#arcana twilight match up

[acewithwords]

hi hi! if it's alright with you, may i have an arcana twilight matchup? but feel free to ignore this if you want to, there's no pressure!

for a summary of my personality, i've been described by my friends and family as someone who's kind, hardworking, and mostly playful. i tend to put others before me, usually in the form of assisting them with their work and giving them support, comfort, or advice if they need it. (i'm titled the mom/therapist friend-) i also work hard and plan ahead so i can put my best into my outputs. i can also really be bubbly, playful, and sarcastic when i'm with close friends, since i'm shy and reserved with acquaintances and strangers.

but I've also been described as someone who's an overthinker, perfectionist, and a bit of a pushover. i have a bad habit of thinking negatively, so i end up overanalyzing a lot. i also have another bad habit of wanting everything that i do be perfect, which sometimes leads to me being extra hard on myself. additionally, i dislike conflict, so it can end up with me martyring myself to keep the peace.

for hobbies, i really love to read (mainly fiction though), listen to music (especially musicals), play games, and occasionally write.

for additional information, my mbti is INFJ and my zodiac sign is cancer!

anyways, thank you so much for doing my matchup! but please take as much time as you need in completing it! i wish you all the best and take care! also, happy valentine's day!

Happy (belated) Valentine's day to you too as well!

I match you up with...

Spica!

•You two would get along well! He enjoys being with someone who is also dedicated and hardworking.

•He sees the amount of effort you place and wants to try to keep pushing you into reaching your full potential.

•He's also someone who understands being a perfectionist so he's always there to help you out with whatever you need whether you just need someone to listen or reassurance even if he's usually really busy.

•He'd also be there to remind you to put your own needs first and that you don't need to sacrifice your own wellbeing for peace. And if you end up overthinking I'd like to think he'd be able to help you out with that sort of thing and guide you towards figuring things out on your own.

•He'd give you a lot of book recommendations and secretly hopes you'd give him some as well. Sure he's read a lot of books in his time but he likes hearing about the type of stories you're into.

--

Okay, now onto actual headcanon scenarios for Valentines day!

•Although I believe that Bound Aralyn wouldn't technically have Valentine's day they do have something similar to it.

•He scheduled the whole thing beforehand. He wanted to surprise you considering how special you are to him.

•He did his best to finish all his work before this day. He wanted to spend time with you after all.

•He shows up at your door with a bouquet of some of your favorite flowers and a few with a hidden meaning behind it. (Spica knows a lot about Floriography)

•This man believes you deserve the best and would probably take you to very fancy restaurants or places that sell your favorite foods

•Afterwards, he brings you to a bookshop he knows you both enjoy. He shows you around and the two of you walk around, looking through some of the books together.

•After dinner at one of your favorite restaurants, you both head home and drag him to your bed to cuddle for a while.

•You thank him for the date he planned out and he ends up blushing because of what you said.

•You two fall asleep together while cuddling! It felt nice for Spica considering he only gets 4 hours of sleep every night.

--

Thank you for your request! I really tried lol but I had a lot of fun doing this. <3

[agerefandom]

Agere Writers Masterpost (2023 Edition!)

Helpful reminders: 

all of these blogs are SFW but have their own DNIs, so please remember to check! 

not all of these blogs have open requests, so please read their bios and respect their boundaries! 

please let me know if I should add anyone! to qualify, blogs must take requests for headcanons or fanfiction, have an easily accessible fandom list, be specifically sfw/non-k!nk content, and have posted in the last three months! 

Holy moly, the list is LONG this year!!! We are still growing and expanding as a community! Because I don’t want to flood anyone’s dashes, the list will be under a ‘keep reading’. 

The list is organized in order of the number of fandoms they write for: with the widest range of fandoms at the top, down to single-fandom blogs at the bottom.

Blogs in italics are folks who don’t match my DNI or vice-versa (but are still sfw agere): I didn’t want to exclude them as many of my followers might have different personal stances than me! However, to respect both of our DNIs, I didn’t want to tag them, so please feel free to explore their blogs in your own time if they’re up your alley! 

@smollwriting​ (She-Ra, Creepypasta, The Good Place, Vampire Knight, BNHA, Undertale, Castlevania, Disney, Marvel, DC, D:BH, Life Is Strange, Resident Evil, Anne With An E, Black Butler, Tokyo Ghoul, Death Note, Assassination Classroom, AoT, Free!, Lucifer, OHSHC, Arcana, Stranger Things, and MANY more) 

@agerefandom​ (Adventure Zone, Animaniacs, ATLA, BNHA, Castlevania, Critical Role, Danganronpa, Death Note, Disney, Doctor Who, DDLC, Glee, Gravity Falls, Hannibal, Harry Potter, Homestuck, Magnus Archives, MCU, POTO, Sandman, Sherlock, Star Wars, Steven Universe, SPN, Twilight, Untamed, WTNV, and more) 

@ember-owlet​ (Encanto, Chainsaw Man, Beastars, Jujutsu Kaisen, Spy x Family, Witch Hat Atelier, Arcane, DHMIS, Killing Eve, MLP, Steven Universe, Owl House, OTGW, Wednesday, Cats, Heathers, Hadestown, POTO, D:BH, DDLC, FNAF, God Of War, RE:VIII, Last of Us, Undertale, and more) 

@writerpey​ (Arcane, ATLA/LOK, BTS, D:BH, Disney, Downton Abbey, GoT, God of War, Marvel, OFMD, Peaky Blinders, RDR2, Sherlock, Shadow and Bone, Star Wars, Stranger Things, The Batman, Last of Us, Uncharted, Wednesday, WWDITS, and more)

@wonderinglullaby​ (DC, Invader Zim, Breaking Bad, MLP, ATLA, SPN, Doctor Who, Invincible, Inside Job, Walking Dead, Carebears, Bojack Horseman, Stranger Things, Umbrella Academy, OTGW, Spiderman, Deadpool, Horror movies, and more)

@deuce-t-agere​ (911 Lone Star, Bluey, Care Bears, Criminal Minds, Critical Role, DC, Ever After High, Disney (esp. Hercules right now), Friday the 13th, Horror, James Bond, Lilo and Stitch, LOTR, Marvel, Monster High, POTO, Star Trek, Star Wars) 

@littlefirefly42​ (Marvel, She-Ra, Riordanverse, Owl House, Adventure Time, Bee and Puppycat, Stranger Things, Heartstopper, Gone, OTGW, DHMIS, Dragon Prince, Goncharov, It, Wednesday, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, HTTYD) 

@paper--moons​ (BNHA, Saiki K, Fairy Tail, Soul Eater, Death Note, FMAB, Dragon Ball, TAZ, Umbrella Academy, Marvel, DC, LOTR/Hobbit, Castlevania, TES, Dragon Age, Stardew Valley, The Witcher) 

@dreamties​ (Saw, The Collector, Black Christmas, Scream, House of Wax, The Boy, Heathers, Candyman, Carrie, Lost Boys, Psycho, Friday The 13th, Child’s Play, Spree, Laid to Rest, Dead by Daylight) 

@lavendermilkbottle​ (The Walking Dead, OFMD, DSMP, Hermitcraft, BNHA, Haikyuu, Star Wars, AFTG, DC, Grey’s Anatomy, Stranger Things, Leverage, White Collar, James Bond, Kingsman, Top Gun) 

@thorin-baby-bear​ (Stranger Things, Critical Role, Ghostbusters, It, Marvel, Ride The Cyclone, Doctor Who, Moon Knight, OFMD, Dead Poets Society, Welcome Home, Ash vs. Evil Dead, Werewolf By Knight, Bullet Train) 

@lains-cyberspace​ (Serial Experiments Lain, Complete Selection Modification, Welcome Home, BNHA, Genshin Impact, PJSK, Obey Me, Kpop, Slipknot, DHMIS, Enstars, TBHK, Danganronpa) 

@tinybeebo​ (Doctor Who, Marvel, X-Men, Moon Knight, Law and Order, Psych, Glee, Be More Chill, Dear Evan Hansen, Greatest Showman, Cobra Kai, Criminal Minds) 

@babiestbubbles​ (ROTTMNT, Daredevil, Spiderman, Stranger Things, Owl House, Bluey, Beyblade Burst, Disney, Harry Potter, DSMP/MCYT, BNHA, Sanders Sides) 

@strawbabys-blog​ (DSMP, Maze Runner, Harry Potter, BNHA, Merlin, Haikyuu, Heartstopper, Yuri on Ice!, Voltron, Hamilton, Marvel) 

@blankie-nest-agere​ (WarioWare, Psychonauts, MLP, Cookie Run, Stardew Valley, Owl House, Gravity Falls, Pokemon, Undertale/Deltarune, Invader Zim, Homestuck) 

@babybutlerarthur​ (Monster High, Danny Phantom, HTTYD, OHSHC, Hetalia, Disney, Welcome Home, SPN, Good Omens, Muppets, Star Trek)

@littlegummyfox​ (Series of Unfortunate Events, Adventure Time, Marvel, Steven Universe, Wednesday, HTTYD, Disney, Trollhunters, Welcome Home, Star Wars)

@mossysmolboy​ (OHSHC, BNHA, FNAF, Black Butler, Yuri On Ice, Stardew Valley, Creepypasta, D:BH, Sally Face, Arcane) 

shinxylullaby (Food Fantasy, Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, Cookie Run, Ouran, Sanrio Boys, Demon Slayer, BNHA, MXTX, MLP, Obey Me) 

@leos-regression-cove​ (Marvel, Parks and Rec, Good Omens, Bee and Puppycat, WWDITS, OFMD, Abbot Elementary, Ghosts UK/US, Better Call Saul) 

@froggy-clubhouse​ (Mr. Robot, Stranger Things, Teen Wolf, Homestuck, Haikyuu, Lucky Star, DHMIS, FNAF, South Park) 

aew-kun-age-regression (Marvel, SPN, Criminal Minds, Teen Wolf, Last of Us, Walking Dead, Harry Potter, Stranger Things) 

comfybuckets (Idolmaster, Project Sekai, Vast Error, Sanrio, Homestuck, Pokemon, Chrono Trigger, MLP g4) 

berrymoos (Moon Knight, Ninjago, Owl House, BNHA, Demon Slayer, Pokemon, Spiderman, Steven Universe, Stranger Things) 

@pup-writes-agere​ (Naruto, Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, Sonic, TMNT, FNAF, Danganronpa)

@sfwregressionfanfictions​ (Supernatural, RPF, Stranger Things, Marvel, Criminal Minds, Harry Potter, Addams Family)

@arcadian-agere​ (TWST, Genshin Impact, Death Note, Enstars, Black Butler, Nu Carnival, Pokemon)

kiddo-characters (Banana Fish, Owari no Seraph, Love Live!, Warrior Cats, sk8 The Infinity, ATLA, Genshin Impact) 

zeiru (Amphibia, ATLA, Disney/Pixar, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, MLP, Tangled Series, Owl House) 

@dino--boyy​ (Fear Street, Criminal Minds, Stranger Things, Owl House, Scream, Yellowjackets) 

@jjtheresidentbaby​ (Criminal Minds, SPN, Stranger Things, SWAT, Marvel, Teen Wolf)

@azulsgoldfish​ (TWST, PRSK, OHSHC, Persona, Enstars, Pokemon)

@honeybeewritings​ (Marvel, Stranger Things, Harry Potter, Wednesday)

@karaslittlesunshine​ (Supergirl, Marvel, Pitch Perfect, Criminal Minds)

@agere-ena​ (Project Sekai, Pretty Cure, Love Live!, Honkai: Star Rail)

enderlyghost (Ok KO, Encanto, FNAF: SB, MCYT/DSMP)

800-little-space (BNHA, Haikyuu, Assassination Classroom, Harry Potter) 

@tiniestroses​ (Project Sekai, Sonic, TMNT, Undertale)

@agere-fics​ (Marvel, Good Omens, The Mandalorian) 

@angelbaby-fics​ (Marvel, Stranger Things, other Chris Evans characters)

@guppies-daydream​ (Legend of Zelda, Splatoon) 

@gothicmunson​ (Stranger Things, Our Flag Means Death)

@smallboyontheship​ (Just Roll With It) 

@littlemetaknight​ (Kirby) 

@pumpkaboo-princess​ (Project Sekai) 

@prince-honeypaw (BNHA) 

@babs-and-bones​ (Undertale)

@babybones-agere​ (Undertale)

@sleepy-watcher​ (Our Flag Means Death)

@star-struck-wonderland​ (BNHA)

@bnha-crimebabies​ (BNHA)

@bnha-littlespace-things​ (BNHA)

@little-lippie​ (Kpop Girl Groups) 

pyrohrtd (Genshin Impact) 

[bittersweetcanary]

ArTw Halloween Headcanons~

Halloween Event of 10/23 in Arcana Twilight

Contains Spoilers from

[The Hidden Truth of the Flower Language] Sorcerer Card

[The Angel Bringing Joy] Wish Card

[Spica's Halloween Chat]

And the free chat [Six Sorcerers: Halloween bit]

Do not continue if you don't want spoilers for any of the above.

Minor Cursing | PG

(edited this a few times because I made a few mistakes lmfao-)

Seems like the Summoner has the option to spend Halloween with either Sirius or Pollux because their cards take place on the same day, or so I assume because Pollux ends up filling in for a missing Plague Doctor(Sirius) for a Play in his card. While Sirius is off with the Summoner in his card. In Pollux's Card, the Summoner is with him as he fills in for Sirius at the Play while Sirius plays hooky doing who knows what- Maybe that explosion towards the end of Sirius's Card has something to do with it?

Spica's Chat could take place after all this, on the final day of the Halloween Event at Contell. As said by Spica in the Chat "The Halloween Party will end today...".

Also if you've read Pollux's Card and learned that his costume was supposed to be a Demon's costume but somehow it was switched to an Angel, then notice how Spica is wearing a Demon Costume in his Chat... I think Sirius may have switched their costumes? LMAO. However Spica doesn't mention any issue with his costume, I'd still like to think Sirius switched them.

Sirius has always had a little grudge against Spica, one of his lines being "Spica behaves as if he is the chosen hero." his eyes are green as this is said, possibly with anger? I'm not sure why he would be jealous. So why not switch Spica's costume with a demon costume, Pollux just so happened to have one.

I think Pollux was trying to get Alpheratz to match with him, so they'd both be demons! That'd be so cute. Oh and even more adorable if they actually ended up hanging out together after the costume switch-up, Pollux being Alpheratz's little Angel, Alpheratz being Pollux's big demon. Perfect duo. FUcking AdoRaBLE.

Then maybe Alpheratz would play pranks on Spica, the other demon, while Pollux played innocent Angel while giving Alpheratz openings by distracting Spica-

Arcturus and Vega are just there, somewhere in the background. Alpheratz as well. Maybe they are having a little get together :D though I doubt Vega would join them less he was dragged along >:3

Imagine Alpheratz dragging Vega along as he follows Arcturus through the Halloween game stalls pfft- maybe they would be able to get Vega to eat an actual meal for once.

[we-do-bones-bracket]

Who did bones the best?

here are the finalized brackets! the tournament will be split into two brackets. the finalists of both will go up against each other to determine the winner. characters who were the most popular during submissions will join in round 2

rules & guidelines

about spoilers

matches under cut!

