#so it's nice to find something more optimistic and hopeful to balance the scales a little

[canisalbus]

Idk why but the song “American Money” by BORNS just completely reminds me of Vasco and Machete

I love those two so much I am low key obsessed 😭

TvT

[scorpiosanssexy]

Pick a card reading: What makes you so attractive to others + bnha characters who would highkey simp for you

Hiya i am back, this spread basically highlights all of your attractive qualities about yourself (and yes you do have them) with the added additon of a hidden talent and how you can better love yourself. 

My favourite part of this reading is at the bottom I have included My hero characters that would very much swoon if you even spoke to them (in other words they have a crush). 

I was going to do 4 piles for this reading but everytime i tried to do the 4th one i kept getting really bad headaches so i decided against it. 

All you need to do is look at the anime food photos infront of you and pick the one you were first drawn to and then scroll below to your reading. I hope you enjoy it and that this reading does reasonate with you.

Stay safe and healthy

Pile 1 (Watermelon)

Why you are so amazing

The traits and simply make you, you. 

The Sun: I literally squealed when this card came out of the deck, like chaotic babies unite. This card represents all things happy, you just have this cheerful personality that brings so much joy to others like even with the doom and gloom around us you still manage to keep on smiling which is honestly a massive talent. For some reason (if there are any MHA fans in the building) I thought of Mirio who is always so upbeat and ready to help others in need, I feel like this is definitely you. To me, the idea of being a really good storyteller came into my mind like the sun represents the performative aspects of life so just naturally grabbing that audience's attention is something you are so good at and I am never ever bored in your company. Looking at the picture of the card there is a little child riding a horse, you have this childlike innocence and curiosity which is the most adorable thing ever but I feel like sometimes people underestimate your intelligence and capabilities. I would like to say that the child on the card is sitting in a very confident manner and is controlling the horse with ease which suggests to me that you do have this deep maturity about you too which people tend to forget, the fact you can go from loud and upbeat to quiet and introspective is so cool and amazing as Hannah Montana says “you got to live the best of both worlds”. One final message is that it is ok to feel sad and that you don’t have to be optimistic all the time, you are not a burden and many people will rush towards you full of love and support. 

Page of Swords: seeing this card after drawing the sun made a lot of sense in my mind, the page represents youthful energy and the swords are all to do with our intellect and abstract concepts (like of like air in astrology) so you might be a bit of a bookworm or you like to learn more about things like tarot or astrology. What I can say is that you know a little about a lot which is super amazing because you always have some random fact tucked into your brain, you would be great on a quiz team. You are so witty and funny too like I can imagine people are always bent over laughing whenever they are in your company and if you do not believe me then I can guarantee that is what they say to other people when talking about how cool you are. Quite the chatterbox on your school reports I can imagine the teacher said that you may have “talked a bit too much” but you can’t help it, you do love to socialise. Looking at the picture on the card the page is surrounded with clouds so I can imagine you are a little bit of a daydreamer which is very endearing and sweet you can’t help it physics the last thing on a Friday is just so incredibly boring, you come up with the grandest ideas and no one knows how like why didn’t they think of that you are a natural outside the box thinker. Lastly, I think the Page of Swords is a very good problem solver sure it might not be the most straightforward solution if you solve your problems in a way which works for you, you do not follow convention and are proud to be an innovator and that deserves a reward in itself. 

The Lovers: the most romantic card in the whole deck, my goodness you are a hopeless romantic, you love to daydream about all the possibilities and you might also believe in soulmates, personally I think it is very sweet and we need more idealist in this world because sometimes reality can seem so bleak. I just know in my heart that you would be one of the best s/o ‘s ever like you would do all the cute romantic gestures like buying roses and leaving cute notes around their room like I am actually gonna go and squeal in a pillow because of how precious you are. The Lovers also indicate that you know who you are and you know what your morals are, whilst you may be an idealist you don’t let people walk all over you that’s for sure, you stand up for yourselves and for others and are the voice for the people who cannot be heard. You make a very good public speaker too (you should give it a go deffo) and are very clever with your words as the Lovers are ruled by Gemini. A scenario which popped into my head was somebody thinking you flirted with them but in actual fact, you were just being friendly. Looking at the picture of the card the background appears to look like the garden of Eden for some odd reason the first kind of trait is you being able to make yourself at home anywhere. The Garden of Eden represents paradise so like you can naturally find your “paradise” in a different location or with a group of people perhaps the word I am looking for is spontaneous whatever it is I feel like that is something you can do. My last message is that you sometimes doubt yourself and your decision-making skills. What I have to say is that trust your intuition and go for it, don’t get too caught up in your head because you do not need to, you have excellent observation skills already. 

Hidden Talent

Perhaps something you might not have been aware of 

Knight of Swords: You are very ambitious, I feel like many people do not see that due to your sunny exterior but once you have a goal in mind there is no stopping you. You remind me of the Queen song “Don’t stop me now” like your life is always so fast-paced. When the situation calls for it you can leave that page of sword persona and step up into the role of the knight and take charge of the situation. You are assertive and direct as I think some of you reading this reading today may feel like you are a bit of a doormat but I can confidently say you are not. Also, you are extremely intellectual, you may not be academically intelligent but it’s more that you are very eloquent and can debate with ease, like you can break down someone else’s point and explain how they contradict one another or how they don’t add up. On the card itself, the knight is wearing the colour blue, according to colour theory blue is representative of Logic and wisdom. Another big indicator of how smart you really are not a himbo by any means. You do have a very logical side to yourself that perhaps you don’t even realise you are using like you are very good reasoning out things (sorry that this is so vague my mind had gone all foggy). Blue is also a very calm colour so you are definitely a very tranquil kind of person too, you do not stress out often and you don’t let high-pressure situations get the better of you. You truly are cool as a cucumber. Writing this currently, I feel so peaceful, like you create a sanctuary for people. 

How to love yourself

We all have our down days so here are some tips and tricks to make you feel better 

2 of Coins: I feel like the universe here has kind of given you two options here. Usually, this card indicates a need to be flexible and have to juggle things around if in this case I do not believe it is your message. I wanted to look at the image, especially the two pictures inside the coins. The first one is the weighing scales which are perfectly balanced which I interpreted as being the symbol of Libra. Being patient with yourself and saying kind words to yourself can be very healing, a tactic could maybe leave post notes in nice places so whenever you walk around the room. Definitely pamper yourself when you deserve it. The message I am getting from this card is that you are too harsh on yourself and never give yourself the self care you deserve, get that face mask and blast a bit of Megan, be the princess/prince you deserve to be. On the other part of the coin is a picture of a big moon with a tiny sun in the middle, my interpretation comes back to the sun card and you feel like you always have to hold this cheery facade. The moon represents our emotions specifically our anxieties and fears with it being bigger so with it being the bigger image I feel like in order to love yourself you are going to need to express your emotions in a healthy way whatever mechanism works best for you, for me ranting to a close friend always helps but other people prefer to journal or use a creative outlet which is fine too. Lastly, as I mentioned at the top the 2 of coins indicates that you have lots of projects in your life so maybe if you immerse yourself in those you can unlock the true path to good self esteem. 

Bnha characters who highkey have a crush on you 

Bakugou, Jirou, Shindo, Shigaraki and Midnight (maybe sir nighteye) 

----------

Pile 2 (Ramen)

Why you are so amazing 

The traits that simply make you, you

The Star with the 2 of Swords: these cards both fell out at the exact same time with the star on top and the 2 of swords behind so I decided to use the swords card as a clarifier one. I say this about a lot of the cards but i can tell that the star is one of my faves 100% it represents hope, creativity and calm. The first kind of trait that came into my head when this card popped out is that you always shine wherever you go, you are just gifted at everything, some of you think you may be the burnt out gifted child but you are not, you still glow even if you can’t see it yourself and people are in awe (and somewhat intimidated by you) because of your success and achievements. Looking into the actual meaning you are the type of person to never give up, the star is a sign that your wishes are coming into fruition, if something doesn’t go according to plan you do not dwell on it too much and brush yourself up again and carry on which is amazing considering the circumstances we are in. The word I was looking for is resilient and persistent. You don’t let the haters stop you from doing your thing. You have a calming disposition and I imagine your role is the mediator of the friendship, like you just have the most soothing presence. I want to go into more detail about the fact the star is ruled by Aquarius because that fact seems to keep sticking out for me, I trait we never talk about in regards to aquarius is that they can in fact be great leaders, they are the trendsetters of the zodiac so I feel like you prefer to live life your own way rather than copy others which I admire you for because going against the current is hard. Because of your actions I feel like  you inspire others whenever you know this or not (spoiler alert you do). Another thing that has sprung to my mind is that I feel like you can be quite mysterious. Everybody is so intrigued by you wanting to know what is going on in your mind. With the 2 of swords being there too, it usually indicates that a decision needs to be made however looking at the picture the lady is confidently holding the 2 swords which suggests to me that you are a very decisive person and once you set your mind to something there is no stopping you. You are much more talented than you give yourself credit for so never stop shining.

The Hierophant: this made me very intrigued about your reading when this card fell because the star and the hierophant kind of have contrasting energies since the H is ruled by Taurus. The Hierophant stands for knowledge and education, you probably take your studies quite seriously or you naturally maintain good grades throughout the year (which i think is so cool), you are the person who forms a study group to help their dumbass friends  so that they don’t fail the finals and honestly as someone who is a member of the dumbass friend squad without people like you in the world I wouldn’t have any educational qualifications. Helping others is second nature to you, always quick to give a helping hand with those in need. The Hierophant is a responsible figure so that in turn means so are you, you always make sure that everything is done on time and that your drunk friends get home safely, others may say you can be a little bit too serious but I have to disagree, your organisation skills are amazing and if I ever met you you will probably be my idol. Looking at this cards ruling sign Taurus, not a lot of people realise how ambitious a taurus can be (most people think quite the latter but remember there is a reason that taurus is an earth sign), you have big plans for yourself and I feel like you definitely prioritise your career over other aspects of yourlife, your drive and commitment to yourself and others is truly amazing and promise me you won’t be too hard on yourself because as some random kardashian once said “you are doing amazing sweetie”. 

