#the arcana next gen

[ask-winner-drop]

Say hello to vesta. Or her real name, Opaline Arcana.

A fire and strength alicorn.

Who is....shy..-

[lucios-apprentice]

Does anyone wanna rec good fanfic or fanworks in general that are continuations of Julian’s reversed ending? I want to see other peoples ideas of how the bird adventures go. I also just love reversed continuations in general so if you have any for other characters feel free to share.

[ask-the-barkerverse]

Some of you are probably thinking that I'm absolutely insane right now, but I decided to incorporate G5 into my MLP Next Gen AU by making Opaline Twilight Sparkle and Tempest Shadow's daughter as opposed to her being a pony who knew Celestia and Luna when they were fillies. I decided to do this because A) the whole "ancient villain who knew Celestia and Luna over 1000 years ago" thing has already been done B) it gives her more personal beef with Twilight C) It's MY AU and I can do whatever I want and D) Opaline just looks like she could pass as a TwiTempest foal IMO. I also gave her a slight redesign by tweaking her mane and removing those weird braids around her ears because they were too difficult for me to draw. Anyway, time for a backstory!

So in my AU, Opaline was originally named Evening Shade and is Twilight and Tempest's daughter, being Twilight's first foal but Tempests's second as she has a son from a past relationship with the Storm King. Having been born an alicorn instead of becoming one like Twilight, Evening ends up viewing herself as better than her piers. She later got a younger sister named Libra, and while she initially loved her baby sister, she began to grow jealous of her as the years went by as she seemed to get more attention from her mothers when she still hadn't found her cutie mark when other foals her age already had one. While her parents loved all their kids equally, Evening still began to feel that her parents loved her less. After all, they were spending more time with her, by why? SHE was the one who was born an alicorn, not her! Why should Libra be getting more attention when SHE was clearly better than her! After leaving home following an argument with her parents, Evening ends up meeting a scarred alicorn named Caelum (OC brother of Celestia and Luna who I have yet to redesign), who convinces her that she IS better than all of them, and that he can teach her how to be a truly powerful pony.

In secret, Evening trains with Caelum, learning how to hone her magic skills and gradually becoming stronger. In reality, Caelum was training her for when he would one day get revenge on his sisters for leaving him for dead over 1000 years ago, but at some point Evening -now going by the name "Opaline"- catches on to what he was doing and turns on him, using the skills she learned to drain him of his magic and, as she later finds out, his immortality, resulting in his demise. Now more powerful than ever, Opaline returns home and begins to wreak havoc on Ponyville, wanting to show those who ignored her how powerful she was. A battle between her and Twilight breaks out as a result, but Twilight can't bring herself to fire at her own daughter and is struck down from the sky, but Opaline's younger sister Libra manages to defeat her by striking her down with a burst of magic, resulting in her getting her cutie mark. As a result of all the damage she caused, Opaline is banished to the outskirts of Equestria as she was now considered too dangerous to others. Opaline forever hates her mother for this, but Twilight is heartbroken over having to banish her own daughter, and Libra feels some guilt over gaining her cutie mark from defeating her.

Life in Equestria goes on as normal after that, but after Twilight's death from old age over a century later (while Twilight doesn't ascend to Celestia's godlike status in the Barkerverse, being an alicorn DID cause her to live a significantly longer life than most ponies), the magic shield keeping Opaline outside of Equestra finally faded and allowed her back in. Still angry over what had happened, Opaline secretly causes disharmony between the three races of ponies, turning them against each other which eventually results in an all-our war breaking out. Equestria's current ruler Violet Vigil tried to put a stop to all the fighting, but this unfortunately results in her death. In a last ditch effort to stop all the bloodshed, her half-siblings Mystic and High Noon used their draconequus powers to gather all the world's magic and place it into three crystals (i.e. the Unity Crystals), which were then given to the three tribes of ponies. By then the damage had been done as trust between earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns were lost, resulting in the three races becoming divided and going their separate ways.

Then, the events of G5 play out more or less the same: Opaline kidnapping Misty as a filly to use her as a spy, Harmony being restored in the New Generation movie, Opaline trying to steal dragon fire to become a fire alicorn and her ultimately being defeated for good.

[snobgoblin]

What if the Next Gen were in The Arcana…

IVE BEEN SITTING ON THIS FOR A WHILE because I'm not sure how to answer it 🤔 but @the-delighted-landfill asked the same thing today again so I'll have to think of an answer

yeah it's really hard to say because I can't really think of a way they could work into the plot or interact with any of the relevant characters so it's just kind of "how would they fit into this fantasy world" in which case- Flower would be the child of a famous traveling bard, Barb would still be a pirate queen but not in the Salty Sea as Mazelinka has that covered already. maybe those two are rivals. (it might be kind of one sided since Maz doesn't seem to particularly want to conquer. she just wants to protect aquatic life and get money for her family) maybe some kind of curse was put on Tucker so he's trapped in a mirror instead of an arcade cabinet at the beginning. Y2K... I'm stumped on. maybe they're a traveling performer/magician since they like wizards

for the most part, it doesn't seem like it's possible for a patron to have multiple beneficiaries- big asterisk. there are specific circumstances where this is possible but I won't get into it. anyway ignoring those rules I think their Patron Arcana would be Flower-Death (The Moon was also tempting though for them), Barb-Justice, Tucker-The World, Y2K-The Hermit (maybe)

[devotedlystrangewizard]

[getting up after 5 hours of grinding ffxiv and watching star trek] [still mentally reaching for keybinds]

[paulinawoodpecker]

We have a winner!

Star Wars is done so…

[lolo-chi]

WHAT A TIME TO BE A GEN (and sengen) FAN, Gen focused ED this is so peak 🛐🛐🛐

sad they cut off the personalized drinks from françois I was really looking forward to seeing it animated (bc of the COLORS!!), but also understandable considering pacing, dunno if they'll put it in the next episode or scrap it altogether

BUT!!!!! Gen focused ED. Gen focused ED with a sengen parallel and ugen being so fucking cute at the end of it, like oh my god why are they so cute

look my beautiful son.......

fucking cuties they make me so UGHHHH

They make me ill, they make me so ill, they make me so insane, back to ao3 i must go

AND PLEASE LOOK AT THEM, LOOK AT THEM LOOK AT THEEEEEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my beloveds, they're so awes, thank you TMS Entertainment for giving us peak after peak with this ED

I gasped when I saw the cards btw, tarot!! I love tarot. Though i did get unsure once we saw the other cards

If it actually is tarot i guess we have the Star (Suika), the Lovers (Taiju and Yuzuriha), Justice (Ukyo), The Magician (Gen), Emperor (Ryusui), Strength (Kohaku), The World (Tsukasa, but also feels like it could be Temperance to me idk, symbols wise it's very obviously The World), Chrome (The Fool) and then I cannot tell you for the life of me what Senku is, like I'd say the Moon but it feels like it doesn't fit? (edit: Other people have given their opinion, Gen's The Moon while Senku's The Magician), and the other cards don't appear to be major arcana to me, though I'm guessing Hyoga's the Knight of Wands, Ginro and Kinro, as well as Mozu and Kirisame are probably wands as well? Can't tell which I couldn't see very well, and Minami and Nikki I can't see but I'll guess something pentacles?

