Divinations from Fanfictiondom is a group show that convened fanwork including
The Tarot Deck of Fanfictiondom. A deck of 78 Tarot Cards illustrated by @agathariotarot (twitter) depicting 78 transformative works of fanfiction.
4 illustrations by artists Eva García, Emma Scally, Key, + Mulwray.
2 self published novels by authors Valerie Hunter & Maggie Lovewell
The show was low impact, not for sale, and free to visit.
For those coming in fresh, fanwork transforms canonical work from some mass content into some new frame or universe.
It's a labor of love, produced by novices and professionals, who are driven by the impulse to want to grapple with something, or connect to it, to mess around a little, or express something out loud about it. Expert work is produced alongside the clunky and first attempts.
A lot of fanart is done in anonymity so it can't really amass cultural capital, is restricted economically by its relationship to copyright, and artistically (at least in perception) by its ironic relationship to well worn tropes of what make art worthy. So it remains a rich domain of creative exploration because the stakes are low and its production is subsidized by creators' desire so much so that artists can develop unencumbered by external expectations and explore internal ones.
Fanwork chafes against the creator myth so drilled into our cultural canon of who audiences and purveyors of taste trust to uphold. It style varies broadly, but like it’s use source materials, newness is not a measure of quality. It’s perceived as pulp in many ways but within the scarcity of expectation and taste, artists are able to engage in the messy process of developing a practice, and put forth multidimensional iterations of character and story.
In part because of these constraints, fanwork actually remains a rich domain of creative exploration because the stakes are low and its production is subsidized by creators' desire. So much so that creators can actually practice and explore and develop unencumbered by external expectations and feel out internal ones. It's a rarefied space for a creator or designer because it's a space where those who may not traditionally have or feel permission, claim creative authority by sheer want: to connect, to test, to luxuriate.
While the “con” or convention may be a familiar format for enthusiasts to gather, but“Divinations from Fanfictiondom” is the first of its kind that centers these voices and celebrates them within the context of NYCs gallery community, and in their own minds as valuable producers.
The Tarot Deck of Fanfictiondom
Each of the 78 tarot cards draw from a unique and transformative work of fanfiction depicting a world borne from the femslash “Agathario”. Largely produced in the year following it’s canonical marvel show, these stories center themes as diverse and complex as the many creators it features including themes of desire, motherhood, grief, and power.
Each card pulls forward something conjured from its transformative story, and is accompanied by a divination, a reading of a stories theme, and its implications on a card drawn, upright or reversed. As with all readings, its interpretations are made deeper by a study if its source texts.
Major Arcana
The Major Arcana of Fanfictiondom reveal the Lover’s journey. The archetypes mark the path forward through many possible futures. It begins with a leaf of faith: a question asked.
The Lovers
Two fools frozen in an embrace. In every universe they find one another. Warm light above casts shadows across lowered lashes. Tile is cold against warm skin.
Upright: a leap of faith, willingness, intent
Reversed: uncertainty, tension, nearing an edge
V. The Sensor Array
Marine technology sits protected within a bay, but is never safe from passing athletes. A surfer in the distance paddles for a wave.
Upright: experimentation, discovery, measure
Reversed: carelessness, disregard, a foiled attempt
X. The Hands
The first things noticed are appreciated under a close gaze. Lovers commit one another to memory and unwittingly break their own rules.
Upright: memory, mapping, learning
Reversed: restraint, control, guarding
XV. The Piano
A piece of music is is transcribed for one but played for another.
Upright: self-trust, internal guidance, honesty
Reversed: denial, material comfort, gilded cages
XX. The Duolingo Alert
A mid-night notification is received in spite of expectations for the future. Beyond, a greenhouse contains nature to be carefully studied.
Upright: anticipation, cultivation, belief
Reversed: doubt, distraction, a false start
I. The Dinner Table
A first impression and a careful graze of heel beneath the surface. Above, the dark wood paneled room leaves little space for all but expectations.
Upright: legacy, composure, restraint
Reversed: draw, inevitability, silent intents
VI. Air Force Two
A private jet soars above it all. Its travelers inside find a moment of quiet softness in between stump speeches. A flag in the distance is put to work.
