S. Kaiya J. || Mirror-lock Atelier (unpacking boxes)

@mirror-lock.bsky.social

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Contemplative indie tabletop games: HER ODYSSEY, GALATEA, UNTITLED MOTH GAME, & more. Worldbuilding examination. Character and roleplay theory. Opinions about fonts. She/her. You look lost, follow me. https://mirror-lock.com & https://mirror-lock.itch.io

Two six-sided dice, one white and one blue, have been rolled onto a dark table surface. Both have come up as a 4, for a total of 8.
A photo of a spread of mini playing cards in a grid of eight piles, along with sixteen six-sided dice with Warhammer branding.
A photo of a portion of a page of the book Ancestral Appetites: Food in Prehistory by Kristen J. Gremillion. Close to a portion of the printed text that reads “domestic dogs (who eat just about anything that people do)” is a handwritten note in pencil: “my dog loves cucumbers ❤️”
A photo of a vintage-style secretary desk with its front leaf open. The desk surface holds a stack of books, journals, black gothic lanterns, a brass candlestick, a white rose in a bud vase, an inkwell, and a foil Magic: the Gathering card. On the top of the desk is a quill pen, two wax seals, a small glass cork-stoppered jar, and a black cat-shaped bookend. Behind the desk is a black velvet curtain which is translucent in the bright sunlight. One corner of the curtain is being held back by the cat bookend, revealing a normal suburban apartment complex through the window beyond.
A photo of black velvet cloth and red velvet cloth with brass curtain rings handsewn onto it.
A photo of a pair of thin white gauzy curtains hung from a thin wooden dowel supported by two ceiling hooks. The curtains let in a lot of light, and the vague outline of another building can be seen through them. In front of the curtains is an old-fashioned secretary desk with various knickknacks placed on its top.
A photo of a long wooden dowel held horizontally, over which a length of white gauze is draped. The top of the gauze is pinned shut, forming a narrow channel for the dowel, so that the fabric drapes from the dowel like a curtain or a flag.
The cover image of Her Odyssey, a solo journaling TTRPG by S. Kaiya J., the author of this post. The image depicts a female wanderer in profile walking through trees and yellow flowers. The wanderer has straight dark hair in a bun held by hairsticks and is holding a bow. At her waist are strapped a quiver of arrows and a water gourd.
A photo of two sheets of paper perforated into grids like sheets of postage stamps. These have been decorated with small, clearly hand-drawn pieces of art.
A photo of the interior of a Brooklyn restaurant, featuring dark wall and ceiling panels, red drapery, and an overall aesthetic reminiscent of the 1920s.
A photo of a view out of a windowpane at a snowy landscape. The heavily snow-laden branches of a tree stretch across an otherwise featureless white scene. Somewhere underneath the unplowed snow is a road, but that fact must be taken on faith.
A photograph of a page from The Goetist, a book by Warren Tusk. The chapter title is "Perfection". The text reads: "And if you would exist as yourself: accept that you are defined by flaws and limitations. You are distinct from the divine because you have fallen short of it. But a wise magician seeks throughout his life to grow, in wisdom and virtue and capacity. In distinguishing between the imperfections that you will strive ever to overcome, and the imperfections that will define your own nature, lies the art of understanding. Stand outside your life, and look upon it, as you would look upon a painting on the wall; and whatsoever gives it bright color and rich texture, do not cut that away." Handwritten on the page in red ink is an added line: "And which bright color is that?" Lying on the page is the same white rose that appears in the promotion photos for Galatea, a solo journaling game by S. Kaiya J.
The tuxedo Bugs Bunny "I wish all X a very pleasant Y" meme, altered to read "I wish all my TTRPG mutuals a very happy working on that project you mentioned last year".
A photo of a hand holding up a temptingly delicious macaron with a crème brûlée topping
A screenshot of a frame from Spotify Wrapped, listing my most listened songs of 2025 in order: Until We Bleed by Kleerup and Lykke Li, In My Bones by Dagny, Everyone You Know by Now Now Every Children, Stars and Boulevards by Augustana, and La Familia by Mirah.
A photo of Kaiya, wearing a black face mask, a gray sweater, a black leather jacket, and small pearl earrings. A brown purse strap crosses her body, bearing three pins: one depicting her profile picture (a stylized white and gold mask), one depicting Lilissen Winterstar from Curse of Strahd: Twice Bitten, and one ally pin with a rainbow background.