Abraham "Brom Bones" van Brunt (Headless: A Sleepy Hollow Story) vs. Skull (One Piece)

Laudna (Critical Role) vs. Sese Kitsugai (Len'en Project)

Benny (Halloweentown) vs. Enki Ankarian (Fear & Hunger)

Stalhorse (The Legend of Zelda) vs. Skeleton Horse (Minecraft)

Skeleton Mob (Minecraft) vs. Stallord (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)

Ryuk (Death Note) vs. Sam Day Break (Paradise Killer)

Adalman (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime) vs. Hero's Shade/Hero's Spirit (The Legend of Zelda)

Sir Daniel Fortesque (MediEvil) vs. Skeletor (He-Man)

The Forgotten (Binding of Isaac) vs. Countess Ariadne de Winter (Til Death Do Us Bard)

Kel'thuzad (Warcraft) vs. Christopher Flores (Wayward Children)

The Lich King/Arthas Menethil (Warcraft) vs. Bones (Johannes Cabal the Necromancer)

Toro Muerto (The Book of Life) vs. Yodomi Arakawa (Skeleton Double)

Immortan Joe (Mad Max Fury Road) vs. Laika (Laika: Aged Through Blood)

Clinkz (DOTA 2) vs. Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck (Bleach)

Ianthe Tridantarius (The Locked Tomb) vs. Zenon Zogratis (Black Clover)

Palamedes Sextus (The Locked Tomb) vs. Ketheric Thorm (Baldur's Gate 3)

Ruth Fleming (Nerdy Prudes Must Die) vs. Dr. Bones Cookie (Cookie Run)

Misetani Box (Dai Dark) vs. Frank (Generation Loss)

Shimada Death (Dai Dark) vs. Bone (Warriors)

Kurloz Makara (Homestuck) vs. Mamà Imelda (Coco)

Jake English (Homestuck) vs. Hector (Coco)

SkullBaluchimon (Digimon) vs. Skullgreymon (Digimon)

SkullKnightmon (Digimon) vs. Jolly Roger

Cubone (Pokémon) vs. Ryme (Pokémon Scarlet and Violet)

Skeletal Dragon (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim) vs. Boneknapper (How to Train Your Dragon)

Shinnok (Mortal Kombat) vs. Hector (Castlevania)

Lady Micte (Maya and the Three) vs. Conway (Kentucky Route Zero)

Veralidaine "Daine" Sarrasi (The Immortal Quartet) vs. Pious Augustus (Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem)

Zélie Adebola (Children of Blood and Bone) vs. SkekMal the Hunter (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance)

The Hound (RWBY) vs. Nuckelavee (RWBY)

Nina Zenik (Six of Crows) vs. Undertaker (Black Butler)

Yorick (Hamlet) vs. Pale Rider (Persona)

Skelita Calaveras (Monster High) vs. Hell Biker (Persona)

Nico Di Angelo (Percy Jackson) vs. Bone Ravage (Fortnite)

Death (Discworld) vs. Mort (Hello from the Hallowoods)

Acererak (Dungeons & Dragons) vs. Skid (Spooky Month)

Boneyard (Dungeons & Dragons) vs. Lord Hater (Wonder Over Yonder)

Necrodeus (Kirby Mass Attack) vs. Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas)

Skelly (Hades) vs. Nagash (Warhammer Fantasy Battle)

Lady Bone Demon (Lego Monkie Kid) vs. Dry Bowser (Mario)

King (The Owl House) vs. Dry Bones (Mario)

Dyre Ode/Dyre Owed (Friends at the Table) vs. The Children of the Hydra's Teeth (Jason and the Argonauts (1963))

Qiu Congxue (Devil Venerable Also Wants to Know) vs. Death (The Arcana)

Kimimaro Kaguya (Naruto) vs. Gold Skull (The Sexy Brutale)

Death the Kid (Soul Eater) vs. Keyes (Fairy Tail)

Skull Knight (Berserk) vs. Director Bones (DC Comics) Bone (One Punch Man)

Lord Death Man (DC Comics) vs. Mister Bones (DC Comics)

Death (Horrible Histories) vs. Ebisu (Dorohedoro)

Skeleton (I Spy Spooky Mansion) vs. Skullomania/Saburo Nishikoyama (Street Fighter EX)

Skull Man (Mega Man) vs. SkullMan.exe (Mega Man)

A Real Magic Skeleton (OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes) vs. Skully (Scary Godmother)

Marquis (Parahumans) vs. Morgo (Little Misfortune)

Señor Huseo (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) vs. Brian Laborn/Grue (Parahumans)

Grim (The Grim Adventures) vs. Pluto (Library of Ruina)

Queen Rohaan (Watermelon) vs. Kamen Raider Genm/Kuroto Dan (Kamen Rider Ex-Aid)

Fone Bone (Bone) vs. Smiley Bone (Bone) vs. Phonciple P. "Phoney" Bone (Bone)

[sleepytwilight]

How would Arcana twilight react if they found out that MC is Suicidal and is planning to end themselves??

[A/N: please seek help if you are having a suicidal thoughts :( ]

Arcturus will absolutely be in horrified state if he found you standing in the top of rooftopb with no shoes. He doesn't understand suicidal people but he is ready to help you. Was it because you don't feel like home in Neb Aula? Don't worry, he will make sure you will feel like home. Be ready to showered with affection everyday.

Spica asks you how long have this been going on. He find you trying to hang yourself in your own dorm. He uses his magic to cut the rope and embrace you as if today is the end of the world. You know the typical Spica, ✨ therapy ✨. He'll be there with you during your therapy session and make sure to know what trouble you.

Pollux at first noticed your calendar have a mark on a specific date, he often to ask you what's up with that date but you never answer him. Curiosity got the best of him, he secretly follow you on that day and find you standing near the bridge. He was going to caught up with you until you lose your balance and fell, Pollux in panic did caught you by your hand but he fell together with you. Don't worry, you guys didn't die, Pollux know how to swim. He was crying and slap you but also slap himself. From now then, he clung himself to you like a kola.

Alpheratz figures you have suicidal thoughts. You all gloomy and have cuts on your arms. As usual, Alpheratz put his overprotective brother on and does his best to help you. If you are having suicidal thoughts again, he'll appear out of nowhere as if he can read your mind and cuddle with you. He pampering you with affection as much Arcturus did for you.

Sirius first question is 'why'. Why in a way, why being suicidal when you can be homicidal. Who know this man is a suicidal because literally everyone seems to forget about his birthday- but he decided to be a homicidal because it's more fun.

Vega find it out when you just stand still when he draw his sword at you. You didn't startled or flinch, your eyes match a lifeless doll eyes. If it because you lost everything when you came to this world then he understands it. He understands you and can relate. He helps you not to have suicidal thoughts anymore and if you try to kill yourself. You can't. He just be out of nowhere offering you jelly beans.

[Side Characters]

Principal create a therapy class for suicidal students. After having you in his academy, he realized how young lives can also be suicidal.

Rigel will have you join the Queen Tet or hang out with them. Pranking is fun, you'll forget your problem if you mess with some people. If you get detention, don't worry, Rigel will take the blame.

[shytastemakerthing]

❄️Shy’s Masterlist❄️

⚜️Welcome weary traveler, it would seem that you have stumbled upon my blog. Come, rest yourself and relax, enjoy some reading and indulge.Wish to make a request of your own, do take note of the rules below before you send anything in. This masterlist contains requests and another separate one shall be created for my match-ups. I do hope to hear from you soon~ Rules for requesting

🌜Matchup’s🌛

⚜️WIP

🪞Twisted Wonderland Masterlist🪞

Heartslabyul

🌹Riddle Rosehearts with a jealous S/O

Savanaclaw

Octavinelle

Pomefiore

🪞Vil with an S/O who has a hard time saying his last name

Ignihyde

Diasmonia

🦇Baking together with Lilia Vanrouge

🎤Ensemble Stars🎤

Rei Sakuma with a sleepy S/O

🔥My Hero Academia❄️

⚔️Demon Slayer⚔️

Giyuu finding child!reader

Kokushibo reuniting with gn child in the afterlife

Kokushibo with adult reader who gives him a rock

Hantengu Clones with adult!love clone reader

Love clone reader in love with a human

Modern!Au Zohakuten with baby sister reader

Child!Love clone in normal time line

Both love clones within the Demon slayer timeline

Modern!AU ZOhakuten meeting girl always around the quads

Zohakuten x platonic!best friend reader

Child reader with sentient braids representing the Hantengu clones

🐶Poppy’s Playtime🐱

⚜️Nothing at this time

🎪The Amazing Digital Circus🎪

⚜️Nothing at this time

👑Ikemen Series👑

Jujutsu Kaisen

⚜️Nothing at this time

Bleach

⚜️Nothing at this time

Naruto

⚜️Nothing at this time

Dragon Ball

⚜️Nothing at this time

One Piece

⚜️Nothing at this time

Magic!And the boys who love me

⚜️Nothing at this time

Arcana Twilight

⚜️Nothing at this time

Black Butler

⚜️Nothing at this time

Court of Darkness

⚜️Nothing at this time

Ouran Highschool Host Club

⚜️Nothing at this time

Five Nights at Freddy’s

⚜️Nothing at this time

[captainjacklyn]

Um, hello there again! I'm not exactly sure if you're willing to take another request from me since this is the second time, so feel free to ignore this if you want to. But if it's alright with you, may I ask for arcana twilight headcanons of the same guys from my previous request (Because I'll be honest here, they're my favorites-) about how they celebrate Christmas (Or the Christmas equivalent in Bound Arlyn) with their s/o? It's Christmas right now for my country and I'm feeling a bit festive (✧^⁠‿⁠^⁠).

Again though, no pressure do this. Thank you so much and stay safe!! (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡.

It's no problem Anon ! I'm happy you enjoy my writing, so sorry for not responding earlier, Christmas can sometimes be a busy time ! I hope you enjoy this head canon as much as I enjoyed writing it. （ʃƪ＾3＾ ）

Pairing(s) : spica x reader, arcturus x reader, pollux x reader

Warning(s) : Nothing ! Just wholesome fluff for my favorite Anon ! [sorry if what I say makes you uncomfortable, I'm just a very loving person even with anonymous people 😅]

Arcturus

Now this sweetheart is one to love the Christmas holidays ! I'm actually not sure if they celebrate it in Bound Arlyn but let's all pretend like it is just for the fun of imagination.

His favorite part will probably be the sweaters, I'm sorry but he just looks adorable with a big handmade cotton cardigan with red and green.

Don't think you'll escape it, you got a matching one too !

I can picture an image of the both of you just sitting in front of a fire cuddling and drinking hot cocoa. It's adorable !

I head-canon that he likes baking too, so be sure to help him make gingerbread cookies.

Even if you're not confident, he will love to help you make your shapes look like...

....

something that isn't a deformed monster !

He digs the Christmas lights and holiday cheers, he generally likes seeing happy faces.

Your smile is still his favorite though, don't ever try to hide it from him. Alright ?

Pollux

I'm sorry if this is too cliche but Pollux likes the present unwrapping part the most !

He sorta has mixed feelings about it cause he doesn't want to offer you something bland while you proceed to buy him a mansion saying, "I know it's not much, but it's the thought that counts right ?"

...

ARE YOU SERIOUS ?!

WHAT IS THIS ?!

You made so many efforts, got him everything he said he liked and then he just got you a plushie.

"Oh my god babe ! Thank you so much it's sooo cute ! You shouldn't have, I'm gonna keep it with me forever !"

what the hell.

He just stands there and you look like he offered you the world, he feels like he doesn't deserve you.

Make sure to reassure him and tell him that you love him no matter what. Give him a kiss, Pollux likes those. <3

Spica

I'm gonna be honest, I feel like he doesn't need to do shit on Christmas Day.

Boy got maids and butlers decorating pretty much six trees at home, baking cookies and getting gifts wrapped up.

Luckily you're here to give him a little holiday spirit.

Whenever he asks if you want him to hire people to do something special, refuse and say it's better to do it together.

It's sweet seeing him smile while adding ornaments to the small pine you bought earlier.

Seeing him so free and not buried under the piles of work and stress is refreshing

For both you and him.

He's happy you suggested the idea, and you're glad he accepted it.

You both are made for each other, wether it's Christmas, thanksgiving, halloween or not.

Thank for reading, I hope you liked it.

[wynterrolls]

Arcana Twilight Card Mechanic

All about Card Stats

Typically, SSR cards are the endgame goal to collect for the battles. But SR cards will do if you don't really have other cards to use.

SSR cards have level 120 as the max, while SR cards have level 90 as the max. In this link, you'd see the total card power (CP) of each SSR card available in standard banners, and upon checking out the numbers, you could say that a level 120 SSR card has an average of 200k CP.

Below is a list of my level 90 Arcturus SSR sorcerer card stats. (Image can be found in card multiplier part of this post.)

Wind - 32,200

Fire - 36,200

Water - 29,400

Soil - 28,800

Light - 31,400

Total - 158,000

Assuming that the stats of a level 90 SSR card and a level 90 SR card is kind of similar, we could say that a maxed out level 90 SR card could have an average of 150k CP.

I made this assumption because I don't have gold nor materials to level up an SR sorcerer card to max. This could mean that the average number I've said here could be correct or the actual value might be lower than 150k due to rarity difference. (Feel free to correct me in the comments section about this part.)

To test this assumption, I'm showing 4 different cards, 2 sorcerer cards and 2 wish cards with SSR and SR rarities each, and compare the total CP of each card to see difference between these two rarities.

━━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━━━━━━━

Below is my SSR Alpheratz sorcerer card with level 30 stats.

Wind = 13,600

Fire = 11,400

Water = 18,300

Soil = 10,000

Light = 10,600

Total = 63,900

Now, here's my SR Vega sorcerer card with level 30 stats.

Wind = 10,450

Fire = 10,200

Water = 11,700

Soil = 11,200

Light = 10,500

Total = 54,050

The two sorcerer cards have a difference of 9,850 CP. An 18.22% difference between the two - almost 20% difference between SSR and SR sorcerer cards.

━━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━━━━━━━

Below is my SSR Arcturus wish card with level 90 stats.

Wind = 16,650

Fire = 15,750

Water = 15,850

Soil = 15,150

Light = 19,450

Total = 82,850

Here's my SR Alpheratz wish card with level 90 stats.

Wind = 13,950

Fire = 15,050

Water = 17,360

Soil = 15,050

Light = 15,240

Total = 76,650

The two wish cards have a difference of 6,200 CP. An 8.089% difference between the two - almost 10% difference between SSR and SR wish cards.

━━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━━━━━━━

In conclusion, to rephrase my assumption above, a level 90 SR sorcerer card could have an average 125k CP, while a level 90 SR wish card could have an average 75k CP. I got this estimated numbers by removing 20% value for SR sorcerer card CP, and using the level 90 SR wish card CP for the estimate.

━━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━━━━━━━

I've made a note on card CP because each battle stage has corresponding recommended opponent CP you need to either match or to be more than it. Preferably, you'd want your team CP to be more than opponent's CP.

Below is an image of Twilight Mode Stage 10-B, where it shows the opponent CP. (The image is from u/Global-Asparagus7156. I haven't reached this floor stage yet.)

