the castle refuse to acknowledge her talents, Gwendolen conjures up a scheme that could throw whole worlds out of whack.

The Thief of Always by Clive Barker (1992)

Mr. Hood’s Holiday House has stood for a thousand years, welcoming countless children into its embrace. It is a place of miracles, a blissful round of treats and seasons, where every childhood whim may be satisfied. There is a price to be paid, of course, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by Mr. Hood’s wonders, does not stop to consider the consequences. 

The Deep by Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes (2019)

Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly, is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu.

Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface, escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago.

Yetu will learn more than she ever expected to about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are.

[talonabraxas]

The Caduceus

Hermes, personifying the dual powers of the Secret Wisdom, carries in his right hand a powerful symbol which represents the breathing in and breathing out of the cosmos and unites all the dual aspects of manifested existence. The caduceus of Hermes was said to have been given him by Apollo. It is a wand with two serpents twined round it, surmounted by two wings. The ancient Greeks believed it to exercise influence over the living and the dead, bestow wealth and prosperity, and turn everything it touched into gold. They called it Kerykeion, 'herald's wand' – it was the emblem of heralds and ambassadors, giving them power and inviolability. While the rod represents power, the serpents symbolize wisdom.

The wings of the caduceus symbolize the 'winged radiance' of those who have achieved the dynamic equilibrium of the two lobes of the medulla, the petals of the third-eye chakra, as well as the lightning speed of Hermes as Messenger of the Gods. Like the twining serpents, Hermes is known as the equilibrator, balancing the pairs of opposites, inspiring the alchemist's belief that without him neither Isis nor Osiris could accomplish the Great Work. The caduceus also symbolizes the fall of spirit into matter from the archetypal world to the creative and formative worlds and finally to the material world. Thus it essentially represents the astral light, the means through which Hermes wields his great power of transformation. The astral light is variously described as an "ambient and all-penetrating fluid . . . a ray detached from the (Spiritual) Sun's splendour," – the girdle of Isis that twines around two poles, and the winged dragon of Medea as well as the double serpent of the caduceus. It is the vehicle of life, representing time and eternity: the tempter and the redeemer. The wings of the caduceus signify the spiritual transcendence of time and temptation.

The rod of the caduceus is called a 'laya rod,' a central staff surrounded by the positive and negative energy of the serpents. It is the neutral Sushumna, the channel of the Sun's One Ray. All wands and staffs of power derive from this idea, just as the guiding power of Hermes is reflected in the prayer to the Christos which promises, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." The magician's wand, the 'baton de commandement' of ancient cave-paintings, and the lightning rod, are all aspects symbolic of a principle of controlled power.

On the western pediment of the Temple of Artemis at Corfu is a gorgon figure flanked by two lions. She stands in a 'pinwheel stance' which conveys movement without locomotion. Around her waist are coiled two serpents, entwined at the front, their heads arching back to face one another at her bodice. She is a guardian warding off evil and protecting the goddess within. As such, this stone figure represents protection through balanced duality. For the Great Serpent in the Garden of Eden and the 'Lord God' are one. Or, as the ancients taught, "Demon est Deus Inversus."

Agathodaemon and Kakodaemon are offshoots from the same tree of being, and evil is a force which is antagonistic but essential to good, giving it vitality and existence. These two entwined serpents, symbolizing the astral light which is not only the vehicle of life but the auxiliary of good and evil, reflect that matrix which ever seeks equilibrium. As long as nature remains 'untamed,' the opposition of the two forces (quicksilver and sulphur) manifests in a destructive mode. Hermes (Mercury) introduces the equilibrating element. The Hebrews called the astral light OD-OB-AOUR or 'Great Agent of Life.' The magnetism directed by the active will represented the right-hand serpent of the caduceus or OD. The left-hand serpent symbolized the passive OB. The golden globe at the summit of the rod was AOUR or 'equilibrating light,' the neutral point. The secret of magnetism could be mastered through ruling the fatality of OB with the intelligent power of OD, thereby gaining the perfect equilibrium of AOUR.

The solar and lunar spirals describe forces unfolding outward and simultaneously turning inward. They represent the expanding and contracting forces of nature, the alternating yin and yang, the two halves of the world egg as well as of the brain. A continuous oscillation between the two serpents accompanies the involution and evolution of spirit. The involution of spirit into matter is a progressive downward cycling, the 'sliding down of Aeons' of the Alexandrian Gnostics. The 'Downfall of Pleroma' (Gods and Devas) is allegorized as 'the desire to learn and acquire knowledge.' The seven 'rectors' break through the 'seven circles of fire.' These are the seven Devas who were born to act in space and time, to break through the seven circles of the super-spiritual planes into the phenomenal world. Allegorically, they rebelled against God.

