This is born out of a problem I've been having with the crew "stumbling" onto Noah. I've fixed some things with that encounter, namely the out-of-place slugfest I once wrote about ages ago. And instead reshaped it to help their plight (hiding from their pursuers, esp. Custodians who sense magic) and also to show Noah's abilities, i.e. the world that exists behind his ribs.

Now, rather than having Noah try to safeguard Tisandra in his world and some hackneyed donnybrook break out between he and the crew and then trying to explain how this aggressive fucker should go with them... they're instructed to find shelter in Noah by Thomas's instruction. And at that point in the story, well before they can find it in Clarence's circus, they NEED shelter. Being attacked at every step by two stripes of enemies can get pretty fuggin exhausting.

So this lead me to some work on Thomas and the greater plot.

Thomas is the catalyst. Through him and his prophetic scrying I'm able to set up HOW exactly the characters proceed on their way to Mag Mell and can use his divinations to secure they go on the right path. That way plot-specific character encounters AREN'T just by pure circumstance but by design (with a lot of chaos in between). His ability to see the future sets the ball rolling, so I can't fuck up what he tells them to do or where he tells them to go. Because once it's handed over, there's no going back.

With that in mind, he needs to write them a list of people he foresees (but in the disjointed framing that comes with seeing something you're not wholly familiar with. Divinations being notoriously enigmatic). This also allots me little narrative trap doors to put in if I want to use them later.

Some thoughts I had on the walk-in today involved maybe steeping these predictions in the Tarot.

• Bobby = The Chariot
• Tisandra = Strength
• Zuzu = Temperance
  
• Noah = The World
• Clarence = The Fool
• Rossum = The Hierophant
• The Huntsman = Death

In other words (so the idea goes), these are the cards Thomas gives her, to guide her way. Exactly like the list of people Dream and Delerium kept for their road trip in Brief Lives.

Curious for Marie's take on the above, as she and Ari are the only Tarot experts I know.

Artist breakdown:

Fifties era clothing links:

• http://home.att.net/~movie.stars.1950/1950s_mens_clothing.html
• http://www.fashion-era.com/Vintage_fashion/a10_collecting_fifties_vintage_1.htm
• http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/fashion-m.htm
• http://home.att.net/~boomers.fifties.teenmag/photos_1950s.html
  

Bobby Huxley: Not stocky but not thin either. Average but slightly muscled build. Black hair in duck's ass haircut. Always a cigarette in his hand or in his mouth. T-shirt and black jeans (or very dark blue denims) rolled up at the ankles. Black jacket. White socks. Creeper shoes. And iron hands (probably the toughest to draw, as the iron has to look marbled a bit or if that doesn't work, black shaded with grey).
He can also be seen wielding the Custodian raygun.

Zuzu Huxley: average height and weight of a 14 year old girl. Short black hair. Cats eye glasses. Sometimes seen in overalls or jeans and t-shirt. Consummate tomboy. Not one for frilly things. Patterns herself in a small way after her brother. I've always imagined her to look more or less like a cross between Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird and Lisa Loeb.

Tisandra: Green skin, long red hair often in a pony tail, but elven beautiful. Small nose, small ears, cover of a magazine cute. Sports her father's axe or a dagger. Can be drawn in either court finery (beautiful ornate dress in a very medieval elaborateness) or in clothing of the 50s era.

Clarence: Black man, lithe in height and weight. Think a very nimble Spider-Man physique. Small soul patch or goatee on his chin. Buddy Holly glasses. Usually in a black turtleneck and green khakis or very well dressed in general. Can be seen with a smoking pistol or a prop "bang" gun.

Rossum: Also average height and build. Bare polished metal on most of him. Robotic piping on his arms and legs. Fingers end in small firearm muzzles. Usually seen wearing a Benedictine robe. Large glowing eyes. No mouth to speak of. Has a nuclear heart within him, so his 'bullets' are energy based. He's supposed to look human enough to pass with enough clothes and in a dark environment. Think of C-3P0 from Stars Wars with a silver finish, less facial features and wearing Obi Wan's robe.

Noah: Large, lanky hulk of a guy. Almost caveman looking; scraggly beard, wild hair, powerful arms. Tattered clothes. Can pull open his chest and open his ribcage like a big iron gate. Utterly feral look to him, like a werewolf hobo almost.

The Beast: 1949 Merc. Chopped and cropped. Frenched headlights. Make the grill just as menacing as you can. Orange and red flames from the grill to just over the hood and doors (bladed style on the flames, not the wavy style of most flame jobs) on a glossy black paint job.