Seeing that the opponent's CP is 578,307, theoretically speaking, we could say that having a full team of SR sorcerer and wish cards with max level 90 could still deal with this stage, since with just 3 max SR sorcerer and 3 max SR wish cards alone, you'd have 600k CP already. (125k * 3 cards + 75k * 3 cards = 600k CP)

All about Card Skills

In my newbie guide post, I've mentioned using card with skills that has fast recharge time. In this post, I'll write down the sorcerer card skills from the fastest to the slowest.

Sorcerer card active skills

Decode (7 sec)

Double attack (8 sec)

Skill power up (8 sec)

Shield Deployment (8 sec)

Debuff (9 sec)

Slip (12 sec)

Freeze (13 sec)

Sorcerer card active skills I don't have a card to test on, but based the recharge time on the enemies in battle stage

Recall (8 sec)

Poison (9 sec)

Heal Activation (9 sec)

** I'm not including the wish card skills here because you can't control the activation of these kinds of skills. It will automatically trigger in battle.

All about Card Multipliers

Card multipliers are the attribute buffs in each battle stage. Each battle stage has two attributes that gains buffs, and these buffs could be seen in the card stat details in "team setup".

In this part, I'll show various examples on how card multipliers were applied in a stage. The battle stage we'll use as a litmus test is from normal mode stage 8-3, where the buff attributes are fire and light.

━━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━━━━━━━

To start off, we'll have SSR Arcturus fire sorcerer card. These are his stats without any buffs:

This is the SSR Arcky card stats with buffs:

The buffs are applied in his fire and light stats:

Fire = 36,300 → 43,560 = x1.2 = 20% increase

Light = 31,400 → 34,540 = x1.1 = 10% increase

━━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━━━━━━━

Another card is this SR Arcturus light sorcerer card. These are his stats without buffs.

This is the SR Arcky card stats with buffs:

Just like his SSR card, the buffs are applied in his fire and light stats:

Fire = 2,050 → 2,460 = x1.2 = 20% increase

Light = 3,850 → 4,235 = x1.1 = 10% increase

━━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━━━━━━━

Another card we'll look into is SR Vega water sorcerer card. These are his stats without buffs:

This is the SR Vega water card with buffs:

The same with the last two cards above, the buffs are also applied in his fire and light stats.

Fire = 10,200 → 12,240 = x1.2 = 20% increase

Light = 10,500 → 11,550 = x1.1 = 10% increase

━━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━━━━━━━

Now we'll look into the wish card multipliers.

To start off, we'll have N Spica fire wish card without buffs:

This is N Spica wish card with buffs:

Just like with the previous sorcerer cards, the buffs are applied in his fire and light stats.

Fire = 1,100 → 1,320 = x1.2 = 20% increase

Light = 220 → 242 = x1.1 = 10% increase

━━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━━━━━━━

Next, we'll have SSR Arcturus light wish card without buffs:

This is his card with buffs now:

Just like with the previous wish card above, the buffs are applied in his fire and light stats.

Fire = 9,750 → 11,700 = x1.2 = 20% increase

Light = 13,450 → 14,795 = x1.1 = 10% increase

━━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━━━━━━━

The last card would SR Alpheratz water wish card. This is his card stats without buffs:

This is his card with buffs:

Just like with the previous two wish card above, the buffs are applied in his fire and light stats.

Fire = 9,950 → 11,940 = x1.2 = 20% increase

Light = 10,140 → 11,154 = x1.1 = 10% increase

━━ ˖°˖ ☾☆☽ ˖°˖ ━━━━━━━

TLDR; Regardless of whether the sorcerer and wish card's main stat is the main attribute or secondary attribute or none of the two stage attributes, the attributes that have buffs for this certain stage is still distributed to selected card stats. These stat buffs could aid your team CP in battle stages.

Main stat attribute = 20% increase

Secondary stat attribute = 10% increase

All about Fever Time

This battle mode triggers randomly. I have no idea what are the trigger conditions for this to come out, since whenever this mode would come out on screen, I'm busy tapping the screen to activate the skill burst of my team.

This is what the fever mode trigger looks like in the middle of battle. It is indicated by a yellow star with smiley face.

Once you click on it, it will start the "Fever Time" mode, which then would make rainbow-colored stars to pop out of the screen. If you click on those stars, it could deal damage to enemies' HP bar, which could help your team.

All about Card Battle Tips

What I would write here are the battle strategy I would do in the game. It could work for anyone as long as your total CP is more than the opponent's total CP, at least 50k more than opponent's total CP.

In battle stages in normal or twilight mode that isn't the boss stage, the stage would have a total timer of 30-sec for the whole battle. If your card skills have less than 10-sec recharge time, you could deal skill dmg 3-times within this battle period. This is the reason why it is suggested to use card skills with fast recharge time.

If your total CP is slightly more than enemies' total CP, the strategy here is to counter the first 10-sec skill dmg of the enemies, then let them deal dmg on your HP on the second and third 10sec of the battle. The reasoning for this is that whenever you would counter the enemies' skill, the total skill dmg you can deal on enemies' HP is reduced.

In boss stages in both normal and twilight mode, the stage would have 40-sec total timer. The same tip could be applied here, but you mostly would counter the first two 10-sec skill up, and let the enemy damage your HP for the last two 10-sec skill up.

Annoying card skills enemies use to ruin your 10-sec skill rotation:

Recall - This skill is annoying because it could drain the skill gauge of one of your sorcerers. It has a 35% chance to proc, but from my runs, it most of the time proc. To mitigate this skill, you need to use card skills that has a recharge rate 8-sec or less to counter recall, so that this skill won't have any skill gauge to drain.

Poison - This skill is a DoT (damage over time). This means that besides from the dmg you got from the skill - which you could counter, the poison skill could still deal more dmg on your HP bar outside of the enemies' skill turn. To mitigate this HP loss from poison's DoT, you'll want heal activation in one of your card skills.

Freeze - This skill has the slowest recharge rate, but for a good reason. This skill is pretty OP when it comes to freezing the skill gauge on one of your enemies, which means you could ruin their skill uptime rotation, so that you could deal more dmg on them. The same could be said to your team if your enemies have freeze skill instead. To mitigate this annoying skill, you need to have you cards to have fast recharge skill so it could catch up to other skill ups.

Slip or Sleep - I'm not sure if it is a translation issue, but if you'd read the skill description, you'll see that the skill can inflict sleep on enemies, which will make them immobile for 2.5-sec. This skill is another OP skill to have in your card skills at the cost of slow recharge rate, but you're in bad luck if your enemies deal the same skill on your team. To mitigate this skill, you can't really do anything about it, except to use faster recharge skills to catch up with other skill ups, which is pretty similar tip with freeze skill.

Sources

Arcana Twilight Cards

Arcana Twilight Card Stats from u/Cold-South-2793

Twilight Mode Stage 10-B from u/Global-Asparagus7156

Card Battle Tips from u/nerothearson

Card Battle Tips from u/Goleziyon

A/N: I just learned now that a maximum of 30 images is only allowed per post. I have to replace some line divider images with actual text line dividers. The images in card multiplier part of this post takes up a lot of images from the max limit.

➥ Back to my otome game masterlist.

Update Log

12/15/2023 - Uploaded this post.

12/15/2023 - Corrected my assumption in Card stats part and showed a comparison test between SSR and SR cards.

01/29/2024 - Added the reminder line at the top

[another-lost-mc]

A quick update since I'm going to be busier than usual this weekend!

I'm probably going to start Solomon's birthday reblog queue tomorrow. I write about that old man a lot and I don't want to spam too much on his actual birthday. lol

I've also got a few things in the works that I'm really excited about:

Something for the Pokemon AU (it's mostly written, I just have to do the graphic portions)

Zekhan's OC bio including his character sheets and probably his nsfw alphabet

A new fic for Solomon

While I would like to finish Solomon's fic in time for his birthday, I might not be able to because my birthday is this weekend too. 😅

Later this month is this blog's one-year anniversary. Yay! Maybe we can do some fun match-ups or something with the Obey Me/Arcana Twilight/WHB crew.

Cheers! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

[lemme-just-oops]

ok so how would the arcana twilight boys react to an mc that is really super gorgeous-looking, but then they see pictures of when mc was a teenager and they look massively different---they were very nerdy, thick glasses, bushy hair, unfashionable clothes and so on? How would they react to that? mc shows them the pictures because mc wasn't believed when they said that they werent always beautiful.

Alpheratz: As someone who looked different as a kid, he understands and does not judge. Though in his case, you will see that the only difference between him and his younger self is: He used to smile more. But he feels as though he is a completely different person, and does not realize that it is him in those pictures. So happy, so careless. But yeah. He thinks your situations can compare, because your past still returns to chase you, every now and then.

Arcturus: What a glow-up! He matches the energy you show, and asks if you like the current version of you. It must have taken a lot of energy and he understands if you want to hide this, but he assures you that he thinks you are beautiful either way. Your nerdy looks just make you feel like yourself and he wants to see that side of you.

Pollux: He is mostly interested in where your glasses went. Too busy to realize any other changes you went through, but he needs answers about the glasses. The concept of contact lenses has completely left his mind.

Sirius: You look like a kid. A normal kid with the normal experiences. Everyone looked weird in your age, he assures. If you were too find old pictures of him, he would cringe too, even if you were to find him absolutely adorable. He will make sure you never find old pictures of him for this exact reason.

Spica: He enjoys seeing pictures of people he knows and observing how they changed. You might hate your former looks, but then he will point out things you cannot change. The shape of your nose, the way you smile. Those are the details that make your looks unique. Maybe you still do certain poses or have the same fire in your eyes as when you look at a birthday cake. He points them all out. And he asks if you'd like to see old pictures of him too. The braces he had, the short and messy hair. He will skip pictures of his emo phase though.

Vega: Will he smile? Probably. Will he laugh? No. You look so completely different that he accuses you of faking the pictures though. But he admires the change you went through and praises you. If you listen closely, he may apologize to you because society made you think you had to change your looks. You should not have had to go through it.

[starlightalchemist]

So.... Im posting this here IN CASE there happens to be someone who understands the kind of brain rot I'm going through. One Piece Persona AU.

Literally all I have is what Arcana the main cast would match to. Also important to note: I used both a tarot database AND persona games to assign Arcana.

Luffy:

• The Fool Arcana

Zoro:

• The Strength Arcana

Usopp:

• The Chariot Arcana

Sanji:

• The Emperor Arcana

Nami:

• The Lovers Arcana

Chopper:

• The Temperance Arcana

Robin:

• The High Priestess Arcana

Franky:

• The Star Arcana

Brook:

• The Death Arcana

Jimbei:

• The Hierophant Arcana

Ace

• The Magician Arcana

Sabo:

• The Tower Arcana

Vivi:

• The Empress Arcana

Law

• The Justice Arcana

White-Beard (Edward):

• The Hanged Man Arcana

Black-Beard (Teach):

• The Wheel of Fortune Arcana

The One Piece

• Za Warudo

To get to "Sea of Souls":

• During "The Twilight Hour" (any time the sun is touching the water), the ship sails strait towards sun on the horizon line. (Either they'll just phase into the other world OR they'll have to go under water somehow, TBD).

There are a few more major characters, and Arcana to assign, but I only just started Wano so I'm waiting to catch up a bit first. I've been told to wait until I meet Yamato (???) So we'll see what happens. If anyone actually sees this, so so sorry in advance cause it might be a while before another update!

(IF anyone sees this, my asks are open)

[utilitycaster]

I saw on Gina's page that you were working on cleric wizard combos! I'm extremely curious, do you have any ideas about a div wizard multiclass? Is this one of the things you were talking about where it's not worth the multiclass?

So I had been more specifically discussing "what if Travis plays a cleric/wizard and what would be a good idea" with Gena; the post you're referencing covers basically anything I had on that topic. At the end of that post it states that divination wizard is always very good.

Were you to branch out from specifically that build, in which I was prioritizing heavy armor proficiency from the cleric classes and looking for wizard features over cleric features, I think knowledge cleric/divination wizard has some obvious thematic synergy. Similarly, Arcana/divination skews very heavily towards the wizard side of things so there's a bit of overlap, particularly since many of the free cleric spells you get from Arcana are divination spells, but it does make a lot of sense. This was Tonathan's build in NADDPod's Bahumia Campaign if you're interested in an example. I also think if you really wanted the heavy armor, you could flavor things without too much work to go with forge, which is somewhat lore-focused; twilight, if you played up the mysticism; or tempest. I actually really love the idea of tempest cleric/divination wizard as some kind of forecaster.

All that said, a few levels of cleric with wizard is a great multiclass in general; any of the 5 non-warlock full casters can be mixed or matched pretty well because at most you're relying on two stats (and in the case of cleric/druid or sorcerer/bard, just one, plus you can focus on utility spells where having only a +1 or +2 in the second mental stat doesn't matter) and while you set back spell progression a bit, you don't sacrifice any spell slots progression and you get a ton of extra cantrips. Wizard and cleric in particular have, probably, the best two spell lists in the game. Just make sure you take a bunch of scalable spells to use up those higher level spell slots for which you have no base spells; healing spells work beautifully which is why a small dip into cleric is such a good idea, and inflict wounds or witch bolt or similar will address this on the damage side.

If you take a single level of cleric you get 3 cantrips, first level domain spells, access to the entire first level spell cleric list (from which you can prepare a small number of spells), and a domain feature.

If you take a second level of cleric you get one domain-specific channel divinity option and another spell.

If you take a third level of cleric, you also get access to the second level domain spells and second level spells in general.

For what it's worth while I haven't thought about this to the same extent, a predominantly cleric build taking 2-3 levels of divination wizard is also quite good; the 2nd level portent feature and access to the L1 wizard spell list is worth it.

[theotherhufflepuff]

Simon Snow Trilogy Tarot Cards...

Ok so, a little while ago I saw this frankly stunning artwork by @vkelleyart and I started thinking about the Major Arcana archetypes and how characters from my favourite book series could fit into them.

So I made this list. It took a lot of thought and I’m still not 100% sure on some of them but I have explained my thought process for each card.

I don’t know how much crossover there is in the Venn diagram of “Simon Snow fans” and “tarot readers” but I’d love to hear your opinions and/or alternative suggestions (be respectful though, obviously). I’ve left “visual prompts” for most of the cards explaining what they looked like in my imagination and if anyone wants to draw any of these (or their own alternative version!) please tag me; it would make my day! I can’t draw for toffee so I am 1000% never gonna try to illustrate any of them myself.

List under the cut because it is loooong.

Spoilers ahead for the whole series!

0 The Fool - Shepard - Shepard just follows magickal creatures around and says “yes” to everything... he is the pure embodiment of the Fool archetype to me; care-free, innocent... prepared for everything and yet totally clueless. Visual prompt: Shepard about to (attempt to) step into the fog as he follows a fairy into the forest.

1 The Magician - Penelope - “Penelope Bunce is a fierce magician, I don’t mind saying” Baz, at least once in each book. Penny never worries about not having the power or words available to do whatever she wants; she is comfortable in her power and it is always there, ready to be wielded however she sees fit. Visual prompt: Penny wearing her Stevie Nicks cape, standing by a chalkboard in the classic “Magician” pose, ring clearly held aloft.