Knight of Pentacles: this card is the CEO of detail, the knight is a figure who is very happy to serve the king and with it being in the suits of pentacles no detail will be missed out. You are incredibly observant of others one example that popped into my head is that you can tell what others are thinking through either body language or just how they communicate (take this if it resonates with you) or maybe you are simply very organised. Either way your amazing perception is something that goes unnoticed by others so I believe this card fell from the deck as a chance to give you the credit you deserve. You are incredibly hard working, the knight is always alert and on duty so no matter the day of the week you are working, it can be school work or passion projects you are constantly trying to achieve the best version of yourself, make sure you have a break and have a kit kat y’know. The knight is patient who works diligently towards his goals which I think you very much channel, like you are so kind and patient towards anyone, always offering to listen to other people’s problems and offering them first class advice (which is something I am very jelly of in a good way). The message I get from this is that you are so patient with others so please be patient with yourself, don’t push yourself so hard that your self esteem begins to suffer because you do not deserve that. 

Hidden Talents

Perhaps something you might not have been aware of 

The High Priestess: this card is such a badass card, like the high priestess is the CEO of intuition and all that jazz, your bullshit detector is off the radar and the even cooler thing you don’t even know it. This isn’t to say you should be distrustful of every single person you meet but if you have a gut feeling I say you should stick with it as mother nature has blessed you out of this world intuition. The high priestess represents having inner power, the picture on the card shows her sitting in her chair very assured. To other people you come across as having this quiet confidence, you do not boast about your talents through words however you bring them forward with actions, I feel like people are secretly in awe of you. Coming back to the picture the high priestess is mostly wearing teal (including her dress and her accessories), typically the colour teal represents elegance and politeness which is something you 100% possess ( a true lady/gentlemen) however reading more into the psychology behind this colour one line really stuck out to me - “Teal is a slightly unconventional colour, you value your uniqueness and don’t wish to fit in the crowd”, whilst you may have a serious demeanor it doesn’t me you are boring by any means, it could be the way your express your style via clothing that is unique or perhaps you have a secret niche interest that not many people know about. Whatever it is, you are a very interesting and complex person and you are definitely a lot more than meets the eye. 

How to love yourself

We all have our off days, so here is some tips and tricks on how to feel better

The Star: I found it so amazing that this card came out again in a different deck, the message when I saw the 2 star cards just confirmed to me that you don’t realise how amazing you are, like you are constantly downplaying yourself because you are so incredible modest, like you are so much better than you think you are and you deserve all the joy in the world. The star in tarot represents hope and affirmations, somebody praising you definitely makes your day. (this message just came to me when i was writing this), society constantly tells us not to out looking for external praise and to be happy with ourselves it has to come from within but I slightly disagree on this standpoint, I believe you guys lack that external validation in your life, so when someone does praise you it really has a big impact. Getting complimented is a good thing and you deserve every single one of them. Getting back on track, looking closely at the picture the lady is pretty much naked except for a blue ribbon covering her “private parts”, to me this is an indication that you should show off, like put on a pretty dress (or whatever clothing makes you feel the most comfortable) and get some beyonce on and pretend you are a victoria secrets angel, release the inner diva, do something bougie, get your nails done. Honestly you guys deserve the spotlight (if you want that) or either the right to feel confident, like just go dancing and let all that negative energy out through your movements. I wanted to have a look at the blue ribbon in more detail, blue is a colour that represents calmness and tranquility, so any activities that make you in a calm or soothing state will really help you too. It could be the classical calming activities such as guided meditation or a really nice hot bubble bath but my sister says she finds shopping to be very relaxing, so whatever hobby or thing makes you fall into this state could also really help increase the self-esteem here. 

Bnha characters who highkey have a crush on you

Monoma, Uraraka, Hawks, Mina and Sero 

-----------------

Pile 3 (Pasta)

Why are you so amazing

What traits make you, you

The Emperor: the emperor card represents structure, stability and authority. I feel like a lot of you picking this reading are quite shocked that this card came out, like I feel like you might not think of yourself as the most stable person (especially during these uncertain times) however I do not think you give yourself enough credit. You thrive under following a strict schedule and always follow through on your goals (for some reason I feel like you might have a very extensive writing blog, like your masterlists are all extremely organised). You naturally bring stability to others though, I keep getting the phrase “you are my rock” and you are always there if anyone needs you. Of course this doesn’t make you a doormat by any means in fact quite the latter, the emperor is a man of action and leadership, you are a natural leader and always know the exact action to take in regards to a situation, a problem solver, people come to you for when they need to seek answers and get stuff done. The emperor serves the kingdom fairly thus he facts rationally in regards to making decisions. You are perhaps on the more logical side and are not too rash when it comes to your emotions, an aloof and calculated person, many people are in awe of your authoritative aura you have around you. You are extremely fair and just too, not a cold person at all, if someone wrongs you or your loved ones they are getting the treatment they deserve, we are so blessed to have you as an incredibly loyal person in this world. For some of you I highkey think you are into things that involve strategies or methodical thinking a couple of things that came to mind were Jigsaw puzzles, chess or solving rubik's cubes but sports and other hobbies do use this critical thinking as well, also I feel like you might be extremely passionate about it too. The emperor is ruled by aries so you are a person of action, you hate the idea of sitting around and I feel like you are never afraid to take on a challenge which is extremely admirable because many people are afraid of failure but you don’t see it as that, you see it has another chance to prove yourself and honestly as I am typing this out I am feeling so motivated to do something badass. Best hype man period. (Also i couldn’t help but think of commander erwin smith when i was writing this so maybe you kin this man a little bit) 

Seven of Swords: now this card in tarot is basically referring to someone being a backstabbing little shit but actually I think this highkey is a very badass card to come out of the deck in regards to what makes you so amazing. This card indicates scheming and coming up with a strategy which to me empathises how intelligent you are. You have some extremely high IQ or you naturally incredibly street smart either way your intellect is something to be marveled. Unlike pile number 2 I would not say you are studious but are the type of person who can have like 2 hours sleep and come in and do a test and still pass with flying colours. With this card, I feel like you are two steps ahead of everyone else, I can imagine that you sort of go into this mind palace like sherlock holmes where you connect all the loose threads, out of this world deduction skills, like how do you do it I will never know??? Definitely very good actors, like you can turn on the charm if need be and honestly you guys are super badass, you are the one person I believe who could actually survive animes such as Attack on Titan or the promised neverland.

Seven of Pentacles: Whenever I see this card in a personal reading of me it’s the universe’s way of telling me to stop being an impatient bitch and keep working. You sure do put up with a lot of shit, I 100% think that within your friendship you are the voice of reason and honestly you deserve a nobel peace prize. Seven of Pentacles indicates a need for looking more into the future, a long term perspective, you deffo play the long game, thinking before you leap and taking into consideration the consequences of your actions. You know where to invest your time in and make excellent planners, the archetype that has come into my brain is the chess master, you just know how to move each piece or in this instance know exactly what endeavours to pursue in life. The lady on the card looks very at rest despite all the work she has done, to me this indicates that you make a lot of things look really easy, perhaps you have a niche hobby that you have perfected over the years or maybe you are naturally an elegant person. What I can tell you is that whatever sort of work you present is bougie as fuck, wherever it be a writing for tumblr or some artwork it always looks so damn professional (your talent makes me go on all starry eyed). Lastly, I feel like your motto is “slow and steady is the race”, you would rather take slightly longer on a project then finish it quickly with lots of errors, definitely a perfectionist. 

Hidden Talent

 Perhaps something you might have not been aware of 

The Chariot: the first thoughts that came to mind is that you are incredibly hard working and have lots of self discipline, many people believe you were always just naturally good at stuff not seeing the sweat and tears that has got you to your amazing level now, for instance you are extremely charming however this wasn’t a gift you were born with but something you learnt. The lady pictured on the card was wearing gold armour, the colour gold was really standing out to me so I decided to include this within the interpretation. The colour gold means triumph and success, to me this shows that when you put your talents to good use (towards a goal) the world becomes your oyster, the universe has gifted you the resources now you just have to pick up and use them. Also within the picture, there were 2 horses white and black, to me the colours represent divine feminie energy (emotions) and divine masculine energy (logic), the lady has control of the horses which shows that you have good control over both logic and emotions and don’t let one over power the other one. The spiritual guide of the horse shows that you are actually an extremely passionate person, I feel like you may have a slightly apathetic appearance so people can get quite shocked when they see you all fired up and ready to go, but you are. You look towards the future and never let the past hold you back, you are always ready for battle and just like the chariot you charge on ahead never looking back. The chariot card is ruled by Cancer, I feel like you are a very good listener, people are surprised at how comforting you can actually be, you do look out for your friends and just want to make sure they are healthy and well. You truly treasure those close around you and will take the bullet for any of them, I literally feel so emotionally writing this and honestly words cannot describe how amazing you are.

How to love yourself

We all have our down days, so here are some tips and tricks to help us feel better

10 of Cups: this is literally the happy ending card (that's my nickname for it). 10 of cups represents family and emotional fulfilment. The first message that came to mind in regards to loving yourself was listing things that you are grateful for, as someone who has low self esteem issues I know this can be extremely difficult but you need to dig deep. If you have trouble starting off taking personality quizzes can be a good start, my personal faves our the myer briggs (do not take 16personalities it isn’t accurate) and the jungian archetypes (i got the Jester), you can see some good traits from these quiz results which could help you start your list. What was really prominent on this card was the peace sign that was in the background, this could be an indication that may need to find peace with yourself or perhaps try to find peace around you, with the chaos that has been COVID you may have lost your balance in life, the cups aren’t standing up right. Perhaps your sleep schedule has gone out the window or you are skipping lunch most days ( I am guilty of doing this too), try by fixing your daily routine, this could be by going to bed 1 hour earlier or maybe making sure you go outside at least once a day. I definitely think that will increase your overall morale and thus the confidence will make a comeback. Spending time with your family is another theme of this card, I understand that some family members can be a pain however talking to them just having a normal conversation could really help forge better relationships with them. Be happy with the here and now because contentment is right under your nose. 

