#stack the deck

CW: restraints, pet whump, scars

Newest chapter of Stack the Deck: Tatooine Shift is up! A little angst, a little domestic, a lot of Mando'a.

This was the first tarot card I made for this story, and to me it definitely looks it!

The Marshal

RW version of card under the cut.

Let's talk God's Game for a minute.

God is playing complex poker in a dark room with blank cards and a Dealer who keeps smiling. But let's be real. It's God. Is She playing or is She actually the Dealer? I think it's both.

God's true purpose is the Dealer, shuffling the cards, handing out winning and losing hands. That's right up God's alley.

But, She's also playing for humanity because who else could? Humans are Hers, after all.

And this is where it gets interesting. Because, there are other Players. But who are they? My guess:

1. Heaven (Player: The Metatron)

2. Hell (Player: Satan)

3. Humanity (Player: God)

And God is playing AND dealing. And the Dealer has to deal, has to give a playable hand, otherwise there's no game. It doesn't have to be the winning hand, but each player needs cards regardless. But, God created the cards, and She knows every card that is going to be drawn into each Player's hand.

My theory is God's Stacking the Deck in favor of humanity, in favor of her little pet project that She's created to keep Herself entertained.

Now, let's talk the Blank Cards.

The cards themselves are every other being in this Ineffable game. Each angel, demon, and human is a card in Heaven's, Hell's, or Humanity's hand. The Four Horsemen? Hell's. Michael? Probably Heaven's from what we've seen so far. Anathema Device? Humanity, definitely. Saraqael? Muriel? I don't think we've seen, but I've got some ideas.

But, why blank? Well, how else do we account for free will? The cards are blank because that's the fun part of the game. The complex part. Just because you've got the card, doesn't mean you know how it will be played, what choices it will make. What other cards it will come into contact with.

Except, if you created the cards, then maybe you have an edge. A tiny edge over the other players. Just enough to stack the deck in your favor.

And this is where Crowley & Aziraphale come in. They're Her trump cards (if you'll allow me to mix card game metaphors for a minute - it is, after all, complex poker).

She created them. She knows them. She can't control them, but She can make predictions about what they will do. And She knows that they are a group of the two of them, that if She puts them together on that tiny little planet, they will do everything they can to protect it together, because that's how She created them.

So yes, they get to make their own choices. Crowley can help save a gravedigger's life and get taken off the table by Hell for a bit because of it. Aziraphale can choose to go back to Heaven as Supreme Archangel and get removed from the table by Heaven for now

But, when push comes to shove, both of those cards are squarely in Humanity's hand, just as God dealt. They are there together. And once they both come back onto the table, Humanity can't do anything other than come out on top.

THE RULES:

1) Provide a brief description of your novel before beginning. NO MORE THAN 5 SENTENCES.

Martin is a wanna be journalist and he’s just landed his first serious writing job.  The only problem is that it isn’t hard hitting news reporting he was expecting, so he takes matter into his own hands.  He starts investigating a string of disappearances that gets him involved with both a kidnapping ring and the local crime lord.

2) If your cast is fewer than 15 characters, you can’t use the same name more than twice. If your cast is larger than 15 characters, you can’t use the same name more than once.

THE QUESTIONS:

#1 Which character is SO into the holidays, they nearly cause a street-wide power outage from all their Christmas lights?

Jimmy, hands down.  If there’s a holiday he’s excited about it.  He’s not even sorry about the near power outage.  “It’s Christmas and my sous chef’s wife is scarier than anything you can throw at me so step off.”

#2 Which character attends the office new years party with ONE date…and goes home with someone else?

That would be Martin’s brother Geoff.  He’d probably even pick up the new date while the other is watching.  

#3 Which character is more than happy to steal Hanukkah gelt from poor, unsuspecting children? [Note: Hanukkah gelt = chocolate coins]

Boris, because of course it’s Boris.  He loves stealing and just being a nuisance on general.  Of course, chocolate is really bad for him so someone(Julian) has to steal it back.

#4 Fill in the blanks: I saw ____[character]____ doing a whole lot more than ____[verb]____-ing Santa Claus. They were full on ____[action]____.

I saw Julian doing a whole lot more than bribing Santa Claus.  They were full on paying him off.

#5 One of your characters decides to pregame before church and passes out in the middle of the Christmas service. Which character is it?

Solomon.  Anytime he has to be around a lot of people he self medicates with booze.  The idea of going to a church service on Christmas is especially nerve wracking to him because not only is it crowded as hell, but he Jewish.  What if they figure out he doesn’t belong and kick him out in the cold.  

#6 Which character hasn’t been seen since winter began because they refuse to deal with the snow?

Daniel.  The man was born and raised in the American Midwest.  He knows what winter is like and he fucking hates it.  The second he sees snowflakes he dives under his covers and refuses to come out until spring.  He even tries to get his wife to call into work for him.  She makes him go anyway, but does offer to drive him.  That doesn’t make him feel any better.

#7 Which character completely forgot about the holidays and ends up regifting to everyone?

Isaac.  Holidays weren’t a thing in his house growing up, so it’s really easy for him to forget about them.  Every year he thinks “I’m going to remember Christmas at least.”  Then it’s 4 am on Christmas Eve and he’s scrambling to put something together.   

#8 Which character has such crappy luck, they only discover their potato allergy after pigging out on latkes?

Martin.  He was probably really excited about having a nice holiday dinner with his boyfriend and his family.  Then he ends up in the ER.  That’s a great way to spend your first holiday with the love of your life.  Isaac, the boyfriend, feels guilty because he made the latkes.

#9 The Krampus has arrived to punish your very bad characters. Which character is kinda into it?

Eva, because she’s been looking for a reason to fight someone all month.  All of the seasons feelings of kindness grate on her after awhile.  So, if a monster showed up throwing his weight around she’d be overjoyed.  “Finally I get to hit something!”

#10 One of your characters should be on the naughty list, but has convinced Santa to clear their name. Which character is it, and what was their means of persuasion?

Sophie. She’d sit Santa down a broker it like a business deal.  She’d have a contract with clauses saying she’ll never be on the naughty list no matter how many times she’s brought in for questioning by the police in exchange for starting a college fund for the neighborhood children or something.

Four years ago, I "took a short break" from writing my massive The Mandalorian DinCobb fic, Stack the Deck. I'd tried to start it again multiple times to no avail, until last fall when I finally got the traction I needed to push past the blocks and figure shit out.

Now, I present the first three chapters of part 2, Tatooine Shift. I am massively proud that I finally got it mostly finished. I've also been working on these tarot-style cards for a few months, too, which have been a lot of fun to design and put together.

Big thanks to @staranon95 for all the help and encouragement, and whose enthusiasm for this story has never waned, despite the years.

Just updated chapters 5 and 6 of Stack the Deck: Tatooine Shift! We get another new POV, and a tender moment between Din and Cobb.

This is one of the new tarot cards I made for this story, featuring my OC Trella as "The Traitor." I've been making two versions of each card, one that is specific to the story, and one that is Rider-Waite Major Arcana. The RW version is below the cut.

Yes, I did it again 😌 OC vine compilation 1 | 2 | 3