Upright: command, power, denial
Reversed: relief, confidentiality, culmination
XI. The Tree Frog
Sandwich makes a new home beyond the romaine. Two stems of thistle rise: one stretching, the other cowered.
Upright: courage, beginnings, momentum
Reversed: cowardice, withdrawal, uprooted plans
XVI. Takeout
Takeout containers sit empty. A broken promise is no match for a comforting meal. Behind, a studio is open late.
Upright: oversight, mistakes, a false start
Reversed: reconciliation, soothing, open doors
XXI. The Candle
The thorn of a mahogany rose draws blood. A heavy object is wielded against a penthouse facade.
Upright: obsession, compulsion, trespass
Reversed: delusion, destruction, torment
II. The Two Headed Cow
Michael stands in front of the farmhouse. A silhouetted stump bakes in the heat of the day. Somewhere inside a geneticist argues with a farmer.
Upright: beauty, wonder, creation
Reversed: unknowable truths, the sublime, disconnection
VII. Loss
Small boots sit unworn beneath a layer of dust. Whisky and quilt cherubs float in an entryway honoring what is no longer there. A badge and service weapon hang after a long day.
Upright: comfort, domesticity, life
Reversed: grief, endings, hauntings
XII. The Speech
A statement is prepared for a crowd while a performance is crafted for an audience of one. A gun and a speech are within reach. A car idles in the distance.
Upright: calculation, composure, revisions
Reversed: watching, threat, nearing danger
XVII. The Ugly Beach Rock
The stone found upon the shore is taken home. A chair sits watching the living room as a dare or desire.
Upright: testimony, imperfection, flawed wholeness
Reversed: ignorance, concealment, eyes shut
III. The Garden
Seedlings are planted in a backyard of a home needing care. Inside, a written agreement with unspoken consequences unfolds.
Upright: potential, tending, growth
Reversed: impermanence, falsehoods, unrealized futures
VIII. The Marschallin
Beyond the view of an audience, heat is rekindled. Through costumes the touch of the lover feels more real.
Upright: talent, adoration, a soul bared
Reversed: performance, ego, bravado
XIII. The Familiar
An armadillo curls beneath a new moon and a sunflower bares its teeth. Something is about, but one cannot remember.
Upright: shared history, companionship, closeness
Reversed: abandon, lost time, spellbound
XVIII. Retired Book Club
Space cookies are eaten by retirees at the library. Just normal flirting stuff.
Upright: jest, pulled pigtails, misdirection
Reversed: sincerity, weirdos, an oddly perfect fit
IV. The Nipple
After a long wait, vulnerability is carefully offered.
Upright: trust, openness, baring witness
Reversed: exposure, a line crossed, fear
IX. The Forest Spirit
Under the gaze of the Empire, puppeteers parade a Wilds spirit through a village. An oath is kept while a duty is questioned. Below, a void pool swirls in the forest.
Upright: ritual, honor, devotion
Reversed: delirium, obsession, sacrifice
XIV. The False Idol
Away from camp, an alliance deepens and a trick is carved. Competitors grasp at the rewards of survival, but not without distraction.
Upright: craft, strategy, laid plans
Reversed: mimicry, competition, cunning
XIX. The Suggestion
An uncontrollable thirst and a deepseeded desire simmers for centuries. What one means is rarely what one says.
Upright: intimacy, connection, love shared
Reversed: insecurity, compulsion, forgotten words
Court Cards
The Court Cards of Fanfictiondom guide in accordance with their stage and approach to life. The Maidens explore with ambition and Mothers encourage action. Queens rule with intuition and Queenkings guide with mastery.
Maiden of Teeth
A lavender bouquet offered above the Royal Palace. Nearby the maiden's wardrobe is stitched with an embroidered claim for an impossible future.
Upright: closeness, woven together, quiet declaration
Reversed: impossibility, disavowal, rejection
Maiden of Tongues
Lenny the snake encircles the arm of a ghost. Behind one is released from a house of horror into comforting hands.