Kaiya dressed as a demon, complete with curved black horn, a black lace choker, and a black silk shirt. She is wearing a black face mask.
Copies of Galatea sit alongside other solo and duet TTRPG zines on a shelf at the Side Quest Books & Games booth.
Two round pins, pinned onto a brown purse strap. The larger one on top depicts Kaiya’s profile picture, a stylized white-and-gold mask on a black background. The smaller one depicts Lilissen Winterstar, Kaiya’s character from Curse of Strahd: Twice Bitten.
A picture of an airplane tray table mostly taken up by a sewing project, looking like a shapeless heap of gray cloth. This is a costume of an officer’s jacket; one sleeve in the foreground is getting black trim handsewn onto the cuff. A needle bearing gray thread is stuck into the cuff, and pins hold the trim in place. Further in the background, a container of pins perches amid the cloth folds. Off to one side, a can of ginger ale and one of those tiny airline cups fight for space on the tray table.
A gray chef's jacket is laid out on the floor. A pair of black-and-gold rectangular epaulets, like those worn by airline pilots, rest on its shoulders. Black piping runs around the collar and down the front closure of the jacket, as well as around the cuffs of the sleeves, visibly pinned in place by many sewing pins. Three brass buttons are laid out on the front closure but not yet sewn in.
Two round pins resting on a table. One of them bears the white-and gold mask logo from Kaiya’s profile picture. The other is a portrait of Kaiya’s character Lilissen Winterstar, from Curse of Strahd: Twice Bitten.
A photo of a copy of SPINE, or Siderius Plug’s Immortality in Ninety-nine Endnotes, a solo book-defacing TTRPG by Asa Donald. The book features a design reminiscent of battered leather, with a motif of a curled-up human spine.
A photo of a hand smeared with red ink in a manner somewhat reminiscent to some of the scenes from Macbeth. The corner of one of the prints peeks out in the background.
A photo of a several prints bearing the words "tomorrow & tomorrow & tomorrow", in typefaces of decreasing size and impact. The words are printed in a bold red. A few chips and scratches are still evident on the print, but the letters look much more solid than in the photo of the practice print from the previous post.
A photo of a print bearing the words "tomorrow & tomorrow & tomorrow", in typefaces of decreasing size and impact. The words are printed in a bold red, but look quite faded and scratched.
A tray of wooden type resting on the print bed of a cylinder press. Red ink has been applied to the cylinders, but the cylinders have not yet spun enough to distribute all the ink evenly.
A tray filled with wooden type. The words "tomorrow & tomorrow & tomorrow" can be read, although all the letters are backwards.
Drawers full of type. Each case is labeled with the typeface and point size it contains, as well as printed samples. The ones depicted in this photo are various sizes of the font face Kennerly, in normal and italic.
A screenshot of a thank-you email from the Alameda County Food Bank for a $51.81 donation. The name of the donor has been censored by hand.
A small ad for a small TTRPG. The name of the game, AVERT!, is displayed in large text next to a logo of a stylized eye inside two circles. Below, explanatory text reads: "a bookmark game about mutual accountability and hexing your friends".
A bowl of ramen heaped high with toppings, including but not limited to: two halves of soft-boiled egg, two pieces of pork chashu, two pieces of duck chashu, a piece of freaking A5 wagyu chashu, spinach, deep-fried enoki, and a sprinkling of truffle powder. The bowl is filled with a rich, creamy chicken-based broth that is fuller in flavor than many tonkotsu broths I’ve had. Not pictured: the thick chewy ramen noodles, because they have been buried under all the toppings.
A small ad for a small TTRPG. The name of the game, AVERT!, is displayed in large text next to a logo of a stylized eye inside two circles. Below, explanatory text reads: "a bookmark game about mutual accountability and hexing your friends".
Eight collectible art cards from various sets of Magic: the Gathering.
A video of a cup of freshly-steeped looseleaf black tea in a dark blue teacup and saucer. As steam rises from the surface of the water, it leaves sweeps and lines of darker water behind against the shimmering surface.
A photo of two library books side by side: The Water Outlaws by S. L. Huang and Green Rider by Kristen Britain.
A banner for Compose Dream Games, advertising 20% off all print RPGs and 25% or more off PDFs. The sale runs from September 28 to October 5, 2025, for Blackmoor Week, the week leading up to RPG luminary Dave Arneson's birthday. Canadian and British flags adorn the corners of the banner.
