A set of shortfics, typically in the region of 500 to 1500 words, using themes taken from a deck of pre-shuffled tarot cards as the stimulus. It will hopefully reach a grand total of 78 chapters, one for each card in both the minor and major arcanas. All chapters are self-contained and non-connected, bar the 16 court cards, which will form their own story arc since it's very difficult to utilise them as I would the other cards. Characters, genres and pairings vary by chapter, and, as usual, I have no idea what I'm doing so any advice you could toss my way is highly appreciated.
A note on nomenclature: You may notice that after the chapter name are the principle characters who star in it. If it's mainly shipping, I'll put (for example) "Fluttershy x Rarity"; if it's just interaction or the romance isn't very strong, I'll put something like "Fluttershy, Rarity."
This is a pretty cool idea my only disappointment is their may be stories i don't wanna read and i don't really know what I'm getting into each chapter. It would be cool if in your description as you write the stories you could give a quick sentence or two about each chapter so we know what were jumping into. Still amazing idea, creative to.
I don't know much about the cards themselves but I had a follower of Wicca in my culinary arts class she sometimes gave out reading to people.
sorry that was off subject, I haven't read the story yet but after work I will, doing stories based on the cards, that's genius.
558300
That'd be pretty difficult to do, but I might implement it. To give you a very general idea of what to expect, though:
Pairings at random, few darkfics, no clop, and good smatterings of everything else. Chapters in the Swords group will tend to be darker, since in Tarot swords represent strife and battle.
I might look into putting the pairings, if any, after the chapter name, and any other relevant stuff too. If I do decide to do that, I'll implement it over the next couple of days.
However, on the bright side, with such a selection, you're bound to find at least one chapter you like.
Thanks for the suggestions!
558335 I agree. And yea the randomness of it all comes from the concept of using the deck of tarot cards so i figured we'd be jumping all over the board and just any heads up to the next part would be awesome.
558350
I completely get what you mean; for people that already know about tarot cards and what each one means, they'll have a fairly good idea what's coming, but I wouldn't want people who don't know to feel like they're just getting tossed around, so to speak. Now that you've put the thought in my head, I think I will figure out a way to give a head's up.
558312
I can't do readings, although I'd like to be able to; I don't remember the cards well enough to do it without a book in front of me. Still, they're very beautiful things just to have. And yet, if you wanted to get your fortune told by a gypsy, they'd tell it with actual playing cards instead. They generally used tarot only when fleecing outsiders out of a reading, and the more spiritual aspects attatched to the tarot have only been there for 100 years. Before that, they were basically just big ol' playing cards the Italians used.../tangent
558367 Happy to help always did enjoy a quick read from one of my more interesting friends
558385 going off on a tangent is the best way to speak, it is a way to tell fun little facts that make people just a little bit better than they were a few minutes before. The info about gypsy readings was fun and informative thank you for sharing.
In line with some of the above suggestions, perhaps you could give like a sentence or two about each card at the start of a chapter? Would help those who have absolutely no knowledge of Tarot Cards. Otherwise its a very interesting idea and I am quite eager to see what happens.
Only two issues I see so far, one you need to space out each paragraph a little better. Secondly in the first chapter you call Sugarcube Corner, Cupcake Corner.
Very interesting. I recently began a project that involved Tarot, so I've been bucking up on my Tarot symbology. I just love how there are 78 cards, each with a different, more-or-less unique meaning to them. It's very poetic, in a sense. Reading this is really entertaining for me. Temperance and the Eight of Swords are two of my favorite cards, because the imagery is so powerful. King of Wands, not so much, but that's cause I'm more of a Cups/Swords person myself.
) Best of luck to you, and favoriting.
Can't wait to see what you do with this in the future. What cards could be coming up? The Nine of Swords? The Seven of Cups? The Lightning-Struck Tower? The Hanged Man? (or should it be the Hanged Stallion?
558667
Yeah, I'm going to edit it in a couple minutes, once I find a nice template to tell people what they're in for.
As for paragraphs, yeah, that needs to change. I'm still figuring out the formatting on this site, and they were formatted for a different sit before. I'll space them out a bit when I'm going through editing.
As for the Sugar Cube corner thing- oops! I am a noob.
558672
Weird, since I am so much a Swords guy. Just every time I draw from the deck, swords all over the place. It is ridiculous.
As for what's coming up...Let's just say that my shuffling was a little cack-handed, so expect a whole bunch of nines all at once. (The nine of swords is actually the next chapter I have to write, but beyond that even I don't know what's coming up.)
Thanks to both of you for the suggestions, comments and catches!