Upright: unburdening, transformation, skin shed
Reversed: trap, costume, haunted
Maiden of Breaths
A cake falls in Buckingham Palace. So do two diplomats.
Upright: secrecy, confidentiality, concealed intention
Reversed: false impressions, deception, a slight of hand
Maiden of Heat
Two travelers bask in the sweltering Athens sun, but it's the heat spreading over skin that burns.
Upright: urge, magnetism, attraction savored
Reversed: immolation, incineration, ruin
Mother of Teeth
A fridge full of protein shakes sits within an appearingly abandoned house. As stories of one's life are studied, nearness of desire presses at an academic's neck.
Upright: uncovering, study, a hunch
Reversed: yielding, unrestrained, abandon
Mother of Tongues
A donated kidney is found at an opportune time in an unusually fitting circumstance. A sea otter holds its baby.
Upright: serendipity, care, offered gifts
Reversed: transaction, need, determined futures
Mother of Breaths
A surgeon makes a choice. A mother accepts the consequences to save another.
Upright: decision, choice, a coming to terms
Reversed: irresolution, impossibility, a card always in reverse
Mother of Heat
A purple flower adorns an ornery cactus. Feelings bloom on the apartment floor.
Upright: protection, defenses, prickly exterior
Reversed: invitation, exploration, blossoming
Queen of Teeth
Myrtha the Queen of the Wilis dances cold, precise and for the judgement of one. a wronged lover seeks retribution.
Upright: jealousy, rage, vengeance
Reversed: heartbreak, hurt, softness denied
Queen of Tongues
The first bite of a nectarine is taken. Princesses feast on honeyed cherries and hot lava bleeds from one’s heart. Outside a hungry beast is felled.
Upright: hunger, unearthed desire, craving
Reversed: sweetness, softness, gentle protection
Queen of Breaths
Joy Harjo, poet laureate of Santa Fe, stands in front of an apple orchard planted to close.
Upright: closeness, attachment, cultivation
Reversed: restriction, crowding, imposition
Queen of Heat
A flamethrower sets a greenhouse alight. Two felonious neighbors find each other through its heat.
Upright: conviction, preservation, solace
Reversed: arson, damage, transgression
Kingqueen of Teeth
The Crag Queen steps into the stone garden from behind the half wild wolf. One wants to trust the thing with teeth. Beyond the one who left is sought within the tower.
Upright: ruled, bridled, separation
Reversed: trust, staying, choice
Kingqueen of Tongues
A pierced tongue traces a small vine along its length. Astors are tattooed on an inner thigh.
Upright: permanence, detail, careful attention
Reversed: newness, filled space, caution
Kingqueen of Breaths
Yardwork goes awry when a distracted excavator operator put a hole through a fence. Inside the home, an onlooker draws the curtains.
Upright: service, maintenance, repair
Reversed: play, enjoyment, beers on a hot day
Kingqueen of Heat
A very mobile home explodes in-front of a dark column of trees, a red sky, and the moon. A drifter finally allows stasis. It's a beautiful bright thing.
Upright: self-reliance, incineration, release
Reversed: reliability, security, permitted closeness
Counting Cards
The Counting Cards guide the daily acts of life throughout the journey.
🦷 Suit of Teeth
The earth suit represents power, will, and material grounding.
Ace of Teeth
An onlookers attraction find its target on the court.
Upright: draw, fixation, concentration
Reversed: inconsistency, distraction, risk
5 of Teeth
A stakeout at an ice cream stand. A squad car sits in its shadow.
Upright: vigilance, bravery, just desserts
Reversed: pettiness, pranks, vandalism
9 of Teeth
A friend seeks to protect another and ties are severed not to break, but to protect.
Upright:, possession, control, force of will
Reversed: sacrifice, devotion, fury
2 of Teeth
A collar and restraints lay on the floor, one claimed and one discarded. A boundary observed builds trust between two players.
Upright:, safekeeping, trust, vulnerability shared
Reversed: process, careful study, attuned listening
6 of Teeth
Through misplaced toothbrushes, messy tuna melts, and unstable packing boxes, two Tetrominoes find a perfect fit.