In the nineteenth century 'primitive matter' was thought to have been formed by the act of a 'generative force' throwing off atoms endowed with varying forms of energy. It was believed by some that lowering temperatures and electricity within the 'original protyle' conferred upon newly-born elements their particular atomicity. Sir William Crookes, an intuitive chemist, pointed out that double spirals describe the process by which the elements originate. Such a figure would comprise three simultaneous oscillating motions, each at right angles to the other. Projecting this figure in space, curves describe loci where various chemical elements form within one cycle of oscillation. In the next cycle, conditions of temperature and time would have changed and the atomic groupings would be lineal descendants of the first group; and so the process would continue. Projected in space, the curve shows a central neutral line relating to electrical and chemical properties, with a positive spiral on the north, a negative on the south. This strongly echoes the metaphysics embodied in the caduceus. Though limited to material genesis, scientists have suggested that eventually matter would be reabsorbed into 'the point neutral as to electricity' or the 'zero point' analogous to the neutral globe at the summit of the caduceus rod – what The Secret Doctrine terms the "Inter-etheric point" upon which the universe revolves, a laya point, "which hiding place can be traced in the world of matter." Rotating neutral centers fixed by Fohat carry the full load of accumulated atoms from the start, and remain balanced.

The Divine Pyrnander teaches that "the Gods distinguished the Nature full of Seeds. And when all things were interminated and unmade up, the light things were divided on high and the heavy things were founded upon the moist Sand." When things were formed, they were sustained by Spirit and "Heaven was seen in Seven Circles . . . The Gods were seen in their Ideas of the Stars . . . and the Sphere was lined with air, carried about in a circular motion by the Spirit of God." Similarly, in modern astronomy, scientists speak of whirling gases made up of light hydrogen atoms evolving into heavier elements by 'spontaneous synthesis.' This cosmo-chemical process is described as unfolding in the same oscillating, caduceus-like pattern. Hydrogen atoms, the first of the series, are able to bind and to release a second electron, and in the absorption and emission of the necessary small amount of energy, all the wavelengths of the hydrogen spectrum are evolved. Since all further color distinctions are due to similar atomic and electro-magnetic variants, it would seem to follow that the potential for subsequent evolution exists at the earliest point. The unfolding spectrum can be related to the serpentine oscillation producing the original elements. In the language of the ancients, the Seven Devas break through spiritual planes into the phenomenal realms. Spirit involves into matter, its manifested spectrums circling down in series through the astral matrix.

These dual forces conjoin at the center of the seven-fold nature of man. The full force of the conjunction of the lunar and the solar serpents is uniquely experienced in human nature, and the perfected man who has balanced these universal forces is, like Hermes, a God of the Crossroads and a Mediator between Two Worlds. At the point of intersection between the macrocosm and the microcosm stands man. This is 'the cave of the heart,' the battleground of the dual forces of life. The vertical axis is the road of descending and ascending power. The horizontal axis is the manifestation of this in the world. Strong interaction of the contrasting forces along the two axes produces a spiralling motion that is the basis for identifying the aspiring disciple with the uncoiling serpent, and the perfected men of all ages as Nagas or Dragons of Wisdom.

Through his sacrifice the Serpent-Saviour initiates a new winding on the spiral of the next dimension, marking the beginning of a New Age. He is like The Redeemer on the cross. Through him man pulls himself up at the moment of death into the lunar foundations of the next world. The Adept who touches the earth like the serpent's tail sacrifices his life to lift up the whole in his journey back to his Spiritual Seat. He is the Spiralled Serpent of the Tree of Life.

The trunk of the Asvatta tree grows from heaven and descends at every Beginning from the two dark wings of the Swan of Life. The two Serpents, the ever-living and its illusion (spirit and matter) whose two heads grow from the one head between the wings, descend along the trunk, interlacing in close embrace. The two tails join on earth (the manifested universe) into one, and this is the great illusion.

Ophios and Ophiomorphos, Apollo and Python, Osiris and Typhon, Christos and the Serpent, are all convertible terms, all Logoi. "One is unintelligible without the other." They are spiritual saviours and physical regenerators; the former ensure immortality for the Divine Spirit and the latter give it through regeneration of the seed. The serpent or saviour has to die because he reveals the secret of the Immortal Ego.