BNHA characters that would highkey have a crush on you  

Deku, Toga, Iida, Miriko and Dabi

[luninosity]

A few thoughts, mostly me trying to work out my own reactions, about the new Falcon & Winter Soldier trailer (under the cut, hopefully, to hide possible spoilers!):

(this is all just my own personal feels! yours may differ!)

~more Sharon! Sharon getting to actually be awesome, it looks like! I’m here for that!

~I like the overall look, obvious production values, clear exploration of another new genre (buddy action comedy)

~Mackie and Seb are obviously having a fantastic time!

~I like seeing a Bucky who’s sarcastic, (relatively) recovered from trauma, out there trying to help people/the world; I like the brief glimpses we get of Sam struggling with the legacy; on the other hand...

~...I really wish we’d gotten some more exploration of Bucky’s recovery, and also of Sam’s (probably complicated) feelings about taking up the shield - I feel like all the promo has been action/snark at the expense of emotion/interiority, and that feels like...not necessarily a bad omen, but like they’re going to just sidestep a lot of what I like best in a narrative, which is complex character development

~along the same lines, there’s definitely such a thing as *too much* snarky comedy, where every single line/scene is that and no genuine emotion or affection - minus sarcasm - ever balances it out; you’ve gotta have moments, even wordless ones (maybe especially wordless ones) in which these characters actually do seem to...like each other...respect each other...value each other’s contributions...right? (obvious example where this works well: Leverage)

~I feel like so much of the trailer is Sam being kind of a dick to Bucky, frankly, and Bucky being justifiably Grumpy about it. That’s not 100% a bad thing, and it’s fun, and it’s nice that Sam doesn’t walk on eggshells around Bucky, but it’s a dynamic that at least for me will get old fast if it’s *all* there is, or if it stays that one-sided.

~Sam’s joke about “you got your ass kicked by a little girl” REALLY doesn’t sit right with me. These two characters have to know by now that size and gender don’t mean anything when it comes to power, right? Why is this funny? Why say it? Why are audiences supposed to find it funny? If that’s an example of the humor we can expect, it worries me.

~Zemo is interesting in a post-Blip world! I completely understand him being utterly and totally done with superheroes, honestly. But we did just need them on a large and dramatic scale, didn’t we, in Endgame? Or...did we? Was Endgame basically unnecessary, as the world had moved on? (Of course we needed to get beloved characters back...) I hope the show actually takes the time to explore the nuance of his position, so it’s not just “superheroes suck and shouldn’t be around!” (which is an Evil Dude position, right? because we naturally sympathize with our heroes, so just being anti-heroes makes someone Evil, right? /sarcasm) but something actually informed by past events, a choice made by someone who’s looked at and thought long and hard about the world and how to make it a better place, and the ethics and cost of that decision - I want a villain who actually changes the heroes and how they think about themselves through the course of their confrontation, not just someone else we deal with and shrug and move on from

~I like Zemo’s costume choices!...still not a huge fan of Bucky’s new jacket; not flattering in cut/fit on Seb; I miss Bucky’s long hair, both purely for aesthetic reasons (more hair is good, people!) and because short-haired Bucky now just looks more like “generic white boy superhero;” having said that, I completely understand if it was a character choice, in order to shed the Winter Soldier persona, but I would’ve loved to’ve seen that reclaiming of self and agency!

~the Falcon outfit looks good! Love the wings and how much we get to see him in action!

~I really want to be optimistic, but...I’m also nervous. I wanted to love the trailer, and I like it, but I don’t love it. I don’t know that I trust Marvel with good character development these days, especially with Bucky, but also Sam. There’re elements I would’ve loved to see that I think would be very relevant right now - healing from trauma, Sam being empathetic, a complex villain, humor that feels kinder (maybe more about the job or *shared* experiences?) and less about making fun *of* someone - and I don’t think we’re going to get any of that.

~I do think we’re going to get an interesting exploration of Sam’s journey and his struggle with picking up the shield and the Captain America identity, which should be fantastic and also timely. I think they’re going to try to be funny, and it’ll definitely be quick and action-y and a decent fit in the genre they’re going for. I’m trying to be hopeful; remaining ambivalent but willing to be convinced.

~anyway, all just my personal thoughts, at this particular moment, after the Superb Owl trailer! your thoughts may differ!

[bestworstcase]

what are some of your eldritch horror inspirations?

oh hm lets see

in no particular order: 

my first introduction to the genre was actually a kim possible fanfic series? i remember reading it as a teen and being like woah

the discworld series to an extent? pratchett’s riffs on the genre are excellent, in particular those from later novels in the series eg the summoning dark. (thud! was actually my first discworld novel for some baffling reason and i spent the whole book like “i have no idea what’s going on but i love this” skjdffklshsdk). this has also definitely had an impact on my lean into the more humanist or optimistic end of the scale

gideon the ninth is not eldritch horror per se but hot damn if it doesn’t have some glorious imagery. 

annihilation (the book much moreso than the film, though the film has some nice visuals too). i keep meaning to read the other books in the trilogy but haven’t got around to it yet. the crawler hoo boy 👀👀👀

a pretty large assortment of books and short stories and plays actually. probably too many to list really; not all of them are eldritch horror themselves but anything with the right atmosphere or aesthetic or lore tends to work its way into my brain as an inspiration for my own particular blend of eldritch horror and dark fantasy; as a random selection off the top of my head, poe’s entire oeuvre, the road, the bacchae, euripedes in general actually, pretty much anything that was inspired by the year without a summer lmao, the dragonoak trilogy and sam farren’s work in general... magical realism anything, marisol comes to mind in particular just for its extra closeness to theatre of the absurd... 

this one is a bit silly and honestly mostly just because it’s the Queen Hyperfixation and i will find a way to connect it to every single one of my other interests somehow, but alice’s adventures in wonderland, through the looking glass, and the hunting of the snark have all had a pretty marked influence on my development as a writer and have absolutely contributed to how i approach eldritch horror tropes in my own writing; and also nonsense literature is basically absurdist eldritch horror for children. 

(especially the hunting of the snark, tbh. like go read it now if you haven’t before; it’s a treat and it’s gay and boojums are 100% just your classic eldritch abomination presented through a light-heartedly witty, child-friendly lens.)

relatedly: i love the american mcgee alice games. they riff on some aiw-related tropes that irritate me but idc that much because the atmosphere and aesthetic is just. so good and the gameplay is fun

relatedly again: a blade so black and the subsequent books in the trilogy (one of which isn’t due out until next year i’m suffering) do some really great stuff with nightmares as creatures that are empowered by humanity’s fears and, esp in the second book, the weird mystery of wonderland itself. and is just a neat urban fantasy take on alice in wonderland in general.

pathygen’s work and especially strings has been a big source of inspiration for me in the last, like, eight or nine months since we met. read it.

adhd distractibility has me stalling out in the middle of season 3 of the magnus archives but. yknow. it’s my jam 👌

like, theatre of the absurd and theatre of cruelty? in particular i recall a production of waiting for godot which i saw in college that leaned very hard into a horror-esque reading of the play and that was kind of a game-changer for my own creative outlook; in general these forms of theatre and the experiences they seek to evoke and the narratives they center share a lot of emotional overlap with the experience of good eldritch horror and, like aiw, have had a significant influence on my writing generally.

darkest dungeon is really fun and has a great aesthetic and strikes exactly the right balance between bleak and hopeful. the crimson court dlc especially was a total game-changer for how i think about vampires because holy shit

it’s not eldritch horror per se but subnautica is like. its ability to provoke dread is second only to the trial of blindness in hellblade (which is also def an inspiration, though again not eldritch horror per se. the enemy designs are really good tho) and the creature designs and lore are super cool and it does an excellent job of of getting across that... feeling of being insignificant in a vast uncaring cosmos (or in this case: ocean planet infected with virulent water-borne bacteria) and that’s enough to make it like, eldritch horror-adjacent in my mind.

tyranny is? another odd one in that it isn’t eldritch horror by any stretch of the imagination but idk. there’s something about the lore surrounding the archons and the spires + oldwalls that speaks to me and i love that so much of it is simply left unexplained. not in a way that feels half-assed or like the lore wasn’t well thought out, but rather in a way that truly gets across the feeling of an ancient civilization whose culture and magic/technology have decayed and been suppressed to the point of being completely lost by the time of the game; that’s a hard balance to strike and it’s totally my jam. 

my gf got me into pathologic and i am veeeery slowly playing my way through the original game rn and holy shit. holy shit. the atmosphere and the slowly unfolding lore and increasingly bizarre plague itself and the despair and the grind it’s all so good.

i still need to actually play bloodborne, it’s been on my list forever, but every image and video i’ve ever seen is. hoo boy. hoooooo boy. 

and honestly??? growing up as a very non-spiritual person in an evangelical family i think definitely predisposed me toward this genre because, idk. god as presented by evangelical christians is an eldritch abomination and i don’t have the spiritual inclination to convince me otherwise. so that’s something i draw from a bit as well lol

also as a final note i think it’s v important when talking about eldritch/cosmic/lovecraftian horror and inspirations thereof to say that hp lovecraft (and many of the contemporaries of his who participated in the expanded/shared universe we now call the cthulhu mythos) was virulently racist and xenophobic and this absolutely had an impact on his creative work. they codified this genre and that means that racism and xenophobia is kind of baked in to a lot of the basic tropes and they must be very rigorously, very critically evaluated when we use them to create new fiction. 

[hibiscus-hijinks]

Meet Laureline Schmitt, my applicant for @eeriesims‘ Clary! I’m sorry I’m so bad at editing pfffttt. 

P.S, outfit shown is her “date outfit” hehe <3

All the details are under the cut :o)

The General Deetz:

Name: Laureline Schmitt.

Birthday: Currently 28 years old, born on the 23rd of June 1991. 

Astrological Info: Cancer sun, Scorpio moon, and Scorpio rising. 

Myer-Briggs Personality Type: INFP-A

Species: Human but has witch-blood on her mother’s side which she’s very proud of.

Height: 5’7, but does stretches she found on the internet every night before bed in the hopes of becoming taller.

Sexual Orientation: Lesbian; doesn’t matter if you are cisgender or transgender, she just loves all the ladies. 