Upright: efficiency, order, recognition
Reversed: chaos, quiet spiral, misplaced blocks
10 of Teeth
An altar and a loyal servant at its base. God's greatest creation worships her greatest undoing with the tranquility of an exploding star.
Upright: reverence, prayer, return
Reversed: privilege, tribute, offering devoured
3 of Teeth
Three monsters cloud one's judgment while a spell clouds one's memories.
Upright: anger, doubt, fear
Reversed: enduring love, remembrance, coming home
7 of Teeth
As Orpheus leads Eurydice towards the light, a classic myth reveals a struggle of doubts.
Upright: inevitability, conviction, striking forward
Reversed: uncertainty, gentleness, a slow approach
4 of Teeth
A bloodied knife licked clean. An air of danger lingers in a truck's cabin. A true crime podcast is paused.
Upright: charisma, impassioned justice, truckstops
Revered: disconcerting passengers, rearview mirrors, dramatic retribution
8 of Teeth
In the dark, beneath the glow of monitors, a blackout refocuses two dedicated caretakers. Out of frame one’s love rests in good hands.
Upright; preservation, support, commitment to care
Reversed: fragile constructions, fatigue of weight bared, exhaustion
👅 Suit of Tongues
The water suit associates with connection, intimacy and inner worlds.
Ace of Tongues
In the silence of quieted inner critics and abandoned routines, two make space for one another
Upright: spontaneous, playful, unselfconscious
Reversed: unmeditated, gravity, second nature
5 of Tongues
In the tall grasses two witches are bound with a long ribbon. Where time and anguish separate, love binds.
Upright: a vow, eternal, enduring bond
Reversed: fleeting, ephemeral, uncontrollable endings
9 of Tongues
Strategy meetings become more complex than anticipated. A zoom room misdirects attention during a mercurial exchange. A face gives little away.
Upright: unreadable, stoic, staid
Reversed: preoccupied, quiet mirth, reprioritized attention
2 of Tongues
As if from a dream, eyes study a blind date.
Upright: gaze, watch, a look
Reversed: perceived, taken in, observed
6 of Tongues
A pitcher loosens her grip. Somewhere a focused catcher loses sight of the game.
Upright: grasp, focus, substitutions
Reversed: admittance, reconciliation, a throw returned
10 of Tongues
In front of a bookshelf and a ficus, a publisher gently checks-in on a disconnected client seeking a body, a motive, and a spark.
Upright: associated, commonality, linked
Reversed: severed, detached, alone
3 of Tongues
A number is gifted upon a dressing room mirror. A lipstick taken when control is given.
Upright: reflection, likeness, an image transposed
Reversed: contact, a signal registered, seen
7 of Tongues
Ramen sits on the counter of a quiet penthouse. In the corner of the kitchen, a stack of letters pile up.
Upright: nourishing, healthful, fullness
Reversed: overwork, obligation, service
4 of Tongues
The motel room wallpaper, a cool door handle, soft skin and a warm kiss. Four felt surfaces calm after a moment of upheaval revealing something wanted.
Upright: sense, embodied touch, recognition
Reversed: protection, presence, peace materialized
8 of Tongues
The ancient hunger of a vampire, awakened by a multilevel marketing scheme.
Upright: thirst, consumption, awaited disruptions
Reversed: pitch, plans, incentivized reward
💨 Suit of Breaths
The air suit relates to observation, creativity and explorations.
2 of Breaths
A grave is surrounded with flowers, hot wheels, a statue of a rabbit. A family picnics together on a perfect day.
Upright: aching beauty, unimaginable pain, uncontrollable fates
5 of Breaths
A lover leaves. A neighbor pay a visit.
Upright: consistency, staid, trying
Reversed: surface level, half attempts, unconvincing lies
9 of Breaths
Inside Lilia’s Diner a drifter finds a hot meal and lingers longer than anticipated.
Upright: stay, permanence, found rest
Reversed: roaming, continual transition, change expected
Ace of Breaths
Upon an auditorium floor, happiness spills out as a carpet of asters, bluets, & poppies
Upright: serenity, centered, hope
Reversed: overwhelming joy, lightness ahead, blooming love
6 of Breaths
Within a warm office space, a lady allows herself care.