I have no idea yeah, (i wonder if they're gonna have the cour 2 ED have more cards symbolizing Xeno's people and it's gonna be a full tarot at the end? If they do that that'd be cool as hell, though I very much doubt it'll come back for the next two EDs)

[most-datable-datable-bracket]

ROUND 4 MATCH 7

Chrom propaganda:

“Chrobin (Chrom x player character) is so many tropes in one oml. You have friends-to-lovers (Chrom and Robin are canonically best friends according to Nintendo), enemies-to-lovers (Robin is heir to the Grimleal cult, the enemy of the Halidom of Ylisse which Chrom is the prince, and later king, of), there's amnesia, time travel, official next-gen AUs, changed dialogue to lore important events in the game if you marry Chrom, and Nintendo keeps teasing us with the ship. Cheery prince who knows when to be serious, very strategically smart but very bad at communicating, a guy that can comfort you when you're down, make a fool of himself when you're not around, and he's just generally a very sweet guy. Also please consider the fact that you get to watch a cutscene of him dying in the prologue and despite the horrors he's just so supportive of the protagonist. Chrom doesn't care about where you came from or who you're related to, he cares for YOU. He gets KILLED by the protag and he reassures them that they did nothing wrong and pleads with them to get out, to a safe place. I lost my soul to Chrom, I physically can't play this game without romancing him.”

“He eats oranges with the peel still on, he's an absolute himbo. Also the writers accidentally made his daughter canonically trans so he definitely supports trans rights. And technically you can only marry him if you play as female Robin but their dynamic is still just as romantic if you play as male Robin (they literally call each other their other half and m!Robin and Chrom have a valentine's day duo unit in the gatcha, and in the anthology manga m!Robin asks Chrom to make polygamy legal so he can also marry Chrom's wife and they can be a family) so most people play the game with the gay mod so they can still marry him as a guy. He's incredibly stupid ("yeah, let's set all our ships on fire then walk through a volcano, you're so smart, Robin" "I know you've had prophetic visions about killing me and our daughter came from the future to warn us it would happen but I'm sure THIS TIME it won't because of the power of our bonds") but also really sweet. In the summer DLC they're fighting on a beach and when he sees Robin get excited over a weird creature they found he immediately forgets about the battle and starts trying to make a bunch of crafts (and failing) and cooking food (and failing again) and writing "Chrom and Robin were here" in the sand so that Robin could have some nice beach memories. I'm obsessed with this man”

Asra propaganda:

“He GIVES AWAY HALF HIS HEART TO REVIVE YOU okay but like. He's the MCs roommate and they were together for a few years before the MC caught a plague and died and he obsesses over a way to bring them back before succeeding by making a deal with a god to trade half his heart for MC and betraying the emperor. And then when MC comes back but without any of their memories, he takes care of them and teaches them how to live all over again and he never asks for anything in return. On all the routes where you don't choose him he's really supportive and helps you out despite your history and overall he's just really nice and supportive of the MC and is their rock no matter what route you go down. Also he has a pet snake named Faust and I love her she's so <33 

Idk I just appreciate him so much”

"He gave you half his HEART!! He would literally go to hell and back for you!! He wants to take you on adventures all around the world—doesn’t matter where, as long as he’s by your side!! AND he’s nonbinary!!!"

[dragonagefanevents]

Dragon Age Fan Event Listings

The beauty of fan events is that they are run by fans.

Including you.

▸What are the types of fan events? - #education

▸Start a new event! - #how tos (coming soon)

▸Ask Box - send us advice, or ask for it!

▸Blog Tag List

Below is a list of all Dragon Age fan-run events we can find. The links should bring you to the most recent iteration of the event. Where possible, the time period the event covers is listed next to the event.

Want to get an event listed? Check out the link and submit. Look here for multi-fandom events, or more events in general.

Event Masterlist - #compendium

Bangs

25k Big Bang (July - November)

10k Big Bang (March - April)

Dragon Age Reverse Bang

Exchanges

Arlathan Exchange (April - June)

DA Polyshipping (August - November)

Handers Exchange (March - May)

Templartations Exchange (March - May)

Black Emporium Rare Pair Exchange (June - September)

Platonic Ideal Gen Fic Exchange (December - February)

Smutquisition (January - March)

Theme Weeks/Months

Anders Week (Feb 3 - 9)

Kink Memes

Dragon Age Kink Meme (Dreamwidth) | DAO | DA2 | DAI

Zines

Dragon Age Flower Zine (Processing Period)

Wanderers Zine (Creation Period)

Dragon Age OC Zine (Mod Apps Open)

Alistair Zine (Creation Period)

Faith: A Leliana Fanzine (Interest Check)

Grave Gold: A Mortalitasi Zine (Interest Check)

Special Events

Dragon Age Drunk Writing Circle

Dragon Age Annual (2025 Digital Orders Open)

Dragon Age Create-A-Thon

Reddit Weekly Dragon Age Writing Prompts

Unofficial Dragon Age Day (Dec 4)

Solavellan Day (April 11)

Past Events

Retired Bangs

DragonAgeBB (last: 2015; formerly on LJ and elsewhere)

Retired Exchanges

Demands of the Qun (Qunari)

A Paragon of Their Kind (DA Dwarves)

Solas Lovers

Hightown Funk (Varric/Hawke)

Retired Theme Weeks/Months

Autumn of Anders (Anders Appreciation Event)

Dalish Week

30 Days of Dorian (Dorian Appreciation Event)

Dragon Age Fan Week (2013)

City Elf Week (2024)

Cullen Appreciation Week (2019)

Cullen Week (2021)

14 Days of DA Lovers

Fenris Appreciation Month (2017)

Krem Week 2024

Leliana Week (2024)

Rylen Appreciation Week (2018)

Sera Appreciation Week (2019)

Sera Appreciation Week (2024)

Sub!Solas Week (2016)

Tranquil Week

Zevwarden Week

Past Zines

Adoribull Fairytales

Age of Romance Zine (Incomplete)

ApprovesGreatly (Incomplete)

Andoralis Zine

Arcana: A Dragon Age Zine

Arlathvhen Zine (Incomplete)

Beyond the Veil Zine (Zine)

Bring Down the Sky Bioware Fanzine

Dragon Age 2 10th Anniversary Zine (Zine)

Dragon Age Codex Zine & Myths and Legends Zine

Fortitudo Dorian Artbook

Good for Each Other (Adoribull Zine)

In Peace, Vigilance Zine

Insufficient Skill Fanzine

Legend Mark Zine

Lotus and Root OC Zine

Love Across Thedas Zine (Zine)

Na Via Lerno Victoria (Fenris Zine)

Patron of the Arts Zine

Rebel Hearts Handers Zine (Zine)

Road to the Imperium Zine

Solasmancy Zine

Sunlight (Anders Zine)

The Coming Storm Zine (Ukrainian Zine)

The Dragon Age Zine (Russian Zine)

The Keeper's Codex Fairy Tale Zine

The Unsung Dragon Age Zine

The Zevran Zine (incomplete)

Thedosian Archives (incomplete)

to be happy (FenHawke Zine)

Wicked Eyes: A Dragon Age Finery Zine

Year of the Mabari (Incomplete)

Other Past Events

Dragon Age Calendar 2018

Dragon Age Calendar 2021

For Fans by Fans - Fan Forge

[21pearls]

Sims 4 Tarot Legacy Challenge

Tarot Legacy Challenge

Google Doc Here

Hello everybody, and welcome to this absolutely massive 22 generation legacy challenge I came up with and figured I would share. This took so much time and heart to complete, so I hope you all enjoy it.