Two round button pins lying on a green background. The larger pin depicts the Mirror-lock Atelier logo, a stylized white-and-gold masquerade mask with a black rose blooming from one eye. The smaller pin depicts the character portrait for Lilissen Winterstar from the actual-play series Curse of Strahd: Twice Bitten.
A photo of Vietnamese coffee in a cup labeled “Tram Cream Coffee” sitting next to an Xbox controller in the foreground. In the background, a computer monitor displays the Steam page for Hollow Knight: Silksong, with no play time.
A table set up to play Moon Rings, a solo journaling game by Junk Food Games. Part of a four-by-six grid of face-down playing cards can be seen laid out next to a tablet with the game rules and a printout of the character sheet. In the background are a pocketwatch and a lit candle for ambience.
A screenshot from the video game Hollow Knight, depicting the beginning of a combat with the boss Grey Prince Zote, or more accurately, Invincible Fearless Sensual Mysterious Enchanting Vigorous Diligent Overwhelming Gorgeous Passionate Terrifying Beautiful Powerful Grey Prince Zote.
scary emu
A photo of a hex grid that has been colored in with a variety of colored pencils.
A screenshot of the bottom of a Google Sheet, revealing ten spreadsheet tabs: Masterlist (coded in black), Weapons (green), Figchips (green), Buildings (green), Materials (green), Consumables (yellow), Enemy Statblocks (Red), Map Overview (red, the currently selected tab), Copy of Combat Statblocks (gray) and Golden Legion Ranks (no color code).
A photo of a knitting project in progress. Two half-completed mittens, still on the needles, rest against a dark green background. Each mitten is knitted in dark purple merino wool in an intricate cabled pattern. One mitten is flipped on its side to show off the inside lining, knitted from an extremely fine and luxurious gray yarn which is a qiviut/merino/silk blend. For context, qiviut is the under-wool of the arctic musk ox, and pure qiviut yarn retails for $150 per ounce.
A toddler holding a blue teddy bear by the ear stares in amazement at an old IBM computer, the kind where the CRT monitor sits above the hard drive block and they ship as a single unit. Behind her, the toddler's father stares thoughtfully into the camera, as yet unaware of what kind of havoc his daughter will eventually wreak with access to such power.
An old, torn Pokemon deck box taped over with printer paper. The paper is decorated with amateur drawings of a Dragonair and an Espeon in front of a stylized delta and a stylized psi, respectively. The Dragonair-delta side is captioned with the deck name “Elemental Dragons”, and the Espeon-psi side is captioned with the deck name “Mists of the Mind”. A pokeball is in the center of the tableau.
A variety of vintage Pokemon cards: Dark Flareon (1st edition); Vaporeon (foil); Eevee (promo, foil); Entei (promo, foil); Erika's Dragonair (1st edition, foil); Dragonair (base set)
A photo of the book Inventing the Renaissance by Ada Palmer.
A photo of a paperback book resting on a desk. The book is called Roman Law and the Legal World of the Romans, by Andrew M. Riggsby.
A movie poster for Jet Li’s Fearless.
An early experimental page spread from Galatea. Every few lines, the font face, size, and/or color changes, to model different potential combinations and determine what will be the most pleasing appearance.
A photo of a table set up to sell Magic: the Gathering cards, Warhammer minis, comic book collections, and copies of Galatea. The table is spread with a purple-and-black cloth. Other empty tables can be seen in the background.
A screenshot of a Steam page, showing that my mom (whose username is redacted) earned a few achievements recently in Stardew Valley: the Cowpoke achievement for earning 50,000 gold on March 26, and the Singular Talent achievement for reaching level 10 in a skill on March 28.
A colorful mail catalogue booklet titled “Medieval and Renaissance Studies from Chicago”.
A very smug and happy calico shorthair cat sitting on a gray sofa and getting petted on her head.
A shorthair calico kitty sprawled cozily on a dark bedspread, onto which she is busily in the process of shedding a lot of light-colored hairs.
A photo of a single tarot card, The Empress.
A photo of a tarot spread, featuring the Broken Mirror Tarot, which has art with a stained-glass aesthetic. The cards, in the order they were dealt, are: Nine of Staves, Knight of Coins, Knight of Staves, Ten of Coins, King of Staves.