Gender/Pronouns: Female, she/her pronouns. 

Nicknames: Bun by her parents and close relatives and usually Laurie and Laurel by everyone else, but she really doesn’t mind. 

Occupation in Glimmerbrook: She markets herself as somewhat of a “Ghost-Whisperer” - basically, she just helps the Glimmerbrook residences with any haunted house problems and is skilled at settling any issues between the living and dead to help maintain balance in the community. It combines her love of people, her good mediating skills, and her life-long fascination with ghosts. She isn’t paid super-highly considering the amount of work she puts in, but she just really enjoys her work. Her aunt always offers to send her some money here and there but Laurie is good at staying afloat. 

Hobbies: She enjoys collecting antiques and fun knick-knacks, not necessarily for the purpose of curating and selling, but it does give her comfort to know she does have a flow of income to fall back on if it ever came down to it. She also enjoys reading and baking and all the nice homebody things. 

Fun Facts:

1). She really loves anything peanut-butter flavoured (PB and J? Pssshh skip the J! On second thought, maybe even skip on the bread…..).

2). She religiously wears the green eyeliner her aunty gave her back when she was a teenager (yes she’s used the same eyeliner for 10+ years…sure, her aunty who’s a witch did put a never-ending spell on it but on the other hand GROSS!).

3). She HAS to go for a bike every night after dinner….if she doesn’t she can’t sleep. 

4). Broke her nose as a kid when she tried to walk through a brick wall like the ghost character in her favourite show….she did not succeed but she now has a funny ice-breaker up her sleeve!

5). Is a firm believer in ditching the bra. 

6). Her dad took her to get a tattoo when she was 18 and it doesn’t really have a particular meaning, she just thought it looked cool. 

7). Laurel is not all too fussed about fashion, like the outfits she pulls together aren’t show-stopping, but she always likes to match her headscarf to whatever she puts on that day.

8). Her wardrobe is made up of exclusively op-shop finds and hand-me-downs from her aunt and mum. Well, apart from shoes, because she has quite wide feet. 

9). She’s been a vegetarian for as long as she can remember; she never liked how eating meat made her feel, and she has a love for all animals, especially cats…..and frogs!

10). Speaking of cats, she does have a little black cat named “Bazzy” short for Basil whom she treats like a toddler (yes she did specifically adopt a black cat for the #witchaesthetic).

Questions, Questions, Questions!:

1). How did Laurel meet Clary? 

Laurel was out on her usual evening bike-ride. As she was coasting past the public library, her eyes were drawn to the entry of the building. Specifically, someone going down the steps. Someone she’s never seen before. Laurel watched as the dark-haired beauty looked up, locked eyes with Laurel, and flashed a bright-white smile. All the way home, Laurel’s mind was cloudy as she replayed the moment. She didn’t really know what she felt about the girl she later learned was named Clary, but boy was she intrigued. Over the next few weeks, Laurel began noticing the newcomer as she ran her errands; it's not that she was too shy to say hi or anything, but she just enjoyed admiring her from a distance. 

2). What was Laurel’s first impression of Clary?

In the moment, she was a little stunned by Clary; not necessarily in a “love at first sight” kind of way, but stunned nonetheless. It wasn’t one thing that caught Laurel’s attention, but a culmination of details; something about Clary’s whole aura just really drew Laurel in. 

3). Laurel’s ideal dates?

Laurel finds people, including herself especially, are less awkward when they have something to do, an activity, to help ground the date, therefore for Laurel the perfect first-date would be biking to a beautiful private spot of Glimmerbrook for a picnic and a deep chat. 

If this is say the third or fourth date she’d be more than eager to invite them over to her house for a movie night complete with caramel popcorn made on her wood-burning stove, or going to the beach to explore around the caves in Glimmerbrook and have a swim. 

4). What’s Laurel’s ideal relationship?

In a romantic relationship, Laurel seeks a balanced give and take dynamic; while she loves to give and do for others, she does appreciate being cared for too; in the past she has been taken advantage of because she is so giving. Another thing Laurel really needs in a relationship is the opportunity to explain herself; she knows she can be a bit unaware, and most of the time her intentions are 100% good. She also would like someone who matches her calm energy and optimistic view on the world. Laurel is very positive and forgiving to herself and others, so negativity will start to weigh down on Laurel and cause her a lot of pain. She also wants a loving relationship, as Laurel herself is a very loving person, which has turned a couple of people away as she can move a little quickly in a relationship in some ways, even though she takes life so carefully usually; she just wants to hurry up to the ‘married for 40 years and we still lie in bed in the morning telling each other why we’re thankful for their existence’ kind of stage. 

5). What’s Laurel’s Personality Like?:

Laurel is a very calm and loving gal. One of her big strengths is being able to objectively look at things and shrug negativity off; say if someone at the fruit shop yelled at her for using the scale because she didn’t see the sign asking customers to not use it, she’d just apologize, explain it was a simple mistake, and move on with her day; she’s usually not a dweller, she prefers to focus on the present. 

She isn’t very adventurous, and doesn’t like to travel very far from Glimmerbrook, its her home. She thrives on the happiness of the people surrounding her, and does her best to make everyone happy, and is the perfect shoulder to cry on. 

She doesn’t like complicatedness, she likes a breezy life, so she can have the tendency to distance herself from people who are hot and cold type of people, or people who don’t make their intentions clear, and can be impatient with people who take longer to open up, but she’s gotten a lot better over the years at being more open-minded and aware of others more nuanced feelings. 

On that topic, she can struggle to see things from other’s pov in the sense that she can’t fully understand that not everyone can be as optimistic and idealistic as her, which is probably her worst flaw in a lot of ways. 

[mysticsparklewings]

ToonMe

Yeah, yeah, look at me super-late to the latest popular Art Challenge as usual. :P In my defense, this challenge came at like the worst possible time, just after the whole drawing tablet fiasco, and so at first that combined with me not liking posting pictures of myself that often because I am uber paranoid about turning into a True Crime documentary subject, I was pretty convinced I wasn't going to hop on this particular bandwagon. But I kept seeing other people posting there's, and I noticed that quite a few used a few tricks to hide or almost disguise the photo/face part. And after a little while, though still mildly frustrating, I did get more accustomed to the new set up I have for digital art, and well...after more time spent trying to get just the right photo of myself than I care to admit, here we are. The #ToonMe challenge is unique in that it challenged me to find the right balance between my usual style and something more realistic. My proportions are usually very cartoony, borrowing heavy inspiration from Winx Club and Anime. Sometimes my coloring is softer and slightly more realistic, and sometimes I go for hard, cartoony cell-shading. And this isn't the first time I've been challenged with drawing myself, either. The main things I wanted to do/accomplish with my take on the challenge included: • A seamless, almost hard to notice transition between the Toon Side and the Real Side (as I'd seen on others' and taken a liking to) • Capture my physical, real-world style but also not over-complicate what I'd have to draw • Capture my drawing style accurately but without compromising too much of the look of the photo • Make it unique to me. Naturally, a lot of how this process was going to go relied pretty heavily on me getting the base photo just right. I tried a few other looks and some different angles before finally getting the photo I used here out of the mix. And yes, I could've just used a photo I already had on hand like I'm sure many other artists did without hesitation, but I wanted this to be fun and just in general when I take photos of myself I like them to be just so. It's very rare that I take photos of myself, let alone ones where I'm not prepared for the world to see me. I wanted to do this right. Once I finally had a photo I was happy with, then came the real challenge of toon-ifying half of it. (Well, probably more than half, but you get the idea.) Naturally, my used-to-be-bangs didn't want to cooperate with me when I took the photo, so my solution to that was to use my hair part/line as part of the dividing point. This also works out because I feel like dividing the hair more towards the center would've made the overall diving line more obvious. Using the part as a base makes the two halves blend together better when viewed from far away/as a thumbnail. Other than that, I kept it pretty half-and-half, including leaving one cat ear on the photo side and one on the toon side. (And ironically the cat ear and the shirt are the two most realistic things on the toon side.) I found the easiest way to do the toon-ifying was to start by just tracing the real lines for the toon parts, then going back and stylizing/adjusting them as necessary. The biggest adjustments I made were the very noticeable stylization of the eye and bringing my neck and shoulder in to more closely match my usual drawing proportions. And, technically the hair, but as I said I knew going in I was going to have to deviate from the photo to get the look I wanted, stylization aside. (My hair does cooperate and look like this sometimes, it's just when I was taking photos for this it decided not to and I couldn't be bothered to put off taking photos until a day where it chose to behave. If I didn't think it was authentic to me, I wouldn't have done it.) I do wish I had reconsidered my jewelry choices because it was only after I started working on it that I realized the extra challenge I had added for myself in choosing the necklace that I did. Likewise, I know very well the chain is not super realistic, but I could not be bothered to draw all the individual little chain circles by hand. So I took a short cut in drawing two lines, one relatively straight (following the non-existent curve of the necklace in the photo), one wavy, and then erasing the second one as necessary to create the illusion of a chain instead. Also, I specifically wore those earrings because I thought they would be cute and relatively simple to draw. And while I'm very sure I could've made much more complicated choices, I was still a little overly optimistic in just how easy these would be. One of the trickier parts of the lines was actually the lips. A lot of the time I skip drawing lines for the lips, because I normally do full-body drawings where the face is relatively small and it's hard to get the lines to look right on such a small scale, but if I wanted the seamless look from toon to photo, it was necessary here. I must've re-drawn both the top and bottom lines like ten times each before finally getting something I could live with. Additionally, while I could've gone back and added weight to the lines in some places, it seemed more natural here to leave them pretty much as-is. Anyway. With the lines done, I could move on to coloring and shading. And I was actually surprised by how relatively smoothly that process went. It did take a few layers and some back-and-forth, but it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be to get the semi-realistic soft shading I needed so the two halves would blend together nicely.   Sidenote: You can hopefully see here that I try my best to be fairly accurate with my color choices when I draw myself these days, right down to the grayish-blue of my eyes. The main things with coloring turned out to be 1. getting the shadows in the right places and 2. getting the line art to be dark enough you could tell it was there without it being too obnoxious. And while I don't normally do this, I found the best way to balance out the lines was to use an airbrush to make the lines lighter in some places and darker in others. I actually had the .png file saved twice, thinking I was finished, only to end up going back and making small alterations to the shadows (mostly on the face) and the lines later. Which, it's kind of a good thing I had to do that because it wasn't until the second time I was doing revisions that I noticed I'd totally forgotten the shadow the necklace was supposed to be casting on the skin. It's very subtle even in the photo, but it would've driven me crazy had I noticed it only after it had been uploaded/posted. I also made a very conscious decision to have the eyelash/brow semi-visible through the hair. The eye is a large part of my stylization, and even though in a normal drawing I would've covered it up, it didn't seem right to just cover it up here. But it also seemed very wrong to leave it at full-color, too. So this was my compromise. Speaking of which, the eyebrow I wasn't really sure what to do with, since normally I either just do thick lines for eyebrows or if I do fully outline them, like the lips, they're usually far away and pretty small, so there's usually not a lot to do with them. Hence why that is easily the biggest and most obvious giveaway on the toon side. I was equally surprised at how easy it was to do sunglasses. I was expecting them to be trickier, being a reflective surface and all with a few notable tiny areas to worry about. But I think in the end they were one of the easiest things to color and shade. And that was pretty much all I was absolutely required to do for the ToonMe challenge. Me being me, though, I wasn't quite satisfied with just that. From fairly early on I had converted the background for the toon side into a digital flat color of my usual "mystic hue," which in reality is what the wall behind me looks like even though it shows as more of a baby blue in the photo. One of the first additions beyond that that I made was a few carefully placed sparkles for a little extra pizzazz, but that wasn't quite enough. I cycled through a few different ideas; making the whole thing into a Polaroid or setting it into a phone frame, etc. Just something to make it a little more special. Still, I ended up coming back around to one of my initial ideas: Wings. I am, after all, MysticSparkleWings. I do have a digital pair of wings closer to the shape/style I tend to use for my signature, but those aren't quite high enough quality for something like this. So I defaulted to the same pair of wings I used to make my icon/avatar ages ago, which were originally made based on a pair of costume wings I actually have in real life. And had I thought this whole thing through a little more, I could have worn them and had one real wing, one digital one. But alas, I didn't plan that far ahead and by the time I had this realization, it was very too late to backtrack it. It's funny. I made that other digital pair from my signature, hoping to make a new Eclipse-friendly icon with them, but they're too high quality (300 pixels) for that (Eclipse icons are 100 pixels, where the old dA icons are 50) and yet too low-quality for stuff like this. They're just not very good for anything, are they?   Even after I added the wings and a few extra sparkles, I toyed with the idea of doing more, but I really couldn't think of anything else that I felt really confident would enhance the art rather than take away from it. So, I stuck my signature on the glasses lens (that seemed like the best non-intrusive place for it), and left it at that. I'm sure it's not as spectacular as it could be, but I think considering I originally wasn't even going to attempt the challenge that it's more than enough. I just wish this challenge has cropped up at a better time. Somehow all the super popular art challenges seem to appear when it's the least convenient for me and thus if I want to join in I end up doing so usually after everyone else has moved on. Ah well. Maybe next time. This one's done and I think it turned out okay. Back to my regularly scheduled non-challenge related art. ____ Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings ____ Where to find me & my artwork: My Website | Commission Info + Prices | Ko-Fi | dA Print Shop | RedBubble |   Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram

