🃏 with whoever you want?
Well, since the two of you seem to agree...
I PRESENT TO YOU
Sleepless as a Tarot card (:
(Sketches and my epic reasoning for why I chose the Ten of Swords below the read more) (It's long)
DISCLAIMER: I didn't know much about Tarot cards before these asks, so everything I mention here came from approximately four hours worth of research. Enjoy!
There are seventy-eight tarot cards in a deck, so how do you pick just ONE? There were sooo many good options that I was considering for Sleepless, it was really tough! The Cups had a LOT of cards if I wanted to focus on his relationship with Doc, and Wands was a big contender too, but it would have been tricky to pick just one to sum up all of the internal stuff Sleepless had going on. I excluded the Pentacles because those were mostly focused on work life, and the Major Arcana was out of the question too because. I. I forget now but I think I wanted a challenge and none of the Major Arcana explanations were sparking anything for me. SO SWORDS IT WAS!
The Suit of Swords are kind of like the Suit of Wands, but it seemed to focus a lot more on how everything builds up because of external matters and what you do with it! For example there's some cards in this deck that deal with heartbreak, contending with your feelings, fixing mistakes, and even more! "BUT MERKLINS aren't those all things that Sleepless had to deal with?" Well, yes! From what I read, Tarot cards are used to reflect upon and even predict events that happen in your life. Heartbreak, rest, and distancing oneself are all individual matters that Sleepless, and anyone else, have gone through or overcome! But I wanted something that tied in really closely to zer role in In Your Dreams. If you think of some things Sleepless did during the blog, I IMAGINE that zer grand double-crossing redemption would be pretty high on that list!
So the Ten of Swords, and In Your Dreams. Ready for this? The Ten of Swords in its upright position carries a lot of heavy meanings about being betrayed, abandoned, befallen by a horrible fate, losing something or someone important to you, all of that and even more. It's the card that sends you crashing to the lowest that you've ever felt, and drives you to either give up or take ACTION. I believe ALL of these different meanings could be applied to Sleepless! I can't remember if we were given a precise explanation for what Sleepless did to earn the ire of the Mad Science Team, but Coomer did mention at some point that they never should have banished a mad scientist for being a Mad Scientist. So I imagine that means that whatever it was Sleepless did, it was hardly out of place for them! They were simply a Mad Scientist doing mad science, and suddenly EVERYONE was against them! Their closest allies, their friends, and even their partner. What do we call that? BETRAYAL! Sleepless probably felt BETRAYED. Everyone they cared about had seemingly abandoned them and. that was it! That was IT. He fucked up one time (he didn't even understand what he did was wrong) AND EVERYONE LEFT HIM FOR IT. Hence the five swords in his back: Benrey, Coomer, Bubby, Tommy, and Doc, who pierced RIGHT THROUGH HIS HEART.
But the Ten of Swords is also about moving on. About recovery and acceptance.
You see, Tarot cards have another interesting feature, in which reversing the card so it's upside-down changes the meaning. For the Ten of Swords, these altered meanings are about what comes from that anguish. What you do as a result of the grief and turmoil you were faced with. In some cases this is a solemn acceptance as you grow a new circle and start anew, and in others this is dealing with the emotional scars you were left with, and fighting to get back what you lost. The reversed Ten of Swords is meant to resolve whatever conflict it inflicted upon you from the upright position. How did Sleepless resolve that? What did ze do to recover from the pain zer friends caused zem? Well, after a little off-screen trial and tribulation... Ze found the man who hurt them. AND REPAID HIM THE FAVOR! Sleepless rode out the act they had been carrying to get in G-man's good graces, even confronting their friends and presenting those scars in a way that scraped at their hearts like little daggers, before finally driving their own sword (scissors) into the perpetrator and ending it ONCE AND FOR ALL. Sleepless followed through the entire meaning of the Ten of Swords. He was abandoned by his friends, left alone and betrayed. He braved out those feelings in solitude, coming to terms with what he did wrong and how his friends had hurt him. How they hadn't meant it. And finally, HE DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Sleepless made that effort to mend that bond he had lost, AND FOR THAT HE WAS REWARDED HANDSOMELY! Sleepless got his friends back. His team. His partner. They ALL learned from it. Everyone grew.
In the reversed position of the Ten of Swords, some people say that the image is meant to portray the healing process. The swords would have fallen out, and all that would remain would be the wounds, which would eventually heal and scar over with time. IT'S SIMPLY PERFECT FOR SLEEPLESS' CHARACTER ARC!
Ah ah ah, I'm missing something here, aren't I? "That's only six swords! This is Ten of Swords, where are the rest?" Well, the remaining "swords" are shown off by the chat bubbles in the background, which are meant to represent the messages on the blog! It's a metaphorical thing (: Every time the messages accused Sleepless, doubted his intentions, or said horrible things to him throughout his journey of healing and redemption. Sticks and stones may break your bones, but WORDS ARE SHARP AS SWORDS!
If you've made it to the end of this post, and survived reading my lengthy analysis, then I reward you now... WITH THE SKETCHES!!