In real life, I love to collect tarot cards, so I thought that a tarot-based sims 4 challenge would be really cool. So off I went searching to see if it had been done before. I managed to find only a few instances of a similar challenge being done before, but I felt I wanted to give my own spin of it a go, and so I started writing my own. A full tarot deck has 78 cards, which is entirely too many generations, but following the 22-card journey through the Major Arcana seemed much more reasonable. Each card has such personality that building a unique gen for each was much more straightforward than I anticipated.

The order I followed was that of the traditional Rider Waite deck in the upright positions; the meanings and characterization I give for each card are based off interpretations from a few different tarot websites and from referencing my own collection and their guidebooks. Some cards have somewhat similar themes, so whilst some traits and skills may appear more than once because of this, I did my best to make every gen unique from one another in their own ways. I highly encourage you to research each card as you get to each gen to gain a better feel for their character and better understanding of the vibe each card presents. And hey, if you don’t feel my character interpretation is accurate to the card, feel free to change up the generation to a characterization that fits better for you! At the end of the day, tarot is all about personal interpretations and reflection, I see no reason a challenge based upon it can’t be the same.

(Please note that I designed most of this before Lovestruck was released, so it was not included in this challenge.)

Anyways, without further ado, I hope you enjoy my Tarot Legacy Challenge!

Ground Rules

-aging must be on, lifespan is up to you though

-cheats allowed to enhance the story if desired, but are not encouraged

-your heir may be whichever child best fits the next gen unless specified

-aspirations, skills, and career tracks should be completed before moving on unless specified

-I wrote each gen as the gender they appear on the traditional tarot cards, but you do not have to follow the genders that the tarot cards imply (ex. the Empress may be male or nonbinary, they do not have to be a female sim)

- I only designed certain generations to feature supernatural sims; these gens must be that supernatural type, but you are free to make any other gen supernatural. If you think being a supernatural makes sense for a specific gen, feel free to do so

The Major Arcana

The Major Arcana is the core of the tarot deck; it represents the major themes the soul goes through in the journey to enlightenment. The Major Arcana follows the journey of the Fool as they set out into the world. We follow them through all the ups and downs they experience across the Major Arcana until they finally reach the completion of their journey with the World.

0. The Fool

Beginnings, freedom, spontaneity, adventure, idealism, innocence

The Fool often represents the start of a new journey. He steps confidently into a wide-open world that he is ready to embrace. He is often optimistic, and almost childish in his idealism about life. The Fool may also represent the beginnings of a literal journey. Love with the Fool is passionate and exciting, but he sometimes lacks commitment in his eagerness to begin new adventures.

For as long as you can remember, you have always wanted to see what the world has to offer. Now that you have grown up, you are ready to set off on your adventure! Your family may see you as naïve, and people may judge you for never seeming to commit to anything for too long, but you love the thrill that trying new things and seeing new places gives you.

-have the childish, noncommittal, and adventurous traits

-complete at 2 levels each of the City Native, Beach Life, and Mt. Komorebi Sightseer aspiration.

-achieve maximum level 5 in at least 6 different skills, focusing on one at a time. You can achieve less than level 5 but should not go over level 5. These 6 skills should all be full skills, meaning they require a level 10 to max.

-do not commit to one career; every time you reach level 4 in a career, you must quit it and start a new one. If you take a part-time job, you must quit it after you have been in it for 3 in-game weeks. You may quit your jobs before these benchmarks are reached if you wish.

-you must visit each world (including vacation worlds) at least once over your lifetime. You do no have to commit much time to each world, visiting a lot once for a few hours in enough. You must also live in at least 4 different worlds.

-have multiple whirlwind romances, but never truly settle down long-term

-no limit on children, but your heir must be a spellcaster

I. The Magician

Resourcefulness, logic, influence, commitment, willpower, manifestation, skill

The Magician is a representation of willpower. He already possesses all the skills necessary to succeed and he knows it. He has the power to manifest the outcome that he desires. He is often a person of great ability and wisdom, and he does not hesitate to use his full potential. In love, the Magician is deeply committed and serious in his intentions.

Unlike your parent before you, you are committed to finishing what you start. As you grew older, you developed powers that none of your siblings seem to possess; as with all you do, you will not rest until you understand them. You commit yourself fully to understanding the mechanics of the world, and find great aptitude in designing the very things you long to understand.

-have the ambitious, genius, and overachiever traits

-master the logic, robotics, and charisma skills

-complete the nerd brain aspiration

-Reach the top of the mechanical engineering career

-You were born a spellcaster, and you commit fully to your magical studies as well as your human ones. Reach Virtuoso rank spellcasting and learn every spell and potion. You may also complete both spellcaster aspirations if desired.

-have one strongly committed relationship with a sim that shares at least one trait with you

-have one non-spellcaster child

II. The High Priestess

Mystery, spirituality, intuition, the unconscious

The High Priestess speaks of our inner voice. She listens well to her intuition and seems to hold knowledge of things mysterious to the average person. She may seem mysterious and sometimes otherworldly due to her calm exterior and innate knowledge of all things spiritual. The High Priestess may appear highly attractive to those around her; she values honesty in her relationships and is very passionate once you get past her calm surface.

You grew up surrounded by magic, and whilst you may not have any of your own, this made you a deeply spiritual person. You believe that there is magic everywhere and in everyone, it’s just not always so obvious. You understand the powers of the world so well that you turn readily to meditation and the soul world. You find peace in yourself, and you plan to help lost souls around you find theirs.

-loves outdoors, vegetarian, and good traits

-master the wellness, medium, and piano skills

-complete the Zen Guru aspiration

-earn your money through teaching yoga classes and guided meditations

-You find peace in the world around you, so you grow and maintain a flower garden throughout your lifetime with sections dedicated to each season. Befriend at least 3 ghosts.

-find and marry a sim with all “good” traits

-have at least 2 children

III. The Empress

Fertility, beauty, sensuality, nurturing, divine feminine, abundance, creativity

The Empress represents all things feminine. She carries beauty and joy with her wherever she goes and is often a highly creative person. She tends to be very caring and nurturing and is often a mother figure to those around her, if not an actual mother. She values her family highly and will do as much as she can to ensure their happiness. In love she is highly caring and leans towards stable and serious relationships.

Your parent before you found happiness in the spiritual, but for as long as you can remember the thing you wanted more than anything was a big and lively family of your own. You commit fully to your children and spouse, and they are the centre of your whole world. Aside from your family, you have a strong creative side, and a soft spot for all things pretty and girly. Your home finds itself overflowing with pretty things and the art you have created.

-romantic, creative, and family oriented

-complete the Super Parent aspiration, and then start the Big Happy Family aspiration

-max the parenting, cooking, and painting skills

-Sell your paintings to earn your money. Before you start having kids, you may also work in the barista career

-You love your family more than anything; have a strong relationship with your spouse and all your children. Have a dedicated family day at least once per week. Your family day does not have to be the same every week. Some examples can be a movie night, a day at the park or pool, a family activity, etc.

- you must stay in a happy and committed relationship with whoever you choose to marry for the rest of your life

-have a large family with at least 4 children

IV. The Emperor

Authority, practicality, stability, fatherhood, structure, discipline, leadership

The Emperor represents organization and control. He represents masculine energy and stands as a father figure to those around him. He values family highly but believes in a more disciplined approach of raising his children. He is decisive and clear in his goals, and often resides in a position of authority. The Emperor approaches his relationships logically, and he often looks for a traditional relationship. He is often well established and may be older when he fully commits.