[gg-astrology]

if you’re still doing combos, libra sun + cancer moon 💕 thank you

Hey there! 💕 Yes I am!!💕💕 I hope u like it ;; 

[Below Cut: Libra Sun - Cancer Moon 🦀 ] 

phew these people!

I feel like with Libra/Cancer there’s a sense of ‘courage’ in them? They aren’t afraid to get messy and right into sticky business sometimes (areas where Capricorn/Aries might jerk away from)

It’s bravery, to face and figure out pieces of ‘truth’ from situation that requires them to get a lil messy and may sometimes ‘hurt’ other people’s feeling even if they don’t realize it

Like,,, sometimes truth hurts y know?? But the thing about these people is that they’re brave. So they aren’t afraid to question what they know, what they don’t, what they feel/don’t and then try to find something that ‘balances’ it all

In a way, Libra’s diplomacy makes them adept at deflecting and defending themselves. ‘Talk to me in a civilized manner and I’ll address you with such’ kind of deal

Can make them a ‘lil’ unsympathetic and snobby sometimes, but it’s mostly bc they work so hard to get it others have to ‘work’ to get it too yknow?

Can be lazy, but will never like to ‘easy way out’ to something. These people are cautious and astute, comfortable but also formidable.

They’re the crab and the scale, and the representation matters.

One is an inanimate object, it may make the person a lil unsympathetic even when they’re trying to be ‘civilized’ or fair-- it makes them cast judgement/rules/conditions on others without appealing to their compassion/human sense (people work best when you’re not being-- y know, defensive or guarded towards them, gate-keep somewhat)

While the crab represents a soft inner being, a softer more vulnerable, nurturing side that needs to somehow come through. It’s defensive tho, snap it’s claws even when there’s nothing there. It tells others to ‘stay away’ without the Libra/Cancer native realizing. Sometimes-- no matter how kind or knowledgeable they are, they can be somewhat unapproachable because they don’t know how to fully appeal to people in a healthy, sensitive, emotional way.

Give first before ye demand, although they may think ‘this is true’ in regards to how others treat them. They also need to realize they may rarely give to others without ‘conditions’ set on the things they give as well.

Think Pisces, the thing about Cancer Moon is that it’s highly perceptive and intuitive. But Cancer has great potential to be both ‘Scorpio’ in nature and ‘Pisces’ as well. Think of em’ as your shell and inner flesh. 

It’s easier to ‘Have a Shell’ than it does to ‘Open Up’ to others truthfully. This isn’t asking you to like--- expose your vulnerability or something you’re uncomfortable with. It’s asking you to be compassionate first, sympathetic and less conditional, more dreamy. Give others benefit of the doubt sometimes.

Your Libra will keep you inline-- just trust your water that if you let go and let yourself be kind and soft to others, you’ll get the same thing back. Maybe even more appreciation-- which you’d love-- even more with how you approach others socially.

In a way it’s like, Cancer is both your strength and your disadvantage? it empowers you, it gives you strength. But it also makes you lonely because it wants recognition but doesn’t know how to get it. 

Be gentle, be open. Try to think Pisces (I keep mentioning this bc Cancer may have a harder time with ‘lighter’ stuff than ‘darker’ stuff. They’re moody, always emotional but they have to learn how to be in-touch with their optimism/up-lifitng/’lighter water’ side as well. Swimming, fluid, flexible. It’s what the lesson is teaching you. Be adaptable. Be both, the hard and soft. Get to show and know the soft even more than the ‘hard’ and maybe you’ll help your Libra more)

The thing with these square signs is that Libra does want tranquility, to get along, to measure and let things come equally, naturally, fairly. Yet it can be quite passive (despite being cardinal) Libra can wait too long, expect others to come to them. Expect others to ‘realize’ how to reach/treat them without fully acknowledging how it’s treating others.

This ‘mirroring’ aspect of Libra only works to the extent where they don’t realize the slightest bit of opposition makes them ‘skrt’ away from it into the defensive/aggressive immediately. ‘Don’t follow me!! We’ll deal with it when I’m ready!!!’

Cancer can be part of Libra’s bad coping mechanism, bad habit they may need to face. Their emotional fluctuation makes them ‘not feel ready’ for things/people/situation-- can make them stiff, less flexible and stubborn against other people’s concern. 

But anyways, let’s talk about the good part too?

The good thing is---you never lose touch of your emotionality. It might sound like ‘wow big surprise (not)’ but trust me, if you were ever numb to your own emotions then you’re probably fucked (or fucked up pretty bad)

(*if you are tho, you’ll need to ground yourself. Find like a Taurus or Capricorn. They’re good at shaking your shoulders and making you come into consciousness again.)

To others, your outside persona is so charming?

Libra gives off an air of peace and serenity, while Cancer may act as your sharper edge sometimes (your moods will influence how receptive you are to others) but overall–generally, Libra/Cancer people tend to be kind and forgiving, nurturing and generous.

You may pride yourself on being a ‘realistically nice’ person. As in, you’re not a push-over and you have an edge, but you’d like to think there are ‘rules’ that are fair, and within that you can treat everyone equally ‘nicely’. 

You do your best to keep it optimistic, without over-balancing yourself with what you can/can’t do for people (again, not a push-over) -- Although sometimes, there can be opportunities where you hesitate, where you want to ‘take a chance’ with something but waited too long and became too cautious again. 

Go for it! Usually these opportunities are rare, and it’s not often that you’ll get to go on ‘adventures’ like this. You’re mostly concerned about being unprepared, maybe being useless/depending on the other person. But don’t worry about it?

It’s good to let yourself go. If your friend shows up at your house and say ‘lets get it’ -- you won’t have time to think and organize a backpack to take with you, y know? Trust, and rely on others sometimes. It will be ok.  

Ahh you always try to give other people realistic opinions, and options they can take with them (to make meaningful stuff out of it)--  making sure they don’t lead themselves (necessarily) down a darker/wrong path, that’s part of what you’re optimistic/try to exude out so others can take with them about (an angel 🧚‍♀️-- I know the emoji’s a fairy but it’s the only one I have ;; )

Maybe this is just from an outsider’s perspective….but mayhaps you’re the most reactive when someone goes against you (challenges you) than you are in ur everyday self (lovely, diplomatic, resourceful and caring)  

Very woe-is-me, did you realize you get really ‘:|’ about it??? You’ll obviously try to brush it off, not let it get to you ( ‘I have my own/more important shit to think about’)--- but you do care, and turning yourself away from that compromises your compassion and your integrity as well.

It’s ok to take it hard when handling confrontations/people challenging you, what matters is that you learn how to admit that there are things you’re bad at. Or isn’t good at learning.