558705
Nine of Swords is a cool card, in my opinion. IIRC, it symbolizes "A sudden revelation, as of waking from a nightmare." Can't wait to see what you do with that!
Dang! I'm a master guesser.
Oh, and I briefly considered doing something like what you're doing. Sounds like a neat idea. Then I decided I shouldn't butt into your idea, so I'll let you be the genius.
Another small error of note, there is no K in Big Macintosh's name.
558743
Do as you wish, sir- it's not like I've got the copyright on Tarot cards or anything. You'll probably make a better stab at things than me, anyhow. As for the Nine of Swords, according to my little purple book, it's:
Keyword: Cruelty
Meaning: Anxiety and sleepless nights, spite and slander which undermine confidence. Suffering that is for eventual good such as putting up with treatment in order to get better. Female health problems and, possibly, self-punishment and guilt.
Reversed: A refusal to accept health or even feel that improvements are possible. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Keeping in mind that I explicitly don't want to do too many darkfics or tragedies, I'm a little bit stuck on that one.
558748
Done and done, sir. Another fine catch! If I might impose on your watchful eye a little more, could I ask you to take a gander through the chapters again and see if the new formatting/card meanings are a little easier on the eye? I'm used to other sites, so I can't really tell.
558806
Much better overall, and I like how I have a much better idea how the story is tied with the cards. Th paragraph spacing is also much better, though there are still a few errors. The first two paragraphs in the first two chapters are still oddly done. In the first chapter you have a sentence than go to the next paragraph with no space between them. In the second chapter the last two sentences are a paragraph unto themselves with no space between them and the paragraph that came before. Not sure if you intended to have those sentences separate or not and it looks more like an error than anything else.
558806
Ooh, I like arguing this stuff. It's so subjective and flighty. (No sarcasm.) Maybe that's just the way I see it. Wikipedia, that font of knowledge, more or less corroborates you. "[...]deception, premonitions and bad dreams, suffering and depression, cruelty, disappointment, violence, loss and scandal."
As a poet/artist type guy, the picture on Wikipedia's page is what I find fascinating. It shows someone waking up, holding their head in pain. The swords float beside them, a symbol of fear and pain. So I took that "waking up" part as important, but you (read: most people) get something else entirely. :shrug:
Hmm, maybe I should do my own version. After all, we each see the symbols as something different. Then we can compare them! Won't that be fun!
558836
I've got no real appreciation for visual images (I'm not actually very creative) so I'm just going with the meanings. The deck I'm using, by the way, is very close to the one on wikipedia; it's actually the same pictures, reinterpreted by some painter called Roberto De Angelis. I wanted a Cat People deck, which I just think is the best thing ever, but they're rare and expensive...
Thanks a bunch. I edited them around again in keeping with the advice. You're a lifesaver.
558871
Well, I'm just going with the stuff in my book.
558932
I mean, who could come up with an entire 1800 word story from the word "Temperance" and not be creative? I mean really.
Don't be so modest! I think you're very creative!
And don't worry about what deck you're using. I made my own deck out of index cards, and it's just fine. The pictures leave something to be desired, though...
558961
I'm really not. A word like Temperance sparks an idea, but that's just reactive. I work very well when given prompts, but when it comes to my own ideas, I come up a little short.
I hear (from the almighty google) that there is a gentleman putting together a pack of MLP tarot cards. Might be worth checking out.
559298
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9, then. II, III, IV, VII, IX, XIII, XVI, XX, and XXI. What d'you think?
...Take the dang praise, you bashful bonzo. (What does that even mean?
As to a MLP Tarot deck, I think I've seen that. However, with only a handful of mane characters, it seems it would be tough to fit the 22 Major Arcana, let alone the Court.
...
Hey, Vulp. Let's see how many we can do.
Celestia and Luna are the Sun and Moon, obviously. Let's make Twilight the Star then. That way Trixie is the Magician. Cheerilee can be the Hierophant. Now, what about the rest of the mane 6? How about... Applejack for Strength, Fluttershy for... Temperance? Pinkie for... how about the Wheel of Fate. Rarity for...Justice? IDK. RD can be... darn, she's kinda tough. The Hanged Man. Sure, why not? Discord would be the Devil, obviously. Put Cadance and Shining Armor as the Lovers, naturally. That only leaves... 10 more.
Oh, and Derpy is the Fool, of course.
559338
Hmm...I'll give this one some thought, actually. What about The Chariot for RD? Zecora for the for the Hermit, maybe.