You grew up in a big and loving family, and because of this you would love to have a big family of your own. You see yourself as a natural leader and feel you would easily be able to raise your children to follow in your footsteps. Your children sometimes say you are too strict, but everybody you’ve met respects and looks up to you as the great person you know you can be.

-perfectionist, neat, and loyal traits

-have the successful lineage aspiration

-master parenting, logic, and research and debate skills

-Master the politician career

-You are a loving but strict parent; all your children should have at least 2 positive character value traits upon age up

-Have a simple elopement with a YA sim whilst you are an adult. You should be the main breadwinner of your household

-Have a large family with at least 4 children

V. The Hierophant

Tradition, conformity, education, conventionality

The Hierophant represents embracing tradition. They like to stay within the bounds of what is known and prefer to conform rather than branch out. They are often extremely set in their ways and traditions. They also often fill a mentorship position to many people. The Hierophant often has a very traditional relationship, often choosing a partner who they view as safe and respectable to those around them.

Your parents raised you well, some may say a little too well. You live a very modest life, and you are happy for it. You pursue a respectable teaching career, marry an acceptable person, attend weekly services, practice a safe hobby, own a picture-perfect picket-fence home, and have the ideal 2.5 children. You may never do anything “exciting” in your life, but you are content.

-proper, bookworm, and squeamish traits

-complete Lord/Lady of the Knits aspiration

-master the education career professor branch

-master knitting and 1 other “traditional” hobby (cross stitch, cooking, fishing, etc.)

-You are a religious person. Dress up in your best clothing and attend religious ceremonies with your family on the same day every week, as well as on every holiday. Have a nice, sit-down family dinner on this day too (add a weekly holiday for this, and edit existing holidays to have this tradition)

- Marry your high school sweetheart. They must be someone socially acceptable that your parents approve of. Don’t woohoo or move in together until marriage. Stay together until death.

- have 3 children

VI. The Lovers

Love, unity, relationships, soulmates, romance, partnership, balance

The Lovers represents the ideal relationship. They have a deep trust and unity with one another, and therefore have a very deep and intense bond. The Lovers are true to themselves and each other; they do not allow society to decide for them what it is they should believe. In love they are deeply committed and are the perfect representation of soulmates; they may also have to make sacrifices if they wish to commit to the relationship.

Your parents always called you too fantastical when you didn’t grow out of it, but all you ever dreamed of was finding your own one true love. You spend your days designing flower arrangements and bouquets for weddings and anniversaries so other people can celebrate their love, until one day you meet a new coworker who fits into your life like a missing piece. Your parents don’t approve of them, but you have finally found your soulmate and you couldn’t be happier.

-romantic, generous, loyal

-complete the soulmate aspiration

-max charisma and singing skills

-master the floral designer career

-Love and romance are a big deal for you; have a weekly date night with your spouse

-you find your soulmate in one of your coworkers; you work well together in every aspect of life. Your parents should not approve of this relationship as your partner does not fit their conventional ideals, but you love them anyway.

-no limit on children

VII. The Chariot

Victory, ambition, willpower, strength, hard work, success, control

The Chariot represents victory due to determination and self-control. He is usually strong in body and will, and almost always emerges victorious in what he pursues. He is confident, focused, and bold, and this may sometimes come across as aggressive due to this. In love, he may be split; he needs to have a clear understanding of what he wants in life before he can choose the right path for himself.

Your parent always told you to chase your dreams no matter what anybody says, and you fully intend to. You want to be the strongest you can be, and nobody will stop you. Other than your occasional temper, you have very good self control which lends itself well to your military career. One day you decide to rescue a dog, and you quickly find great joy in training your pet up to peak performance alongside you so you can be an unstoppable team.

-ambitious, hot-headed, and active traits

-complete the Bodybuilder aspiration

-master the military officer career

-master the fitness, rock climbing, and pet training skills

-Once the gen starts, always have at least one large dog; You must dedicate time to fully training your dog, and even after completing their training you should still have them practice what they know each week. All dogs you have must be fully trained before you can adopt any more.

-be caught in a love triangle. Both options are very different people, and you are uncertain who to choose. Once you complete your aspiration, you know what it is you truly want out of life, and you may choose which sim to commit to.

-have 2 children

VIII. Strength

Courage, inner strength, compassion, self confidence, perseverance, bravery

Strength is representative of inner strength and mastering your emotions. She is compassionate and calm and shows great inner strength rather than external strength. She always has time for those she cares for and she is extremely patient, and often appears quite fearless. In love Strength is compassionate and empathetic; she may attract a partner with a wild side that she balances out.

Your parent was always a little hot-headed and valued strength above all else, but you don’t see it that way. You always thought true strength came from within. You intend to find your own inner power and find great joys in the little things in life. You give yourself freely to those around you and offer a level head to them when needed. You find yourself smitten with a person who turns out to be a little more “wild” than you thought, but you find your calm ways perfectly balance out their more aggressive tendencies.

-self assured, good, and cheerful traits

-complete the Inner Peace aspiration

-max the wellness, dancing, and violin skills

-write freelance books for money

-You always make time for those you care for; every time somebody calls to go out or come over, you should accept it. Complete the feather collection.

-marry a werewolf. Your partner should have the jealous trait. If they are a part of a pack, it should be the Wildfangs.

-no limit on children, but the heir must be a werewolf

IX. The Hermit

Introspection, withdrawal, solitude, self reflection, inner wisdom

The Hermit represents the search for the inner self. He spends much of his time in solitude in order to better look within himself and search for his inner voice. He works hard to discover who he truly is on the inside, and often appears wise and as a guiding figure to those around him. The Hermit needs time to decide what he truly wants from his relationships. Once he has taken the time to reflect upon himself and those he loves, the bonds he forms are very strong.

You never felt that you truly knew yourself, no matter how hard you tried. Your parent tried to help you as best they could, but they never could fully understand you. You never really connected with the wolf side of yourself, so you do everything in your power to find out what it is you really want to be. You join a local werewolf pack to better learn your wolf side, but as much as they respect you, you don’t feel you fit in and you prefer to spend your time alone with your insects and candles.

-loner, bookworm, genius

-complete the Werewolf Initiate, Emissary of the Collective (except for becoming alpha), and then the Cure Seeker aspirations

-as a teen, have your parent help you master wellness. Max cross stitch and fabrication skills

-you keep bees and craft candles with their wax. You earn your money by selling honey and candles at a weekly market.

-In an attempt to understand yourself and your condition better, you join the Moonwood Collective werewolf pack. You prefer your alone time but commit to them when needed. Your pack should respect and look up to you. Gain the rank of Beta in your pack before you cure yourself, but never take over as alpha. Complete and display the insect and Moonwood relics collections.

-Find your fated mate. They are fully ready to start a relationship with you, but you need time to find yourself. Once you have cured yourself, you finally commit to a relationship with them. They should also take the cure before you have your child.

-have one non-werewolf child

X. The Wheel of Fortune

Fate, change, luck, cycles, destiny

The Wheel of Fortune represents the ever-moving cycle of life, fate, and destiny. Life comes with both good days and bad days; both are necessary and cannot be avoided. The Wheel of Fortune is always turning, and life is always changing. Fate will come to pass whether you fight it or embrace it.