I think a part of you knows that you don’t do very well with criticism....sometimes constructive criticism when you’re not prepared for it can get you defensive (bc you’re sensitive after all, no matter how much you ‘harden’ it or ‘hide’ it)

Learn how to admit.....and ask others for help, to be patient. Give yourself the space and time to work on this. Don’t expect yourself to just-- be good at it on the first go. But it’s better than denying this to your death bed you know? (I have no doubt you can and will if no-one points it out, you’re incredibly stubborn when you want to be after all.

If you noticed any pattern of you blaming others more than yourself-- it’s probably likely that you were closing off/acting up again some of those instances. Try to evaluate your sensitivity and-- again, take a deep breath and ‘think pisces’. 

Get in touch with keeping your eyes wide, being open and compassionate while being truthful even when it’s uncomfortable to open yourself up so vulnerably is necessary to learn. Remember-- Pisces is also ruler of Jupiter, and Libra can work better with that kind of energy than Cancer sometimes. So be the Best You You Can Possibly Be To Another Person.) 

One thing to note is that you are responsive, while you may also be assertive you are also responsive and much more easily swayed by responses than you’d like to admit. To learn that, take it with you atleast. Make it better for yourself, don’t close yourself off to ‘protect’ your vulnerabilities-- learn to strengthen it by being open, instead of closed-off instead. 

It’ll help you not take it harder on urself as well, Cancer can pent up some stuff y know? So it’s good to know how to ‘let go’ -- so you don’t have to resort to being passive-aggressive sometimes. 

If you need another take on Libra-Cancer squares: Cancer Moons can be quite moody and take responses to things pretty hard. And while the general attitude it exudes off invites mayhem— Libra Sun wants to keep peace, keep diplomacy, keep it’s stance. So it’s like.

If you want to attract good energy then BE that good energy. Your Cancer Moon has more emotions than just being skeptical or critical of something/someone— it could be used to garner attraction to you that would benefit and help your Libra Sun. 

You just gotta be conscious of it, of what you’re exuding out. Because /thats/ whats causing oppositions in your life (whether it’s people irl or on the internet) – people aren’t necessarily jealous or have an agenda out against you for some reason. It’s mostly to do with your own attitude that demeans and attract those kinds of things to you because you’re always ‘looking out in case it happens’ for it.

You are at your best when you are kind, understanding. NOT unrelenting and frustratingly constricted to just yourself. When your Cancer starts to deflect, and Libra tries to control the situation - this is why you’re ‘tense’ and ‘need to stew’ sometimes. 

Reach out to others and truly, learn how to let them guide you/be a good influence on you. If you can have it, let yourself learn/grow how to be open-hearted and open-minded to others as well.

The tension with this square aspect is that it can be the person somewhat moody, always emotional and use their intellect and passiveness as a defensive tactic. 

They think they’re hard but they’re rather soft. You’re the most successful when you are passionate about something, when you do care and realize that you care. You can approach people with genuine love and nurturing kindness. But that comes with the territory of learning how to get/heal past hurt and not let it jade you as well.

I hope this is helpful!! 💕 Thanks for sending this in~ 💕

[leo-lucid]

Bewitching Which Monster Chapter 3: The Book

Breakfast was absolutely delicious. The french toast was incredibly sweet and went well with the saltiness of the crispy bacon. It made me wonder how long Zamuel spent practicing cooking. It seemed like he made a wide variety of breakfast items for everyone to cater toward their dietary needs.

My plate was taken care of for me after I was finished eating. I really wanted to at least help with dishes but I was sent to go start searching for those notes. With my coffee cup in one hand and crystal pendulum in the other, I began my search. I closed my eyes and focused my energy on the pendulum, fueling it up so it could guide me through the room. "Did my grandmother leave anything behind for me to read?"

The crystal began to glow and swing around in small circles, signaling that my grandmother did indeed leave something behind. "Are the notes hidden within the Witch Room?"

Once again, it glowed and swung in a circle. I began to walk to the Witch Room but Beofur stepped out in front of me. "Hey, Anise! Can I help you look for the notes? I am excellent at finding stuff if I do say so myself and we may find them faster if we work together. Please?"

Beo really reminded me of a dog than a wolf. His tail was wagging back and forth and his eyes sparkled as I considered letting him join me in the investigation. I couldn't say no to the facial expression he was giving me. I sighed. "Fine. Just please try not to make a mess. The room is already in dire need of organization."

His tail wagged even harder and he grinned. "Of course! I promise to not make a mess."

We headed to the room, my pendulum swinging like crazy as we got closer to our destination. I opened the door to the room and looked among all of the shelves and papers I would have to go through. Beo now had an optimistic expression that actually gave me some courage that we'll find what we're looking for.

I set my coffee cup down on the table that was in the middle of the room. The pendulum stopped swinging and was ready for my next question. "Are the notes in one of the bookshelves?"

The pendulum swung in circles after a couple of seconds. I began to walk around the room, carefully watching the pendulum as we passed the shelves. It wasn't until I approached the biggest bookshelf in the room when the crystal began glowing bright and swung in a large, reassuring circle.

I jumped slightly as Beo placed his hands on my shoulders from behind. I looked to my left and found his head right next to mine. His attention was trained on the crystal. "Whoa! That's so cool! How does it know this stuff?"

"It uses some of my energy to communicate. It can only answer yes or no questions and give directions like this. Circles mean yes and straight lines mean no. The glow tells me how strong the answer is on a scale from least likely to most likely. Based on the glow and motion right now the notes are most definitely hidden somewhere on this bookcase." I explained.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get to searching!" He enthusiastically began to take books off of the shelf and flip through them. As he flipped through them his smile turned into a small frown. "I can't read any of this. It's all in another language."

I took a glimpse at the book he was going through. "It's Irish Gaelic. I don't know how many books are written like this but hopefully there isn't a lot. How about you look at books that are written in English while I look through the Irish Gaelic ones."

His grin returned. "Great idea! I'll set aside any books that you can read while I'll have my own English pile."

I sat down on the table and began to flip through pages, scanning and translating words that may lead to an answer. Beofur took time opening books briefly before putting them on the table, English in one pile and Irish Gaelic in another. Towers of books were balanced on the table for each of us to start sifting through.

I was going to need some more coffee for this.

"Most of these just look like spells, recipes, and other magical instructions and history. It's honestly making my head hurt a little. There's so much information written in these. How did your grandmother manage to write it all down?" Beo sighed.

I shrugged and picked up another book. "Grandfather mostly took care of the mansion while grandmother had a lot more time to write and study. Some of these may be written by past generations from the Devane family too."

"Oh." He simply said. A few seconds went by before he put his book down and asked another question. "What does Devane mean?"

"Devane comes from the original Gaelic form 'O Daimhin' which comes from the word 'damh' which means 'an ox' or 'a stag'. My great great great grandmother had a twin sister but they both fought a lot and decided to split up the family. Generations born under my great great great grandmother are known as Stag Witches. Anyone born under her sister is known as Ox Witches." I said as I continued to go through books.

"But that doesn't make sense." Beo complained. "Everyone is still family because they were born under the Devane name, right? Doesn't everyone have the same kind of powers?"

I set my book down to focus more on his question. "My grandmother ended up having more magical abilities than her twin and because of that she was going to inherit this house, the land and many other things. Her twin sister was very upset and went to find her own land where she can raise her children by her own rules. However, that part of the family is weaker when it comes to witchcraft. They are related but by behavior and ability they are practically disowned."

He still didn't seem satisfied with my answer but he nodded regardless. "Okay. So I'm guessing that you are part of the Stag Witches?"

"Correct."

"Do you know anyone that is an Ox Witch?" He inquired.

I shook my head. "I don't. And I hope I never come to meet one because we're supposed to be enemies. If a witch kills another witch then the one who committed the crime may inherit the dead one's powers. Ox Witches have been known to try to hunt down Stag Witches for more power in hopes that they can become the bigger house. It's like a family war."

"All of that sounds really complicated. Is that why the official name of this mansion is called The Stag House?" He tried to connect the dots.

"Yes." I stated, trying to get back to work as soon as possible.

Beofur returned to going through books, finally done asking questions about my family history. Hours passed by and we still couldn't find anything. I didn't even realize that it was time for lunch until my stomach grumbled, snapping me out of my focus. I looked at the antique clock that hung on the wall. It was one o'clock.

"Beo, do yo-" I stopped speaking when my eyes landed on a werewolf that was fast asleep. I didn't realize that he fell asleep because I was so focused on reading. It seemed like he ended up going through a majority of his pile before passing out though.

I got up from the table, stretching my back and legs in the process, and headed over to where Beo was sitting. His brown ears that poked out his hair twitched. As they moved and his shaggy locks shifted ever so slightly I had the urge to pet him.

His hair looks so fluffy and the fur on his ears looked so soft. I was really curious to find out just how soft it was. So, I quietly hovered my hand over his head, making sure that he wouldn't wake up. I waited for a second before moving my hand closer and closer to his ears.

Gently, I began to stroke his ears and some parts of his hair, marveled over how so incredibly soft it felt. It was so silky and fluffy! I was so wrapped up in petting him that I didn't even notice that his tail was wagging and he was wide awake.

Beo grabbed my arm suddenly, stopping me from petting him. However, he didn't seem angry. In fact, he seemed very gleeful. "Why are you petting me?"

I blushed and tried to retract my hand, but he still gripped my wrist. "I-I just thought it looked so soft and pet-able and I really wanted to know what it felt like! Plus, you have been working so hard for a long time so I thought that this was kind of like a reward."

Dogs loved being praised, right? Beofur resemble more like a dog than a wolf so he would be okay with this, right?

Beo pulled me down and with his other hand began to pat my head. "You worked really hard too. You deserve to be pat as well."

My face grew red as he gave me his own praise. It was embarrassing but it also felt kind of nice. I felt like my energy was being restored. Beo just kept petting my hair while I stood frozen. It took me a couple of seconds to finally stand up straight and move back to my station. "I should head back to work now. There are still several more books to look through."

He flashed a his toothy grin. "No problem! I'll go see if Zam has any lunch ready for us. I'm starving!"

I breathed out a sigh in relief as he left the room. My cheeks cooled down a bit and my attention began to center back on reading. One book after the other, I flipped through them. Still, nothing. I groaned in frustration and smacked my head on the table. Right as I did so, there was a clink sound from underneath the wooden table.