Human consciousness is related to the balancing and flow of subtle energy currents. The Sakti of Siva actively revolves around the Siva lingham, the neutral rod of the caduceus. The lotus centers in the body are pierced by the Sakti energy passing into progressively finer vibrations. The Buddha termed this 'the untying of all the knots in the inverse order.' Man approaches the Divine through spiral stages of initiation. Apollonius of Tyana spoke of the Second Hour when "by the duad, the zodiacal fish chant the praises of God; the fiery serpents entwine about the caduceus and the thunder becomes harmonious." This is one of twelve zodiacal steps of successive initiation, another being to study the balanced forces in nature and learn how harmony results from the analogy of contraries, "to know the Great Magical Agent and two-fold polarization of universal light."

The Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus bears the following inscription "The power is vigorous if it be changed into earth . . . Ascend with the greatest sagacity from earth to heaven, and then again descend to earth, and unite together the power of things superior with things inferior." Such is the practice of theurgy which involves communication with, and bringing down to earth, planetary spirits and angels. Total purity of mind, heart and body is needed to perform this sublime magic. In the school of Iamblichus, priests who evoked gods during the Mysteries were Hierophants. Like the Brahman Grihasta, the Theurgist liberated his own astral body, which then took on the form of the God and served as a medium through which the "special current preserving ideas and knowledge of that God could be reached and manifested." Through theurgy, the initiated disciple ascends the spiral to communicate with the Augoeides rendered visible through the medium of his astral body.

The magic of theurgy and the art of healing are alike based upon the principle of establishing an equilibrium of forces. Because human nature denotes the polarity of spirit and matter, a struggle between the two manifests. Since the centripetal and centrifugal forces are interdependent, if the action of one is obstructed, the action of the other will immediately become self-destructive. There must be a restoration of equilibrium so that the currents of life can perform their proper function in the body. The Navajo medicine man carefully delineates a design in colored sand which precisely combines the correct elements of color, symbol, direction and balance. In the center of this mandala the patient will remain seated throughout the lengthy chanting which, together with the sand-painting, will evoke the contrasting forces in nature necessary to re-establish the proper equilibrium in the patient.

The knowledge needed to heal oneself is the same as that needed to ascend the spiral of initiation into the still center of the Higher Self. The great shadow of the astral light ever deludes man and the shadow-serpent entwined around him obscures his vision. Let man mark that serpent well and understand its essential force while turning his mind ever upward toward the Spiritual Sun. The ardent disciple strives to realize Siva through the balanced forces of his whole nature, thus embodying every aspect of the golden caduceus. This is the natural potential of man. The perfect balance achieved, the soul soars upward on radiant wings.

Tree of Life as the Caduceus of Mercury. Each number corresponds to a planet/god e.g. 8 is Mercury, 7 is Venus etc.

The serpents represent the Ida and Pingala nadis, while the shaft/wand is Sushumna.

Image from “The Book of Thoth” by Aleister Crowley (1944).

[lejay-the-impossible]

My MOST RANDOM Bartimaeus theory that, if true, makes me respect Stroud's genius even more. So excuse me, but I need to get this out of my system.

Magicians hide their real names because if the spirit knows it, they will be able to repel all attacks of their master and thus remain safe from punishment even under bonds. Consequently, they could easily blurt out the magician's name to someone else or use it themselves to do away with their master. Therefore, magicians have to keep their true names secret, because otherwise they are literally at the mercy of their servants.

But then it dawned on me that the names of spirits are no less sacred, and the only reason why they are so cruelly exploited is because magicians KNOW their names. Without knowing the name of the spirit, you cannot summon it, but their names are in every book, for everyone to see. Spirits are unable to hide their names from magicians, and therefore are forced to endure their slavery.

And this is where it gets interesting. Because Ptolemy almost never called Bartimaeus by his true name. He came up with another name for him, affectionately calling him “Rekhyt” (which, if I remember right, seems to be translated from Egyptian as lapwing. This bird in Egypt was a symbol of slavery... And that’s partly why I’m so interested in rereading the third book, to find confirmation of this and reflect on why Ptolemy would call his best friend "Slave"). And I used to think that this was just a nickname that Ptolemy came up with for Bart as a friend's gesture, and called him that way to demonstrate his closeness and sincerity (which is most likely also true).