2 The High Priestess - Dr Mitali Bunce - Dr Bunce is possibly a more formidable magician than her daughter. Highly intelligent, straightforward and, let’s be honest, judgemental. But she does have all the answers. Visual prompt: Dr Bunce carrying around her laptop, phone sandwiched between her ear and her shoulder.

3 The Empress - Lucy Salisbury - Lucy exudes the nurturing, Earth Mother vibes that are central to the Empress archetype. She saw the best in everyone and all she wanted was to love Davy and live with him in their cottage with her chickens and their child. Visual prompt: Lucy, barefoot and pregnant, feeding the chickens outside of their cottage.

4 The Emperor - Lamb - This is one of the ones I’m not totally sure about. I went through a few different ideas but ultimately settled on Lamb as the “Vampire King of Las Vegas”. He is an imposing figure, ruling his city with an iron fist; if you are in his favour, Vegas is your playground, but cross him and you will suffer the consequences. Visual prompt: Lamb sits on an antique chair in his opulent suite at the Katherine, the lights of night time Vegas visible through the window behind him.

5 The Hierophant - The Mage - Again, this one took some thought and I’m sure some people will disagree with this interpretation... I’m not completely sold on it myself. The Mage was all about reforming the old traditions of the World of Mages and he amassed a following by doing so. But he turned out to be somewhat of a false prophet; abusing his power to oppress those he deemed “the enemy”. Visual prompt: The Mage in his Robin Hood costume, sitting at his desk at the top of the Weeping Tower, surrounded by his piles of banned books.

6 The Lovers - Simon and Baz - Obviously. As stated at the top of this post, I love @vkelleyart’s version of this card, but there are a lot of scenes across the series that could be used to illustrate this archetype. I personally always love to see the original “and then he kisses me” scene.

7 The Chariot - Fiona Pitch - I struggled with this one a bit and I don’t really think that this is the ideal version. But the image of Fiona, rolling up to Blackfriars bridge in her vintage sports car to rescue Baz from the Numpties really stuck with me so that’s what I went with, for lack of a better idea.

8 Strength - Ebb - Ebb is often dismissed and underestimated by other magicians but she is wicked powerful. But more than that, the Strength card is about inner strength, self control and the wisdom to know when to fight, and when to rest. Ebb is highly intuitive about the people - and goats - around her and is always careful not to talk about her twin brother, only conceding that she knows of his presence once a year and never giving in to the temptation to talk directly to him. Ebb saw the war coming and knew that she could probably end it all by herself with the power she had; but she also knew that she didn’t want that and she had the strength to say no, to eschew the expectations the rest of the World of Mages placed upon her and live quietly, instead. Visual prompt: Ebb in the hills behind the school with the goats, she wears a flower crown that the Dryad made her.

9 The Hermit - Agatha - the Hermit eschews the outside world in order to take an inner journey of self discovery, knowing that this is the only way to find real answers and achieve real growth. Agatha, jaded by the World of Mages, took herself off to California, leaving her wand at home. She didn’t know what she wanted but she knew it wasn’t magic. Visual prompt: Agatha sits on the beach at twilight by a small campfire, Lucy the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel by her side.

10 The Wheel of Fortune - The Crucible - The Crucible’s decisions, like the Wheel’s, are unpredictable and inevitable. Once it’s happened, you’re stuck with the consequences - sometimes bad (being stuck with a toff vampire who hates you) and sometimes good (getting the best room in Mummers house).

11 Justice - Natasha Grimm-Pitch - Natasha needed justice to find peace; her whole story is about justice. She was swift to act when the vampires attacked Watford, dispatching them without hesitation. When she came through the veil to find Baz and ask him to bring her murderer to justice, she knew that would also provide some closure for him, too, both for her death, and for his. Visual prompt: Natasha Grimm-Pitch appearing from beyond the veil, looking for Baz and finding Simon.

12 The Hanged One - Nicodemus - The Hanged One is about feeling stuck, but also about finding peace where you are when there’s nothing you can do about it. Nicodemus chose to cross over for eternal life, but he was stricken from the book; his (considerable) magic effectively taken from him and his fangs removed. He was stuck in between - not a full vampire, not a magician; he exists on the fringes of both communities. He got himself there and then he had to figure out how to get by, carve out a place for himself in order to survive. Visual prompt: Nicodemus sits in the tree in the garden of his mother’s house in South London, waiting for Ebb to come and sit on the empty bench beneath him.

13 Death - [scene on the Great Lawn] - Ok, so.. this might need some explaining. My immediate thought for this card was that it should be the Humdrum but Death is all about clearing out the old junk in your life that doesn’t serve you in order to make space for the new. And the Humdrum isn’t making space for anything. So I was thinking about times that has happened in the story and I thought about how the death of the Mage made room for real progress and an end to the war with the old families. Visual prompt: Penny and Baz (literally) run into a fleeing Agatha on the Great Lawn; the Weeping Tower looms in the background, the Mage and Simon visible through the blown-out stained glass windows.

14 Temperance - Simon and the Humdrum - Temperance is, as you might expect, about balance and harmony. Simon used so much magic at once that he couldn’t control it and it tore holes in the magickal atmosphere. Simon had to fill the Simon-shaped hole to restore equalibrium and stop the magickal firmament from collapsing altogether. Visual prompt: Simon kneeling in the Weeping Tower, pouring his magic into the Humdrum as he fades away.

15 The Devil - Smith Smith-Richards - The Devil is about feeling trapped by temptations in your life, often because we’re afraid of what we would do with the freedom we’d have if we let them go. Which got me thinking about Smith-Richards (that name never gets any less ridiculous) and all the magicians who were taken in by the temptation of “fixing” their magic. But it was a false promise and those magicians who narrowly escaped taking Smith-Richards’ spell were all freed from the idea of their magic being “broken” in the first place. Visual prompt: Smith-Richards (looking like the guy who would be cast to play Simon in the Netflix series) standing on a stage in the packed-out White Chapel, rapt audience hanging on his every word.

16 The Tower - The Humdrum - Originally I wanted to use the Weeping Tower for this card because the imagery is on point but the meaning doesn’t match. The Tower is about absolute destruction, the crumbling of something you thought core to your being. The Humdrum steals magic and renders magicians homeless because of it. The Tower is about having to start again from the ground up - just as the Grimms did when all the magic was drained from Hampshire. Visual prompt: The Humdrum, wearing Simon’s face, stands in the grounds of Pitch Manor, laughing. (I have always thought of the holes looking like a burn in a piece of paper - sort of glowing and smouldering at the edges as it eats away the atmosphere. I know the holes can’t actually be seen - the Normals would freak out - but that is imagery I would use here)

17 The Star - Lady Ruth’s candles - The Star is about hope and healing after the devastation of the Tower. Lady Ruth’s candles were a symbol of hope that kept her going when she thought she had lost her children. They provided comfort and, at the end when it became clear the Lucy was gone, the healing of knowing that her child had finally found his way home to his family. Visual prompt: Lady Ruth’s candles in front of a window, a bright star can be seen through the window.

18 The Moon - Agatha and Simon - So, the Moon is all about examining blurred lines between illusion and reality - nothing looks totally clear in the moonlight. It reminded me of how Simon never really seemed to have a clear view of his feelings for Agatha and what their relationship was. When he properly examined his feelings, he found that he didn’t love Agatha and was going through the motions because he thought it was what other people expected of him. Agatha was doing the same. It also brought to mind Simon, going out of his mind worrying about Baz when he was missing - as well as basically every other thought Simon ever has about Baz before Christmas Eve 2015 - and somehow mistaking it for hating him?? Simon is not stupid but sometimes he’s real dumb. Visual prompt: Agatha and Simon meet on the ramparts, both looking for Baz, and break up.

19 The Sun - Simon - This card is all about innocence, optimism and joy. Nothing about this series personifies this more than Simon flying above Shepard’s truck in America, feeling free and hopeful about the future for the first time in over a year. Visual prompt: Shepard’s truck drives through the vast empty desert, the sun beating down. Simon flies above the truck, joy on his face.

20 Judgement - Niamh and Agatha - Ok, this one was hard to figure out and this is maybe not the right solution, but I was very stuck. Judgement is about self improvement through self reflection. As a small twist on that theme; Niamh and Agatha challenge each other’s view of themselves and their interactions with the world around them. Visual prompt: Agatha and Niamh, sweating to death in Niamh’s “shitty Ford Fiesta” (I’m very salty about that line; my Ford Fiesta is lovely and it has aircon). Niamh is frowning, obviously.

21 The World - Simon, Baz, Penny and Shepard - The World is about completeness, the ending of a story, fulfilment and belonging. At the end of AWTWB, Simon has finally found his biological family, he is starting to accept that his boyfriend and his found family love him for who he is, magic or no, and he can finally start to imagine a future for himself. Baz has learned new information about his vampirism, Penny has found new confidence and Shepard is finally fully accepted into the group. Visual prompt: Baz, Penny and Shepard sit on Simon’s sofa (possibly still pink from Baz’s spell, possibly he spelled it navy blue again) Simon sits on the floor. They’re all eating leftover sandwiches and cake from Lady Ruth’s.

[iplaytoomanyotomegames]

Rules and other stuff

Hello my fellow internet dwelling fanfiction readers and anime dating sim players! This is just a friendly list of the Do's and Don'ts of requests for me along with the different fandoms I write for because yes I am indeed a writer, a fanfic writer to be precise.

Do's!

Headcannons, one shot's, scenarios, all the typical stuff

Fluff

Smut/nsfw (I like the dirt)

Hurt/comfurt

Reader inserts (duh)

Character x character (unless I find it uncomfortable)

I write match ups (just specify the fandom obviosly)

Suggestive fics (if you don't want to get all the way into the dirt and grime but still want something a bit more mature? That's cool have this as an alternative!)

Platonic relationships (not ready to settle down? Fine with me!)

Male/Female/Non-binary characters x reader

Female and gender neutral readers (I can't do male readers I'm sorry T-T )

Don'ts!

Yandere characters (even if the character is basically a cannon yandere I will not write them as a yandere, it makes me uncomfortable)

Oc x character

Toxic relationship dynamics

Full blown angst (like stated in the Do's hurt/comfort is okay)

Incest (unless it is two related characters with another character than I'm more lenient but just the siblings or whatever than...no)

Abuse (light bullying or teasing is ok but I will not write abuse unless it's related to a characters past)

Fandoms I don't know/haven't listed below (if I get into other fandoms the list will change but if there is a fanfic you want to request than check the list)

What I write for!

I write for quite a few fandoms and unless I decide to make a separate post they are all going here! Along with the characters I write for.

Akayashi romance reborn

All the main characters (aka dawn, twilight, and night factions)

Ikemen vampire

All characters (including the three villain boys)

Ikemen revolution

All characters

Twisted wonderland

All characters except for the baby Ortho (For romantic/NSFW)

Court of darkness

All characters (this game is so understand oh my godddd)

The arcana

All characters

Obey me

Anyone but Luke (for romance/nsfw)

Ensemble stars

Everyone but Sora, Mitsuru, Hajime, Tomoya, Tori, and Shinobu (For NSFW)

How to request

Preferably by sending me one in my inbox so I remember to look at it but otherwise giving me a comment on this post is fine too but less likely for me to remember to write it.

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So yeah that's it feel free to request anything as long as it doesn't involve any of my Don'ts and I will very gladly do any request that comes my way!

[fordarkisthesuede]

The Tolls of Justice: the Tarot, Name Meanings, and More!

Gentlepeople…

BEHOLD!

All the tarot-aligned hints! All the future foretellings! All the silly references! :) Everything you might have overlooked is here for you easy-to-read pleasure!

Naturally, there be spoilers a-plenty ahead for Batman the TellTale Series: The Tolls of Justice, so if you haven't read it (or maybe you're thinking about reading it, or this is your first time hearing about it), I'd advise waiting until you're done with each chapter to read through the sections. You can either click the link and be redirected to Ao3, or look through my tumblr tag #ttoj!

*One forwarding note: the tarot references build slowly in this story, and I only use the traditional Major & Minor Arcana. You'll see a lot of jokes and name-type references before we get to the tarot. I also simplified the numerics, but they're often displayed as roman numerals on cards, hint hint.

Prologue

gang member "Four Ears" - a very very off-the-collar reference to the line "Listen up, four-ears!" from J-Men Forever; in context, it was an off-shoot of the insult "four-eyes" but for music taste, also implying the person's taste was "square".

gang member "Muddy Nye" - his name can be boiled down to "muddy river". It works as an allusion to the messy, unclear case ahead of Bruce and the Batfam, but also as a hint to Clayface, who acted as Muddy in his first sighting of the story.

"Sunset" - a reference to everyone's favorite vampire series to pick on, the Twilight series; back when it was at the height of it's popularity, some drug dealers sold heroin marketed towards the crowd based off it's terrible and unfortunately iconic(?) line from Edward Cullen, "You're my own personal brand of heroin"…hence why the drug of choice BM is shipping here is heroin. Essentially, this plot setup is one big joke.

"FIGS" - a reference to POP! vinyls, hence the capitalized name and spiky word balloon on the packages.

"Gray Ghost [memorabilia]" - one of my (and everyone else's) favorite BtAS episodes, which proves definitively that Bruce Wayne | Batman is not only a Huge Nerd™, but also a massive collector of normal fandom things. (Do you think he troughs through blogs and fanwikis…? What am I saying, of course he does. He edits them.)

gang members "Jack Whendleham and Kirby Noltz" - nod to Jack Kirby, comic artist extraordinaire!

Ch.1: A Different Ceiling

[chapter title] - John does not wake up in Arkham at the start of the story, hence waking up to a different ceiling. He also hits different limitations on what he can do, so it's also a different kind of "ceiling". (Like the term "the glass ceiling", the invisible barrier a demographic hits in a hierarchy.)

St. Dymphna New Life Home - named after Saint Dymphna, the patron saint of mental illness. There's no "'s" at the end because I saw other clinics named after Saints didn't use the possessive form when referencing them.

The Lucky Hotel - an oxymoron, really; the unluckiest place to get stuck at with it's seedy history, but also the place where John "gets lucky"…in a couple of different ways!

Stitched Up Alterations - a heavy nod to the wonderful batjokesy line from S2, "We're two threads in the same stitch". It's pretty deeply ingrained in fanon (and technically canon, if you go with The Dark Knight) that Joker makes his own clothes, hence Batman rarely finding him through his tailor. Since John's thrifty and clearly made his original Joker outfit(s), I piggybacked off it as a legit skill to give him. I mean, come on, the guy is always so stylish! And you're really going to look at me and say he didn't alter his thrifted shirts and vests to fit his sleek frame? Puh-leeease.

13th Street - 13 is a traditionally unlucky number in western culture; hence the "Lucky Hotel" there having a bloody history, along with a failed, closed casino nearby.

Corazón gang - okay, I admit…I'm still a weeb at heart. It's a One Piece reference. Corazon was one of the few post-timeskip new characters I really liked; his name is Spanish for "heart", and he sported a heart motif. Like the gang in this story, he also died before the start of the main storyline.

Ch. 2: Face Values

[chapter title] - A reference to the phrase "not taking things at face value", which is very evident in this story. Also doubles as a rather loose reference to the upcoming Tarot cards.