Sitting on the floor underneath the table was a brass key with antlers as the box. I picked it up and dusted it off using my jeans. This key had to be hiding some secret.

I examined the rest of my books and Beo's books for any keyhole that would match my discovery. The books had nothing for me so I stood in front of the bookshelf and shuffled extra papers around for a secret keyhole or lever of anything really.

Finally, behind a mason jar filled with black ink was a little hole for my key. I grew excited and twisted the key into the hole. There was a click and a portion of the wall behind the bookcase opened up like a safe. Inside the little nook was a golden journal with an intricate design of a stag on the cover. I unbuckled the buckled that was holding it closed and read through some of the pages.

I recognized the handwriting to belong to my grandmother. It seemed like it contained personal notes and letters to herself and other people in our family. Most of it was written in Gaelic but there were special pages written in English.

While I turned the pages, I recognized some names pop up. Both of my moms were mentioned, my grandfather and even the monsters living in this house were in here. I sat down find anything addressed to me.

My heart quickened as I approached the last few pages. On the last page I finally found my name written at the top. She wrote an entire letter to me in Irish Gaelic.

Dear Ani,

I hope the move was smooth and you didn't have to clean up after us too much. There were so many things I have left for you to study and read that you may enjoy. It should help you master your witchcraft. There are several empty journals left behind for you as well so you can start your own grimoires and books.

Now, I'm guessing that you have already met your roommates. I'm sorry that I didn't mention them before. I honestly didn't think that they would be living in the house for as long as they did. I tried so hard to find them all a working spell or potion that could return their humanity before I passed away that didn't require anyone's assistance. Unfortunately, that's not how things worked out.

I did find an answer but it involved you. I discovered that the only way any of them can become human again was to earn the love of a Devane witch, specifically a Stag Witch. How old school! Love is the only way they can return back to normal and have the curses lifted. You are the only one that can help them now. Try not to get too overwhelmed. I know you can be shy at times and I'm sure having several (attractive) monsters isn't going to help you get over your shyness but please try your hardest to help them.

And remember, even if you fall in love with only one don't feel guilty or bad for the others. You must listen to your heart. I have taught them that lesson before I passed away. I hope that it stuck with them and they'll understand.

Good luck! I love you!

Love,

Grandmother Rosemary Devane

I settled the book down in my lap and pinched my cheek. My breathing grew more rapid as I realized that this wasn't a dream given how much pain I felt from the pinch. I was flabbergasted.

Oh my gods!

Did my grandmother make me a bachelorette?

[tinymixtapes]

Interview: Oliver Coates

Composer, producer, and cellist Oliver Coates recently released Shelley’s on Zenn-La, his third solo full-length and first on RVNG Intl. The album relies on a peculiar splicing of IDM, distilled pop, and faint folk that manifests a multicolored, amaranthine microcosm. Located on the fictional planet Zenn-La, it is home to an apocryphal amalgam of Shelley’s Laserdome, the fabled Stoke-on-Trent nightclub from the late 80s/early 90s, and a futuristic dance floor whose inhabitants are possessed by a perpetual, time-displaced dance to the sounds of early rave, electronica, and minimalism. Shelley’s on Zenn-La is both a synthesis of previous works and a departure in Coates’s diverse and fruitful career, his projects and collaborations almost too many to mention. In the realm of classical music, he is the primary cellist for the London Contemporary Orchestra and has worked with the likes of Laurie Spiegel and John Luther Adams. Outside of it, he has collaborated with Mica Levi on 2016 album Remain Calm and with Laurie Tompkins on 2018’s Ample Profanity; contributed to Radiohead, Laurel Halo, and Mark Fell records; and performed with Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Dean Blunt, Actress, and Genesis P-Orridge. He has also participated in the making of several film scores, including those for the masterful Under the Skin with Mica Levi and The Master and Phantom Thread with Jonny Greenwood. But on Shelley’s on Zenn-La, Coates is alone, acting as both a playful tinkerer and a studious composer. Coates builds the record’s song structures by challenging himself, looking for noises that sound gorgeous and meticulously incorporating curious segments into wider narratives. Tinkling FM synthesis and drum sequences composed in Renoise are contrasted and augmented by processed and transformed cello lines. Here, his trademark cello becomes another source of samples, equipotent with all other effects he employs. In a way, Coates creates his own all-encompassing instrumentarium of sounds, as idiosyncratic as the fictional world he explores and one that is only occasionally visited by Kathryn Williams’s enveloping flute, Chrysanthemum Bear’s ethereal vocal lines, and Malibu’s spoken word. We caught up with Coates to talk about Shelley’s on Zenn-La, among other things. --- Shelley’s on Zenn-La emanates a warm and welcoming feeling, a certain sense of optimism. Thanks! At the mastering stage, I asked for it not to be squeezed like commercial electronic music, so that we might preserve the internal dynamic balances as much as possible. I think coldness perceived in electronic music may partly be connected to listening fatigue, where pounding transients are all peaking at the same level and eliminate dynamic relationships between instrument groupings. I’m anti music feeling as if everything is brick wall limited. I don’t need the kick drum to shake anything. It connects back to the music: I have this background playing Bach cello suites where some of the best bass notes are imagined or implied rather than heard because there’s not so much scope for polyphony on a monophonic instrument. I sometimes like skeletal textures, where the listener is coaxed into imagining parts of the music image. More room for fantasy that way. The album and its title evoke a sort of British retrofuturism. It sounds bittersweet and melancholy, but ultimately optimistic. Like something that Sun Ra would have made had he been clubbing and raving in the late 80s and early 90s. Were you guided by a concept while working on the record? There was no concept, just having fun making tracks for RVNG. Towards the end, that title came to me. The tracks were describing the environment of this impossible space. I edited the album down into something tighter against that image, depicting a series of buildings, public pleasure activities like in Brave New World, and the topography of the outlying countryside and nature. The music also seems to be a personal reflection, a soundtrack devoted to certain places, London chiefly. Is this something you’ve consciously tried to achieve — using the music to capture and channel subjective impressions of certain areas, neighborhoods, and cities? Is it at all nostalgic? Perhaps. London is not that important to me culturally. It’s fun to be with your friends or singing in a choir or something. I see failure and friction and busy-ness for its own sake. The terror of being still. I wasn’t consciously describing anything when I was coming up with the music, more listening and seeing what happens. Shelley's on Zenn-La by Oliver Coates I sometimes like skeletal textures, where the listener is coaxed into imagining parts of the music image. More room for fantasy that way. Has your work with Lawrence Lek, which must have been impressionistic on some level, provided you with any guidance while constructing Shelley’s? I think Lawrence and I have always shared a similar fondness for the adoption of real spaces and transforming them into fantasy. In that context, does any of the day-to-day sociopolitical stuff seep into your work? Making a music LP, I hope to constitute an experience more than a takeaway message. My nature seems averse to tribal or ideological thinking. I’m more interested in friendship and family and effecting change through relationships. More interested in chatting about Beckett than Br_x_t. Shelley’s often reminds me of a contemporary (re)interpretation of the IDM/techno/dance scenes of the late 80s/early 90s. Were you chasing that particular sound? Nah, none of that first part rings true. I wasn’t reinterpreting or interpreting anything. I was guided by pleasure, which sounds a bit dodgy, but also giving myself mini-technical challenges such as two simultaneous bass lines (“A Church”), two imaginary drummers in different acoustics going crazy to one click track (“Cello Renoise”), wonky scales, and fake Gaelic folk music (“Charlev”). The album has a very distinct flow that feels quite deliberate. Yet, given some of your previous work, I can’t help but wonder whether any of its parts were improvised? Improvising is there, for sure. I have just enjoyed this twix bar a great deal. On this release, I edited it quite heavily. The residual ghosts of improvisation are sometimes what fascinate you; they somehow have higher authority over your conscious self. I might edit over and over, then go back 10 stages to find a set of performance actions you made when you weren’t remotely aware of what you were doing or what the shape was going to be — these always seem to be more compelling. Many of the tracks were much longer, and I was heading for double-album territory. I had a good chat with Matt [from RVNG] and decided to cut it into a manageable form. Eight hours of ambient cello patterns bouncing around in Pure Data can come later. Do you prefer working within improvised contexts like Remain Calm with Mica Levi or fully composed and premeditated? Changes all the time. I feel comfortable with certain people around, being in a room with certain people gives me a good amount of ideas that seem fresh. Sometimes I like the hard and fast decisions that have gone into composition, because they’ve been made painstakingly. Looking at your solo releases, there appears to be a progression in your approach to the cello. You use its unaltered sound on Towards the Blessed Islands and subvert it to produce unexpected sounds on Upstepping, while on Shelley’s you rely more on sound synthesis and electronic effects with the cello pushed back. That first solo record is an album of performances of music written by other people (David F/Hennessy, Laurence Crane, Larry Goves, Max de Wardener, Iannis X). I think the answer to this question lies in live performances that are centered around live cello performance. I play a New Age melodic sound with ambient synths, Romantic cello lines juxtaposed with aspects of digital music which I trigger and manipulate with my foot controller. I hope I can make more music for records in the future that is actually closer to my live stuff and more about nuanced live cello playing and computer music juxtaposed. More interested in chatting about Beckett than Br_x_t. In that sense, “Prairie” is somewhat of an outlier, with the cello its sole actor. Is there some kind of story behind this specific joyful cut? Years ago, I was approached to make music for an app about the Apollo 11 moon landings. The project got shelved, and I was left with some music I really liked, so I used this one. It was what this record needed. With your focus shifting to electronic music, do you still enjoy the performative aspects of interpreting someone else’s work as a cellist? Yes. Working with Larry Goves, Alexia Sloane, Laurel Halo — there are so many good composers out there. Has your background in classical music influenced your musical journey outside that specific realm? Realms, moving outside, journeys; I like all these connotations of physical play set against music. Classical Music functions a bit more like an industry. I don’t think it’s a type of music, for sure. There’s 800 years of notated music. I turn up on time because of my background in orchestral structures. As both a performer within LCO and someone who creates music using computers, how do these two aspects of your art relate? They both feel like second nature. My relationship with LCO has never been formalized; it’s nice and chill. Editing sound on the computer is about taste ultimately, same goes for how you play the cello. Your music appears in a constant state of flux, yet I wonder if there’s some other overarching theme in your work? There is, actually, but I’m holding it back for the time being — you can’t control things so much on the surface — but yes, there’s a backbone to the progression of each release. Tell me a bit about Ample Profanity with Laurie Tompkins. I’m aware that Tompkins has a very intense and unique creative process. As far as I know, this is the first time you’ve sung on a record, and your playing seems to be pushed even further than usual. We’re old friends, and Laurie T is a fine composer. His music is more extreme than mine (hence the shouting and so on at the start and the arrhythmia), but it’s fantastic to play in a live duo with him. He’s a subversive kind of performer, nuts skills he has, and I honestly don’t know where it comes from. By the way, I sang on track 1 of the first album, Towards the Blessed Islands, “The room is the resonator.” You’ve collaborated with a multitude of musicians from different scenes in different contexts. Do these collaborations affect your solo music? For example, certain elements of Shelley’s on Zenn-La’s sound seem to be hiding in pupal stage on cuts from Remain Calm. No overlap between RC and SOZ-L. Cello playing is there in both, but RC was a quick, fun, lo-fi thing. I can’t accurately say what has been transformative for me — meeting Genesis P-Orridge and improvising/underscoring her reading out Burroughs at Sophia Brous’s Dream Machine event in NYC taught me a lot, just on the unconscious level. Having moved to a fairly remote part of Scotland, are we going to hear more folk influences in your work? Perhaps for the first part. Scottish Gaelic music is very beautiful to me. http://j.mp/2CCRVNn