Your parent may have felt the need to change who they are, but you embrace what fate has in store for you. Every aspect of this gen is randomized.

-Randomize all your traits, your aspiration, 2-3 skills to max, and your career.  If your aspiration requires a specific career, you may choose to either reroll your aspiration to get one that does not require a specific career, or you may commit to the career your aspiration requires.

-roll from 1-8 to see how many children you should have. If you never get a solid partner, you may adopt or have science babies. Ensure whichever child you choose as heir is human.

-if you wish, use an online Sims 4 random events generator at least once per week for an extra layer to this gen

-every in-game week, roll 1-6 to see how your love life pans out

              1. If you are in a relationship, break it up

              2,4, or 6. No change in relationship this week

3. Start a new romantic relationship. If you are currently in a relationship, this means cheating on your partner (unless you have the loyal or good trait, in which case you break any current relationship before starting the new one).

5. Take your existing relationship to the next level. (boyfriend/girlfriend > engaged > married)

XI. Justice

Justice, karma, law, truth, honesty, integrity

Justice represents fair and equal judgement. She is someone who always carefully weighs her decisions and recognizes that the choices she makes will have long term consequences. She seeks out the truth above all things and pays no attention to any unfounded opinions others may hold. She is often a mediator, and whilst not everybody will love the stances that she takes, she is highly respected. Justice recognizes that relationships take work; she puts in effort and treats her partner fairly and expects fair treatment in return. She values honesty highly and will work find out the truths of her partner; she will always find out if she has been disrespected or betrayed.

You always felt much more grounded than your parent. They believed in the power of fate, but you believe in facts. You believe in facts and truth so much that you build a career out of judging what is true or not. You value those around you highly, and strongly believe that everyone deserves a chance at fairness and respect. Whilst not everyone agrees with your stances, you make yourself open to all and become a pillar of your community.

-proper, perfectionist, and loyal traits. as an elder gain the wise trait.

-complete the Neighbourhood Confidante aspiration

-max charisma, logic, and research and debate skills

-master the judge career

-be active in your community; always vote on NAPs, attempt to fix bad relationships your friends and neighbours may have, donate to charity, volunteer, and host neighbourhood get togethers regularly.

-find out everything you can about your partner before marrying them. You should know their traits, preferences, job, and you should have a decent relationship with all their immediate family members before you propose. (i.e. their parents, siblings, and any children). If your partner ever cheats on you, you will find out and must leave them.

-have two children (preferably twins); one has a more “proper” approach to life, and the other (the heir) is a bit more wild

XII. The Hanged Man

Waiting, sacrifice, uncertainty, lack of direction, confinement, perspective

The Hanged Man represents one who makes sacrifices for the good of progress. He is stuck in a place in life that he does not enjoy and even feels trapped in, but he sees this as a necessary sacrifice for his goals to be achieved. He puts his life on hold with no issues and waits patiently to pick it back up again, sometimes for a very long time, until he is certain the best results are inbound. The Hanged Man is patient when it comes to love. He recognizes that either he or his partner may not be ready for commitment and knows that sacrifice may be needed in order for his relationship to survive.

Your plan for life was never very traditional. You have a passion for the slopes and spending your nights having fun, and that’s enough for you. That is until a surprise pregnancy wrecks your life plans. You may not be anything like your parent, but they did raise you to always do the right thing, so you get married and quit your dream to support your new baby. You aren’t necessarily happy in your new life, but you love your child fiercely and will do anything for them.  If that means giving up your dreams until they can support themselves, then that is what you’ll do.

-Start out life with the cheerful, active, and bro traits. Every second promotion after you get married, change a trait until you have the gloomy, lazy, and squeamish traits. After you reach level 8 in your career and your child is a teen, you may change these all back.

-have the extreme sports enthusiast aspiration; complete max 2 levels of it before you stop pursuing it. Only finish your aspiration after you rekindle your passion.

-as a teen/YA master either skiing or snowboarding and dancing skills; once you get married stop practicing these skills; start practicing again once your child becomes a teen, and you have reached level 8 in your career.  You can try out multiple new hobbies over your lifetime, but only reach level 3 max in each before you decide its not for you.

-early YA make money through snowboarding videos or teaching ski classes (available at level 10 of each skill), and through completing odd jobs. After marriage, join the salaryperson career to support your family. You may quit your job and re-chase your passion after you find yourself again

-You have a wild youth; sneak out as a teen, slack off in school, etc.; as an adult throw parties or go to bars or clubs every night, have a lot of no-strings woohoo with many different sims, and generally have a good time. After marriage, fully commit your time to your job and raising your child; go all out for holidays and birthdays for your child but spare no time for anybody else in your life. After you find yourself again, you may rebuild a social life and throw weekly house parties again (albeit more mature ones now).

-whilst a YA, get pregnant/get another sim pregnant after a one-night stand. Marry them before the baby is born because you believe it is the right thing to do. You can be friends with them, but do not max your romance bar with your spouse (cheat this back down after marriage if needed). You do not realize how much you love your spouse until adulthood after your child becomes a teen and you reach level 8 in your career, wherein you can finally max your romance with them.

-Your first child is your heir. You may choose to have more children in late adulthood once you realize you truly love your spouse.

XIII. Death

Endings, change, transformation, letting go, transition

Death is representative of change, most often positive ones. Death tells us that the past must be left behind in order to embrace the future – no matter how hard letting go may be. Death tells us that sometimes our old self must die so our new, more true self, can be born.

You watched your parent wither away your whole childhood until they finally found their joy for life again, and you decided quickly that that would never be you. You intend to squeeze everything out of life for yourself that you possibly can with no care for how it hurts those around you. That is until you experience a brush with death, and completely change your views on what life means. Now you live your life (or what’s left of it) with a full focus on making both yourself and the world into the best that they possibly can be because life is too short, and the future should be cherished.

-Start your life with the mean, self-absorbed, and snob traits. Change to the green fiend, recycle disciple, and loves the outdoors traits after your “death.”

-as a teen/early YA have the party animal aspiration; after “death” complete Good Vampire aspiration

-max the gardening, vampire lore, and charisma skills

-master the Conservationist, Environmental Manager career

-as a teen/early YA, you are “attacked” by a vampire and turned. This “death” compels you to become the best person you can be for yourself and spurs a desire to help the world. Fully clean up Sulani. Make sure the neighbourhood you live in has a green eco-footprint. Support green-initiative NAPs. Become self-sufficient.

-as a teen/YA, have a “troublemaker” boyfriend/girlfriend. After your “death,” you must breakup as they no longer fit the life you want for yourself. You may choose to stay single, or find a partner who also has eco-centric values

-have one non-vampire child

XIV. Temperance

Balance, peace, inner calm, harmony, tranquility

Temperance represents balance and patience. They are a calm individual who does not let anything get to them, and one who avoids extremes in their day-to-day. They are a person who has found their own peace; they work well with their community and find great purpose in their life choices. In love, Temperance is patient and understanding; their partner may require these qualities in order to find true harmony in the relationship.

Your parent gave their all to fixing the world around them and trying to make it a better place. You’ll leave the fighting side to them, but you did inherit their love for all things green and living. You grow and provide food for your community and find a great purpose in doing so. It may be a simple life, but it’s yours and you find peace and happiness in it.