Sebastian Overfield - The name Sebastian means "from Sebaste", as is derived from the Greek word sebastos ("venerable", someone who has a lot of respect). Overfield of course is "over" and "field", implying the family is on a high hill overlooking/overseeing/maintaining a certain field. As Seb is a reverend, this name is well-fit for him.

orange rose [gift from John] - means "passion" in the language of flowers, and can allude to fascination; this can be taken platonically or romantically…but it's definitely romantic when it's coming from John.

blue iris [gift from John] - means "faith and hope" in the language of flowers, and sometimes are associated with royalty; an allusion to Batman/Bruce's overall symbolism in the eyes of Gotham…and John.

Chandis [ship, circa Prologue] - A reference to Chandi | Chandika, the Hindu deity; the short version of their story is that they are a demon slayer, known to be angry and passionate, wield multiple weapons, and ride a lion. And who was on the ship? Hmm…

Ch. 3: Ink Trails

[chapter title] - A reference to the Alterations' claim slip John finds, which ends up leading back to the Court of Owls. It doubles as a reference to the mask tattoo/clue on Ian 'Nito'.

Faith Ackart - "Ackart" is a variant of "ackhart", derived from "ekkehard", which we can say roughly means "brave/hardy". The name "faith" and "hardy" together is another very subtle clue for the audience towards the villains' motives. (Well, I say that, but it was really more of a joke-clue for me to giggle at. And it makes a good reporter name!)

Lou Monger - the guy's a fish monger…with the last name Monger. It's-a joke! ;D

Ian 'Nito' Coggs - first mentioned without his real last name, but "Ian Coggs, Nito", is a pun on the word "incognito"…which is what Clayface is here.

FriendBook/Chirp/bloggr/uBox - takes on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and YouTube respectively. (This started back in my 'Season 3' story, At the Brink of Midnight, though I've since learned that bloggr was a real thing. :T) The 'uBox' is meant to be a play on 'jumping box'/'the box' as other terms for TV, like 'the tube'.

"whole tomato of pins" - the supposed history of tomato-shaped pincushions is that tomatoes placed on mantels repelled evil spirits and guaranteed prosperity, but I really wanted to just allude to the common pin-cushion shape. (My mom once had a whole little basket of strawberry shaped pin-cushions. I remember "borrowing" them a lot as a kid to play with. And then "losing" them.)

"sock and buskin masks" - these are a reference to the "comedic sock" and "tragic buskin (i.e. boot)" of the Greek comedy-tragedy theatre masks. I figured something like them would be a good logo for the "false faces", as BM is obsessed with masks. It also doubles as a natural callback to the "your relationship with x has changed" feature of TT games.

Ch. 4: Suite of Cups

[chapter title] - the first chapter to be a reference to the Tarot, in specific the Minor Arcana of Cups; rather than specifying the card at play outright, this title is a pun on the aforementioned arcana "suite", as the main location of events this chapter are in a casino's hotel suite. One can interpret many Cups cards at play here, but...

○ Specifically, in the Casino's suite/crime scene, there are 8 visible seats, but 7 cups on the table. The 7 of Cups refers to choices, fantasy, and illusion, an indicates there are multiple opportunities or many paths you can take, but they should be chosen carefully; when reversed, it can mean confusion, diversion, and temptation, and indicate a lack of choice or failure to choose.

○ The upright version is definitely in play, with the overall root of TellTale games being choices, and some "the player" makes this chapter will move your relationships with Tiffany and John in different ways, which can strengthen your relationships with them. If "the player" has chosen to be a more violent Batman, the way the Talon - and later, the Court - treats Batman is different.

○ The Reversed reading can be interpreted for the Court's complete disregard for the mere notion of choice.

Bauta - a Venetian carnival mask, meant to represent 'anonymous decisions' via it's original design of protecting identities. It's quite common in carnivals.

Melpomene-Thalia - the Venetian masks for comedy and tragedy, a la 'sock and buskin', the masks used as a general symbol for theatre. You can practically taste the irony, given who's shown wearing it...

Volto - a Venetian mask, meant to represent 'anonymity, quiet exit' for it's blank face. It's also known as the "Citizen Mask" because of it's worn by the common folk (in comparison to the more elaborate masks).

The Lot [casino] - named for "drawing lots", like drawing straws or matches to pick a person to do a task (usually with the shortest straw having to do the task, but it varies). This is both a pun on the fact that it's a casino - where you try your luck at gambling - and corresponds with the theme of foretelling the future that's woven throughout much of the story.

The Wednesday Nighters gang - this doesn't mean anything in particular. I'm a big fan of Midsomer Murders, and there's an episode ("Death in a Chocolate Box") where it references a few dirty cops who frequently took the Friday night shift at a station for episode-plot-reasons, who called themselves The Friday Nighters. It's an off-shoot reference to it, hence the corrupt cops on the gang in this story. :)

[John's voicemail] - Another BtAS episode I love is "the terrible secret of Bruce Wayne". In particular, I loved Joker's voicemail when Dr. Strange calls in ("Boy, do YOU have the wrong number!") and I wanted to do something like that. But, y'know, way less murdery.

"F85H4ND" - l33t-written "Fate's Hand", for…well, the hand of fate, supposedly guiding you through life/events. Another correspondent to the foretelling the future theme.

Michael Hodgson - not all of the names I pick for characters mean anything. Sometimes their names are just loose references to things I like. This is a silly mish-mashup of the original hosts of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Michael [Nelson] and [Joel] Hodgeson. (Joel was the first host + show creator, and Mike was the second host who closed out the original series run.)

"40F5WRD5" [Batcomputer archive] - l33t for the 4 of Swords, a card in the Minor Arcana for rest and restoration; since the archives and file names are randomly generated when not prompted otherwise with manual input, an otherworldly force seems to be saying 'get some damn sleep Bruce'.

[John's ringtone] - I know, TT always has everyone's phone on silent. I don't care. Bruce's ringtone for John is "Mack the Knife", a song about a violent mobster, played on a carnival organ. Chosen because 1) John probably loves that song, 2) I thought it was funny that it has the line "the shark bites - with his teeth, dear - when he shows them pearly whites" and how well that goes with John's A+ dental care... 3) TeamFourStar made jokes in their BtTTS S2 playthrough about having "a special ringtone whenever John calls [them]"…why would I not carry that through? They did get me to where we are now, you know. ;)

Ryde - the in-game stand-in for Lyft, the not-a-taxi service.

Ch. 5: The Wheel Still Spins on the Upturned Chariot

[chapter title] - a reference to 2 tarot cards in the Major Arcana. 1) "The Wheel"/"The Wheel of Fortune", which is a sign for continuous cycles, inevitable fate, and usually indicates good fortune and pre-destiny when the card is presented upright. When reversed, it can signify bad luck and an unfavorable fate. 2) "The Chariot", symbolizing a path forward to success, confidence, and overcoming obstacles; when reversed, it's stands for recklessness and lack of direction/control. 3) As the Chariot is upside down, John's original plans have been upended and everything goes out of his control in a chaotic situation. He’s essentially "not at the driver’s seat" for a little while. "The player" decides which direction to take the wheel in - either letting him lash out violently and send him on more solitary and dangerous path, or satisfy his need for stability by embracing his new relationships. The Chariot is always upturned here, but whether the wheel spins forward or backward is up to "the player's" decisions.

511 N. Blade Street - this one's a bit messy. 511 = V I I, or VII in roman numerals, which =7. The tarot cards are traditionally numbered in roman numerals. North, for pointing upright, and "blade" is synonymous with "sword". So it’s the "7 of Swords", in the upright position – referring to deception and trickery, which is of course what's going on in regards to who Ian 'Nito' Coggs really is…

Apt 1005 - even muddier, but this is referring to the 10 of Swords, which is for betrayal and backstabbing, hinting at the true motives of "Ian" | Clayface. 10-0-5, so 10 and the l33t for "OS" = 10-o-S.

900 Wanda Way - Both a pun on the phrase “wander away” and the 9 of Wands in the Minor Arcana, which alludes to pushing forward to achieve victory. A good allusion for a clinic, me-thought.

400 Wanda Way - The 4 of Wands in the Minor Arcana stands for community, another good allusion for a clinic.

Karen McCarthy - named after the most stereotypically uptight narcissistic asshole the masses have agreed to call 'Karen', and both McCarthyism and another famous lady with the surname McCarthy. Because I wanted you to know the second you see her name that she is *horrible*. (Funny, though, there's 2 senators named McCarthy that are pieces of shit and one infamous quasi-celeb who's the face of the anti-vax scene. Is it just a cursed family name?)

Ch. 6: The Tips of Our Swords

[chapter title] - Refers to the 4 of Swords card in the Minor Arcana, as the "swords" are alluding to the four active members in the Batfam - Bruce, John, Tiffany, and Iman - who work together on the case[s]; you can infer this title to a presentation not unlike the Musketeers joining swords to affirm themselves as a team, as they all gather together. The reversed reading of the card is for restlessness/stress in Bruce's case, and the clear signal of the universe to tell him to relax, and the reading when presented right-side up is for the break it gives to "the player", with the homey atmosphere of the Batfam spending time together. Either reading is completely valid here.

○ BUT, as Alfred is a non-active member of the Batfam, we could also say that 5 of Swords is also at play, right-side-up for the fighting and resentment with Alfred, and John's hinted budding conflict with him; and 5 reversed for Bruce's attempts at making up with Tiffany. If one illustrated the gathering of our four heroes joining swords like the musketeers over a breakfast table, then Alfred would be sitting drinking tea, standing as a symbol of the Ace of Cups, signifying new emotions or stirrings of feelings.

○ If we stretch the metaphor eeeven further, the title can also be a loose reference to the Sword of Damocles; threats always hang above the heads of powerful people, and in this case the looming threat of Black Mask and the mysterious assassin, ever-present in Batman's world…

Dr. Brandi September - literally "Sword" and "Seventh Month", alluding to the 7 of Swords, hinting to deception and manipulation at play.

"I was tired of the soup du jour" - a shameless Devo reference; a tiring of the routine/everyday. "I'm tired of the soup du jour - I want to end this prophylactic tour - ain't nobody around me - understands my potato - I'm only a spud boy - lookin' for a real tomato" - DEVO, "Mr DNA/Smart Patrol".

Motel 11, Augury Road - "augury" is another word for crows; as a gathering of crows can be a method of fortune-telling, this a reference to a gathering of 11 crows, which when seen is supposed to be indicative of disguising or revealing secrets.

Ch. 7: Drawing the Strings

[chapter title] - meant to allude to John aligning the strings connecting the people and crimes together, like an old-fashioned way of mapping clues; can be interpreted as these crime-strings on the proverbial board being drawn closer together, marking the center of the "web" as the Court of Owls

Frieda Baast - Frieda, an allusion to the Norse goddess Freya, who rode on a chariot driven by cats, and Baast, the Egyptian goddess who had the form of a cat. It makes it really obvious who was staying at the Motel 11, huh?

room 14 [Selina Kyle's motel room] - a reference to the 14th tarot card, "Temperance", which when upright is meant for choosing the middle path between choices. This is meant to reference Selina herself, currently at a secret, personal crossroads and being in "the middle"; John can influence her hidden choice by either making her think about what her potential job's employers are really aligning themselves with, or taunting her into how she can't leave her old life behind. (Whether John is violent or not doesn't completely impact her choice, but it does impact how they interact later if Selina winds up in the hands of our villains.)

Oracle, Spoiler, Batgirl, Spectrum - Batman's had a lot of non-Robin sidekicks in comics, including Batgirl (originally Barbara Gordon), Oracle (Barbara Gordon, post-Batgirl-forced-retirement and computer hacker extraordinaire), and Spoiler (Stephanie Brown, who "spoiled" crimes). As a fan of Ao3/tumblr's @fractualized 's own Telltale Bat-verse fics (the "Release John Doe" series), I added in the reference to "Spectrum", which Tiffany became in lieu of "Robin". A wink from one fan-writer to another! ;)

"I'm steppin' out, my dear - to breathe an atmosphere […] - that simply reeks […] with class" - John's singing a classic Fred Astaire hit, "Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails".

Eric, Jerome, Jeremiah, Jack [John's "Normal name" ideas] - As this story allows "the player" to pick a name for John to use in place of his own, you can pick between some classic and modern references to Joker's alternate personas over the years. Eric White Border (edit: goddang it that's what i get for looking at White Knight while writing this up and never double-checking), Joker's regular persona in the New 52 Batman comic line; Jerome or Jeremiah of the Gotham TV series, both of which are different aspects of Joker's personality through media, with a more modern gritty version in Jerome (think Heath Ledger's Joker) and a more modern take on Joker's sociopathy in Jeremiah; and last but not least Jack Napier, the first official name of Joker circa Tim Burton's Batman (1989), and the one most popularly used (BtAS and other comics throughout the years since use this name). "The player"'s choice doesn't impact the story or the way John acts, but it does give a surprise feature later. ;)

Matt Chaney - Aka, "Clayface", Matt has both new and old elements in his name alone. Matt, for Matt Hagen, the most well-known/used of the Clayface personas, and Chaney, for classic film actor Lon Chaney, AKA the man of a thousand faces. This Clayface is an aspiring actor who is psychologically dependent on Moddy to keep him handsome after a terrible car accident left his face marred. He uses his excellent makeup skills and acting to infiltrate the False Face Society, and double-plays them and the Court of Owls.

Root / MuSec - stand-ins for Vine and TikTok, respectively. "MuSec" is both a play on the word "musac" (the word for 'elevator music' and generic produced music you hear in fake stores and the like) and the mish-mash of the words "music" and "second", referencing the short length of the videos. "Root" was used in a prior story (At the Brink of Midnight), and acts as another "natural network" type name akin to Vine; though I do recognize "Vine" might have come along as part of the phrase "I heard it through the grape-vine". I have a feeling some Aussie fans might find the fake-Vine name funny...or just awkward.

Ch. 8: It Had to Be You

[chapter title] - A reference to the classic crooner song, "It Had to Be You"; specifically, the one that flows through the first scene is a cover done by Frank Sinatra, meant to align with other Bat-media's use of Sinatra where Joker and Batman are concerned. The Arkham games got his famous "Under My Skin", and another crooner's "Only You". Batjokes fans/content creators have also used "Strangers in the Night" for their relationship. I wanted to present one that would feel at-home in the TellTale universe regardless of what route you end up with, and what's more perfect than a song about finally discovering the love of your life? The song fits them to a tee, in my humble opinion…

Estella Art Gallery - Selina's art gallery, mentioned previously to have been the site of a Talon attack. "Estella" translates to "star", for the tarot card "The Star". When presented upright, it means hope and rebirth; this card can be presented after a disaster, such as an event like "The Tower". Normally, it can be interpreted as a card to show a phase where you have trust and faith in yourself and the universe. Selina was turning over a new leaf and enjoying her new life until the Owls found out who she was.

Mrs. Bollard - "bald-headed person"…this poor woman got her wig snatched as John stole Bruce from her on the dance floor. xD

"I knew today's horoscope was bullshit" - a nod to earlier, where Roman mentioned his horoscope when visiting Bruce; "a friend will help you out of a tight bind." Not that it was mentioned like that... still! I wonder what today's was? "You will be fortunate in your business endeavors"? Ha ha ha! But really, the horoscope is another nod to the theme of foretelling the future, as it's a popular method to try and see how your day, month, season, or year will be. Not that I know what sign Roman is… *thinking face*

[Achievement Unlocked: Batman Who Laughs] - John showing up in the Batman cowl was not only funny, but a direct nod to the Batman Who Laughs. The TT games had Batman comic titles often used as Achievements, so I figured I'd put in some…

[Achievement Unlocked: Batwoman Rises] - Iman helping the team out in the spare Batman suit is naturally a nod to Batwoman, and something I wanted to do for a while. ;D

Brighella - a Venetian mask taken from a play now used to depict a cunning and mischievous servant. Originally the mask was used to depict a greedy villain character.