I, personally, would put Big Mac as Strength, and have Applejack as the Empress- that card is associated with fertility and harvest (farmer) and is also associated with mothers, and AJ strikes me as one of the most motherly of the cast. Not sure who The Emperor or the Heirophant would be...I think Death and the Judgement cards will probably be pretty tough too...
559377
I like Cheerilee as the Heirophant. It's the High Priestess I wasn't sure about. Death could be Mort or Pale Hoof. Have you read those fics? Judgment and The World are tough.
I absolutely agree with your call on Big Mac-the Strength card is kind of like Death in that its meaning is not quite so evident. Big Mac definitely espouses that quiet control that Strength symbolizes. I also like your choice for RD, although that does open up the Hanged Pony. (Not that that's bad; she didn't really fit it anyway.) AJ's new card is a good one, as is Zecora. There are just too few male characters in MLP!
Wait... Spike! Where can we put Spike? Hint hint... Upside down. :P
Ooh! Ooh! I realized something else too! Could we use the Founders? Put, say, Clover the Clever as the High Priestess. IDK, this is all up in the air.
Tee-hee, Chrysalis for Death.
One last idea. CMC for something. Thoughts?
559443
I'm not really very up on the characters (fandom noob, here!) but those suggestions seem good.
Realistically, though, I think the CMC fit the visual imagery of The Sun (child on horseback, innocent and with tons of potential) a lot better than Celestia herself actually fits the role. That frees Celestia up for something a bit grander- maybe The World. ("The end of one cycle and the start of another", as it says in my book- her and Luna handing off the Elements of Harmony to Twilight and friends?) Philomena, of all things, fits the death and rebirth theme of Judgement. Never thought I'd be talking about Celestia's troll phoenix in a tarot discussion...
559482
Come to think about it, Discord isn't that great a Devil. Could he be the Tower? If Celestia isn't the Sun, is Luna the Moon? This is so hard! 
It helps that you've got your book in front of you. I'm just using my spotty memory.
So, what do we have left? The High Priestess... How about the Mayor? I'd forgotten about her. I've got a list of MLP characters up if you want it. http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Characters
But yeah, still no male characters for the Emperor. Do you think Rarity'd look fine blindfolded and in a toga? Yeah, she totally would.
558932
Glad I could at least be of some assistance. I will admit I was rushing a bit with that last little review, as I wrote it shortly before going to work. Going back through I noticed another spacing issue, second chapter about 12 paragraph's down. Two paragraphs are not spaced apart like the others. Other than that it looks like you got everything. If you ever need someone to read through your chapters before you post them to catch stuff like this feel free to send me a note, would be happy to help. Especially since I have no knowledge whatsoever about Tarot cards but I do know my ponies. Perhaps a little too much to be honest.
561234
Whilst I'd love to take you up on your offer, I'm sworn off beta readers. Truth be told, I'm pretty lazy, and if I ever got a beta reader I'd probably be just lazy enough to hand them a bunch of rubbish without looking over it even a little by myself.
I've fixed the stuff you mentioned. I'll probably put up the next few chapters later today...once I've edited and paragraphed them properly. The devil's work is never done, I suppose. Thanks for helping me out so much.
561282
Heh, its no problem. Though expect me to keep pointing out little errors here and there as I read through this. Can't wait to see how this all turns out.
561306
I'd be quite grateful if you did. I'm...a little sloppy.
Hmm... I enjoy the stories. The stories are enjoyable, in a kind of "eating a candy bar" kind of way. They're like little snapshots into the characters' lives, and I enjoy that. The ties to the Tarot cards seem a little... obscure, though. Eh, what do I know. They work.
561412
Some of them I'm like 'Let's follow the tarot card to the letter!' and with others I'm like 'urrgrhhgh can't be bothered, just use the keyword as a prompt'. I never claimed to be an artiste.
Me again. Nine paragraphs in, in the 4th chapter, paragraph spacing issue. Second paragraph of this chapter you start a sentence with and. Now I will fully admit that I am not the best at grammar but I am pretty sure your not supposed to do that.
561706
Thanks for the catches. Should be fixed now. I really appreciate the feedback!
Oooh. Gives me chills.
What a cool collection. The Court cards storyline is most intriguing (and it appears that Spike's been learning much from Pinkie Pie,) and the one-shots are fantastic character pieces. I'm looking forward to more.
Ah, I remember this from FFNet too! Another fave for you. Teehee, I rhymed.
567199
Mind you, the next chapter really does suck- I'm still trying to decide if I want to post it or re-edit it. It's basically 100% unexplained mind screw, and goodness knows, my stuff can be confusing enough even when I'm not deliberately trying to make it worse.