But now I think that it was also an attempt to show that he RESPECTS him and will NOT call him by his true name in front of everyone, thanks to which the spirits are so miserably exploited. I think this little detail adds a whole new level to their relationship and if Stroud thought of that... Well, thanks for shattering my heart once again, Mr British book man

[mishacakes]

how do you connect to your character? like how do get to know them so well? how do you pick out their likes, dislikes, habits and those itty bitty bits about them? I've been struggling to do that for sooo many of my ocs, and i'm also at a lost of how to design them. like i once had a clear idea of what kind of character they are, but i wanted to change them a bit, make them a little better, and i feel like I've lost that character and that character i'm working on doesn't exists, no matter how much i loved them and enjoyed writing an drawing them. this has happened with every single character i made and it just makes me think that i may not be cut out for drawing or writing characters. i look up to you so i thought of asking you for help

sry for the long rant idk wat im doing

HELLO HELLO THANK YOU FOR ASKING!! So basically I took this question and turned it into a 1.6k word essay on writing characters and how I like to do it, so, uh, hope you enjoy!! and hope it helps!

OK!! character writing. How do you do it? or, well, how do I do it. I’ve got a few methods that help me out the most and are the most fun for me to think about. Here’s my big secret, if it’s not fun I don’t do it. I’m not here to do homework I’m waaayyyy out of school. I’m a legal adult. I pay my taxes. I’m not gonna do something that doesn’t give my brain the good fun juice. Anyways. My methods are: symbols, archetypes, and character inspiration. I use all these to figure out the CORE of a character, their very beating heart, and most importantly, what haunts them. Everything about a character, in my opinion, comes from this core and their ghost. Their habits, their fears, their joys, their coping mechanisms. So long as you have a clear grasp on their heart, you won’t go astray. Let’s dive into it! The characters I’m going to be using to describe how I use these methods are Alice and others characters from my webcomic—namely Edith, Hatter, and Rougina—and Tomiko (you know her you love her, catgirl supreme).

Symbols! I love using symbols, they’re something that can describe a character through metaphor, even without going into detail about their whole backstory and habits. Tomiko’s symbols are lanterns (specifically light), cats, ghosts/yokai, shapeshifting, and gold. They all work to further her character as a rough around the edges monster cat with a heart of gold, who uses shapeshifting as a method (both literally and metaphorically) to mold herself into what others need her to be. Alice’s symbols are hearts, eyes, and flesh in general. Try picking one general symbol (the ocean, the forest, the city), and see how specific you can get from there. Or pick a god or goddess that resonates with your character and see what symbols are used for them. Rougina (the antagonist in my webcomic) is a war goddess fallen from grace, and is symbolized with land and volcanoes, so I’ve used volcanic plants to evoke her. Personally I also love going through the tarot for symbols, assigning a tarot card to characters (of the major arcana) is a fun exercise. Which leads us nicely into our next method:

Archetypes! The tarot deck’s Major Arcana is pretty much only archetypes. The Empress as the Mother. The Magician as the Wise Mentor. The Tower as The Worst Thing That Could Possibly Happen Oh Jesus Shit. These can help a lot with who your character is. I’m extremely storytelling oriented, so it helps me knowing What Role a character serves in the story they inhabit. Another thing I love in archetypes in the Zodiac. Yes, I am an astrology bitch. The whole reason I love talking about my methods is my Sag rising, I love giving my wisdoms. But astrology can be used for writing, and not just for excusing and not reflecting on shit behavior (can’t help being a gemini!). The zodiac is FILLED WITH ARCHETYPES!!! From elements to how they function! The four elements (you A:TLA bitches know this), and three modalities. If you’re interested please watch Eugene’s Rank King video, it’s very informative on the signs. Also many symbols! For example, Alice is a Taurus—May 4, Alice Liddell’s birthday—so she’s pretty stubborn while also loving creature comforts. Tomiko’s birthday is August 23, making her a Virgo, so she likes being precise in her work. More archetypes you can look for are DnD classes! I love using that to design costumes. One of Edith’s recent costumes is very wizard inspired, since that’s the class I see her having as she’s very studious and driven. Heck, all of Alice and the Nightmare is derived from the character archetypes of the Alice in Wonderland characters! Rougina is specifically the Red Queen, NOT the Queen of Hearts!! The confusion started with the 1951 Disney animated movie when the two characters were merged!! Lewis Carroll himself said the two were different! The Queen of Hearts is an “embodiment of ungovernable passion” and the Red Queen is “the concentrated essence of all governesses”!! GOD!!! Tim Burton meet me in the fucking pit you’ll pay for your alice crimes. anyways.