The Two Gilded Cups - A restaurant in-story that references "The Two of Cups" tarot card, a card representing unity, partnership, and two becoming one. When upright, it's a card that can reference lovers or a new relationship; when reversed, it can represent broken communication, imbalance, or tension. As such, the couple who were seen at the restaurant - Sonja Townsend and her husband - are established lovers who work together for the Court of Owls, but those who were really there are Jackie Lant and Matt Chaney, who are in an imbalanced relationship. "Gilded" implies that "The Cups" are covered unnecessarily with gold - this is both in reference to Jackie and Matt's disguise of the Townsends and the truth about their relationship. Matt's lies are covering for his narcissism and selfishness, and ultimately is the only thing holding him and Jackie's relationship together.

Moddy - A fictional body modification clay-mud-putty that's a product of Janus Industries, this makeup is the favorite of Matt Chaney and the reason we can call him "Clayface". Like the traditional Clayface, Matt is in dire need to have his fix of the makeup, despite what it does to him - as John notes, it leaves a weird burn-like sensation, and since Matt has deep scar tissue he covers every minute of every day, it's made the skin damage worse.

"You’re really committed to drowning in that river" - A riff on the old joke "denial ("de Nile") isn't just a river in Egypt".

"Your words are honey in my ears, but my brain always turns it into bitter wax" - In Futurama, Fry has a silly line of “Sweet words! Sweet words that turn into bitter wax in my ears!”. It always had the potential to be a great metaphor if the words were twisted around! :) Plus, I mean, come on, this is a totally On Brand™ thing for John to say!

Ch. 9: Strength in Numbers

[chapter title] - Referencing the Strength card, for bravery, compassion, and inner strength; the title also doubles as a play on “different kinds of strengths”. Strength is the will the expose your truths. Strength is finding compassion to help others. Strength is staying true to your convictions in the face of opposition. We see all different kinds of strength on display here.

○ It can also a reference to the different partnerships going on, with Jackie joining the team (unofficially), Bruce and Tiffany going off to tackle the other half of our case, and John and Iman’s team-up. :)

"[John] could barely hear it over the tinny electronic whistling tune emitting from his own phone, telling him the person on the other end was a mystery" - this is referencing an old tumblr joke! Yes, John has the “It is a mystery” tone on his phone for unknown calls…complete with the little (:o) ghost icon.

CUP5K1NG [license plate] - Referring to the King of Cups card, a card portraying emotional balance and compassion. As it's not written as "K1NGCUP5", it implies it's a reversed card, signifying there's manipulation and instability at work. Even though Matt doesn't own the car this license plate belongs to, it's definitely tied to him since it's his getaway ride, and thus hints at what's to be revealed in his and Jackie's hotel room.

Aylin Street - the name "Alyin" translates into “moon halo; one that belongs to the moon”, thereby being a reference to the Moon card, representing mysteries and illusions. An investigation is afoot!

“Looks like I’ve got the red light, kiddo.” - In stage acts, the red light is to indicate to the performer their time on stage is up. Generally, it’s reserved for comedians who either overrun their time or are losing the audience. John's joking that he's been given the red light to exit stage left (but not persued by bear).

"What’s the ‘G’ for?” - Iman's 'Gotham Construction' jumpsuit has a G different from John's - it's shaped more like a gear. This is another Mystery Science Theater reference, in particular the logo for Gizmonic Institute, the company/labs that "employed" original host Joel and the mad scientist Dr. Forrester (and his assistant, TV's Frank), who started the experiments of forcing a guy and his robot friends to watch reeeally bad movies. The result was 12 (soon to be 13!) seasons of some guys making hilarious and very memorable jokes at said bad movies' expense. Does this reference mean that Bruce is just as huge a dork as I am, or does it mean that MST3K is real in this universe?! You make the call! ;D

○ …if you read 'What's the 'G' for?' in Invader Zim's voice, that's also valid. Especially if you followed it with “I dON’t know!” in GIR's. (There is no cringing here! We openly embrace our childhood silliness!)

MasterOfClayFace / #IdW3arThat [Matt Chaney's social media login] - naturally Matt is so far up on his high horse that he considers himself a master of clay work…and of course his nickname is ClayFace! His password is a joke in and out of canon, being a riff on Lemon Demon song: “A mask of my own face – I’d wear that” ~ Lemon Demon, “Mask of My Own Face” [Nature Tapes].

3055 [Jackie Lant's InstaPic followers] - According to research, the average Instagram following is about 1000, so Jackie is above average popularity. Anything above 10k is usually(?) celeb status. The number 3055 is meant to be broken up and turned partially into l33t, to make 3-O-S-S, or 3 of Sword[s]. The 3 of Swords card in the tarot signifies heartbreak and grief, stemming from betrayal, loneliness, and rejection. Jackie experienced all three of these heart-piercing swords during her return to Gotham, with Matt basically forcing her into isolation, betraying her trust, and rejecting her input and values in favor of his own; but she didn't really know it until the truth was exposed.

8055 [Matt Chaney's InstaPic followers] - similarly, Matt's follower count is meant to be 8-O-S-S, or the 8 of Swords card. It signifies self-victimization and imprisonment. In particular, the card shows a person restrained and trapped, but their helplessness is a show…they could choose to get out, if they got over themselves. Matt is incredibly selfish, so it comes as no surprise that he will play the victim card.

#OnlyInGotham - Another tumblr reference! I love the @hashtagonlyingotham blog! ( ^3^)

The Herold Rite's Theatre - A play on the word "Hierophant": Herold, like “herald (ruler/champion)” and Rites, like “sacred rites”. In the tarot, the Hierophant card represents following tradition and values, which for the Owls is their very core. This is basically a big ol' hint that Iman and John are heading into Owl territory, but also foreshadows the religious undercut of The Court and Reverend Sebastian Overfield's role.

"a familiar red-pyramid-and-floating-eyeball" [graffiti] - A reference to my icon! ;D You think I can't self-promo?

trading cards [found in theatre storage] - In the Theatre, John finds "old promotional trading cards for an old sci-fi film with big-brained aliens". This is a shameless and loving reference to Tim Burton's 1996 film Mars Attacks!, of which my AO3/tumblr icon and username is lifted - the movie was based on a series of Topps trading cards from the 1960's, and had it's own set of cards with movie scenes and behind-the-scenes pictures (and summaries of events) printed for the movie! They also used them as promotional tools, and if you get very lucky purchasing a copy of the old single-issue comic books from the 1995 Mars Attacks run from Image Comics, you can get a promo card.

https://bit.gt.gd/S3272019F?=RO - Originally "gd" stood for a derivative of Google Drive, but I can’t look at it and not see “get good”. The "S3272019F?" is meant to stand for "Started: March 27, 2019 Finished: ?". I can't believe I started uploading the story in March of 2019! Man, 2020 really messed with my sense of time…

Ch. 10: Tantara Bounces Off of Moonlit Walls

[chapter title] - "Tantara" is defined as "the blare of a trumpet or horn", as seen in the Judgement card, which stands for self-reflection as well as reckoning, and can indicate rebirth. There's of course another reference to the Moon card, for intuitions and the unconscious being. Then what are the "[Moonlit] Walls"? Well, they're the part of the only Major Arcana tarot card to represent a building - they are the walls of the Tower, symbolizing destruction and disaster. When all the cards' meanings are put all together, this alludes to a time of discovery among absolute disaster.

○ Expanded, the whole title is a reference to both forms of Judgement occurring – self-reflection and change are happening with Bruce and John as their mysteries and anxieties are finally put to rest: John is undergoing his final "rebirth", seeing his reality clearly in Arkham’s padded cell; Bruce seems to finally come to terms with working with Tiffany, as his fear of not being able to protect her comes through with her showing she's able take care of herself and prove she's a true asset to the team; and the Court of Owls finally comes to light, with Matt Chaney, the Talon Adam, and the Talon Sonja Townsend finally showing their real motivations.

○ We can also interpret the title as a reckoning coming for the Owls, who have long been obscuring the truth of their deeds and whose true motives have been murky. They've built their own tower of disaster with bricks of delusion, and judgement's horn is blaring a warning through their hallways…

"X-Sharp Manufacturing" - a reference to the 10 of Swords (hence the "sharp"), the tarot card for betrayal, backstabbing, and defeat. For Bruce, there is disaster here beyond his control that ends in a [temporary] defeat. For Roman Sionis, owner of the small factory as part of Janus Inc., he's unwittingly walked into his own betrayal.

"Merlin's Flower Arrangements" - Merlin, a famous wizard, is a reference to The Magician card, who defines “as above, so below”… And as John is taken to a secondary location, so is Bruce. :)

"La Luna Painting" - La Luna, aka The Moon; remember, shadows can play tricks on your eye, so something’s afoot here… Aka "HEY GUYS THIS TOTALLY ISN’T SUSPICIOUS OR ANYTHING NO SIR"

Yelsnia Theater - Yelsnia is…actually a name. But searching for it shows my true hint, as it's "Ainsley" backwards. "Ainsley" derives from Scottish words meaning “alone, solitary” or “hermitage”. This is a reference to the Hermit card – in this case, it's blatantly upside down, referring to loneliness, isolation, and a general disconnection with mankind. AKA, the path Matt is on.

"the looming pillar tower" [Arkham] - A blatant representation of The Tower. It stands for impending disaster and "an upheaval of a foundation of reality". Of course, this can be taken in two ways. 1) That John has overcome/avoided the disaster of another mental breakdown. 2) That John’s foundation of his delusions - that he’ll wake up in or get sent back to Arkham for his sickness - was wrong in a realistic sense, as he’s made serious progress in managing his emotional issues, and right in an unrealistic one, where the only way he could be sent back was through an outside force, i.e. the Owls.

10210475 [inmate number] - When separated for the numeric cipher, we get 10-21-4-7-5, or J-U-D-G-E

13051420 [inmate number] - When separated for the numeric cipher, we get 13-5-14-20, or M-E-N-T

○ When put together, the inmate numbers read "Judgement", the tarot card is shown here for John's choices and character arc on display throughout this chapter. When the card is reversed, it implies a lack of self-awareness, which we can also attribute to "the player's" choices for John if they make Bad Decisions. If you simply take the word "judgement" at face-value (without involving the tarot) it also works wonderfully, applying to John's entire situation as being a trial/judgement set by a higher force.

"The prince returned to the tower" dialogue [the prophetic cell mate] - Whether the person speaking is physical or not, John notes he can hear the scratching of pencil on paper within the cell, implying a person is writing their words down like a story… “The prince,” (John Doe, alias Joker, traditionally the ‘Clown Prince’ of Gotham) “having returned to the tower” (Arkham Asylum, the foundations of John's issues) “to reclaim his crown,” (assurance in himself and his reality; the completion of John's "self" with his final choices and becoming Vigilante!Joker for good) “trails after the fiend” (confronts the Talon Adam, alias Owl-man) “who's flying on wings of retribution” (core beliefs, perceived sense of justice). “The fiend’s wings are big, but the bones are brittle” (the Owl-man is imposing and persistent, but his physical "wings" are his weakness).

○ If you couple the Court of Owl's belief that G*d has written down the destinies of everyone in the world [as they are each born] with the knowledge that someone was writing down a short version of John's events at Arkham…hmmm.....

Room 11 [Iman's cell room] - The 11th card in the Major Arcana is "Justice". This can reference either 1) The just-desserts coming for Talon Adam/"The Owlman", or 2) The outcome of the player’s choice to take Iman with them or not.

11 minutes + 16 seconds [remaining time on bomb timer] - 11:16. 11/16, aka my birthday! :) I only wish I had finished Chapter 10 in time for the chapter's publishing year (2020), lol~

"Our Faith brings Perseverance, and Our Perseverance guides Justice, for Mercy to God." - The Court of Owls' beliefs circle around 3 principles bringing people closer to G*d: Faith, Perseverance, and Justice. Their belief hardens their persistence in their actions (as they are written and not guided by "Evil"), and their goals are ultimately to deliver justice where the human system failed and "Evil" prevailed in "escaping", hence the guiding of one principle to another. "Mercy to God" is what is granted by righting the injustices of the world; as G*d wrote your future down exactly, Evil can corrupt it, and once corrupted this does G*d a harmful injustice. The Court considers themselves close to G*d by "mercifully" stopping further corruption via eliminating "Evil" in all it's worldly forms…

Speaking of the 3 principles, our main Owls are meant to be "embodiments" of these in the story.

○ Talon Sonja Townsend represents Faith, driving home her belief in G*d's absolute destiny. She is corrupted by her own selfish goal of eliminating her son-in-law, but is also so by-the-book she does not think to look at the obvious double-standards of the Court, and doesn't think her underlying actions are guided by "Evil".

○ Talon Adam represents Perseverance, having fought Joker to unconsciousness, and was willing to blow up Arkham with himself still inside just to eliminate it; he is the most brainwashed, but the least corrupt in motivations, only striving to get what he feels is "justice". On the flip side of Adam is Talon Evan, who despite serious injury still appeared in Court and jumped at the chance to kill Joker and Batman, despite the Court's general appreciation of Batman; he is corrupt in personal selfishness, as he possesses no "real" faith in the Court's belief system and doesn't like others getting credit by stealing his targets.

§ ...it's also worth mentioning that the names for Adam and Evan are meant to be derivative of "Adam and Eve". In this way, it can also be seen as a parallel to The Lovers card, which one can attribute to Bruce and John. While Bruce + John are oddly harmonious and undeniably have a strong bond regardless of story paths, Adam + Evan are discontent rivals, with Adam "stealing" Evan's target and good graces with the Court, and Evan very pointedly beating up and kidnapping Batman (who Adam admires) to set up Batman's eventual Judgement.

○ Reverend Sebastian Overfield is the main representation of Justice, though he embodies all 3 principles. The Court’s belief is that their pursuit of justice – stopping Evil/chaos via deaths of criminals – overrides their own traditional sins. Because they are being helpful to G*d, granting Them mercy by righting the injustices of Evil and putting G*d’s Word back on the right path, they are in G*d’s favor. Therefore, as the leader of the Court and the one who organized everything by handing down "God's word", he is the carrier of Justice; without him, the Court would be nowhere and G*d would be shedding more tears over their ruined work…at least, in his mind. Naturally, he is the exact opposite of what justice should be. He is biased and unwavering in strict faith, as much a carrier of chaos as he doesn't want to be…

○ Of course, this is all also up to interpretation. One can interpret Adam as "justice", Evan as "perseverance", and Sebastian as the stand-in for "God", as he is the Court's ruler and is the sole person to hand down "the word of God".