-loves the outdoors, animal enthusiast, and cheerful traits

-complete the Country Caretaker aspiration

-master gardening, handiness, and fishing skills

-live on a farm and sell the goods you’ve grown/produced at a local market for income

-Live in harmony with your land and community. Have a strong relationship with all your animals, and any wild ones that come into your land. Have a farm cat and farm dog. Have the simple living lot trait. Regularly participate in your community by running errands for people and competing in the Finchwick fair.

-marry your soulmate, who should have the hot-headed trait. They may be fiery, but you have great patience and always work things out with them in the end.

-have 3-4 children

XV. The Devil

Addiction, obsession, excess, dependency, powerlessness, temptation, vice, self-destruction

The Devil represents addiction. He is a being of indulgence, giving in to his urges for luxury and materialism. He finds himself addicted to all things pleasureful, including substances, material things, and lust fueled actions. He may feel powerless to fight these urges, and often has no control over his impulses. The Devil gives into lust and doesn’t always commit, which can harm his relationships if he does not learn to openly communicate with his partners.

Growing up your life was pretty plain. You never could find anything that really brought you happiness the way your parents found theirs. You start indulging your darker urges in an attempt to find some joy in life. These simple indulgences soon grow into a lifestyle. Eventually you start brewing you own drinks, and soon you find yourself mixed up in a bootlegging business. Turns out, you’re pretty good at it. You still aren’t passionate about anything in particular, but you find plenty of ways to make yourself happy, if only temporarily.

-materialistic, glutton, and kleptomaniac

-complete the Serial Romantic aspiration

-master the mixology, nectar making, and juice fizzing skills

-Master the criminal career, boss branch

-you have a drinking addiction and struggle to control your impulses. After you get into making drinks, your sim should drink a lot; drink at least 3 drinks per in-game day and get dazed from drinking at least once per week. Try to complete whims rather than decide for your sim what to do.

-Have multiple ongoing partners; you may get married and divorced as much as you’d like, but always have multiple partners even if you say you are monogamous

-no real limit on kids

XVI. The Tower

Chaos, upheaval, trauma, disaster, destruction, sudden change, catastrophe

The Tower represents sudden and major changes. The change the Tower brings is not always a bad thing, but it is often chaotic and scary as it happens. The Tower shakes who you are to the very core and completely breaks apart who you are. It sometimes heralds deeply traumatic events on the horizon.

You grew up and got immediately recruited into your parent’s bootlegging business, which was never really your speed. You wanted to cause mayhem, but apparently this was the best you could get. That is until one day on the job when you get caught. The people that caught you offer you a deal, work for them as a spy inside the family business and you won’t get thrown in jail. You do this grudgingly until one day, a chance to be the bringer of chaos you always wanted to be presents itself.

-erratic, non-committal, and paranoid. Take trait changes whenever they come up, but always keep the erratic trait.

-complete the Chief of Mischief aspiration, then randomly swap your aspiration very few days

-master mischief and programming skills

-Start out in the family crime business. Get recruited into the secret agent career. Master the secret agent, villain branch.

-you are the embodiment of chaos, and your life is therefore chaotic. Move homes multiple times; decide if you will be friendly or mean to everyone in your life with a daily coin flip; break into people’s homes to prank their appliances and make messes; hack into things; cause general mayhem.

-Every relationship you start must result in marriage; every marriage must end in divorce. Have at least 3 marriages.

-Have one pregnancy per marriage. Your heir must be human

XVII. The Star

Inspiration, rejuvenation, hope, positivity, healing, renewal, positivity

The Star represents renewal and hope. The Star has the courage to step away from the chaos of the Tower and is therefore able to heal from the damage it has caused. The Star holds great inner strength and is resilient and hopeful. She is very positive and calm, and she knows that everything will turn out okay. The Star has an optimism that draws people to them. When it comes to love, the Star may sometimes find that a person from her past will re-enter her life in a new, deeper way.

Your parent lived a life of mayhem and pain, and the relationship you had with your family was always toxic because of it. As soon as you are able, you completely cut off your family and start fresh. You build your own little family of friends and start healing yourself and find a passion for healing those around you too. You find ways to share your joy with those you care for and make your own happiness. That is until a face from your past comes back into your life, and completely changes your plans all over again.

-good, ambitious, and cheerful traits

-complete the Musical Genius aspiration

-master the guitar and baking skills

-master the doctor career

-completely cut off your family and any early life relationships when you become a YA. Take no money from your family and move into a cheap apartment to start out with. Join or start a club after you move out and have at least 3 strong friendships with the people in it. Regularly attend club gatherings. Play music for and share your baked goods with your friends and neighbours. Host holiday parties that you invite all your friends to.

-Have a childhood friend that you lose contact with when you cut off your family. Meet them again later in life but develop romantic feelings this time around. Get married to this sim.

-have 2-4 children

XVIII. The Moon

Illusion, intuition, secrets, complexity, the unconscious, anxiety

The Moon represents an illusion. The Moon calls you to trust your intuition to navigate the illusions that surround you. Secrets are being kept from you. Either it is your mind playing tricks on you, or the truth is being concealed from you, but the front you see is not real. You must put in the work to truly see the realities that surround you. Past experiences may cloud your judgement; try to fully understand those around you so as not to put your relationships in jeopardy.

You grew up happy and always thought the best of people, until someone that you loved deeply and trusted implicitly completely ripped out your heart and broke all faith you had in others. You became convinced that the world was out to get you; that those around you are hiding things from you that you have a right to know. All you want to do is discover the truth of what’s around you. You fell in love again, but you can’t bring yourself to have faith in them like you’d like to. They keep disappearing for “beach trips” which must be a cover for them cheating on you, right?

-paranoid, nosy, and socially awkward

-complete Strangerville Mystery or Seeker of Secrets aspiration

-master programming and photography skills

-master the detective career

-complete the space prints and seashell collections

-when young, have a partner who constantly cheats on you; find out and leave them. After this, marry a mermaid, but you are not aware of this, and they do not tell you; you are convinced they are cheating on you (all those visits to the ocean are suspicious), but you can never prove it. Find out the truth when one of your children grows a tail in front of you.

-have 2 children from your mermaid spouse. The heir must be a mermaid

XIX. The Sun

Happiness, optimism, vitality, joy, confidence, success, abundance

The Sun represents joy, success, and vitality. The Sun is strongly optimistic and happy, and this rubs off on those around them. People are drawn to the Sun, who is often able to share their success with the people around them. In all their relationships the Sun is happy and fulfilled, and this makes them a very attractive individual.

Your parent always hated it when people were keeping secrets, so you grew up always showing off your true self. As it turns out, people love you for this. You have a passion for acting, and your infectious attitude helps find fame in it quickly. The world seems to love your bright and open nature, and if letting people speak with you is all it takes to make their day, then you’ll speak to as many people as possible. Bringing the world joy is your pleasure.

-cheerful, outgoing, and self assured

-complete the Friend of the World aspiration

-master acting, singing, charisma, and comedy skills

-master the actor/actress career

-Reach 5-star celebrity status and have a pristine reputation. Be a source of light in the world; donate to charity, volunteer, host events, and always make time for fans. Earn a lot of money that you have no problem sharing. Do not hide your scales; you fully embrace your mermaid heritage and let the world know who you are.

-marry a sim with the cheerful trait

-have 3-4 kids. Your heir should be human

XX. Judgement

Awakening, renewal, self-evaluation, purpose, reflection, choice

Judgement represents the moment when we step back and evaluate our past and our actions. Judgement calls us to reflect upon the past to form an understanding of who we are and who we want to be. It is also about choices; what we do has a profound effect on our lives. Judgement tells us our choices have consequences, and what we have done will either pan out, or come back to haunt us.