Archetypes help a lot in costumes too, figuring out what kind of fashion they’d like to wear. You can start broad and get more specific with it (like going from a wizard type character to a wizard character with steampunk themes). Fashion is just an extent of character. What are they comfy in? Are they confident in their body? What colors do they like? Bright high fashion or simple dark sweaters? Ryoko Kui is a master of character design I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend checking out her work.

Another method I like using, specifically for Alice and the Nightmare characters, is what I call the “three trait method”. When I was in middle school we did a production of Alice in Wonderland (I was the White Knight), and too many girls auditioned for Alice. So the director’s solution was to split the character into three parts, and assigning each part to an actor. Her temper, her intelligence, and her innocence, all used in different scenes. Now I use that to think about my own Alice character, except with “polite, temper, and curious”. Edith’s keywords are “nervous, tactical, and intelligent”. Hatter’s are “kind, enthusiastic, and intuitive”. Using keywords can help figure out how they’d react in a situation, what side of them would shine the brightest. Hatter’s want to help everyone is his kindness, but overstepping his bounds can be attributed to his enthusiasm. Edith can know what path to take in a pinch, but her nervousness can freeze her in place. Reading the source material helps a lot with Alice characters too, which brings us to our final point:

Character inspiration!! The art of taking things you like and shoving them into your own characters and stories. DISCLAIMER THO!!! If you take things without really EXAMINING what about them you like, WHY you like them, and how you’d like to evoke that same love in the things you make, the interpretations can come off as shallow. (for more on this subject, watch HBomberguy’s RWBY video essay, specifically the section on “anime homework”)

Tomiko’s biggest inspirations are Izutsumi from Dungeon Meshi, April Ludgate from Parks and Rec, Power and Reze from Chainsawman, San from Princess Mononoke, and Mei from LMK. It’s a good cocktail of aloof, biting, vicious, weird, fierce, loving, and bright. Figuring out what I love about the characters and what I want to write in a character like that helps a lot in writing Tomiko. It’s also really fun in a sense for screenshot redraws and memes.

Music is also a HUUUUUUGE source of inspiration for me, I love making playlists. And even as playlists can change as characters grow and change, having a couple of core songs still helps me ground to that character’s center. For Tomiko it’s “Make Them Gold” by CHVRCHES, and “Nice Girl” by Ashnikko. Alice’s is “Headlock” by Imogen Heap and “Demons” by Hayley Kiyoko, Edith’s is “Warrior” by Kimbra, and Hatter’s is “Dementia” by Owl City.

Ok, we’ve gotten though symbols, archetypes, and made a couple of banger playlists. Next is something that can help write your character, the Big Lie. The thing that keeps them up at night. Their biggest fear, their ghost, what haunts them. What’s holding them back from their goals? What do they need to overcome? That can be as central to their theme as any symbolism. For Tomiko it’s the lie that her emotions don’t matter, only what she can do to be of service to her mother. Her arc is about overcoming her dismissing her own emotions and learning to not run away from the people who she truly cares for. Alice dismisses the literal ghost that is haunting her believing that that will let her have a normal life. Edith pushes down abilities that come naturally to her for fear that she’ll be exiled, not just from society, but the world. Rougina believes she must burden the world’s problems on her own shoulders with no one’s help. The outer character and the inner ghost can reflect, mirror, and inform each other.

Now, listen, sometimes characters are hard to get to know! Tomiko was lol. Quinn was for a looong time. And in times like this, I just, let them be. I listen to some music to get inspired, and let them tell me about themselves when they feel like it. And they will, it just take a little while. And a few dozen quick exploration drawings. But they come through. Also, try not to get bogged down with habits and little details of their character, keep their core in mind, what their heart is. Start broad and get specific. That way, if you feel like you’ve lost your way or the character feels different to you, recenter yourself at their heart and go from there. Or, if you find that their center no longer fits, don’t be afraid to change it! Characters are meant to be fun! First and foremost!! I make characters cause I like writing and storytelling, and drawing little comic for fun and me time. Sometimes characters stick around, sometimes they fall by the wayside. You really have to find what sparks joy, and chase your bliss!

So as long as you have your character’s essence in your hands, and you WANT to keep working on them and drawing them, there’s really no wrong way to go. This whole essay I’ve given is just a set of tools that works for ME, and I HIGHLY encourage you to find stuff that works for you! I really really hope that all this has made sense and isn’t just the ramblings of a madman. Good luck and happy charactering!!