Somehow, I think everyone seems to find that chapter way scarier than I do. I actually thought it sucked when I wrote it.
567572
Plot idea: Spike becomes Pinkie Pie's number one apprentice. With the combined power of their fourth wall breaking and their genre savvy, they become aware that they are fictional characters, with all the danger that implies- dark fics, genderflips, clops and all. Bricks are collectively sh...applejack'd. One day, this must happen.
567772
A rhyming address
Very simple solution
Reply in haiku
568179
Stop. being. so. SELF-DEPRECATING!
Seriously. I will keep praising you until you figure this out, dangit!
568981
I have just posted the chapter in order to prove to you exactly how wrong you are. Sometimes, nice people do bad things, and I am no exception to this.
569113
...
Either I am really easily impressed, or that was really freaky. Did Twilight just bring Rainbow Dash back from the dead, then go insane? Woah.
And hah! In your face! I totally enjoyed that!
EDIT: Oh, and this face too. http://goo.gl/TVsn2
569138
And, yup, that's basically what happened. This is easily the most tame of the mindscrew stuff I've written, so I figured it'd be pretty easy to guess. Still- if I hadn't put the warning in there, which I didn't on FF net when I posted it there, what would you honestly have thought after having had nothing but little character sketches and cute subplots for the last few chapters?
...This happened the other three or four times I've done straight up confusing stuff like this, too. The general reaction is always, "Okay, I have no idea what just happened, but it sounded pretty cool."
569195
" Especially RD's line. It's the best kind of dark: the regretful dark.
I didn't think it was confusing per se; more like... tempestuous, if that makes sense. I love the way everything spins together, all of the thoughts crowding each other and mixing up. It's not terribly dark, since there's no evil or blood or whatnot, but I think it's more powerful than just "OH GAWD BLOOD EVERYWHERE! IT'S TERRIBLE!
It's the thinking man's horror, that's what it is.
569224
I always think of them as the washing machine chapters. You spin around and around and then when you get the laundry out it's grown eyes and a nose and wants to colonise your ear canals. It's about as close to drunk writing as I'm ever going to get.
569286
Lol at that image.
I also enjoyed the Ace of Pentacles, although I do have a random question: are any of your cards reversed? That would be an interesting curveball. Although, whenever I'm playing around with my cards, I can never seem to figure out how they would get reversed at all.
569300
It really is as simple as that. Seems like there should be some special shuffle or something, but nah- you just pick some at random and flip them upside down. I was confused about it, too.
Up until now, nope- I've not done any reversed ones. I might, though.
As for how they get reversed...you, um, reverse a few of them. While you're shuffling. Without looking, of course.
568179 Agreed. The medium awareness will be doubled!
569319
But... but then, when I want to get them back in order, I have to find each flipped one and unflip it.
Let's see what the cards say for the future of your writing...
*shuffles tarot deck, deals out three cards*
And I am not kidding here...
You weren't too committed to working hard (Seven of Pentacles reversed),
but then you wrote a dark story about the reversal of fate (Six of Swords reversed... dead serious)
So I'd say your future is cautiously optimistic. (Six of Pentacles upright).
Scary accurate, huh?
569361
Why would you ever want them back in order, though? You'd only shuffle them before the next reading anyway. Well, I guess if you wanted them in a set order.
I'd do a reading for you, but I'm not touching my deck at the moment because, well, I need the order to remain the same so I can keep doing the tarot prompts.
Yeah, that's pretty spooky. Mind you, current theory is that they work in the same way as tv mediums- they have a broad set of 'themes' that most humans will have encountered before in their life and which are relatively omnipresent, and then the act of having a tarot reading brings these themes, which are already existant in your day-to-day existence, to the forefront of your mind, making you actually notice them. *shrug*
569395
)
I'm not really a believer. Like I said, I just like the imagery. But still, what's the chance that the Six of Swords would come up write after you post a story... about the Six of Swords? (1/78, obviously.
Oh, and I like to have my deck in order so that I can find the card I want. All the Majora together, all the separate suits together. Much better when I want to look at a specific picture or what not.
Oh oh, and I got an idea for my own story. It's about Twilight finding an old Tarot deck and accidentally using it with her magic to affect the future. If I ever get the time to write it, d'you think I should?
569416
Neither am I, really. I just like the way you can mix and match them to get a basic idea for a story out of it.
As for the idea, it really depends if you think you can pull it off. If yes, then there's no reason at all not to give it a shot. If nothing else it's practice, right?
My Little Necromancer: Reanimation is Costly
...
I like it!