Your parent always had plenty of friends and people skills that never really rubbed off on you. You found peace more in books and history than you ever did other people. You fall in love, get married and have a kid, but your spouse seems to have an issue with how you live your life and leaves you. For all your knowledge on the past, you just can’t seem to look properly at your own and see where you went wrong. Once you finally achieve your dreams, you are finally able to take a step back and see for yourself just where it is that you went wrong and decide to try to fix what you have broken.

-genius, book worm, and clumsy

-complete the Archeology Scholar aspiration

-max the archeology, writing, and parenting skills

-earn money through selling artifacts and archeology books

-you are always willing to learn. You should regularly sign up for skill classes at the university, and you should work to having a full library at home with at least one copy of every book available. Read books to raise your fun level. Collect all Omiscan artifacts and treasures.

-get married and have a child; you and your spouse must gain a negative relationship with one another due to you always being away for your job and divorce. After you have completed your aspiration and your child has become a teen, restart your relationship and get married again.

-have one child

XXI. The World

Completion, achievement, harmony, wholeness, fulfillment, celebration

The world represents completion and wholeness. The world recognizes it has travelled far; that the self is connected to all other things and plays an important role in the movements of life. The efforts you have put in have paid off and you can withstand any challenges. You have achieved all your goals, and this is worthy of celebration. You have completed the journey that the Fool once started, and the world is at your fingertips.

Your parent was a scholar, and they raised you on stories of the past and of the wide world around you. The places they took you growing up fascinated you, and you always wanted to see more. You long to explore what the world has to offer, so you set out as soon as you can on your own adventure. You take your time to experience all that life has to offer, finding fulfillment and joy in all that you do. You are the heir to a great legacy, and you are content in who you are and the choices you have made to get where you are today.

-Have the adventurous trait, and 2 other traits of your choice. Whatever feels most fulfilling to you

-Finally complete the Beach Life, City Native, and Mt. Komorebi Sightseer aspirations that the Fool started so long ago.

-Max the same 6 skills that the Fool never completed

-Choose whichever career you as a player most enjoy and find fulfillment from.

-you enjoy travelling and experiencing what the world has to offer, but you take your time in doing so. Visit each world at least once, but this time make an effort to spend time with the locals and spend at least a full day in each. Collect a souvenir from each world/an object that represents it as you visit and display it in your home.

-Your life will be fulfilling to you no matter what you decide. If you choose to stay single, get into a relationship, have kids or not, it doesn’t matter. Whatever you do in life will bring you joy.

Congratulations! You have journeyed far and have experienced the ups and downs of what the Major Arcana has to offer. Thank you so much for reading.

 I hope you enjoyed my Tarot Legacy Challenge! <3

[thewickedbohemian]

Thoughts on a magickal (in more ways than one) Brilliant Minds that got my brain a-whirring with symbolism and what things could all mean

ok where's your dad Wolf

nesting, so the thing they did on Extended Family (also NBC show, sadly cancelled last season) has a name

if we didn't know Wolf was gay I'd wonder if that was a play for him

relationship with the job I guess

so we're really trying for scientific proof of Van's issues

no kid?

guess she was too distracted to hear

god pregnancy pacts are creepy

nice handy-dandy slideshow

so Dana's got trauma

do they really all have to go

a little bit of weird gen Z writing

looks like there was a decidedly nonprofessional spark

ok Dana's panic attack looked full Carrie

dude, you're evaluating the patient not his attending

ok things just got real scary real fast

Van probably get out of there but don't let them baby you

creepy singing is creepy

so friendship is magic (but let's hope they don't have to go that far to bond)

And we have significator-y cards for all of them (Queen Of Swords for Ericka, Knight Of Cups for Jacob, Three Of Swords for Van, The Hanged Man for Dana and Death for Wolf), interested to see if those keep symbolic relevance down the line/what else could be drawn from their meanings beyond those challenges

did the death card have something to do with it

Dana's got a sister (even more lore)

bunch of teenage witches taking pregnancy pact up a notch

and the mystery girl's going into actual labor

Wolf's got a date and Carol's acting like a reverse GBF

identity revealed and could Wolf have been any more awkward

between Wolf, Van and this spell we've got a bit of an empathy-magic motif here

as some people predicted but not as bad Van's getting a little bit of labor-pain-by-proxy

but he still can take charge

Carol's got a potential date too but she needs to tame a wolf

and now panic attacks

everybody's healing

Wolf, follow your arcana, don't blow this

interns havin' a party and Van's entirely too proud of himself

anchor thing giving me Cassandra flashbacks and wondering if it's meant to be taken as a shiptease or not and wondering what Van's sexuality might even be (and hey if he were bi that'd be more Cass connection as he already has synesthesia)

so that's the tragedy of Dana's backstory and the principal should not have freaking done that

though now Dana's sister having a name that's the female version of Wolf's first name has got me thinking about connections between them with the loss and the substance-use-connections and the similar-outsider-y-ness and even with the tarot cards earlier if those end up meaning more Dana and Wolf were the only two who got Major Arcana cards (perhaps foreshadowing a sibling-esque connection forming) and now I'm wondering since it's unlikely it's a death-related thing what Dana's fear of stillness will turn out to be

not saying the fandom should force it if they don't want to but I wonder if "coven" could be the equivalent fandom term to what "ducklings" is for House but I've realized "wolf pack"/"cubs" (for just the interns) works better if the fandom doesn't use that to plunge into omegaverse hell

everybody's popping bottles

now I feel called out with my books and my music and stuff for similar sort of wanting to be alone

it's cute when guy and girl can just be friends and have what'd otherwise be couple-coded interaction

looks like we might be getting a pure-or-at-least-mainly mythology episode next week

[ask-winner-drop]

Its time for a New adventure :D

@drakowulf36579 @ask-gadzooks

[atamascolily]

Tarot and Symbolism in the Walpurgis no Kaiten trailer

The most interesting moments in the Walpurgis no Kaiten trailer are unlikely to be in the final film. There are three of them, all in quick succession during the grayscale "flashback" sequence explaining How We Got Here.

At first glance, this is fairly straightforward--a clip from the original series, with the characters for "calamity" (災厄) reflected backwards. I don't know if this phrase ever comes up in the original series, but in at least one interview, Gen Urobuchi says Walpurgisnacht is "perceived as a calamity", which I have always thought was a striking way of putting it. (Is it possible to perceive her in ways that are not a calamity??)

Screenshot of the interview in question from the 2011-05 issue of Megami Magazine on the Puella Magi Wiki, which I am reposting here because Tumblr hates links.

Note that Urobuchi uses "災害" for "calamity" instead of "災厄" - both phrases mean the same thing, but my dictionary tells me that not only can 災厄 also be written 厄災, but that 厄 can mean either misfortune or an especially unlucky year. So that got my attention.

Even if I hadn't seen the key visual with two Homuras (or Homura and someone else wearing her face), it's abundantly clear from this shot alone that mirrors, reflections, and reversals are going to be a major theme.

The next shot follows immediately on the heels of the first, showing a clip of Homura from Rebellion:

Once again, we have the backwards text, this time reading 回い続ける, or "to spin in a circle". This is appropriate, given the nature of Homura's loops, but the same phrase also appears in the text of Walpurgisnacht's witch card, where she is "the fool that spins in a circle" -- 回い続ける愚者. And speaking of 愚者...