Upright: attentiveness, etiquette abandoned, permission
Reversed: societal customs, protocols, detachment
10 of Breaths
A wrist pinned. A pain unable or unwilling to be healed.
Upright: suspended action, restrained, frozen
Reversed: opportunity, growth, evolution
3 of Breaths
Sashimi the tuxedoed cat sits beneath a discord channel that brings a couple of gamers get closer.
Upright: gameplay, discovery, finding
Reversed: nestling in, settling, shared cigarettes
7 of Breaths
A round of pool suffers as a game between two friends gets real.
Upright: games, nearness, a gentle dare
Reversed: realization, enacted truth, embrace
4 of Breaths
Small fingers curl into their mother's hair. A blanket of waves ensconce the child.
Upright: safety, surrender, withdraw
Reversed: healing, solace, restoration
8 of Breaths
A vine wraps a collarbone. A path is traced again.
Upright: reintwine, interlace, seeking
Reversed: unbreakable habits, the natural course, providence
🔥 Suit of Heat
The fire suit represents passion and inspiration.
Ace of Heat
A weekly feud over a refuse bin gets heated.
Upright: gambit, antagonism, friction,
Reversed: darling, precious, cute
5 of Heat
A bonfire smolders on a ranch where wine woodsmoke and summer lingers. In the evening, a ceramic stallion judges the scene beyond.
Upright: sparks, warmth, ceramic tokens
Reversed: allowing easiness, real estate listings, a matter of course
9 of Heat
Some casual nudity graces a front yard.
Upright: open, unrestrained, uninhibited
Reversed: grounded, embodied, material confidence
2 of Heat
Two actors are warmed by the glow of studio lights and a hotter gaze. They devote themselves to a pair of impossible roles.
Upright: embrace, dedication, renown
Reversed: caution, a hidden kiss, lost faith
6 of Heat
An established rule set is relinquished and tenderness is found.
Upright: clear boundaries, acceptability, formal arrangements
Reversed: an ask, agreement, renegotiated terms
10 of Heat
Within the Temple of the Gods 10 candles encircle a grieving warrior queen. An heir is sought with futility, but Salem’s green flame continues to burn.
Upright: forgiveness, apology, a forgotten anchor
Reversed: sorrow, hollowed hopes, poisoned connection
3 of Heat
In the forest the birds chirp, the sky is blue and the breeze is cool. One proves their worthiness within the wood.
Upright: value, proof, claim
Reversed: hunting, pursuit, wilderness
7 of Heat
A bath within a clawfoot basin scented of lavender, fresh laundry, and sea air. Beyond, a wooden bookshelf; the backdrop of a first encounter
Upright: relaxed hold, dissipation, calm
Reversed: progressing fervor, magnification, encompassed senses
4 of Heat
Under the watchful gaze of the plastic Madonna, votive candles take light
Upright: transfiguration, light, a beacon
Reversed: hidden, shadow, unseen
8 of Heat
A mask of power slips to real the person beneath. Beyond, a love letter is found near a scribbled black heart upon a wall.
Upright: faced intent, shed disguise, witnessed
Reversed: concealed, facades, veiled designs
4 illustrations by artists Eva García, Emma Scally, Key, + Mulwray.
2 self published novels by authors Valerie Hunter & Maggie Lovewell
whatever she asks for, Eva García, Digital Illustration, 2025
Stiletto, Key, Digital Illustration, 2025
The Witchery of Living, Emma Scally, Digital Illustration, 2025
Happy Solstice, Mulrway, Digital Illustration, 2025
The Girl Who Bit Me, Valerie Hunter, Novel, 2026
Just Between Us, Maggie Lovewell, Novel, 2026
Dedication
This show is for the writers, artists and amplifiers who have contributed and inspired work in the Agathario fandom. If anything, this show celebrates your exploring minds and willingness to put something out in the world. I hope this collection honors the creative agency alight in your work.
—Agathariotarot (twitter)