[wjsns]

i did a quick little astro-analysis of loona below :*

haseul has her sun in leo and her moon in aquarius (sister signs!!!) she has a libra venus and a scorpio mars as well. i loooove sister sign placements! she has a broadened perspective from this and the ability to put her sun sign in the back seat. leos are great performers and love the spotlight. aquarians love the arts and finding beauty in anything, haseul was born to be a performer! her libra venus means its very important for her to have harmonious relationships in her every day life. this combined with a scorpio mars means she may internalize a lot of her feelings and her leo sun makes sure she is always projecting the perfect appearance. she is a leader who cares for those around her and often times puts the needs of others before her own. 

vivi is a sagittarius sun, scorpio moon and venus, and a virgo mars... while all sagittarius’s are free spirited and flighty, her scorpio moon (ruling inner emotions) is going to give her a sense of depth that sag’s usually run away from. that paired with her scorpio venus mean she feels things a lot deeper and longer than a typical fire sign (whos emotions are normally explosive but short lived). her virgo mars DEFINITELY pulls in those scorpio placements and her sagittarius sun. both are known for being dramatic and they can get overwhelmed easily. virgo pulls all that together in a tight little box and really gives her chart a nice sense of control. mars rules actions and reactions, so its a nice filter on her true inner self. vivi definitely has a lot brewing under the surface.

heejin is a libra with her moon in cancer, her venus in scorpio and her mars in virgo. she shares 2 placements with vivi! my favorite part about heejin’s chart is her cancer moon. the moon is at home in cancer, this means heejin is extremely attuned to other peoples needs and emotions. paired with her libra sun, you have the perfect giver. she is effected by others emotional well being. if someone around her is upset, she is too. with her mars in virgo and libra sun working together she is highly analytical and an excellent problem solver. libra and virgo, earth and air. the two more unemotional elements paired with her 2 water placements give her a great emotional/logical balance. heejin has one of the best charts ive ever read!

hyunjin is a scorpio and has a cancer moon as well. she also has a capricorn venus and a libra mars. her elemental balance is really nice. cancer and libra paired means  she really looks out for others, and, like heejin, her emotional well being revolves a lot around the emotional wellbeing of those closest to her. capricorn venus is a very stable placement. capricorns are achievers and realists. she strives to be the best she can be and wants to bring others up with her. it is hard for her to express how she really feels about something, capricorn makes her competitive, cancer makes her sensitive and emotional, libra makes her rational and scorpio makes her work hard to mask all of that. she is very careful and deliberate. 

yeojin our second scorpio, her moon is in aquarius like haseul, her mars in libra like hyunjin, and her venus in scorpio like vivi and heejin. i think its also worth it to note her mercury is also in scorpio (i dont put too much emphasis in mercury bc i feel like mars and moon overrides it in general analysis). we have a triple scorpio! all this mystery paired with an aquarius moon is really interesting, essentially a bleeding heart for herself with a bleeding heart for humanity. she gives off a really cool vibe. scorpio and libra :) scorpio, partially ruled by mars is paired off nicely with libra, ruled by venus. these placements have a lot of power and its easy to see in everything she does. the libra mars helps her control and direct her scorpio energy into a very relatable and “extroverted” manner.

kim lip, aquarius sun, sagittarius moon, pisces venus and scorpio mars. whew a lottt of scorpio in loona!!! aquarians are known for their individuality. sagittarius also like to be the “odd one out” and can be flighty. with these two paired in a chart, you have someone who prides themselves in being different. they dont try to fit in or be anyone else, in fact, others try and emulate them. gives off a very cool girl vibe. the two water placements, pisces venus and scorpio mars are a great harmony. pisces is a dreamer, she has plenty of aquarius and pisces dreams but not a lot of “doing” placements. pisces sees the world through rose tinted glasses, and combined with sagittarius, even her overthinking aquarius & scorpio placements cant get her down for too long! she is a thinker for sure. a really nice elemental blend. fire is rare in loona, and you certainly can see kim lips spark! 

jinsoul our first of a long line of geminis! her virgo moon and mars stand out, and her cancer venus gives a great splash of water to her chart. she also has a gemini mercury (gemini is at home in mercury, this girl is great at communication). geminis are notorious for their “two faces” but in reality, they really are very versatile. they need to connect with others to thrive. jinsoul has a couple of virgo placements too, which keep her very composed at all times. geminis have a tendency to get a little too weird and unconscious of themselves, but her virgo placements take care of that. she is eternally focused and has a pretty linear drive. geminis strive to connect intellectually, and her cancer venus strives to connect emotionally. overall, i see a chart that really relies heavily on human connection and needs to have people to confide in. she is driven to work and play hard. 

choerry our next gemini, im excited to do her chart because this is loona’s first aries placement!!!! scorpio moon, aries venus, and sagittarius mars complete choerry’s chart. this is a lot of fire compared to the rest of loona! gemini and aries together in a chart mean one thing, impulsiveness. and because choerry doesnt have any earth, she really doesnt have a whole lot of control over her actions. this doesnt mean she isnt disciplined or anything, but she is very expressive. her scorpio moon also seeks out intensity in everything, i bet choerry loves roller coasters :) sagittarius is no help to this wild girls cause, overall i see a girl whos chart indicates she is sporadic and exuberant. she acts on impulse and charms others with her gemini relatability and her aries childlike innocence. by far my favorite chart so far. 

yves, our 3rd gemini, who also has a gemini venus! along with her sagittarius moon and virgo mars :) we have another sister sign sun and moon pairing!!! gemini and sagittarius feed off of each other, the eternal student and teacher. for yves, there is always more to learn and perfect. the thirst to do more is never quenched! virgo mars is the key placement (as all earth mars’s are) to keeping all that sporadic gemini tied up neatly. it controls her impulses and actions and makes her acutely aware of her decision making process. our awkward girl simply has a virgo mars behind the wheel! 

hope you guys liked this im such an astrology nerd it was hard to cut these off and not make them too long!!!

EDIT: im adding the final three girls!

chuu, another libra girl <3 she has an aquarius moon as well which is quite different than heejins cancer moon. she also has a virgo venus and a capricorn mars. aquarian moons are learners and thinkers. this combined with a libra sun means that chuu has a very optimistic outlook on life. libra is all about keeping the balance and aquarius is the “humanitarian sign”. I would say chuu has a very strong moral compass, and is an independent thinker. because of her earth placements, i would say chuu is a very developed libra. she lets her “cute” out even though her capricorn mars makes her a more serious planner and goal setter. her virgo venus means that structure and order are important in relationships, they don’t like flashy or loud, they prefer laid back people they can get along easily with. 

go won another scorpio, this time with a virgo moon, capricorn venus, and libra mars. Overall, she has a very similar chart to chuu! all 3 of our scorpios so far have their mars in libra as well. this is really cute because although scorpios are known for being mysterious and a bit closed off, libra mars’s strive for balance. they aren’t as extreme as other scorpios might be (with traits such as introversion and closed off-ness), but they still have the passion and the mischievousness we can see in both scorpio and libra! with a virgo moon, go won views her emotions as a list to check off or as messy things to be dealt with quickly. she’s pretty much the opposite of hyunjin’s cancer moon. I would say go won brushes off the emotional intensity scorpios are used to feeling. her capricorn venus is also interesting because in her relationships with people, she strives to look competent and responsible. this paired with her libra mars means go won keeps her social interactions under strict control. 

olivia hye honestly im scared... loona has sooo much scorpio energy. miss olivia hye has a scorpio sun and venus, a libra moon, and an aquarius mars. she is an intense person who has intense relationships. her inner emotions are settled when she perceives everyone else to be happy, because her libra moon cannot be at rest until the scales are balanced. communication is not a strong point of hers, but the libra moon helps. she would rather step back and not cause problems than outwardly stick up for herself in most situations and cause a “scene”. her aquarius mars also gives her a very outward emotional view. aquarius mars are a little more independent, however, emotionally she needs the people close to her to be happy before she is! by having aquarius, libra and scorpio in her chart, she can be an excellent manipulator! she hates to cause a scene but that doesnt mean she cant get what she wants! 

ot12 is complete! we have a lottt of scorpio energy, not just in sun signs but in the rest of the girls charts as well! in fact, jinsoul and yves are the only girls without any scorpio in their basic chart.... crazy! There is also a huge lack of fire! Vivi and Haseul are the only fire signs, and choerry has the only aries placement in all of loona. we’ve got a water/air dominated group on our hands and i can’t want to see how all their charts interact with each other in the future!!!