.... gues which character is plastered across Devil!Homura's face--not only backwards, but upside down??

This, to me, is the most important shot in the trailer, the one where SHAFT is tipping their hand, but to explain why, we need to talk about the meaning of 愚者. It doesn't simply mean "fool" as in a person of little intelligence--it also means the archetypal Fool, i.e., the Tarot card The Fool.

For those unfamiliar with Tarot, it is one of the ancestors of modern European playing cards--versions of it are still used in Europe for gaming, but it is most famous as tool for divination. Like a modern deck, the Tarot has 4 suits from 1-10 (wands/staves, cups, swords, and pentacles/coins) as well as face cards (page, knight, queen, king), but it also has a series of cards known collectively as the Major Arcana, which run in a series with higher cards taking lower cards in a game.

The Fool is the first card of the Major Arcana, although typically it is not assigned a number (and if it is, the number is zero). Depending on how you play, it is either the lowest or highest card in the Major Arcana, just like the modern Joker, with which it shares a common ancestor. It's literally a wild card.

From an esoteric standpoint, the Major Arcana is seen as an allegorical quest known as the Fool's Journey, an endless cycle of self-discovery culminating in the Last Judgement and the perfection of The World, before starting over anew… all of which fits with Homura's arc. In divination, The Fool represents starting out on a journey, a carefree and simplistic innocence, and is depicted as a handsome young man on the road, blissfully ignorant as he strolls right off the edge of a cliff.

However, the meaning of Tarot cards changes depending on their orientation in space--a process known as "reversal," as this upside-down meaning is usually the exact opposite of their normal "upright" reading. So the Fool reversed is carelessness, vanity, over-the-top dramatics--a perfect description of Walpurgisnacht (who, as I've said, has earlier been described as The Fool) as well as Devil!Homura.

(As a bonus, Walpurgisnacht as The Fool also helps to explain her circus/performance motif, as fools were historically bards, entertainers… or clowns.)

All three of these shots are literally "blink and you'll miss 'em" fast--the only reason I picked up on them was because I was taking screenshots. However, as I've said before, I think they go a long way towards explaining the overall themes and symbolism of the movie despite likely not appearing in the film itself.

That is, of course, not the only Tarot reference in the trailer: "The Moon" also makes an overt appearance in Homura's sanctum early on.

The moon itself is a source of constant change, so the fact that Homura has placed a pin in it--literally stopping time--is unsurprising. Given that butterflies represent souls in Japanese culture, the pinned butterflies in the background are also evocative, especially if Homura has taken on Kyubey's role as a contractor, as seems likely from context.

Meanwhile, The Moon card in Tarot represents the deep unconscious and secrets brought to light. Things are not what they appear to be, and you must trust your instincts to see past the illusion. But is Homura really listening, or will her overconfidence cause her to misstep at a critical moment?

Given these Tarot references in the trailer, I expect we will see more in the full movie. The most obvious, of course, is The Devil, but I am more interested in the card the card immediately AFTER The Devil--The Tower, which depicts a tower being struck by lightning, and represents sudden calamity and irrevocable change. And guess what we see in the final shots of the trailer?

…let's just say I will be very surprised if Homura's tower survives the film intact.

[justdalek]

Here’s the next gen cast of p5!

More in for below cut

Hikari Kitagawa

Daughter of Ren, Ryuji, and Yusuke Kitagawa

Arcana: Pentacles

Persona: Comnena

Was the “final contract” creation of Satanel, William, and Gorokichi before they reverted back to their first form (Arsene, Captain Kidd, and Goemon)

Is training to be both a professional ice and roller skater

Pottery is her hobby

While stoic, she can be a bit of a troll if given the opportunity

Leader of the Phantom Crusaders

Is closest with Ren

Yes, her tricolor hair is natural, no dyes

Kaito Takamaki

Son of Makoto, Haru, and Ann Takamaki

Arcana: Swords

Persona: J.L. Casey

Was the “final contract” creation of Celestine, Agnes, and Lucy before they reverted back to their first forms (Carmen, Johanna, and Milady)

Aspiring thespian, master dancer

He loves over dramatizing events

A crybaby, but he can pull his own in a fight if he has to

Powerhouse and moral booster of the Phantom Crusaders

Closest to Haru

His tricolor hair, like Hikari’s, is all natural

Minato Sakura

Adopted son of Futaba Sakura

Arcana: Wands

Persona: Hayden

Futaba discovered he was living in an alleyway behind her house to escape his foster family who mistreated him

A music prodigy, he plays cello, violin, string bass, piano, flute, and baritone

Rather snarky in behavior, but has a very present caring side

Him, Futaba, and Sojiro have family dinner on Saturday nights

He is the navigator for the Phantom Crusaders

No one knows why he wears gloves, but he never takes them off in front of anyone, including Futaba

Fuyuki Izumi Kitagawa

Taken in by Morgana, later adopted by Ren, Ryuji, and Yusuke

Arcana: Cups

Persona: Holliday

Was physically stuck in Mementos and later a Palace for over a year before Morgana found them and dragged them out of the Metaverse

It was because of that rescue that the original Phantom Thieves discovered that the Metaverse had somehow opened back up again after sealing itself nearly two decades ago

It’s unknown how they got into the Metaverse, but Fuyuki thinks it might’ve had something to do with their parents kicking them out after a fight

Stays with the Kitagawas post rescue and is eventually adopted by them

Isn’t sure what they want to do, but they do love hanging out with their new friends and learning about the good of the world after living in so much negativity

Strategist of the Phantom Crusaders

Sometimes has a very weird ability where when they fall asleep, they will wake up in a Metaverse variant of the Kitagawa house and has to have somebody get them back to the real world

[snobgoblin]

so I saw these charms right and I was like "hey I wanna do that with next gen that's a super cute idea"

originally I was thinking Flower would be super cute as Alice but I think making them the stoner caterpillar with anger issues would be more true to her character. plus that means Tucker gets to wear a cute little dress !! Y2K is easy they'd be the Cheshire Cat. purple PLUS they get to do their furry thing with it. Barb is obviously the Mad Hatter to me bc he was actually one of her inspirations but Noodle is kinda like hmmm... maybe the White Rabbit

[mmmatchasims]

Storytelling Secrets! 🤫

thank you @holocene-sims for tagging me!! I'm so excited to see this potential love interest of Grant's he deserves nothing but the best 😭

I'm going to tag @ancenth @lazarish @fitgof @hazely-sims and anybody else who hasn't been tagged yet!

Hibiscus has had it rough lately but a chance encounter coming in the next few days just might turn everything around! But is this how it was supposed to be? And will it last?

I'm deep into planning specifics for gen 4 and have (somewhat last minute) decided to heavily feature a love triangle - it's going to be a doozy 🥴

speaking of gen 4, the arcana I chose to represent the story is the Chariot. In Tarot the golden Chariot represents victory, but emphasizes "that you must maintain focus, confidence, and determination through a process that will be full of winding turns and detours." The gen 4 heir is talented and driven by success, but at the very height of it all they will come to find that not all that glitters is truly gold.

Our gen 4 heir has a very close connection to their grandmother Primrose and the books she has written. We will (at last) continue reading the story that started with Jasmine long, long ago.

If you've been paying attention, you should already know the gen 4 heir's name ;)