"[…]if two people you normally count on for one reason or another" - Alfred made a subtle dig at John being Bruce's boy-toy. Ouch, Al'…

"[…]given it's your pet project, and all" - Even though Selina is talking about Arkham, she's making a dig at former-Arkham-resident John being Bruce's "pet", who in her eyes was Bruce's main reason for getting Arkham revitalized. :\ Man, everybody's picking on their relationship…

petrichor - The smell proceeding rain. Because it's not a climactic fight scene in Gotham city without rain.

Ch. 11: The Tolls of Justice

[chapter title] - Naturally referring to the Justice card of the tarot, this title is the same as the story title. Funnily enough, this is the 11th chapter, and the 11th card in the tarot deck. (I guarantee you I did not plan this bit… Funny how these things play out, ain't it?) The Justice card naturally stands for cause and effect, clarity, or truth; ultimately, it's a representation of karmic retribution, and what the Owls are in dire need of facing. The title overall is referring to both the [para]phrase "do not ask for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for thee" (in the original context: a grievance over death for all out of love for community/mankind, not just one person) and the "toll" - as in cost or damage - of enacting justice. What Bruce has put himself through to become and keep being Batman, the enactor of vengeance for all those wronged in the city of Gotham, and what ultimately the Court of Owls has sacrificed - either wittingly or unwittingly - in the name of justice. It also extends to John, who for the sake of "justice" is routinely stuck in Arkham, in one way or another, and has never had a conceivably just or fair life at all - thus paying the unwilling toll opposing Bruce and the Owls. We can also extend it to Tiffany, who is making good on her work with Bruce to "pay her toll" for her own crime, with her toll being seen in a positive light as Robin, compared to what life sentence she might have been paying otherwise.

[the sword in the pulpit] - a symbolic reference to The Justice card, as the Justice card in the major arcana often depicts a sword, either alone or in someone's hand. This can also be interpreted as a reference to the Ace of Swords in the minor arcana, which is normally pointing upwards, referring to victory, truth, or ideas; when flipped, as it would be when looking at the initial depiction of the sword as a "cross", it stands for lies and confusion. The sword in the story itself is a symbol of justice, and uses snakes as the stand-in for the forces of Evil, which are destroyed by the owl making up the handle and supposedly wielding the blade.

"the skull peeking out of the knight’s helmet" [card in the box on Reverend's desk] - A very clear reference to the Death card, famous in the tarot deck. It signifies change, inevitable cycles, and new beginnings/directions. Depending on the reading, it can be interpreted as an actual death, but more often than not it’s merely showing of a life change. As this is the Reverend’s deck, it seems the last card he drew was Death… The viewer can interpret this as a reading from the Reverend into the Arkham plot, where Death is representing John’s own changes, the end of Talon Adam’s latest “cycle”, or the actual deaths that had occurred (no matter how many there are in the end). The viewer can also read this as the Reverend trying to find his own fate, the fate of Roman Sionis for his trial, or Batman’s fate. All of them are quite valid, but I feel the most accurate interpretation is that the Rev' was trying to read the future of the Court of Owls.

○ …as mentioned above, the Death card is the most overt reference to the Tarot. This way, if someone didn't piece together the weird chapter titles, the specified numbers and number-letter strings, and/or the odd names of people and places, they'd be able to double-back and see them as clues. They are put there purely as a storytelling clue for the audience. As you can tell, the tarot references increased with each chapter…almost like someone is trying to get your attention…

[the framed painting] - a reference to The High Priestess, aka card II of the tarot. This card is indicative of intuition and looking within, and can signal to mysteries at hand or a higher power at work. The pillars on the card are (hilariously enough) marked with a B and J, and are in black and white, respectively. They stand for Boaz (Strength) and Jachin (Establishment), and are meant to represent the duality of nature, good/evil, masculine/femine, etc. Naturally, both pillars are equal. In this depiction, it is both relating to “the player’s” own duality, with the ability to be flexible as Bruce and John and have both good and bad decisions play through the story, and as a strong hint to a higher power being present.

8-9-6-3 [candle puzzle] - It takes a bit to work out by sorting through the alphabetic values to each number, but it doesn’t make a complete word. On ye olde phone keypad, 1 is always null in value, so it’s always unlit in the candle sequence, and since there are 4 other numbers present we know it doesn’t count as part of the string. (If there were only 3, you could guess a year from your notes.) My idea for the “game” specs of this part would be that the key-code would be somewhat randomized, either using a specific year (if Tiffany and/or Iman are not present, this is *always* the case, as you have to utilize your background notes and the candles by yourself), a few translated letter combinations just for fun, or an occasional number-card type combo, as presented here. (In some lucky scenarios, “the player” doesn’t have to solve the candle puzzle, since Tiffany can figure out the year by herself and just call you over when she opens the door. You still have the option of looking around, though!) In this case, the values are another tarot-themed hint, using the card number first: 8-w-n-d, for the 8 of Wands, which alludes to quick actions. AKA “Get ready for quick-time events!!!”

"looking more like the king on the throne than a judge" - Meant to allude to The Emperor card, the ultimate royal symbol in the major arcana and always depicted with a king. Traditionally this symbolizes power, authority, control, etc., but when reversed it alludes to overbearingness, arrogance, and chaos. For the Owls, they would likely see themselves as the upright depictions, even when presented upside down before the person doing their reading… And here is no better example, with the Reverend Overfield taking place as the ultimate authority over the Court.

"like [Sonja] had a say in commanding the room" - Alluding to The Empress, in conjunction with Rev’s position, this card alludes to femininity, motherhood, nurturing, creativity, and/or abundance. When reversed, it stands for neglect, creative blocks, overbearing, and/or uncaring. Sonja is a good example of an overbearing mother, trying to make decisions for her child because she thinks she knows best - thus fits the reversed reading well.

[Courtroom layout] - How curious is it that I haven't referenced The Devil when we have so many opportunities? That's because I strove to show this card rather than reference it overtly. The Devil card depicts El Diablo in the upper middle, lording over the card, with two souls chained to him at the bottom. The classic depiction shows a female demon-like human on one side and a male demon-like human on the other. As such, Rev. Sebastian sits on the high bench as the judge, overlooking the courtroom, and Sonja and Evan sit beneath him, one embedded on each side of the lower bench, sitting before him rather than beside him. Naturally, The Devil card represents temptation, manipulation, and materialism (though not necessarily of physical things). There is nothing more suited to The Devil card than the Reverend Sebastian Overfield and the Talons.

Circe | Cindy Peterson - Circe was the original Black Mask's downfall, or at least serious decent into who would be Black Mask. In her origin, she was a model who seduced Roman and ended up being blamed for his poor business choices, as he completely revolved Janus Inc.'s new direction around her image, somewhat at her insistence. Roman seemed to love her, but grew vengeful when she dumped him. She was named Circe, after the witch who lured men to their doom. In this story, she plays a much less active role but ultimately still serves as Roman's downfall, though in a very different way. : she does seem to care about Roman, going so far as to hide him on her yacht, not rat him out for his overt gang activities, and even leave Gotham with him for good to run from Batman despite not being in a relationship with him for long. But Bruce is able to spin this to his advantage, openly lying that she was working for him undercover and twisting Roman's affection for her into paranoid doubt, which he eventually lashed out with and ended up being caught because of. Circe never got a ~proper~ name in the original canon, so I dubbed her Cindy. The name "Cindy" can be boiled down to “person from Kynthos” and since Circe is Greek… Well, it fits well enough!

"[…]waltzing into the danger-zone without his wingman" - It’s Top Gun's “You can be my wingman anytime”, but with ALL the homoerotic implications!

"the Degnah Club" - The Degnah Club can be inferred to be one of Roman Sionis’ clubs, or just one his False-Face Society visited on occasion, but the event that happened there is implied to have taken place before the start of the story. “Degnah” when written backwards is “hanged”, referencing the Hanged Man card. When upright, this card means sacrifice and selfless acts. When reversed, as very much implied here, it’s an unnecessary sacrifice. This is both a play on what Roman’s implying – which is likely a very violent event – being an “unnecessary sacrifice” as part of Matt Chaney’s greater scheme for the Court of Owls, and as an allusion to Matt’s fate, where his morals/good choices/old law-abiding life were thrown away for an inevitably failed pursuit.

"[Tiffany | Robin's] personal count of 13" - The 13th card in the tarot is Death, bringer of change and ender of cycles. It’s also a traditionally unlucky number. This number is the “body-count” of Tiffany’s run through the Court so far. Does it reference the end of the Court's latest cycle, or something else…?

Accompanying the Tarot, as mentioned earlier I also tied in other fortune-telling methods, with the counting of crows and reference to the zodiacal horoscope. I also threw in allusions to luck, with The Lucky Hotel and The Lot (in both name and the fact that it's a casino). This is all tied entirely around the concept of fate and being able to change it with the choices you have made or currently make as "the player". Luck itself has nothing to do with your choices and the fates you guide Bruce and John to, and it's not something "the player" can control - it's an illusion, with things seemingly lucky for our heroes having already been written in on purpose to lead to the next event. It's essentially a long, drawn-out joke.

Talons/Reverend's Owl Masks - I wanted the Talons to be set apart from the rest of the Court and have special owl faces. The Court's owl masks are as follows:

○ Talon Adam - Great Horned Owl; chosen for the owl's large size and hunting ability, as well as the protruding "horn" feathers mimicking Batman's cowl. This is the most common owl used in media. The "horns" are meant to clue the reader into the culprit early on. Adam's a Batman-fan, so he mimicked Bats' style.

○ Talon Sonja - Snowy Owl; chosen for the owl's fairly elegant feather pattern and Sonja's ~colder~ personality. Sonja had a masquerade one to show her "humane" side to prospective Owls, but always wears a full-faced mask for the rest of the Court.

○ Talon Evan - Barn Owl; chosen for it's ghost-like face and screeching call, and it's hunting skills. They sometimes are seen as bad omens. While Adam was a mysterious stalker, Evan is overtly dangerous upon appearance, in no due part to his temper.

○ Reverend Sebastian Overfield - Eastern Screech Owl; this owl is smaller than the other, but has similar "horn" feathers to the Great Horned, and a gray face. The "horns" are meant to be another a mirror to Batman, but can be considered another allusion to The Devil. It isn't the largest or flashiest owl of the bunch, but Sebastian has the most power of all the Court members.

[The "Justice" bell-toll] - traditionally, a church bell tolls to signify someone passing into death. In the Court/Church of Mercy's case, they use a bell rung at midnight to signify a complete "trial" and a carry-out of their own brand of "justice"…which also culminates in death. The "trial" shown in this chapter is a rarity, as the offenders are actually present to get a talking-to before their sentencing - generally, the Church will hold a mock-trial to decide the fates of the perpetrators…after some previous counseling with Talons and select older members. (Think of the Trial like a ceremonial conference for the majority of the time.)

Chapter 12: Ten Cheers to the World!

[title] - The act of cheering, aka toasting, is to raise a cup and drink towards someone or something in celebration or tribute. Here, it's referring to the tarot's Ten (X) of Cups, which is pretty much the best card you could pull in a reading - when upright, as it is here, it means celebration, fulfillment, and happiness! The World card is the final card in the Major Arcana, encapsulating completion, accomplishment, and harmony, all from inner and outer sources. It might seem redundant at first, but the Cups suite in the Minor Arcana is all in regards to emotions, relationships, and love; in comparison, the Major Arcana represents a journey from innocence and ignorance to wisdom and completion. So you have an emotional celebration with fulfilling relationships, and the story's path marked as complete in both a literal and figurative sense.

"An accident at Ace Chemicals" [Iman & John's convo] - Referencing the majority of Joker origins, wherein pre-Joker fell into the vat of chemicals at Ace Chemicals and survived, leading to a psychotic breakdown due to his changed appearance and/or the circumstances around to what led him to Ace Chemicals in the first place.

"the string of deaths in the Velestra mafia" [Iman & John's convo] - a ref to the former mafia/main antagonists in Batman: Mask of the Phantom that kept getting killed off one by one by the Phantom. Whether The Phantom exists in this world…we'll have to wait and see, I guess!

"an unrecoverable ‘data loss’ at the Agency" [Iman & John's convo] - not a reference to canon, but my own theory on a potential background for John being a former Agent…(see further below)

"Et tu, Peeps?" - a riff on "Et tu, Brute?", Julius Ceasar's last words as he was betrayed and stabbed to death.

"Maybe I was someone in the wrong place at the wrong time" / "someone at the right place at the wrong time" [John monologue] - Another reference to the most popular background choice, the Ace Chemical origin story, and it’s variations. Though probably lacking Batsy’s involvement, considering the timeframe…

"Maybe I was some experiment gone wrong" [John monologue] - A reference to a different author's Season 3 replacement fanfic, where John ended up being a genetically modified human/test tube baby. Unfortunately the work got deleted from Ao3??? And my bookmark is gone, so I can't name the fic… But I still remember you, Unknown Author!!! It was a fun story and I've never forgotten that twist!!!! \( >o< )/

"Maybe I was even an Agent, like you" [John monologue] - My own little theory as to why the Agency was so keen on getting him for the Suicide Squad – and why he was considered a dangerous part of the gang despite not doing too much of interest in Season 1 (even if you consider the theory that he was helping Lady Arkham get her chemicals/drugs) – was that he was part of the Agency somehow. Either an agent who screwed up on the job, a rogue agent that escaped death via Agency trap…or maybe a guy who knew too much! But it's a fun, fresh idea to bring to Joker's multi-choice past, right? (( ;w;)) <(please say yes)

hippocampus - The region(s) of the brain that primarily deals with memory.

[the photo] - I wanted to leave it up to the reader/"player" to decide what kind of pre-Arkham past the TellTale!Joker has… So whether you think the picture Iman has is a "real" photo of him or not is entirely up to you.

"[…]'you're the moon to my sun'" [John, 'paraphrasing' Bruce] - In Tarot terms, this is a reference to the Sun card, representing joy, success, and masculinity, as well as another reference to the Moon card. One can also interpret the Sun card as "success in overcoming your obstacles or fears". As the Moon card can represent inner fears and femininity, it's a fitting opposite for interpreting this romantic line. While Bruce doesn't exactly embody the "positivity" and "joy" that this card represents, he brings that feeling into John's life, and Bruce is more traditionally masculine in contrast to John. This is also an overt use of the phrase "[they're] the moon to their sun" - a romantic notion that one person, though the opposite to the other, is completely complementary, like a One True Love. TeamFourStar's playthrough of TellTale Batman: The Enemy Within had not one, but TWO mentions of the "moon to [their] sun" line, the second of which was referring to John and Bruce. This one's for you, fellas!!! ( ^3^)

○ Funnily enough, The Moon is a very broadly interpreted card. Sometimes it's not a good card to have because deception, manipulation, illusion, and mystery/confusion are all potentially at work in your life. Sometimes it's an excellent card, because it tells you examine your feelings to resolve a problem, or tells you that you aren't seeing the whole picture. The reversed of the card is often attributed to avoidance of one's problems and further confusion, but also clarity, truth, and the full view of what's going on. If John is the embodiment of The Moon in the upright position, then I say Bruce is that of the Reversed Moon…

"[…] two lovers against the world" - Another classic romantic phrase that can be turned into a Tarot reference. The original phrase is meaning two romantic partners are pitted against "the world"/external forces that threaten to tear them apart, but they are committed to each other regardless. You can't really pit cards against each other in a reading, but you can read Past-Present-Future. In which case, in story terms, The Fool is always the Past, The Lovers is the Present here, and The World is the Future. As mentioned earlier, The World represents harmony and completion - if reversed, it would mean incompletion and chaos. The Lovers card is representing a strong union being forged between two people, very often romantic in terms of the Tarot. The meaning is usually attributed to decisions in a relationship being made (whether to start a new one, or to deepen the one you have), but it can also represent people outright, as well as an indication that a new partnership/relationship is on the way. When reversed, Lovers represents disharmony, imbalance, or a loss of relationship. In our story, of course, our two lovers are representing the upright reading of the card in the Present, showing as a strong couple. As it's "against", it implies that The World is something that will be a challenge, so it's likely Reversed. Which is a pretty good representation of Gotham in general, isn't it? lol~

○ The Lovers can also be seen symbolically in chapters 8 and 9, when Bruce and John are laying opposite each other and linking pinkies/holding hands at the hotel. :)

○ John uses the romantic line regardless of whether he's a vigilante or not! If you didn't get the Best Ending, aka our Sleepover Ending, Bruce would wind up back in the parlor with John as usual, and once the rest of the fam are gone (if they were there at all), he uses it to describe themselves. In the villain route, Bruce and John converse in the Batmobile on the way back to Arkham, and John uses the line there, too. ;3c

○ Naturally, you don't really get this complete scene if "your" Bruce is with Selina in the vigilante route.

Ending Type - …it's not a tarot reference or anything specific. I just wanted to let you know that you can ONLY get the Sleepover Ending if you have Tiffany and John in Bruce's party on good terms with each other AND with Bruce.

○ You can drive Tiffy away from Bruce by saying she shouldn't be with them at the Court Battle, but also by generally not believing in her/being mean and giving a neutral reaction to her staying during Battle; she won't go back to the cave with Bruce, so you don't get a chance to speak to her directly afterwards as either character. (John can still have his conversation with her via text, and they can still end on the same terms.)

○ If you don't have vigilante!John, there's no one else to help lift the things, so Tiffy's idea is never brought up.

○ John is always simping desperate for Bruce's attention, so even if you don't treat him as well in a platonic relationship, he'll still be there for this Ending type. ;_;

○ If you have a Romanced!Selina in your party, Selina will join you in both Court Battle and the Ending as seen in this story. It'll either cause her to take Iman's place (if she is not present) or to have extra spot suddenly appear above the rest of the group. Like Tiffy, she overheats and needs more space too cool off.

§ You can also talk to her as John, and sort of makeup/say your part of the team now. (But John will still be somewhat jealous of the attention she gets.)

§ John doesn't get the emotional hug with Bruce if Selina is around - especially since she doesn't temporarily leave with Tiffany and Iman - but the conversation is almost the same.

§ Naturally you can talk to her as Bruce, too. I don't think on her options too much, but they'll likely talk about change and what it means to have this "job" and internalizing too much of their emotions/themselves.

§ If you and Selina are only friends, Selina can join you in the Court Battle, but will text you instead of sticking around.

1:06 A.M & [Clock time on Belltower in Chapter 11] - Bruce's sense of time is off, which is why he's surprised it's after 1AM and not closer to 2AM. (Can't blame him, he was unconscious for a while and a whole bunch of stuff happened.) I figured if Bruce broke out of his kidnapping ropes at 10PM sharp, and drove all the way to the GCPD, that's about 20-30 minutes in his supercharged car, if not a little less, plus with 5 minutes to escape proper. If we think GCPD is sort of a halfway point to Old Gotham/The Coventry district, it's another 15 minutes to there. So he'd arrive at the Church of Mercy before 11PM, and wait John for around another 10-15 minutes, including with all the investigating inside. The "trial" scene probably took another 10 minutes until Batman crashed it, and fight scenes seem long because of all the action going on, but by the time Bruce and co' leave, it's not 12AM yet. The bell-tower in the Church of Mercy is actually off by about 20 minutes… And what do you know, card XX (20) of the tarot's Major Arcana is Judgement, alluding to karma at work! It can also be attributed to a life change. ;D

"11:43:20PM" - this wasn't deliberately meant to allude to anything. It took the batfam about 2 minutes from the last toll to leave the church. Bells' tolling speed is varying between clocks and towers, but you can estimate about 30-45 seconds for a full twelve. If it rang at 11:40 exactly, then…ugh, this is sounding like math homework.

Epilogue:

[Still a WIP, so will be updated after it's uploaded! Shouldn't have much, though! Saay, isn't there a Major Arcana card missing? (9v9) I wonder what that iiiiis~]

So that was [just about] all of them! I had a lot of fun weaving them throughout the story this time, especially with the story's themes! AtBoM didn't have as nearly as many, so they weren't really worth mentioning before.

I hope this was helpful to those of you who were interested in diving beneath the surface of BtTTS: TToJ~!

[historic-old-guard-lover]

The emperor has to be god-king Andy. Also like since nicky and Joe obv have to have the lovers why not have andy and quyhn kissing as the empress.

Another related ask (potentially by the same person):

Also since the fool is a journey's beginning I'd almost want to pick Nile for it. As well there are four characters who commonly have swords (or an axe but close enough) and cards have four corners. So one sword each corner, nicky, joe, andy, and quyhn.

So. Someone has good ideas. Here’s the post that prompted these asks. This made me pull out my tarot deck and go through the cards. Below the cut is a break down of the entire tarot deck. There will be an explanation of the (standard) interpretation of the cards, good then less good, and then my associated headcannon (or more than one if I couldn’t decide). The source is my experience with tarot. I’m trying to minimize repeats, but historic and modern Old Guard members are counted separately. Enjoy.

The Major Arcana (aka the cards most people have heard about)

0. The Fool - the seeker. Naivety. Courage. Living in the moment. Journey’s beginning. All paths available. Folly. Apathy.

Nile. Anon convinced me. Though Booker has got the folly, apathy, and madness down, Nile is ultimately the beginning. She’s naïve but headstrong, and quite frankly a perfect match.

I. The Magician - the trickster. Power, skill, talent. Mastery, self-control, willpower. Subtlety. Divine connection and inspiration. Self-reliant.

Modern Nicky. Definitely Nicky. Just. He’s a formerly very religious man who just says these things. Also sniper.

II. The High Priestess - the moon goddess. Intuition, wisdom, foresight, divination, prophecy. Enlightenment, understanding, intelligence, education. Pride, emotional instability, unforgiving.

Historic Quynh. Her name means “night-blooming flower”, which is very moon goddess vibes to me. Also, I’d say over 500 years in a box turns understanding and enlightenment into emotional instability and unforgiveness.

III. The Empress - the queen. Feminine power, matriarch, mother. Fertility, pleasure, beauty. Success, evolution, movement. Marriage, wealth. Overattachment, domestic upheaval, delay.

Quynh. The counterpart to Andy’s emperor card.

Nile. Let’s be honest, she’s going to take over from Andy some day.

IV. The Emperor - the king. Masculine power, patriarch, father. Authority, leadership, proficiency. Wealth, stability, effectiveness. Perseverance, logic, endurance, experience. Lack of ability, weak character, immature, rebellious.

Modern Andy. She is the leader who’s short-comings effect her entire team. And who doesn’t love a little gender bending? (and her film look is already soft butch)

V. The Hierophant - the religious leader. Tradition, convention, ritual symbolism. Ceremony, religion, morality, philosophy. Mercy, goodness, forgiveness, humility, vulnerability, Impotence, Religious tyranny.

Historic Nicky. I mean, former priest (enough said).

Historic Andy. “I was once worshipped as a god” (enough said).

VI. The Lovers - the lovers. Love, attraction. Compatibility, harmony, choice.  Triumph over trials, vacillation. Entanglement, enmeshment. Infidelity, moral lapse, vice, separation, quarrels, inadequacy, failing tests.

Andromaquynh. *peeks out from behind barricade* I know that most people would just put Kaysanova as this card, but look at all the negatives it is associated with. Sounds a lot more like our immortal wives can really cover the gamut. They have the range....I am a sucker for Kaysanova, though. Even though the beginning of their relationship is rocky, I’d like to think it’s been fairly constant over the years. But let’s reverse the uhaul lesbians and fickle gay men tropes! Sorry, Book of Nile fans. That ship just isn’t established enough for this, I’d say. Maybe one day?

VII. The Chariot - the journey. Ordeal, obstacles, competition. High stakes, ambition, discipline. Conquest, victory, greatness. Right action prevails, overwhelming odds, sudden defeat.

Merrick and/or Dr. Kozak. I mean, this is literally their characters in a nutshell. Merrick is the journey/ordeal for the old guard. He is driven by his ambition, thinks he’s won over impossible odds, and then has a sudden defeat.

VIII. Justice - the balance. Equilibrium, equality, symmetry, harmony. Integrity, honor, fairness, neutrality, moderation. Vindication, self-righteousness, bigotry, prejudice, favoritism.

Nile. This is the woman with a sword card. She brings a balance to the team, she clearly moderates conflict, and I’d love to see BLM art of her in this style. Just sayin.

IX. The Hermit - the seeker-sage. Wisdom, inspiration, contemplation, discretion, understanding. Safety, protection, spiritual quest. Seeking truth and justice. Self-denial, timidity, fear.

Historic Joe. The idealized warrior poet? Definitely just a form of the hermit. Helps explain why a Magrebhi trader/artist fought at the Siege of Jerusalem: spiritual quest. I also like the idea of Joe having a secret reserved side.

X. The Wheel of Fortune - cycles of life. Destiney, evolution and progress, advancement. Manifestation, unexpected events. Success, sudden luck. Ups and downs.

Modern Quynh. There is nothing that better encapsulates her storyline than the wheel of fortune. One day you’re roaming the world with your immortal wife. The next, you’re drowning for over 500 years. The next you’re in Booker’s shitty Paris apartment.

XI. Strength - fortitude. Resilience, courage, resolve, confidence. Integrity, moral victory, endurance. Energy, action, vitality. Power, force, violence. Abuse of power, disgrace, impotence.

Lykon. Do I love this character beyong measure and reason? Maybe so. We have so little to go on about him, however, that the only things we do know bely his strengths. Also, he becomes ultimately the weakest when he dies and encapsulates both “extremes” of the card.

XII. The Hanged Man - the tested. Delay, sacrifice, abandonment, rejection. Betrayal. Reversals, restrained or bound, limbo, trials. Falseness.

Booker. If the fact that his first death was by hanging didn’t convince you? Read that description again. His character arc is literally working through being the hanged man.

XIII. Death - the loss or parting. Alteration, transformation, transition. Boredom, depression, stagnation, failure or disaster. Bereavement, recovery, immobility.

Lykon. He literally represents the fear of death to the remaining immortals. It is HE that they invoke when they discuss it. Also, I’m still mourning my favorite underdeveloped character.

XIV. Temperance - the moderation. Self-control, economy, patience, coordination. Consolidation, harmony, friendship, recuperation. Unfulfilled desires, discord, stubbornness, hostility, clashing of interests. Time, seasons, and climate.

A Safehouse. I don’t think any of the people really capture the tempered essence of this card, the constancy throughout all seasons of life. An actual physical building that rises and falls with (regular) humanity, though, seems to do the trick.

XV. The Devil - the arcane. Magic, strange occurrences, prophecy, fate. Catastrophe, downfall, negative attitude, Temptations, sins, obsessions. Enslavement, bondage, misplaced loyalty, violence, fatality.

Honestly? I’m so torn. I feel like a major commentary of the movie is that our demons are the way people react more so than the people themselves. Maybe the armored van?

XVI. The Tower - the House of God. Disruption, expulsion from an earthly paradise, divine wrath. Punishment (of pride), loss, destructive rivalry, plans ruined. Need to start again, bankruptcy.

The Iron Coffin. While this doesn’t capture the religious undertones quite right, the coffin is the Tower for Andromaquynh, It is (divine? or very human?) wrath brought on by pride since the two probably thought that they would be fine. It is loss and painful new beginnings.

XVII. The Star - the bright promise. Hope, faith, light of the spirit. Recovery, symbols of immortality. Gifts, good prospects, new dawn, frustrated expectations.

Nile. The new immortal, enough said.

Historic Andy/Lykon. In a way, the first immortal would also be a great choice of representation.

XVIII, The Moon - the hidden forces. Twilight, illusion, deception, trickery. Dishonesty, danger, uncertainty, terror. Developments, particularly somewhat concealed. Errors, powerful feelings.

Copley. I know, I know. “He’s the moon when I’m lost in darkness” and all that jazz. But look at this card’s interpretation and notice it’s pretty negative. Copley’s entire role is to pull the strings behind the scenes. He makes headway on problems in secrets, he lies and deceives everyone in the film at some point.

XIX. The Sun - the work’s rewards. Daylight, co-creation, union “of male and female”. Peace, joy, pleasure, love, contentment. Accomplishment, achievement, success. 

Joe. Not only is he the sun, he also fits this card perfectly. He is creation and happiness. Enough said.

XX Judgement - the rebirth. Judgement, sentence. Rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection, call to the new from the old, rehabilitation. Creation, promotion.

Historic Booker. I feel like his backstory with his family helped highlight the theme of rebirth for the Old Guard. They must be willing to give up what they have left behind to move forward. Also, there’s the more literal play as well since Booker was a conscripted criminal.

XXI The World - the long journey. Perfection, completion, conclusion. Power through intelligence and wisdom. The universe and the material world.

A group photo, of course! Beyond that? Who knows.

Historic Andy? She’s seen so much of it. Like just her eyes portray the history of the world.

The Minor Arcana (aka the rest of the cards)

Since most people are only familiar with the major arcana,  I’ll just briefly explain it. The minor arcana are actually the majority of a tarot deck. There are four suits associated with the four elements. Each suit has ten number cards and four court/face cards (traditionally modelled either based on one person or different interpretations of similar costuming). Each number or face has its own meaning, each suit has its own meaning, and their combination mostly explains what the card should be interpreted as. Quite frankly, the minor arcana are vastly underrated in popular understandings of tarot.

Suit of Wands - fire. Spontaneity, action, passion, adrenaline, life force, stroke of genius.

Guns? It’d be a bit of a niche take, but I associate guns with fires.

Staffs? More traditional in shape.

Suit of Coins - earth. Solid growth, material interests, possessions, profit, business, labor, slow and considerate.

Historic currency. Enough said.

Suit of Cups - water. Heartfelt involvements, imagination, spirituality, love, friendship, family.

Fountains around the world. Enough said.

Suit of Swords - air. Worry, trouble, boundaries, objectivity, the power of truth.

Obviously, their weapons of choice. I would go into more detail about who best represents each number, but I don’t want to bore you.

Court of Kings - mature men. Leaders, authority, status-quo, taking responsibility.

Again, most tarot is very gendered. But members in tuxes?

Court of Queens - mature women. Reflective and active, concerned with security/foundations, supportive, focused.

Members in dresses/gowns/anything that glitters?

Court of Knights/Cavaliers - young men. Dynamic, adventurous, intensive, revolutionary.

Tactical gear. Or historical armor. But it’s easier to do tactical gear right than accidentally draw a 15th century helmet on a 14th century suit of armor.

Court of Knaves/Pages - younger women, teenagers, and children. Students, apprentices, trainees, messengers, new opportunities.

Casual clothes.